The Evrensel Conflict -- Prologue: Chapter 2A -- Brave New World

Shirou gazed out at the eerie underground city before them, dimly illuminated by the light shining through the cracks in the surface. Ordinarily, he would be marvelling at the engineering that had gone into constructing a stone city that blended into the pillars of the earth itself. But something felt...wrong about this place, and he couldn't quite place it. Callintus seemed to voice a similar opinion.

Nevertheless, the 11th Doctor strode forth and began scanning the terrain, intrepid spirit that he was. Nothing hostile seemed to jump out at him, so maybe it was safe after all.

That was up until Reegan's legs suddenly began to rot as soon as they touched the stone outside the TARDIS. She made a flying leap back through the doorway to the safety of the TARDIS, crying out in pain and fear as the rot continued to spread.

"Fucking Hells!" Samuel blurted in horror. Shirou approached her quickly, trying to think if there was anything he could do to help her. It was then that another voiced echoed from Reegan, one he hadn't heard before.

"Infection. Exiting field diminishes necrosis rate. Necrosis still self-perpetuating. Network infested with something. Difficult to see from here. Very Not good."

Before Shirou could act, Reegan pulled out Dusk's sword and began hacking off her own legs, wailing in pure anguish as she amputated herself to stop the infection from spreading. It seemed to work, as the rot did not reach past her wounds, but Reegan was left greatly weakened and in deep pain, bleeding tree sap from her horrific self-amputation. She used the last of her strength to hurl the diseased, severed limbs out of the TARDIS with Dusk's sword before collapsing.

Shirou could only think of one thing that he could to help Reegan at this point, but he simply didn't have the means to pull it off. He desperately wished that Saber was here. As far as he knew, her power was the only thing that could fuel the healing properties of the holy scabbard still implanted within his body. A summoning ritual would almost certainly fail, as he had neither the proper skill in ritual craft to execute it AND there was no Grail system present to power it. He grit his teeth in pure frustration at his inability to do anything to help.

"Let me see her," Samuel stated firmly, kneeling before Reegan and quickly opening his backpack, retrieving what looked like an advanced medical kit. "I have no idea what sort of biology we're working with, but at the very least we need to stop this bleeding. Help me apply pressure on her other leg," he stated as he pulled out a large roll of thick, white, stretchy medical gauze, quickly working to apply pressure to her wounds and wrapping them up.

Shirou cursed and quickly knelt down, pressing his hands down across the end of the other leg. "Alistia, please tell me you can help her. I have no healing magic," Shirou told the White Mage, looking at her desperately.
 
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Ayana stepped out of the TARDIS and flinched, putting a hand up to her snout as she looks around, "Fucking stinks out here," she grumbled, "Though guessing by how the tree lady's reacting and everyone else is reacting- or not reacting. It might just be me. Great."

She kicks up a few pebbles and some dust, "So why are we here rather than, you know- someplace with beaches, a view, at least a few people? Given how this place looks... and feels... I don't think I'd be surprised if we're the only ones alive here. More properly alive that is."
 
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Alistia had kept quiet all this time as she listened to Lavaetain and the doctors and everything. Mentally she was cursing because, well... She KNEW about all of this perfectly well. Within Eorzea not only had the land been split apart into multiple, separate, worlds spread across dimensions which had then been reformed, she had traveled between said dimensions AND she had been in the process of dealing exactly with the problem of how to transport beings between dimensions reliably... except that that was being handled more by smarter people than her whom were more versed in that particular field of magic. Maybe a few months to a year down the road if one of them got pulled in to this merry group of ragtag adventurers they could get returned home so fast they wouldn't even get the time for proper goodbyes. Still...

"Actually, I might know some people who could help. In my own world we were dealing with multi-dimensional travel and beings before I got called here, but the solution to the problem was being solved by others, smarter than I, and I doubt we will just run into them again on a whim. Even if we did we'd need things like a literal spire of magical crystal to make it even possible. However, it is most certainly possible to travel across dimensions. I've done so myself."

But with that she kept quiet until the tree woman went bonkers. Alistia nodded. "Yes." she said with a confident smile. Thyrus came up as she focused, reaching out to Reegan with magic, seeking to merge her own will with that of nature and Reegan to soothe and cure the woman. Soothing light glowed from her staff, easing, relaxing, healing, nurturing.

"Random chance most likely." said Lavaetain. "Not everything has some divine purpose after all. It may simply be that random chance brought us here. As for the smell..." she raised her hand up causing a small fire to start in front of her. "This should burn away the bad odors. Like a scented candle minus the scent."
 
The 11th Doctor


@littlekreen
The horrific events that overtook the poor Spriggan instantly caught the Timelord's attention. He'd been too preoccupied with the unusual properties of the stone to pay much attention to Reegan's initial complaint but her yelp caused him to turn just in time to see rot consuming her feet. As she dove into the TARDIS, he came in after her, drawing his sonic screwdriver as if it were a magician's wand capable of working miracles.

Sadly, running the sonic through four twelves of settings did nothing to stop the process. Her choice to amputate her own legs was drastic, but so was the situation. As Reegan lay, heaving and undone by the torturous events, the Doctor's face settled into his gravest, craggiest expression.

@Wade Von Doom
"Amy, Rory, I need you!" he called out. While he waited for their arrival, the Timelord ran his screwdriver over the vanishing remnants of the supernally accelerated decay of Reegan's feet.

Once they (hopefully) arrived, he spoke to his Companions without taking his eyes off of Reegan for a moment. "I need you both to go to the medical bay. Amy, fetch some bandages, the big pressure ones and bring them right back. Then I'll need you to fetch the sun lamps from the pool. Rory, when you're in the medical bay, go in the side room, the one I said not to bother with? You'll find cabinets on the far wall. Open the third one from the left, second shelf from the top, you'll find a clear cylinder labeled 'Vionesium'. Take a single pellet from it and put it into the Class C hypospray, use tweezers when you pick up the pellet and do not break the plastic seal around it. Fetch an oxygen canister on your way back while you're at it."

@littlekreen
"Reegan, my dear, you're going to be fine." At last the serious expression lapsed for a moment and he smiled while reaching out a hand, wrapping his fingers around a branch appendage of her own hand. "We'll have you tip top in no time at all. No. Time. At all. You just rest there."

@The Wanderer
Nomad's questions were good ones, and the Doctor acknowledged them with the barest of nods before glancing over his shoulder back out of the TARDIS doors to where the armored human stood. "I'll sort it. Go on, find my other me out there. We've an anomaly to make unanomalous. Un-an-o-mal-ous," he enunciated slowly before looking puzzled. "Is that a word? Is there a better word? Never mind. See if you can round everyone else up to look around and be careful! This place is already behaving in ways that defy every law of physics I know, including a few I haven't managed to break just yet so don't underestimate it!"

@BobTheNinja
When Samuel bent down and began applying his own medical gauze, the Doctor promptly took a roll and began wrapping Reegan's other leg. His hands moved with the steady, practiced cadence of a man who'd plainly wrapped enough wounds that it came reflexively by now.

"Good man," the Doctor commented quietly to Samuel as they worked in unison. "She's lucky to have you here."

@Snowtwo
When the young woman approached Reegan and began to perform outright magic, or whatever that was, the Doctor sat back on his heels and stared incredulously. "Riiiight, that's-" and he promptly whipped out his sonic screwdriver once more and frantically scanned whatever it was she was doing. "If you can actually mend all that, let me know and I'll send Amy and Rory back. If not, more help is on its way."
 
The sonic screwdriver warbled and heaved but the wood refused to resonate with it. Aggravated by an intrusion it refused those well-meaning ministrations by the Doctor. Though it would read some of the raw time vortex the death servant puked on his tardis floor for a long as it lasted. Conduit dragged through the vortex accreted it along distant lengths to the soul carin as an impossibly long lightning rod. There revealed much of the charge left in her body to the Doctor's scanner though she'd lost much of what was left in the blood now pooled beneath her.

@Epiphany.

Sap leached from the ragged cuts though the death servant's chest as unbreathing as ever the vine, bone, and fractured ironwood exposed but glowing showed she still lived. Gauze wrapped with some difficulty around splintered cuts made in haste but her sap a far less fluid thing than the blood they were made for. Loose cloth took on a neon hue as her glowing substance spread across his hands in sticky strands across everything. Though some a darker green of faint leaves emerging just barely above the sticky sop beneath gauze. The gauze itself suffering aggressive pushes across their living cycle of material it once was. Her wood did not compress well beyond the surface being made of sterner stuff and larger volumes but the seal helped abate more loss of sap.

@BobTheNinja

While the face didn't move as the doctor the misty yellow eyes remained. A weak smile formed as he reassured her it was going to be fine. Though the grain about her mouth strained with the barest creak of resistance, her voice lay mute. Instead, her careful if creaking strength returns the grasp of the doctor's hand then grips the sword in the other.

Her inner voice a whisper among the dark of Dusk's mind only an effort of upward arched eyes at him, [Now we are both voiceless to the world, Nahlotkunoth, but not unheard. Only for a little while? I will recover and someday you will find your voice to tell me the name life would call you.]

@Wiggin

As the life mage started to channel into her Reegan felt the endless well open. A tether of infinite hunger her connection to the dreamsleeve and thereby the drain of all life. Even as her conduit lit up by the power it pushed through her Reegan could feel the mage's soul leaning closer. Reegan's body lit brighter and more solidly as the sap returned to her even as the gravity of the end of all life pulled ever closer at the mage. As a reaper of her particular make even as the energy channeled into her it poured faster and faster. The feeling of leaning far too close to a cliff edge where the instinct says urgently to turn back.

Even to Dusk's mind loomed at the edge of the dreamsleeve for an impression of endless rolling green. A dank hole where the grass underneath the mage slowly gave way as the bottomless hole grew. The draw of the end of the cycle pulling at instead of taking. The small verdant island of flowers that was Reegan turned from brown to gleaming petals as she mustered her strength to eject the mage from a reaper's natural draw.

Reegan's eyes returned to a stronger glow as a tight stressed grain of her face croaks a harsh voice through pressed lips, "Not your time. You are needed. GO BACK."

@Snowtwo

The black angular marks in wet ash form in strips on Lavaetain's face. A flat palm then on one cheek. Within that black pit, the skeletal hand of a wraith's elongated bones emerge as black as the end it came beyond. The bony fingers roughly push Alista's spirit free from her attempt to heal a reaper leaving the bony palm behind. The verdant flowers among a partly barren field of warm sun ended for both Reegan and possibly Dusk as the Spriggan regained her individuality.

@Wiggin

In the furthest points of the sticky pools as the magic eventually abates worms emerge from the sap in twitching then still piles. Others ejected from her stumps through the bandages but none twitched. Dead and shriveled fungi spread among the pools of sap like errant flotsam. The risky heal purged taint from her body but the stumps remained sodden bandages with miniature crowds of bonsai cotton plants spread everywhere among it. One could not rebuild a reaper by healing alone but it did give Reegan back her inner strength. Through the vortex in her body strained at the vines within her frame. Size lost in the body now was the height of 8 years old human if the proportion of an adult. Though the focused attention of mature eyes still looks back. Reegan herself hadn't yet noticed.

She looked at Haasethur losing no time though the strain wrinkled her face her voice still rough but a higher pitch, "The cycle outside has been tainted, Haasethur. Beware, the fabric of life and death is infested."

@Epiphany.

A pivot to her head added with a stretch of her neck toward Callintus, "I must not touch that earth but neither must they. If they die here, Haasethur, reapers cannot come to guide them to the nine divines."

@Wade Von Doom

She eyed the others, especially nomad, "Or wherever it is they go. The light of Magnus is weak here but it is entirely tainted out there."

@The Wanderer
 
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"WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED!?" Alec shouted out, because this was... quite the scene. Reegan chopped off her legs, nearly bled to death, Alistia and Lava tried healing her, and somehow, she had reversed age. You got me, folks. "How.... did you two do that?" Amy asked, as she was crouched down next to Rory, who was helping the Doctor in stopping the bleeding. "Uuuuuuuuuhhhhhhh.... I-I'll just back away now." Rory quickly added, because this was way out of his depths, Alistia and Lava seemed to have the situation under control.

"Did you two just deage her?!" Alec shouted at the two mages.

"I don't think they meant to!" Amy shouted back, since Alec was starting to sound like he was panicking again.

"I-Is she gonna be alright?!"

"Well, the bleeding stopped, and the wounds seem fully cauterized. 'Sides the dead worms, no signs of infection... She'll be fine."
It was the best Rory could add to the situation.

"Yeah, this is fine, looking eight again is perfectly fine."

"Hey!" Amy interrupted. "Snippiness isn't helping!"

Alec was about to argue back, but he was realizing he was getting annoying now, so he quickly stopped himself and waved his hands aside with a small breath. "You're right, I apologize. Now, can we please get the hell out of here?"

"Guys!" John, who had been quiet all this time, shouted from behind them all. He was staring at Reegan's legs, which had become rotten and mangled in the short time she had chopped them off. But, they were composting. Rather, the corrupted roots that had begun to change them, started to grew. He kept his pistol in hand, ready to fire at them, though what good that would do seemed small. Like branches cracking, the roots shifted into bodies as tall as Reegan was, yet they weren't simply Spriggans. They were... Something else.

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Alec and Callintus quickly pulled out their weapons, ready to attack the creatures, yet once they had fully grown; towering over the group, they did nothing. They simply stared at them. For a few silent moments, no one said anything, until Amy finally spoke up. "Doctor, what are they doing?" It wasn't as though they were analyzing them, it was like they... something was talking to them. They were looking at them so whoever was speaking to them could see through their eyes. Both creatures then looked to the two Doctor's. They studied them longer than the rest of the group, locked eye to eye. They were curious in the Timelords.

Slowly, they started to move forwards to the stairs. One got in front of the group to lead, the other waited behind them. They wanted to bring them towards the city. "Should we follow?" Alec asked.

"I don't believe we have a choice." Callintus answered, picking up the small Reegan and putting her on his shoulders. The creatures were blocking the TARDIS', and they weren't moving until they did.

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As they entered the city, the place felt uneasy. The buildings had uneven architecture, like they had simply continued building as the earth shifted by continental drift. But not up. The additions seemed to go down, like whoever lived here cleared the ground below to continue building. They twisted and leaned. Corridors and allies were uneven, as the pavement was cracked and pushed upwards, and the space between each structure was bizarre. Sometimes there was space enough for the whole group, another times, only one person could go at a time, with one building curving at a different angle degree that narrowed the ally even more. It was all a looming prescience of perturbation. There were many stairs as they ventured further, but Alec whispered something to the others as they continued downwards. "Anyone else think... I dunno. These stairs were designed to go down?" It was an odd comment, but it rang true. These were so many stairs, but none seemed like they were supposed to go up. Only help people go down only.

None of the buildings had doors, you could easily see inside them, but there were no one there. Just a strange darkness, even with the green flames that burned to help illuminate the streets. Something was inside though. You could see something slither. After several minutes of walking, they reached one of the larger in width buildings in the center of this strange place. The inside looked the most recently built thing, as nothing was cracked or slowly crumbling from age.

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"Y' mgep seen n'ghft nilgh'rishuggogg yawning

ahagl n'ghftog planets roll naIIII aim—

ahagl f' roll ph'nglui f' lloigshogg unheeded,

naIIII kadishtuor ngnah lustre ngnah yaah"


Something spoke from behind the pillars near the emptied throne. "I have seen the dark universe yawning, where the black planets roll without aim—
Where they roll in their horror unheeded, without knowledge or lustre or name."
Slowly, something slithered out into the open. It had the body of a slug, the tail of a snake, four arms the size of twigs, and a face that was... unnerving to look at.

image-asset.jpeg


"But in that horror lies answers beyond organic comprehension. The truth made ruin by our absence from glorious insight. And soon, we shall refind it." It slithered up to the the group, facing both Doctor's. "Welcome, Doctor's."
 
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Dusk
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Things looked to have gotten even stranger, considering how reegan had cut her legs off. The doctor, spastic as all his other counterparts, quickly set to work to help stopp the bleeding. His assistants tried to help, but only looked on at the strange scene. A few seconds later Alista and Lavaentain had entered the tardis the two mages went about healing, Alista with her geomantic abilities and Lavaentain supporting her. Dusk kneeled there next to reegan, concerned for his friend and possibly if he had anything to do with it. He did try to stab the sentient tree after all.

Moments passed as bright light emanate from Alista and slowly passed over Reegan. Dusk looked down at his sword, completely made of bone. He had never actually seen it. Carved into the sword was what seemed to be veins, along with crude pictures of animals Dusk had seen. The carvings didn’t really matter though, since they were almost worn away anyway. He heard Reegan’s voice again in his head, relaying how they were both silent to the world, and it was to them.

Suddenly, Dusk heard a large crash, similar to a tree falling in a forest. He looked up, confused at what had just happened. What lay before him was a completely different land. Everyone who had been in the Tardis’s main room was standing in generally the same area as before, but the scenery around them had warped dramatically. Instead of a cold and dimly lit room, Dusk saw a large field of grey grass. It reach onwards until it hit the horizon. The sky was pitch black, and there were no stars to be seen. It was almost like someone had turned the lights off in a room, and only emptiness remained. Dusk looked back down to see Bodies strewn about the grassland, each partially buried and enveloped by black vines covered in thorns. Upon closer inspection, they each had skulls without mouths, and horns that stretched and twisted. Dusk was immediately confused. These looked like bodies of him but…. They were each unique. Dusk searched, trying to see if he could find anything he recognized among the bodies, but only found something even more strange. There was a person standing out in the field. He hadn’t been with the group, so who was it? The figure turned, and all dusk could make out was his eyes, the rest of the figure’s body was covered in a black cloak. Those eyes burrowed deep into Dusk. Even with the distance he was from the figure, he could make out every single detail of their eyes. Their veins, movement, everything Dusk could make out with perfect detail. The pupils were white, along with irises, but the sclerae around them was the same inky blackness as the sky. Dusk immediately recognized the eyes, but from where? Dusk had never met a human with black sclerae in their eyes, so who was it? He looked down at the bodies and then back at the figure. A new feeling overtook Dusk, intense and primal fear. One thought came to mind as soon as he looked at them.

Those were his eyes.

Dusk didn’t even have eyes, and yet, those were his. Quickly, Dusk stood up, but immediately fell backwards. His legs had stopped working. A shout then rang out, it was from Reegan to Alista. With that, the vision of the monotone land was gone. Dusk was in the same sitting position as he had been before, but he was shaking.

After Dusk recovered from his vision, he learned that Reegan had actually shrank. The sentient tree that Dusk had known, was now a bush. With the size came the issue of Dusk’s sword. It was much too large for her tiny frame to hold, and it would probably put some strain on Reegan’s mind. It was probably best for Dusk to carry it. The large creature, still shaking from the vision, picked up the massive blade. It felt natural to put it on his back, even though he had no sheath. Upon touching it to his skin, it was then consumed by the oily matter that he was made of. It had returned to his body, and he couldn’t let it back out. Two other creatures had joined the group too. These creatures looked to similar in body structure as dusk, but with an added mixture of nature to them. Vines made up their bodies and a green glow emanated from the insides of their heads.

The group followed them along the broken city’s walkways. Every step caused a few pebbles to fall off and drop toward the infinite abyss below. Dusk followed almost immediately behind the two large vine creatures, intrigued by their similarities to him. Alec was right in the fact that the stairs they walked up on were designed to go downwards. The steps had large distances between them, making it harder for people to stretch their legs onto the next step. Eventually, the group stepped into a large throne room, the throne itself was suspended upon several walkways that hung over the abyss, and it was surrounded by small crystals that lit up the area. Above the throne the ceiling held a stalactite. A voice rang out from all around the group in an alien language. It was then followed by a large fish-like creature slithering up to the group, and addressing the doctors.

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Trigger
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While everyone was stressing over Reegan’s missing legs, Trigger went about surveying the area. Every once in a while he would teleport to a walkway that was in sight and look around, but came up with nothing. From what the found, the area just kept leading onwards into more and more walkways. The architecture wasn’t all that impressive to Trigger, since it was mostly just only carvings and stone. After a few minutes, two Creatures made of vines emerged from inside the Tardis. Instantly, Trigger unholstered his pistol and aimed it at one of them. “What the fuck are these things?!” he questioned. Trigger was then answered by Callintus following after them. Trigger still didn’t trust them, so he kept his gun trained on the creatures. The two lead the group through several corridors and on top of walkways. A few times Trigger had to wait in the back for the rest of the group to fit on the walkway, other times he almost fell off due to how decayed the walkways were. Finally they were met with a large throne room. Trigger noticed was more interested by the crystals surrounding the throne. Were they a power source? Devices meant to pacify the group? Trigger didn’t care, he kept his pistol ready to shoot at anything.

And that thing did come. In front of the group slithered a strange creature, almost like a slug. It left a strange trail of slime and spoke in an almost priestly manner. Trigger decided that the creature was a good target to aim his gun at. “If this slug fucking pulls out a sacrificial dagger or something I’m gonna shoot it” he said, almost in a sigh. He was just done with all of the strangeness he had seen that day and just wanted some sleep.
 
Ayana

Ayana's first reaction to the strange plant Monster things was to dig into her Bag of Holding and pull out the fireball staff she had stored in there. She held it at the ready in case they decided to attack. Much like some others, her first thoughts about these things was also 'what the fuck!?'.

Once the group started to follow well, she didn't want to- but more of had to because she didn't think that she'd be able to manage any more Monsters lurking around by herself. With the group, she probably would have better chances of survival and also a chance of getting answers.

With a growl, she followed along but also pulled out her cursed sword just in case.

With staff and sword in hand, down... down... she went. Though as she went, the sicker and wronger she started to feel. At one point she had to lean over the railing and throw up the contents of her stomach- part of a ration she had found the time to eat while everyone was figured out where they were going and part of the group had split off.

She wiped the bile off of her snout and kept going...

Trigger decided that the creature was a good target to aim his gun at. “If this slug fucking pulls out a sacrificial dagger or something I’m gonna shoot it” he said, almost in a sigh.

"Have to say I'm right with you on that one," Ayana growled as she inclined the fireball staff towards the slug.
 
The 13th Doctor - Character Sheet


There had been a few times before now that The Doctor had shared the TARDIS console with other incarnations. For all the things which set incarnations apart, the operation of the TARDIS was no different than their relationship with the TARDIS. With two Doctors at work, the operation went twice as fast as they need not consult with each other.

On their landing Thirteen presses one button of the many unlabeled on the console.

"Tsunade, we have arrived! Hope your practice session was fruitful." She informs the warrior woman over the intercom. The Thirteenth Doctor joins the others disembarking from the TARDIS right behind The Eleventh, and is likewise perplexed yet excited as his sonic acts up when tasked with analyzing the hodgepodge of architecture the group finds themselves surrounded by. Since his sonic acts up, Thirteen deems it redundant to try hers.

She does have the same look of wonder Eleventh bears on her different visage as she looks around.

"Perhaps, this is an alternate world where Atlantis actually-" Thirteen stops to scream when Reegan starts a chain of events with her bad reaction to this environment. She is quite beside herself as it all happens. Her other incarnation does a fine job taking charge of the situation, only for Alistia to take over the healing. Then her healing has very unexpected effects.

“Seems whatever force you lot are using, like the sonic and the TARDIS, it does not work as well in this place.” Thirteen voices her observation and hypothesis.

“I recommend going very small for now.” She suggests while looking at what had once been Reegan’s legs as they turn into things that are similar to her, which is interesting in and of itself, but appear to be very different. She watches them grow and grow until they tower over all without batting an eye or giving any indication she is afraid of the two new beings only looks at them with hands on her hips and an inquisitive look on her face.

“They’re not threatening us.” Thirteen answers Amy, as she does not specify which of the two Doctors she was addressing.

“Have some experience with plant-based lifeforms. More humanoid types, but same basic principle. I think.” Thirteen says then qualifies her deduction. One locks eyes with her, and as a test breathes a bit onto them both when they come to her.

“Gift of air from my lungs.” She says to them and looks for any kind of reaction. There is none and the pair guide them silently from their landing site.

“Keep calm everyone. No need to get violent, or curse Mr. Pottymouth.” Thirteen says to everyone but the last part is directed at Alec in particular.

“Whoever has been building all this, they were scared.” Thirteen observes as the group is led through the city.

“Not much mind to decorum or longevity. Like a child stacking boxes.They were running from something.” She adds with a wary air.

“Stairs go down and up no matter the intent or design. They’re just made rather shoddily.” Thirteen answers Alec.

They enter the throne room and are greeted first by a strange language the TARDIS could not translate for them. Then a horrific-looking being slithers out from behind the throne to talk to all of them, but like their tree escorts were more interested in the Doctors. It even knew them by name.

“Hello there.” Thirteen leans in slightly to get a better look at this being by the green light when most assembled were likely reeling back at the sight of it. “Seen many species in these long years, yet you….I cannot say I have seen another of you before. How exciting!” Thirteen smiles and leans back.

“Now, obviously you have heard of me,” She points between herself and Eleven. “, are you from some far dark corner of our home universe? Or…..I’m willing to bet it’s not that simple. Why should anything be that simple here, after all.”



All the talk of how this seemingly impossible vehicle operates was lost on Tsunade. While Tsunade was an intelligent woman, that intelligence did not lie in mechanics. Much less whatever The TARDIS was. The former Hokage occupied herself with a room of the TARDIS that on her request of the female Doctor, was made into a small training area.

Her skill with a sword was modest at best, but the lightsaber according to the Republic Commando was a very effective weapon worth practicing. Using a standard clone jutsu Tsunade brushed up on her swordplay while the others did their own thing elsewhere.

The voice of the female Doctor came into her training room just as Tsunade had finished the last of her clones with a downward slash and it puffed out. The green blade of the lightsaber hums, and Tsunade makes a twirling motion before clicking it off and stowing it in a large pocket on her right leg. Tsunade takes her time joining the others. Training had allowed her to refocus her mind, and now she has more clarity to assess the situation than before. The lack of a central leadership was, as others had pointed out, a problem only when one is fixated on the concept of a hierarchy instead of what was actually happening and what would work. There were too many dominant personalities at play for any one to stand as a leader. Like the Five Kage in the last war, there needed to be more of a coalition at work than the traditional squad with one captain in charge.

Tsunade steps out of the Thirteenth Doctor’s TARDIS just after the incident with Reegan occurs and she is concerned and confused to see what looks like a young Reegan being picked up and two tree beings form. Her right hand hangs ready to take up her lightsaber again, but she waits for provocation. Their surroundings were the strangest she has seen in her life. Ominous even. But they were no clear indication they were in danger. Tsunade situates herself behind the two Doctors. They 1were the non-violent types who, next to Amy and Rory, offered little in the way of offense or defense for themselves. They needed her nearby most of all. She maintains this relative position as the tree beings guide them through this strange city to an even more foreboding place with a more horrifying creature greeting them in a strange language.

All the while, Tsunade does not say a word or move her hand away from her lightsaber.
 
Jacket

After Reegan turned into a child, and was now piggyback riding Dusk, Jacket hung back with John, offering the man one of his last cigarettes when John called out what was happening to Reegan's legs as they slowly grew into really bigger versions of the now opposite in size Reegan. Jacket being some of those who were ready to throw down with either bullets or whatever they had on them.

And he remained one of many to keep his hand on his gun with a finger just over the trigger guard, ready to let loose hot lead. Staying close to John as he trusted the man with his life after their shared assignments with the Payday Gang, and the key fact that John was probably among the most dangerous of their number.

The path they took made the cold feeling in his skull get worse and worse until it felt like he had dunked his head in ice cold water when they arrived at the center where a strange worm man slithered from what was assumed to be a throne of sorts, the thing taking an interest in the ones that called themselves Doctors.

The vibes he was getting from this place was making him antsy, the cold feeling escalating into fine frozen needles that poked into his brain. Making him think that perhaps he was hearing things.

Yet he remained near the group, his finger remaining on the trigger guard, just waiting for the word to open fire.
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Nomad

After the ordeal with Reegan was corrected and the group's 'bouncers' began escorting them, Nomad took position near the Doctors as neither were really armed. Sure they had fancy moves and those screwdrivers but against beasts like these.

As they moved along the path laid out by their 'guides' Nomad could feel his Ghost grow ever more uncomfortable. A feeling he too shared as it felt way too much like an old foe of theirs. To be specific, the Hive. The architecture awfully familiar yet so unlike typical Hive makings. Lack of 'praying' abominations and growls echoing down dark chambers.

His kept his hand on Last Word, checking every corner where there might've been movement. But made sure to stick close to the group and those who had no real good solid means of defending themselves. Nomad could feel something in the air, but neither he or his Ghost could place a figurative finger on it. It was like something was there and yet not, whoever built this place kept trying to go up as if running. The idea forming a cold pit in his stomach and had he not been a Guardian used to all forms of horrors, he might've gotten sick.

He watched as they arrived at what could be called a throne room and they were greeted by....Something.

It looked like the Hive minus a hard carapace. To say that he wanted to start shooting was an understatement, he wanted to shoot and get the hell out of here. Whispering to one of the Doctors.

"Any idea on what exactly is that? Cause I'm getting some real vibes that are practically asking for a bullet."

@Wade Von Doom @Not_Amy @Wiggin @littlekreen @ChrisClark13 @Epiphany. @Snowtwo @BobTheNinja
 
The 11th Doctor


@Wade Von Doom
Don’t have a choice,” the 11th Doctor said, giving a short bark of a laugh at Callantius’ pronouncement. “There’s always a choice. We could shut the doors on the whole lot and have tea. I love a good tea, don’t you? Only...only…”

He wrangled his hands together, as if trying to warm them when it was really to keep them flapping about in excitement. “Only how are we to know what’s down here if we don’t go? Look at them, silent and droll, we’ll not get answers unless we let them take us where they obviously want to.”

Come along, Ponds,” he called out to Amy and Rory, while eyeing Reegan mounting Dusk like...well, a mount. “Brillant,” the Doctor added, beaming at the spectacle of a child-sized Spriggan.

@Wiggin
Trigger’s rather trigger-happy response to the giant trees drew a resigned sigh from the Timelord. “Now, now, if you point that at them, you might shoot them by accident or, worse, by purpose. And then they might get cross. They’re much bigger than we are, you know.”

When the young man didn’t look like he was planning on shooting or listening, the Doctor made a resigned face and trotted along.

@Wade Von Doom @Not_Amy
The sight of the creature that greeted them with ominous portents did little to improve the Doctor’s mood. He managed a brief smile at his older incarnation before stepping up himself, gangly hands straightening his bowtie once more.

Rolling planets, did you say? Interesting thing about rolling, beyond it being a verb. It’s something done to something else, whether a push or the simple pull of gravity on the right surface. So what’s doing the rolling without aim? Lack of aim implies a lack of purpose. Or is the horror the point of it all.”

The Doctor shook his head once and glowered at the speaker. “It’s always nice to be welcomed. What are we being welcomed to, exactly? What’s the point of this place, or of you? Who are you?”
 
Ryan Zokkendov

After venturing into what appeared to be a phone booth, Ryan was shocked to find that it was an immense building on the inside. Very peculiar magic, or, considering the owner of it, science. Once inside, it got rather crowded rather fast, so at the moment, Ryan kept to himself in a corner. This proved to be a wise decision, as a fight broke out, or at least so it seemed, but the Doctor forced things into calm surprisingly well. Especially considering he didn't seem to be the powerful type. Brain beat brawn this time around.
After some further discussion, a plan was settled and Ryan was asked to choose between exploring the source of this mess or investigate what Elgin and his people were up to. Ryan wasn't the stealth type. At all. So, even though he wanted to stick to the Doctor that saved him when he got here, Ryan silently joined up with the other two Doctors' group.
After yet another messy arrival, for which Ryan braced himself to a bar and waited for the violent shaking to stop, they arrived at a very... bizarre place. He quickly got out of the ship and walked around, he was about to fly around to scout, when ANNA informed him "Don't do that Ryan, my systems are having issues I can't identify. I recommend you to store the suit for now, just in case the issues get worse. Stick to your swords for now..." Ryan thought of it for a moment, and then replied "...Yes, go ahead and do that... I assume you cannot do that at the moment, but if you have the chance, scan the place. See what you can find." Almost immediately, ANNA minimized the suit, leaving Ryan with his regular clothes, the sheathed swords at his sides and his pistol in a holster on the left of his waist designed by ANNA. Then responded "Got it... Also, I finished the analysis on what that rock you absorbed did to you. Basically it's stimulating your dragon DNA, which would explain the horns and the tail..." "My whaaaaa-" Ryan got stuck halfway through his answer, as the shock from seeing some of his dragon parts was quite noticeable. Especially his tail, he had cut it off long ago, after all. Yet there it was, and it was thicker and longer now heh.
Ryan had no time to freak out as the tree person screaming got his attention, and what followed was equally confusing, enough for him to forget his embarrassment. Two creatures emerged from the severed limbs of the tree person, which then guided them to a throne room with a very strange life form, which talked in an equally strange language. For now, Ryan just kept his hands on the hilts of his swords, ready for action. Casually enough to not raise suspicion.
 
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Dusk
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Things looked to have gotten even stranger, considering how reegan had cut her legs off. The doctor, spastic as all his other counterparts, quickly set to work to help stopp the bleeding. His assistants tried to help, but only looked on at the strange scene. A few seconds later Alista and Lavaentain had entered the tardis the two mages went about healing, Alista with her geomantic abilities and Lavaentain supporting her. Dusk kneeled there next to reegan, concerned for his friend and possibly if he had anything to do with it. He did try to stab the sentient tree after all.

Moments passed as bright light emanate from Alista and slowly passed over Reegan. Dusk looked down at his sword, completely made of bone. He had never actually seen it. Carved into the sword was what seemed to be veins, along with crude pictures of animals Dusk had seen. The carvings didn’t really matter though, since they were almost worn away anyway. He heard Reegan’s voice again in his head, relaying how they were both silent to the world, and it was to them.

Suddenly, Dusk heard a large crash, similar to a tree falling in a forest. He looked up, confused at what had just happened. What lay before him was a completely different land. Everyone who had been in the Tardis’s main room was standing in generally the same area as before, but the scenery around them had warped dramatically. Instead of a cold and dimly lit room, Dusk saw a large field of grey grass. It reach onwards until it hit the horizon. The sky was pitch black, and there were no stars to be seen. It was almost like someone had turned the lights off in a room, and only emptiness remained. Dusk looked back down to see Bodies strewn about the grassland, each partially buried and enveloped by black vines covered in thorns. Upon closer inspection, they each had skulls without mouths, and horns that stretched and twisted. Dusk was immediately confused. These looked like bodies of him but…. They were each unique. Dusk searched, trying to see if he could find anything he recognized among the bodies, but only found something even more strange. There was a person standing out in the field. He hadn’t been with the group, so who was it? The figure turned, and all dusk could make out was his eyes, the rest of the figure’s body was covered in a black cloak. Those eyes burrowed deep into Dusk. Even with the distance he was from the figure, he could make out every single detail of their eyes. Their veins, movement, everything Dusk could make out with perfect detail. The pupils were white, along with irises, but the sclerae around them was the same inky blackness as the sky. Dusk immediately recognized the eyes, but from where? Dusk had never met a human with black sclerae in their eyes, so who was it? He looked down at the bodies and then back at the figure. A new feeling overtook Dusk, intense and primal fear. One thought came to mind as soon as he looked at them.

Those were his eyes.

Dusk didn’t even have eyes, and yet, those were his. Quickly, Dusk stood up, but immediately fell backwards. His legs had stopped working. A shout then rang out, it was from Reegan to Alista. With that, the vision of the monotone land was gone. Dusk was in the same sitting position as he had been before, but he was shaking.

After Dusk recovered from his vision, he learned that Reegan had actually shrank. The sentient tree that Dusk had known, was now a bush. With the size came the issue of Dusk’s sword. It was much too large for her tiny frame to hold, and it would probably put some strain on Reegan’s mind. It was probably best for Dusk to carry it. The large creature, still shaking from the vision, picked up the massive blade. It felt natural to put it on his back, even though he had no sheath. Upon touching it to his skin, it was then consumed by the oily matter that he was made of. It had returned to his body, and he couldn’t let it back out. Two other creatures had joined the group too. These creatures looked to similar in body structure as dusk, but with an added mixture of nature to them. Vines made up their bodies and a green glow emanated from the insides of their heads.

The group followed them along the broken city’s walkways. Every step caused a few pebbles to fall off and drop toward the infinite abyss below. Dusk followed almost immediately behind the two large vine creatures, intrigued by their similarities to him. Alec was right in the fact that the stairs they walked up on were designed to go downwards. The steps had large distances between them, making it harder for people to stretch their legs onto the next step. Eventually, the group stepped into a large throne room, the throne itself was suspended upon several walkways that hung over the abyss, and it was surrounded by small crystals that lit up the area. Above the throne the ceiling held a stalactite. A voice rang out from all around the group in an alien language. It was then followed by a large fish-like creature slithering up to the group, and addressing the doctors.

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Trigger
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While everyone was stressing over Reegan’s missing legs, Trigger went about surveying the area. Every once in a while he would teleport to a walkway that was in sight and look around, but came up with nothing. From what the found, the area just kept leading onwards into more and more walkways. The architecture wasn’t all that impressive to Trigger, since it was mostly just only carvings and stone. After a few minutes, two Creatures made of vines emerged from inside the Tardis. Instantly, Trigger unholstered his pistol and aimed it at one of them. “What the fuck are these things?!” he questioned. Trigger was then answered by Callintus following after them. Trigger still didn’t trust them, so he kept his gun trained on the creatures. The two lead the group through several corridors and on top of walkways. A few times Trigger had to wait in the back for the rest of the group to fit on the walkway, other times he almost fell off due to how decayed the walkways were. Finally they were met with a large throne room. Trigger noticed was more interested by the crystals surrounding the throne. Were they a power source? Devices meant to pacify the group? Trigger didn’t care, he kept his pistol ready to shoot at anything.

And that thing did come. In front of the group slithered a strange creature, almost like a slug. It left a strange trail of slime and spoke in an almost priestly manner. Trigger decided that the creature was a good target to aim his gun at. “If this slug fucking pulls out a sacrificial dagger or something I’m gonna shoot it” he said, almost in a sigh. He was just done with all of the strangeness he had seen that day and just wanted some sleep.
Ayana

Ayana's first reaction to the strange plant Monster things was to dig into her Bag of Holding and pull out the fireball staff she had stored in there. She held it at the ready in case they decided to attack. Much like some others, her first thoughts about these things was also 'what the fuck!?'.

Once the group started to follow well, she didn't want to- but more of had to because she didn't think that she'd be able to manage any more Monsters lurking around by herself. With the group, she probably would have better chances of survival and also a chance of getting answers.

With a growl, she followed along but also pulled out her cursed sword just in case.

With staff and sword in hand, down... down... she went. Though as she went, the sicker and wronger she started to feel. At one point she had to lean over the railing and throw up the contents of her stomach- part of a ration she had found the time to eat while everyone was figured out where they were going and part of the group had split off.

She wiped the bile off of her snout and kept going...

Trigger decided that the creature was a good target to aim his gun at. “If this slug fucking pulls out a sacrificial dagger or something I’m gonna shoot it” he said, almost in a sigh.

"Have to say I'm right with you on that one," Ayana growled as she inclined the fireball staff towards the slug.

The moment Trigger pulled out his weapon and aimed it at the slug man's head, one of the tree things stuck its arm out at the young man; turning into a spear sharp enough to pierce his throat. It was just poking right beside his larnyx, enough that the skin was cut and a small trace of blood was dripping out. Nothing too serious, unless he wished to push his luck more. Ayana, however, had a different situation to deal with. The staff was on fire. Not as in it was building up a fireball to shoot, instead, the top of the staff was beginning to emote smoke, and soon small embers were slowly flying off the tips. Small flames were beginning to arise. Nothing to damage the staff badly, but it was no longer protected from the fire it could summon. The slug chuckled as he also saw Tsunade and Jacket reach for their weapons. "We do not wish violence within these sacred halls. Only to guide John and Jane. You are all expected guests." The tree holding Trigger hostage retracted its arm. "Besides! Your magic won't work here. That which he deems unfit upon him is not made law by the conventions you believe hold the universe together. You will only injure yourselves more if you try."

"And I take it then we can expect more than these newly born creatures to expect us should we run?" Callintus asked next.

"You speak like we wish harm upon you!" He said with what seemed like a grin. "Is it so strange to believe we want to welcome esteemed honored guests like yourselves?"

"Well, city is a bit run down, and some of these lads aren't used to alien settings like this," 13 quickly added in.

"I've been on alien planets!" Alec also added in.

"Did they have big metropolis cities like Earth does?" 13 asked.

".... A bit." He said with a shrug.

"Exactly! You've never seen alien life like this, and it's scary! And I get that! But, we can't always go around, guns wavin' in the air like it's a Texas rodeo!.... Texans do that, right?"

"Cartoonish Texans do." Amy answered.

"Either way, we've been so uptight and anxious since we first arrived in this universe, the least we can do is figure out a little bit more about this place before we make final judgement. Just because he's got a slug face, doesn't mean he's gonna eat our brains, no offense." She quickly added to the slug man, who didn't seem phased.

"Not at all, Miss Jane." He answered. 13 was going to continue with her speech, turning to face her group, before she turned back around again with a confused look. "Miss Jane?"

"That is your names, no? John and Jane Smith?" So not only did he know they were the Doctor's, he also knew their fake alias too.

"... Right, let's get back on track with things, who are you and what is this place? And are you actually from our universe?"

The slug man again chuckled, finding amusement from their questions. The surprise they were in store for. "Come." He said, beginning to slither down the hallway. "There is much to show you."

The hallway lead to another exit out of the building and back into the streets of the city itself. It became much more lit up, as not only were more torches, but the strange green crystals began to glow, emitting light that made all cracks and corners of this place easier to see. "I am Nux. Translator and servant of our great Elder. For millennia, our city has been but a temporary settlement to shelter us from the harsh conditions above us. Before the ice age, our civilization reached across oceans to other continents in a grand empire of knowledge and culture. Our ambitions led us to create cities that would reach the clouds above, expand our lives to hundreds of years, and even look to the stars above to find new forms of life, and new homes to settle on. A great space age was believed to come. But, it never did. The ice began to form, and the snow never stopped. Thousands froze as the cold grew more intense. Their homes became tombs buried in snow. And our great empire shrank." As they all continued to walk, the things that slithered within the open buildings they first passed by began to come out.

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"What the fuck..." Alec muttered to the group, eyes widened in shock and horror.

"We could not go up. So instead, we moved down. As far as we could go. This city was one of many that was to hold our species until the cold finally thawed, but they could no last long down here without proper food and warmth. However. We, were saved." He stopped in the center of what looked to be a central square, with steps leading up to what looked to be where a statue once was, but whatever the statue was, was no longer there. The feet remained, like it had been pulled off and broke there. "In our dreams, he gave us insight. How to feed ourselves in these caves. How to stay warm among the volcanic magma that flows around our walls. How to adapt ourselves." Nearly a hundred of the city's residents had surrounded them now. "We changed. Evolved to the genetic blueprints he provided us. We survived because of him. We all believed we discovered a savior, but we were wrong. He has been with us since the days we were born, guiding our race into the golden ages we once had. Because of him, we nearly reached the stars. And it is because of him, we prepared for the day you two would arrive to reignite our golden age again."

"Sorry... what?" 13 was now getting lost. "He knew we were coming?"

"For centuries. He knows all. He see's all. It is through him that we will survive again."

"What do you mean, survive again?" Rory asked.

"While we shall prosper, he has foreseen a dark age to befall others. Beyond this planet, and even this galaxy. He foresee's millions to die by the hands of The legethog r'luhhor."

"What... does that mean?" 13 asked.

"The False God." He clarified.

Alec looked to his other compatriots, worried. "Does he know who this false god is?" John asked.

"No. For all that he see's, The legethog r'luhhor is evasive. It travels between realms, avoiding his gaze. He knows though it was what brought you to us. And it knows it is you two, that will awaken him again."

"Who exactly is, 'he?'" 13 asked.

"Ahornah h' yaah c' tharanak mgah'n'gha. Ahornah h' yaah c' tharanak amh'niah. Ahornah h' yaah c' tharanak kadishtuor~" The crowd chanted these words in rhythm, surrounding the heroes. "He is the Great Elder. Xog-Galziath. And he has brought you to us, to awaken him from his slumber. Hail the Doctor's! Hail the Awakers!" Like a sermon, he preached out to the crowd, and they all began to bow before the group, beginning to chant softly. "Ahornah doctor's ymg' hup ymg' zuriah~"

"Doctor's... Why can't we understand them?" Amy asked.

"Because they're speaking a language older than the TARDIS can know... Lads, I think we stumbled onto a world worshipped by a Great One."

"Like the HP Lovecraft stories?" Rory asked.

"Yeah. Those ones." Suddenly, her enthusiasm from before had died. This was a very, very, very bad situation.​
 
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Ayana

Ayana frowned, some of her pointed teeth showing through as her lips turned down. She looked at The Doctors and their friends, "Perhaps a little context on this 'HP Lovecraft' thing would be nice for those of us not in the know? Though to me, it looks like the God of Monsters and the Gods of The Deep decided to all get drunk together- or maybe just the latter considering that I'm not seeing any horrors that look like they can rip us to shreds in less than ten seconds," she said this as she groaned and stretched.

Was it just her or were her clothes tighter than they used to be? Must be this place making her even sicker, causing some swelling or something, she rationalized as she leaned on the now clearly misfunctioning fireball staff in her hands. At least the damn thing still made for a good walking stick for the moment.

She drops the volume of her voice lower, more to indicate that she was trying to keep this private than to keep their 'hosts' from hearing what she was saying, "Anyhow, don't trust these guys- it looks like their God has had them merrily dancing on his strings for ages now, if I'm hearing things right, and if he wants them to start gutting us with knives... well, they're gonna do it- no questions asked."
 
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usk
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From what it seemed like, threatening this creature would not work. Dusk wouldn’t have threatened the creature anyway, he didn’t want to harm him after all. Even with this fact in mind, his hands still twitched, aching for the rush of adrenaline. His body wanted to experience more destruction, but his mind did not. As the situation slowly settled down, eventually having the 13th doctor and her friends speaking up and discussing over what was happening. The Slug man, whose name was Nux, was not very accepting of answering the group’s questions at that moment. He motioned for the group to follow, and began to exposite the history of the world and how it came to be. As Nux spoke, more and more creatures gradually creeped out and looked upon the group with their emotionless eyes. Every creature that was seen was mutated beyond anything that resembled being human. Dusk saw an eerie similarity between their horrific forms and himself, and it scared him. Just what had happened to these people? Was this what it felt like when he first met the group, was this the aura he radiated? A slight crack formed on the side of his face, too little to really be noticed. From what it sounded like, these beings believed in a higher creature, something beyond any kind of mortal comprehension. Dusk tried to imagine what these people bowed before, but couldn’t think of anything. A chant slowly started, first in a low rumble and eventually becoming a loud cheer. It was almost like something one would hear in a coliseum, hundreds of voices surrounded Dusk, both from ground level and on upper levels. Dusk was sad for these people, seeing what their belief had made them become.
“Weak”

A voice stood out among the cheering, one that was originally smooth and silk, but had now become gravelly in tone.

“These ingrates are nothing but food to satisfy our hunger, you do feel the hunger right?”

Dusk began to search the towers, eventually falling upon a dark figure in the distance atop an old stone walkway, letting off a black smoke from his head. One purely white eye could be seen, but the rest was shrouded in an impenetrable shadow.

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“You soon will feel it, and when you do, I will satiate it.”

The figure then pointed at Dusk, and disappeared in the same black smoke. A new feeling filled Dusk’s stomach, dread.

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Trigger
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With a sharp stick to his artery, there was nothing Trigger could really do. He slowly holstered his gun in his right pocket. He said no words as the group talked, prepared to teleport away at a moment's notice. He would have teleported away at the moment the stick was extruded, but something felt like it was pulling him back. It wasn’t in a physical kind of way, more like spiritual. Even with the group now following Nux deeper into the caverns, Trigger still did not trust the man’s words. Now that the man had mentioned how the ceiling was coated in ice, Trigger looked up to see that it wasn’t really rocks falling from the ceiling into the caverns below, but gigantic chunks of ice. A faint rumble could be heard as the ice moved, possibly from a glacier above it. The group then came to a large square of some sort, meant for town meetings. Horrific creatures climbed out of tiny holes burrowed into buildings. Some were large and mutated beyond belief, and others were small and delicate, as if they had evolved to hide in small holes.

While Nux talked, a noise of chanting began. Countless voices emanated from the buildings around them. This was severely disturbing, considering how gurgly the voices sounded. Trigger put his hand on his gun, and would have tugged, but the feeling struck him again. A slight pain also pulsed in his hand, like a burning sensation. “I don’t like this at all… when you guys tell me to shoot, I’m gonna shoot…” He mumbled to the group. The way he said it was strange, not the same snarl as his usual quips had been, this time it was in a more serious and worrying tone.
 
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"Well, that's creepy as heck." said Alistia under her breath as she heard the chanting. Her hair was standing on end all over her body, making her tail seem extremely bushy. Quietly she approached the doctor and leaned in close to their ears to whisper. "Doctor, I know what they're saying, and... Well... You're not going to like it at all!" She then quietly cleared her throat, then slowly whispered what she was hearing. She had no clue at all what an 'old one' was, had never heard of Lovecraft in her life, or anything of the sort. However the Echo's power of universal translation had proven absolute so far, including translating the languages of long dead civilizations from other dimensions in cities submerged under the ocean and kept in a strange state in which they were neither alive or dead, awake or dreaming. Admittedly she had never thought she'd have a need to bring it up again, but there had been no language that it had failed at yet.

"We may be their honored guests, but we need to be careful here. If they're saying things like that, one wrong move could result in a disaster for us all... and the multiverse on top of that."

Meanwhile Lavaetain's own ears twitched. She recognized the language. Not because the Old Gods were real in her world, Yahweh/Jehovah had tons of evidence to support his existence and she knew what a Lovecraft was. No. She recognized it because, as she would have once put it, 'the fatass dweebs who keep playing those stupid tabletop games in that corner of the lunch room are hitting on me again'. At least that's what she WOULD have said had she not thankfully pushed that dumb part of her life. But those... she almost thought of them as dweebs again... had spoken a bunch of weird languages. One of which sounded a lot like this. Spot on in fact. Plus hadn't that weird animated show, South Morty, Rick and sons? Simp Park? Whatever? She couldn't remember the name right now, done a few episodes on it with a weird squid-man being a character? She had no clue what it meant though.

But what was concerning to her was the weird reaction to the magic. She didn't know about the others, but her very CLOTHES were MADE of MAGIC! Well, thread held together by her own personal magic to form a protective barrier. A very effective defense normally especially since it wasn't normally possible to turn off magic without her being dead. However if it did, somehow, get turned off... Well... The fact that it was still staying together meant it was likely not actually gone from the area, but what effect it would have on her would be unclear. Especially her sword. But if it got turned off...


She checked her clothes before looking over to the other members of her party. "Hey, I'm curious. Do any of you have any sort of passive magical effects as well? Are they functioning normally and, importantly, do you happen to have spare clothes on you? Just in case?"
 
Samuel shivered as they approached the group ventured deeper into the eerie, empty underground city, soon encountering the eyeless creature that greeted the Doctors. The one named Nux spoke to them immediately, and did not show any apparent hostility, but he kept a tight grip on his rifle nonetheless. Something felt wrong about this place, as if he had ventured into a really bad part of town, but a dozen times over.

He kept a careful eye on their 'guide' as they followed him, and he found himself even more on edge as more of their people emerged from the shadows, especially when they began chanting in that alien language. They sounded like a deranged cult, and going off the Doctor's response, it seemed that notion wasn't far off the mark. But even more disturbing was the probability that, unlike the crazies back home, this "Great Elder" they worshiped was real.

Shirou was similarly unnerved, his magic circuits tingling and his senses crawling from whatever it was that permeated the dank atmosphere down here. The sensation of power he felt earlier was even stronger now, but compared to the sensation of magic as he knew it, this felt deeply...alien. Other. Twisted and warped in away that was hard to describe.

The fact that these people were trying to awaken something they worshipped brought up very unpleasant memories of the Greater Grail in Fuyuki. The Doctor's reaction seemed to indicate they may be in a similar situation here.

The young man took this moment to speak up. "What exactly happens if this 'Great Elder' awakens?," he asked.

@Wade Von Doom
 
When callintus had put her on his shoulders Reegan's eyes dimmed. Blessed left to attend the damaged inner twines of bracken the disease had warped. Their aims to ensure that no more disease remained and rebuild the damage. Perhaps to find a way to resist its corruptive nature.

The rise and fall of her chest in mock breathing that slows as the swirl of depleting minds left the small Reegan progressively exhausted. Only one Blessed remained as her mind recomposed. A small girl felled by bandits with her mother who was one of the Blessed.

Thus at deep rest, limp and slack mouthed, Reegan did not wake when moved to Dusk's shoulders. Tiny fingers instinctively clung to the bone. Neither did the creatures wake her from her slumber ignorant of it entirely as if some wooden hat for dusk. fluffy leg-nubs wrapped about the neck to hold on with the bottom of Dusk's exposed skull. As a hat indeed her presence about his skull kept the coldness of the world at bay for Dusk. if only for the coldness that lay inside.

@Wiggin

What woke who is now Reegan was a darker voice echoing from within Dusk. Ephemeral violence rising from somewhere deep in the mind's eye. Reegan's head rose as her inner light flared again the Blessed working to adapt and chant as well. Cultists of another stripe fighting back the air of this tainted place. The petals on her hair paled and lengthened as jasmine flowers overtook. Reegan's small hand and fingers pet the top of Dusk's head.

The blessed had the drained zeal in their voice of these creatures that sang.

A new voice most certainly still Reegan, Dusk could hear the wonder of a child's voice if one with inhuman determination in the face of horror, "I believe in you, uncle Nhalotkunoth, and I'm not weak. They sounds scared."

As he neared an inner apparition writ on eye an inner synergy flared her light red as she once had when she'd set Dusk free in the prison, "If we eats their enemies. They won't hafta be scared anymore."

She looked about from the top of Dusk's head while gripping one antler and sprinkling questions, "Where are we? I was sleepin. Who's the funny looking Daedra?"
 
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D
usk
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From what it seemed like, threatening this creature would not work. Dusk wouldn’t have threatened the creature anyway, he didn’t want to harm him after all. Even with this fact in mind, his hands still twitched, aching for the rush of adrenaline. His body wanted to experience more destruction, but his mind did not. As the situation slowly settled down, eventually having the 13th doctor and her friends speaking up and discussing over what was happening. The Slug man, whose name was Nux, was not very accepting of answering the group’s questions at that moment. He motioned for the group to follow, and began to exposite the history of the world and how it came to be. As Nux spoke, more and more creatures gradually creeped out and looked upon the group with their emotionless eyes. Every creature that was seen was mutated beyond anything that resembled being human. Dusk saw an eerie similarity between their horrific forms and himself, and it scared him. Just what had happened to these people? Was this what it felt like when he first met the group, was this the aura he radiated? A slight crack formed on the side of his face, too little to really be noticed. From what it sounded like, these beings believed in a higher creature, something beyond any kind of mortal comprehension. Dusk tried to imagine what these people bowed before, but couldn’t think of anything. A chant slowly started, first in a low rumble and eventually becoming a loud cheer. It was almost like something one would hear in a coliseum, hundreds of voices surrounded Dusk, both from ground level and on upper levels. Dusk was sad for these people, seeing what their belief had made them become.
“Weak”

A voice stood out among the cheering, one that was originally smooth and silk, but had now become gravelly in tone.

“These ingrates are nothing but food to satisfy our hunger, you do feel the hunger right?”

Dusk began to search the towers, eventually falling upon a dark figure in the distance atop an old stone walkway, letting off a black smoke from his head. One purely white eye could be seen, but the rest was shrouded in an impenetrable shadow.

View attachment 191610

“You soon will feel it, and when you do, I will satiate it.”

The figure then pointed at Dusk, and disappeared in the same black smoke. A new feeling filled Dusk’s stomach, dread.

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Trigger
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With a sharp stick to his artery, there was nothing Trigger could really do. He slowly holstered his gun in his right pocket. He said no words as the group talked, prepared to teleport away at a moment's notice. He would have teleported away at the moment the stick was extruded, but something felt like it was pulling him back. It wasn’t in a physical kind of way, more like spiritual. Even with the group now following Nux deeper into the caverns, Trigger still did not trust the man’s words. Now that the man had mentioned how the ceiling was coated in ice, Trigger looked up to see that it wasn’t really rocks falling from the ceiling into the caverns below, but gigantic chunks of ice. A faint rumble could be heard as the ice moved, possibly from a glacier above it. The group then came to a large square of some sort, meant for town meetings. Horrific creatures climbed out of tiny holes burrowed into buildings. Some were large and mutated beyond belief, and others were small and delicate, as if they had evolved to hide in small holes.

While Nux talked, a noise of chanting began. Countless voices emanated from the buildings around them. This was severely disturbing, considering how gurgly the voices sounded. Trigger put his hand on his gun, and would have tugged, but the feeling struck him again. A slight pain also pulsed in his hand, like a burning sensation. “I don’t like this at all… when you guys tell me to shoot, I’m gonna shoot…” He mumbled to the group. The way he said it was strange, not the same snarl as his usual quips had been, this time it was in a more serious and worrying tone.
Samuel shivered as they approached the group ventured deeper into the eerie, empty underground city, soon encountering the eyeless creature that greeted the Doctors. The one named Nux spoke to them immediately, and did not show any apparent hostility, but he kept a tight grip on his rifle nonetheless. Something felt wrong about this place, as if he had ventured into a really bad part of town, but a dozen times over.

He kept a careful eye on their 'guide' as they followed him, and he found himself even more on edge as more of their people emerged from the shadows, especially when they began chanting in that alien language. They sounded like a deranged cult, and going off the Doctor's response, it seemed that notion wasn't far off the mark. But even more disturbing was the probability that, unlike the crazies back home, this "Great Elder" they worshiped was real.

Shirou was similarly unnerved, his magic circuits tingling and his senses crawling from whatever it was that permeated the dank atmosphere down here. The sensation of power he felt earlier was even stronger now, but compared to the sensation of magic as he knew it, this felt deeply...alien. Other. Twisted and warped in away that was hard to describe.

The fact that these people were trying to awaken something they worshipped brought up very unpleasant memories of the Greater Grail in Fuyuki. The Doctor's reaction seemed to indicate they may be in a similar situation here.

The young man took this moment to speak up. "What exactly happens if this 'Great Elder' awakens?," he asked.

@Wade Von Doom

"Nononono," 11 quickly told them, as while the crowd continued to softly chant, they had some room to talk quietly without others overhearing. "What we are not going to do is attack these people, under any circumstances. I realize the issue of trusting something so ominous, but even if we did kill them, what would that accomplish? We'd still be stuck down here, and the TARDIS can't be moved because something is keeping it here. We need to figure out how first, then find a way out. Until then, we will do no violence to these people, we are their guests, and they show no hostility."

"We understand your trepidation." Nux suddenly spoke up, with the tree guardians that spawned from Reegan by his side again. One of them was holding clothes. He looked to Ayana, or at least pointed his head in her direction, and approached. "Our Great Elder wishes no harm upon the awaker's companions." With one of his hands, he lightly grabbed her fire staff, and with the only, swung his fingers around it. The embers burning her staff were gone, and the damage was gone. It looked like it could be used again without it destroying itself. "He wishes no violence, no great acts of death in his name. What matters only is his slumber ends, and he may travel again." Samuel's question then came up, with the crowd's chanting coming to a stop the moment he stopped speaking.

"As I say, he will travel again. Visit worlds that were but infants when he last them. There has been much he's missed. And even more he had yet to discover." Nux answered. "For all his wisdom, he had yet to see what lies beyond the veil."

"What veil?" 11 asked. "Do you mean the void?" The void being the boundaries between universes.

"If that is your word for it." Nux simply told, turning around to face the crowd. "llll mgahnnn yg'bthnknahh! ah yah'or'nanah c', hop ph' fence ng plunge ph'nglui!" Whatever Nux said, they roared in cheer. They approached the group, bowing down to both Doctor's on one knee and taking their hands in theirs. They spoke more of the language that couldn't be translated by the TARDIS, but it seemed like they were giving thanks. Like a line, they formed around the Doctor's to share this prayer, before moving over to the others and doing the same: Taking one of their hands, and praying on bended knee.

Alec was... Less than thrilled by the very slimy looking people praying to him like he was a priest. He wasn't a religious man, but if they were going to sacrifice him, could they not treat him like a holy relic? "Uh...thank-thank you... thank you... thank you... thank you." He just kept saying thank you hesitantly for each squid person bowed to him. Callintus was taking it like a champ though, as when they bowed to him, he offered big smiles and seemed to be just as thankful to them. "Thank you very much!... Oh, you're too kind!... Thank you!... Thank you for such kindness!" It didn't seem like they knew English like Nux did, but they were thankful all the same.

"O-Oh, thanks... thanks... thanks."

"Thanks... thank you... Hope your day goes well!" Amy was trying her best to be upbeat about this, while Rory felt the same as Alec.

"Thank you... Thank you..." John said it as a common courtesy, not minding the slimey feeling on his hands. As it went on, he felt a slight headache in the front of his face, right between the eyes and above the eyebrows. It wasn't too bad it hurt him, but was still sharp enough for him to feel. He wiped his hands off on his pants leg, then rubbed his nose between his eyes. He felt like he was tearing up, but there weren't any tears coming out. Just a strange watery feeling. He noticed something when he focused back on the crowd though. Someone in the back, walking between the buildings. He caught a quick glimpse of her, but he could right away who that was. She had the same light brown hair, and wore the same dress from their last dinner together before her hospitalization. ".... Helen?" He muttered to himself. he rubbed his eyes to try and get rid of the watery feeling, then slowly passed through the crowd, saying, "excuse me," to the group.

"John? Where you going!" Alec shouted out, seeing John move through the crowd towards the back. "Ah, shit. I'm gonna go with him." Alec told everyone, quickly moving through the crowd as well.

"Alec, wait!" Callintus called out, trying to stop him, but it was too late.

"Come, Doctor's. I had much I wish to discuss with you." Nux told the two, wishing to lead them back into the temple they came from. Amy and Rory tried to follow behind, but Nux stopped them. "I'm afraid you will have to stay. Our Elder only wishes to see the Doctor's. You will be safe here though! Explore our city to your curiosity. We have much we can show you." With both Doctor's following, Nux lead them down the path back towards where they met him again. The group was now left to their own devices.

The town's people wished to bring them further into the city, as they started moving down one of the larger streets, opposite to where John walked off to. Down there, it seemed they were quickly creating... stands. Like, stands you would find at a farmer's market. They were bringing out foods, plants, hand made objects, and each stand wished for the attention of the group. Those without stands were in the houses, putting up large signs with words they couldn't understand, and symbols that must've meant something to them. It was a party, one for the group.
 
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Dusk
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The crowd of people looked to have died down, at least somewhat. The group was scattering, and Dusk had no idea what to do. He still felt the dread in his stomach from having encountered the shadowing beling that plagued him. Reegan sitting on his head helped to stave off the feeling though, as she gave off a happier and warmer feeling that their surroundings. He couldn’t really reply to the tiny tree creature’s question if these people were daedra or not, since he knew neither what a daedra was or how to communicate with her. Suddenly, the crowd around the group seemed to disperse into an arrangement of different stands. Some had strange fruits that looked to be rotting, yet still were filled with a sort of luster. Mold was growing on the wood the stands were made of, along with the wooden signs they had put up. Dusk looked back up to where he had seen the shadowing figure, and began to wonder why it had appeared now. It didn’t matter, as Dusk was immediately surrounded by creatures. He assumed they were children, from their stature and high pitched noises they made. They circled around Dusk in a sort of dance. A few of them were similar to Dusk, with bones replacing certain body parts, while others were more like masses of skin. One of them oozed a puss instead of making sounds, and another clicked their teeth together. It was unsettling to say the least.

After a few minutes, the small creatures scattered as Dusk saw he had been cut off from the group. The children had led him into an alleyway of some sort. A solitary stand stood at the end of the street, and no owner to be seen. It wasn’t like the other stands, where they had been filled with various disgusting fruits and veggies, instead, this stand had several flowers growing out of its various crevices. Dusk wandered up to it and saw that a few of the flowers were actually glowing. He would have given one to Reegan, but remembered what had happened the last time she had touched this word. Something still drew his hand towards the blossoms and all their colors. As his hand neared one, it wilted and eventually turned black. Dusk was confused, and reached for another one, only to have the same thing happen. Eventually all the flowers on the stand had wilted and turned into a dark ash. “Why do you try, there is no point in saving dying flowers,” said a voice. It was the same one as before, and it was to Dusk's right. He turned, and saw nothing but and empty street.

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Trigger
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Trigger was barely able to stand at this point. When he had been transported out of his world, it was 1 AM, at this point it was probably 1PM the next day and Trigger had gotten no sleep. He still had his one hand on his pistol at his his, but it was a little more relaxed. The sight of these creatures still were unsettling, but he was beginning to just not care about it. A few people had wandered away from the group and were doing their own thing, so Trigger went off and into the market to find some food before sleeping. A few of the stands had strange fruits and veggies that did not seem edible at all. Eventually, Trigger came upon a stand that let off a scent of freshly grilled meat. At the stand stood a bony figure, with a shrunken head and two eyes without a mouth. Its skin was a dark purple tone, and it let off a sort of steam. On the stand’s counter there were various plates of mystery meat. They were almost black from being heated in a fire. The creature who stood at the stall said something in its alien language, and extended its arm, inviting Trigger to have one of the plates. Trigger accepted, and took the one that looked to be a slab of steak. It also let off a steam as Trigger picked up the stone plate. He nodded to the creature, hoping it would at least partially understand his thanks.

“I’m gonna find a place to sleep!” he shouted behind him, hoping that at least someone in the group would be able to hear him in the market. He hoped someone would know to grab him if they needed to leave. He then wandered farther down the street, until he eventually saw a sign with an image of what he hoped to be a bed. None of the buildings had doors, so Trigger knocked on the frame of the hole in the wall as he walked in. A different creature greeted him this time. This one was a very small imp-like creature. It had pointed ears and one large bulging eye that seemed to stare into Trigger’s very being. “Uh… do you have-” Trigger tried to ask, only to have the thing grab his hand and lead him further into the back rooms. It brought him to one that looked to be more furnished than the others, mainly because it had the least amount of dust. A bed rested in the corner with an animal pelt for a sheet, and a small coffee table sat in the middle of the roof. Trigger turned to see that the creature was now gone, and had left him alone. Trigger quickly ate the mystery meat and left it on the the stone table for the imp creature to clean up. He sighed, plopping onto the soft mattress. He didn’t even get under any covers, since he instantly fell asleep at that moment. His legs hung off the end of the bed and his arms were stretched out to the sides.
 
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