Isley blinked. It was not something he had expected to be able to do after being brought low and consumed by Abyssal Feeders. The sky above was clear, and the surroundings where warm, something else what was not as he expected. The North never had warmth, and while the sky could some times be clear, the ground was always covered in a layer of snow. He then sat up, and softly grimaced in pain, the wounds weren't fully healed yet, and where ever here was, he needed to find out. His body quivered slowly, attempting to heal. He usually healed much quicker, but the Abyssal Feeders did a lot more damage than he usually took. Standing was an effort, but he managed, and it gave him a better view of the surroundings, including his more immediate location. His Claymore was laying next to him, and so he picked it up - wondering if it had always been so heavy - and placed it on his back, observing his surroundings.

It seemed like some Meadow in the South, but without any of the people in it, gathering crops and other supplies from the harvest.
"Where am I?" He finally asked himself. It was no place he had ever seen, and alone or with Pricsilla he had travelled quite a bit. However, he felt hunger gnaw at his bones, and so put confusion away, and started to head out, looking for sustenance. He always found the gut-eating necessity to be so in-elegant, but it was still an necessity to retain - and in this situation regain - full strength.

The Mountain Trail With the Cat

The tiny Felyne pondered the new questions for a bit before nodding his head slowly. "Nnnyes... All Elder Dragons are indeed legendary... And all are considered the king of their territory. There is only one Elder Dragon in a specific region and thus the Legendary Dragon you seek should be this mysterious being camping out on top of the mountainyao..." The cat then cocked its head to one side before answering the second question. "Most Elder Dragons are weakest to the Dragon Elements, which I will assume you won't have. Though considering this particular breed utilizes pathogens and the dragons with the fire attribute are the ones least preyed on upon the mountain, I will guess it doesn't like heat all that much."

It was also at that particular moment that another cat related entity decided to make herself known and bounded from the lower forests. A red blur was briefly seen before a Neko-ken influenced Ranma Saotome launched herself at Saber's feet and was now doing a rather spot on imitation of a cat rubbing itself against its owner's legs and purring all the while. The Felyne just blinked for a moment at this before staring blandly at all the humans with a weird look in on his face as though he bit into a particularly bitter and distasteful fruit.. "..."

Forest Trail

The frilled dinosaur monsters would find that they were dealt a horrible hand this time about. Charging in at what they hoped to be an easy meal, the pack of carnivores found that they were slammed by something at least five times more potent than a Sonic Bomb, the local equivalent for sound based attacks. It was less a loud noise and more like a solid wall that crashed into them, scattering their ranks and all but deafening their ears. They were also off balanced and a majority had fainted, and in the case of some would likely receive semi-permanent damage to their hearing organs. The Great Jaggi, the mature male leader himself was repeatedly trying to stand up and kept smacking its head on anything nearby; trees, rock, ground, other Jaggis. Suffice to say, the things wouldn't bother Nonon for a good long while.

Other Mountain Trail

The Zinogre continued its mad rampage, finding the two legged beings to be most slippery and frustrating to hit. Roaring its displeasure helped seal its fate as the dark magic ball shot from the vampire flew straight into its mouth and burrowed deep in the softer flesh of its body unhindered by thick scales, furs, and bones. The thing took effect rather immediately as the azure lupine bulged grotesquely for a brief moment from the released energy and started rotting. Funnily enough, the black aura of the spell was warring against a miasmatic dark purple aura for a few moments before it quelled the other strange effect planted within the creature, the darker color snuffing out its lighter equivalent for domination, though the thing still contained the crazed violet orbs that was evidence of the Feral Wyvern Virus.

Otherwise, the one proud creature was now lacking quite a bit of its prized pelt and looking decidedly more undead as it became Sorin's thrall. With the path once more opened to the group, they would find upon traversing it that the larger group was visible from across a sizable distance of steep and unstable rocks, with the pathways twining close to each other here and there. Both paths would lead to the same place as it reached near the top of the peak, where a far off stone arch could be seen. The goal was close enough to be seen at the very least.

Ba'al was...suitably impressed as the attack that Sorin had used, whether it was magic or some other advanced skill, worked upon the dragon. The thing bulged almost comically, then began to rot and decay, losing quite a bit of it's pelt, among other things. He would have to keep that in mind, that this Sorin was capable of essentially creating zombies from living organisms, a useful power, but one that he would not want turned against him under any circumstances. So if he was to turn and eliminate the vampire, he would have to do it when he wasn't expecting it, or at least before he could use his magic, a complicated feat that Ba'al would idle upon for some time.

For the moment though Ba'al emerged from his cover, turning the safety on his Zat back on as he made his way up the path to where Sorin and the large dragon remained. "Very good," he complimented. "I'm glad to see my faith in you wasn't misplaced." Not likely to get the best reaction, but Ba'al had stopped caring about the insults he got a long time ago.

For now, he moved on past and up the path, expecting that those who had joined him would follow, given the apparent lack of other options. It seemed now the paths led together, and across the gap was the other group that had previously gone into the cave, sans a few people. Well, tragic, but they had made it, so that was good. Now to see if they'd be as useful as Sorin or the dragon he had with him now.

“Damn it…” Balalaika cursed under her breath. Even though her shots hit their marks, the measly bullets of such a low caliber weapon did little in the way of destroying the rampaging beast. This Makarov pistol saw better days back in Roanapur, taking out humans with very little protection from high velocity lead. In a high combat situation like this with large targets, a sniper rifle would be preferable. As she stood currently, the blonde from earth wasn’t the greatest out of all the other competitors in her midst. Hell, she didn’t expect that to begin with, but it was still rather jarring coming across people like the light haired man before her that could perform what appeared to be magic. Watching the monstrosity rot into something more nightmarish was very unsettling, but seeing it take on a more docile nature told that the fighting was over. After taking a few moments to collect herself and reload the pistol, Balalaika emerged from her fortifications. A slow clapping began, as slow as the walk up. A pair of combat boots clanked forward, having replaced the usual noise of high heels that resonated off this particular figure. The red business attire she wore was beginning to grow dirty and had a few tears, but the military jacket that shrouded the outfit also protected it from the brunt of nature’s forces. A slight smile formed on her burned face, and while it may have not been genuine, it proved to show that Balalaika wasn’t looking for a fight. “Fantastic. Simply amazing work! Not only have you gentlemen defeated this… creature, but you’ve also tamed it. That isn’t a feat that many could accomplish.” As she neared, Balalaika took note to give the zombiefied creature a wide birth. “I take you’ll be after the Legendary Dragon just as I am. If anything, I’d be humbled to accompany you along the way. I may not be the strongest ally, but I was able to gather a good supply of food and medical supplies in the city.” This was truer than her facial expression, a rucksack with such items rested on Balalaika’s back.

Where was he? The man who set his childhood home on fire. The one who the masses called the Phenom. Where was The Undertaker? Kane knew it was him that banished his own brother to this strange place. As he ran through the forest, the pre-historic creatures did little in the way of distracting Kane. The only thing he wanted to do was destroy Mark Callaway. Maybe he’d burn him alive just as his parents suffered so many years ago, or maybe Kane would bury him alive. But for all the vile and twisted things that could be thought, they’d be no use unless Kane found his target. As Kane burst out of the forest, he couldn’t help but slow to a halt at the sight of so many… people. His head twisted from side to side as he examined each and every one of them, slowly pacing around the group, feverishly searching. There were many there, and none of them even came close to resemble the dead man. The masked giant slowly ran his hands through his long dirty locks, obviously annoyed. He clutched clumps of hair in his palms and almost looked like he’d tear his own hair out. No, this wasn’t the time for that. He very well can’t take out his frustration on any of these people either, no matter how… enticing some of them looked. There would be too many witnesses, and given the powers he’d seen on the way here, Kane doubted he’d be able to take on all of them by himself. Instead, he folded his arms, intent on observing the group to see what they’d do. Maybe he could find out who they are and why they’re here, after all, they appeared too different and outlandish to be locals.

Vash’s expression sobered somewhat as he heard murmurs of Ghost Rider’s death spread amongst the group members, his eyes flickering in the direction of the sound almost involuntarily. The gunman nodded along to the cat-creature’s words, though his distraction was evident. All he really caught from that last exchange was that the dragon they sought dwelled up on the mountain, not registering any other helpful information. The sound of Whitney’s broken voice drew in more and more of his attention as the conversation continued, and when he heard the young girl cry, he could no longer feign focus on any of the feline’s words. He mumbled a hasty “S-sorry, one second,” to the cat before scurrying away, leaving the other group members to gather useful information as he quickly brought himself to the girl’s side.

“Listen.” he told Whitney, a serious look in his eyes that made it seem as if the adorable goof they once knew no longer existed. “You don’t have to worry about anything.” he assured her. “No one else here will die.” he continued, eyes now drifting towards Archer. “Not as long as I have anything to say about it.”

Archer

Archer, meanwhile, seemed to have judged the discussion to have finished: they knew what was normally employed to defeat the dragon and what afflicted the area; anything else would be advice for those that needed instructions on how to fight. Not counting himself amongst that number, the Knight in Red headed up the trail, approaching the summit and the confrontation that waited there. Everyone else would join sooner or later but he doubted that their help was really necessary--even if it was one of his world's Divine Beasts, there were more than enough anti-dragon weapons to take it out.

Conner and Joker had meet up a few hours before being split up from the group thanks to the the misguidance of his new companion,"It's not like i wanted us to get lost Conny i have been always bad with a map even asked Harley" The clown prince said in a semi hurt and mocking sort of voice to Conner who was more concerned about surviving then hearing the clown talk.

"I don't care what you think just find a way for us to find the group...before we both become dragon shat" Conner said calmly with some venom in his voice walking pasted a rock they pasted a few moments ago.

"Your just like Bats always so mopy and no fun" Joker said holding the map in front of his face.

Saber

... People were looking at her... attempting to shrug it off, Saber did her best to focus on what the adorable-No, no... informative cat person was saying to her. So, this beast was weak against other dragons? For a few moments, the King of Knights wondered if this meant she would be able to harm it more seriously given the origin of her own abilities. Her Mana Core, the Prana of a Dragon... perhaps this would assist her in doing harm to the creature? No matter if it were true or not, she would fight her hardest to bring the monster down. The note of heat was attainable for the others in the group as well... They would slay this monster.

And then suddenly the red-headed martial artist was there! ... and... rubbing up against her legs... and... purring like a cat... and... and...

Saber went rigid, her arms awkwardly out as she stared down at the strange sight, cheeks coloring in embarrassment.

"... Ah... what..."

---

Jakuzure Nonon

Oh wow, was that rich. That was completely hilarious! Nonon's plan had worked like a charm, the raptor things were in total disarray. The pink-haired girl couldn't help but laugh at the sight of them stumbling about, the biggest one smacking into things. Sticking her tongue out, the girl cheerfully waved before turning around and flying off. Her mood soured slightly when she saw that those who had been with her had just ran off. Seriously? They were idiots, but sticking together in a group was probably the best idea... It was hard to get too upset after seeing something so funny, though.

... Oh, there was commotion up ahead. That meant there was probably idiots there. Nonon's flight speed increased as she headed for what she assumed was the others.

"Might not like the heat, eh..." Sazh mumbled, mostly to himself. Perhaps his l'Cie affinity to fire was not as misplaced here as he had originally imagined, what with the lava-spewing monster they had just fled from not 3 minutes earlier. Maybe it was influenced by Sazh's original interpretation of dragons, whom didn't have any too-discernible weaknesses; that still held true to some degree here, but Sazh had to remind himself that his personal logic had to be left aside, given the current circumstances.

The point was, this legendary dragon they were hunting was definitely weak to other dragons, and possibly weak against heat. And if was just at the top of the range here, then it was just a matter of making sure they could get to it. The l'Cie was confident enough that the rest of this crew was capable enough to handle it, from what he had seen up to this point. So as far as he was concerned, he was about as ready as he could be; Sazh just had to make sure everyone else was ready, too.

"Welp," Sazh called out a bit, referencing the group, "Let's get an idea of what we've all got. Either stuff to help slay the dragon, or stuff to help the people slaying the dragon." A vague categorization, sure, but they could get the idea.

Just from looking, Sazh figured that perhaps both Archer and Saber had one or two tricks that would be useful on the frontline, maybe even some direct dragon-slaying weapons, in Archer's case. Whitney, currently in the midst of bawling her eyes out... well, he hated to put it so bluntly, but there really wasn't a lot she could do, the poor girl. That odd kid with the transforming armor had flying abilities, definitely a boon, but it might be hard to take advantage of if Nonon came back. Vash... Sazh hadn't seem much of Vash, so he couldn't vouch for what he could do, but surely he had at least some means for fire or explosions, given his use of firearms; the issue came that he didn't seem willing to fight, and seemed to be especially against actually killing anything.

And then that one gender-shifting martial artist came bounding out of nowhere and starting being a cat. So much for this being a serious situation. "Okay, what?"

That was when Connor stopped Joker in his tracks with his hand on his purple suit covered chest,That got a reaction from Joker of removing the map form his face looking over to Conner."Do you see anything Conny?" The clown prince asked him using his pet name as something to annoy him as a source of entertainment.

Connor ignored his comment taking a few steps forward before stopping and taking a look around breathing in a heavy breath before looking over to Joker,"Nothing I thought I felt someone...familiar" He said the last part as if a whisper to himself.He felt something going on or their was something around them that make his skin crawl.

"That you, Yorick?" muttered Twitch as the beast's flesh sagged into itself, recognising the fall into unlife. Before the spell was entirely finished, he was already folding his bow, resting it on his belt. It was over. The shooter was still somewhere nearby, though- Oh, no, she was coming forward now, perfectly placid, perfectly visible. The rat's eyes rolled, but he growled, still tense, still uncomfortable. A third fighter emerged, stowing a more complex-looking firearm; Twitch had a hunch that this might have been involved in blasting so many insects from around the creature. The question of where he was and how he'd got there swelled again in his mind, and he forced it down with pure scientific interest mingled with greed. That lightning beast was dead now. He wanted it.

"Are you all done with inflating the necromancer's ego? Don't worry, if it swells any more, I'll pop it for you. Pop. Pop. Heh heh heh." Twitch drawled idly as he hopped down the rocks. The beast had been the only target, apparently; If new markswoman and -man were safe around the mage, then he'd be fine. If he wasn't fine, he'd shoot something. Either course was satisfying. "And while you're enjoying your food-and-medical-supplies party, I'm going to be riding this thing, you hear‽" Not slowing down as he hit the flat, Twitch leapt upwards, clutching at the meaty mess of the zombie, scrabbling up the beast's flank. There wasn't much hair left to grab on to, and the fascinating insects had gone with it, but Twitch still managed to crawl up to its impressive shoulders while it was docile. "Oh, look, now I'm the dirty rascal and the king of the castle," he jeered downwards.

The view from the beast was considerable, and it helped the rat make out the figures in the distance. He whistled and pointed. "Hey, who are those? While I'm at it, who are you? We haven't exactly bonded over tea. Unless you have. Glad I missed it, then."

Ba'al didn't pay much attention to the blond human that emerged from the rocks much as he had to join the group, admiring the large dragon that Sorin had managed to subdue with his abilities. She certainly seemed well armed and prepared, though he'd still take his Zat over that pistol any day. More effective, and definitely could be used for a longer period of time. Though he knew how to use a firearm should he have one, he would stick with his own weapon for now.

Then a rat...mole...thing emerged from the rocks, chastising said newcomer for inflating Sorin's ego (Not something Ba'al opposed. Inflated egos were useful for the inevitable betrayal), before dropping from the rocks and vaulting up onto the dragon, making the undead creature it's perch. How enjoyable. For the moment Ba'al had an amusing image of it's expression as the dragon tried to eat him, but he had a feeling that that wouldn't be happening.

"Congratulations," Ba'al commented, looking upwards. "I don't suppose I have to remind you that the higher up one is, the further there is to fall." As one who had had to climb from the bottom to where he was, he understood that very well.

Then the questions, which Ba'al could handle easy. "Those are our competitors. I am Ba'al, Supreme Commander of the Goa'uld Empire," he replied in a practiced introduction. "There was no tea. But as may have been communicated to you, we are all taking part in a series of challenges at the behest of the Watcher. The winner of all the challenges will be granted a wish, for anything they desire. If no one wins, then we will be stuck with all the other competitors until someone wins. And death is permanent, so I suggest avoiding that if possible."

And there she goes again. Maybe he should've lied to her, saying that the skeleton man had simply driven off by himself? ...No, that wouldn't have worked. It would only be a matter of tme before she found out by herself, after which she would likely never trusted him anymore. And even if she wouldn't, the girl still needed to realize that just how dangerous this place was if he wanted to protect her.
It was strange. As powerful as the creatures she was using could be, Whitney herself really was still a child, at least as far as mentality went. Just what kind of world could allow for someone like her to not be horribly killed on the streets? Of course, Felt's own homeworld was very peaceful too, but with how potentially dangerous alchemy could be, people did tend to grow up pretty fast.
Not that it mattered at this moment though... Gently, Felt took Whitney's hand, then spoke up. "Whitney, look at me. I won't die, okay? I promise you," he smiled, trying his best to comfort the girl. "Nor will anyone else. So there's no need to cry, okay? Okay...?," he continued softly, his thumb softly stroking the Gym Leader's hand in an attempt to soothe her.
As a result of focusing so much on Whitney, the young alchemist had heard very little of the cat's bout of exposition. Ah well, he could always ask someone else.

As much as Vash wanted to stick around and comfort Whitney, the alarms went off in his head as he noticed Archer sneaking away from the rest of the group, and he couldn’t even keep his eyes from widening noticeably in response. “Speaking of which,” he quietly added to his earlier remark, before hastily scurrying after the other man in red.

“Hey!” he called after Archer once he’d caught sight of him. “Where do you think you’re going?!” he asked semi-rhetorically as he quickened his step, hurrying up the trail so as to put himself in front of Archer. “And more importantly,” he continued, turning to face Archer as he stood in front of him on the trail. “What was all that about back in the cavern?” he questioned, tone starting to grow more serious as his eyes narrowed angrily. “That skeleton guy… you murdered him.” he seethed. “And he wasn’t even our enemy — he was our teammate. He was helping us. Hell, when he changed size and charged at that dragon he even helped save my life.” he growled. “So why… why did you kill him?!” he snapped, his sharp blue eyes locked onto Archer as he waited for some sort of explanation.

Having climbed the hill at a steady pace, Archer was easily overtaken by the eager blonde. The men in the red coats faced off on the hillside as Vash issued his challenge. The first question was answered without even saying a word--from the words of the feline behind to the gleaming white spear in his hand, it was clear what Archer intended to do--kill the beast atop the mount to fulfil the terms of their first challenge.

The second question needed more attention than the first, but was only briefly analysed before being dismissed as Archer continued his ascent to the peak, "He was an unstable demon who was doing more to kill us than the lizard. If I left him, he would have killed more of us in the future."

“You don’t know that.” Vash refuted sternly. “He never killed a single one of us. And before you cut him down, he was helping us…!” Vash argued, starting to grow emotional as Archer’s casual way of speaking about what he did only served to enrage him further. “But, even if that wasn’t the case,” he continued, stopping himself from just defending Ghost Rider’s actions and instead approaching the true heart of the matter. “Even if he was a danger to us, why is it your responsibility to decide who lives and who dies? What gives you that right?” he asked, eyes narrowed intensely. “And if people were in danger, why was your first concern not helping those who could’ve gotten hurt? Getting them out of harm’s way?” He paused, and his eyes narrowed further. “Why was your first instinct to kill?”

All the questions lead back to one answer, an answer that had Archer pause for a brief second to relay the message that a lifetime of conflict, compounded by a timeless existence where his only purpose was to excise the cancers that would otherwise kill humanity, had taught him, the inescapable truth of fighting to save those before him: "No matter who I save, there are always people who will perish. No matter how many conflicts I resolve, new conflicts are always created."

Ghost Rider was the same. Let alone, he would have turned from fighting against the dragon to harming the group. The only response someone such as Archer could bring against such a threat was to remove it to save those who remained.

And Archer continued onwards, towards the peak and the dragon that waited for them.

Vash kept his arms crossed as he looked down at the ground, letting Archer’s answer sink into his mind as the assassin started to walk away. A moment later, he spoke up again. “That didn’t answer my question.” he told Archer, head turned towards him as he watched him walk away. “I know what it’s like, trying to save everyone and not being able to succeed. I know it’s not an easy thing to do.” he continued, starting to follow Archer along the trail. “But,” he caught up to Archer quickly. “That doesn’t give me any right to kill people.”

“I’m sure both our worlds are far from perfect, and it won’t always be possible to save everyone…” he trailed off solemnly. “But I don’t see how that could possibly justify murder.” he glared at Archer. “So I’ll ask you again: what gives you the right?”

The answer was brief, to the point, and accurate to the point of uselessness for one not already educated in finer points of the world Archer came from: "Humanity's desire to survive."

Accurate, but meaningless to Vash--just as it should be.

The great beast succumbed to Sorin's spell, as expected, and was now an undead thrall with which he could do as he liked. Undoubtedly it would serve as a useful weapon against this legendary dragon that they were seeking, and so Sorin was somewhat pleased with himself. A rat-thing that distinctly reminded Sorin of the Nezumi of Kamigawa leaped atop the monster, prattling off some nonsense. The faint praise from the mercenary-type that had appeared was ignored by Sorin in favor of a quip from the System Lord, emerging from his hiding place.

Sorin scoffed at him, "Faith is for the fearful." Inventing a religion (or two) gave one a unique perspective on the concept.

He rejoined the rest of the group, who seemed to be short a member or so. It hardly mattered at all to Sorin, yet the rest of the group seemed to be gravely affected by it. One girl was stood weeping, being comforted feebly by a young lad wielding a sword from which Sorin could perceive a curious aura. Elsewhere a pair of men clad in red argued heatedly about some trivial matter of ethics. The petty concerns of petty people, Sorin thought dully.

As the young man promised a lack of deaths to come, Sorin passed by, quipping, "I wouldn't make a promise that I could not keep, young one. Death is like an obnoxious guest; it never comes alone and refuses to leave."

Approaching the two arguing men, Sorin listened in on their discussion. He found the taller, tanned man's position to be quite reasonable, and the blond man's points to be mere naivety. He weighed in, "Progress cannot be made without sacrifice. If the weak or burdensome must die so that the strong survive, so be it." Turning his attention directly to the blond man, he continued, "Your passionate morality is misdirected. Persecute those that revel in death for vanity or pleasure before you harass those that do merely what they must to live."