The Evrensel Confict -- Prologue: Chapter 1-- The Only Easy Day was Yesterday

[Wiggin]

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Trigger
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Well, that was one way of leaving the building. Trigger turned to see both the blue furball and the cat jump out the window, probably towards the ship that fell. There wasn't much that Trigger wanted or could do to help so he just leaned up against an old pillar that helped hold up the roof. "Well great…" he muttered. This wasn't the ideal way that Trigger was going to leave the building since the water didn't really work too well with the technology he was carrying. "Anyone else have any bright ideas?" he asked.

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Dusk
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Watching a creature burn up to a crisp in front of him wasn't what Dusk wanted to see today. The smell of melted skin and death sat in the air, creating a feeling of dread. Dusk was surprised to see that it didn't phase either of the two creatures that walked up to him. Had they done this before? Why did this need to happen? Dusk shrugged off the thoughts. They didn't help deal with the sunken feeling in his stomach. He felt nauseous because the smell was awful. Sadly, he couldn't get anything to come out due to the lack of a mouth. He put a hand to where it would have been though, a shuddered. It was similar to a dry heave, but there was no sound that came out, only Dusk's shivers.
After a few moments, he took his hand off his face and crouched down, trying to get a good look at the female creature. The taller male one wasn't too much of interest to Dusk since it wasn't the one to actually kill the icy creature. Smoke was still coming off of her from her fresh kill. After the battle, she didn't quite seem that unique looking. The eyeholes in his skull stared her up and down, but it didn't provide many answers. An uneasy silence followed him as he did his actions. The only sounds that he gave off were from his movements. The small crinkling of dirt on the ground, the slow creaking his joints made. These sounds usually didn't stand out around a person, but Dusk was most definitely not a person. He had no idea how to reply to the woman's actions. Home? Heroes? All Dusk wanted to do was get back to his flowers.
As for the other creature in Dusk's company, he seemed vastly different than the female. Dusk also moved to be eye level with him. This one seemed to be used to days of battle. The male creature's black eye gave little care other than for death. He looked tired, almost like he had never had a decent night's sleep in hundreds of years. The silvery white hair that this creature had also fit this description. It seemed dirty and ragged, almost like it had only been washed in blood and ashes. His ragged exterior didn't seem to fit how he acted around others though. This creature acted dignified, almost distinguished. Dusk was at a loss as to what to do. He only waited to see what would happen next and to see if he could return home.

 

[The Wanderer]

Nomad

In the cockpit of the ship, a song was playing. An old one, at least way, way before the Traveler ever arrived in the Solar System.

"I can't stop this feeling.
Deep inside of me
Girl, you don't realize
What you do to me
When you hold
Me in your arms
So tight you let me know
Everything's alright
Aaaaaah!"

"Hooked on a feeling!" A voice would join the singer. The pilot of the ship, a Guardian. A Hunter. Bobbing his head along to the song as it continued. Next to him floated his companion, a small little thing known as Ghost. Or to the pilot, the ghost's name was "IDK" or "Eye Dee Kay
A nice name considering the Ghost's tendency to be a bit of a workaholic but would always say "I don't know!" Whenever questioned about anything outside of Guardian stuff. Such as music.

"Can you turn that down, we need to be able to hear the radio in case the Vanguard needs to contact us!" Eye-Dee-Kay said, turning his eye to face his partner.

"Only because you asked so nicely." The Hunter replied, turning the music down to a small him. The Hunter was known as "Nomad." Due to his very nomadic ways. They were out in space, sent on a mission to find missing Guardians. A noble task, but it possibly meant he was going to get to leave the boundaries of what were set. This meant adventure and new discoveries. Sure he had to travel back and forth to report findings, but it was a reasonable price for freedom.

"I swear, if we miss any requests from other Guardians or even a broadcast from one of the missing, Zavala would clip our wings so we couldn't even leave the Last City for the next century."

"Doubt it, we've only just left and well away from the major planets. Unlikely we'll get a request for help this far out. So just relax, listen to the music and we'll both keep an eye out for strange stuff." Nomad would say, going back to piloting the ship through the emptiness of space, toward where the last known location of the missing Guardians were reported. That was when things went south fast. There was a flash of light, damn near blinding Nomad, the ship shook violently.

"Look out! Veer left!" His Ghost called out, Nomad complying with the request, twisting the control to the left, jerking the ship sharply to the side, barely missing the ruined skyscraper. When Nomad's vision cleared, he was met with a ruined half flooded city outside of the ship, visible via cameras as the thought of a window in space was an extremely bad idea. But anyways, the city didn't look like nothing he'd ever seen. Not even he snuck out on sight-seeing runs during his first days as a Guardian.

"Guardian Ship One-Nine-Three-Nine to Tower, something has happened.." Eye-Dee-Kay said into coms, but nothing responded. Making the Ghost repeat the phrase, only edited to "Guardian Ship One-Nine-Three-Nine to Tower, please respond!"

"Open up coms, got to be someone or something out there, even Fallen would be liked...." Nomad would say in a serious tone. His Ghost hesitating before changing channels.

"This is Guardian Ship One-Nine-Three-Nine to anyone out there, respond if possible or signal that you're receiving this..." The message was sent to all channels, regardless of who they were and whatnot. Just so long as the two got a response.

Until then, they remained in the air, just flying around up and high, waiting for a new turn of events...

 

[Agent_Puncake]

The last few minutes featured some of the most bizarre and confusing action Kingpin has ever witnessed. People came and went, some dashing off to assist the fallen craft, and others standing there awkwardly like him. He decided to lower the shotgun for now; at this point, it's pretty obvious no one's looking to fight anyone. They just have to figure out where they were, what to do and how to -

"This is Guardian Ship One-Nine-Three-Nine to anyone out there, respond if possible or signal that you're receiving this..."

Silence.

"That's... that's the open frequency!" Anta materialized, her shell shaking in excitement. "Someone is out there! See, I told you!"

"And they're broadcasting." Kingpin emphasized the last word. "On an open frequency. That's not how Guardians do it. Something is wrong. Patch me in, I will prepare a response."

Anta obliged with a sigh.

"Guardian ship, this is Kingpin-22. We receive and we hear you loud and clear. What is going on up there?"

 

[Wade Von Doom]

Alec could feel the ship moving, but he figured it was simply the current of the water pushing it. Panic was a terrible thing to have in this situation, as while he tried to hold onto whatever he could on the ceiling of the ship, each breath he took was fast and frantic. The col water was seeping into his armor, and he could feel almost his entire body begin to seize up from the cold. As each second passed, his body heat was going down, and he knew he only had a small amount of time left, if he could even swim out fast enough. Freezing to death was a better option than drowning. the air bubble began to fill with water after a couple more seconds, and pressing his face against the ceiling as hard as he could to get a few more gasps of air in, he finally dove under the water and tried for the door. His armor was making his movement even more limited than his freezing arms and legs were, and the salt in the water burned his eyes as he kept them open to see where he was going. He knew there was some sort of release hatch, an emergency one in case the shuttle's automatic system didn't work. With the ship full of water, pushing it open wouldn't be too hard, but the energy needed to do that.... Alec was hoping adrenaline worked in cold water.

He hands fumbled around the edges of the door, trying to find the hatch, but his vision was hindered by the water and salt, and in his panicked state, the soldier hurried to find it. Each time he checked it, his hand just grazed over the hatch, and he couldn't see how close he was to grabbing it. He tried keeping his breath, but bubbles of air kept leaving his mouth, both from the need to release the oxygen as time went on, and shouting in frustrated fear. Twelve seconds past by since he held his breath, and while it seemed like such a small amount of time, the water's temperature was sure to be under zero. To stay as long as Alec did, it was impressive he hadn't passed out yet from the cold. The soldier's hands could barely move after another few seconds passed by, and as it seemed he would hopefully succumb to a sleepy demise, with water filling his lungs, a shadow fell from the top of the door's window. His attention snapped up to where he saw the fuzzy shape of a person's body, and the door slowly, yet quickly, opened upwards. On the other side, a man had both his hands under the door, and pushed it upwards, forcing its hinges to break from his unprecedented strength. Alec could escape, and with the man's help; grabbing Alec's frozen arm, he pulled the soldier out from the wreckage, swam up to the top of the ship, and planted both his feet for a massive jump out the water. The splash of both men exiting the water would reach all the floors.

Luer, the two SOLDIERS, Ranma, Hedorak, Michael, Lavaetain, Spriggan, Trigger, Dusk, all of them would see a massive tower of water fly up high, before falling back down. They would see Thor, the god of Thunder, jump back to the floor he, Sonic and Alistia were all on, placing the soldier on the floor as he coughed up a lung filled with water. He gasped for breath, rolling onto his stomach, with systematically using one of his hands to rub his burning eyes, while the other grabbed his crotch, as that was in excruciating pain from the cold. "Easy there, deep breaths!" Thor told him, crouched next to Alec with a hand on the solider's shoulder. When Alec finally got his breath back on control, his body was still slightly seized up, and shivering so intensely, Thor could feel it through his armor. "T-T-T-Thanks..." Alec muttered how, barely able to speak. He jaw almost felt wired together from how hard it was to move it. "We need a fire! Now!" He shouted, looking around the room for anything made of wood. Unfortunately, there were only tables made of weird plastic, computers, and cubical's which were drenched. "H-Ho-How the hell di-did you do that?" Alec asked, trying to look up at Thor.

"God powers, well beyond your mortal comprehension, but now's not the time for gloating." He answered all too casually. Odinson had no idea if Alistia had the power to create fire, and Sonic...... Well, he was just fast, but if the two could make something of a fire in a hurry, that would save this man from dying a hypothermic death. And Alec, as he looked around to see Alistia and Sonic exit the water, with Trigger, Kingpin and the Spriggan looking back at him, his reaction was essentially this:

When did we get to Disneyland?​

Before they could do something though, the door at the end of the room suddenly had a large bang on it. Then another soon after. Something on the other side of it was trying to open it, but its hinges were frozen and rusted in place. Thor quickly stood up, ready to attack whatever was trying to make its way into the office with them; small electrical currents running through his finger tips. When the door finally busted open, four people ran in, carrying weapons, and standing side by side, also ready to attack. These people were........... Very odd looking. In front, there was a man in Templar Knights armor, and standing to his left was a young adult male wearing a beanie and casual clothing from Earth, which Thor recognized. Yet, his hands had strange smoke surrounding them, like a type of magic. The young male on the right was wielding a.... key? A very big key, and wore a black jacket, and his hair was just...... Weird. Besides him was a woman, looking much more ragged and dirty than the others, like she had just come from the desert. Thor's look of confusion was noticed by the knight, who's attacking stance didn't last, letting his guard down. He looked to the others and waved his sword, signaling them to stand down too. "What the hel?" Thor muttered under his breath.

"Well," The knight spoke, holstering his sword. "Can't say I was expecting more of us." His voice sounded strangely chipper and upbeat, with Thor responding with, "Us?"

"People of different worlds." He removed his helmet and tucked it under his arm. The knight was old, well into his 50s by the looks of it. "We're not from around here either." From Thor, to a lady with cat ears, to a big blue hedgehog, a Spriggan which he did recognize, a weird robot with a gun, and a small kid, bit easy to tell they weren't anywhere near the homes they were used to. He noticed Alec on the floor, his whole body quacking from his armor. "Here," the knight moved up to Alec, holding out his hand. A large flame suddenly erupted from his palm close to Alec's chest, trying to give him some warmth. It wasn't much, but it was the least he could do. "You use magic?" Thor asked. "I know a little. We'll need to move him, somewhere with walls." If Alec stayed out in the open as wet as he was, with these cold winds, not only would he freeze to death still, but any attempts at starting a fire would be blown away. His flame was even struggling to stay alight.

"Artis, Delsin, help me move him. Abby, if you could scout the floor below us, see if there are any more of us." The Knight, Delsin and Artis met on the top floor of the building, and came across Abby halfway down. The three knew each other better than Abby, but they were all on good terms, and realized that they weren't all from the same world.

 

[littlekreen]

The spriggan moved to a window to see where Thor went. Though she leaned out at first considering to follow the rough surf and biting cold pushed her back in. She wasn't as vulnerable to the cold itself as much as if it solidified the sap in her body. A creature of pure magicka she may be to survive deep frost a fire was equal concern. When the explosion of water heralded the God's return Spriggan eyed the man in his arms. Another mer freezing?

While helping wasn't really in her mandate than punishing the guilty wasn't about to become guilty herself. The Spriggan let free a leafy rustle of discontent at what she had to do stumped over in chase. A knight of the nine? No this could not be. Either too cold or mind too small for this stress took the God's stance as the newcomers themselves stood down.

Her hollow eyes looked at the shivering mer then to the knight's flame to say raggedly, "Stupid fleshy mer freeze so easily. I will make better fire."

One clawed hand grabbed her bust and squeezed a deep green fluid emerging from it. She swiped one claw in it to grab one of the thick plates about her head. Eyes furrowed her voice pained as a dripping claw scored one deep furrow at the shard's base. Spurts of raw magicka along with her own cries of pain surmounted only by a her scream as the other hand tore the thick piece of living wood free.

The inside gleamed and pulsed even divorced from her body. Viscous green sap leaks from the both sides of the break. It took her a moment to shake off the pain eyes tightly closed then opened them to grip the broken plate. Held to the sputtering flame her oakflesh brightly flared to life. Absent the rest of her body to quell the fire's life sucked magicka out of the air to fuel itself as it burnt. Hot it burnt and well but the wind both mighty and frigid. They'd indeed need somewhere a fire could work. Her hand shook holding the shard aloft.

Her voice halted though she had no breath looked to Thor, "I burn for your Mer, god-son. Score the crown then break the plates. I will grow them back. You are strong enough. I am too cold and the land too dead to give any more of my flesh. You must find fuel."

 

[The Wanderer]

Nomad

To say that either of them were expecting anyone to answer, especially one that might be an Exo, which could mean a fellow Guardian.

"Kingpin-22, this is Nomad. What's currently going on up is that we experienced an anonomly? No, is it anon-omoly?" He looked to his Ghost who'd only shake his shell in a very disappointed fashion.

"Anomaly. I don't know how you still can't pronounce it." Eye Dee Kay would say on the open com.

"Sorry, I don't have need to use it constantly. But anyways, saw flash of green light, went from middle of deep space looking for missing Guardians to here. I am going to go out on a limb here and guess Vex? Maybe Fallen if not them. Though the green flash would point Hive, right?" The latter part sounded like Nomad was merely musing the cause of the green flash and sudden arrival here.

"What's the situation down there?"

@Agent_Puncake

Delsin Rowe

Delsin's normal morning routine was wake up, toast some bread, check to make sure the bread and butter was still good or someone had forgotten to get new groceries. Do whatever chore was given to him, or go and help out at the cannery near the longhouse. But after recent events, his routine has changed up. As he snagged himself an apartment with his friends, Fetch and Eugene, got a part-time job and did his duty of being Smoker-Man.

That being, mostly taking selfies or stopping to assist people with stuff. Gotta keep the good vibes up, build more on the whole 'get people to respect Conduits' thing. Every so often something big would pop up, such as a drug bust or something of the same caliber.

Today was different. Sure he still made toast, made small talk with Fetch and Eugene, the latter teaching the former a trick in a video game to cheese a difficult boss, before going on his way to see if anything new was happening in Seattle. But the thing that was different was the bright flash of green light. Which made Delsin think that a Conduit or maybe government agents using a weapon had showed up to attack him.

What made him reconsider that notion was the fact that he didn't feel anything, not even pain. Whatever happened to him made him wonder if he was sleeping and experiencing one of those dreams where you don't dream about anything but darkness. Which is why when he finally awoke, he was expecting to hear his roommates going about their own morning routines. Not waking up in an alleyway aching all over. Slowly standing up, Delsin stretched to alleviate the ached feeling. Which after hearing a few 'pops' from his joints and back, the aches settled to a somewhat annoying but manageable level. After that, he looked down at his hands, watching as smoke curled around his hands. "Still got that, so far so good, Delsin...." He muttered to himself.

Pulling out his phone to see if he could call someone like Eugene, Fetch or even Betty, he saw that his phone didn't have service. "That's not good." Just where in the hell was he?

Delsin got his answer when he walked down the alleyway and out into the open. Standing before him looked like an skeleton of a city, each building barely holding onto life. "Feels like I'm in the remains of an awful disaster movie...." He mused out aloud.

Before he knew it, he ran into a knight and another dude on the top floor of a building he glided to after climbing another, which after a tense standoff ended in their joining up into a group. And after seeing another group not far off from their rooftop viewpoint, they went and met them. Delsin going through a million phrases to try and make a first impression.

"Sup?" Nailed it.

But he'd walk over to the downed and soaked man to help him out, once close enough Delsin would use some of his ability's energy to raise the man to his feet, the energy actually acting to briefly rejuvenate the man somewhat so he could walk barely and not be freezing to death, not to say he was dried off, still needed that.. Delsin was there to put his arm under the man's shoulder to help him walk.

@AIM Leader Wade @Nero Kunivas @Anyone-Else-I-Missed

 

[Yoru]

Sonic

This time it looked like the power of friendship wouldn't manifest. What did you expect they hardly knew each other. Meaning that he had to choice. Either let the ship go take some air and dive back hoping that it wouldn't sink too far. Or continue struggling in vain. Yeah either way the situation was very bleak. And it looked like option 1 wasn't available anymore. He was starting to slow down, reaching the end of his oxygen reserves. Looks like... this was the end for him. His last thoughts went from his moebian friends.

*Sorry guys... Guess this is it... At least... we had fun while it lasted...*

He couldn't stop himself anymore and swallowed a big gulp of... air? He was a little sore in the mouth, but somehow a two iiters plastic bottle was jammed here. Fiou that was close. Turning his head, he saw that his savior was the cat lady Alistia. He gave her a thumb up as a thanks. Then another shape dove to their height, the guy with massive power! Thor. He opened the door and caught one man in armor. Sonic saw something floating inside. Curious he went to the door and saw two floating unconscious guys. Well that's why he didn't want to open the ship door, they had to act fast now. Gripping the both of them in a fireman carrying position one on each shoulder. Water was helping a lot here. He then felt a great pressure as something heavy pushed back the ship to the depths.

*Time to get out of here!*

With one last dash he was gone.

Arriving a second after Thor. He dropped the two humans with as much care as he could muster. But two grown adults weren't light, and he didn't have buoyancy nor inertia to lower their weight. So when he stopped it's more than they squished him and he had to crawl to get out of under them. He then shook the remaining water from his body like a dog.

-Fiou thanks for the help pal! Couldn't have done it without you. You too Alistia! Thought I was a goner here for a sec.

He then looked at the human that was rescued by the god of thunder.

-You got lucky there pal. Hope your friends can be saved too.

Then there was noise like kind of a bad noise like trouble noise. Most of the time when something was trying to destroy a door this was rarely good news. So when a group of human entered and told them they were also from another world, the relief he felt wasn't faint. How many times already was he on guard then relaxed. Gotta tire a bit no?

Well explanations were made. And well they were right. They needed fire stat. He was fast enough to create friction but he doubted anything could burn here. Except maybe... Well she did get the clue but no... just no... she litterally tore a piece of her head there. And it wasn't pleasing to see, to hear or imagine. The process wasn't painless far from it if you would listen to her. What kind of crazy psycho could let her do that? Not him!

He put a hand on her shoulder and looked at her in the eyes?

-We appreciate your sacrifice but don't ever do that again!

He had never been this serious before. But if she ever thought about redoing this, he would tie her until she won't be able to move. He then let out a sigh.

-Well staying here won't help, also does someone knows cpr or something? This guys don't seem well!

 

[Huntertyavatar]

Michael Bludreihm, Abyss Watcher of Farron's Undead Legion
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Michael stared as the woman dispersed her weapon in a burst of flame, as if it had never been despite having stabbed a woman mere moments ago. Her weapon was merely a construct, then, summoned by her Pyromancy. It reminded him of the Demon Scar weapon he had managed to transpose from the soul of the last Demon prince, but her sword held the appearance of cold steel rather than pure flame in the form of a weapon as the Scar had.

Yet another sign that he was not where he belonged, alongside the fact he did not know of these Six Hero's or this American Empire she spoke of.

"Well met, Lady Lavataein. Unfortunate as it is, I recognize nothing of thy Hero's and this 'American Empire' you speak of, so it seems none of us are where we should." 'Perhaps that Green light I saw is to blame? ' The Watcher mused as she continued on. If they were all brought here from separate world via this light, then for what purpose? Was it mere happenstance, a magical summoning gone wrong? or was it something else...?

His head tilted at her mentioning of Undead and their apparently low mental capacity, the brim of his helmet concealing everything but the lower leather coverings of his mouth. He almost took it as a slight against him, but with the freshly revealed knowledge of them being from different worlds, perhaps her world held a different connotations of what Undead are. "I do believe I have enough mental power to speak, yes; and at least enough to study Sorceries on mine own," he said lightly and jokingly, before turning serious. "I believe the words thou are looking for are Hollows. I shall explain everything in full at some later date, but Hollows are mindless, soul hungering beasts that born from an Undead losing their will to live, falling to madness, or dying one too many times and losing their very Humanity. Fear not, however; mine own Humanity has been burnt away by the Flame long ago, " He said almost bitterly. "I am but Unkindled Ash, and the Flame gave me life as much as it has burnt me to a crisp." His eyes seemed to sharpen and his grip tightened as he remembered that burning pain, rejected by the flame and burnt to ash for thinking he could have done anything good by using himself as Kindling.

He was broken out of the memory by the sound of water rapidly being moved about, a pillar of water bursting over the horizon as more strange metal.... vehicles, he supposed (automatons, perhaps) came to fly in the blue sky, his head snapping to observe them with a steady stare. "Regardless, we must move. Think it mad, but my intuition tells me that returning to where we came from will be harder than thou thinks." He turned to regard her and the other person, but double taked at the appearance of the... creature in front of him. How? How had he failed to notice this thing standing right next to them? Was it really good at sneaking, or was his senses becoming shot after weeks of constant combat?

It was tall. Taller than him by a full foot, at least, and covered in a dark, fur-like substance that seemed more oily than mere fur. It's head was the only thing not covered in fur, and that was because it did not have any flesh at all upon it, a bleached skull of a cow leering back at him. It looked like- A creature of the Abyss, the zealous part of his mind hissed, his body automatically tensing and his legs twitched, ready to spring and cut down the horrid creature in front of him, to rid the village of it's taint as the other monsters and his brethren roared and screamed, and so too did the entire world as it seemed hell itself had come to the surface with the sounds of swords against mutated limbs and the crackle of fire-

Had he not been rejected so harshly by the Flame, seen the state of his brothers because of it, and his talks with Karla, that Child of Dark, or had he been his younger self before he had sacrificed himself as Kindling, he would have very well attacked the thing in front of him without any balking, thrusting him into a fight he had no knowledge of and even less chances of succeeding. Instead, he forced down that zealous part of him, and forced his muscles to relax once more. What stopped him most of all, besides these past experiences, was the creatures demeanor; despite looking like an aspect of the Abyss incarnate, it stood awkwardly between them, almost shy, in complete disparity from it's appearance. Despite having fully evaded his full attention, it had not capitalized on it and simply stood there instead.

Michael carefully straightened himself from the low stance he had unconsciously slid into, eyeing the being in front of him with as much awkwardness as it was feeling. "...My apologies, Dark One. Does thou perhaps have a name?"

 

[Amber Franklin]

Abby Dee/Courier Six - Character Sheet

"You're going on...vacation?" asks the electronic voice of Mr. House of the young woman standing before the huge monitor displaying his face.

"Yup. Figure I needs me a vacation, seeing as you haven't had much for me to do lately." Abby answers.

"And you are going where exactly?"

"Zion Canyon." Abby answers with a big smile.

"You are leaving New Vegas, the only true tourist destination in this world, for more wilderness? I have that right?" House asks, the voice synthesizers managing to convey his deep skepticism from wherever House keeps his brain to the speakers.

"Gee Mr. House, you get a fourth degree to figure that out?" Abby teases him, knowing he has some means to see her sarcastic expression just as he hears it in her voice, even if the technicals of how escape her. "Yessir, I done won the jackpots at all your casinos here, and Primm. I think some time in Zion would be more good for me than whoremongering at Gomorrah, or teaching them White Gloves how you win at Blackjack proper."

"There is more to do than partake of whores and cards, but I shall concede your point. How long will you be gone? There may arise something I could use your expertise with."

"Don't rightly know." Abby shrugs.

"Just try not to die. Good help is hard to come by these days." House says wearily.

"I be seein' ya later, Mr. House." Abby waves at the monitor and leaves for the Presidential Suite, her home here at the Lucky 38.

Later

Abby steps into the Lucky 38 loaded down with everything she knew was needed for her trip to Zion; Her favorite rifle; her favorite pistol; her favorite knife; a week of food and water for the journey there, and of course two bottles of whiskey.

"Alright! Zion here I come!" Abby says as the doors close and she thinks of the relatively unspoiled beauty of Zion Canyon that awaits her. It'd been a few months since she'd first returned from that wonderful wildnerness. She wondered how The Sorrows were doing, if Daniel's worries about how they'd be changed would come true.

Well she would learn in time.

Or so she thought before she was engulfed in a green light suddenly, and felt like she was falling.

"WHAT IN SAM HILL IS GOING ON!?" Abby yells as she is in what she thinks is a freefall through....nothing...without the rush of air or anything else. Then just as suddenly as she was falling, her feet found solid ground.

Solid ground and very very cold air. Nights on the Mojave could be chilly, maybe a little dangerously cold if you didn't dress and cover properly, but it was nothing like the cold she felt now that had her shivering and rubbing her arms for warmth.

"Goddarnit...where...where am I? Mobius? Did you fiddle with that trans-whatever and send me somewhere?!" She yells as if expecting the crazed mad scientist was listening and watching somehow. Looking around, the place is somewhat familiar only in the sense that she was used to seeing a former office space in shambles post-apocalypse.

"Am I in The Divide? Is this winter in The Divide?" She wonders aloud going to the nearest window.

And sees that even the devestation of The Divide could be eclipsed.

"Well then....this is...not...Nevada...at all...just freakin dandy." Abby talks to herself with her teeth chattering. She had been expecting a long journey through desert and canyon, so she'd only dressed in her white shirt, SLCPD kevlar vest and jeans for the first leg, and left her heavier Ranger armor behind, while also packing a couple lighter outfits.

Movement from above her had put her on alert. On such a weird planet, was only sensible there might be something around every corner ready to kill and eat her, or try to eat her alive, or worse. So she had shouldered her rifle and taken cover, ready to fight whatever was coming through the chill permeating her body.

That meeting had gone better than she thought. The only thing to have taken a shot was a wall. Which was good, as the 12.7mm bullets in her rifle were just a little less powerful than a .50 used by the military. What stopped her from unloading a whole clip was the kid being there. Abby didn't shoot kids even if they happened to be shooting at her.

Pleasantries and names were exchanged then. The trio were not from the same Earth as her, or each other, but seemed to be cooperating fine. Having no other recourse, Abby decided to tag along with them to discover first what was going on, and second how to get home.

The quartet followed noise further down the ruined tower, until coming to an even stranger sight than she was prepared for.

"What.....in tarnation.." She says looking around at the assembled party. Tied for the strangest thing she has seen so far were the walking tree, and the giant talking blue rat. The strapping man with the short hair was easy on the eyes at least. The fella on the floor looked be alright, considering. If she had her trench coat, she would have gladly offered it to him.

Abby is taken out of her daydream about how to get warmed up, by Callintus requesting her to scout out the lower levels for anyone.

"Roger that, Tin Man." Abby nods and proceeds onto the lower levels, rifle shouldered just in case, but pointed down so as not to give anyone the wrong impression.

As she goes down the stairs, Abby says to anyone who might be on the floor below "Aaaanybody there? Ain't here to kill ya so long you ain't here to kill me."

 

[Yoru]

Ranma:

The second she was in the blanket, Ranma closed her ki sensing ability. Sure, ki could have warmed her, however she would be spending too much energy for far little result. Of only there was a way to get some fire here. But no she was stuck with on old lady two fighters and one klutz. Hmm maybe she could devise something with hot ki. Maybe reproduce natsumi and kurume dance of the fire dragon. Only problem was it would need hot ki and except the old lady here and her dead/non dead ki. And well they also needed their hot ki to live.

She smiled sheepishly at Luer comment and batted her eyelash.

-Sorry about this!

She wasn't going to let him have it. Period, it was her blanket! She found it first. Except that... well the path of a martial artist was fraught with peril. And a martial artist was supposed to protect the weak. And blue boy here, well he was a klutz, had no sense of direction whatsoever and had a tendency to get in trouble like a certain tomboy she knew. Plus, he was certainly the most in need for this blanket.

Well if she had been a man at this time, she would already have given him said blanket. And boy or girl, everytime she found hersef underdressed with someone of the opposite sex, she was beaten black and blue for being a pervert. Except that she had given her life to the Art.

With a scream to the heaven she took her clothes and hang them on one of the desks. Then she stomped toward him and took out the blankey before wrapping him in it at almost amagurikken speed.

-There h-hope you happy!

The cold would affect her more slowly. At least no girl would find and beat her for being a pervert! There was the old lady but she seemed a little bit out of it. Damn she was cold before, now it was a freezing hell.

Then there was a voice . A girl's voice. Once again she looked toward the sky and murmured.

-Why do ya hate me so?

She hid behind Luer and saw that now she was staring at said girl. Jean, tee-shirt, guns. A bit underdressed for the season. At least she wasn't naked.

-This ain't what it's look like!

 

[Snowtwo]

A sudden instinct welled within Lavaetain as Michael explained who and what he was. Years of media blasted to the forefront of her mind along with the nigh-overpowering urge to shoot him in the head before he could bite her and turn her into an undead like him. Or, even if he wasn't that sort of undead, the fact that they were almost always on the side of evil. Some foul necromancer who summoned such monsters so that he could take over the world before being defeated by the heroes of the story. The number of media in which the undead achieved even a neutral standing was next to non-existent. She could only recall one saterical book she hadn't cared for in which the protagonist was unwittingly an NPC in a video game and the only reason she even knew that existed was because several of the nerds in school hadn't shut up about it for a good week when it came out. Yet her imperial training, the professionalism drilled into her, kept her from taking action immediately. Whatever undead this Michael was he had helped her out. They were in a strange world. He was rational, if antiqueted in speech, and seemed to be perfectly willing to ally himself with her. He likely didn't know about her barriers and how they worked so if he tried to nom on her she'd be safe. That said, she would make sure to ever so quietly not be within arms length.

Making it worse was this strange creature that Karen had assumed to be another civilian. It clearly wasn't. Lavaetain wasn't even sure it could communicate with her or what it could or could not do. Some interdimensional traveler? She admitted she found it odd that, with that one little revelation from Michael, she felt less afraid of this new being than him... But she kept in mind that so much of that was media which, if it were to be believed, meant that entire wars could be won via believing in ones self, the power of friendship, and simply being on the 'good guys' side. Not true in reality. Still. She kept calm. Unflinching. And was rewarded in the form of a distraction of a giant plume of water.

"That can't be good." she commented. "But it means something is happening and that there are likely others lost here. We should hurry to see whom they are and if they are a friend or foe." she said before taking off towards where the plume had come from.

---

A brilliant yet soft and gentle light came from Alistia as she reached into her pouch, producing a small stone which she held close to her breast as she bowed her head as if in prayer. A second later the white and red robes of a white mage were gone; replaced with long black robes with a firm trim, tight pants, a nice undershirt, and a completely different rod in place of Thyrus. She raised her hands up and close to her form as fire burst into being between them. "Black mage reclass." she explained simply enough as she hurried to Alec's side with the fire between her hands to warm him up. "If he gets worse I'll change back to a White Mage and give him some healing. If you hand me the wood from that tree girl I can set it alight and then switch back to give him proper healing."

 

[Agent_Puncake]

"Unknown." Kingpin checked to make sure he wasn't broadcasting through his helmet's PA system. "Group of humanoid creatures down here with me. They seem to wield paracausal abilities like we do, but all look... disoriented. I believe we may not be the only victims of this anomaly."

"You're not going to tell him about, oh, I dunno, the literal sinking city?" Anta piped up. "Oh, also, uh -" She invited herself into the comms. "- not Hive. Colour is slight off, and the energy signature doesn't match whatsoever. But it's powerful, very powerful. Maybe... maybe even more powerful that the Traveler itself."

"...the city is sinking. It is derelict and it seems like it used to be a battleground of sorts. I do suggest you land, however. I would appreciate another Guardian, even if I don't... uh... swing that way?"

"Valiant effort." Anta sighed. "I don't think you swing any way." She continued before Kingpin can ask her anything else: "I'm patching coordinates over to you. Roof seems to be clear, but look out - we heard an explosion up there a while back. Likely just another someone-"

"Definitely another someone." Kingpin muttered as his eyes fixated on the proximity motion tracker.

"Well, there you go. No hostile actions anywhere yet, really, so probably safe." Anta concluded. "And... yeah. Good to hear another Guardian, Nomad. Travelerspeed."

 

[Atma]

Hedorak

She stared at the strange assortment of people that she had recently met, and so she began to muse over them. First were the two soldiers with the glowing eyes. They obviously belonged to some martial force before this place considering their similar states of dress. They're weapons or the lack of uniformity between them must make them of high rank? Possibly or it may be that their king allows for soldiers to utilize what they desire if the needs suits them. She'd question them later to answer those questions in a more convenient time.

Then there was the blue haired young man with questionable choices in attire... Granted, back home proper attire was either official robes or full armor and who knows how many years have passed since her journey to Drangleic, so to the man, it may very well be acceptable attire. Ultimately he was the least interesting, Still if he did something interesting, well her scrolls were always on hand...

And then the... The person who changed genders through unknown means. Yes 'she' was most certainly going to be the center of her next studies for the foreseeable future, unless of course something more interesting occurred. And now another girl entered their 'group' so to speak...

"Hedorak, a pleasure to make your acquaintance?"

Oh she did hope she received answers soon before all of these people went hollow.

 

[The Wanderer]

Nomad

"Read you loud and clear, Kingpin. Be seeing you soon." Nomad would say before turning off communications. Eye Dee Kay would look to him with what could be described as a worried look for a Ghost.

"If not anything we know, then what could it be?" He'd ask. Almost as if to himself.

"No idea at all...." Nomad would answer, almost out of instinct. But they could ponder what caused all of this later, right now they had more important matters to attend to, such as landing at the coordinates given by Kingpin. The music remaining near silent, Nomad could hear a word every so often but beyond that, couldn't hear much.

Steering the ship safely through the somewhat submerged city, slowing to a stop, floating atop the building, which looked rocky and unsafe to even attempt a landing. "Kingpin, the roof is looking a bit uneven and considering the already sorry state of the building, I'ma land on the one to what'd be your west. Instead of running the risk of collapsing the roof on what could be the only other Guardian here who might actually enjoy music instead of Eye Dee Kay here-" Nomad said, as he was lowering the ship on a building that had a bit more room for the ship and looked stable enough to last. But was interrupted by his Ghost angrily replying with the following.

"I can't stand your 'music' and the fact you play it everywhere you go, it's more annoying when you sing it!"

"Don't get angry that you can't enjoy a good tune every now and then." Nomad would jokingly respond with as the Celestial Nighthawk helmet on his head before transmatting down, his hand on the handcannon "Last Word."

He'd look up at the building, waiting for confirmation that Kingpin can see him and that Nomad can see him. Just because it was best to confirm via direct eyesight. Once Kingpin or whoever looked out, they'd see a person with a cape and hood wearing a hawk mask and leather jacket-esqe colored in black and grey waving cheekily at them.

@Agent_Puncake @Whoever-Else-In-The-Building-I-Lost-Track-Sorry

 

[Amber Franklin]

Abby Dee/Courier Six - Character Sheet

"Ain't what it looks like?" Abby raises a brow looking around at this other group before focusing on the naked girl. She catches the clothing set out in a way that would normally be set out to dry. While they are not like anything she knows, she presumes they have to belong to the naked girl.

"Sure hope it ain't, otherwise these men gonna have a problem." She says looking around at the men present. "By-the-by girlie; these clothes ain't gonna dry, they gonna freeze. I sure am."

"Hiya Hedorak. Name's Abby." She introduces herself.

Abby slings the large pack on her back off and rummages through it for one of the outfits she had packed.

"Was gonna wear this and put on a show for The Sorrows, but that ain't happenin'."

She takes out a wrapped bundle of clothing and holds it out for the girl in one hand, but keeps the other on Lil' Devil on her right hip.

"Here. Might be a bit loose, but its better than being nekkid as a Mole Rat."

The Outfit

"Now, there's another group of us upstairs." She points upstairs with her left thumb. "Us bein folk don't know where they are, or why."

@Yoru @Atma

 

[Nero Kunivas]

- Artis Solum, Twilight Warrior - Weathered Skyscraper, Interior, w/ Callintus, Delsin and Abby -

Today certainly took a turn for the strange for Artis, even before he was whisked away by the ominous green light. Having lived in Radiant Garden for a fair few months after departing from his homeworld of Twilight Town to see what it all had to offer, the Keyblade wielder was accosted by various interesting things: A surprise encounter with the Radiant Garden Preservation Committee and getting acquainted with them, being reminded that it was once a despairing, fractured ruin known as Hollow Bastion after it had fallen from grace but now returns to its former glory as the City of Light thanks to the efforts of these individuals, which brought great joy to the ever curious Artis, to hear such a tale, especially after the loss of the Hero of Light not even a year ago.

He would then however encounter a lingering pack of Heartless and take it upon himself to vanquish them with the perfect weapon for the task: The Keyblade. Things went fairly smoothly, as they fell to his strikes, his burst of Light and unrelenting Darkness, none of them strong enough to necessitate using Shadowform or his raw potential with Nothingness, but just as the last Neoshadow charged him, they were both enveloped in a sudden flash of green light and transported away...

Landing ungracefully in a strange building, the Neoshadow barely could get a growl in after an previously flat-on-his-ass Artis got up quickly and beheaded the Heartless, which caused its shadowy body to disintegrate and release the Heart within, freeing it from its dark snare.

Soon after this, Artis would meet with a few strangers who seemed about as out of place in this building as he was: An old, but noble and jovial Knight, a city boy but definitely not of this one and a ragged woman. After an initial standoff, the four decided it would be better to work together in this strange place and would later ascend the building and meet with a larger group of out-of-place strangers.

Artis would comply wordlessly with Callintus's request and aided Delsin and Cal in lifting the cold and soaking wet Alec, though he nodded to the confused Thor with a courteous smile.


- Thor Odinson, God of Thunder - Weathered Skyscraper, Interior -

"Could this possibly get any more insane? I'm half-expecting my brother to reveal it's all one big trick he's constructed...not a chance in Hel of that happening, is there?" Thor questioned aloud with incredulity, but gave a saluting wave to Artis, a greeting he had unknowingly picked up from Steve Rogers. He then paid a glance toward Alistia, wondering how he could prove his Godliness, or at least that he was Asgardian, which was more than close enough really, but then just looked out the window absentmindedly and to his utter bemusement, he caught a glimpse of a...hawk-like man, waving in a cheeky fashion in their direction.

"...who's that?" He quipped, sounding almost done with this shit.


- Lord Horus, Iron Lord of Eternal Radiance -

- A few minutes prior -

"All I'm sayin' is, you didn't necessarily need to take his head off, Horus."

"My dear Ghost, it was either I behead him or I toss my pommel at his head for losing the duel, either way he dies rightly, no?"

"But he's gonna remember that, ya know? Titans always do! ...either way, that was hardly a clean beheading, just sayin'."

"You're critiquing my technique now? Is there no end to it? *Chuckle*"

"I rezzed you, Horus, it's just the fee, really."

The Iron Lord and his Ghost exchanged friendly banter after having won a duel against a challenger Titan, who wanted to see what an Iron Lord could do with his sword that the former could not. As they flew back to The Tower in their ship, known as "Ikora's Resolve", named in tribute to the Warlock Vanguard Ikora Rey, something strange occurred as they were on their voyage home.

"Ghost, I'm getting some strange readings, are you seeing this?" Horus chimed up, his Iron Sigil adorned snarker of a Ghost peeked over his shoulder and scanned the readings himself, furrowing its shell like it was his brow at the sight. "Strange is a word for it...I've never seen anything like it. Perhaps--" The Ghost was then accosted by a blinding green gleam that completely enveloped the ship's viewport for a few seconds, before giving way to an unfamiliar, destroyed cityscape, thankfully bearing no architectural similarity to The Last City, but was nonetheless disconcerting to the Iron Lord, who frowned and looked around in confusion.

"Ghost, what happened?"

"I...I don't know. The ship's compass has gone mad and our co-ordinates don't match anything in the City database...wait, I'm picking up a frequency, agh, it just ended, but it matched Guardian frequencies! We're not alone here!"

"Thank The Traveler for that..." Lord Horus breathed a sigh of relief as he began to circle the building where one of the frequencies was coming from. Though he had to squint a little, Horus could mostly see that the skyscraper was full of people, but then he looked to his right and immediately caught sight of a Hunter being...well, a bit of a Hunter.

"Do you think they ever get tired of being themselves?" His Ghost spoke dryly, with Horus simply shaking his head. "Transmat me to him, maybe he knows more than we do." Horus requested, then put his helmet on, activating its environmental seal and holstering his First Curse, transmating somewhere behind Nomad, his Ghost hovering alongside him.

"Hunter? My name is Lord Horus, I'll get to the point: Where in the name of the Hellmouth are we?" Lord Horus questioned with a firm walk forward a few steps before stopping near Nomad, his fists clenched and his Ghost scanning the perimeter for anything interesting.


@AIM Leader Wade @The Wanderer @Snowtwo

 

[Wiggin]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trigger
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There was a lot happening at the moment. People were coming out of different places left and right, the wooden lady plucked a part of her head off or something, and people were bursting out of doors. It was quite a bit of chaos to take in. Trigger was mainly ignoring it since he probably wouldn't have been able to follow anyway. He looked around to see the blue furball panicking about two corpses, the one-eyed Viking staring out the window, and several people caring for another soon to be corpse. Trigger put his hand to his face and rubbed his left eye. All this running around and shouting was making him tired. He got off the cement pillar he was leaning on, it was probably time for him to do something.
He instantly appeared right next to the blue furball. "Alright, let me get this straight… you brought two dead guys in and stopped this thing-" he gestured towards spriggan " from ripping itself apart, and you-" he appeared next to the blond Viking, putting a hand on his shoulder, "just don't understand these people, along with me, and think that it's because of some weird family issues, along with-" he spun and pointed a finger at the people carrying the soldier "-these guys trying to save this other dead guy?" Trigger finished. He sighed and rubbed his eye again. Why were these people here, and why was he with them? He waved away his thoughts, they weren't making matters any better. He needed to think of a way out of this city, but first, he needed a place to go. Maybe he could find a radio and tune into somewhere, but where would he find a radio in a place like this. Trigger snapped his fingers, he had it. "Alright, let me first address this…" he said, teleporting back, next to the blue furball. Trigger crouched down to the hedgehog's eye level and said "these guys are beyond saving, and there's nothing you can do for them. Go ahead and try resurrecting the dead, but it will only waste our valuable time" He said, standing back up. Trigger then teleported around, grabbing several papers that were laid on the dusty floor. He had gained a decent pile before teleporting next to the group with the soldier. This soldier probably had a radio, and he might know how to use it. "Here, I got a bundle of kindling right here," he said, dumping the pile next to Alista. "Make sure he has a radio and knows how to use it," he said, before teleporting back to Thor. "You, Mr. thunder boots, can survey the area and find us a way out of here, got it? I saw you fly earlier, so I assume you can do that again," he said, patting the man's muscular chest. Trigger then walked back by the group trying to resuscitate the soldier. He stood back, watching to see if anything else needed to be done.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dusk
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Before Dusk could attempt to answer the taller creature's question, the female had already ran off towards a building sunken into the water. Dusk turned to see a large build with about thirty floors tall, with around ten of them in the ocean. It was on the outer part of the city, where most of the cold air was smacking against the many windowless floors. Dusk decided to dodge the creature's question by pointing a thumb where the female that called herself Lavaetain was headed. He immediately went after her since she looked like the only living thing within a ten-mile radius that seemed to speak. The trio came upon the edge of the city, where the water met the concrete. The distance from the shore to the building was going to be hard to swim to. Dusk looked around and tried to find something to float on, finally landing on a large slab of concrete, presumably from a section of a building. He ran over and grabbed with both hands, picking up the slab as easily as a bag of dirt. Dusk put the slab onto his shoulder and gently placed it into the ocean, barely making a splash. Somehow, it floated on the water. He then stepped onto the slab and waited for the other creatures to join him.

 

[Agent_Puncake]

"Ship overhead. Matches City-made jumpship, transmat is firing... two targets transmatted." Anta said as the ship flew overhead. "Getting visual confirmation?"

Kingpin peeked outside the window: there he was, a black-and-grey Hunter waving cheekily in their general direction. He nodded.

"Alright. Let's- one second. Second ship, transponder reads... another Guardian aircraft?"

The Titan watched as the second ship swooped down low, transmatted a Warlock, and flew off. "Ping them." He said, breaking the window and ripping apart the brittle frame with his right hand. "I'm going for a meet."

Without waiting, he eased himself out of the window and activated his jump jets, ascending onto the roof some distance away from the two Guardians, and set himself down.

"Warlock! Hunter!" He barked. "What is going on?"

=======================================================================================================================

Marcus wasn't about to stay to figure out what the ships flying overhead meant. He dahsed towards the nearest door, and from there, the stairwell.

He went down a few floors, figured any lower and he's be swimming, and opened the door to his left. Surprisingly, someone else was here. A young man about his age with a (in his opinion) cool rebreather, some girl, a bunch of dead dudes, and...

What the fuck.

There they were. Sonic, and Thor. Sonic, and Thor!

Never in his wildest dreams (well, maybe in some of them) did he imagine meeting fictional characters in person. Sure, the whitecoat nerds over by the Foundation said something about relative fictitious status, multiverse, nested narratives and such, but he never fancied himself particularly lucky, and never really counted on seeing something like this.

In short: he was pretty much star struck.

"You... you... Thor. Sonic. Wow. I..." He suddenly realized that they've never met him before; and anything more he says is only going to make them suspicious of him. So he did a classic "I said something I shouldn't have" cough, and took a deep breath.

"Um... what's going on here?"

 

[Wade Von Doom]

The spriggan moved to a window to see where Thor went. Though she leaned out at first considering to follow the rough surf and biting cold pushed her back in. She wasn't as vulnerable to the cold itself as much as if it solidified the sap in her body. A creature of pure magicka she may be to survive deep frost a fire was equal concern. When the explosion of water heralded the God's return Spriggan eyed the man in his arms. Another mer freezing?

While helping wasn't really in her mandate than punishing the guilty wasn't about to become guilty herself. The Spriggan let free a leafy rustle of discontent at what she had to do stumped over in chase. A knight of the nine? No this could not be. Either too cold or mind too small for this stress took the God's stance as the newcomers themselves stood down.

Her hollow eyes looked at the shivering mer then to the knight's flame to say raggedly, "Stupid fleshy mer freeze so easily. I will make better fire."

One clawed hand grabbed her bust and squeezed a deep green fluid emerging from it. She swiped one claw in it to grab one of the thick plates about her head. Eyes furrowed her voice pained as a dripping claw scored one deep furrow at the shard's base. Spurts of raw magicka along with her own cries of pain surmounted only by a her scream as the other hand tore the thick piece of living wood free.

The inside gleamed and pulsed even divorced from her body. Viscous green sap leaks from the both sides of the break. It took her a moment to shake off the pain eyes tightly closed then opened them to grip the broken plate. Held to the sputtering flame her oakflesh brightly flared to life. Absent the rest of her body to quell the fire's life sucked magicka out of the air to fuel itself as it burnt. Hot it burnt and well but the wind both mighty and frigid. They'd indeed need somewhere a fire could work. Her hand shook holding the shard aloft.

Her voice halted though she had no breath looked to Thor, "I burn for your Mer, god-son. Score the crown then break the plates. I will grow them back. You are strong enough. I am too cold and the land too dead to give any more of my flesh. You must find fuel."

Nomad

To say that either of them were expecting anyone to answer, especially one that might be an Exo, which could mean a fellow Guardian.

"Kingpin-22, this is Nomad. What's currently going on up is that we experienced an anonomly? No, is it anon-omoly?" He looked to his Ghost who'd only shake his shell in a very disappointed fashion.

"Anomaly. I don't know how you still can't pronounce it." Eye Dee Kay would say on the open com.

"Sorry, I don't have need to use it constantly. But anyways, saw flash of green light, went from middle of deep space looking for missing Guardians to here. I am going to go out on a limb here and guess Vex? Maybe Fallen if not them. Though the green flash would point Hive, right?" The latter part sounded like Nomad was merely musing the cause of the green flash and sudden arrival here.

"What's the situation down there?"

@Agent_Puncake

Delsin Rowe

Delsin's normal morning routine was wake up, toast some bread, check to make sure the bread and butter was still good or someone had forgotten to get new groceries. Do whatever chore was given to him, or go and help out at the cannery near the longhouse. But after recent events, his routine has changed up. As he snagged himself an apartment with his friends, Fetch and Eugene, got a part-time job and did his duty of being Smoker-Man.

That being, mostly taking selfies or stopping to assist people with stuff. Gotta keep the good vibes up, build more on the whole 'get people to respect Conduits' thing. Every so often something big would pop up, such as a drug bust or something of the same caliber.

Today was different. Sure he still made toast, made small talk with Fetch and Eugene, the latter teaching the former a trick in a video game to cheese a difficult boss, before going on his way to see if anything new was happening in Seattle. But the thing that was different was the bright flash of green light. Which made Delsin think that a Conduit or maybe government agents using a weapon had showed up to attack him.

What made him reconsider that notion was the fact that he didn't feel anything, not even pain. Whatever happened to him made him wonder if he was sleeping and experiencing one of those dreams where you don't dream about anything but darkness. Which is why when he finally awoke, he was expecting to hear his roommates going about their own morning routines. Not waking up in an alleyway aching all over. Slowly standing up, Delsin stretched to alleviate the ached feeling. Which after hearing a few 'pops' from his joints and back, the aches settled to a somewhat annoying but manageable level. After that, he looked down at his hands, watching as smoke curled around his hands. "Still got that, so far so good, Delsin...." He muttered to himself.

Pulling out his phone to see if he could call someone like Eugene, Fetch or even Betty, he saw that his phone didn't have service. "That's not good." Just where in the hell was he?

Delsin got his answer when he walked down the alleyway and out into the open. Standing before him looked like an skeleton of a city, each building barely holding onto life. "Feels like I'm in the remains of an awful disaster movie...." He mused out aloud.

Before he knew it, he ran into a knight and another dude on the top floor of a building he glided to after climbing another, which after a tense standoff ended in their joining up into a group. And after seeing another group not far off from their rooftop viewpoint, they went and met them. Delsin going through a million phrases to try and make a first impression.

"Sup?" Nailed it.

But he'd walk over to the downed and soaked man to help him out, once close enough Delsin would use some of his ability's energy to raise the man to his feet, the energy actually acting to briefly rejuvenate the man somewhat so he could walk barely and not be freezing to death, not to say he was dried off, still needed that.. Delsin was there to put his arm under the man's shoulder to help him walk.

@AIM Leader Wade @Nero Kunivas @Anyone-Else-I-Missed

A sudden instinct welled within Lavaetain as Michael explained who and what he was. Years of media blasted to the forefront of her mind along with the nigh-overpowering urge to shoot him in the head before he could bite her and turn her into an undead like him. Or, even if he wasn't that sort of undead, the fact that they were almost always on the side of evil. Some foul necromancer who summoned such monsters so that he could take over the world before being defeated by the heroes of the story. The number of media in which the undead achieved even a neutral standing was next to non-existent. She could only recall one saterical book she hadn't cared for in which the protagonist was unwittingly an NPC in a video game and the only reason she even knew that existed was because several of the nerds in school hadn't shut up about it for a good week when it came out. Yet her imperial training, the professionalism drilled into her, kept her from taking action immediately. Whatever undead this Michael was he had helped her out. They were in a strange world. He was rational, if antiqueted in speech, and seemed to be perfectly willing to ally himself with her. He likely didn't know about her barriers and how they worked so if he tried to nom on her she'd be safe. That said, she would make sure to ever so quietly not be within arms length.

Making it worse was this strange creature that Karen had assumed to be another civilian. It clearly wasn't. Lavaetain wasn't even sure it could communicate with her or what it could or could not do. Some interdimensional traveler? She admitted she found it odd that, with that one little revelation from Michael, she felt less afraid of this new being than him... But she kept in mind that so much of that was media which, if it were to be believed, meant that entire wars could be won via believing in ones self, the power of friendship, and simply being on the 'good guys' side. Not true in reality. Still. She kept calm. Unflinching. And was rewarded in the form of a distraction of a giant plume of water.

"That can't be good." she commented. "But it means something is happening and that there are likely others lost here. We should hurry to see whom they are and if they are a friend or foe." she said before taking off towards where the plume had come from.

---

A brilliant yet soft and gentle light came from Alistia as she reached into her pouch, producing a small stone which she held close to her breast as she bowed her head as if in prayer. A second later the white and red robes of a white mage were gone; replaced with long black robes with a firm trim, tight pants, a nice undershirt, and a completely different rod in place of Thyrus. She raised her hands up and close to her form as fire burst into being between them. "Black mage reclass." she explained simply enough as she hurried to Alec's side with the fire between her hands to warm him up. "If he gets worse I'll change back to a White Mage and give him some healing. If you hand me the wood from that tree girl I can set it alight and then switch back to give him proper healing."

Alec was bunched into a ball as Callintus and the others crowded, trying to put his hands under his armpits to try and warm them. The wind didn't help a thing, Alec's armor started to have ice form along his legs and back, and with time, the rest of his armor would become a metal block of ice. Callintus' fire wasn't warm enough, and Alec needed out his armor immediately. That's when the Spriggan chimed in. She would make a better fire for 'the mer.' Then, slowly, she ripped off a piece of her body to use as fire wood. Her screams made Callintus wince away, while Alec shouted back with, "AHHHHHHHH, WHA' 'HE FUCK?!" As he now held his hands over his ears. His voice was hoarse, and his words subtly slurred from how hard they were to move. He kept moaning as she stopped, if only from the tingling pain in his legs, like they had fallen asleep. He felt in agony, and just wanted a blanket to sleep under. Be someplace warm. Away from the chill this place was forcing him to feel.

He didn't expect to suddenly be zapped in the back with a shocking feeling, as his body bounced slightly off the ground from Delsin's little pickup zap from his powers. His voice went from, "Aaaaaaaaa-AHHHHH!!" To that when the zap happened. He lifted his upper body up, looking like someone had slapped him in the face as he was about to fall asleep; disoriented, but at least awake. With the wood Spriggan gave Callintus, He held the part that was not yet burning close to Alec's chest, as Artis and Delsin picked him up on his feet. The flame burned brightly, melting away the forming ice. "Thank you." The old knight told the Spriggan. She was certainly a more intelligent creature than the usual Spriggans, being able to speak in full sentences without with struggle of volcabulary, and willing to even sacrifice for the aid of another. What created her exactly? Some sort of mage? Or was she a new form of Daedra? She didn't look like one though, her scariness was nowhere near Dremora levels of ugly. Alistia's help wouldn't go unnoticed either, as Calli pulled back the burning oak to let the girl warm Alec's body under the armor, right where his heart would be.

Alec looked confused as he saw her change attire, and still have cat ears. "Uh.... That'd be nice." Alec replied to Alistia's offer, since if it warmed him up, he'd go for it. Callintus answered back differently though. "Let's find a place of solitude before you do that. One without the wind in our faces." The wood burned, even as the wind intensified, but it wouldn't stay alight forever. They needed something to shelter in. And Alistia's offer was better with others just as cold or freezing. The hedgehog was soaked after all. And they had new friends joining them. Marcus' sudden appearance made Callintus grab for his sword, but the young man looked harmless. He quickly let go out the hilt, as Marcus looked on in confusion of the scene. "Ha! Question of the day, my friend!" He answered with a laugh. "Come, I'll explain on the way down. We're on the hunt for shelter."

Looking down the center of the stairway, they could see the subtle movement of water splashing around from the light of the flame. The stairs were pitch black hard to see though, so Callintus took the lead in finding his way down safety for Alec and the others holding him. One the way down, Callintus explained his theory that they weren't in the same world they were before. They were in a land of confusion, and he believed they were from different worlds themselves. Ones of distance futures, and fantastical pasts, as he put it. How and why, he had no clue. When they made their way down to the same floor as Abby, Ranma, Luer, Alken, Gaeira and Hedorak, Callintus' usual, cheery smile popped out. "Aha! The number of strangers grows yet aga--......." He stopped when he noticed Hedorak, and looked right at her, boggled. Was that a Draugr? Her skin was a bit more brown colored than the usual Draugr he had come across in his travels. ".... Hello there!" He said, wondering if she was just as intelligent as the Spriggan. As he said that, Alec fell to his knees, slipping out of Artis and Delsin's grips. His breath was complete fog by this point, and he was on the verge of passing out again.

Callintus crouched down to pick him back up again. "Hel-lo, lady~" Alec said to Abby, looking so out of it, he yet again collapsed. This time onto her.

 

[littlekreen]

Spriggan, near Callintus

Whine like a creaky limb came with wincing before she replied to Callintus, "I must not be unjust but we did all we can. If there are bodies they must be interred. Befouled flesh must be destroyed so the soul is not corrupted. I am ever-grown even if impure always return when on soil with the dawn of the sun. You others cannot. I must help them go home through my bone carin.""

The sap on ragged wood soon barked slowly to cover a broken spar as she rubbed at it flexing the base slightly. She didn't help lift the man Alec much less react to his cries other than to stare at him blankly. The faint sun's glow erupting from the few holes in her body, torso, and eyes aimed at him. Alec, his name was said, hung on to his inner fire tenaciously though she agreed with her inner gallery that they needed shelter fast. If they made fire she would be warm and stronger. After some conversation, that she couldn't clearly hear, they suggested she could move some of these walls though others worried the ruins would not stand. There were more pressing issues of the fallen.

The spriggan turned and looked through the hole above toward a few flights of stairs. The ship had clunked up and above likely the roof. Stood near an edge the Spriggan crouched and leapt upward. A shower of dust and ice flecks breaking off quick-flexing thighs to grasp a floor support pivoting herself upward. Landing feet-first on a floor that sags ominously. Still cold was quick enough and the exertion helped warm her a bit. She double-timed up the stairs to find the bodies upstairs in a frigid open-air. No rightful burial for warriors that died with honor.

Knelt down in front of the human she brushed the frozen hair away from his forehead the fire gone from his body. Warmth being stolen by arctic air. Then she looked at the Salarian and found the same. They could not be saved but they could be protected. Lost souls dislodged from their eternal rest by an orrery gone missing or perhaps them from their own. Hauling the part-sodden man on to her lap his arms collapsed limply upon the floor. One single sharp claw raised began to etch the Rah symbol through flesh biting bone. The ripple of energies that defined her empty midsection began to flare as she worked with care. A gate of sun-glowing shards coursed between green wood to fold through air showing green threads in absent reflection.

***IMAGE***

Her voice changed to one a scant whisper without breath to force a will but this was not an imposition but something to be heard. Words of power nonetheless on strong wings as a crawl of thorned vines and humming nirnroot folds out from reflection soon defining the circular bounds of a portal in her midsection. The words anchoring a soul by way of her carin to their eternity. Instead of being forced to wander unjustly alone unable to travel to Aetherius.

Those that spoke Thu'um could understand and even those that merely knew its like certainly heard the too-loud whispers in spite of the distance from her if paying attention. The call one well enough to reach wherever the souls now lie. It rang past through the stone and beyond.
Rahsesikii dwiirok
nau quethiil.
beli ziil staadnau.
slensebeiniil al,
Vod revak qeth
ahst praansegoltiil.

The sodden flesh slowly dried as she traced the mark their water alone draining onto the carpet as flesh shrunk then dessicated. Soon flesh pales as if white ash flaking away to vanish in the air entirely. Only the bones remaining held together by gleaming dust of floating shards.

As the last of the flesh fell away Spriggan stopped her chanting to gently haul the rib-cage through her portal. Blue ghosts with bones of their own, ones interred willfully with her, solemnly carried the man to a stone dias within. The body vanishing within a deeper dark to the living. They removed the physical belongings the man no longer needed as the carin would provide their memory. Now quite dry set to one side near the carin portal wreathed in nirnroot, thorned flowers, and edda of the fallen.

While providing same for the salarian, body purged of impure flesh hauled to her lap, she etched a small message in the arm. 'Stay with your companion. carin can never lead to your heaven. Do not believe daedra.'

As they slowly dragged Alec downstairs the Spriggan reappeared looking on. Shook her head hard as the bones carried down stone stairs set into the starry sea. Floating away from the shores of the living to a place set against columns of bone where the dead may wake to make their way home. Petals from draping vines on her head scatter from exhaustion before standing up to investigate the newcomers nearby. Just once absently stumped her foot to break off icicles and frost formed on her leg. Another female of Man, someone that voices argued had dremora blood, and another Man just as confused as her that knew the aedroth. Then her eyes laid on Hedorak to squint with a stern face as she just stared.

After a moment the Spriggan spoke through to her inner gallery an outline upon the doorway, "No. Not a dragur. She has an inner fire. Undead do not have that! I can tell! Yes, those are infected not undead. I don't know."