Akiba Ruins, Dead Zone: A Ghost and "The Next Stephen King"
Scratch turned as expected, not too quickly but not at a snail's pace either. Wouldn't want his stalker to find him rude, after all. He glanced down and cracked a smile. As he read the six words written in dust, that smile cracked further, until the creature of Darkness was barely holding back a laugh.
"Maybe I can't, maybe I can. Either way, I'll settle for this introduction."
Scratched glanced around the dusty study, admiring the mahogany he'd decided wasn't worth breaking yet. "Figures I'd come across a ghost in a place like this. I don't mind the company, just don't get in my way. I know plenty of ways to get rid of annoying spirits."
Sometimes, Scratch was grateful for the old model's obsession with literature—specifically the work Stephen King. From Bag of Bones to The Shining, Wake knew more about ghosts than most exorcists. Sometimes beating specters involved restoring a desecrated site, and sometimes it meant just going out of bounds. Whatever rules this particular phantom followed, Scratch was confident he'd make it out alive at the end. After all, he was in his element here—in more ways than one.
"Right." Scratch smiled as he turned back to the doorway, and whistled like he was beckoning a dog. "Let's go, Casper. There's a whooole lotta house to explore."
And with that, the creature of Darkness strolled out of the study and began searching for the stairwell upstairs. If memory served, that was where Ren's office had been.
Not to mention the First Order's armory.
Tokyo 205X, Arrow's Safehouse —> The Velvet Corridor: I've Heard of Meeting Folks on An Elevator, But This Seems A Little Much
Ringo's suggestion to pick up a few cookbooks was more-or-less ignored, but even Krillin's spiral into panic couldn't help but get caught up in the intrigue. What was working? And when did Ringo and Figue start doing it? How would "it" be inaccessible to Iron Mask and his forces?
With his skin color slowly shifting back to a healthier hue, Krillin followed the others outside. He shared Saizo's surprise at the appearance of a new door; after all, the martial artist had only arrived this evening, and that definitely wasn't there when he first knocked. Though since Ringo and Figue were excited about it, Krillin assumed the new addition wasn't a bad thing. He followed the others inside, though a skeptical frown was planted on his face.
Nice design and all, but how does the door connect to the safehouse? There's no space for it on the inside, so how can—
Krillin didn't feel the butterfly land on his helmet, but he did notice the sudden shift in his thoughts. Suddenly he was back in Universe 7, going on all kinds of amazing and dangerous adventures with his friends and loved ones. Among that collage of good times and dire situations, Krillin found himself focusing on one of the most recent ones:
It was raining on the helipad. Krillin and Goku had done a number on the structure, and they would've done a whole lot worse if things had ended the way he expected it to. After a few failed attempts at knocking Goku off the helipad, his best friend had decided to end this little sparring match in the most over-the-top Goku way he could.
Krillin had seen Super Saiyan Blue plenty of times up close, but never as an opponent. It was the difference between watching a bullet train zoom down the tracks, and watching it zoom while you're tied to the tracks. Training match or not, Krillin was staring at death itself, cloaked in an azure hue. And rather than run, or call it quits, Krillin assumed the same stance as Goku did, and the two lifelong friends poured bright blue ki between their palms.
The clash of Kamehameha blasts lasted only a few moments. There was no conceivable way Krillin could match Goku's strength; frankly, it was a stupid idea to even try. But just before the Saiyan God's energy could break through and scatter Krillin's atoms among the raindrops, somebody rushed at Goku and kicked his hands away with truly incredible force. The redircted Kamehameha punched a hole in the clouds, and Krillin found himself sitting on the ground, staring at his trembling hands.
He heard footsteps approach him, and saw someone kneel down to ask if he was alright. Krillin answered he was—somehow—and thanked his rescuer for stopping the blast.
"I didn't stop it." 18 replied.
Krillin blinked, and turned to her in confusion.
"I gave you the backup you needed."
Krillin wanted to object, but his wife was already rising to her feet and shouting at their opponent. "Hey Goku: we talked about how this tournament has rules."
The shock of the near-death experience was clearing up. Krillin took a breath and got to his feet. "What're you saying, 18?"
Android 18 smiled at him. "If you get into trouble on your own, then we'll fight as a team."
Looking back on that memory, Krillin was rather grateful for the rain. He wasn't as prideful as some of his friends, but he didn't want to take away from the moment—or the thought that ran through his head as he and 18 prepared to fight Goku 2-on-1:
I may not be the strongest, but I am the luckiest man in the world!
Krillin paused, wiped the water from his eyes, and entered the Velvet Corridor.
...
Ringo took the words right out of Krillin's mouth...or "word," as it turned out. The martial artist wasn't much of a wordsmith, but "Woooooow~!" definitely covered it! How did such a long and tall hallway even work in this space, anyways? He felt like he was inside a capsule—and a really swanky expensive one at that!
Krillin took a beat away from admiring the scenery to give the other youngsters present a grin and friendly wave. These must be the Battleworld veterans Ringo had talked about. Poor kids.
Speaking of Battleworld, however, an older woman stepped through one of the doors and introduced herself as a Manhattan resident. A Good Samaritan resident, too!
"Manhattan, huh?" Krillin mused as he stared at the sign above the door May Parker walked through. Good thing it was written in a language he could read; otherwise making distinctions was going to get really tough really fast!
"Well we just came here from Tokyo—sorry, 'Tokyo 205X' weird distinction, but alright—so I guess that's two doors accounted for."
Krillin stared down the corridor, half in awe, and half in fatigue. "...only a few dozen more to go."
Turning back to the older redhead lady, Krillin pointed towards his companions: "These folks here are Tokyo locals. That's Ringo, Figue, Arrow, Milady, and Saizo. My name's Krillin, by the way. I'm an officer in the Satan City PD, though my precinct doesn't seem to have come to this weird planet with me...aaaand neither has Satan City. Might say I'm a bit of a fish out of water, but I've been trying to visit cities around this planet to make sure there isn't widespread panic."
He hadn't planned on talking so much, but there was something about "Aunt May" that teased the details out of him. She had a very warm and friendly aura about her; she probably did very well in her calling!
Elaine, Ordon Village
Finding no food to pilfer, Elaine swished her tail across the ground in annoyance—this place really was rural. After the day's events, the last thing she was interested in doing was hunting, and especially not if her prize was going to be another one of those weird soulless fish.
Didn't matter. If nothing else, the vaporeon was adept at roughing it.
With one smooth motion that made barely any splash, she dove into the creek. Then, just as quickly and smoothly, she would seem to completely fade from view despite how shallow the water was; even those watching intently would see nothing but silt and pebbles. It wasn't much longer, though, before she emerged again with a hapless catfish flapping madly in her jaws, which she then swiftly dispatched with nauseating crunch and began to eat right then and there.
What? She was hungry.
Balta, Voya Nui, outside Cliff Village >>> Velvet Corridor
Balta, in his fascination with the door, hadn't noticed the odd little glowing insect rahi until it landed on him, upon which his immediate instinct was to try and gently brush it away... until it seemed to touch his mind.
He'd have been alarmed, were it not for the overwhelming feeling of warmth that came with this, alongside what was apparently permission to enter...?
He was still a little bit alarmed.
More than that, he was a little bit disappointed that there was no puzzle or lock or mechanism to solve.
More than that, though, he was curious about what lay beyond the door, and seeing no point in wasting any more time, he gingerly opened it and entered. To the clear alarm of most of his compatriots back in the village, he would seem to vanish from sight.
Dalu, Voya Nui, inner coastline >>> outside Cliff Village
That new land off the eastern coast had vanished just as mysteriously as it had appeared, taking its envoys with it, and at what Dalu thought was a phenomenally poor time to boot. All the same, she had persevered. It was just what the Matoran here did, and if you asked her, she'd say she was better at it than most.
And given how close she was to the village, she wasn't about to limp the rest of the way there with nothing to show for all of it. Despite being inordinately difficult to drag for something with wheels, the dead Tarakava
◊ she was painstakingly hauling along behind her represented a good month's worth of suppli-
...
Just as the village's walls came within sight around a rocky corner, so too did a strange blue door situated outside.
And Balta traipsing right into it.
What was going on now?
Dropping the makeshift reed rope she'd been dragging the carcass by, her eyes darted across the village's battlements and at the Matoran peering out anxiously between them. One spotted her, before then pointing at what was, to them, the empty space Balta had been occupying not a moment prior. She soon spotted Garan, who at this distance could offer little more illuminating information, looking just as alarmed as the rest of them as he motioned for her to stay where she was.
No. To Karzahni with that.
Unlimbering her weapons, she bolted for the door and tried to enter before it shut.
Brutaka, Death Mountain, Hotsprings
"Think of it as a bit of coalition-building; we've all been plucked from our home worlds for purposes that none of us can discern." he nodded along with Pandora's explanation, idly swishing a hand through the water. "Helps to know where everyone else stands. Uncertainty leads to unease, unease leads to unrest, unrest leads to... well, a place as old and storied as Hyrule has seen conflict, I'm sure." he chuckled amiably, though his traveling companion would pick up on how insincere that really was, given what he'd just agreed to back in the Underworld. "Always so ugly. Pointless."
Content to relax for the moment, though, he considered Gorthree's offer to speak to the guards.
Count Dracula was probably beginning to wonder where he'd gone... but Count Dracula could wait a minute, and in his trip to the Underworld he'd uncovered more than enough to make up for a slight delay anyway. Talking to these Gorons had revealed annoyingly little about Ganondorf's purpose for being here, and he'd only become more and more curious.
And there was another thing that he was truthfully putting off, but the longer he thought about that, the less sure he was that he'd be able to follow through. He shut it from his mind.
"If it's no bother." the warrior shrugged.
Edited by Chortleous on Jun 5th 2025 at 6:27:08 PM
Manhattan Border, Henry Hudson Bridge
As she crossed the bridge, Alma would soon take notice of the staff at the end of it, standing around what she assumed was their work stations. She'd never had cause to leave Ivalice altogether, so she had no idea what immigration to another country was like, but given how worn out the girl was right now, she hoped that it would be a smooth enough process. Once she finally reached the guards and they greeted her, Alma tried to speak...and ended up yawning, putting a hand over her mouth so she could get that out and then speak properly afterwards.
"It's...well, it's kind of a long story, we might be here a while if I got into it." Alma admitted, offering a tired smile. "How does this process work? I've never been so far from home before, so I'm not sure what you need for me to prove I'm not a threat. I'm also new to...modern city living, let's call it that."
Southern Ivalice, Orbonne Monastery
Fortunately for Koki, there was someone still awake at this hour, as she could hear footsteps approaching it. Rather than immediately open the door, however, a voice spoke through it.
"Who approaches at this hour? Identify yourself and your intentions." The voice said, sounding tired but firm, suggesting that this was a night watchman of sorts answering the door to determine if their visitor was friendly or not.
Ziekeden Fortress
As he heard the events of the past play on without his involvement, Ramza found himself dwelling on that day, and the time spent afterwards mulling over what he could have done differently, if anything. This was a road he'd been down in his mind many times before, and the what-ifs had almost driven him mad, so in a way, having more immediate problems such as his sister being in danger and the imminent return of ancient demons had been a blessing in disguise. In the here and now, where he had nothing but his thoughts to occupy him, Ramza's thoughts turned to his brother Zalbaag.
While his order to kill Tietra was something Ramza could never truly forgive, the youngest Beoulve couldn't bring himself to hate his brother. Zalbaag had always been a man of duty for as long as Ramza had known him, and unlike Dycedarg, it hadn't been a feeble excuse for a plot to seize power: the man believed he was doing right, and followed orders given whatever the cost. Perhaps one day, when the family was reunited in Heaven, he could find his brother again and attempt to reconcile with him.
Argath, however? Ramza knew without a doubt how he felt about the man. His family's fall from grace may have been tragic, but the arrogant lout's poor choices had been all his own, and Ramza wasn't about to shed a tear for someone that saw the lower class as literally lower than himself. As far as Ramza was concerned, Argath was a fool, and he'd earned himself a fool's death. Two fool's deaths, Ramza remembered, as he recalled the battle against Argath at Limberry Castle. Why Argath expected the Lucavi to honor whatever deal he'd made with them was anyone's guess, but it was a moot point seeing as Ramza had killed him personally that time.
("That's enough reminiscing, you have an escape to make.") Ramza mentally chided himself, refocusing his attention to the task at hand. Unfortunately, neither physical strike nor magical blow yielded any hidden doors or passageways, and he wouldn't have much more time to search before he was discovered. He didn't yet know the nature of these phantoms, but he didn't want to risk them finding him looking for a way out.
"Once loosed from us, blood stains the earth equally no matter the source!" Ramza said in a louder voice as he emerged, drawing attention to himself so that Delita would remember that he wasn't alone in this fight.
Castelia
"If you would be so kind as to lead the way, or at least give us some directions, that would be most gracious of you." Maleficent said to Tyra. It had been quite some time since she'd last eaten, and even if Wallace wasn't her ideal choice of dining partner, she had an image to maintain. It wouldn't do to have people think her boorish or uncouth. Wicked, yes. Scary, definitely. But she would be embraced by the fires of Hell before she'd allow anyone to call her uncivilized.
Castelia Inn Pool
"With such stalwart defenders as you, I think this planet will be in good hands for as long as you're here." Shemaal said, his tone filled with praise and pride as he addressed the women. Once the topic shifted to being able to fly, he paused briefly and then spoke again. "An...airplane?"
"Given the context, I assume this is something built by human hands, and not a beast you've tamed. To build something that can sail the heavens...that is no small feat. Will we need to be watchful for such things going forward?" Migrana asked, realizing that they might have to be more careful with how the Sky Palace traveled if they weren't the only ones up in the clouds.
"We could give you a ride!" Taia offered, with Migrana and Shemaal looking at her briefly and thinking this over before nodding in approval. "It's really nice up there! There's bedrooms, a garden, a dining room, and a prayer room! And lots of windows so you can see outside!"
Proud member of the AGOG community.Central Frontiers
South of the Ruins of Akiba and West of Tokyo 205X, the air began to rumble once more, and the City of Domino was again enveloped in a scintillating rainbow light. When the light and phantom shaking faded, the entire city was simply gone once more, replaced by a completely different city, a bridge spanning what was now a river to the Southeast of the Hill of Origin and leading to what seemed to be a fairly modern urban center, although its skyscrapers were much less numerous than those in the city to the Hill's West... Shinka Tokyo!
Edited by darksidevoid on Jun 29th 2025 at 1:07:16 PM
GM: AGOG S4 & F/WC RP; Co-GM: TABA, SOTR, UUA RP; Sub-GM: TTS RP. I have brought peace, freedom, justice, and security to my new Empire.Last Outpost, North
"Really? Perhaps our realms are not so different." Hilda pondered at Igno's remark. The princess failed to notice the latter's concern, but she wasn't completely blind to the risks of the conflict between the Hero and the Beast.
Not that it deterred her. If she had to obtain the whole Triforce, she will have to be here.
Death Muntain, Hotsprings
So. The little idiots were eating rocks. Pandora was starting to feel amazed that such people managed to endure for so long.
The evil goddess smirked when the Gorons offered her and her partner a chance to visit the Patriarch. Those lackeys didn't seem to know about Ganondork, whatever his name was already. But maybe the leader did.
Of course, he and the others in the vampire's castle would wait a bit more, Pandora was just as curious as to what they were plotting. And maybe they were going to sabotage whatever Brutaka's "friend" said to the rock people. Who cared? It would easy for the Underworld Army to raze that whole kingdom to the ground if Hyrule was populated with such cretins. She might just have a bit of fun sowing some discord here and there before the fireworks.
"Oh, that is so kind of you! Well, if you don't mind. I'm sure it will be very fruitful." Pandora accepted, expertly feigning over-the-top gratitude.
AND I'VE STILL BLOCKED OFF MY BALL!! FUCK!!Wulfrik, Night Springs Cave
-Wulfrik looks at the throne in silence for some time, that incarnation of his past dreams and ambitions. Then he steps up to it, lifts his sword high, and brings it smashing down.-
-He abandoned the destiny of kingship long ago when the gods set him on a new path, by killing everything that had made him the man he was then. Friends, enemies, family, old hatreds and older loves, nothing remained of those, only his strength and his will, to be guided by the masters.-
-The chair cloven in half, he speaks aloud to no one in particular, in the tone of a man whose patience wears thin.-
Get on with it.
Anor Londo —> The Painted World of Ariamis: A Cold, Dark, and Gentle Place
Slightly embarrassed at not leading the guests into her home, Priscilla quickly placed a hand on the painting's surface and followed Amako inside. Before the others did the same, Gwyndolin quietly dismissed the Firekeeper. The brass-plated knight bowed, wished the visitors safe travels, and left the cathedral.
She had been gone for some time; she prayed no one else had been sent to the bonfire while she was away.
...
Aside from the initial sight of the frigid ruins beyond the rickety bridge, the first thing Amako would notice is the sudden lurch as something behind her sprung from the planks. The cause was quickly revealed as Priscilla leapt through the air to land on the snowy path into the ruins. She turned towards the growing party emerging on the bridge and gave them a bashful smile. The bridge hadn't been designed to support someone her size, so she had to act fast to prevent the thing from breaking...even if the escape effort was bit more athletic than she would've liked.
After reaching the end of the bridge, the party would be met with a few flights of uneven stairs leading to the decrepit state of a castle or fortress, one coated in a sheet of snow and bathed in eternal moonlight. Priscilla guided the party to the entrance of the estate, where some curious beady eyes stared at the newcomers before quickly tucking away from sight.
A pair of feathered wings flapped from the top of a rampart to the left of the gateway. Within moments, a monster swooped down to the ground to and greeted Priscilla with an friendly chortle. The creature
was humanoid, but taller than most adults and sporting inky black eyes and a long corvine beak. Despite the cold, it was naked expect for the feathers covering its head and wings, which the creature possessed instead of arms.
"Thou hast assembled a most colorful cast, my lady." the Crow Demon noted. Her speech was almost songlike, and as she turned to study each newcomer in-turn, she took a few extra beats to stare down at Donald.
"A child of Velka thou clearly are not, and yet..." she chortled again. "Tis rare to meet a wizardly feathered friend. Welcome!"
"I have brought wondrous news, Ornifex." Priscilla smiled at the Crow Demon, before turning to Amako. "Will this ground suffice, Lady Amako? Or dost thou require a more central point?"
New Londo Ruins, Ingward's Lookout: More Unwanted Company
Ingward cursed under his breath. Not only were the airborne intruders growing wise to the limits of his sorcery, they were calling in even more reinforcements. While the old mage didn't have a concrete threshold in-mind, he knew there was a limit to how much weight this rooftop could support—and more importantly, how much attention it could avoid.
"Away, you fools!" Ingward spat as he dodged an especially troublesome array of projectiles. "Lest you lure the restless spirits!"
As if on cue, a piercing shriek erupted from beneath Greg's feet. A red-eyed specter phased through the arched roof, aiming to slice a ghostly dagger through the Machine Lifeform like a scythe cutting the harvest. More phantoms emerged from the ground knives-first, trying to slice at both parties before floating even higher to engage the flying threats.
Ingward was experienced with avoiding the ire of the dead, but no amount of caution would stop the ghosts now. They had watched these metal creatures disturb their home; they had tried to stop the metal creatures from intruding; they had failed. Now, they had followed the invaders to a place where numbers wouldn't be in the Machine Lifeforms' favor. So as two, three, four, and five more phantoms answered the red-eyed spirit's cry, Ingward decided to change tactics.
The dead deserved vengeance, misplaced as it was. The mage cast a pair of simple spells to hide his presence, and quietly tried to approach the ladder that led off the rooftop and into the structure below. In the meantime, the spirits began to slowly descend on the grounded Machine Lifeforms, and to chase the airborne ones as best they could.
While Ingward's sorcery masked his presence from the senses, it might prove ineffective against the Machine Lifeforms. No known sorcery suppressed the caster's heat, and without any reason to assume the intruders would (let alone could) attack a hidden foe, the old mage let his guard down for a few moments. If Greg or his comrades could intercept Ingward, the battle would be all but won.
Manhattan, Harlem Construction Site (Hei): Devil vs. Reaper
Reisen's haphazard shooting interrupted Hei's approach of another thug, and forced the Black Reaper to hesitate. Fortunately, the near-friendly-fire gave Hei a moment to notice the "oni" approach, and dodge accordingly.
The Devil of Hell's Kitchen had thrown a blow to the head. What he and most fighters might expect was for his masked opponent to stand his ground and block the attack, keeping his feet planted and his attention at eye-level, and leaving him open to the leg sweep that followed. Lone killer or not, this knife-wielding assailant was wearing a Demon mask. While there were some formidable fighters among Mr. Negative's ranks, the Demons' specialties were in firearms, swordplay, and good old-fashioned muscle—and only option three offered a feasible (albeit doomed) counter here: "Stand your ground, block, go for a counterstrike, overlook the sweep, fall on your ass." React like a boxer, and get blindsided when somebody attacks with their legs.
What the Devil of Hell's Kitchen would realize is that Hei was not a boxer; he was a gymnast. When the first blow swung to bash the side of his head, the Black Reaper did not try to stop it. He merely bent his knees and arched his back to let the blow swing harmlessly above him, then continued the motion to back handspring away from the incoming sweep. As he made the final turn to land upright, Hei threw a line of cable at his horned opponent, hoping to at least make contact with the "oni" if not wrap the cable's end around the weighted staff. At the same time, an eerie soft blue glow radiated off the outlines of his body, as if activating some sort of ability—an ability that had something to do with tethering himself to his opponent.
Hei did not answer the devil's accusation. He had little reason to believe this red-plated slugger was anything other than another mercenary, albeit one with principles. But principled or not, Hei had a job to do here, and the guy in full body armor was getting in his way.
Maybe the Sable reinforcements could help break up the fight...if the new Fisk reinforcements didn't get in the way first.
Manhattan, Harlem Construction Site (Maki): NOW What?!
Maki's heartbeat pulsed in his ears. Stuck in a closed space and anticipating the enemy to barge in at any moment, there was little the Contractor could do besides brace himself and wait. But waiting led to thinking, and thinking led to worrying. Worrying would lead to panic if he let it, so the logic-wired part of himself turned to just counting time on his heartbeats.
Three heartbeats after he started counting, the thugs began shouting at something. At five heartbeats, he could hear gunfire—a lot of it, but no signs of dents or punctures in the door. At ten heartbeats the thugs started shouting again, and the gunfire moved somewhere else; less concentrated than before, suggesting a new or moving target.
Something was happening outside. Something the thugs didn't expect, and something they clearly wanted dead. Was it Spider-Man? Maybe, but he didn't hear the webslinger's voice. Had his distress signal been picked up by someone? If so, by who?
He needed more details, and he wasn't going to get any while bunkering down in here. If he and Kayne left, they'd be easy targets for the thugs. If the unknown factors were rescuers, then he and Kayne might be able to make it out safely. However, if the unknown factors weren't allies—if they were a rival gang attracted by the sudden attention at the construction site—then he and Kayne might get twice as many targets on their backs.
If, if, if, if IF. He was tired of hypotheticals! He clutched his hair and ground his teeth in frustration. He wanted to act—needed to act—but he couldn't decide on the right move. Was leaving the storage room taking advantage of the chaos, or just plain suicide? Was this room a cellar to ride out the storm, or their grave once the bloodied and furious thugs won the firefight?
What do Kayne and Moko think?
The thought had come out of nowhere, but the more he repeated it the more he saw some wisdom in it. The scavenger wasn't a stranger to dire situations, and the talking hat seemed almost as level-headed as a Contractor. It wasn't a bad idea to ask what they thought, if only to check-in and make sure they weren't panicking as well.
It'd also help get his mind off the sound of his heartbeats.
"Think backup's arrived?" Maki asked, the twitch of his lip somewhat resembling a smirk. "I'm, uhhh...a little stuck on what to do right now. I can break down the door if we want to run, but..."
He glanced at the door: the thin metal barrier protecting them from the lethal firefight outside.
"...y'know."
The Dark Place (Wulfrik): Unknown Torment
The voices stopped whispering, as if Wulfrik's demand to "Get on with it" was a switch that turned them off. The broken throne remained for a moment before it too disappeared, evaporating into the void much like Agnarr and his hut had done before it. For one pregnant moment, Wulfrik was once again alone; the dot of "something" in a perfect canvas of nothingness.
And then:
The voice boomed, but not through any forceful effort. Its low, masculine tone seemed to be magnified in the darkness, like a speaker thrown on full blast. The low, warlike drone of drums accompanied the voice as it continued:
The venom in the title was almost palpable, but even as it was spat out at Wulfrik, the champion could hear the soft crescendo of horns triumphantly begin to swell:
The instruments stopped.
The world rewrote itself around Wulfrik. The champion blinked, and suddenly he wasn't standing in a void. A collection of bright lights shined down on him, radiating heat almost like sunshine. In front of him was a sea of figures obscured by that curtain of blinding light. They were sitting, gathered around things in groups of six or eight. Judging by their positioning, they sat at a lower elevation compared to Wulfrik.
And they were applauding. The world around Wulfrik was filled with the roar of clapping hands, and sporadic rowdy cheers.
"Thank you! Welcome! Thank you!"
The voice was familiar; he'd heard it more than enough among the whispers to jog his memory. And standing about twenty feet to Wulfrik's left was its new source: a gaunt-faced man with the signature black hair of the Aeslings. He faced the sea of applause with a grin on his face, waving a hand rich in jeweled rings at the crowd as his other hand gripped the podium in front of him. The applause simmered down as the man began speaking into the microphone above the podium.
"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen. I am Prince Sveinbjorn. Known as 'Sveinbjorn Snakebelly' to a certain someone sharing the stage, though if you ask me the snake's a bit further South. It is my greatest pleasure to start tonight's event!"
More applause, which was once again cut as Sveinbjorn spoke up and pretended to scan the audience.
"Now, there may be some of you wondering about our choice in speakers. 'Where is Viglundr' you might ask, to which I must sadly share that Viglundr King of the Sarls could not make it here tonight. Not because he's dull, or lacks a sharp tongue, but because—like many other times in his life—Viglundr couldn't be bothered to do this himself. The man's genius is only outmatched by his laziness. He has one thrall to taste his meals and another to wipe his ass; if he could, I'm sure he'd have them eat and shit for him as well!"
Assuming that Wulfrik could suppress his rage at seeing this man upright and cracking jokesnote , he might take a moment to turn to his right. Sveinbjorn had said "speakers," after all. Plural.
"And others among you may be wondering 'Where is Broendulf? The former huscarl betrayed Wulfrik when he was at one of the lowest points in his life, I'm sure he has plenty to say.' While we did invite Broendulf, it seems he will not be joining us either. I'm sure he's still mulling it over and waiting for a chance to actually do something about Wulfrik. Judging by how swiftly he sprung into action last time, he'll have a joke ready by...sometime next week?"
There were six seats over to Wulfrik's right, five of them occupied. He spotted a grizzled old warrior with a grey beard and receding hairline, a man who held himself with an air of hard-earned confidence, even as he stifled back a chuckle or two. Wulfrik also saw a pale woman with violet eyes and a mix of black and cyan hair, evidently using her seat's arm and back to test some of her contortion routines. In another seat there was a short and sparsely-built man with eyes the color of foxfire. He wore a horsehair coat that flowed over his frame, and out all the speakers present, he appeared to be the most entertained by Sveinbjorn's japes. A figure in all black sat in another seat, his clothing far too precision-made to be anything crafted from Wulfrik's homeworld. He wore a black helmet that encompassed his entire head, making his expression completely unreadable...expect, perhaps, for the way he watched the legs of his wineglass trickle down. Finally, there was a tall and lissome woman adorn in a wolfskin gown, with azure eyes and long curling blonde hair that flowed down to her waist. Much like the grizzled old warrior, she held a horn of mead which she swigged by the mouthful.
"Then there are some of the more generic omissions, such as our guest's parents. Neither made the cut. We didn't invite his father because he is not funny, and we didn't invite his mother because cows can't speak."
"And while there are plenty of people who could talk about our guest of honor, and his many, many, many, many, many, MANY flaws and fuck-ups, we six speakers have our own lives to get back to. This stupid sod may be stuck here forever, but that does not mean we have to be. So without further ado, let us begin!"
Behind Wulfrik, the buzz of a neon sign sprung to life:
Kayne & Moko—Downtown Manhattan, Harlem
Kayne had experience with hiding in underground bunkers with danger nearby, so she wasn't as panicked as others might have been in her situation. Even some veteran soldiers would claim the walls were closing in on them and dash for the exit after long periods of being in a bunker or a large foxhole with no regard for whatever was waiting for them so long as they could see the sky again, but it'd only lead Maki into more danger if he followed her. So, Kayne stayed calm with her ion rifle pointed at the entrance, eyes closed in an almost meditative state, which she snapped out of when she was asked a question. However, she didn't respond at first, instead putting an ear to the door to note where the gunfire was coming from.
"Dunno, but come put your ear to the door with me," she suggested, listening intently. "Once we think the gunfire's moved as far as it's likely to get, I think that'll be a good opening to exit. Once we do, we need to form up on either side of one another, since you have a shield, and I have my Shielder Drive. That'll give us maximum protection while we try to find the best entry point to get inside of the building for real this time and complete our goal with Mao."
"Maybe if you don't want to lose the protection of the door, you should find a way to take the door with you, my lad," Moko suggested. "Kayne has a vibro-knife she can cut through the hinges with. Do you have a function on that shield of yours that lets you magnetize it or otherwise stick the door onto it to make it bigger? It's no problem even if you don't. Kayne can also carry it!"
"Yeah! I can do that!" Kayne agreed. "I hold the door, Moko holds my Shielder Drive, and you hold your own shield. Then we turtle our way over to wherever we can make our way in."
Edited by JumpingFruit on Jun 21st 2025 at 9:51:33 AM
I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.The Guardhome Mess Hall, Now With Less Haruka
"...Soul Candy?" Mutsuki repeated, blinking a few times. The three Problem Solvers looked between each other. "...well, guess you gotta be super careful about your sweets in here, Aru-chan!~"
"W-w-w-what are you even saying, Mutsuki?! W-why would I want to eat someone's soul?!" Aru whined, staring at her explosives specialist like she's gone insane. "H-how would I even eat a soul?!"
"Oh, you know, we are called devils by certain people-"
"T-t-that's just unfunny discrimination!"
"Oho?" Mutsuki's smile resembled the head of the scythe. "So you deny you're hard-boiled enough to eat a soul? And here I thought this is the kind of thing that hardened villains like our boss-"
"S-shush, you!" The boss managed to compose herself, though at this point it was mostly for herself than for anyone else. "U-um, please do forgive us, Lilynette-san, Chappy-san. That surprised us. Some of us more than others..." She glared at Mutsuki; the gremlin stuck out her tongue at her in response.
"Um... b-but what if the spirit d-doesn't want to give back the body?" Haruka supplied a question meekly. "Or i-if they deem the soul unworthy and... d-destroy it... or devour it... or d-do other, perhaps-deserved things to it..."
"...speaking of going..." Mutsuki's smile slid off. "Kayoko-chan's taking her sweet time. Getting a little worried."
"Hmm... should there be a crisis situation, I think our hosts would be more worried... but it is concerning." Kayoko could definitely take care of herself, but they were in a greatly unfamiliar setting. The last thing Aru wanted was for her trusted subordinate and also friend to get herself in some kind of pickle all on her own.
"I-I can go check." Haruka volunteered, raising her hand. "A-already finished my food, s-so... um... and if I get lost, then it's not t-that big of a deal..."
"Nonsense, Haruka! You are as much of a valued employee as Kayoko is. I order you not just to not get lost" Aru nodded, face setting in proper boss mode-ism. "but to bring your senior and yourself safe and sound."
"Y-y-yes, ma'am!" Haruka squeaked, hitting herself in the forehead with her salute before she scrambled out of the mess hall, clutching her shotgun close.
The Mess Outside The Stables, Now With More Haruka
Well... things were definitely not going too well. This time, Kayoko drew her pistol, keeping her hand steady. She didn't aim at Catnap yet, but it was a near thing. Of course, she did understand that the mechanical cat monster wasn't exactly friendly, but she was hesitant to start shooting nonetheless. If that did happen, then it wouldn't be undone - and this wasn't Kivotos, which was something she had to keep rolling over in her head. The hamster of the thought remained on its wheel, keeping it alive.
"Okay, how about you first let Durge-san help you? Don't just... kidnap him for it." She chided, watching Catnap try and make away with the albino lizardman. No doubt his party would take an offense with that, if Durge himself somehow hadn't. "And you are not helping." She hissed at Tatl as the fairy approached, voice lowering in volume. "I don't want to follow him around, obviously. I'd much rather this situation hadn't happened - but we gotta work with what we have, or we can try to kill each other. Your choice on which one of these works better."
Link made that choice for them.
There was going to be a fight now, unless she stopped it before it began. Question was: would she be able to? There was only one way to find out, preferably before that buff red-skinned lady in the back decided to use the bow kid like a stressball. "Dammit, enough of this!" Kayoko shot her arm out into the air, the pistol following - and then she fired once into the skies. The normally quiet, suppressed firearm roared like a beast with a life of its own. From there, the unknowable power of hers, an essence of her Mystic, spread out around her in a wave of heart-gripping fear; the kind that either stops a person in their tracks or has them running for the hills (even if the person had no heart or otherwise felt no fear). It was nothing a strong will couldn't resist, but should they waver, it would keep them from acting for a crucial moment.
"You. Drop the lizardman." Regardless of what happened, Kayoko pointed at Catnap with the glower. "You. There better not be another arrow nocked, or you'll be sorry." Then she swiveled to glare at Link.
And then Haruka came in. "K-kayoko-san, are you... okay..." The purplette's voice quietened as she regarded a horrible monster and its horrible mount. She took in the tension in the air (which might or might not have been enhanced by Kayoko's magic bullet), the hostilities that were about to break, and that Kayoko-san was in the middle of it all?!! "...ah. Monsters."
Only Tatl would be privy to Kayoko mouthing "shit" under her breath. "W-wait, Haruka, don't-"
"G-g-g-get away from her! Y-you w-weird lizardcatthingdieplease!" The shotgun coughed as it fired, aiming the cloud of buckshot into Catnap's legs to try and disable it.
Manhattan, Demon Hideout, Throne Room
Arturia and Lola focused on handling the grunt Demons alongside Seven. Arturia creates spikes of shadow that come out of the ground to attack nearby minions, while Lola zips along with her superior speed, attacking the Demons with very hard-hitting kicks.
Castelia
"I could go for some grub too!" Tyra concurred with the sorceress and the potentially in over his head Brit. "Well my man, if you're lookin' to keep it cheesy, I got just the place for you! C'mon, follow me."
Tyra takes the gang to Mausoli's, a cozy Italian restaurant run by some delightful little guys
◊ with that Italian American (or the pokequivalent thereof) spirit.
"Aaaay Tyra!" a Maus greeted the gijinka. "Good timin'! I was just thinkin' to myself, I could really use someone to destroy a mountain right now, and boom, here ya are!"
They both have a good ol' kneeslapper moment together. This is classic pokemon humor - it might be a bit too advanced for human minds.
"Seriously though, good to see ya! Ooh, I see you brought some new faces!"
"That's right," Tyra nods. "Guys, this is Mausoretti, one of the best chefs to work a jar of marinara, and Mausoretti, these are my new human pals, Maleficent and Wallace."
"Good to meetchas! C'mover here, I'll getcha a table."
Once they're seated at their table...
"Sooo," Tyra muses. "What kind of worlds are you guys from, anyhow? And what're you planning on doing now that you're here? I've still been thinkin' that second part over... Guess I could just stick here and fight, cause I know I'm good at that, but I dunno. Maybe there's somethin' out there for me in the human world. Hard to say right now."
Castelia -> The Zone Entrance, Ray and Lucia
"Ray?" Lucia asked. "Something on your mind?"
"Yes," Ray looked out into the distance. "I was just thinking, we still don't have a great idea of what our immediate surroundings look like. I'd like to explore more of our neighbor's territories and get a better lay of the land."
"...Do you think that's safe to do by yourself?"
"I don't think it would be taken well if I came in with a battalion of soldiers," Ray notes. "Shows of force create fear, and invite more force in kind - especially when relations are already so delicate. I didn't feel like I had any real choice in Fuuka, but there has to be discretion in how we conduct ourselves."
"Mm..." Lucia nodded, that incident still quite fresh in everyone's mind right now. "Well, still, I can accompany you. I'd feel better that way."
"Very well. Let us depart, then."
The two women headed towards the Zone, curious what they'd see and meet once they arrived.
Edited by HilarityEnsues on Jun 8th 2025 at 10:06:55 AM
The Maid —-Guard home-(Dinning hall)
A new person has taken the hardest and most thankless quest in the board of the guards—washing the dishes. It took her 3 hours. She was new young maid with short black hair, and apron and a classic maid unfiform
"Excuse me, masters." Is there any way I can may be of service. She gave a polite bow,” speaking in a British accent towards her fellow frontiersmen.
“Perhaps tea or biscuits to enjoy this delightful day?" She said with a soft smile holding a tray with chocolate cookies, a cups filled with black tea. Specially Mutsuki, and Aru. But neither Lylynette, nor Starr. And one was offered to Bladewolf as well.
The girls with the halos in particular made her raise an eyebrow. “That land Kivotos sounds quite fascinating. I wish I could be on school again, and have adventures in such a land as yours. No responsibilities, only wording abiut getting good grades and spending time with friends. Sounds like dream.”
She sighs longingly closing her eyes.
“Alas I am nothing but boring maid trying to survive in this quite frankly strange land. One grows homesick of my small cottage in Yorkshire.”
She turns to Starr and lilynette, “America does sound familiar to me . Perhaps we’re from somewhere similar.”
If only she arrived sooner perhaps she would had met Scratch once again. If only…
Edited by FallenLegend on Jun 15th 2025 at 11:03:36 AM
Make your hearth shine through the darkest night; let it transform hate into kindness, evil into justice, and loneliness into love.Wulfrik, Night Springs Cave
-Wulfrik tenses at the sudden attack on his senses. Then he recognizes the voice, then the people.-
-As Sveinbjorn keeps talking, Wulfrik looks at the people there. People from his past life, and from this one.-
-He steels his heart on seeing Sigvatr and Hjordis, knowing that they are no more present than the shade of Agnarr, and to embrace them would meet only empty air.-
-This is to be a contest of wits and not of blades. He sheathes his sword and stows his shield behind his back, then looks at Sveinbjorn.-
Much like the women and husbands of your village when you returned alive from a trip, I can't say I'm pleased to see you again, Snake-belly. But unlike them, I can't claim to be surprised either. Having never had the stomach for battle, it is not unreasonable for you to return wielding words as your weapon, lacking as you do both the strength and the skill for sword-work.
-He waves a hand in the direction of the jury.-
There is someone missing from this little assembly of persons who might wish me ill, who is not present in the flesh... but in the bone.
-Wulfrik's hand drops to one of the swords at his belt, twisting its pommel so the yellowed skull leers mockingly at Sveinbjorn.-
Have you no word of greeting for your esteemed father? Yes, you conspired to have him killed, but that is no reason to be impolite. Your manners are as stunted as your manhood.
Akiba Ruins, Guardhome
"It doesn't work like tha— Huh?" Lilynette paused in explaining all the ways the girls were wrong about Soul Candy when the unexpected maid suddenly showed up. Immediately, her eyes narrowed in suspicion... but at the same time, those cookies and tea looked so tempting.
"For the record, I don't remember us having a maid, whoever you are," she commented, even as she reached for a cookie. "But I'll take that offer! What's the worst it could do, kill me? Ha!" She bit into the baked good, chewing and tasting it slowly, until she concluded:
"Whoa, that's great! Gimmie another! Thanks, maid lady!" The lime-haired girl happily munched on her treat, took a swig of tea, then finally added, "...You must be fresh out of the cryosleep down below, huh? Sorry I didn't know to say hello earlier. You're one of the lucky few who made it, you know?"
Akiba Ruins, Dead Zone
The stairs leading to the second floor were just where they should have been, although they creaked heavily under Scratch's weight as he ascended them. Awaiting him at the top of the stairs was a tarnished sign on the wall indicating the armory in one direction and Kylo Ren's office in the other...
Investigating the armory would reveal that it had long since been emptied of any actual weapons or armor. The most significant things remaining in the room were merely the racks that had been used to store the goods. Ren's office was a similar affair, everything that hadn't been nailed down having been removed long ago. However, if he was keen enough, the Herald of Darkness might notice a floorboard or two askew in the back corner...
Death Mountain
"Of course, my new friends! Just wait here a moment," Gorthree said, getting up with a grunt and beginning to climb the sheer cliff face leading to the entrance of the cave up above. Once he'd briefly explained that these kindly visitors didn't mean his Goron Brothers any harm, he called Brutaka and Pandora up to join him, and led them into the interior of the Gorons' (admittedly small) home.
Inside the cave was a large cavern with a circular ring carved in its the middle. Around the edges of the cavern, various Gorons were curled up, some of them snoring. Apparently that was their sleeping pose. Striding up to the largest of these rock-people boulders, an absolutely massive almost-sphere that was sitting at the far end of the cave, Gorthree jostled it until that Goron awoke with a sleepy groan, uncurling and standing to his full height, his body huge and muscled and his head almost scraping the cavern's ceiling.
"What do you need, Brother Gorthree?" he asked in a powerful, rumbling voice.
"We have a pair of visitors from faraway lands, Patriarch Darbus, and they wanted to meet you. I thought it would be rude to make them wait until tomorrow."
"Hmmmm. Alright, then. That's fair enough," Darbus agreed with a nod, then looked to the pair of travelers. "So, who are you two, what brings you here, and what do you want from me and my people, esteemed guests?"
Manhattan Border, Henry Hudson Bridge
"Oh, it's no big deal! We know people traveling around this crazy, wild world around us might be carrying weapons, and all, so we just ask you to declare any such things you're carrying with you, and then we make you an identification card, which you'll use to pass in and out of the city and get through any checkpoints we have set up inside the city," one of the grunts seated at the nearby folding table explained. "In fact, we can do both at once! Just pause and look towards this lens... Good!" With the sound of a shutter snapping, she took a photo of the Bouvele lady and then began typing away on her laptop.
"Now, tell me your name and age, please, and let us know if you're carrying any weapons," she instructed, not unkindly.
Southern Ivalice, Orbonne Monastery
"Um, hello, Sir," Koki broached nervously through the door. "I'm a traveler from a city some distance away, and I was hoping I might be able to stay here for the night. I promise I won't be any trouble to anyone, and I'll leave first thing in the morning! I can even sleep on a pew if you don't have any open rooms... I just don't want to spend the night out in the open, where who knows what might ambush me. I, um, I do have a weapon for self-defense, my sword, but I have no intention of using it on anyone, and I can hand it over for the duration of my stay, if you like."
New Londo Ruins, Ingward's Lookout
Unfortunately for Ingward, even with the Machines shouting in alarm and distracted by the onslaught of ghosts, they could still spot his heat signature as he descended the roof, and one of the medium-size enemies on the rooftop leapt up and came down in a powerful, two-legged drop-kick aimed at the camouflaged mage, even as he tried to climb downward!
Edited by darksidevoid on Jun 16th 2025 at 2:25:37 PM
GM: AGOG S4 & F/WC RP; Co-GM: TABA, SOTR, UUA RP; Sub-GM: TTS RP. I have brought peace, freedom, justice, and security to my new Empire.Starscream - Area 11, Military Base
Starscream couldn’t help but let his smirk grow wider at the talk of that project. Oh yes, a perfect opportunity for him to develop his new troops.. as well as a backup body. Those were always handy to have after all! “Oh, you’re in luck, dear count, because I happen to be very, very familiar with such machines! I do not know if this land have the necessary resources to easily make antigravity devices, but I should have plenty of expertise when it comes to developing a transforming mech. Just count on me, and this will be done in no time!” After all, as primitive as those humans were, their techs proved to be very adaptable when used with superior Cybertronian knowledge, so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem…
Vale, Ozpin's Office
Those descriptions of how magic was in those other worlds caused Ozpin to bring his finger to his chin for a moment, pondering those new pieces of information. “Well, in our world, even mere imitations of magic are unthinkable even for those who know it’s more than fairy tales. Beyond remaining slivers of it such as the Maidens, it is truly a forgotten art for everybody on Remnant.” Then, Arcueid’s offer caused the headmaster to grow solemn for a moment, as he looked down. “... true, it might be wise for her to learn from you what dangers there are in the other lands that have been brought here. Of how that burden, heavy as it is, needs to be carried…”
His fellow conspirators had also grown silent at the thought that despite their good intentions, they knew it was a terrible responsibility to hoist on a young girl. Even Ironwood, steely as he did his best to be, took a few seconds before speaking again. “...it will have to be done in the utmost secrecy. We can’t risk any unrelated party earning about the Maidens, or the potential danger we now have hidden within our midst.”
Vale, Beacon Courtyard
“Oh, uh, it’s fine, it’s not like I was alive for either of these things anyway. Though it’s not like I’m an historian, so I dunno how much help I’ll be…” Velvet admitted as she awkwardly rubbed the back of her head. “The Great War took place centuries ago, when two of the four Kingdoms tried to conquer everything, and it ended with the abolition of monarchies for democraties. And also the tradition of naming kids after colors, as a way of self expression.” Then she grimaced at the next topic. “And as for the Faunus Revolution… Well, some time after that, humans tried to get all Faunus confined to an island called Menagerie. Of course this led to huge revolts and well… we got the right to live wherever we wanted, but things still are pretty messy nowadays.”
Then suddenly a shining blue door appeared out of nowhere, causing Velvet (and more than a few other passerbys) to jump up and squeak in shock. “Uh?! Wha- Does that kind of thing happen where you come from? What IS that?!”
Anor Londo, Lautrec’s Safehouse
“Uh, Aura and Semblances are NOT ‘magic’.” Weiss felt like she had to make that correction. “While they may seem mystical to the ignorant like sheltered country boys, I can assure you that they have long been a proven science.” Then she groaned as she remembered the earlier interactions with the guards. “No, they just brushed us off and let us wander the streets. I swear, the nerves of these guys! You think they’d recognize that what’s happening right now is ludicrous!”
And after Lautrec said his pieces on the dangers the Grimm might pose to this place, the team grew silent as a whole, before Ruby spoke out. “...then that just means we REALLY need to see this goddess and tell her everything she needs to know about Grimm. They’re monsters that won’t stop at anything to kill people, no matter the place. And with how chaotic everything is, negative emotions are gonna draw them in eventually.” Then, she made an hopeful, honest smile. “After all, it’s our job as huntresses to protect everybody, no matter where they come from. And even if those, uh, gods are as shady as you say, I don’t think anybody would be dumb enough to reject help or information about threats like those, right?”
Conan - Ordon Village
“Well,” Conan crossed her arms as he considered the offer from the townsman, “even if it’s no palace, it’s a fair share better than nothing. Believe me, man, I stayed the night in far worse places than a home cooked meal and a night in a cozy house.”
“They’re cuddling with you? Well, I can’t say it’s often that I can say I’m envious of apes.” Maruka’s comment, he couldn’t help but smile as he let out a flirtatious little joke, before nodding at her offer to repay. “Aye, it should also be a simple matter for me to bring you back a deer or some other bounty from these woods. They seem fertile enough.”
Edited by Alecoene on Jun 15th 2025 at 6:56:13 PM
The new Maid (Guard Home - Dining Hall)
"Ah yes, of course, how rude of me. My name is Raven," the maid said to Lilynette. "But few people call me that these days." The maid looked to the side, avoiding eye contact with the Arrancar. "I go now by another name now, but you can refer to me as your humble servant, or your maid if you don't desire to be as formal."
She gave Lilynette a better look as she ate the cookies. "It pleases me that you enjoyed them," the maid said with a soft smile. "Please, eat as much as you like.— You know, if I may be bold—your clothes don’t just remind me of home. They tell me you’re someone unfamiliar with luxury or riches. Someone who has had to fight in a cruel world, and yet manages to smile. Are you not?"
The maid nodded with a warm smile.
"Don’t apologize. I do like to keep a low profile. I could tell you my sad, tragic backstory, but I don’t want to bore you—besides, that doesn’t interest me much. Where you come from isn’t as important as who you are." She sighed, looking down. "But yes, I am aware. So many mighty warriors and brilliant minds lost to time, defeated by ice... and only a humble maid survived. I might not be able to fight, but I’ll serve you all to the best of my ability. In fact, I just finished the dishes."
She placed her palms together recalling Haruka's words before she had departed, glancing at Lilynette with worry in her eyes.
"I must agree with the departed mistress' concerns. You’re being too lax with your body. A malevolent force would be all too eager to seize your moment of weakness—or worse, try to take your body."
Edited by FallenLegend on Jun 17th 2025 at 12:47:19 PM
Make your hearth shine through the darkest night; let it transform hate into kindness, evil into justice, and loneliness into love.Western Frontiers
The air began to rumble once more, and the island upon which Jay Gatsby's Mansion sat, as well as the countries of Bugaria, were again enveloped in a scintillating rainbow light. When the light and phantom shaking faded, the entire lands was simply gone once more, replaced by an expanse of ocean. And the people from it who had ventured elsewhere? They, too, vanished as if into thin air, without further warning...
Hill of Origin
In a strange universe, at a particular meridian on an equally strange, patchwork planet, the world's stars and twin moons, one white and one green, cast light down on the land and illuminated a large hill. On the side of this hill, beneath the green-leaved branches of a massive, centenarian oak tree, a group of people who were each, in their own ways, most unusual appeared.
They were, at the moment of their arrival, sleeping as peacefully as babes. A moment after they arrived, however, they would suddenly awaken, and upon thinking back would realize that there was a gap in their awareness starting the moment they'd been taken from the location they had been in previously. It was as if they'd fallen unconscious for no apparent reason and been moved by someone to this bizarre hill. Even more strange was the glowing, blue, freestanding door next to the oak tree, and the luminous blue butterfly flapping around near it... although it would be familiar to one among their number.
To the East, across a stone bridge over a wide, rushing river that flowed into the ocean in the South-Southeast, lay the ruins of what may have at one time have been a great modern, walled city, now crumbling, overgrown with vegetation, and harboring no sign of any intelligent life whatsoever. Beyond the wall, in the northwest corner of the ruins or thereabouts, an even more massive tree towered. To the southeast of the hill was a bridge spanning the river that seemed to lead to a fairly modern (for the 20th Century) city, though its skyscrapers were few and far between, compared to what lay to the hill's West. To the South, West, and North of the hill spread a great, untamed forest, though from atop the hill, one could hardly penetrate its thick canopy with the naked eye. In each cardinal direction, a series of step-like indentations led down the hill's slope, as if they had been intentionally carved there by the hands of civilized people or the whim of faeries. However, only the northern face of the hill had a road at the base, crude and made of dirt though it was.
Even if one could not see into the forest, however, one could see past it. To the South, the trees grew bigger and bigger until they towered nearly as tall as the buildings to the East, but within those enormous monuments to nature, one could spot the highest part of a weathered stone tower, and further beyond could barely glimpse the tops of a similar set of ruins to the Eastern ones. To the West, a distant city skyline that looked like it might belong to the 21st century could be beheld, this one gleaming and seemingly without the wear of the ages. To the North, the foliage again grew larger and thicker after a particular distance, though in the North-Northeast, one could see a far-away, towering mountain of stone with a ring of clouds around its peak, and closer, atop a snowy peak fairly close to the hill, was a bizarre, futuristic cylinder structure of stark grey-white metal. In the North-Northwest, however, before the forest changed, a large stone formation could be seen over the tops of the trees, a rocky outcropping jutting forth out of a smaller mountain into the open air. If one had particularly good eyesight, it might even be possible to make out a series of waterfalls flowing down the smaller mountain's side.
To the Northwest of the hill, however, conjoining the edge of the denser section of the Northern forest and another forest extending from the Northern edge of the intact modern city to the West, a massive, raised castle could be seen, though it was unclear from the current vantage point whether there were any smaller buildings below the treeline. Immediately West of this castle was a mountainside with another large, distant building embedded in its side. This particular mountain was merely the Southernmost point of a much larger mountain range that seemed to extend into the North-Northwestern horizon as well as along the North side of the castle. Perhaps most noticeable, however, was the fact that lighting in the area of the castle seemed... wrong. More careful consideration would reveal that rather than the light of the moons or stars, that particular area's buildings and sky were bathed in what seemed to be sunlight coming from the wrong direction - in order words, it seemed to be experiencing sunset while the rest of the surrounding regions were experiencing nighttime.
The group could take as much or as little time to take all this in as they pleased. If they were looking for signs of intelligent life, however, checking the ground on and near the hill would reveal a number of tracks leading into the seemingly abandoned ruins to the East, which were perhaps not so abandoned after all! There were also tracks leading in other directions, but those going to the ruins seemed the freshest. It was likely the sources of the tracks not leading East had long since moved on.
Manhattan, Demon Hideout, Throne Room
Mr. Negative stumbles back several steps at Hewkii's initial blow with the warblade, but regains his senses and footing just in time to see the rapid-fire spray of rocks rushing towards himself. Unfortunately for the Toa, Negative's speed when he was angry is incredible, and he's very angry at the moment. Raising his sword, he deflects each and every one of the stone fragments coming toward himself, shattering them into yet still smaller pieces as he did.
"Is that all you have, Hero?!" he sneers. "Pathetic!" Slashing his blade down to the floor with a roar, the mob boss sends a vertical wave of black-and-white negative energy hurtling for the leader of Team Rock Stars!
Meanwhile, Seven's latest crazy maneuver works like a charm as the target Demon is clotheslined with a loud "GUH!" and sent crashing powerfully to the floor, knocked senseless for now, although it's unclear through the mask whether he's unconscious or just discombobulated!
As for Lola and Arturia, their attacks also prove to be effective, the thugs screaming in terror at they're sliced by the shadow spikes, with a couple of the gun-toting men clean out cold from the Lopunny's melee attacks! But the fight isn't over just yet! Apparently seeing Lola as the most dangerous of those not facing the Boss, the thugs concentrate their attacks on the swift martial artist, sending bullets and sword-blasts flying her way!
Area 11, Military Base
"Well, you certainly talk a big game, don't you? Heh." Lloyd chucked and gave 'Henry' a smirk of his own, pushing his glasses up his nose and briefly causing them to reflect the overhead lights. "Alright then. How about this...?" Stepping over to the next workstation beside himself, he pulled up a set of blueprints including notes, which closer inspection would reveal were for a prototype of the very antigravity 'Float' system he'd been speaking of.
"Before we can finalize the design of the transforming mecha, we need to perfect the tech that will allow it to fly in humanoid mode. Make whatever adjustments to these blueprints you think will result in this device doing what it's supposed to, and then we'll test it in a simulator. If it seems like it works, we'll put our efforts toward producing a prototype soon, though not tonight. I'll be working on something entirely different in the meantime, so tell me when you're finished," the engineer instructed plainly, moving back to his own terminal.
Vale, Ozpin's Office
"Sure, that makes sense!" Arcueid agreed, bobbing her head. "Do you know of someplace that might serve as an arena, or would we need to fight in the wilderness somewhere? ...In fact, is the young lady in question even nearby at the moment? You might have sent out teams to scout the surroundings, right?"
Vale, Beacon Courtyard
For her part, Ellet diligently took notes on Velvet's explanation of the two pivotal historical events, making small noises every so often that demonstrated she was listening and engaged. At the Rabbit Faunus' sudden exclamation, however, she blinked and looked up, then around until she spotted the thing that had caught the students' attention.
"Huh... Uh, no, that's never happened before! That I know of, at least!" she answered. "I wonder how it got there? It wasn't there a minute ago, right? I didn't just forget it existed? ...Maybe we shouldn't get too close to it! I don't trust strange doors that appear out of nowhere!"
"Say, Alexia," she added to her magical companion after a beat, "you know magical stuff, right? Any idea what we're looking at, here, besides that it's a door?"
Ordon Village
"He's right, you know!" Devola agreed with a smile.
"As for Sis and I, we're not naturally born people, so we don't need to eat, but we'd take water to drink!" Popola added, also beaming. "We'd be happy to help prepare the meal as well, if you like!"
"Oh, I couldn't ask that of guests!" the watchman said, shaking his head.
"Ah, but you're not asking! We're offering! Heehee!" Devola countered.
"Let's see what your wife thinks first!" Popola suggested.
"Well... alright, then," Jaggle allowed with a nod, then looked to Ellie with a chuckle. "I see one of us has already found her dinner, though! Ha! Though you're welcome to have whatever the rest of us are having as well, my articulate four-legged friend! It'll probably be soup, but we'll see... Follow me, folks!"
And with that, he led the group to his home, within which there was just barely enough space for them all to sit around the table, and the android twins set about helping Jaggle's heavyset wife, Pergie, prepare a hearty pumpkin and veggie stew. Just before serving, Pergie pulled out a wheel of cheese and made to begin grating it onto the top of each bowl, only for Jaggle to intercept her, leading the couple to begin briefly arguing in lowered voices.
"Dear, cheese is..."
"They're guests from far away, Jaggle! I won't serve them anything but the best we have!"
"But the goats are all gone. What if we need to sell the cheese to get by later on?"
"...We'll just use a little bit, then. You've got a point, but I can't fathom not sharing it with guests."
"Alright. Alright..."
And so, all smiles, they set bowls of stew with grated cheese on top, spoons, and cups with water before each guest at the table, as well as their own places, and settled in to eat dinner.
Meanwhile, Igno and Hilda would approach the sleepy little village with no trouble. Although there was nobody outside to greet them, a few of the dwellings did have candlelight shining through their windows, and the presence of a number of saddled chocobos tied to the fenceposts outside of one particular house (the steeds of the other travelers, by the house they were having dinner at) indicated that they weren't the first people from out of town to pass this way...
Edited by darksidevoid on Jun 29th 2025 at 1:10:10 PM
GM: AGOG S4 & F/WC RP; Co-GM: TABA, SOTR, UUA RP; Sub-GM: TTS RP. I have brought peace, freedom, justice, and security to my new Empire.Atsuko and the Trailblazers, Hill of Origin
As she began to stir to consciousness, Atsuko tiredly rubbed her eyes and messed with her somewhat ratty hair.
"Nnghh...can I just have five more minutes...?" She rolled around, trying to get back to sleep, and ended up accidentally bumping into the other young woman sleeping next to her, jostling her into waking.
"ACK!" Hana screeched, leaping up suddenly and scrambling to her feet, her yell startling Atsuko's own eyes into shooting open. "I'm awake, I'm awake!"
"Agh, sorry!" Atsuko groaned, clambering to her feet as well. "I didn't mean to-" Then, she paused mid-sentence as something occurred to her. "...Hang on. Why were you sleeping next to me?"
Hana's eyes widened, but before she could respond, someone else groaned wearily from nearby.
"Not to be impolite, but...can you guys keep it down? I'm trying to take a nap here..." Jun'ichi muttered, still curled up on the ground...but he was almost immediately yanked up into a standing position by a furry figure who'd already awakened beside him.
"Oi, wake up, sleepyhead!" Hecuba snapped, though she couldn't help but grin, her tone affectionate. "Look around!"
"Don't be so rude! He has a right to be tired!" A blonde boy, his name Daisuke Sato reprimanded her. "I definitely feel a bit woozy myself, hehe..." He smiled.
"I wasn't trying to be mean, dude, but that's not the point." Hecuba sighed. "Have you noticed we're not where we started yet? Look! There's two friggin' moons in the sky, and this definitely isn't any part of The Crossroads I've ever seen."
As the rest of the group began to examine their surroundings, their expressions turned to shock and confusion.
"...Where the hell are we?" Atsuko muttered, squinting at the horizon.
"And what's that door doing over there?" Hana asked, pointing at the strange blue freestanding door beside the tree. Atsuko immediately whirled around to see what she was talking about, and...yep, that was definitely the entrance to the Velvet Room. It looked different to how she remembered, a lot more ornate and formal now compared to the mere curtain-hanging-over-a-doorframe she was used to, but it glowed with the same unmistakable deep blue aura, and hung in space like nothing else she'd seen could. But there was something else bizarre about it this time too.
"Wait, hold on, you can see it?" Atsuko asked. Hana stared at her, raising an eyebrow.
"Uhhh, yeah? Why wouldn't I be able to?" She huffed, crossing her arms.
"You've never been able to see it before."
Hana blinked, taking a step backwards.
"Wait, what do you mean before?"
"I-I don't know, but I definitely don't like it." Jun'ichi stuttered, slowly inching away from the glowing door with a nervous expression.
"Aw come on, what are you, a pussy?" Hecuba snorted. "It's just a door. It's not like it's gonna hurt you."
Daisuke frowned as he examined the entranceway.
"It feels...familiar, somehow. I can't remember ever seeing it before, but it feels like I should know exactly where it leads. And yet...I don't." He scratched his chin in confusion. "What's going on?"
Hecuba shrugged.
"Hell if I know."
"Ugh, just hold on a moment." Atsuko sighed. "Everybody, stay here."
She stepped right up to the door, and confidently turned the handle as Jun'ichi flinched.
Edited by SushiKraken6414 on Jun 16th 2025 at 3:37:55 AM
Something's Fishy Here...Clear skies becoming cloudier. Vegetation going from green to like it had died away or seen better days. The few buildings there and then either rusted or filled with vegetation. The rivers looking like it would be a very bad idea to even dare take a swim in there. All of this combined would surely give Ray and Lucia the vibes that whatever this place was, it didn't exactly had the most welcoming of atmospheres at all. Not to mention in the far distance one could swear they heard the noises of animals, but they sounded far too different and twisted compared to what normally one would hear from the typical wildlife.
Over in the distance, there seemed to be what seemed like a makeshift checkpoint
, not to mention there was a grate where one could seem to notice a campfire on it as well. It seemed there were people possibly living in there. Hopefully they were friendlier than the atmosphere this place was giving out.
Durge's eyes widened as he was suddenly pounced upon, grunting as he struggled through the paws. Understandably, his party was immediately in the defensive from their leader being attacked in such a way.
"Chk! I told you, you scaled fool!"
Though then fortunately, it seemed that Cat Nap had calmed down and seeked reason. It seemed he had taken a liking to the Dragonborn, to the point he was on placed on his back as if riding upon a steed. A strange steed, and yet...a twisted part of him found this to be a fitting steed to inflict murder and mayhem upon all...
He shook his head as he raised a placating hand to the others, before then turning towards Cat Nap, giving him an awkward pat in the head before speaking. "You help me, and I help you. We get this situation done with, and I'll do everything in my power as a Sorcerer to make sure to help you in your- Monsters? Wha-"
But right before he could continue, the double whammy of Link's arrow attack followed, not to mention Haruka firing at Catnap's legs with a shotgun. Though fortunately for the Dragonborn, a saviour came to the rescue.
As soon as Link's Light Arrow was loosed, Nel, who had been looking on the proceedings with an increasingly disappointed face, vanished with an odd sound. In practically the same instant, the arrow in flight vanished and she reappeared with it held between two fingers... directly in front of the barrel of Haruka's gun, whose projectiles absolutely shredded the back of Nel's sweater, revealing a large number 3 tatooed along her spine. But strangely enough, it seemed the attack had visited no harm upon Nel herself, who didn't even grunt in pain, and whose skin remained perfectly undamaged...
Astarion was the first to chime in, looking increasingly displeased. "You know, I am not one to shy away from unnecessary bloodshed, but at this point this is getting beyond ridiculous!" One wondered if he said that from how this routine was growing old for him already, or because he was very worried about the damage his boyfriend would had taken.
Karlach nodded as well. "Let's not be hotheads right about now, shall we? And I say that as the resident hothead of the team, pretty please?"
Durge who letted out a sigh of relief and a nod of thanks to Nel, then crossed his arms as he looked at everyone. "The further we continue this nonsense, the more we keep straying from our intended goal. Now, shall we move, or are you going to kill me now too?"
...A doubtful part of Durge wondered if this is how they treated Catnap, if they'd react with such violence and prejudice if they knew of what boiled within him despite his best attempts to not let himself fall prey to it.
Korshunov motioned to one of the Ward Soldiers, who then threw the Colonel what seemed like a PDA. Korshunov would then hand it over to the Medium Machine.
"A PDA. Got atleast a map of the Zone and everything around it so you lot aren't lost. Gotta have to pass through Zaton and keep on heading north until you eventually manage to reach the SIRCAA Headquarters. Keep your eyes and ears open for when you eventually do that, considering that Zone isn't a walk in the park."
Edited by Darkomega245 on Jun 17th 2025 at 12:27:05 PM
Hill of Origin (Starkiller's Arrival) -> Velvet Corridor (Atsuko)
In a strange universe, at a particular meridian on an equally strange, patchwork planet, the world's stars and twin moons, one white and one green, cast light down on the land and illuminated a large hill. On the side of this hill, beneath the green-leaved branches of a massive, centenarian oak tree, a man who was, in his own way, most unusual appeared.
He was, at the moment of his arrival, sleeping as peacefully as a babe. A moment after he arrived, however, he would suddenly awaken, and upon thinking back would realize that there was a gap in his awareness starting the moment he'd been taken from the location he had been in previously. It was as if he'd fallen unconscious for no apparent reason and been moved by someone to this bizarre hill. Even more strange was the glowing, blue, freestanding door next to the oak tree, and the luminous blue butterfly flapping around near it...
To the East, across a stone bridge over a wide, rushing river that flowed into the ocean in the Southeast, lay the ruins of what may have at one time have been a great modern, walled city, now crumbling, overgrown with vegetation, and harboring no sign of any intelligent life whatsoever. Beyond the wall, in the northwest corner of the ruins or thereabouts, an even more massive tree towered. To the South, West, and North of the hill spread a great, untamed forest, though from atop the hill, one could hardly penetrate its thick canopy with the naked eye. In each cardinal direction, a series of step-like indentations led down the hill's slope, as if they had been intentionally carved there by the hands of civilized people or the whim of faeries. However, only the northern face of the hill had a road at the base, crude and made of dirt though it was.
Even if one could not see into the forest, however, one could see past it. To the South, the trees grew bigger and bigger until they towered nearly as tall as the buildings to the East, but within those enormous monuments to nature, one could spot the highest part of a weathered stone tower, and further beyond could barely glimpse the tops of a similar set of ruins to the Eastern ones. To the West, a distant city skyline that looked like it might belong to the 21st century could be beheld, this one gleaming and seemingly without the wear of the ages. To the North, the foliage again grew larger and thicker after a particular distance, though in the North-Northeast, one could see a far-away, towering mountain of stone with a ring of clouds around its peak, and closer, atop a snowy peak fairly close to the hill, was a bizarre, futuristic cylinder structure of stark grey-white metal. In the North-Northwest, however, before the forest changed, a large stone formation could be seen over the tops of the trees, a rocky outcropping jutting forth out of a smaller mountain into the open air. If one had particularly good eyesight, it might even be possible to make out a series of waterfalls flowing down the smaller mountain's side.
To the Northwest of the hill, however, conjoining the edge of the denser section of the Northern forest and another forest extending from the Northern edge of the intact modern city to the West, a massive, raised castle could be seen, though it was unclear from the current vantage point whether there were any smaller buildings below the treeline. Immediately West of this castle was a mountainside with another large, distant building embedded in its side. This particular mountain was merely the Southernmost point of a much larger mountain range that seemed to extend into the North-Northwestern horizon as well as along the North side of the castle. Perhaps most noticeable, however, was the fact that lighting in the area of the castle seemed... wrong. More careful consideration would reveal that rather than the light of the moons or stars, that particular area's buildings and sky were bathed in what seemed to be sunlight coming from the wrong direction - in order words, it seemed to be experiencing sunset while the rest of the surrounding regions were experiencing nighttime.
The man could take as much or as little time to take all this in as he pleased. If he was looking for signs of intelligent life, however, checking the ground on and near the hill would reveal a number of tracks leading into the seemingly abandoned ruins to the East, which were perhaps not so abandoned after all! There were also tracks leading in other directions, but those going to the ruins seemed the freshest. It was likely the sources of the tracks not leading East had long since moved on. Not to mention the group of teens gathered in the same spot as himself, who were regarding the strange door, with one among their number even stepping forward to turn its handle...
In fact, Atsuko would find that the handle turned and the door opened easily, and she would be able to step through into a long corridor with no problem. As she entered through the doorway, she was met with the sight of a grand hallway, large enough for even one of the most massive of giant robots to stand comfortably. It was a vast space completely lined by huge Roman columns of blue-white marble, a black-and-white checkered tile floor, and an arched roof of gleaming gold. Between the pillars on either side of the hall, there was a series of glowing blue doors, each with gold and white nameplates labeled as "?????", except a handful that had labels (those that a certain someone and those connected to her knew the destinations of). At the very end of the hall, Atsuko might be able to spy one more blue door perpendicular to the others, this one without a nameplate and simply engraved with the symbol of a butterfly. There were no torches or evident sources of light to be found, yet there was an ambient, dreamlike sort of brightness there that rendered the entire hall as clear to the naked eye as if the sun had been streaming in through the top. It was also a place that seemed to radiate benevolent tranquility, and was silent except for the faintly echoing sounds of the movement and speech of the people present.
Speaking of people present, let's see... There was Atsuko herself, and a bald martial artist in police getup (Krillin), and an old redheaded lady in a cardigan (Aunt May), and a woman with crazy bright green and neon yellow hair wearing a snazzy-looking coat, and a lavendar-haired woman in a white business suit, and a man with darker green hair dressed like Michael Jackson from Thriller, and a really annoyed looking lady in red with blonde spiky hair, and a surprisingly average looking man with short brown hair dressed like an average urban dweller (Ringo and friends), and a quartet of middle school girls with black, pink, blonde, and blue hair respectively (the Mitakiharan Magical Girls and Madoka), and an obvious blonde robot girl who was person-sized, and an assortment of five other teens (the SEES), led by an auburn-haired girl who had way too much energy and immediately turned toward Atsuko as soon as she opened her respective door, waving enthusiastically and calling out:
"Heeeeeey! More new people! Welcome one, welcome all to the Velvet Corridor~!"
But even that wasn't all, as they would soon find out they were about to be joined by one more individual...
Voya Nui, Outside Cliff Village -> Velvet Corridor
Upon crossing the strange door's threshold, Balta was greeted with the same scenery and assortment of people as elaborated upon in the bottom half of the first section of this very post!
"Oh, hey!" Akihiko remarked upon spotting him, "You're one of those... uh... damn, what were they called?" He tapped his forehead, trying to remember.
"Matoran, from the land of Mata Nui," Aigis with her obvious mechanical joints completed for him, smiling toward Balta. "Welcome to the Velvet Corridor, Mister Matoran. This place is a nexus with doors leading to various locations throughout the planet that we all find ourselves on currently, a planet which we do not know the name of, as of yet."
Meanwhile, back at the Voya Nui village, Dalu would find her efforts to enter the doorway were too late, as it swung shut before she managed to reach it, and any efforts to reopen it seemed to be in vain...
Earth 11945, Desert
"You got it, Commander Colonel!" the Machine Korshunov had shaken hands with agreed, taking the PDA and beginning to inspect it, then nodding to himself. "You all go on ahead, and we'll meet you there!"
"Safe travels!" one of the other Machines chimed in, immediately joined by a chorus of all the rest saying the same.
Edited by darksidevoid on Jun 17th 2025 at 7:38:42 AM
GM: AGOG S4 & F/WC RP; Co-GM: TABA, SOTR, UUA RP; Sub-GM: TTS RP. I have brought peace, freedom, justice, and security to my new Empire.Ordon Village
When they reached the little town, Hilda gestured at Igno to stop before looking around quietly.
It was a small, rural. Still, she didn't mind. Aside from the familiarity, it was the abundance, the life emanating from it... It was a huge change from Lorule's decrepit Thieves' Town, which had long since been overrun by Stalblind's legion. Lorule's castle was hardly in a better shape. It was eerie, dark. Most people had left Hilda alone, having lost faith in her. Even Ravio, her other advisor... She now had to rely on Yuga and his wicked minions to defend it. Again, the princess let out a wistful sigh, containing a sudden spike of envy in her heart when seeing such bountiful lands.
"I believe we can rest here for the night." Hilda said, gracefully getting off Igno's back.
They had to get some rest, get to know this land, gather information. She remembered Starrk's crew, too. She remembered that she had to tell them about her discoveries. She easily could through her telepathic powers. After all, she needed allies to find the other bearers of the golden triangles.
Hilda spotted the chocobos outside Jaggle's home. She hadn't seen them before, so she had no idea if they were from this land or not, but the presence of so many of those creatures indicated the presence of travelers. Were they from this land or stranded like her... There was only one way to find out. She walked to the building and knocked on the door.
Of course, should any locals see Hilda, they might spot the striking resemblance with their own princess Zelda. Even if they didn't, the Lorulean monarch really didn't seem that out of place compared to the other strangers between the reverse Triforce on her robes and scepter or the pointy ears.
Akiba Ruins, stables
CatNap's ears flinched the moment he heard shotguns. Without Neil's intervention, he wouldn't have been able to dodge projectiles shot from behind, not that it would have been enough to incapacitate him.
The fact remained that upon looking back, he immediately spotted the culprits. Not the heretic as he first thought, but the boy and a new girl.
They were aiming at the Angel.
CatNap briefly turned his head toward Durge, checking if he was harmed. Then, he advanced. Kayoko's shot did little to slow him down. His mind may be broken compared to practically everyone else, but his devotion was much bigger than any sense of fear or self-preservation.
And right now, they attacked the Angel. Was it genuine concern, or only worry that without Durge, he had no chance to find the way back to his "God", it was hard to tell even for him. It didn't matter, the results were the same.
They were a threat. And the Prototype was clear about what to do with threats.
CatNap really only slowed down and stopped in his tracks because Durge pleaded one final time to stop the hostilities. That didn't stop him from staring at Link and Haruka, quietly yet intensely. He vehemently shook his head at Kayoko's demand, waving his tail in agitation. Letting Durge go? And let him be attacked??
"YOU WILL NOT HARM THE ANGEL... AGAIN." the creature insisted right after Durge. That was a final warning.
In fact, maybe he should go ahead and kill them. Here and now. Punish disobedience immediately, as the Prototype taught him to. All he needed was a command from Durge. But... the guide didn't seem to want it, however. Not yet. So CatNap obeyed.
Of course, CatNap imagined it was for a reason, because he needed them for something. He couldn't understand that his passenger was just not as bloodthirsty as the vast majority of the experiments at Playtime Co. (at least he was trying not to).
CatNap lowered his large head for a moment, observing Neil's back up close. He didn't necessarily like her, and he certainly didn't want to be "friends" with her, not until he was convinced of her faith toward his master. But there was maybe a tiny bit of concern from the smiling toy's part after noticing she was the one who protected the Angel and got harmed in the cat-thing's stead.
What perplexed him was that he found nothing. No wounds were one thing, but there were no patches, sewing, or anything. He'd know, he's been shot at before during the Hour of Joy or when dealing with armed intruders. The only experiment that could shrug projectiles like they were nothing was Doey. He was one of the few able to resist anything CatNap could throw at him, aside from the infamous Red Smoke. And again, that wretched heretic was this way because he was a literal doughman. Neil clearly wasn't.
In fact, Durge had called himself a... sorcerer? What was that supposed to mean? A magician? But that was the kind of stuff found in cartoons or books... CatNap looked at both, briefly tilting his head in confusion.
Edited by Scipion3 on Jun 17th 2025 at 7:22:28 PM
AND I'VE STILL BLOCKED OFF MY BALL!! FUCK!!Starkiller — Hill of Origin
Holding the Emperor's Force Lightning was painful. Galen Marek thought he knew pain; in his short life, he was cut with lightsabers, burned with blaster bolts, electrified, took involuntary swims in all manners of toxic gunk, and even got temporarily frozen in carbonite — but all of those paled in comparison to the torture he was undergoing right now, holding back the Emperor's wrath so that Master Kota and the Rebels could escape.
Still, he knew it would come to this the moment he refused to cut down the Emperor, and, surprisingly enough, made his peace with sacrificing himself. For Juno's sake. Feeling his resolve buckling, he stopped absorbing the energy directed at him, and, using his body as a conduit, pushed. He took a step, then another, then grabbed the Emperor's shoulders with a roar.
The explosion barely missed the Senators. The Stormtroopers, Vader and the Emperor weren't so lucky, and were caught in it.
This is it, then, Galen thought, the death of Galen Marek.
There was bright light, then — nothing.
He awoke with a start. Jumping to his feet, he Pulled his lightsaber into his hand and ignited it instinctively before he even got his bearings properly.
Wait, what?
Master Kota said that, when a Jedi dies, they become one with the Force. Galen could believe that, what with how Kazdan Paratus and Shaak Ti died. This — whatever and wherever "this" was... a hill, it seemed, on a terrestrial, pleasant planet, dual moons — either way, this wasn't anything like Galen expected being one with the Force to be like. For one, he didn't particularly feel one with anything. For another, there was a group of people inspecting a door in the air — wait.
Slowly, Galen lowered his lightsaber, letting the blade point at the ground, and looked at the butterfly. To his eyes it was nothing special — and he'd seen more impressive bugs on Felucia and other worlds — but even to his dull senses it shone in the Force, brighter than even Masters Kota and Ti. It drew his attention, focused it, drowning out the thrum of the Dark Side that was ever-present in his mind.
"Hello?" Galen croaked — or expected to croak, considering what he went through just before he died; but, as it turned out, his throat was just fine, and he said-shouted it quite normally.
On empty crossroads, seek the eclipse -- for when Sol and Lua align, the lost shall find their way home.Atsuko, Velvet Corridor
As Atsuko observed her new environment and was greeted by the peppy auburn-haired girl and her many assorted allies, watching Balta emerge into the hallway soon afterwards, she blinked and rubbed her eyes again.
"...Okay, this is definitely not how I remember the Velvet Room looking." She muttered, glancing at Minako. "I'd ask if you'd redecorated, but you don't look like Igor. And I haven't seen..." She gestured around at the wacky gaggle of individuals gathered in the hallway. "Any of these people here before either. I...don't suppose you'd care to explain?"
Trailblazers, Hill of Origin
"W-WAIT! Come back!" Jun'ichi yelped, rushing towards the door only for it to close behind Atsuko, and no matter how hard he rustled the knob and pushed or pulled, it simply wouldn't budge. "Hey! Open up!"
"Uhhh, dude? I think we got bigger problems." Hecuba said, gesturing to the new arrival who had suddenly appeared on the hill beside the group. "Like...whoever that guy is."
"Ah! Hello there!" Daisuke immediately rushed up to greet the newcomer. "It's nice to meet you. My name's Daisuke Sato." He gave a cheerful smile, beaming with friendliness, as he reached out a hand in hopes of a handshake.
"And I'm Hana Aikawa!" Hana added, twirling around and striking her cutest pose as she gave an equally dazzling grin. "Idol-in-training, at your surface!"
Jun'ichi gave her a confused look.
"Don't you mean at your service?"
Hana pouted, giving him the stink-eye.
"Look, it's close enough!"
"My name's, uh, Jun'ichi, in case you were wondering. Since we seem to be doing introductions." Jun'ichi said, tentatively taking a step closer to Galen. "And that wolf lady over there is Hecuba." He gestured to the distinctly canine young woman who had currently taken up a position reclining against the tree. "We're, ah, all friends. Even partners, of a sort."
"You make it sound like we're dating." Hecuba huffed. "I'm too old for you guys anyway. But yeah, it's nice to meet you, dude." She smiled at Galen, though unlike the others, she didn't move at all from her relaxed position. "Unless you turn out to be out to get us, that is. Wouldn't be the first time. But hey, if that happens, these guys'll just kick your ass, so I ain't too worried. They've survived a lot, after all."
Something's Fishy Here...Starkiller — Hill of Origin
Galen was startled out of his reverie by someone calling to him. He reacted by instinct — his lightsaber went up, its blade held in parallel to his right arm, and he whirled around, already reaching out with the Force.
The tree Hecuba was leaning on groaned for a brief moment before one of its larger branches seemingly tore itself away in a shower of splinters, coming to hover over the Trailblazers' collective heads.
The hooded man had his free hand raised, fingers curled; when none of the teenagers made any aggressive move, he flicked it, and the branch sailed away toward the forest as though it was thrown.
"I'm..." He hesitated — it was clear on his face, even under the shadow of his hood — then lowered his laser sword so its blade pointed at the ground. "Galen. Galen Marek."
On empty crossroads, seek the eclipse -- for when Sol and Lua align, the lost shall find their way home.Taisen Expanse (Resistance): Take Off, Toward A Dream
"It's _____ or nothing."
"I-Izu?"
Izu's Modules beep and her eyes blink rapidly as her focus returns to the real world.
Without realizing it, she'd been emulating a pose she knew...having turned about before pointing at the door. The person she forgot. They had a thing for puns. Puns - The humorous use of a word in such a way as to imply double meaning or to emulate a different word with the same sound.
"Izu?"
She didn't even realize that Torin and Eiji had stepped closer to her in concern. Even Graphite had a curious eye on her. Her gaze was still fixated on the door.
"He had been a comedian." She finally replies.
"Who?" Asks Eiji. "The person...you forgot?"
"Yes."
"I thought you said they were a businessman. Do you remember their name?" Torin's voice asks.
"Not yet." Izu says. "But I know his voice now."
Wordlessly, Izu approaches the door. If it had repaired that snipper of her memory-data loose, then it must be significant somehow. Intuition or logic?
Whatever it was, Izu knew that if she ignored the door, she'd regret it. Without any more thinking, Izu opens the blue door before her and steps inside.
Izu -> Velvet Corridor
It shuts behind her. She looks back, realizing the others were probably trying to follow.
A hasty decision. She should've waited for them. She moves an arm, as if trying to turn back. But then, as if spurring her on, her Modules beep once more - emitting a phrase she hadn't heard in years now.
["Take off. Toward a dream."]
No way now but forward.
Isamu - SHAUN!
Upon arrival, Isamu gripped the ShotRiser and prepared for a firefight. He couldn't see Maki in all this mess. He looks at the others and nods.
"MAKI!" Isamu shouts, hoping that maaaaaybe his voice could be heard from all the gunfire.
KH Trio - Lonor Ando -> Painted World
Sora and his friends follow suit with the others, entering the painted world.
Sora's body somewhat tenses up as they transition planes, almost like when the Gummi Ship enters a new place. Their clothes didn't change; they remained in their gothic medieval garb.
"Kinda snowy..." Goofy remarks as he follows the others. "Not Ay-ran-delle snowy... but snowy."
Eventually the party reaches the castle and Priscilla's servant arrives greets everybody. Donald arranges his shirt and hat, as if trying to look formal in front of the crow that greeted him. Not too formal though, he was married, after all.
"Donald Duck! Pleased to meetcha!"
"Doctor, I did say look for the Spymaster. Or should I say Spy....Master?"

Athena, Mai & Yuri, Castelia Inn Pool
"I can't speak for Athena and Mai, but that's right for me" Yuri nodded to Shemaal. "Before I knew how to fight, a crime lord was blackmailing my father into working for him and to ensure his obedience, I got kidnapped. To keep some shred of honor, my father wore a mask and called himself Mr. Karate. Well, my brother, Ryo, and his training partner, Robert, wanted to save me. Eventually, Robert defeated the crime lord and freed me while Ryo was facing off against Mr. Karate... And um, both of them were fighting each other to make sure I was safe."
Mai put a hand on Yuri's shoulder while Athena looked somber.
"My brother fought my father as if my life depended on him winning, so he won the fight, but before things could go any farther than that, I ran between the two and told Ryo that he was fighting our father. After a proper family reunion, my father naturally trained me in our fighting style of Kyokugenryu Karate so that something like that could never happen again. I ended up being a martial arts genius, mastering the basics of the fighting style down in a year," Yuri smiled as she boasted to the three. "Though I prefer focusing on the future rather than this gloomy reminiscing stuff."
"Athena and I would definitely do what we can to help others in need," Mai snapped her fingers and looked at Athena. "Remember that nasty fire that happened when we both were in South Town? We did what we could to save people from it."
"Yeah, I missed my concert, but my manager understood the situation, and besides, I had been stuck in traffic," Athena shrugged, but frowned as she remembered their inability to help against that satellite that was attacking the city beyond Manhattan. "It seems like everyone we've met so far has some way to fly around the planet besides us... You've got your flying island, Jirga Para Lhao has their weird anti-gravity food trucks, and Rachel can just plain turn into a dragon and fly. Back home, we have to ride on an airplane if we wanted to fly across the planet."
Dracula, Hallway, Dracula's Castle
"Hmm," Dracula closed his eyes as he listened to both Ganondorf and Raven Beak speak. "Alright, we need to figure out how exactly this Sage of Light was killed. If we do that, we can replicate it with the rest of them."
"Xehanort is currently doing research in the Long Library," Dracula told the two. "Perhaps he may have an idea on how to enter this Sacred Realm. If that does not work, we could try to trick the Sages in leaving the Sacred Realm and see if we can kill them in this... material plane for lack of a better term."
"If we knew exactly what this Hero looked like, I could have the Doppleganger I have in my army assume his form and weapons and have him attack the races of Hyrule," Dracula frowned as he looked to Raven Beak. "But we do not so we cannot."
Trevor, Sypha, & Grant, Sable Carrier, Streets -> Harlem Construction Site, Manhattan
"Generally, Grant and I carry weaponry like axes and knifes," Trevor explained to A2 and Isamu, showing off the Vampire Killer. "I also have my signature weapon here, and Grant..."
"I'm pretty agile," Grant continued. "I can jump a nice distance, climb most walls, and hang from damn near anything."
"I... er, command the elemental forces of nature," Sypha formed an icicle in her hand as if to demonstrate exactly what that means. "Let's just say that I should probably be in the back."
Wizard Needs Food Badly