A Game of Gods Season 4: Frontiers

Conan - Eastern Ruins, Northeast

Makura's flirtarious response brought a grin to Conan's face, as he certainly wasn't adverse to dalliances with fair maidens. "Well, coming from a beauty as exotic as yours, it certainly is high praise to my ears."

"Ah, a fallen house, I see." The Cimmerian nodded as he heard the answers from the two noble blondes. The experienced sellsword has his fair share of meeting with such direlect families, as those often grew desperate in their efforts to regain some prestige and gold. At least the pair in front of him seemed to be more levelheaded than that. "Have no fear, lad, I have no ill will towards either of you. As of right now, we are all strangers in this strange realm."

But of course, what kept puzzling the warrior was the concept of 'Androids', as the two redheads explained further. "So you two come from a land where creating women like you is considered to be outdated? I must admit this is hard to imagine such commonplace wizardry, even as I see its wondrous results in front of me." The invitation was met with a nod from the barbarian as he began to walk around with the ecclectic group, back to whatever location the Guardians called their home. "After such ordeals, the thought of a meal with pleasant company is indeed a most welcome temptation. Lead the way." Indeed, with Makura, Nelliel and the twins, it seemed that there was a prominent proportion of beautiful women amonst the foreigners brought to this land. Fancy that.

As the little clown machine made yet another introduction and Kaiba floated in silent disdain, Kat continued to gawk silently. Her hand was vigorously shaken up and down as the girl could only stare on transfixed at what she was seeing before her. Kat began to slowly reach out shakily with her other hand. It seemed to almost move on its own until it was awkwardly petting the pink pony before her, assuming Pinkie Pie allowed her to. If so, the teenage girl's face would brighten right up.

"Whoa, its so fluffy! It reminds me of cotton candy. I want to brush it."

She seemed like she would be perfectly content to continue the petting zoo, even beginning to eye the more neutral colored pony with the significantly less fluffy mane, when something the robot said caught her attention. Kat looked toward her own flower and made a little pout. She didn't really want to part with it, but it wasn't really fair that she got one and the two ponies didn't. Kat would try to smoothly and discreetly take the flower out of her hair and float it toward the little robotic clown so he could restock it's little entry gift. A discretion that might have been compromised thanks to some nonchalant whistling.

Raven would come following behind, apparently having the same gravity powers as Kat. Upon seeing the visitors from Ponyville, the black haired girl's eyes would narrow, her voice betraying her disgust at the display.

"Who would abuse some poor innocent creatures so that they would end up like this?"

They were painted in garish colors. Some one tattooed some goofy design on their butt. One of them was even being forced to wear clothes like a chihuahua. It was horrible.

Hearing about pokemon being left behind when their homes were isekaied without them got a solemn look from the bunny girl. It was one of solidarity as Reisen could sympathize, being in a similar situation her self. Suddenly left homeless, penniless, and separated from all family and friends. At least those jerks were stranded in their original world unlike her. Oh well, at least it seemed it made things easier for her.

"So know where the nearest convenience store is?"

There was no time like the present. They were burning away the day light hours, and she needed to earn enough to have a roof and meal by nightfall. It wasn't the most glamorous way to spend your time in a fantastical scenario like this, but it was the most effective. When stranded, you first establish food and shelter. That was just basic survival. Politics of a city she just entered didn't really have much to do with her.

Ms big boobs seemed to decide to stick her nose in though. Just look at those things bouncing around! They wouldn't move around so much if she simply got some proper support for them! Honestly, going with out a bra when they are that huge that dumb...wait where was the stranger? She saw him also go into the crowd, but lost track of him when she became distracted. She was a bit apprehensive of letting such a shady guy just go like that, but then its not like he actually did anything other then spark some edgy debate. Besides, thanks to him, she could cross off one meal off her list.

She took another bite of the apple. As she munched, a thought came to mind. Turning to Matt and Charlie, she proposed another question.

"What's the music scene like here?"

It wasn't really a priority, but she had to admit she was curious. It was definitely one of the short comings of life in Gensokyo. It was hard to get some good music. Prismriver and Choujuu Gigaku was good, but you had to catch a live performance. Sure there was the odd lost technology that falls into Gensokyo's borders like a Zun player or an Ipod, but the selection was always incredibly limited when there was no music libraries, or electricity for that matter. It was one of the few good things about Santa Destroy, music was plentiful.

She was starting to second guess her choice of career. Reisen closed her eyes and began rubbing her chin, mumbling to herself while deep in thought.

"Maybe I could work at music store? If I am going to be stuck in another world, might as well enjoy some of the things I can't get back home. But then I would miss out on expired bentos..."

Decisions, decisions. She supposed she didn't really have to think too hard on it. It was just a temp position until she can get back on her feet. Worse case scenario, she could always sell a kidney. She was sure Master had a pill that could grow her a new one once she got back to Gensokyo.

The mention of jobs from the human girls caught Reisen attention. She turned and directed a question toward them.

"What jobs are you two looking to land?"

Edited by ImmortalNeet on May 28th 2023 at 2:41:16 AM

The Band Of Destined Chucklefucks slowly made their way away from the familiar walls of Outset. Oran taking things the hardest, he wasn't just away from home anymore, he was in a separate plane of existence entirely. His search for Gorgamunder was only going to be even harder, he dreaded thinking what could have happened to his friend.

What if he was being tortured by Outset researchers? What if he was infected with rot?

Vaali did her best to keep Oran's spirits up, but the two "leaders" of the group, Baldric and Tannhauser were just moving forward.

"Baldric," Tannhauser growled.

"Yeah Tannhauser?" Baldric responded.

"You are a fellow man of education, what is your estimated guess?"

Baldric shrugged. "Beats me, I majored in alchemics, this seems more like magic or religion."

"I'd want to hear your roll on it."

Baldric stopped and scratched his chin. "Frankly I've got nothing."◊

"Whatever this place is... it seems locations are kept close, ahead, there is another city," Tannhauser pointed out.

"Think it'll be any worse than Outset?" Baldric asked.

"One can hope not," Tannhauser admitted. "Though the reality is this, Outset despite its vast inequalities is not a irredeemable place. Positive changes, such as the Tyrant's guild not discriminating based on species for one, are possible."

"I think that was more to bolster the ranks of the Tyrants," Baldric said.

"Even a pragmatic move is still a positive sign," Tannhauser admitted. "Rehua, you are a bastion of anarchy. Your thoughts?"

"I'm just glad we were able to enact something positive!" Rehua said.

Pyra, Ordon Village Exterior: Oopsie Poopsie

Pyra nods her head to Rusl, "I'll keep that in mind, sorry."

She didn't intend on being "rude" as he says she is, but she understood it, nonetheless. There is such a thing as "too kind" and she's learning the lesson. Hopefully, she'll be a bit more considerate next time.

Meanwhile, Nia's waiting for a response from the ponies.

Leif, Karukucho: Tourism Time!

After a photo-op, Leif looked at the photos and smiled a little, "We really do look like a big hero, didn't we?"

He looked at the young man and then to the city ahead, "Would you like to give us a tour of the place?"

Vi and Kabbu, the Sea -> Area 11's South Coast: Winds of Destiny, Change!

It took the two-thirds of Team Snakemouth a bit longer than usual to reach their destination, which was due to the vicious winds. Kabbu looked at Vi as they man the sail, "Hold on!"

The bee struggled to pull the sail towards the island, "I'm holding on! We're getting further away!"

Eventually, their vessel is far enough from both the island and their home territory. In their struggle to stay the course, they spotted another land to the North. The beetle glanced over at the bee, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I think the wind's dying down too."

"We'll try our luck over there."

They looked behind them and saw the Bee Kingdom's tree and their hive, now smaller than they ever thought it would be. Vi made her thoughts, "Hard to believe I'd see Bugaria so far away."

"Indeed. But that's the wonder of exploring, isn't it?"

"Heh, you could say that again."

If anyone would look out to the waters (most likely from the docks and harbors), they would spot an odd speck of brown, red, gold, and green sailboat with two, human-like creatures sitting on it. Perhaps it can be caught in a ping in a radar from vessels on or beneath the surface of the water.

Eastern Ruins, In Transit: Making Friends?

Elaine's mention of "the green kid" caused a pair of pointed furry ears to perk up. The Vaporeon could probably hear (or maybe even smell) her mute quadrupedal rescuer trot up a few feet behind her, as if the beast were trying to listen in on the answer.

Sure enough, an answer about "the green kid's deal" came, albeit not from the source either Ellie or the wolf expected. The even tone which Yoriichi relayed the good news made it seem like the swordsman was either being completely factual, or completely indifferent to the facts. As such, it was answered with something less-than-jovial from the opposite side of Nel.

The wolf let out a low growl towards Yoriichi, sharp blue eyes locked on him as even sharper teeth were bared towards him. Though the beast's hair remained flattened and he made no moves to retaliate against the swordsman, the message might be clear even for those who couldn't speak to wolves.

It warned: "You better not be lying."

Castelia City: Planet of the Puars

Were the two legendary gijinka speaking to anyone outside the merry band of protagonists in Universe 7, they'd probably be met with either skepticism, confusion, or hysterics—the good and/or bad kind. But the fact Little Officer Krillin wasn't fazed by the possibly literal deific presence^note their heart-stopping intimidating height notwithstanding said a bit more about the martial artist than he wanted to admit.

He first met Kami—the Guardian of Earth—in his early twenties. By his mid-thirties he'd met the Supreme Kai, the super-deity in charge of protecting all light and life in the universe. Nowadays, the God of Destruction^note the Supreme Kai's counterpart was a regular dinner guest at Bulma's place. Just a few short months ago, he'd participated in a battle royale to determine not just the fate of his universe, but of the lion's share of all existence! Of course the thought of a creation god didn't bother him...it was such a norm for him personally that he didn't even remember to act surprised!

So that left the police officer with an answer to a question he'd been too nervous to ask: the surprising amount of ki he was sensing all around him. Most were nowhere near Lucia or Helia's level, but even a short-range scan told him none but the best martial artists on his Earth would last a round in the ring with them. The smallest store of ki he could detect came from a little girl younger than Maron sitting on her father's shoulders, watching the Prime Minister's press conference from a distance. Judging by her energy, that little tot could wipe the floor with pretty much anyone from his childhood monastery; a feat Krillin couldn't do till his early teens.

I'd hate to be the evil overlord who tries to take over THIS city...

Turning to Lucia's question, Krillin nodded. "Yeah, it's not that far."

The officer turned around and pointed towards the field where he'd entered Castelia's outskirts: "Just head that way till you reach a big tree on a hill, then turn a little bit to the right. It's a big modern-looking city just like Castelia, can't miss it."

Turning back towards the Guardians of Sea and Sky, the smol martial artist tittered as he added: "Though you might wanna pump the brakes on the 'deity' and 'shapeshifting creatures' stuff. I managed to get in contact with a pretty influential person in the city, but he's part of the corporate world, not the local government. If you do want to reach out to him, his name's Mokuba Kaiba. Think of him as the VP of Kaiba Corp., the biggest company in the city."

Krillin crossed his arms as he planned out his next words: "He's...a little young for his position, if you ask me, but at least he's keeping an open-mind about this multiverse stuff. That's more than I could've hoped for with someone getting thrown into the deep end like this, no matter how old they are. So just be careful about sharing too much too fast—the most superhuman stuff they seem to have is virtual reality based on a popular card game."

He used his martial focus to keep himself from cracking a smile.

With that question answered, Krillin found himself a little stuck. He'd made contact with the two cities he could spot so far—and one of those two had already reached out to another city that'd been through the multiversal ringer before. He didn't want to head for that medieval city where the demons had come from due to...well, the fact that demons had flown from and back to there. Which meant he'd reached as much concentrated civilization as he knew about right now.

...so now what?

Well, he'd basically been on-duty for the past shift and a half, if he counted the time before waking up on the hill. Did that mean he should take a breather? He wasn't young enough to think he could keep working without rest, or a bite to eat.

Out of half-curiosity, half-familiarity, the martial artist's eyes glanced towards the billboards for title fights, and the battle stadium in the mid-distance. Perhaps the legendary gijinka could see the light behind his stare, and might even predict that he'd ask:

"Out of curiosity, uhhh..." Shoot, he never got a clear answer on how to address them. "Lady Lucia, Lady Helia: is there a match going on that you know about? I'd like to see what a Pokemon can do up close, if that's alright."

Edited by TheodoreHastings on May 26th 2023 at 5:38:15 AM

Athena, Yuri & Mai, Streets of Castelia City

When Reisen asked what the music scene was like, Athena instantly perked up like she was a kid in a candy store.

"That's a good question!" Athena nodded to Reisen. "I'm an idol singer back home, so to have a chance to experience another world's music... It's the opportunity of a lifetime!"

"Oh no," Yuri tried to stop Athena right here. "You're not getting me into that clown outfit again! I quit!"

"What's this about Yuri's clown outfit?" Mai had rejoined the group at this point. "We aren't doing the circus thing again, are we? I don't want to be a lion."

"No no..." Athena shook her head. "I just realized that this place could have a music scene."

"Besides, we don't have those costumes with us," Athena sounded disappointed at that fact. Mai and Yuri looked relieved at that fact.

"While I am a martial artist like the rest of my family and pretty good at it, it... doesn't pay all that well, so my family and I recently started a barbecue restaurant," Yuri explained to the others. "My brother Ryo hates it, but it actually makes us money, so..."

Yuri shrugged to the others, "I like it, at least."

Trevor, Grant & Alucard, Anor Londo to Castelia City

"Don't worry," Alucard bowed to Lord Gwyndolin. "We shall inform the rulers of Castelia about Dracula."

"We will be happy to help," Trevor nodded to Lord Gwyndolin.

"May the flames guide thee as well," Grant waved to Lord Gwyndolin. "Uh... bye."

The three eventually left Anor Londo, eventually heading to Castelia City. Once they were out of range of Anor Londo, they began talking to each other.

"We need to be cautious about Anor Londo," Alucard suggested to Trevor and Grant.

"Hey... Given what Lord Gwyndolin told us about her father and this Nito, wouldn't that mean you are Gwyndolin's counterpart?" Grant asked Alucard.

"That's exactly why we need to be cautious about Anor Londo," Alucard looked off towards Castelia City.

Edited by GameGuruGG on May 27th 2023 at 10:13:59 AM

Western Frontiers

South of Area 11, Southwest of Fuuka, and West of Bugaria, the perhaps now-familiar aurora and faux-earthquake phenomenon occurred once again, and the island that had been floating in the sea prior disappeared, only to be replaced◊ with a new, crescent-shaped island when the light and shaking faded: the lost isle of Voya Nui◊. The island's residents would awake from a sudden sleeping spell, regardless of whether they typically slept at all. Beyond that, it might not be immediately obvious to all its residents that anything was wrong or unusual, unless they had a view across the water...

Eastern Ruins, Chocobo Swarm

"WA-URRRK?" the chocobo Wulfrik grabbed choked, then let out a weaker, submissive, "Kweh... Kweh-kweh! Kweh!"

[Alright... Alright, just let me go first!] it said, then added to its fellows, [You guys back off for now!]

"Kweh!" the rest of the fowl assented, dashing to some distance away but still watching warily.

"Kweeeeh!" the grabbed one trilled once The Wanderer let it go.

[Okay, Mr. Scary! Follow me!]

The chocobo turned and began trotting away, briefly turning to make sure he was following before continuing into the surrounding woods. It was a relatively short trek until the bird slowed its movements, and began stepping carefully through the underbrush, evidently trying not to make too much noise. A little while later, the reason became evident:

A giant head on legs◊, with two massive, accordion-like arms at protruding from its sides stood before a pile of chocobo corpses of every color. As Wulfrik observed, it picked one dead bird up in an enormous, meaty claw and swallowed it whole, bones crunching and blood spraying gruesomely as it bit down and chewed. If left uninterrupted, the Chocobo Eater would repeat with another fowl, and another, and another, until it worked its way through the entire pile.

Eastern Ruins, Guardhome

"There are a ton of spirits who can use these false bodies where we come from, yeah," Starrk confirmed with a nod. "There are different types of 'Poes', as you call them, too. There are Hollows, or Minuses, like me, Lilynette, and Nel, the green-haired lady with the ram skull on top of her head you might have noticed back in the garden. Then there are Shinigami, so-called 'Death Gods', who have appointed themselves the 'balancers' of the afterlife, and there are ordinary spirits of the dead called Pluses, which can either linger in the Living plane or make their homes in Soul Society, an afterlife plane ruled by the Shinigami. All of those are Shinigami terms, by the way. We didn't actually come up with Hollow or Minus ourselves. As for the firearm thing..." he trailed off, looking to Lilynette for confirmation.

The lime-haired girl inclined her head, and completed the thought: "Starrk and me were originally one being, a single, very powerful Hollow. But we were too strong, so much that anything that even came near our reiatsu, our spiritual pressure or aura, died. So, we were completely alone for a long, long time. Eventually, we couldn't bear the loneliness anymore, so we split our soul in half, and the two of us are the result. We don't know which of us is closer to the original, or if we were more of a blend, but anyway, we weren't alone anymore, and we'd always have each other, and that was enough!" she finished with a soft smile at Starrk, who smiled back.

"To get back to the main point," he continued, "the form you saw us in earlier was what we look like after unleashing our full power by merging together into something closer to our original form while still retaining our individual selves. We can merge and un-merge fairly easily, which is why we look like we do now."

"So, are Clock Town and Termina where you're from?" Lilynette asked, cocking her head curiously. "What're they like? Besides Clock Town apparently not being as clean as here, I mean."

Hyrule, Death Mountain

In the main cavern of Death Mountain, atop a platform that was apparently usually used for sumo bouts, a quintet of Gorons sat in a circle completed by Lilian's party members, chatting with each other about their respective lands and cultures. In the center of the Gorons' side was their Patriarch, Darbus◊, flanked on either side by◊ two◊ Goron◊ Elders◊.

"So, do you think that your Queen would be open to a delegation of Gorons traveling to meet her at your capital, Brothers? Or do you think that'd cause too much of a stir? We do look very different from the people of your kingdom, after all," Darbus mused after they'd discussed a reasonable amount, rubbing his chin.

The sound of boots on rock from behind the Ivalice party announced the entrance of a youth who, if they turned to look, they would see was clad in green tunic and cap.

"Ahhhhhh, Brother Link!" Darbus waved him over to join the circle, which the lad did promptly. "What is it? You look like you want to say something."

"....." Link glanced between Lilian's group and the Gorons.

"Ah, these Brothers are from the land that suddenly appeared to the East! Apparently it's called Ivalice! We were just discussing if we should send a delegation to meet their Queen."

"....." Link tilted his head.

"You're wondering if you can help somehow, aren't you?" Darbus nodded solidly. "I can see it in your eyes, Brother! Well, seeing as we all recognize you as an honorary Goron and Brother, what would you say to heading to Ivalice with our delegation? Assuming these Brothers are alright with the idea, that is."

"....." Link thought for a few moments, then nodded firmly, determination in his eyes.

"Good to hear, Brother!" Darbus grinned, showing his pearly whites, then turned to Lilian. "So, what do you say? Delegation, or no delegation?"

Earth 11945, Forest Kingdom

As Igno predicted, the android did easily evade his strikes - but not just the ones he was using to keep her attention, even the fancy feint-to-overhead move! More importantly, the more he yapped, the more irritable she became.

"Shut! THE HELL! UP!!!" she finally roared. Tossing her sword to hover behind her, she gave into the same fury she'd evoked in the Machines earlier and began counterattacking, trying to grapple and beat down Igno with just her legs and bare hands and using them to punctuate her own words, starting with grabbing his wrists and attempting to wrench his arms to the side so she could deliver unto his skull a series of furious headbutts.

"I am not going to listen to you mocking me after pretending you actually wanted to know, not going to listen to your lies about different worlds, not going to listen to you act like you somehow know what my friends would want, and not going to listen to any more of your pathetic attempts to keep me from caving your face in!"

??????, Outside of ????????, Checkpoint (Outset Party and Aliorumnas)

Following the road that paralleled the river North eventually brought the Party much closer to the walled city, although perhaps 100 yards from the gates, they ran into a new obstacle: a military checkpoint! On either side of the dirt road were large patches of waist-high grass, and a little ways behind the checkpoint, a few, humble, red-roofed brick-and-wood buildings in a European style were visible. A blue tank◊ and a quartet◊ of◊ people◊ awaited◊ them. Not all of them looked surprised to see them, though the redheaded lady pulled a face and gripped her sub-machine gun tightly at the sight of them.

"Really? Really?! We're seriously dealing with monsters and aliens, now?!" she groused in a rough voice.

"Easy, Rosie," the big guy with the lance and voice deep as the sea said with a frown, laying a firm hand on her shoulder. "They're not necessarily enemies. Let the bossman handle it."

"Tch! Don't need you to tell me that, Largo!" she huffed, lowering her weapon a bit but still looking cross.

"Well... hello there, travelers!" the sandy-haired guy sticking halfway out of the tank spoke up, raising his voice to be heard over the rumbling of his vehicle's engine. "I'm Welkin Gunther, Commander of Squad 7 of the Gallian Militia. Can I ask where you're from, and why you're on the road to our capital today? I take it from your appearances that you're... not from around these parts."

Meanwhile, the Aliorumnas that had been following the drone from Manhattan finally reached the UAV's next destination, high above◊ the same city. That said, after getting a bird's-eye view from high up, the drone hovered down to a height several feet above the rooftops and began flying throughout the town.

Castlevania, Castle Exterior

After some amount of apparent dithering, the force of armored soldiers and tanks that had been loitering on the border of the forest adjacent to Dracula's territory finally seemed to come to a decision, and began marching in formation down the road toward the castle. Assuming they didn't encounter any obstacles along the way, they would come to an obedient stop at the drawbridge as the red-armored man at the head of their procession held up his hand and bellowed, "COMPANYYYYYY, HALT!"

Area 11, Harbor

"Yarrrrrr, matey! I've spotted me some scurvy interlopers!" One soldier◊ on the concrete industrial docks announced to his partner after tapping the side of his helmet to telescope in and examine Vi and Kabbu. "What say ye?"

"Rrrwwaaaaak! Kill them all! Kill them all!" the green parrot on his shoulder squaked.

"Excellent idea, First Mate Fea-"

"No, we are not killing them!" his very human, identically-attired comrade protested firmly, whacking him on the back of the head.

"But matey, they be aliens!" the pirate wannabe whined. "If we let 'em get close, they'll plunder our brains!"

"What's left of your brain, maybe," the other scoffed, grabbing a megaphone off a nearby crate, then pressing the button and calling across the water to the mysterious, leaf-like boat: "Attention unidentified vessel! Present yourselves for inspection at these docks before proceeding further! If you do not comply in a timely manner, we will shoot you!"

The only apparent people visible at the dock in question were the pair of grunts and a towering, 4.39-meter titan◊ of purple steel standing behind them.

Castelia City, THE THUNDERDOME

"Psychic-Steel type!" the mystery medium albino man replied to the big red man, tapping his temple with a knowing smirk. "I must say, these are indeed some 'sick beats'! Do you have any that would make a good soundtrack to this battle in particular?"

Anor Londo, Southern Gate

Approaching through the air from the direction of Castelia City came a most bizzarre creature of silver metal and whirligigs. How did such a thing stay aloft? 'Twas a mystery for the ages! Perhaps only the fact that the familiar and noble Lady Zariah was accompanying it through the skies would stay the ballistae on the rampart. Also, it was surprisingly loud, and only became more so as it approached the gate and lowered itself to the ground, though once its odd legs touched the stone, its whirling things whined to a stop, and were still. Then a curious thing happened: the side of the creature opened up, and out stepped a stern-faced◊ woman◊ clad entirely in silver and white, followed by a pair of what were clearly white-armored knights!

"My name is Silver Sablinova," she greeted the guards on duty without pleasantries and with the clipped tone of one who was used to being in control and had no patience for trifling obstacles. "I am here to speak with your Lord Gwyndolin as a representative of Manhattan, the city to the immediate West of Castelia. These two are my guards, and will be accompanying me at the insistence of my... liege lord, Norman Osborn. If you distrust us, Lady Zariah of Castelia can speak to our peaceful intentions."

Edited by darksidevoid on May 29th 2023 at 9:14:37 AM

Voya Nui, cliff village.

In rough-hewn stone dwellings, the island's Matoran residents stir from an unnatural sleep. Something is off, and though none of them currently have any way of verifying exactly what, centuries of living in this cursed place where instinct trumps all has made them sensitive to the small things.

Many begin to make their way outside, murmuring amongst themselves and looking around the place. Everything is the same as it was when they'd fallen asleep, but this provides little comfort, and in fact only makes a handful of them more suspicious. One in particular, black-armored◊, takes the lead.

"Check the perimeter." he commands to some of his fellows before gesturing to another individual, green-armored◊. "Piruk, get to one of the higher lookouts and see what you can find."

While all of this is going on, and unbeknownst to the Matoran, they're being observed from afar by a being who has himself just awoken from that same slumber, and has likewise sensed this wrongness... only, from his vantage point of a cave mouth high up in the craggy foothills, Axonn has a clearer view of the horizon.

Land.

Land he doesn't recognize. Lacking a telescope or a mask of vision on hand, he can't make out much, but his own mask of truth dispels any thought of it being an illusion or mirage. The island of Mata Nui is much farther away than this, and Voya Nui itself can't have drifted—it's anchored to the seafloor by way of the stone cord. Or it was, at any rate.

"Brutaka," he calls back into the cavern, not entirely believing what he's saying even though he'd just seen it for himself. "The... island seems to have moved. I know you felt that just as I did."

No response at first. Then come the heavy footfalls of Axonn's gold-armored companion, emerging from within the cave to stand beside him. He doesn't say anything, merely looking out over the horizon at that land, arms crossed. To anyone else, the titan's demeanor might have been nigh-unreadable, but Axonn knows he's trying to piece things together just the same, and having about as much luck.

Then Brutaka speaks up, bemused exasperation clear in his voice. "Of course it did."

That snark prompts a side-eye from the shorter one. "You believe so strongly that we've been abandoned, and now we've suddenly been up and moved." he remarks. "Do you really not have anything more to say?"

The taller one remains silent in an unspoken 'yes', turning to head back into the cave and leaving Axonn by himself again.

Voya Nui, a chamber far below Mount Valmai...

Something had just happened.

The first time anything has happened for weeks.

With glimpses of far-reaching sight granted by the mask he'd been fated to guard, Vezon can see it. Across the desert and the forest and past the icy coastline, there are other places now, quite unlike Mata Nui or the darkness beneath. Vast cities and open wilderness.

The island has been moved... or has the world moved around it? It doesn't matter. One thing he knows for certain is that these places are full of people. Fleshy, unarmored people who might get some inkling of what this cursed island holds.

They'll come for the mask, but he and Fenrakk won't let them have it.

Edited by Chortleous on May 29th 2023 at 3:51:58 AM

Eastern Ruins, Guardhome: Termina 101 with Professor Tatl

Tatl looked from Starrk, to Lilynette, to Starrk, and back to Lilynette for...let's say a studious number of times. These two were once the same person? Setting aside how that's even possible, THESE two were the same person?! They were like night and day! What does a gruff middle-aged man have in common with a peppy teenage girl?!

But that wasn't a question the fairy was willing to ask; not because she thought it'd be off-limits, but because she doubted the duo had a satisfying answer. If they weren't even sure which of them resembled "their original self" more, then they probably didn't know anything about their pre-Hollow identity.

That seemed...a little sad.

Turning to her homeland, the fairy hummed a bit to fill some silence. Termina was a big topic, like talking about any kingdom would be. Where to start...

"Clock Town's this Terminan city in the center of the kingdom. It's mostly famous for the giant clock tower in the center of town, and for this annual celebration called the Festival of Time. Since the Great Fairy of Magic's fountain is hidden away in Clock Town, I guess you could call it my hometown. The Great Fairy of Magic's my Mom.

"We fairies try to steer clear of most mortals, since they don't tend to treat us with the respect we magical creatures deserve. Guess you could say I don't have lots of patience when it comes to mortals being mortals, so I left home along with my little brother, Tael. We traveled all over Termina, from the Woodfall Swamps to the Snowhead Mountains, and from Great Bay to the Ikana Valley.

"Woodfall's home to the Deku Scrubs, these short woodland creatures made of...well, wood. They've got a king with some anger management issues, but they're overall pretty welcoming so long as you follow their rules. They make good merchants, since they can fly their goods all over the place and can hide their entire bodies in pink flowers found all around Termina. From what I've heard, they make some pretty convenient living spaces!

"The Gorons live in the Snowhead Mountains far to the North. They're these big rock-eating guys who can curl up into a ball and move faster than a horse! They've got a history of keeping to themselves, but their current chief's pretty friendly to outsiders, so the tribe will let you visit. Since they eat rocks for food, Gorons tend to live in caves and mine out the surrounding mountains. They've gotten real good at building explosives to help them out, too. And if you haven't figured it out yet: that giant thing my partner here transformed into was a Goron. Real special one, but that's a long story.

"The Great Bay's home to the Zoras. Zoras are fish-people with long lifespans and low birthrates who like to study the arts. There's a real popular band called the Indigo-Gos that's been around for a few generations now—all the band members are Zoras, and the current lead singer's the daughter of the original one, which I find kinda neat. There's also a band of Gerudo pirates who live on the edge of the Great Bay, but they aren't friendly to anyone, and especially not to boys. Gerudo are all women, y'see.

"Ikana Valley is..." Tatl fumbled for a polite word. "...not as lively as the rest of Termina. It was the site of this huge war a long long time ago, and now the entire area's haunted with the spirits of soldiers who haven't realized they don't need to keep fighting. Not a fun place to hang out, but some of the crazier Terminans call it home because there's monsters there you can't study anywhere else. My partner and I met the King of Ikana during our adventure—he's not a fan of anyone with a pulse, but we managed to knock a little sense into him."

The fairy turned towards the window. "All in all Termina's not a bad place to live. It's just dirtier than places like this because it's got dirt roads and stone buildings, not this fancy stuff that can make straight cuts and clean angles. Can't say I've seen lots of Battleworld, but I recognize that Termina's technology isn't the best of the best. Magic's more our forte."

Good and Evil Magic, if Majora's Mask was any indication.

"...hey, not to push your buttons or anything, but when you said that all the mortals on the Frontiers went back to wherever they came from, do you know if time...I dunno, stood still for them? Like, did they leave their homeworld one moment and get sent right back to that moment? It's really important that my partner and I get back to Termina at the exact moment we left it...otherwise there might not be a Termina to return to."

Edited by TheodoreHastings on May 29th 2023 at 6:34:37 AM

Elizabeth Bartley, Castle Exterior

Yep, those were tanks. Ones that looked more advanced than the ones she was familiar with. The outfits however were unfamiliar to her. They most resembled knight armor which should be outdated in the time period they were from.

Elizabeth Bartley looked at the Aliorumnas who nodded, confirming these were the soldiers she saw. She decided to look down from a window right above the drawbridge.

"What sort of business do you here?!" Bartley asked down to the troops below.

Dracula, Colosseum, Dracula's Castle

Majora would find itself healed of its injuries from the potion.

"Someone over in the mountains has the same power as me, albeit in a twisted form," Dracula looked over at Majora, as if wanting the mask to hear that as well. "There were others on Battleworld with magic resembling my powers."

"I've ordered Death and his subordinates into the mountains," Dracula explained to the others. "They were told to stand watch, capture the two if they show up, and warn me if anything else happens."

"However, the more immediate problem is that there will be a nation with weapons at my front door, so I will need to deal with that first," Dracula noted to Ganondorf as he got up. "Feel free to follow if you desire. Lisa, head up to the throne room."

"Alright... Goodbye," Lisa bowed to the others and left for the Throne Room. Dracula then left the Colosseum.

Sypha & Carmilla, Seath's Chambers, Duke's Archives

Sypha grinned through her teeth, looking flustered at the accusation.

"Perhaps she figured you wouldn't accept one without an expiration date," Carmilla smirked at Seath. Just seeing Seath accuse Sypha of believing Carmilla was precious to her was almost worth coming here. Almost. When Seath gave Carmilla the signal to go, she bowed to Seath.

"I shall take my leave," Carmilla said and followed the Channeler out of the Duke's Archives completely.

—-

Sypha Belnades, Two Hours Later

"Of course, I agree to your terms," Sypha bowed to Seath agreeing to the conditions that Seath had. "You were a good student and an excellent teacher yourself."

Then Seath did something that Sypha never expected... She allowed her to leave. Sypha was annoyed at the mention of Carmilla again, but she grinned through her teeth once more and took her leave.

Sypha walked into the city bathed in eternal sunset, wondering what else she would find. It was better than going to Dracula's Castle in any case.

Aliorumnas, Gallian Capital

After flying so far and given that the flying machine she was following decided to lower itself closer to the city itself, the Aliorumnas needed a break, so she landed on one of the roofs to take a break as she watched the flying machine fly above the town. She was completely positive this was 'Tank Land' and not 'Flying Machine Land' though, so she was not any closer to determining where this flying machine came from. If it was just going to fly across the planet, it might be better to just destroy it and regroup back at Dracula's Castle to determine a new plan.

Edited by GameGuruGG on May 30th 2023 at 1:46:47 PM

Wulfrik, Forest

-Wulfrik looks at the lopsided creature with the face of a lion, the teeth of a man, the limbs of an ape and the appetite of an ogre, though it has no guts to speak of. Where does the food go once swallowed? He steps out from between the trees, though staying close to the forest's edge.-

   A shame you have not the body to match your hunger, scrawny runt! Face something that can fight back for once and put those arms to good use!   

Castelia City - Lucia, Helia, and Krillin - Because of My Participation in The Writer's Guild of America Strike, I Am No Longer Coming Up With Good Titles Anymore

Lucia and Helia chuckled a little bit.

"I guess neither of us really considered how unusual it is for deities to just be out and about in the world," Lucia admitted. "That's a bit more of a normal occurrence amongst pokemon, but we do seem to be an outlier in that regard."

Their very Prime Minister, after all, was goddess of the skies who actively intervened not just in politics, but also by mediating conflicts involving other gods. And while the Pokemon World was not a theocracy, it was a world in which the creator God was a known quantity not just through faith, but through their observable existence. One in which said God designated several other pokemon as lesser gods. They were facts of life that couldn't be denied and played a huge role in daily life. Thus, the human conception of religion - something based on faith, something that could be entirely disbelieved, something more pertinent to matters of spirit than the material world - was entirely alien to Lucia, Helia, and pokemon in general.

"A corporate vice president?" Helia pondered. "Not the most orthodox city representative, but meeting with them sounds like it'd be worthwhile all the same.

"We'll try not to overwhelm them," Helia assured Krillin. "Though if you're interested in seeing pokemon fight, I suppose that can wait a moment. Come, follow me."

She and Lucia lead Krillin to…

Castelia City - THE THUNDERDOME

…the THUNDERDOME, where a battle involving a bunny rabbit girl, a blonde knight girl, a furry mutant, and a Bionicle is already in progress.

"So you're a Pokemon?" Groudon asked the albino. "Ah, now it makes sense. Even when you've been around the block as long as I have, it's pretty difficult to tell the difference between us in our transformed states and the outsiders."

Upon the albino's request, the Groudon nodded.

"Yeah, I can definitely help you with that!"

With that, the Groudon pulls up some sort of holographic menu system and plays a song through the stadium's speaker system.

"There we go! That should add some atmosphere."

He then notices the two birb girls and Krillin.

"Oh hey! If it isn't the Guardians of Sea and Sky. I suppose this guy is one of those humans everyone is talking about now?"

"That's right," Lucia nodded. "Krillin wanted to see some of our fighters do battle."

"Then he's come to the right place! If you ever want to try getting in on the action, there's plenty of pokemon out there who can give you a good brawl. No matter how strong you are, there's bound to be someone who can give you a run for your money. Assuming you're interested in that to begin with - might be jumping the gun a bit, haha."

Castelia City - Matt, Charlie and co.

One might argue that technological advancements have rendered record stores increasingly obsolete. However, one might also argue that… uh…. Don't think about the economics here too hard. In a fairly utopian world where pokemon can provide for the energy needs of their communities through their own innate abilities rather than expensive and far less efficient human technology, perhaps they're not really subject to the crushing forces of capitalism to the same degree as everyone else, and physical media still has some intrinsic emotional value.

"The Pokemart would be a good place to start," Charlie pointed to the nearest, less than cleverly named general store◊. "Though if music's more your thing, Unova Records might be a chain worth looking into. You'll be able to see some walking around the city."

"There's a lot of different kinds of music here," Matt answered. "Hm… maybe I should just play something that's popular for you to give you an idea."

Matt took out a Rotom-shaped device◊ - that classic shape we all know and are familiar with, don't act like you aren't - and plays the aforementioned song.

"You've got options," Charlie said. "Though uh… hopefully whether or not you can get expired food from your job doesn't need to be a major consideration in your choice. I'd feel kind of bad about that."

Charlie looks over at Yuri.

"Wait, did you say you know martial arts? It's admittedly a crowded field, but fighting can be pretty profitable if you're good enough at it here."

Castelia City Entrance - Trevor Grant and Alucard

The vampire hunters find their way over to Castelia's entrance. This time, the guards have rotated out and it is now being guarded by a really big, literal guard dog of towering height with a sword◊. While that very concept is frankly kind of silly, he carries himself with an incredible amount of power and nobility that quells any such notions. The deployment of such a pokemon is perhaps a sign of how seriously Ray takes, indeed must take, the issue of border security during this chaotic time. He turns his gaze over to the group.

"Hail and well met, travelers. What brings you here to Castelia?"

Edited by HilarityEnsues on May 31st 2023 at 12:35:51 PM

Vi and Kabbu, Area 11 Harbor: We Come in Peace

Their sight of their homeland would soon be cut short with a shine from the right-side of their field of vision. An entirely new island came to take their previous destination's place, only in a much different crescent-like shape. But before they could inspect further, they heard a voice from the dock, one from a tongue they were completely unfamiliar with. They turn their attention to two men dressed in black armor and a giant purple biped. Vi looked at Kabbu as he mans the sail, "What's the plan? I can't really tell from this far, but they look super scary."

Kabbu speaks to his bee companion, "We have to show them that we have no ill intent. That means that we must avoid any sudden movements or any shouting or threatening gestures. We should make them not think of us as a threat to their well-being."

The makeshift raft would approach the docks in a smooth, steady manner. The visages of the mysterious travelers would be clearer: a short bipedal creature resembling a bee and a taller, bulkier creature with appearances belonging to a horned beetle. They kept as still as they could to avoid arousing suspicion, or at the very least, not appear to want to suck down any brains of any aspiring pirate.

Eastern Ruins, Northeast

"Right. That's...that's good to know." Ramza replied, finding that for all the obvious 'danger' signals the warrior was giving off, there didn't seem to be any sign that he was lying about having no hostile intent towards the pair of them. Though Alma giving Conan a closer look really didn't help the elder Beoulve feel much better about the situation, and the look he gave her and the teasing grin she gave him in return wasn't much help either.

Hyrule, Death Mountain

Much to the relief of the Ivalice scouting party, the Gorons of Death Mountain proved to be a rather welcoming bunch, so despite the heat being a bit higher than they were used to, the group was able to feel at ease amongst the mountain folk, with Lillian taking point to answer the question given.

"Considering the welcome you've given us, I can't see Her Highness refusing a delegation coming with peaceful intent. To be frank with you, given the new circumstances, we can hardly afford to turn away potential friends simply because they look or act different." Lillian answered, then turned her head to look at the new arrival, 'Link' as he was called. Not a many of many words, apparently, but the Gorons apparently had faith in him.

"A delegation it is. We're ready to depart as soon as you are, so don't feel pressured to rush things on our account." The female Knight told the group, though she could then be heard advising her own party to take care of any lingering business they had sooner rather than later.

Eastern Ruins, Guardhome

In the midst of Tatl's conversation with Starrk and Lilynette, the group could see that further up ahead in one of the abandoned rooms, something appeared to be glowing faintly blue, the illumination brightening and dimming in regular intervals. A beacon of some piece of machinery, perhaps? Or something else...?

Hill -> Northwards

Seeing as neither of the two potential threats he saw seemed interested in speaking to or harassing him, and because the urge to be moving again was proving to be too much to ignore, Vaati took a few steps away from the tree he'd awoken next to, and with a burst of wind that traveled outwards from him, he ascended into the air and began to fly. The mage didn't know where he was flying to, exactly, but that didn't matter to him right now. He was free. And as he flew northwards, his path taking him towards what was known as the Last Outpost (not that Vaati himself knew that), he made a vow to himself.

Nothing, and no one, would ever trap him again.

Anor Londo, Palace: Friends of A Friend

Indeed, the divine presence of Lady Zariah shielded the invading machine from all sorts of complications—a flurry of arrows the size of beach umbrellas being the most conventional means of taking the chopper down. But fortunately for all passengers aboard, the Silver Knights had sharp eyes, and any standing orders to prepare an anti-air assault were halted well before the Sable chopper reached the walls.

Since Lady Zariah wasn't a stranger to these loud contraptions, she was trusted to guide the helicopter to a flat area where the visitors could disembark. That said, she was given an escort of three Batwing Demons and a menacing-looking winged creature that seemed to be made of stone. Though Lady Zariah may be trusted, the thing she was guiding to a landing was most certainly not.

If they came in peace, then the escort would leave them alone. But it didn't hurt to show a small flex of deterrence.

Once on solid ground, a trio of Silver Knights would meet the visitors...but not until the blades on the machine stopped spinning like that. Apart from a small quizzical shift in their helmets at Sable's (forced) use of the words "liege lord," the knights remained as stone-faced and disciplined as Sable's guards. Once Manhattan's ambassador finished speaking, the leading Silver Knight turned his helmet towards Lady Zariah, as if to request her blessing. If given the go-ahead, the Silver Knights would waste no more time and turn to depart for the palace, commanding^note perhaps to Sable's annoyance the visitors to follow.

Gwyndolin held no throne to speak of. Instead, they spent much of the day checking on the city's resources from different parts of the castle. This appeared to be such a commonplace occurrence that few words needed to be shared between passing knights to determine the Dark Sun's present whereabouts. Thus, the visitors were guided through halls, across spiral staircases, and even cutting through a few private (though long vacant) living spaces before they finally crossed paths with the Lord in-question.

Depending on the description Lucia gave for the apparent second-in-command of this lost capital, Gwyndolin's appearance might either be surprising, or a little disappointing. Though they stood at the height of an average man, they had the complexion of a Victorian woman suffering from consumption...least that's what could be gathered by the skin unshielded their immaculate white dress and brilliant golden mask. They were a soft, sickly-looking thing that might've fit right in with the depictions of royalty from Sable's world.

Well...perhaps not all depictions of royalty from Sable's world.

The Silver Knights announced their presence, and the names of the new guests. Gwyndolin turned towards the newcomers with a soft smile, and dismissed the knights.

"A pleasure to see thee once more, Lady Zariah." the Dark Sun greeted the gijinka with a bow. Now turning to Sable face-to-face, Gwyndolin said in a lightly masculine tone:

"Greetings, Silver Sablinova of Manhattan. As thou may knowest already: I am Gwyndolin, the Dark Sun; Last Child of Gwyn, Lord of Sunlight and Great Sustainer of the Age of Fire; Adviser to Gwynevere, Princess of Sunlight. To what hath I the pleasure of speaking to thee?"

Dracula's Castle, Colosseum Sitting Area: "Lead the Way, Boss!"

Ganondorf smirked as Raven Beak promptly rejoined the Grown-Ups to talk business.    "I must admit that I am envious, Chief Raven Beak. You're a far better sport than I."   

The Count had commanded that this not become "a battle to destroy each other," but he'd said nothing about a little light maiming. Were he in Raven Beak's position, the Gerudo King would've at least ripped off a spike to send a more permanent message. Maybe use it as a toothpick whenever the little imp was in view.

But perhaps the Mawkin just didn't feel like the mask was worth the trouble. Hard to blame him, really. Besides, it seemed like the message was well-received.

So back to business. Ganondorf accepted Dracula's invitation with a small bow.    "Lead the way, my lord; I shall follow."   

And so the Gerudo King followed Dracula towards the situation outside the castle, trailing the Count just a few feet behind his right shoulder.

Anor Londo, Painted World Cathedral: Another Warm Welcome!

Sypha's exploration of this strange sunbathed city would lead her to a cathedral just below the cliffs leading to Seath's Archives. It was a strangely isolated building, with walls that easily reached higher than any cathedral to Sypha's knowledge.

On the end bordering the entrance, Sypha would see a collection of statues above her head, they depicted three figures in pristine marble: an old king standing proudly in the center, with a young smiling woman to his left and several knights in full armor lining below the larger figures. Curiously enough, there was a place for a third statue to the right of the old king, but the pedestal it would've stood remained empty.

Though perhaps what Sypha found on the other end of the cathedral warrented more of the speaker's attention: measuring from the floor almost to the very ceiling stood a painting of almost unbelievable size.◊ Thanks to her distance from the masterpiece Sypha could tell that it depicted a ruined castle or fortress covered in fresh snow, accessible by a rickety wooden bridge that reached the foreground of the painting.

Should Sypha choose to take a closer look at the painting—or indeed, just take the time to explore the titanic space for longer than there was patience for—the Speaker would be given a stern reminder that she was only considered a guest in Seath's territory. The reminder came in the form of a curved sword held threateningly beside her neck just under Sypha's left peripheral. Its wielder had silently ambushed her from behind one of the cathedral's many columns.

"A warning, trespasser:" stated the hooded figure◊. "Thou standest on sacred and protected ground. State thy business, or leave. Lest thou face the consequence of endangering Ariamis."

Castelia City, THUNDERDOME: Krillin has Benchwarmer Stockholm Syndrome!

Krillin followed the guardian deities to the battle stadium, feeling a strange wave of nostalgia as he approached a building dedicated to—least from a certain point of view—martial arts. As he passed by advertisements for some of the upcoming matches, the short police officer couldn't help but start to smile.

Who would've thought such a weird place could bring out the warm fuzzies? Feels like I'm signing up for the next Worlds Martial Arts Tournament!

Soon enough, Helia and Lucia led Krillin to the arena itself. The martial artist wasted no time rushing to the guard rails to get a closer look at the match. Feint attacks, horse stances, roundhouse kicks, at least three of these four Pokemon were fighting like bona fide martial artists! This felt like watching the Tournament of Power again! Without the universal genocide!

It was then that Krillin was greeted by the man of the house...or was that dragon? The grin on martial artist's shriveled to a nervous quiver. What was with these people and being so freaking HUGE?!

"O-oh, I can actually f-fight here?" stammered the tiny human. He'd just planned on watching a few matches from the sidelines like usual, but the thought of actually getting into the ring had crossed his mind as soon as the nostalgia had. Setting aside all the unknowns, it sounded like a lot of fun!

...but who to choose as a sparring partner? He probably wouldn't last long against Helia or Lucia, and he didn't want to take on any of the fighters in the ring once their match was over; seemed like poor sportsmanship to make somebody fight twice in a row. He couldn't sense anything from the giant red guy or the white-haired guy nearby, and he didn't know who else was available.

So the puzzled martial artist crossed his arms and sighed.

"Y'know now that you say it, I'd love to get a chance to spar. I just don't know who to pick."

Space Pirate Mothership

It's been a while since the Space Pirates went quiet. After their defeat, they had retreated into their Mothership and had been quick to leave the Ruins westward. As of now, it was flying high in the sky, in the region between the ruins and the hill.

Ridley was in a dark room, on a table, trying to rest. The evil dragon now had a metallic tail, replacing the old one. The process, while not as excruciating as his transformation into Meta Ridley years ago, had still been painful.

Keeping Ridley conscious during the operation had been a direct order from the Space Dragon himself. A way for him to not forget the humiliation of having been dismembered by a child.

That stupid, worthless, green hat little shit.

Frustrated, Ridley slammed his iron-sharped tail against the floor with a grunt.

As much as he hated it, it was back to step one. Even with Kraid and some Space Pirates under his command, it simply wasn't enough to do anything substantial.

For now, Ridley had been clear. The Pirates had to stay low, until an opportunity would present itself, like an ally, or something they could get. But the dragon wasn't done yet...

Castlevania

Raven Beak folded his arms. It would seem intruders have approached the castle.

Quite a concerning issue, but they first had to asset the situation at hand.

The Mawkin chieftain bowed his head at Dracula before following behind him as well.

Outside, some Chozo soldiers have already gathered after spotting the approaching army. They were in the shadows, silently standing near Elizabeth.

The 5 looked at each other, then Zoran pushed Vaali forward. "Oh right! I'm the face everyone talks to! Uh hi there, my name is Captain Vaali and this is my merry band of misfits-"

"Chucklefucks," Rehua interrupted.

"-Right... Yeah we're from a place called Outset, we're currently in some dire straits so we had to get far away from there for the time being, we're not looking for trouble. Just trying to find potential help."

Vaali was taking a shot at diplomacy.◊ The way she talked and smiled was natural and disarming, she was good at this, and getting away from Outset and finding a group not instantly shooting at them? That was good.

"These are my friends. Zoran-"

The Strix druid said "Sup!"

"-Rehua-"

Rehua smiled and waved. "If you call me a tree I will inform you that is inaccurate!"

"-Tannhauser-"

Tannhauser crossed his arms. "How do you all feel about revolution?"

"-And lastly, Baldric."

Baldric just grunted, he wasn't one for socializing.

Castelia City, THE THUNDERDOME - Seven: Minimize Damage

Seven barely has the time to prepare themselves as the Lopunny closes the distance in the blink of an eye, just about managing to raise an arm to put it in the way of her kick, but they know this isn't nearly enough of a block to stop this attack; But this isn't what the Biohazard style does, anyways.

Opting for the path of least resistance, Lola would feel next to no pushback against her leg as Seven's body goes almost entirely limp, feeling more like a Seven-shaped fluffy pillow than an actual body with muscles and bones, almost weightless as the kick sends them to the side, rolling back upright in mid-air and landing on their feet as gravity grabs hold of their body once more.

"You sure know how to dish them out yourself. Fast, too." They speak up, returning their opponent's compliment as they ready themselves, Time slowing down for them as their eye and hand turn purple. " Lemmetryitmyself!" they add rapidly, gaining a burst of speed as they dash forwards, dropping into a sliding tackle to try and knock the Lopunny of her feet, preparing to throw an upwards punch should the former succeed.

Earth 11945, Forest Kingdom - Igno: Maximize Damage

Hearing his opponent's response, Igno realizes that she is at the very least moderately miffed, which is not quite what the shapeshifter was aiming for; he rearranges his organs a bit to put the more important stuff out of harm's way as he sees her abandon her sword and charge, planting his blade into the ground when she pushes his arms out of the way, just letting her vent as she repeatedly headbutts him, a couple of the impacts emitting a worrying crunch.

After allowing her to get a few hits in, Igno decides that's enough for now; He might have deadened his nerves to the bare minimum to keep the pain down, but it still hurts like hell. He grabs her wrists just like she is grabbing his, turning around as she prepares another headbutt to use her momentum and toss her over his shoulder, creating some distance between the two.

"Your words hurt me more than your skull, lass." He manages to voice through his fairly messed up mouth, his head in a definitely Not Very Healthy shape. "I was neither mocking you or pretending to care! If I was trying to mess with you, It'd be much funnier for everyone involved!"

The shapeshifter slightly winces in pain as his head slowly reforms itself into a more normal shape, putting a hand on the pommel of his sword. "Just because we're swinging dangerously sharp hunks of metal at each other to settle our disagreement on the morality of exterminating robots doesn't mean I'm out to get you. Just... go out there, that way over there, get out of the forest and see for yourself! We can even go for round 2 this evening if you're still pissed, under that big tree on top of the hill!"

Castelia City, The THUNDERDROME

"Sura ya can little dude!" the Groudon grinned. "Long as you can fight, no one's gonna turn you down just because you aren't a pokemon. Only half the fighters in the arena right now are pokemon, in fact."

Which half he was referring to wasn't clear in the slightest, nor was it ever when you were dealing with beings that could become human-shaped at a moment's notice.

"Now as for who to match you with… that's a tough one. I don't know your strength or skill level, so I'm at a bit of a loss here…"

As the Groudon ponders this dilemma, someone approaches Krillin from the stands.

"I heard you were looking for a challenge."

Though most people are focused on the ongoing match you do hear a few ooohs and aaaahs from the crowd as the pokemon. An oddly high amount of acclaim for a rather unassuming looking yellow rat with a red hat◊. Its bright red cheeks make it look even more cute and nonthreatening.

"They said your name's Krillin, right? I'm Red. Wanna face me?"

They're nothing close to Helia or Lucia, sure. But… damn. They're definitely punching above their weight class ki-wise.

"Whoooa!" Arturia seemed impressed by the abilities of Hekwii's mask. "That's a formidable item you have there."

Hekwii's manipulation of the ground would've thrown most people off balance.

The problem is that pokemon are not most people. They're straight up cheaters.

There are so many pokemon that are able to fly or levitate - even outside the actual flying type itself - that it's a real roll of the dice if the one you're facing even needs to stand on the ground. And being part Ghost type - unbeknownst to the Toa, she doesn't even have feet in her un-gijinkafied form - Arturia doesn't really. She simply floats above the ground once she notices something is up, putting her out of danger. She summons up some shadowy energy once again, but instead of sending it at Hekwii as a ball, she forms it into a blade◊ that hovers in the air before it slashes in Hekwii's direction.

"An interesting use of your powers! But I think you'll find there are many pokemon who are just as adept in the air as we are on the ground!"

Meanwhile, Lola is caught off guard by Seven's sudden increase in speed and gets knocked off her feet, then uppercutted in quick succession. This seeds her stumbling backwards, putting her closer to the boundary of the ring and on the defensive.

"Wha- You weren't that quick a moment ago! You're tricky!"

She rushes back over to Seven and this time, she tries to whip him with her long, prehensile ears. Strange a tactic as this may seem, her ears carry the same considerable force that her kicks do.

Edited by HilarityEnsues on Jun 3rd 2023 at 10:03:38 AM

Hewkii, Castelia City, Castelia Battle Stadium, THE THUNDERDOME

Hewkii sees this new attack coming and reads its intent just in time, but falls just short in readying his warblade to parry it as the weapon is knocked out of his hands, clattering across the floor out of his reach, the Toa himself staggering back to evade the brunt of it. Still short of the edge of the ring, another lucky hit could spell a loss—at this, he mutters something in Matoran that would have almost certainly gotten him thrown out of the Sanctum in Ko-Koro, had it still existed. Okay, I guess that's fair enough.

He considers his next course of action carefully, rather uncharacteristically for a Toa of Stone. The goal is, after all, to get a ring-out and it wouldn't serve to fix her to the floor with his mask power, as easy as it would be to do... and most importantly of all, she would be expecting it now, and who knows what countermeasures she has? Time to do something stupid.

"Alright, let's see if we can help you out with that!" he replies to her display of flight capabilities (more for the crowd than anything), making as if he were about to use his mask before abruptly raising one hand and exerting his power over stone again, this time manipulating a section of the floor beneath Arturia to rush upward and, ideally, slam into her and send her flying... angled such that it might well send her out of the ring if she doesn't recover in time.

Of course, he makes sure to set this fragment right back down where it was, leaving little trace he'd done anything at all to the floor of the arena, not so much as a crack. He's a Toa, not a vandal.

Edited by Chortleous on Jun 4th 2023 at 8:16:54 AM

The machine exploded and Yunica descended back to the ground. With the battle winding down, Yunica had some breathing room to think. She could reflect on her mistakes. This level of performance was unacceptable. She needed to do better, be better. She could at least excuse some of her poor showing due to the new enemy type she was facing. Knowing your enemy was key for victory. These machines weren't the same as Nevi, she would have to adapt her approach in the coming battles.

A part of her wondered if the problem lied in her specs. She was used to being cutting edge technology. But perhaps in this new world she really was obsolete. As she descended, she looked down at her left hand. The last flesh and blood extremity of the cybrog. She wondered if she had let scentimantalyity comrpomise her use as weapon. Perhaps it was time to let go of even this small part of her that remained her.

2b's words caught her attention. With the battle all but over, Sea Wasp disassembled her face mask so she could look at 2b with her uncovered face. Her expression almost looked like a glare, but it didn't have the anamosity behind it. In fact, it seemed like that was just how she looked, apprently having what some would call a resting bitch face. For a moment Yunica just stared at her, before turning away and muttering under her breath.

"Sure..."

In truth, Yunica didn't know how to respond. A part of her wanted to gloat. That 2b was right, Sea Wasp was perfectly capable on her own. Another part couldn't help but be suspicious that the blind folded combat android was merely humoring her. Talking down to her even. Another part realized how just childish these thoughts were. But that didn't keep it from still being frustrating.

Perhaps the only one in the party who could truly appreciate Yunica's response was Shion, being the only human female present. The only one who might recognize that despite all the military decorum Yunica puts on, that at the end of the day she was still a teenage girl. And that brought with it all the moodiness and complications being a teenager brought.

Sea Wasp watched as 2b executed the last machine, only for another white artificial head to pop out. Surprising, but it didn't change anything. As far as she was concerned, it was still a machine, so it had to die. Sea Wasp wasted no time. She readied her lance and even began approaching when she was stopped on Shion's orders. The order to stand down was almost an even bigger shock then the head. What was the point of letting it live?

Regardless of how she felt, orders were orders. It did make her reconsider whether a civilian like Shion should be in command. Though it seemed even 2b's drone agreed with the sentiment. Calculating some value in keeping the thing around. Yunica couldn't see it however. How was this thing supposed to be useful? Emil might notice from the corner of his eye the look the Yunica was giving him. A look that let him know that the moment he gave her a reason to, she would end him.

With the introductions, Yunica couldn't help but pipe up with a little correction.

"Sea Wasp."

They were on a mission, using code names was stadard operation procedure. Besides, this thing wasn't her friend that it could get all chummy with her by using her real name. The other soldiers seemed nonplussed by the scientist not knowing their names. They didn't really expect her too. One of the soldiers stepped forward to speak on their collective behalf.

"Code names is fine for the duration of the operation. You can refer to is by Sea and the corrosponding number assigned to each of us."

As stiff as ever. With the the way clear though, it was time to continue the mission. Yunica turned to Shion at the request. For a moment it seemed the civilian was going to make the same mistake, but she was able to catch herself at the last moment. As for the request it self, Yunica would nod and reassemble her helm. Ofcourse she would accept, serving as the vanguard is what she does.

"Yes, ma'am."

Now offcially in enemy territory, there was no need to march. They wouldn't be caught flat footed again. Sea Wasp would activate her jet pack and hover just above the ground. She would quickly skim along it, moving ahead of the group but maintaining line of sight incase she needed to quickly double back.

Permet made a mental map of what was described to her and began formulating contingencies for the various ways this mission could play out based on the intel provided. Nothing ever goes according to plan. As a military analyis, she was intimately familiar with Murphy's law. But expecing the complications that inivitably show up during a mission did help keep them from being caught off guard and to addapt accordingly. Luckily it seemed their CO for the mission was also one to think ahead. With the rhetorical "Ain't I thoughtful?", the soldier of the Jellyfish Special forces saw fit to respond in the manner drilled into them at boot camp.

"Ma'am, yes ma'am."

The soldiers put on the new equipment and got to adjusting to breathing through a filter. With the mission a go, two squads of three moved to cover Samus' left and right flank during the approach. Two more squads of three covered the rear, watching for ambushes from the back, especially with their CO holding the ordinance being located near there in the formation. Finally Permet set her self some where near the middle. Her weaponry was all long range, and she wanted to be in a position where she could get a good view on battle field conditions. She made sure to always be a hop and skip from Jackass though. The CO's life was vital for the operation. Should danger find a way through their front lines, she would need to be able to provide emergency evasive maneuvers, or even take the bullet should it come to that.

Eastern Ruins, Southwest -> Guardhome, First Floor

"That's right," Nel agreed with Yoriichi's assessment, nodding. "You didn't see it since you got here after everyone else, Ellie, but the boy in green evidently was using some kind of magical mask to change shape. I can't say I've ever seen a mask that can do that before, but there's a first time for everything, and the possibilities of the multiverse are endless, after all! That 'See-Through World' you mentioned is an interesting ability as well... ah, I don't think I caught your name!"

After Yoriichi had introduced himself and Nel had reciprocated, she returned to answering Ellie's questions... after a fashion.

"This area became ruins because almost everyone who lived here returned where they came from a hundred years ago. My friends and I don't know all the details of how or why that happened, but we didn't have the manpower or resources to upkeep everything, just a few buildings, so everything else has fallen to ruin in the meantime. 'This place' in general is referred to as The Frontiers, although I don't know who originally named it that. The Frontiers are a sort of blank slate, populated with people and places from throughout all possible realities, so that's why it looks like a bunch of places mashed together. I don't know how or why that happens, either, just that it does. Given that people were able to return to their home universes a hundred years ago, however, it's possible you might be able to as well, eventually. As for why I can't answer all your questions-"

"That would be because certain individuals might cause additional problems when they learn that they have returned to the Frontiers, such as Wulfrik the Wanderer, who has already made himself our enemy," the mechanical wolf from earlier explained, crossing paths and joining with the party after they rounded the latest corner and began walking Eastward.

"Hello, Bladewolf!" Nel greeted with a smile. "How was hunting?"

"Hello, Neliel," he returned. "Wulfrik has retreated to the East, in the direction of the larger chocobo herds. It would be advantageous if he continued towards the city which appeared in that direction and never returned."

"Yes, we can only hope!" she agreed, then looked up, beaming at their◊ destination◊.

"And this is our creatively-named Guardhome! Haha!" she announced with a slight laugh, striding forward across the stone bridge to hold one of the massive double-doors open for the others. "After you!"

The interior was surprisingly nicely decorated, for something a hundred or more years old. Neat, patterned tile floors led them down a wide hallway with yellow-painted walls that branched in three directions: left, right, and center. After letting everyone through the doors, Nel guided the party down the center route, humming a tune as she went. At the center of the building was what was likely once a food court, though a lot of the tables and chairs had been pushed closer together to make larger eating surfaces. Most of the former restaurants surrounding it were shuttered, but a few still seemed functional. This central area also served as a four-way intersection, with additional halls again branching left, right, and center. However, Nel led the party all the way past the chairs and tables to the hall opposite the one they had come in.

On the sides of this second hallway, one could see various rooms that had probably once been businesses or public gathering spaces: an office with a large map of the city pinned on the wall, a forge, a rec room, a library, and so on, though not all of those other than the ones listed had been maintained well. Also standing next to a blank space of hallway wall was a small table and an adjoining cork board with a title above it so worn that it presently seemed to read "Q ST B R ". On it were a number of homemade pieces of paper, most of which seemed to be to-do lists. Nel took a stick of charcoal from a clay bowl on the table and marked off "Gather breakfast!" along with sub-bullets "Veggies", "Fruit", and "Eggs".

"Al~right!" she cheered, glancing back at the people following her. "Everyone still here? We're almost there! ...Although you'll have to wait a bit for breakfast to actually cook, of course..."

That said, she led them further down the hall and then veered right at the intersection that was virtually identical to the one they'd seen coming in. A short ways down this third hallway stood a fancy-looking oaken door with brass handle, which Nel proceeded to open with relish.

"I'm baaaack~!" she sang as she stepped in and then down a few steps to the main dining area, which was considerably nicer-looking than the food court area outside, and more resembled an old-timey pub: all polished wood tables (though they were again pushed together to form one big table), cushioned wooden chairs, a piano in one corner and an unlit brick fireplace in another, and part of a kitchen visible over the top of the sparsely-stocked bar opposite the entrance. Bladewolf followed, his metal paws tapping heavily on the hardwood.

"Welcome back, Nel, Bladewolf," a woman◊ setting the table greeted approvingly, not looking up. "I take it the crisis has been averted and the remainder of breakfast has been obtained?"

"That's right! And I brought some new friends, too!"

"Oh, real...ly...?" the green-haired lady questioned, finally glancing upwards and noticing the large crowd of newcomers.

"So," she pronounced, narrowing her eyes at the strangers, "it really has begun, then."

"Yeah, it has..." Nel agreed and scratched her cheek, setting her basket down on the table as well. "It's better than it could be, though! Look at all these good people we met!"

"That remains to be seen," the amber-eyed woman countered with a thin frown, then sighed. "Well, at least you brought back enough food today that we can feed everyone, even these people, though we'll probably have to restock tomorrow. Go fetch more napkins and silverware, please."

"You all, take a seat and tell me what you want to eat and drink," she ordered the party archly and folded her arms as Nel obediently headed back into the kitchen. "We've got fruit, nuts and seeds, chocobo eggs that can be prepared how you like, vegetables, chocobo meat, and bread to eat; and to drink, we have water, tea, milk, and various types of fruit juice."

"Oh, Sis and I don't need to eat, at least! We're androids," Popola explained a little sheepishly, sitting down as asked. Meanwhile Devola pulled a chair toward the wall and sat herself, taking her lute from her back and beginning to strum and sing as Bladewolf laid himself out on the floor beside her.

Edited by darksidevoid on Jun 9th 2023 at 9:38:50 AM

Elaine, Eastern Ruins, Southwest -> Guardhome, First Floor

So it's not some kind of natural ability he has... so not a Ditto. Kinda figured that, at this point.

Elaine tries to remember if she'd ever heard anything about 'magic masks' back home. There was Yamask, she'd been up against a trainer with one of those and it honestly creeped her out—which is saying something, because ghost types tend to be pretty chill once you get to know them. Doesn't quite fit the bill for this, either.

She then falls back to walk alongside the mute Lycanroc(?) as she becomes aware of his presence. "Yeah, you and me both." she mutters in response to his growling, more than picking up on his distrust of Yoriichi despite not understanding the particulars behind his connection to the green kid. "'cus you see Ninetales over there?" she then continues in a near-whisper, indicating Amako. "We can't hear her when she talks, but he can... and I'm starting to think he's been a bit selective in what he relays to us, you get me?"

After a moment she sighs, considering her own words carefully. She'd at least gathered that the Lycanroc and the kid are teammates in some capacity, and he's likely wondering what had happened even more than she herself. "If it makes you feel any better, I think they healed the kid up pretty good?" she adds in the interests of diplomacy for a clear potential ally, and to assuage some of his evident concern. "The one lady said they did and I couldn't see it too well, but... yeah."

Staying beside him but momentarily turning her attention back to Runway Cubone when she speaks up again, the Vaporeon's brows furrow as she takes in the explanation behind the ruins and this... world? Yeeeah, figured as much. Giant chunks of land popping out of nowhere, people too, everyone looks like they come from a totally different place, nobody knows what a pokémon is...

Lost in thought, Elaine very nearly jumps out of her fur when 'Bladewolf' makes himself visible again and joins up with the procession, though her expression darkens when he provides information about what had happened to Wulfrik in the intervening time, chiefly that he continues being alive and hadn't merely been picked off by another of the place's guardians.

"Mark my words," she all but spits. "that conniving fuck is going to be a skull popsicle if we run into him again, don't worry."

As the group arrives at their destination, she can't help but look up at it and gawk, continuing to do so even as she's ushered in alongside everyone else. Well-maintained in contrast to the overgrown ruins surrounding it, the place looks for all the world like some kind of mansion or stately manor of the sort she'd seen in vacations to Kalos and Galar... though as the group makes their way inside, it begins to look like it had once been some sort of mall, with an assortment of shuttered businesses.

The dining room they're eventually shown, though, is more in line with what she'd been expecting from the outside of the place. Now too focused on the prospect of food to pay attention to much of anything else, least of all what Runway Cubone and the green-haired lady are discussing, the Vaporeon—somewhat awkwardly given her size and shape—pulls up a seat that just so happens to be closest to whichever one Conan chooses and hops up to sit. Let it never be said that she doesn't know what side her bread is buttered on.

"Keep it simple," she prefaces her order, primarily out of the interests of putting up an agreeable front and not stressing her hosts. "scrambled eggs, a good slice of meat, rare, and some water. Kind of an obligate carnivore."

The pokémon then thinks for a second as she gets herself situated and watches everyone else take up their seats. "Actually, could use a dose of sugar to recharge a little after all of that, so add on a glass of whatever juice you've got, the more bitter the better."

Edited by Chortleous on Jun 5th 2023 at 8:44:12 AM

Reisen's ears perked upon hearing what Athena said. She turned to the girl with a look of genuine curiosity.

"You're an idol? We get stuff from the Showa era every now and again in Gensokyo. Let me know if you are ever holding a concert, I'll attend."

The lunar rabbit gave the other purple haired girl a resolute thumbs up. With it, an expression of approval. Ganbare Athena. Reisen had to admit, now that she knew the girl was a singer, she kind of wanted to hear her stuff. But it would probably be too much to ask her to suddenly break out into song in the the middle of a crowded street. Then again, maybe that was exactly what she should ask her.

"You thinking of holding some street performances? I'm sure you can gather enough tips that you won't have to worry about food or lodging in no time. Plus you can get your name out there and start building your fan base."

Reisen's smile soured a little when a certain ninja rejoined the group. Upon hearing Mai complain about a Lion costume, Reisen couldn't help but add a little jab under her breath.

"I don't know why they had you as a lion when you are obviously more suited as a cow."

Though something came to mind. Turning her attention back to Athena, she figured she should offer her services.

"If you need some special effects for your performances, I can help you out with that. I can even get these two in costumes if you need. For a price of course."

Reisen seemed to cringe at adding a price tag in the end. God she sounded like Tewi. But she wasn't really in a position to be giving out pro-bono work.

Then Yuri went on about her own employment prospects. Much like with Athena, Reisen seemed genuinely curious about it.

"What kind of barbecue place was it? Mongolian? I also recently tried some from a place called Texas. Though...I wonder if starting a barbecue place now would be a good idea."

Reisen furrowed her brow, closed her eyes, and put a hand on her chin as if deep in thought.

"Back in Battleworld, our host was handling all our supply needs. I'm not sure how it works here. But I didn't see any grazing land or other large scale agriculture to support the city coming in. So chances are, until new supply chains can be established, the market is going to be in complete chaos as supply and demand needs are entirely out of balance. I'm actually kind of surprised Pokemon aren't already panic buying water, food, and toilet paper as until we can figure a way back home this is last they will see of many brands they are used to."

Reisen gave a little nervous laugh as she rubbed the back of head.

"If the waters around here are still beaming with aquatic life, maybe a grilled fish or sushi restaurant would be better?"

Talking about food reminded Reisen that she really needed to get to working if she didn't want to go hungry tonight. Charlie pointed out the pokemart, and even a music chain that could also be a good choice. There was no reason to keep putting it off, especially when she really needed the money. Then Matt pulled out a phone(?) and started playing music. Maybe she could put it off just a little longer. Reisen seemed intently interested, closing her eyes and nodding along to it.

"Not bad. It reminds me of some of the stuff Prismriver puts out. Though I was wondering if you guys had something more like..."

Reisen seemed to go silent a moment as she realized she didn't have a phone like object like Matt to just whip out and just start playing music. She could still show what she meant if she could just...

"How did it go again...it was like...ba dum bum ba dum bum...tish tish..."

The bunny girl furrowed her brow as she tried to remember exactly how it went. After a few seconds, it looked like a light bulb went off as she caught the beat. She turned to the psychic cat boy and locked eyes.

"The human city I was in last time had music like this."

As she said it, Reisen's eyes would glow red and guitar riffs would suddenly start playing in Matt's head. She might not have a music player on hand, but she could still manipulate waves. Still recreating music exactly how she remembered it took a surprisingly great deal of concentration.

"But even before then I would catch every Choujuu Gigaku concert."

She was starting to sound like a fan girl. Perhaps a little too excited, Reisen began sharing another song from a band she liked. Oddly enough, only those who locked eyes with her was hearing the music. Which it made it slightly embarrassing to be standing next to a bunny girl seemingly air guitaring and rocking out to the sound of the wind.

Seeing her now, she seemed a bit different from the moody contrarian that walked toward the city. Definitely more lively and smiling more. What wonders a meal to settle an empty stomach and conversations about one's interest can do to lighten one's spirits. Catching a question from Charlie as to whether expired food was a important factor for deciding one's job, Reisen turned to him, still all smiles.

"ITS A MAJOR CONSIDERATION."

She let out a forced laugh and perhaps Charlie could see for the first time how tired her eyes looked. She was so sick of this isekai bull shit!

"If you didn't catch on, being transported to another dimension without our homes or possessions means we are homeless with out even a change of underwear to our names. If we don't make enough money for food and lodging by tonight, we go hungry and have to fight the local hobos for places to set up a card board box. So a job that helps secures at least one of those needs is a huge boon."

She let out another forced laugh before intensely chowing down on the remainder of her apple like a rabid animal. As if she was going to make damn sure she was going to get every ounce of nourishment out of the fruit as she could.

Then something Charlie said caught Reisen's attention once more. It wasn't even directed toward her. But she gave him an unamused look like she was blaming him for it. She could feel her migraine coming back. She suppose it should have been obvious. Of course the fights. This place really was like Santa Destroy. If there was way to dig them selves out of the hole they find themselves in as quickly as possible, it was the fights. Its just, SHE REALLY DIDN'T WANT TO! A fact made obvious by the way groaned and held her head as she wrestled with the decision.

With a defeated sigh, Reisen turned to look at Charlie. Almost glaring at him as all the chipperness from a moment before seemed to deflate from her.

"I don't really care about being the very best, or number 1, or whatever dumb reason Pokemon get into that colosseum. If the money is there, I'll do one fight."

She was sure to emphasize the one. She wasn't some oni looking to fight every person she meets. She did not want to make it a habit. Just enough to get in, get out, and move on. But just in case the Charazard was feeling pity for homeless bunny, lunarian arrogance reared its ugly head and perhaps even convinced the pokemon to orchestrate a scenario where he could enjoy watching the lunar rabbit eat her words.

"I don't with who. I doubt there is a pokemon I couldn't beat."

Between Castelvania and Anor Londo (Carmilla)

While Carmilla, newly free of the danger of being crystalized by the wizened old Seath the Scaleless, was traversing the mountain range between Anor Londo and Castlevania, she took a slightly different, more direct route between the two than before. It was after about a quarter of the full distance that she saw it:

Although she wasn't yet within the range of the eternal night created by Dracula, the time of day seemed to suddenly shift to nighttime anyway, though it was far from pitch-dark thanks to the light of the absolutely enormous, blue Moon on the horizon, which cast the entire scene◊ of the valley below in a slight aqua hue. Below her were a meandering river of clear water, large forests, and vast fields of white flowers - or perhaps blue flowers, if the tinge provided by the Moon was anything to go by - followed by the edge of a truly◊ massive◊ and◊ elaborate◊ structure◊ the size of a small town. There was something particularly unique and odd about its architecture, even otherworldly, but upon closer inspection, it was unmistakably some kind of castle!

Moving backward slightly would cause not only an immediate transition back into daytime, but the whole of the area below would vanish into the appearance of an ordinary mountain valley. A massive veil of illusion must have been concealing the entire place! The boundary of the illusion seemed to be just a little ways to the side of where she and Sypha had passed earlier, meaning they had only just missed it before.

And yet, besides the light of the Moon, there was no illumination about the area. Either all its residents were asleep, or it was abandoned...

It was up to Carmilla what she would do with this information. Perhaps she could report the existence of this hidden, night-covered wonderland to Dracula in the hopes of getting back into his good graces. Or, perhaps she could simply explore or take shelter in the gigantic, fortress-like castle, and make it a lair all her own... It wasn't like anyone would know she was there, after all!

Edited by darksidevoid on Jun 7th 2023 at 6:09:38 AM