Weatherbrook: The Truth is Waiting (IC)

[mr_pibbs]

Boggy Creek, 12am

​

"Showtime..." Matthew whispered to himself, looking down at his wristwatch. 12am. Midnight. The exact time he said he would be waiting at the bend where Boggy Creek began for those who managed to solve the P.S.I.S. code. The dark water of the extremely deep creek continued to flow all the way to the basin of Great Bear Pond (named after the chieftain who discovered Weatherbrook). Although he wasn't completely near the waterbed, Matt was cautious of the creek a few metres behind him. He knew what sinister creatures lurked within. However, Matthew was also aware of his 'forest friend', who was lurking close to his current location. If anything the young man that he wasn't capable of fighting off tried to attack, then 'the Big Guy' would come to his rescue. Not that Matthew was alone, however. Violet was with him.

Looking cautiously towards the brunette on his right, Matthew sighed quietly. Two months ago, he thought she was just a regular girl. Shy and a little introverted, but normal nonetheless. One day he had decided to go visit her, as she had been away from school for a week due to illness, but when he arrived he met with her 'little friend', Sela. The fairy-creature shocked him at first, but Matthew's research and field-experience told him she was friendly. Eventually Violet came clean with him, revealing that she was a halfling: half witch, half werewolf. Although he was concerned to be around her at first, it only took a few moments for Matthew to come to terms with this information. Since he had encountered many peaceful supernatural creatures during his escapades, Matthew was not as affected by her revelation as one might have expected. But knowing the type of person she was, Matthew requested she join with the PSI's. Having somebody with her magical abilities, as well as the 'perks' that came along with lycanthrope, made her a useful asset to the team.

Even though he wouldn't have considered them to be romantically involved, the distance between them resembled that of a couple. Not because he wanted her close, nor the fact that she smelt nice... But because the waters of the creek were deeper then they looked and anything could pop out at any time. They didn't typically strike in groups, so it was essential for Matthew and Violet to stay in close proximity for now.

But, as he looked at Violet, his eyes landed on the creek. A ripple through the waters forced him to open his right palm slowly. The low hum of the alien energy building up from his 'Power Glove' quietly filled the air as he continued to monitor the creek.

While the creek didn't look like much upon first glance, the run-off from Great Bear Pond had worn away the earth to such an extent that just standing within the creek brought the water up to an average sized person's waist. It was an inconvenience for the townspeople, fearing they might slip in by accident... But for a Reptillian, it was the perfect method of transportation. Reports of people drowning in the creek were more common now then ever, but oddly enough, trauma on the bodies of the victims reveal they might have even dragged into the water. Sometimes even a body could not be retrieved, but the discarded clothes or even bones of a missing person would always turn up in Great Bear Pond. Not many suspected it, but Matthew and a few other like-minded people knew that the creatures dwelling within the waters were responsible.

Reptillians were tall, humanoid creatures with misshapen features and scales all across their bodies. They had slime covered scaly skin, piercing red eyes, and sharp teeth with jagged claws on both their hands and feet. In between each clawed finger was a set of webbed skin, which allowed the creatures to swim incredibly fast. Reptillians were capable of ripping a living creature apart within minutes, which was why Matthew had advised that those who showed up to his meeting bring weapons. They were going hunting for a specific Reptillian female who Matt had previously tracked.

The creature had been reportedly breaking into the local Japanese resturant, Su-Mi, and stealing the freshly caught salmon. Some of its eggs even showed up in the back of the kitchen, but they were taken by pest control (they thought they were snake eggs and disposed of them quickly). So, the female was obviously angry. Not only was there another break-in that day, but there was also a kidnapping: a young girl by the name of Julie Dinkledge. She and her family had been eating at the resturant when the break in occurred and in the chaos she had been taken by the creature. Matt just hoped the creature hadn't gotten hungry in the time since the attack, otherwise there might not be anything to find.

In his backpack, Matt could feel the tiny movements of Nibbles the Mogwai as he pulled himself up to the human's shoulder. Just like Matthew, the adorable creature was eager to meet the people who wanted to help out. Cooing softly, Nibbles gently tapped Matt's shoulder softly, giving the boy an indicator that the creature was saying 'I love you' again. Smiling down at his fuzzy pal, Matthew used his gloveless hand to gently rub the head of Nibbles.

While the others most likely would bring golf clubs or even fake weapons, Matt was more than prepared to tackle the creatures: donned on his right arm and softly glowing was the 'Power Glove'. Knowing that he was able to wield such a weapon was more than comforting, especially since it could impact a large manner of creatures. Especially ethereal ones. Had it not been for the glove, the Banshee currently trapped just outside of Hemmington Manor would still be at large. Who knew a blast to the head with a high powered energy beam was actually going to hurt a ghost woman? But regardless of wether or not the ghost was actually injured, the weapon still gave Matt a great advantage over the monsters. A long range weapon that didn't require ammunition and could reload rather quickly? Perfect.

Strapped to his side was his 'Presently Unnamed Science Device', otherwise known as the probe he stole from an alien ship. It was facing upwards, the orange end sticking out of the small holster he kept it in. It was not glowing, which was a good indicator that things were alright. He had activated the scanner setting and presently, there was no signs of hostile life forms. Yet.

But just as he was about to grab the device and verify he and Violet were still alone, Matt heard some rustling in the bushes ahead of him. Extending his palm, Matt could feel the repulser beam charging up in preparation of something big. Instead of a terrifying monster, Matthew was met with the sight of a small group of people slowly approaching him. The Calvary had arrived.

Closing his palm and lowering the glove, Matt deactivated his charged blast and put on his game face. "Hello everyone... Glad you could make it. As you already know, I'm X, that's Kit, and this is Nibbles." Matt said in a clear voice, pointing to the young woman and the Mogwai respectively when he mentioned their names. "He's harmless, just so long as you don't feed him after midnight. I'll go more into detail about that later, but right now we've got more pressing stuff to discuss. Before I explain our mission... Does anybody have questions or concerns? And because I know this is coming; Yes, some of you will probably die and so could I. When you're dealing with the kind of stuff you don't understand, you always go into the situation with a 80% chance of dying. Unless you're quick and resourceful... Judging by the fact you broke my code, you're definitely resourceful."

 

[Ravenbelle]

Violet took a deep breath as Matt whispered beside her. However, she didn't need a watch to know it was Midnight. It is called the Witching Hour for a reason, after all. She was strongest at this time of night and she could feel fresh magic flowing in her veins. She knew she was far more skilled in defensive magic use than offensive, but if there was any time to use either, it was now, between the hours of 12 and 3 AM. The moon wasn't shining very brightly tonight, partially because it wasn't full, but also because it was mostly obscured by clouds and from her point of view, the trees in Boggy Creek. She could still see better than any average human though. Her purple eyes easily adapt to the darkness, thanks to her werewolf side. This would be her most dangerous excursion as an official member of the PSIs yet and she was on high alert. If she were shifted right now, her hackles would be raised, but since she'd like to keep from freaking out the new members to arrive today, she stayed in her human form, wearing a ponytail and a black outfit--black tanktop, black jeans, black (muddy) sneakers--to keep from being easily spotted by the dangerous creatures of the creek. Besides Matt's friend, that is. She was glad he was on their side. One less thing to worry about.
Either way, her senses nervously reached out as far as they could in human form; they would be even more to her advantage on her paws, but still: her eyes darted around--making sure she wouldn't miss anything, her nose, though bombarded by the stink of the creek and ignoring Matt and Nibbles' scents--did its best to seek out threats, and her ears caught the small sounds of rustling leaves in the wind, even the ripples in the water before she tilted her head in recognition of approaching footsteps. She inhaled deeply through her sensitive nose, wrinkled it up at the disgusting smell of their surroundings, and caught wind of the group of humans coming their way. At least, she was pretty sure they were human. From this distance she couldn't quite tell. She couldn't see them yet either. Violet bit her lip. She had to admit, as anxious as she was to be on this hunt for vicious reptilians in their home turf, she was still worried about making a good impression on the newbies. She wondered how much they knew about the supernatural. How had they cracked the code if they didn't? Would they recognize her for what she was? Would they reject her right off the bat? Sometimes when Matt looked at her and sighed like that, she wondered if even he still had his doubts about trusting a Halfling. The short brunette shook her head. She shouldn't be so shy. There was no time for such trivial fears when she was supposed to be focusing on rescuing a kidnapped young woman, Julie Dinkledge, from that ferocious mama reptile. She hoped that she wouldn't be smelling too much blood tonight. If she could help it, no one would lose their lives tonight.
Not even Nibbles, who decided he had no qualms with meeting the newcomers face to face and so crawled onto Matt's shoulder to give him a loving pat. Violet smiled at the pair as Matt sweetly pet his companion with one ungloved finger. It made her miss her own little friend, Sela, though she had made sure to tell her to stay home tonight, for her own safety.
The small group of newbies was heading closer now and Violet could just make out a few shadowy figures in the distance if she squinted. Her purple irises kept darting back down to Matt's waist, making sure none of them meant to do any harm yet. Yet when Matt finally heard them rustling a few steps ahead now, he leveled his weapon--foolish boy. She was just about to lower his arm when the small group made themselves known and he closed his fist on his own. Violet gulped.
As Matt stepped into his role as leader and addressed the new members of the PSIs, Violet took a closer look at every member of the team. Though a couple struck her as odd at first glance, they obviously weren't dangerous, according to Matt's probe. But she still didn't trust them enough to give them her first name, so they now knew her as Kit. She gave them a tiny smile and an awkward wave when Matt introduced her. Then she squeezed the strap of her small canvas backpack a little tighter before giving Matt the side-eye. As clever as he had been to put this big code puzzle out there, he wasn't very good with first impressions. So Kit spoke up immediately after him in a clearly sarcastic tone, "Wow X, way to be encouraging."
Now addressing the group before her and meeting each of their eyes as she talked, she said "I'm not usually an optimist about these sorts of things, but I don't think any of us have an 80% chance of death. On the contrary, I'm thinking that even though this is the first time we meet, we have enough people here to take down what we're after tonight. Speaking of our first meeting, we should uh...get to know each other. I mean..we don't have much time at this very moment, but I do wanna know your names at least. We'll be more likely to protect each other and work as a team that way. So. yeah...I'm Kit.." But they already knew that, she scolded herself. Gosh she's awkward​

 

[Princess Rose]

[fieldbox="Cae, seagreen, solid"]When the message closed her guardian's voice filled the silence. "Well now we must go! We must save this fair village and the Brook of Weather. As well as that poor boy from his box prison and the imp that is eating his chest!" She gave a amused laugh, "Do not fret Sir Lowel, the small creature is not eating him it is just scared. He is also not in the box." After all was said and done she had prepped herself to head into Weatherbrook. Bags packed and her instruments in their holders at her thigh and hip she got into her car that her guardian called a metal contraption.
Within a half hour she arrived at her destination. Cae parked her car along the road where she seen at least one other car. She got out shouldering her bags on a single shoulder; which was really nothing to her in the least. She could sense several spirits nearby that died here. She thankfully didn't see any approach her as she walked through the forest curious of what was happening in this place to populate it with so many spirits. Quick to trigger on unknown sounds she immediately had her emp blaster out and her hand hovering over her scanner.
Cae would rather shoot first ask questions second because this area gave her chills. She was one of the first couple to break through the forest line and come into view of X. Cae relaxed a little and lowered her hand watching the pair with curious and cautious eyes. This was not out side of her realm being a medium would help this group more than anything. Her eyes flashed to Kit something made her senses tingle and she couldn't quite put a finger on it when it came to her. Not one to judge she filed it away for later questioning. "My name is Cae, I do want to forewarn you I do have a guardian ghost. His name is Lowel and he posses a suit of armor. Do not harm him, he is my closest friend." Her voice was unwavering but with some tones of untrust in the pair.
[/fieldbox]​

 

[Crono]

Sir. Lowel had crossed his gauntlets and with his spectral face scowled at Cae's reply. "You can never trust imps my lady. They lure you in with puppy-dog eyes then steal your soul when your not looking!" But then the look weakened, "however I will spare it, out of respect for Sir. X's wishes." It appeared that the demon's charms had surpassed even him, but the boy seemed capable enough if he had sealed away a banshee. When he realized they were taking the Queen's metal carriage again a look of disappointment crossed his scar covered face.

Let's just say the forgotten warrior's experience with the carriage was not exactly, admirable. The first time Cae had convinced him to come inside it Moonlight didn't fit though the doorway strapped to his side, and Lowel refused to remove it. The second time was when he did manage to get inside, but not buckling up combined with a sudden stop had him lose his helmet for a week. He spent the whole drive muttering under his breath about what a infernal contraption his Queen subjected him to, thinking she couldn't hear him when she could clearly hear him. When they finally stopped and Sir. Lowel was freed of the Iorn Maiden on wheels he observed his surroundings while following slightly behind his queen.

A swamp. What a grand stage for fiend slaying! The faint low mist, swirled by even the slightest movements, the murky greenish water in which anything could hide in, and the faint morning of unfortunate souls! Hm, perhaps the latter was a little cold but keep the other two! Sir. Lowel was ready to fight, so ready to fight that he almost lost his Queen and came running after her.

The other members of the supernatural team would see a suit of dulled armor come sprinting though the bushes. Lowel slowed down when he came up to them and without skipping a beat, bowed graciously. "Good evening sir and madam. I am Sir. Lowel Lightbringer, scourge of the dreadful and servent of Her Royal Highness Queen Summersa!" The knight then looked up and examined the boy. "Ah, yes. You must be Sir. X, pleasure to meet you in person and not from a box-centered illusion. And this," he turned to the girl, "is your lady yes?"

 

[Lonewolf888978]

Midnight
Officer Forester
Drake watched from the shade as a figure disappeared into the marsh, which appeared to be a young woman with a suit of armor leading the way. The darkness appeared to be covering her face, but the way she walked and held herself made her seem young. The man in armor was completely covered in shadows. It appeared he was just armor, but Drake figured it was just the angle. They were supposed to be against the monsters...right?
Regardless, Drake slipped the glove into his belt loop, and popped the trunk of the police car. He kept his pistol in its holster, and reached into the truck of the car, retrieving the Shock Wave. It glowed lightly at the touch of his hand as he wielded it. He slipped on a strap he made for the gun, and let it hang to the side as he closed up his car.
Heading the same way as the girl, the light from the gun lit up the walk way easy enough, but he froze as he over heard a voices talking.
Hello everyone... Glad you could make it. As you already know, I'm X, that's Kit, and this is Nibbles. He's harmless, just so long as you don't feed him after midnight. I'll go more into detail about that later, but right now we've got more pressing stuff to discuss. Before I explain our mission... Does anybody have questions or concerns? And because I know this is coming; Yes, some of you will probably die and so could I. When you're dealing with the kind of stuff you don't understand, you always go into the situation with a 80% chance of dying. Unless you're quick and resourceful... Judging by the fact you broke my code, you're definitely resourceful.
Drake decided to stay hidden in the brush as everyone introduced themselves. He glanced around at everyone and nervously took a step, crunching the branch.
Well so much for being hidden.
He muttered to himself as he stepped into the clearing.
Uh, you can call me Forester.
He looked around nervously, and tried to keep the Shock Wave on his back. It appeared the others here had similar alien technology. Maybe by the off chance one of them were an alien and would recognize their gun.​

 

[mr_pibbs]

Matthew was somewhat surprised to see the group who showed up to join the PSI's. He was expecting a team of rag-tag individuals, but definitely not a cop, a human-medium, and the ghost of a long since-deceased Knight. Raising an eyebrow as he examined the trio, Matthew internally shrugged and cleared his throat while the others introduced themselves. Before he could speak though, the knight suddenly chimed in by saying it was glad Matthew was no longer contained by his 'box-centred illusion'. "Um... Thanks?" mumbled the confused boy, looking at Caelina for an explanation. But then the Knight continued, asking if Violet was 'his lady'. Somewhat embarrassed by the sudden comment, Matthew's eyes darted back and forth between his long time 'friend-who-is-a-girl' and the suit of amour while he explained. "She's not my lady... I mean, she is a lady and we did come here together. But not in the sense that you'd understand, Lowel... She's just a friend. A friend who happens to be a woman."

Clearing his throat so as to move past the somewhat awkward discussion, Matthew stepped forwards and looked around at the group. "Moving on." he said bluntly, "Onto the topic of tonight's discussion; the Reptilians and the rescue of Julie. For this explanation, I'm just going to assume none of you know what a 'Reptilian' is. They're big, scaly beasts that look like a human being crossed with a lizard. Pretty straightforward, but that's where the similarities between us and them end. They're incredibly strong and can reach speeds of up to 40 miles-per-hour in less then a few seconds. They've also got sharp retractable claws and webbed skin in-between their fingers that allows them to swim at incredible speeds. Reptilians are carnivorous and when they're not chomping on humans or other animals, often times resort to cannibalism. They can smell humans from a mile away, but the stench from the Creek prevents them from doing so. Most of the time they have to rely on sight here, but they're just as dangerous then."

Crossing his arms while he looked towards the group, Matthew paused for a moment to let his words sink in before he continued. "Bottom line; don't go near the water. It's deeper then you'd expect and Reptilians have a much easier time of finding you. Also, if you see a shiny looking human with red eyes, just shoot it. Otherwise, you'll be what's for dinner." Finally finishing his explanation of the creatures, Matthew reached for his science-device and adjusted the setting to scan for human life. Of course it began to glow when he aimed it at himself, but he promptly turned it towards the woods and motioned his hand from left to right. Southwest from their current position, Matthew detected faint signs of a human still alive. "That way." Matthew stated bluntly as he turned back to the group. "Here's the plan; we head towards that signal and when we're there, rescue Julie Dinkledge... Or, try to recover what's left of her. Presumably our secondary target will be there as well: a female Reptilian with the yellow stripe running down her back and spiked fins protruding from the side of her face. She's been causing a bit of chaos throughout Weatherbrook lately and is the one responsible for Julie's kidnapping. I'm guessing she's the current 'den mother', so once we kill her the others will lose morale and back down. They're getting bolder, but if we can manage to force them back into the woods, we might have a chance to keep them away from town, at least for a while."

Turning back around, Matthew motioned with his gloved hand for the group to follow him. Holding his scanner outstretched in the direction of the signal, Matthew began to walk off, proceeding further into the wooded area surrounding Boggy Creek.

 

[Ravenbelle]

[fieldbox="Violet, purple, dashed, 10, Book Antiqua"]
Though the first to arrive was an officer she heard easily in the surrounding bushes, the first of the new PSIs to speak up and introduce herself was a pretty redhead with a fierce spark in her eye. Violet considered that a very good first impression, even though it was clear she didn't trust anyone gathered here besides the ghost she brought. She had unfamiliar weapons strapped in strategic places and Violet wondered bitterly if she was the only one who had yet to run into an alien with useful tech. Violet nodded to Cae with a nervous, but welcoming smile before turning to the suit of armor she called her guardian ghost. He gave off only the scent of his armor and a faint musky odor that reminded her of another ghost she'd encountered with Matt. It must be common among spirits..the subtle scent of the dead. She made sure to memorize it for future reference. The knight bowed low and Violet's eyes strayed to his sword, which looked powerful for something that should have started decaying ages ago. Despite his outdated vernacular, she expected the PSIs would definitely benefit from his help. After all, what could kill that which was already dead?
From the get go, he gave Violet a small tidbit of information she couldn't help but wonder about for a moment. The ghost considered himself a servant to a Queen Summers...was that perhaps the last name of the girl who introduced him as her closest friend? She kept the question for later, but Cae cleared it up with the notion that he'd served her in a past life. She furrowed her brow for a moment and made sure she'd talk to her about that later. However, her musing and observations were brought to a sudden halt at Sir Lightbringer's question to Matt.
Violet blinked and glanced at Matt with an awkward little 'o' on her lips. "Uh.." She answered with all the eloquence in the world. Luckily, Matt handled the inquiry efficiently. The brunette nodded at the conclusion of his brief explanation and paid close attention to Matt's next introduction of the case they were to handle tonight. When he mentioned Julie, Violet was suddenly glad to have Officer Forester ready to join them. That way, their group had someone in law enforcement to keep the cops off their tails. Because honestly, any other member of Weatherbrook's police lacking alien weapons would have escorted a bunch of mysterious young adults out of the woods if discovered at this hour. Now hopefully Julie could get back to her family without much speculation about who rescued her.
They still had to beat Mama Reptilian though. And Matt's description of her kind reminded her again the kind of foe they were facing. She promised herself she wouldn't shift tonight,--hence the taser gun at her waist and the dagger in her backpack--but she had to admit things would be a heck of a lot easier if she were on four paws tonight. At the very least, to calm her nerves. The Reptilians weren't the only ones hindered by the overpowering smell of the creek and she has never been very good at aiming anything but magic.
So using the 'easy way' to search for someone--as opposed to Violet's excellent tracking skills--Matthew was all business while handling his alien scanner thing. At the faint signal that blipped once pointed Southwest, Violet perked up, instantly relieved that the girl was still alive. If they could get to her soon, Violet would make sure to keep her that way. So she followed Matt without hesitation and spoke a quiet "Good luck" to everyone before quieting as she stepped with her friend. She stayed close to his side the way a beta in a wolf pack would. She was his closest protector and in his vulnerable position at the head of their little group, Violet meant to keep him safe (along with little Nibbles) no matter what. She didn't abandon the others though. She'd be ready to spring towards any threat she might hear or smell coming towards them.
[/fieldbox]​

 

[Lonewolf888978]

Forester
Drake had heard of reptilians before. Not around town, but in conspiracies. Things like George W. Bush and the Queen of England were reptilians. Now, he could see that being true.
He tried to stay in the middle of the group, so if any of those damn things sprung out on him, it wouldn't grab him, and give him time to use his Shock-Wave. For a time the team walked, avoiding water whenever they could, and Drake reminded silent through the entire ordeal. As the ping of the alien ping strengthened, the team grew quieter, growing more and more tense.
Drake froze as a long
Crooooooaaaaaaakkkkk
Echoed in the water they passed. Drake glanced into the water and froze. He realized the sound was coming from the water, right in front of him and he muttered
Oh fucking great.
The water in front of him splashed as a tiny frog hopped out of the water, it being the sign of the croaking. Breathing a sigh of relieve he gave a nervous laugh and loosened the grip on his gun. The frog hopped back into the water and started to swim away, deeper into the swamp.​

 

[Princess Rose]

[fieldbox="Cae, seagreen, solid"]Caelina had given pause to Lowel's comment, before speaking herself, "He was my captain of the guard in a past life, when I was a queen. He is not quite accustomed to this day and age as of now he understands mostly what a car is and that a cell phone is a magic device." That was really the best that she could really do to explain her companion. She was definitely attached to Lowel in the sense of him being her momst trusted companion and guardian.
Once Matthew started speaking again she gave him her full undivided attention. "Onto the topic of tonight's discussion; the Reptilians and the rescue of Julie. For this explanation, I'm just going to assume none of you know what a 'Reptilian' is. They're big, scaly beasts that look like a human being crossed with a lizard. Pretty straightforward, but that's where the similarities between us and them end. They're incredibly strong and can reach speeds of up to 40 miles-per-hour in less then a few seconds. They've also got sharp retractable claws and webbed skin in-between their fingers that allows them to swim at incredible speeds. Reptilians are carnivorous and when they're not chomping on humans or other animals, often times resort to cannibalism. They can smell humans from a mile away, but the stench from the Creek prevents them from doing so. Most of the time they have to rely on sight here, but they're just as dangerous then." When he finished his little annotation about who and what Reptilians were. Cae pursed her lips in deep thought at that moment. She had never seen a Reptilian before but she read extensively about the subject and knew a lot more than the average person.
"Is that why there has been so many deaths in this forest?" She wasn't even thinking when she spoke but it was the foremost thought in her head. She needed to know about the multitude of spirits in this forest it bugged her nagged at the back of her head. When Matthew wanted to move out she followed him drawing her emp gun. It was her first line of defense against hostiles. It would knocked anything unconscious. Cae would be damned if anything caught her off guard.
She could hear the officer in front of her mutter under his breath and she raised an eye looking to where he was paralyzed in almost fear. She had her EMP blaster aimed at the area when a frog splashed the surface she gave a small giggle internally at his actions but they were justified. Reptilians from what she read were unforgivable creatures; they would rather eat you than have a civilized discussion.[/fieldbox]

 

[mr_pibbs]

Matthew subtly rolled his eyes as Drake raised his gun towards a frog. "Bit jumpy? It's fine... But for future reference, check the device around my belt. If you see it changing colour and flashing rapidly, then you can start shooting. It's a nice bit of alien tech, tells me when danger's near and does a few other things as well. Orange means we're fine, but if it turns red then there's danger nearby. The flashing indicates how far away the dangerous object is. The faster the flashing, the closer the creature." he explained, his voice lightening up a bit as he tried to calm down the nervous police officer. Matt nodded at him reassuringly, patting his gloved hand against the 'science device' to indicate where the object was so everyone knew. It pulsated once every twenty seconds, emanating an orange light which meant they were safe for the time being. Turning back to face the forest, Matt continued to follow the creek to the basin at the lake. After about five minutes of walking, Matt noticed the light on the probe flashing quicker and held up his non-gloved hand, indicating for the group to stop moving.

Slowly reaching for his probe, Matthew held the device outstretched before him. It did not blink. He then turned to his left. Still nothing. But as he waved the device over to the right, it began to blink much faster. In the distance, Matt could see a tall silhouetted humanoid staring at the group, studying them. But as the device was pointed towards it, the creature jumped up from its hiding spot. It had been discovered, and was frozen like a deer stuck in a car's headlights. Looking towards the group, Matthew mouthed "Nobody. Make. A sound." The creature remained still, staring directly at the light as if it were puzzling wether or not to attack. But while it was occupied with the scanner, Matt had been silently charging his Power Glove. The creature's head tilted to the left as it heard the low 'hum' of the weapon as it charged and hissed in response. It was stating its territory and would not be moved unless challenged. When Matt stepped forwards in an attempt to draw out the creature, the large silhouette jumped forwards. Rushing at Matt on all fours, it dashed towards the group at a high speed, hissing all the while. But before it could even get close, Matt raised his glove, which held a small blue orb of energy in the palm, and opened fire. The energy blast rocketed out from his glove, smacking the creature in the face and entering its body. The creature's entire body pulsated with the blue energy as the orb hit it before its limbs seemed to give out and the beast collapsed. Given the speed it was running at, the body of the creature rapidly slid towards the group, stopping just short of ten inches away from where Matthew stood.

The creature, now in full view of the group, twitched as another pulse of energy shot through its body. "He's stunned for now... Should be down until we can get the girl. Looks like he was a patrol, so that means the Den Mother must be close as well. She's the one we've got to kill. But take a good look before we head out, group; that's what we're dealing with."

 

[Ravenbelle]

[fieldbox="Violet, purple, dashed, 10, Book Antiqua"]
It didn't take long into their trek for her to hear the far off noises that sounded less than natural. Hisses and the occasional sound of claws on bark, as if to sharpen them. Matt's sensor hadn't caught anything yet though, so she was either picking the noise up from far off because of how alert and vulnerable she felt or..she was paranoid. The probe--there simply was no other name for it--had never been wrong before so when she saw Forester aim his gun at the water in her peripheral vision she furrowed her brow and wondered if he was so trigger-happy he'd hit anything on sight. Well, she couldn't blame him considering Matt's descriptions of their prey. Heck if she were any good at aiming a gun she'd probably have it out in front of her all the time, the same way Cae was holding hers. She wondered what kind of gun hers was as well. Admittedly, Violet wanted to know about everyone's weapons, wondering which would actually work on her, which could be easily deflected, and which she could heal from fairly quickly as a wolf. Perhaps one day she'd trust them enough to train with. But today was not anywhere near that day as both humans were about to shoot an innocent frog over a tiny ripple. Violet glanced again at Matt's waist with no new information and gave a soft sigh. As Matt explained to the newbies how it worked, she kept her purple eyes wide open, scanning around them as he spoke. He shouldn't be speaking she knew, but she sometimes trusted Matt's judgement over her own. He is leader tonight, after all.
Still it made her even more on edge than she has been and for the next five minutes she was almost as jumpy as Forester. Her gut felt like it was trembling inside her. It was an odd, uncomfortable feeling but sometimes it was her sixth sense. Her wolf telling her she was going the wrong way danger!danger!, which in this case means the path they intend to take.
The smell of the water was stronger here, as well as the small noises of the creatures that don't belong here. Her shoes and pants were muddy almost past the ankle, but she knew how to keep her steps quiet, still glancing periodically at the probe until it started flashing more swiftly. Violet froze before he told her to and stopped breathing, but her heart was out of control. Though she hated to relinquish any one of her senses right now, she did so by closing her eyes to temporarily further heighten the others. While Matt was pointing the probe in different directions, Violet took in a silent deep breath and immediately looked to their right--a half second before Matt's probe pointed it out. Her ears had heard when it stood as well, but her nose was always strongest. As he warned the others to stay silent, her hands shook, but not out of fear. If that thing made a move it would be fast. She needed to be faster. At least the night was on her side. Still between 12 and 3. No chance she'd let anyone get hurt. Matt took aim with his glove. She winced. It was too loud!
and the proof was in the menacing hiss loud enough for human ears from the reptilian silhouette. The message was clear as day to her wolf.
Stay out of our territory.
As soon as Matt made a move, the silhouette was instantly physical, real, coming right for him. The energy in his palm was growing too slow for Violet's liking. Though it all happened so quickly, Violet's hand snapped upward at her side, open palm facing Matt, subtly putting up a slightly shimmery, transparent shield (aka forcefield) in front of him, the reptilian's target. His attack phased right though the shield with no problem, hitting the Reptilian right in the face and rendering their foe to a heap of ugly reptile immobilized on all fours at his feet. Had it the chance to harm Matt (or Nibbles), it would have bumped into her wall at its high speed and possibly gone unconscious from the blow. Violet relaxed a little, relieved, and the shield disappeared. She hoped no one had noticed it, too focused on the enemy. Violet flinched as it twitched. As disgusting as it looked and smelled, she felt a little bad. It was only doing what it was told, following instincts. So she was glad Matt didn't give the order to kill it while it was down. That would just be cruel. Violet nodded at his words and took a deep breath. Both to calm herself a little and take in her surroundings again. No immediate threats, yet. Good. Though she was sure Matt had seen her shield, she knew he wouldn't be mad at her for it, or if he was, he wouldn't say so aloud. He respected her choice to keep her secret to herself. It might not stay a secret for too long, but she's the one who gets to reveal what she wants to about herself when she wishes.
[/fieldbox]​

 

[Crono]

Lowel seemed confused at Sir. X's rather desperate and long explanation that the woman, who introduced herself as Kit, was in fact not his lady. "You need to better train your use of words my boy," he mused, "a simple 'nay' would have sufficed." The final member of the fellowship arrived, a strong looking man in somewhat decorated garb who called himself The Forester. The name reminded the old knight of a towering, grizzled man who lived in the wilderness and was famous for wrestling bears to death.

I'm sorry to say the Sir. Lowel had high expectations for The Forester, which were shattered as the man panicked at the sight of a simple frog. "You sure you will be able to stand after sighting one of these lizardmen Forester? I will not carry you." While his first statement sounded more like a friendly josh, the second was terribly serious. As Sir. X continued to explain the situation Lowel nodded, understanding completely that a serpent beast had to be killed and a fair madien rescued while paying absolutely no attention to any of the other details.

When the encounter with the first of the lizardmen occurred Lowel immediatly drew his blade and would have probably charged screaming into the fray had Sir. X not have motioned for them not to move. The sword gave off a faint spectral grow as it thirsted for unholy blood, and was about to taste it when the ugly monster rushed towards them, the animated suit of armor lifting it and beginning to charge. However Sir. X's magic got to it first, causing the beast to collapse and slide across the mud. He was tempted to smite the monster but he was honor bound, he would not strike a downed man... Even a lizard, man.

 

[mr_pibbs]

Matthew took a moment to let the group observe the reptillian before grabbing his scanner again. Gently sliding the orange tip across the scaly skin of the fallen beast, Matt raised his science device to the sky and began to point it towards the path where the creature had been on patrol. The scanner began to blink slowly and emitted a low buzzing sound. The light at the end slowly changed colour to match that of the creatures skin, at which point the buzzing noise began to morph into a low growl reminiscent of the Reptillian's roar. "That way. There's a large group of Reptillians gathered somewhere over the hill. Must be some kind of mating ceremony. Expect a lot of resistance." explained Matt in an almost robotic tone, waving a hand towards the group so they moved forwards. As Violet walked close by his side, he gave her a thankful pat on the shoulder. "Thanks. Didn't need it... But thanks." he said, casting her a quick smile before returning to his solemn expression.

Once the group had crossed the hill, Matt preemptively began to charge his Power Glove. A few feet ahead of them stood a series of twelve burrows, all of which looked as if they were dug out by gophers the size of a cow. "Reptillian hives. They bury their eggs deep underground and abandon them. The mud from the creek keeps the eggs warm enough until they hatch. Most of them die before they can even crawl out from their holes. Not because of infection or lack of oxygen... But because when the adults can't find food, they remember where they stored their 'reserves', if you catch my drift." explained Matthew, knowing the group would be perplexed by the strange holes. "There's a lot this year... But I don't think they're full just yet... Of eggs, that is. I'm not gonna go into detail, but those holes would probably fit about 4 pairs of Reptillians and about half a dozen eggs. Usually they have a feast prior to a mating ceremony, but it looks like they already finished that." explained Matthew, pointing out the pile of animal bones strewn across the forest floor. "If we're lucky, the Den Mother saved our girl for last. Usually they leave the biggest prey as a 'celebration snack'."

As he examined the area further, Matthew noticed a strange figure moving close to a tree. There were muffled noises coming from the figure and it seemed to have long hair. Obviously, not a Reptillian. "Move fast. Be quiet. Don't step in the holes... And if you see a half eaten goopy yellow substance, don't touch it. Reptillians have a habit of making food out of anything... Especially feces." explained Matthew, pushing a bush out of his way before gently sliding down the hill, surfing the mud with his feet so he didn't get his clothes messed up. He stopped short of a hole and gently peered down it. Once he confirmed that a group of Reptillians were to occupied with procreation to notice him, he turned away. The scent of the bog and their... actions was covering up the smell of the fresh human meat wandering around their camp.

Quickly making his way through the hole-field until he reached the tree were he last saw the figure, Matthew sighed a breath of relief as he spotted Julie Dinkledge, alive and relatively unharmed. Her mouth was shut with a hardened green substance, probably Reptillian saliva. Bending down so he was on her level, Matt gently placed the gloved hand on the woman's shoulder to clam her down. "We're here to help... Hold still and don't make a noise. This might hurt a bit, sorry in advance." he whispered, raising his probe so it was level with her mouth, Matt changed the settings on the device until the tip changed green. From there, he pushed the main button and watched it pulsate rapidly as a high-pitched sonic frequency shot towards the hardened spit. The covering on Julie's mouth shattered like a glass window getting hit with a rock, leaving the bottom half of her face a little red. "Gah... T-Thank you!" she began to exclaim, only to have Matthew silence her with his finger. "Shh... We're not out of the woods yet. C'mon. Can you walk?"

Helping her to her feet, Matthew put Julie's right arm around his shoulder and did his best to support her weight. Turning to the group, Matt signalled for them to move out... That is until he noticed the five Reptillian patrols guarding the Den Mother approaching from behind.



(Den Mother's appearance)

"Oh come on... That's something right out of a film." groaned the young man, staring directly at the Den Mother as she studied the humans (and ghost) trying to steal away her prized meal. Knowing the encounter would lead to violence anyways, Matthew aimed his pre-charged Power Glove at the Den Mother and fired a red beam, forcing her head to explode violently in a fireworks display of blood and gore. The other Reptillians simply stared at him with shock, terrified of his weapon. "Yep. That just happened." Matt stated blankly before he gestured for the group to run. They only had about five seconds before the monsters recovered from their shock, and when they realized what to do in response...

"HOOMANS! HOOMANS KEL MOSSA! HOOMANS KEL MOSSA!" screamed one of the guards, bearing his fangs angrily. Below the group, the ground seemed to shake as what seemed like a hundred Reptillians began to emerge from the egg-burrows.

"RUN AND GUN, PEOPLE!" shouted Matthew, quickly picking up Julie as if she were his newly wed bride before dashing off to the left, away from the Reptillians. He knew the group was close behind him, but the Reptillians were also closing in on the group. "Keep running! We're outnumbered, there's no way any of us could fight them head on... But I think I know a guy who could help." explained Matthew, looking at the group as he ran. Then, he turned his head towards the treeline and shouted at the top of his lungs. "I COULD REALLY USE SOME HELP, BIG GUY!" Matthew shouted to the trees as he narrowly jumped over a Reptillian lunging towards his legs.

Nearly moments after his plea, a booming roar echoed around the retreating group. It seemed to frighten even the Reptillians, but Matthew only smiled when he heard it. Stopping in his tracks Matt turned around to face the events about to transpire. Having slowed down their pursuit to locate the owner of the roar, the Reptillians were suddenly met with extreme brute force by a large, hairy monster who charged in from the nearby woods. Swinging it's arms wildly, the beast let out another bloodcurdling roar and began to pummel a the group of Reptillians with its large, ape-like fists. Some of the Reptillians tried to fight back, jumping onto the creatures back to try and take it down, but they were thrown off by the creature's powerful arms. Matthew smiled with relief as his team and his 'big friend' managed to pummel the group of Reptillians enough for the leaders to force a retreat. As the scaly creatures ran back off into the night, the large ape-man let out a roar of victory, banging its chest triumphantly before turning to the group of humans it was defending. "Thanks, Big Guy. Everyone, I'd like you to meet one of my close allies; the Boggy Creek Monster. Otherwise known as 'the Massachusetts Bigfoot'. He's friendlier then he looks, trust me. Aren't you Big Guy?"



Nodding back at the young man, the legendary ape-man looked around at the group, studying them. His nose twitched as he sniffed the group, almost as if he were trying to locate anyone who would threaten either himself or Matthew. Once his sniffing concluded, the large creature grunted and offered the group a subtle grin. "Well, you guys check out with him. That's good."

 

[Ravenbelle]

[fieldbox="Violet, purple, dashed, 10, Book Antiqua"]Without missing a beat, Matt scanned over the scales of the thing and began the process of locating more of its kind. In the meantime, Violet glanced back at Sir Lowel's sword, which had been glowing behind her a second ago before he sheathed it once again. She wondered just what kind of damage that thing could do...then again, she doubted she'd have to wait long to find out considering where they were headed. Again, it would have been as simple as taking a deep breath for the halfling to find the nearby den of their enemy, but Matthew still played it safe, going to the scanner's features over her nose. In this case though, she was kind of glad she would get to postpone smelling their scent full on, at least for a little while.
"That way. There's a large group of Reptilians gathered somewhere over the hill. Must be some kind of mating ceremony. Expect a lot of resistance."
Kit glanced in the direction pointed out by the scanner, back down at their felled opponent and back up. She scrunched her nose at the thought of a large gathering of those...procreating. Just the scent alone might do her in. Ugh. However, there was no time to complain. Hopefully Matt was wrong about resistance and they'd be in and out. She could easily find the girl they were looking for if it came down to it.
So they carried on at Matt's signal and she resumed her position at his side. She had only noticed taking a few steps ahead of the others when she received an unexpected pat on her shoulder--the one she wasn't holding her backpack strap on--along with an unnecessary thanks. She just gave him a small smile and nod, trying to communicate that it was no big deal. It definitely wouldn't be the first or last time she defended him.

The PSIs reached the hill not long after that, much to Violet's dismay. She was trying not to breathe out of her nose anymore; the entire place smelled absolutely rancid. While their leader gave them the same kind of spiel she'd gotten when he showed her his research on the reptilians awhile back, Kit listened more closely to the area ahead, widening her dark purple eyes in search of unusual movements. She didn't get much time to do a thorough sweep after tuning out the more disgusting noises from the holes though because Matthew slid ahead down the hill. She followed quietly and again resisted the urge to throw up at the smell. At least it seemed to keep their own scent unnoticed, but she still kept a close eye on the holes, tensed for one to pop out and attack without warning. Surprisingly, it didn't take long for Matt to spot their damsel in distress trying to hide behind a tree. When the PSIs reached the poor girl she was able to move around a bit, but apparently unable to run away. Violet met her eyes and instantly sensed her pain and weakness, along with the emotional state of everyone in the PSIs (empathy is distracting and kind of annoying like that). Her left ankle was in bad shape and her ribcage probably had a few fractures, but besides those, dehydration and a few minor cuts/bruises, Julie was okay. And she would be better than okay when Violet could get a minute with her in a safer place. She hated leaving anyone in pain like that, but they were in a hurry now, especially when the girl spoke her gratitude too loudly and the emotions of everyone in the PSIs spiked with fear. Too disoriented by the variety of feelings coursing through her from Cae, Forester, Matt and now Julie, Violet whipped around to face the Reptilians she had failed to pick up on when it counted most. She cursed herself for letting herself get distracted and ambushed like this. Both parties were frozen for a second (except Matt, who clearly thought ahead, thank goodness). The Halfling would have immediately moved to stand defensively in front of Matt and the injured girl using him as a crutch, but instead, she smirked at the sound of the weapon/glove that clicked when ready and pushed out the emotions of those around her in preparation for fight or flight--both of which might be pretty fun now because barely an instant later, The reptilian Den Mother was headless. A few spots of flying blood splattered her skin, but she paid it no mind and tried not to laugh at Matt's deadpan remark before following his lead: flight. (a wise course of action at this point)
Unfortunately, the furious exclamations of the reptilians that discovered the rescue team were so loud and distressing that the chase turned into something not so fun--the rest of the pack of reptiles stopped mid-coitus and emerged from their holes all around them, fangs bared and claws at the ready. Well shit.
"RUN AND GUN, PEOPLE!" shouted Matthew, quickly picking up Julie as if she were his newly wed bride before dashing off to the left, away from the Reptillians.
This time the enemy was coming from all sides, so as much as she wanted to stick to Matt's side (and Julie's), she waited a moment for the others to run ahead of her so she could be the behind the rest, watching them all, eyes darting from person to person, everywhere but behind her.
She wasn't going to let anyone die tonight.
Her bag bounced up and down against her back in time with the jarring pains she kept feeling from Julie in Matt's arms. Everyone was shooting or in Lowel's case, slashing, trying not to fall in the holes and the hisses growls and snaps roared in her sensitive ears from all sides. Violet could have easily sped ahead of them all considering how often she runs, whether on two legs or four. However, she chose to stay back to make sure everyone stayed close, keeping them safe as they raced through the forest. Shields went up all over the place (sometimes two at a time), popping in front of Matt with Julie, Cae, Forester, even Lowel occasionally, though she couldn't be sure the dead could be physically harmed this way. Obviously she could no longer be concerned with being discreet about it and if the other PSIs noticed when they missed a Reptilian and it bumped headlong into a near invisible barrier in front of them, it didn't keep them from running. As well as defending whoever she could as quickly as possible, every step she took created a big circle of energy in the ground where she stepped, encouraging all the surrounding plants to grow behind her so the reptilians chasing them in large groups would trip over roots and thorns and even each other. She couldn't keep this up forever because she had to make sure she didn't tire herself out using this much magic in order to heal Julie later, but she was lucky it was still between the hours of Midnight and 3 AM. Otherwise, she'd surely be lagging too far behind the group and breathing really hard right now.
Having assumed from the screeches at her back that her tricks were working, the sudden ripping sound of her bag yanked her back a couple steps threw her off guard and the shields faltered. One of the brighter Reptilians must have leaped over his fallen buddies and ripped open her backpack to which Violet cried out in surprise. Just as she was about to punch it in the face or throw a defensive spell its way, a small, white screech owl came tumbling out of the hole in her bag and scratched viciously at the reptile's eyes with its talons until it let go and gave a loud cry of pain and frustration.
SELA?!
[/fieldbox]

[fieldbox="Sela, pink, dashed, 10, Book Antiqua"]Yes?
The small owl replied to her best friend's mental exclamation in her mind as she escaped the fray, flapping up above the group and watching them with her large, pink eyes as they ran from their ugly pursuers. The entire time Violet had been with the PSIs, Sela had been sleeping in her backpack as an unwanted stowaway because--
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Sela, I told you seventeen times to stay. at. HOME! Violet yelled at her telepathically as she swiftly returned to putting up temporary shields around Matt with some unconscious girl in her arms, and some other people that Sela assumed were the new PSIs. They seemed to be in quite a pickle at the moment.
But I wanted to introduce myself to the new members! Who is that girl Matty is carrying? The one you guys were trying to rescue? Is she alright? And who is that person in the strange metal contraption?
I said you could meet them when we're back at headquarters! You could get hurt out here! UGH why didn't you listen to me?! You better stay in the air you stupid fairy! Don't talk to anybody and don't come down until it's safe!
Don't worry, it will not be long now! Bigfoot's following you at the moment and--
"I COULD REALLY USE SOME HELP, BIG GUY!" Matthew shouted to the trees as he narrowly jumped over a Reptillian lunging towards his legs.
A booming roar echoed throughout the surrounding forest and Sela wavered in her flight for a second out of shock and from her bird's eye view, she caught Violet flinch at the noise, but none of them were worried.
At last the PSIs could calm down in their attacks as the bulk of the Reptilians still standing were pummeled by a giant furry "monster"(any that Bigfoot missed would be shot at or blocked by a magic shield) until they retreated completely.
He gave a victorious display that Violet's ears obviously didn't appreciate, but Sela dove down to settle sweetly upon her friend's shoulder. The little pink-eyed owl with her purple-eyed Halfling friend were sniffed just once since Bigfoot already knew them. Violet smiled at Bigfoot then gave her a glare--to which she did not much react--before she went to stand beside Matt. Both girls glanced with concern towards the young brunette still unconscious in his arms.
[/fieldbox]
​

 

[Princess Rose]

[fieldbox="Cae, seagreen, solid"]Cae resisted the urge to fall to her knees with how many spirits where clamored. This was a horrible sight for her to see. She suppressed the cough that was building from the horrid smell that was reaching them. It was not long until they found the little girl in question and when they were faced with the Den Mother. Cae narrowed her eyes a determination filling her as she drew out her blaster. She readied one of the debilitating blasts as She heard Matthew's shout to run and gun. She fired in 2 second intervoles which was how long her device required for each charge. She definitely knew that something was different with Kit when she felt her emotions slightly adrift towards the other girl. She fired at one that had lept towards Kit it fell to the ground convulsing. Cae would have much rather been researching with her 'neighbors' than be here but a sense of duty was in her; Lowel had once told her that she was much like her past life Sumersa in the sense of duty and righting wrongs.
When they were safely away from the danger Cae actually did fall to her knees breathing rather heavily from all the running she had just endured she let a small sob escape her as the weight of all the deaths finally settled over her. It was heart wrenching to see so many in one place. She could feel the sadness in the air and the pain. It physically hurt her. Sometimes Cae absolutely hated what she was when it came to things like this.[/fieldbox]​