Nomad
As their group began to split off, each going in their own direction. Nomad stuck close to what remained of the group, on edge because they were not sticking together. In fact, he kept his hand hovering near his hand cannon. He wasn't Shin Malphur, but he was still nearly as quick on the draw, so he wasn't worried about himself, it were the others as if they got isolated from the big group, they could be attacked much easier.
He just couldn't decide who to follow, his thinking interrupted as he had to gently pull the end of his cloak from the populace as they tried to offer wares to him. All they got were a wordless reply of a simple head shake as he made his way through the crowd, deciding to follow Alec in his pursuit of John. Doing his best to keep up with the man, which upon doing so he would simply say "We need to regroup, if there is one tactic we Hunters know too well, it's easy to take down a powerful enemy by picking them off one by one."
Eye Dee Kay would pitch in, saying inside Nomad's head. "Best we do that, as I am detecting sporadic waves of
something. I can keep it from affecting us, but no guarantee on if the others can handle these waves in the best way." Nomad would relay this to Alec as they went about following John.
Just what had they gotten themselves into?
@Wade Von Doom
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Jacket
As the others went their own path, Jacket too went on his own.
Mainly because he saw someone.
Someone that should be dead, but the orange almost brown bushy beard with long hair tied into a ponytail combined with glasses that haven't been changed in years due to the owner's reluctance to "replace a souvenir from the corps." What sealed the deal was the Hawaiian shirt with beige shorts and worn sneakers.
Jacket couldn't remember his name, but the nickname practically remained glued to his mind, never leaving it.
It was his best friend, Beard. A man who served with him in the military, and the only other surviving member of their unit. At least until the man was killed by the Russian mob for refusing to pay them protection fees for his store, his death was deemed a "casualty" of a bad robbery. But Jacket knew, no robber would beat a man to death that they had to pick teeth up to try and match them to the pile of bloody mangled flesh that used to be his friend. The revelation of which sent Jacket down a spiral, he hallucinated his friend's face onto other people. A bartender, a pizza clerk or even a random bystander on the street.
Hell, it was probably why he agreed to become who he was now. Jacket, the mute sociopath that wiped the Russian mob from Miami, and one of the more violent members of the Payday Gang. A man who wouldn't bat an eye at beating someone to death with his bare hands, who looked
bored and even
tired when he splashed boiling water into someone's face before killing them using the pot that the boiling water was in, barely registering the blistering pain on his fingers from touching hot metal.
But just seeing his friend, made Jacket freeze in place as he watched his friend move from stand to stand. Before rounding a corner, Jacket waded through the crowd to keep up with his friend to just talk to him again. It made Jacket's throat feel as if words were waiting to come out. It somehow scared Jacket, he hadn't talked in years, he wondered what his voice would sound like now. Would it be gruff, harsh from years of not being used? Or would it be soft and almost like a whisper from the years?
He didn't care, he just wanted to talk to his friend again....
@Wade Von Doom
Alistia's tail stood on end as she heard them speak. Doubtless, she assumed, they believed she could not understand them. It seemed likely even the Doctors could not either. However, The Echo... it could. It had worked before on languages she had never heard or know, had not been spoken for ages, or were even of that dimension. That it would work here was unsurprising.
"I'm constantly amazed at the fact that the most mundane facets of the echo consistently prove to be the most relevant." she whispered to herself, only barely letting the words slip past her lips in a hushed whisper. She wondered if even her hosts knew what they had just said. Regardless, she did not move one bit. She stayed put, even as the doctors went off on their own. They, appearently, felt confident enough to handle the threat. However, one thing was exceedingly appearent to anyone whom had ever owned a cat before. Alistia's tail was massive and bushy now as the hair on it stood fully on end in nervous alertness.
"I don't like this." said Lavaetain as she watched the others go."
"You can understand it?" asked Alistia, surprised, as Lavaetain had displayed no similar such ability before.
"No, but you don't need to to realize something is up here. I've seen plenty of weird witches and cults before and I think this stuff may have even come from a story back on Earth or something, but I have no clue. I didn't read it. But, let's just say that, after that, if some poor virgin girl suddenly got warped into a demon, I wouldn't be surprised."
"So what then?" asked Alistia.
"I don't know." said Lavaetain as she went to the others whom were remaining put to see if any of them were, likewise, worried. Alistia, meanwhile, closed her eyes as she wondered if she should try to reach out to the planet again. Was the White Mage even the best job for this task? She didn't know. But, calmly, she tried to gather herself as she headed to the Farmers Market. She was almost reminded of Hades as she went to it to try and see what this world was like. Something about the drowned city kept nagging at her mind; though she couldn't figure it out in the slightest.
"Helen!" John shouted, as he followed the stairs downward once past the alley.
"John!" Alec shouted back, trying to get his attention. "Just help me get him before we go too far off!" He told Nomad and the approaching Lavaetain. John weaved through the buildings haphazardly, not caring what was inside, only that he find the ghost of his wife that was now availing him.
"Helen!" He again shouted. reaching through another alleyway, before ending up on one of the larger staircases. He looked around, but there was no sign of her. She was gone. He was panting softly, feeling ready to panic for the first time in what felt like decades. How was she here? Why was she here?
"John!" Alec's voice finally clicked inside Wick's head, and as he turned around, Alec slapped him. "The fuck are you doing!" It seemed to literally knock sense back into John, as he shook his head and blinking erratically.
"I... I-I uh..." He wasn't quite sure what to say. Of course she wasn't here! They were on an alien planet for god's sake, and her grave was god knows how many light-years away.
"I-I'm sorry, I thought... I thought I saw someone I knew." He looked away from Alec as he spoke, sounding unsure of himself, and Alec easily caught that.
"John, listen, whatever you see here, do not follow it or even give it any attention. This place is messing with us. Nomad's 'ghost' is getting readings of something radiating all around, and if we split off from the main group, we're gonna get ourselves trapped here." Thankfully, they had both a magic girl, and a floating eye robot that could track their way back to everyone else. "Now c'mon, let's head back before... Beefore..." Now Alec was starting to see stuff. Though, unlike John, Nomad and Lava would also see it. There was a pub. A modern Scottish pub, right behind John.
"What the hell..." The Scotsman muttered aloud, moving past Wick to approach it. John turned around to see it too, asking,
"You know this place?"
"Yeah, this is one of my favorite pubs, I come here with crew when we're on shore leave. How the fuck..." He walked up to the window to peer inside, and saw how crowded the place was. Everyone was there! All his crew mates aboard his ship. They saw Alec through the window, and let out a loud, 'Waaaaaaaaay!~' Holding up their mugs for him. With his hands on the window, Alec's eyes were deadlocked on them; astonished by what he was seeing. Any thoughts about how this place was messing with them vanished. He wanted inside.
"Alec!" Now it was John's turn to knock some sense into him.
"This isn't real." He told him.
"You just said--"
"Ah, I know, I know!" Alec also shook his head; rubbing his eyes from the weird pain he was feeling. "Fuck! We-We should go, Nomad, can your little guy find us back to that market?" He asked the Guardian.
"Alec!" A voice said from the entrance beside them.
"What're you doin'?" It was a Salarian, holding a stein the size of its hand.
"We're all waiting inside."
"You're not real!" Alec shouted to him, pointing. "You died on the transport, and now your soul is inside Reegan's chest-- Oh my god, I just realized how fucked that sounds." He just looked off into the distance when saying that.
"Alec," the Salarian rolled his eyes.
"dude, I'm from Reegan! My soul got freed when she reverted ages. But, this place, I dunno how, but it's given me a new body!"
"Oh, fuck off it did!" Like Alec would buy that.
"I'm serious! Look, I'll prove it's me. When we first met, you set up a game night for all new crew members. We played Mario Party and Smash Bros on an omni-projector, and because of how badly a lot of the aliens played, you said you'd buy first rounds on the next shore leave!"
That did happen, but Alec still wasn't convinced. Could simply be a memory or illusion of Zarek, the name of the Salarian. "Okay, but my fucking pub is somehow here, I'm not fully buying it."
"I know, but don't think this place is trying to trick you or something! It's trying to make you happy is all."
"Why would it need to make me us happy?"
"You're companions of the Doctor's! The awakers of the great elder, why wouldn't it wish to make you trust it more?"
"Easy, because this place is kinda giving me a massive headache and I don't like it."
"Oh, that's just the lack of air down here! We're miles below the surface, it's amazing you're even able to stand."
"Alec!" John yelled to interrupt.
"We need to go." He stressed, since this was going nowhere.
"Yeah--yeah, let's get the hell outta here." Alec agreed, rubbing his eyes again. It felt like he was crying, but there was nothing coming out.
"Alec!" Yet another voice chimned in, but it was yet another voice he recognized. But one he hadn't heard in years. He stopped moving to turn around quickly and see. An old man in casual attire, looking exactly like Alec if he had aged thirty years, stood in the doorway; holding a cane in one hand.
"You really gonna leave without saying hello first?" He asked, approaching the group. Alec, wide eyed and slack jawed, moved in to be closer to his dad. When the two were a foot apart, Alec looked his dad right in the eyes; trying to find some flaw in the image. Like a soulless glare, or no light reflecting off the irises. Nothing though. They were kind, friendly, and stoic. This was his dad's eyes before he passed.
"..... I know you're not real... You're not him...." Alec admitted. He then hugged his father tightly, who hugged back.
"It's alright, boyo..... It's alright." His dad told him; patting his back.The trio could hear Alec sobbing as he held his father, and before John could try to interject again, he could see over the Scotsmen's shoulders to see her again. Helen was leaning against the doorway, smiling lightly to him, before walking inside.
"Helen..." He again muttered, before walking back to the pub.
If Nomad and Lava followed, they'd find the pub wasn't just filled with Alec's mates. Guardians quickly surrounded Nomad, cheering him on.
"Hail, mighty guardian!" It was Zavala, standing on a chair above the other Guardians to address Nomad himself.
"We give thanks to your wondrous return! We have missed you at the Tower during this Crisis."
"But, I wouldn't worry about it." Cayde-6 suddenly popped up from beside Nomad, holding a massive mug of his own.
"Not to say I easily took your place, buuuuuut, the traveler didn't have much to worry about."
"Knock it off, Cayde." Ikora said next, making her way up front.
"We're glad to have you around again, Guardian." She told him, raising her glass.
"To Nomad!" And like that, all the guardians raised their mugs to an uproarious, 'To Nomad!'
Lava, meanwhile, was joined by old friends long since past. Heroes from her home world she was befriended when she joined the cause, and upon entering the bar, they swarmed her; greeting with friendly jeers and hugs. One in particular from behind; gently wrapping his arms around her stomach, and kissing her neck lightly.
"Miss me?" He asked her. Her boyfriend, Elon, and man she was to marry and have child with, was back in her life again. And John? Well, in the back of the bar, he and Helen were slowly dancing together to soft music. Her head laying on his chest, his arms around her back. Questions a plenty were to be asked, like how any of this was possible. But, there was an intoxication to all this. An acceptance to the logic. Those questions, the headaches, the strange feeling of crying, all gone once they entered the pub. Happiness, joy, friendship placed it instead. It was as if they would be on a high, and in their minds, the only thing they could think of was, 'go along with it.'
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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.
Ryan Zokkendov
Ryan was panicking by now, almost literally burning to dice the freaky slug monster and his tree servants. But he had not any clue on how to proceed with the investigation on this place. They had a mission here, even if Ryan wasn't quite positive on what that mission exactly entailed.
Regardless, the monster seemed to borderline worship the Doctor fellows... which shortly after turned into actual worshipping, the first monster and all the hellspawn that emerged from all around them as they continued to traverse this mysterious land. Even though one of the Doctors did comment on they not being hostile, this had all the looking of a bunch of cultists. They always start off nice. As for the worshipping dedicated to him, Ryan wasn't a fan at all. He silently allowed the demons to grab his hand, grimacing even more. He did not believe a single word uttered by the slug monster.
In the middle of his internal suffering, he heard the voice of the angry, masked guy. He seemed sensible enough to not trust these monsters, yet he decided to wander off on his own. Ryan managed to hear he wanted sleep. Thinking of it, he was in that prison... who knows how much sleep he needs after that, and they still had no place to go back to, as slug monster warded off everyone else but the Doctors. Ignoring the mass of worshippers, he followed the boy for a while. At some point, the guy acquired some meat from some stall in this twisted market.
"He must be starving, too..." Ryan was hungry himself, but he was willing to hold on a little longer.
Eventually, he followed the guy into a house. There was a small monster with a massive eye, which acted all nice and peaceful. Without regard for the monster's welcoming intent, he looked around until he found the guy. He was completely knocked out on a small bed. With not much else to do, Ryan sat cross legged a couple of meters from the bed, unsheathing his newest sword and placing it on his legs, holding it in place with one hand on the hilt and another in the actual blade. Ryan took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. Not long after doing so, ANNA commented to Ryan's ear
"Status report: Most systems fully operational, prone to suddenly have issues. Something is interfering... Like a jammer. I'm working on locating its source, but that'll take time, especially if it is a magical one" Ryan remained quiet for a moment before asking
"Keep up the work. For now, is there any safe scanning system I can use to check the surroundings?" ANNA affirmed
"Integrating Short Distance Three-dimensional Sonar to sight" Just like that, Ryan now could see in grayscaled waves his surroundings, with his eyes closed. With that safety measure in place, he quietly meditated while staying aware of his surroundings... a rather weird sensation.
@Wiggin @Wade Von Doom
Unfortunately for Ryan, his mediation and preparation to keep aware of his surroundings hit a snag. He fell asleep. Nothing would bother him or Trigger as his scanner would report nothing until he was just as out cold as Trigger was. However, it was as if seemless, like a blink of an eye. The sound of his scanner slowly morphed into the sound of air passing by his ears softly, and upon opening his eyes, he was miles high above a large forest. Off in the distance were mountains, and the sky was a perfect blue color, with the sun's warmth covering his whole body, not a cloud in the sky. He was flying. And besides him, dragons. Blue and red scales, with long and wide wingspans. It was a whole group of them. Looking to his hands, Ryan would see they were changed to be as scaley as the dragons themselves, along with large claws pointing out his fingertips. He had become a dragon, just like them.
However, he would feel no fear or sudden panic from this. Only a warmth. Happiness. Bliss. His mind had become basic. He was leading his pack across the land to find new fertile land to make their new home. His mind had regressed to that of an animal, all memory of the city was gone, and his newly met friends were but figments of imagination. He belonged. He was in a life he wished for long ago.
Trigger, meanwhile, had also found himself changed. But, instead of the sky, he was deep below the surface. The endless ocean surrounded him. His movements were slow, soft, prolonged, yet it felt natural. An old body that had roamed for centuries, enjoying the movement of the ocean's current to guide him along his path. Small yellow fish bustled past him as fast speed, and he would find himself hungry. Like he needed a small snack. Whales past below him, moving just as slow as him. They had the right idea. Trigger was a turtle. The largest one in the ocean. And the oldest. And living a life well spent; roaming the sea for the adventure of finding what he had yet to explore. His old life and newly met friends were of figments of his imagination. No memory of before, only the now. Like living a dream, accepting the logic and forgetting what had come before.
As well, music began to play for him as he drifted.
Jacket
As the others went their own path, Jacket too went on his own.
Mainly because he saw someone.
Someone that should be dead, but the orange almost brown bushy beard with long hair tied into a ponytail combined with glasses that haven't been changed in years due to the owner's reluctance to "replace a souvenir from the corps." What sealed the deal was the Hawaiian shirt with beige shorts and worn sneakers.
Jacket couldn't remember his name, but the nickname practically remained glued to his mind, never leaving it.
It was his best friend, Beard. A man who served with him in the military, and the only other surviving member of their unit. At least until the man was killed by the Russian mob for refusing to pay them protection fees for his store, his death was deemed a "casualty" of a bad robbery. But Jacket knew, no robber would beat a man to death that they had to pick teeth up to try and match them to the pile of bloody mangled flesh that used to be his friend. The revelation of which sent Jacket down a spiral, he hallucinated his friend's face onto other people. A bartender, a pizza clerk or even a random bystander on the street.
Hell, it was probably why he agreed to become who he was now. Jacket, the mute sociopath that wiped the Russian mob from Miami, and one of the more violent members of the Payday Gang. A man who wouldn't bat an eye at beating someone to death with his bare hands, who looked
bored and even
tired when he splashed boiling water into someone's face before killing them using the pot that the boiling water was in, barely registering the blistering pain on his fingers from touching hot metal.
But just seeing his friend, made Jacket freeze in place as he watched his friend move from stand to stand. Before rounding a corner, Jacket waded through the crowd to keep up with his friend to just talk to him again. It made Jacket's throat feel as if words were waiting to come out. It somehow scared Jacket, he hadn't talked in years, he wondered what his voice would sound like now. Would it be gruff, harsh from years of not being used? Or would it be soft and almost like a whisper from the years?
He didn't care, he just wanted to talk to his friend again....
@Wade Von Doom
Ayana frowned at her fireball staff and tucked it back away. Maybe the slug fixed it, maybe just made it worse. She didn't want to have to find out.
Looking around at the others as they ambled off, Ayana kept her eye out for those of her companions who looked, well, looked like criminals. She'd need some help getting to the bottom of what's going on here after all. What stuck out in her mind was the fellow in the mask (Trigger) and the... lunatic wearing a chicken mask (Jacket) of all things. It seems the former was already off to find a place to sleep (and hopefully already starting to do some investigating of his own) while the other was also wandering off on his own. Well, might as well rope that one into her tentative plans first.
Ayana followed along after the chicken-masked man, slightly adjusting her armor to be looser as she walked... whatever this place was doing to her, whatever sickness it was inflicting... she didn't want to stick around here long enough to find out and if their 'gracious hosts' try to do anything to her way out, the Doctors, let's just say they've brought whatever she does to them on themselves at that point.
As she passed by a stall with some sort of clothing on it, she grabbed a cloak in order to better blend in with the crowd.
Fitting her 'disguise' on her shoulders, she looked back up to the masked man and who was acting... erratically, like he had seen a ghost? Fuck, he's in a daze of some kind. Not good, if she doesn't intervene... she might as well count this fool as lost.
@The Wanderer
Ayana ran forwards to the man and forcibly grabbed his shoulder to try and get through his daze, "Wait up! What are you seeing?" she asked in an authoritative tone she used with her own underlings when she had them- a no-nonsense one. Best not to try and make him snap straight out of it right away... otherwise he might turn violent.
These two were in one hell of a scenery change. The moment Ayana grabbed Jacket's shoulder, gone was the green streets and bleak atmosphere with the crumbling and twisting buildings. Now...
Everything was 8-Bit
From a very odd and weird perspective, both Jacket and Ayana would find they could see themselves from an overheard shot. For Jacket, this would be oddly familiar. This would not help Ayana's sickness though.
"Yo!" A text box appeared. Across the street was Beard. "Dude! How'd you get here?" He asked, his little 8-bit arm waving over to them. "C'mon! We gotta get you two back to the ceremony! The big guy is gonna wake up soon!"
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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.
Reegan looked nervously at the small creatures hopping around Dusk nervous that one of them would touch her. Though given Dusk's height eventually stopped fidgeting her stumps to just cling on as he went with them. They were a little too short to reach her all the way up there. instead in a pique of childish irritation reaches back to pluck a fistful of briar heart seeds from her hair. One by one at the taller villagers that get too close. At times the hop-like flowers pop like firecrackers upon touching the people. Other times simply smoking and bouncing off. It wasn't anger born of hostility but fear as she whined softly just before overhanding them at slimy hands growing too close for comfort. More sound and fury from incompatible energies these noises didn't do much more than discourage probing hands. Though the welts they left behind while perhaps painful now seem more flesh than slime.
As the beings finally scattered Reegan had long forgotten her original question that dusk hadn't answered. While she thought they weren't monsters they were really icky and was happy they went away. Though her hair vines were a sparser now they slowly repopulated the angular green blooms. Though they swung forward as she leaned to see what Dusk was looking at. At the chiding of the strange man's voice from inside uncle Nhalotkunoth's head she whirled about as Dusk's head turned right. Small hands grip tight to antlers so she didn't fall off. Eying back down the alleyway Reegan wasn't sure what was there but could see the stall full of ash now that Dusk's head wasn't in the way. Though she thought the voice was mean and reached back to pluck a small flower from her hair to gingerly balance on the bridge of Dusk's skull. It wasn't uncle Nhalotkunoth's fault the cycle was broken here.
She pets the top of his head, "Silly flower pot! You're saving one already! Dying is what flowers are for. They're sp'osta make seeds!"
The seed on the bridge of his skull started to pulse and flutter in a crimson rhythmic time as she leaned upside down into Dusk's vision, "You should use the words in your head instead of the mean man, uncle Nhalotkunoth!"
If Dusk turned his his head left, he'd find his inner demon voice was now suddenly surrounded by children who could see him. Like, it would catch Dusk off guard as much as it would the evil voice in his head, as suddenly he was now given physical form for everyone to see, including the rest of the group. Pretty soon, the other city dwellers joined around them, and before Dusk and his demon knew it, they were being pushed toward each other. Flowers were thrown over them, with a chant of, "Z'ell yoka! Z'ell yoka! Z'ell yoka!" They wanted the two to hug. Literally. They were being pushed together to literally hug it out, because they could hear everything the inner voice was telling Dusk, and like Reegan was saying, best not to listen to it. Though, it seemed for them, instead of psychological help, Dusk needed to physically mend his differences with the voice with a hardy hug.
As you would imagine, Callintus and the Ponds watched on in complete confusion.
"Uuhhhh... Who is that?" Amy asked, pointing to the demon.
"If I can understand the situation," Callintus tried answering, "that seems to be some sort of inner demon within Dusk's mind that is plaging him with negative thoughts, and the people somehow made his form physical so Dusk could.... hug."
"..... H-How did you guess that from that?" Rory asked, pointing to the crowd.
"I once had to help a man fend off an evil demon that fed off his mental illness by having him kill the demon with love. Took some convincing to get the guy to hug a Daedric looking devil, but, heh, had the best discounts on swords after that." He replied, nudging Rory with his elbow.
Both Ponds looked more confused. Though Amy's attention was brought to a young creature who tugged on her jacket.
"Hello!" She said, turning to face it.
"What is it you're doin'?" She also bent down to be at the creature's level.
"Amy, don't bend down! It's easier for it to gnaw off your face!"
"We've visited how many planets, and that has happened how many times?" Amy asked, since even if these people had weird bug and tentacle faces, they were still being friendly! The creature gifted her some of the moss that was on the market stands. It looked... edible, at the very least.
"Thank you!" Amy complimented, taking some of the moss. The creature ran off, and Amy stood back up to look at it.
"Tell me you're not gonna eat it." Rory implored her.
"Why not? I'm starving."
"But that might not be edible for humans."
She sniffed it.
"Smells... Oddly like curry."
"Do NOT eat that, it's moss, you're gonna get yourself sick!"
A chewing noise was made besides them, as Callintus munched on some moss another child brought over. "Mmmm... Tastes like cooked venison." He told them, as the moss disintegrated in his mouth the more he chewed, like cotten candy. Shrugging, Amy also chewed on it. "Amy!" Rory shouted as she did that.
"Ooooooh my god, this is curry." Amy told her husband.
"This is 100% curry. Wooooooow, this is REALLY good."
"Oh no, you're gonna get poisoned by it. Anyone here a surgeon!" Rory shouted to the crowd, with Amy quickly turning him around and shoving some moss into his mouth. He was about to spit it out, before the curry flavor really kicked it once his tongue touched it.
"Oooooooooh, my god!" He said with a half full mouth.
"THAT is curry."
"Yeah!" Amy said, like obviously. She said it, stupid.
Everyone within the market got moss and strange drinks. Tsunade, Alistia, Sam, Shirou, each thing they got tasted like whatever food they enjoyed the most, and whatever drink they found would quench their thirst. It was almost addicting how good their grown plant foods were. All of them hadn't eaten for days, and their bodies needed the nourishment, but even still, what the city people were giving them was heaven on earth. And they had as much as they desired.
The 11th Doctor
@Wade Von Doom @Amber Franklin
As the Doctors split off from the rest of the group, the 11th walked with his hands folded behind his back, his shoulders slightly hunched and his brow furrowed in thought. At times like this, the seemingly youthful Timelord seemed equally ancient, with the bearing and grandeur of an old man comfortable with his experience, wisdom and authority. The most telling part was the composed, cunning expression that suggested all of his alien, inhuman spectacle hadn't cowed or intimidated him in the slightest. Quite the contrary, it'd gotten him
thinking.
"
Right, let's try this on for size then." The Doctor at last turned to gaze piercingly at Nux. "
You had an empire but it was brought low by unforeseen events. You've built your lives, your very bodies around a particular Great One who among other things guided your species to the stars but evidently couldn't stop an ice age, or beat an ice age to the punch for that matter. After all, if you were all off world by now, a little cold wouldn't make much of a difference. Yet this Great One of yours knows us. Expected us. When we're not of this universe, never were, have never been in any way shape or form a part of the chronological cosmology of this universe's geometry."
"
Begs the question, a bit, doesn't it. Or it would if it were actually a question." The young man with the ancient eyes smiled and shook his head slowly. "
But I think we all know that what happened to your people is exactly what he wanted to have happen. You're dependent on him and he gains by that, doesn't he. And yet, we're expected."
The Timelord turned away to face one of the incomprehensibly shaped pathways they trod upon, allowing his older counterpart the opportunity to comment if she wished. He seemed content to let the observation and the conversation rest, however.
Instead, once they reached their destination, the 11th Doctor at last said "
So, what does a God need with a Timelord? You said we're supposed to reignite a golden age, yes? How? It wouldn't be the first time, mind you, but if there's a script for this particular little play, wouldn't it be lovely to know our lines?"
And the Doctor tried on a winsome, winning smile that might have seemed more sincere if there wasn't something darker lurking in his expression. Curiosity, yes even now, but also long wearying experience of similar situations faced. Those eyes of his held a deeper gleam of implacability. He was playing along for now but if he decided this needed to be brought to an end, his smiling glower had all an onlooker needed to know how absolute that end would be.
As 11 continued his questioning, upon entering the building again, Nux lead the two Doctor's to a large elevator shaft. Once inside, and as the Doctor asked his question, Nux pulled a lever that closed the elevator doors, and sent them down. Nux simply chuckled from all of 11's deducing of why and how.
"No script, Doctor." He told him, confirming his species knew the word 'script.' Wonder if they held plays down in this place?
"His wisdom breaks through the boundaries you believe hold worlds apart. They are not barriers for him though. His birth came as the universes were create by the sudden fire of atoms clashing together. His brothers and sisters, all gifted with powers and knowledge of what was, what is, and what will. For him, it is that he has been long separated from his siblings that he wishes to awaken again. When they spread out across space, he was too young to travel with them, so he waited. He wished to grow himself stronger and more wise, before he could begin the great pilgrimage across the stars and through dark space. It is not harm he wants upon you, far from it. He is not violent or sadistic like his siblings. He wishes to only meet kindred spirits." The elevator continued down and down, deeper into the planet than perhaps the city was. After so long, the elevator stopped, and Nux pulled aside the door.
"To awaken him, the answer will be clear. And in reward, he will gift you with even the wisdom you seek for yourselves." Nux told them both, before leading the two Doctor's down a pathway. It was a very large cavern, with a ramp going right through the center. Nux led them halfway, before stopping. Then, he began a chant.
"Cahf ah nafl mglw'nafh hh' ahor syha'h ah'legeth, ng llll or'azath syha'hnahh n'ghftephai n'gha ahornah ah'mglw'nafh"
Before the Doctor's could ask another question, a very large eye slowly opened to their right.
"Behold our Great and Wondrous Elder." Nux told them both, sliding away as the eye looked down upon the two Doctor's.
".............. Gallifrey." It simply said.
"You.... seek Gallifrey."
