The Nightmare Years

Outside

A rocket hit Sophie's shield. Then another. Where was all this ammunition coming from? There was no way that one rocket launcher could carry that much firepower. Bushuda would wait for the smoke to clear from the blast before firing again. For her part, Daalye had settled down next to her comrade and simply watched and waited. If the rain bothered her she gave no indication of it.

Notob was more amused by Darrel then anything else. The wolfman kept his eyes on the human opponent but made no move of his own except to snarl when Darrel got too close. Thoroughly soaked, he took a moment to shake himself and get the water out of his coat.

Though it seemed like an eternity, only two minutes had passed.

Cave

Leartes helped Larry with the rocks while Xavier began lighting up. His arms were glowing, first red, then yellow, then making their way through the entire color spectrum. He peaked through the hole already created and saw one man squaring off against the cyborg.

"Damn! It's now or never!" he shouted at Xavier. "Let her rip!"

Darrel - outside

Darrel was surprised that the cyborg werewolf had this much patience. A couple of steps inward in his circling had been met with growling, and Darrel had backed up the distance again in response. This kept up for two whole minutes; Darrel figured he must've fully circled the thing at least three times now.

One of those times Darrel caught sight of the cave entrance while it was on the other side of Notob from him, and the hole in the rocks that wasn't there before. Something was going on in there, but Darrel wasn't sure just what exactly. If they were lucky, maybe it was reinforcements, and Darrel might actually live to see another day. If they weren't, it'd probably be more Nightmares; or worse, more friends of the three figures they were fighting against.

Then right now it's a delaying game, either until rescue arrives, or certain death does Darrel thought to himself, locking eyes on Notob again and continuing his slow circling.

edited 6th Sep '12 3:03:51 PM by FirockFinion

Aiming at the specified spot, Xavier let loose the rainbow.

Everyone inside the cave was blinded for a moment by the multi colored streak of light that blasted from Xavier and struck the boulders. Everyone outside was distracted by the rocks flying out from the cave and heavier boulders crashing down as their support gave way.

Old Jerome was just a few steps away and avoided the rock fragments exploding from the cave.

Seven people stood at the entrance. All dressed differently then what they had been wearing going in. They saw outside Daalye beside Bushuda, both who had reflexively backed away from the rocks crashing about them. Daalye took too the air again and the samurai blocked everything with his arms. Across from them was Sophie guarding an unconscious Cosmo, fragments of stone harmlessly crashed into her energy barrier and slide down to the ground. To the left of them was Notob and Darrel circling each other, the wolfman stopping to stare at the new arrivals. Just beyond them was Jane being held down by Nightmares.

If any of them were paying attention to that last detail, they would realize with a start that they could actually see the Nightmares. For over 30 years no one had actually seen the monsters. Being barely visible from the corner of the eye was just one of the many things that made them so unnerving. Seen directly they were barely a meter tall standing on two legs, though some of them were one all fours, their arms were almost long enough to reach the ground. Green and grey oily skin with giant yellow eyes that almost took up the whole head. Large ears that looked like fish fins protruded from either side of the skull. They had no nose of which to speak of.

They were constantly moving. Even standing in one place did not stop their bodies swaying and arms twitching.

"They're alive." Daalye seemed more irritated than surprised.

With the voice pleading in his head, Leartes wasted no time. In the same amount of time it took Bushuda to swing his massive weapon towards the new Knights, he extended his arm and a pale beam blossomed outwards. It hit the cannon. The barrel was encased in ice.

Notob took on look at the Knights, another and Darrel, and decided to stop playing around. He dropped to all fours and charged Darrel, mouth wide open and fangs aimed at the throat.

Slowly so as not to overwhelmed by the data Larry opened his senses of sight, hearing and smell as he exited the cave.

Xavier looked out at the battle and took immediately to action. He took out his crossbow. He readied it and, attempting to account for motion in aiming, fired a bolt aiming at Notob's head.

Seeing that lazer boy was firing at the wolfbot and that bird girl had taken to the air Larry ran at the samurai, sanjiegun swinging focusing his attention on the foe as he ran.

edited 7th Sep '12 1:43:21 PM by tricksterson

Adam Smith

Adam slowly, slowly collected himself. His head still acted like he had the greatest hangover ever, but at least he could understand what were his own feeling and thoughts and what weren’t. He slowly shook his head. He still had trouble to properly realize the significance of that. He could read minds. Or well. Surface thoughts and emotions at least. He looked around, and realized that someone or something had cleared the blocked entrance from the cave.

He picked up the gun he dropped earlier in his left hand, and left the cave together with others. What he saw there was troubling…A few members of the group, engaging the “absurd trio” with various success. And the whole area around the cave was surrounded by creatures which he guessed were Nightmares….

There was no time to hesitate. After an instant needed to get his bearing, Adam launched himself forward, sensing that Larry and Xavier engaging the samurai and cyber-werewolf-something, while he came to help the probably most threatened member of their group – Jane. He let out a series of shots from his pistol, trying to get the attention of Nightmares and maybe kill one or two of them as he ran towards her.

Darrel

The cave blasted open and seven figures stepped out; they looked vaguely like the group that had run in, but their clothes were different. No time for the small details, Darrel knew he had to get into that cave, and now it was open.

Of course, the cyborg werewolf seemed to decide that now was the time to stop playing around, and charged, aiming a nasty looking bite upwards at Darrel's neck. Darrel, in response, let himself fall backwards in an attempt to duck under the attack. While falling backwards, his feet came up to kick upward into Notob, trying to force the werewolf to keep its momentum going over and past Darrel.

HE didn't like pain, so this entire experience didn't exactly click with him well. Now what on earth did the voice mean? Knight of M Olten Steel? What Knight? What on earth was going on?

The second lasted an eternity, but at the same time it was just that: a second. When he came to, the simple clothing he wore were far different. First, it was replaced with a strange armor, bright orange, red and yellow. Like a fire, covering his chest but leaving his large arms exposed. A strange headband wrapped around his forehead, keeping his hair from getting in his face. He felt a strange weight on his right arm, and saw, clutched in a fist, was a hammer. A large hammer, almost as big as him. He lifted, and found it was almost as light as air. Another thing? He felt hot. Very hot. Like an intense, literal case of heartburn in his chest.

"Ergh...' he groaned, disoriented for a moment but caught himself. "What..." Then he heard the ruckus outside. And, with new found determination and the fact he had a BIG fucking weapon, he rushed out.

Sophie — Relieved at reinforcements

"Alright, looks like I'm going to regroup!" Sophie, with Cosmo in hand, ran on over to the seven new arrivals with a shield guarding her. She was being drained, and couldn't keep this up for much longer. "It took you idiots long enough." Sophie muttered under her breath.

"I'm going to take Cosmo into the cavern, let's switch out!" she yelled, quickly running into the new hole made by her comrades.

edited 8th Sep '12 5:28:23 AM by RagnaTheSaviour

"I heard that!," Larry shouted back at Sophie as he swung at Bushuda's head. If he connected he would swith his grip to the niddle section and start a metronome-like series of right-left blows to the armored man's torso.

edited 8th Sep '12 5:03:46 AM by tricksterson

At the moment, Jane lay sprawled on the floor... After firing a few more rounds into the fray of battle the soldier woman started feeling quite dizzy as her own blood started to pool beneath her. She was barely aware of new armored figures leaping into the chaotic battle before she lost all strength and finally fell unconscious.

Byron would exit the cave to find everything was happening at once. Sophie ran as fast as a young woman carrying the dead wait of an unconscious Cosmo could. Larry, and Leartes charged at Bushuda. Adam single-handedly took on the Nightmares over Jane. Darrel was trying to deflect Notob while Xavier fired on the beast.

For her part, Daalye was doing nothing to help either of her comrades. Up in the sky, the weather was finally taking an effect on her. The woman was having a hard time staying airborne and flapped her wings harder and harder to stay afloat.

Down below, Sophie was the only person still mostly dry. Something she was discovering about the power was that the temperature inside the shield was the same as that outside. Right now that was getting colder by the minute and her adrenaline rush was finally taking note of it. She passed Byron as she reached the cave. Safe for the moment.

Adam's bullets did the same thing bullets always did to Nightmares. Went right through them. Being visible to his eyes didn't make them vulnerable to the weapon he had brought with him. He could notice thought that, like Cosmo's crowbar on Daalye earlier, the bullets did leave an impression where they had struck the Nightmares. Instead of any wound, the stricken flesh distorted itself like rippled water before reshaping itself back to normal. So he hadn't actually hurt them, but the glares and snarls he got proved he got their attention. Five of the monsters began advancing towards Adam.

Kill! Kill! So tired... Kill! A lot more of them then last time. Kill! Gotta get to - Gaah! Kill! Kill! Rip out his throat!

Leartes slipped in the mud and was sent sprawling on his back. Bushuda fired but the ice in and on his cannon blocked the rocket. It exploded while still inside the tube, destroying the weapon. Amazingly, the samurai was not lacking an arm because of that. He did not seem to be injured at all, though he staggered backwards as the shock wave blew him back. He regained his balance in time to receive a blow to the head by Larry's sanjiegun and another to the torso. The blunt weapon hit and a distinct clang of wood hitting metal reverberated from the areas struck. If Bushuda felt any pain he did not express it. Digging his heals into the mud, Bushuda used the only weapon he had left, his fist and struck at Larry.

The Knight Xavier and non-yet-Knight Darrel were the only ones enjoying any success with their Hexra. The crossbow arrow wasn't fast enough to hit the wolfman in the head, instead piercing near where his back met his neck. Notob yelped and whatever action or reaction he was about to take towards Darrel was lost in the pain. He did not notice when Darrel's feet hit his stomach and threw his up and over and into the mud.

Daalye gasped up in the air, "The brat actually shot him. They really are Knights."

Darrel - outside the cave, not for long

The werewolf got hit by something; Darrel wasn't sure what, but it yelped out and got thrown over him by his own move. As soon as it was over, Darrel got up as fast as he could and made a break for the cave at a full sprint.

"Cover me, please!" Darrel yelled as he ran, focusing only on moving into that cave as fast as possible.

"Cover me please!"

Byron figured that much could be his job. Fresh from the cave, with new armor and weapon? May as well try it out. However, the burning in his stomach had grown in such a way, he almost doubled over in pain. Feeling sweat beginning to grow on his forehead, he walked forward, at something-anything to fight. Something to take the fire from his stomach.

"Who wants some?!" He cried, raising his hammer threateningly.

Jerome flinched as the cave entrance was suddenly opened by a blast of rainbow energy. Temporarily disoriented by the chaos - it had been decades since he last set foot on a battlefield, even a small one like this - he only caught small snatches of what was going on. Knowing that his only chance to do, well, anything was to enter the cave, Jerome moved as fast as he could inside, hoping that he could help before it was too late.

"Ow!" Larry yelled as the armored fist hit him, loosening but not, fortunately, beaking, his jaw, and he went down, but far from out. landing at Bushudo's feet he hooked the sajiegun behind the samurai's leg, took an outer section in each hand and pulled.

edited 9th Sep '12 5:47:32 AM by tricksterson

Sophie — In the cave, insert FF victory theme here

"Agh." Sophie ran to the rock where the others had obtained their powers, and set Cosmo down nearby. "Alright, it's time to wake up." she clasped his hand in her own and forced it to touch the rock. Her wounds were healed when she had become a Knight, so maybe the same would happen for the unconcious young man.

Don't you dare die on me!

He had managed to shoot it, although not where intended. He would have to be certain.

He tried to shoot it in the head again.

Cave

Three hands touched the glowing rock, Cosmo doing so unwittingly. Sophie was able to bear witness as the man she was holding vanished from her arms.

All three were taken to the emptiness without beginning or end. Again without any words spoken, the three were subjected to intense and unworldly pain. Invisible nails plowed through their brains and feet. Every nerve in their bodies felt like it was being ripped apart.

"Cosmo Langdon, Knight of Life."

"Jerome Perrault, Knight of Thunder and Lightning."

"Darrel Sandford, Knight of the Unseen Arrow."

Sophie was once again treated to the sight of a bright flash and people reappearing out of nowhere. Everyone was a few feet off the ground, floating for the briefest of moments before falling onto the dirt.

Or in Cosmo's case, falling onto Sophie.

Just like everyone who had come before, the new Knights had on strange new clothing. Cosmo had small circular shields on each arm, on top of Jerome rested an ornate glaive, which had to be the most sinister looking weapon of them all, and Darrel would find a bow with a quiver of arrows beside him.

Outside

Daalye watched from above as the bright light from the cave once got her attention. She frowned and thought to herself while everyone on the ground was engaged in life and death struggles. There were already more of them then she was comfortable with. And Notob was injured - again, another arrow had hit his shoulder. At the same time, the wolf-man had switched claws for guns and shot Xavier, hitting him in almost the same spot.

The Nightmares holding Jane could not resist Byron's challenge. Letting go of the young woman, four of them rushed the Knight of Molten Steel.

Bushuda was sent crashing down as Larry yanked his weapon out from behind the armored man. Into the mud he fell, thrashing about as his heavy armor started to sink.

Before Larry could do anything else, Daalye swooped down and positioned herself between the Knight and her fallen comrade. Her blade was pointed at Larry, but her eyes were on Leartes, who had gotten himself up and advanced cautiously now that the winged woman had noticed him.

Two men on the ground, two standing with weapons ready. The four glared at each other for a few moments that seemed like hours before Daalye lifted her blade from Larry's head and spoke.

"What we want isn't here. Let the Nightmares deal with them."

She slashed with her sword. Not at Larry, not at Leartes, but at the empty air. That empty air actually split open. Those nearest to this rip in space could not see what was on the other side, it was too bright. In fact, looking at it directly from the side you wouldn't notice it was there at all, the rip was entirely two-dimensional. But the gash grew wider until a man could easily go through it. Which was just what happened, as Bushuda slowly picked himself up and walked through the portal.

"Notob!" Daalye shouted across the battlefield at the cyborg. "We're leaving."

With that said, she strode into the rip, which closed behind her immediately. Notob took a moment to snarl at Xavier, before switching his metal paws back to claw mode. He too slashed the air and leaped into the portal that had been created. With a wink, it vanished as well.

A small group of men and women were left alone in the rain. Actually, not true. Roughly 30 Nightmares were still surrounding them. Some were already engaging individual Knights, the rest had been watching until just now.

With gleeful abandon, all of them hurled their small but monstrous bodies at the Knights.

Nightmares: 33

Darrel

Darrel charged into the cave, thankful that nothing had stopped him, and quickly found his way to the room with the strange stone. He felt the odd urge to touch it, and was about to do so when suddenly others arrived and did so, one being forced to by someone else as they seemed to be unconscious. Well, other people were trying to touch it; what's the worst that could happen?

...

Darrel had military training that had prepared him for pain, but what he experienced was asking too much even for that. When it was over just moments later, though it felt a lot longer, Darrel was still muttering, "ow, ow, ow..." after hitting the floor.

He sat up and tried to take a quick inventory of himself. He could tell all his major limbs and body parts were still there; nothing seemed to be missing. He was wearing a sort of tunic over a shirt and pants, with leather arm and leg braces; it was topped with a hat that was shaped kind of like a spike jutting backwards. Unfortunately for Darrel, he was having a hard time telling just what exactly he was wearing, because it currently looked like an animated version of a hippie tie-dye shirt; even worse, after a moment of staring he realized it was happening to his hands too.

"Ah great, what the heck is this?" Darrel muttered, still smarting all over from the brief supernatural experience. As the pain subsided, the effect lessened, until finally he seemed to normalize again, revealing his tunic and hat to be a very dull green color. "Well that was... Something" he added idly, then noticed the bow and quiver of arrows. It seemed very archaic, and Darrel vaguely recalled something like them having been used in ancient times on Earth or something. Despite that, he somehow felt like he knew how to use them. Then he remembered there was still a situation outside to deal with. His face went serious and his mouth stayed shut as he grabbed up the bow and arrows and moved for the cave entrance; it was go time.

Darrel had to make a quick assessment of the battlefield and decide where his shots would best be placed. Most of the other people there had some method of fighting back, but there was a notable exception. The woman who had been held down by Nightmares just like himself was currently out cold; thankfully it seemed that the Nightmares were ignoring her. Until that changed, she could be left alone. Darrel instead aimed for one of the four that were charging at the man with the hammer, and let loose an arrow at its center mass.

"Ugh," Cosmo felt terrible, but the crazy magic seemed to have changed him, and stopped him from dieing. Opening his eyes and looking around, he could see that one guy had a bow, and the other had a viscous-looking sword-on-a-stick. He wondered what he had been given... probably a giant sword. That girl had a big sword, and she was pretty tiny, so maybe he had a giant axe instead. Looking down, he saw he had... a pair of shields. Glorified trashcan lids. That wasn't very knightly.

He also saw he was lying on top of the girl with the sword. "Oh, shit, shit, sorry there, sorry," he said quickly, getting up.

Leather armour was generally not enough for a gun. He'd make a point of offing that wolf if they met again.

But for now, one hand clutching his wound in pain, he had to keep fighting. He switched to rainbows, firing several second charged bursts at nightmares.

"Alright ya goddamn goblins, come on!, Larry snarled. He saw the girl lying on the ground and ran towards her, thwaking at any Nightmares who got in his way.