When Junko walked back out of the clothes store she looked... different. More, masculine? Even though her outfit looked more or less the same, she didn't. this was clearly a man trying to imitate Junko's style. The only different style choice was that he chose to wear plaid pants instead of a skirt. But yes, he accessorized the same way and even painted his nails.

"Change of plans, boys." Junko(?) Said. "I couldn't find anything to wear, so I'm calling this adventure off. You can all go back to where you came from. I'll be sure to send you guys some money via western union. It was fun, toodles!" after giving everyone a wave, the man hoisted a bag justy large enough to hold an eighty pound fashionista over his shoulder. Before walking off, he stopped to look past the toppled over mannequins. "Oh cool, I'll get these guys chocolate coated. That's, like, a delicacy or something right?" Junko(?) bent over to pick up the ant's home, his hand cast a shadow over the small insects.

Observing the strange man(?) exiting the nearby store, Arnold raised his little eyebrows. What an unusual day he was having, made more so by the fact that a hand was reaching down to snatch up his house. "OI!" He squeaked, "put that down, who do you think you are to go and take someone's house?" He scolded, jumping up onto the hand.

A soft voice was heard from inside the house then and the door opened to reveal a slightly smaller ant. "Arnold what's going on?" She asked, eyes widening at the sight before her.

Arnold scrambled over to stand next to his friend. "Uh, well. I'm not too sure Anny." He spoke, turning back to the being holding them. "Sorry to disrupt your plans but we are not for consumption." He stated. "We aren't very filling either." Arnold reasoned.

Jane blinked for a moment, then swiftly stood up. "Wh-- Excuse me," he blurted out, hoisting his weapon onto his shoulder, "who the hell are you?"

It was, he thought, a perfectly legitimate question. But there was a certain tremor in his voice as he asked it. Maybe no one noticed that tremor, but he did. He remembered a time when the tremor was not there. He remembered soaring through the desert skies, a lifetime ago, and he faltered. But he tried, and he tried damn hard, not to anyone see it. Hopefully, the forcefullness of the question and the fact that he wielded a rocket launcher while he said it would have to carry him through. Granted, the rocket launcher was harmless, but if this person really wasn't Junko, then he didn't know that.

The feline figure reappeared beside the man hefting the rocket, the ethereal emerald mist that moved with it dispersing about their feet. Blinking a few times, the great cat drew back its ears and narrowed its unearthly glare at the being who seemed to replace the schoolgirl fashionista. They were... familiar, in that same vein of Junko, but something different now altogether. Whatever the case being in particular, the divine beast was none too fond of the many tricks and changes this place was seeing; the jungles, the manikins, and now someone's entirety.

"It would be for the better if we received some sort of explanation." The breath of the striped, grand beast fogged slightly in the air as it spoke.

Listening to the great cat speak, the Mysts had to agree. So, the mannequins were once again brought to life, and interlocked their arms in front of 'Junko'. Then they turned to stone.

"We would advise you to tell us."

"TIME IS AT AN END." shouted a woman who's eyes were naught but embers. "YOU WILL KNOW WHEN THE ORANGE MAN LEADS. SEE THE WOMAN WHO IS A CUCKOLD OF THE POTENTATE OF LECHERY, SEE HER WEEP? RISE THE POWERS THAT ONCE WERE DEAD, THE BLOOD AND OIL OF THE HOLY BOOK. CAST WHITE FIGURES DANCING ABOUT TWO STICKS." She pointed a finger at everyone, "YOU WILL DO THESE THINGS BUT DO NOT SEE THEM COME. DEATH FOLLOWS IN YOUR FOOTSTEPS."

"I agree with the crazy lady entirely." The man had one hand on a bag, and the other one he still gripped the ant's home. So he patted her on the top of the head with the back of his hand. "I think what she was trying to say was... How dare any of you pretend to have authority over me." He placed the ant's home down on the hood of a rusting car. "I'm surprised any of you give a rat's ass honestly. Surely you must know this woman is highly unstable. I figured I'd do you all a favor and take her likeness, so that you could pretend it was really her that wanted nothing to do with you. Or maybe you aren't the heroes you make yourselves out to be? Adventurers are solely motivated by adrenaline and greed, they'd kill a baby if it netted them a quest reward." With a smug "heh," the man turned his back on the feline and soldier "You may address me as the Lord of Lies. If it's death and excitement you desire, you will follow me." The self appointed Lord of Lies swung the back of his hand at the manikins, shattering their torsoes. C liming out of the rubble were inkie black shapes. Humanoids dripping like running paint. as the Lord of Lies marched down the street, his minions lunged at the adventurers.

OOC: Remember your fighting basics. Minions can be auto hit, but key characters like other players and antagonists need to be given a chance to react in their own respective posts. You may attempt to make an attack, but they ultimately decide if it was successful or not.

"Your display has only made a fool of you." The savage champion replied, wholly unconvinced of the speech it and its fellows had received.

The ambient corona that ebbed from the silhouette of the animal intensified, no longer but faint wisps of afterlife ether and now faint glimmers of something more. Yet instead, with a breath of its jaws they and the rest of the entity vanished, giving only a roll of wind and an unsettling calm that upset the already uncomfortable atmosphere, albeit now as a spirit of unearthly silence. The primal voice continued its response now unseen but rather felt, surely prowling about as one imagined any resplendent predator to.

"For you know nothing of just who we are..." The air behind some of the sickly black figures rippled, wakes moving between their feet as they careened forward with their lunge, "... not yet at least."

Like a clap of dull thunder, the ethereal being returned to this realm of existence, surrounded by faint emerald haze and right among a throng of the newfound enemy's number. Far larger than it seemed before, perhaps enhanced by the illusions and chaos of the conflict that had now come, it swiped from one side to the other in the single stroke of a paw; each great digit hewing just as a man would reap with a scythe. Rather than leave the blow alone to just the force of razored claws alone, the strike manifest with vibrant light which ceased thereafter, too fast to reconcile. Instead they burned through the air and left evaporating smoke of chartreuse in their aftermath.

It was evident that whatever had chosen to disturb them and their journey might not have made the wisest of its decisions.

For a moment, Jane stumbled backwards, clutching his weapon in his hands. His breathing came fast and heavy as he slowly backed away from the fight... but then, as the great beast roared and the sounds of battle reached his ears, it began to steady. He stared at the massing horde of black slime, watching the Harbinger tear through it, and something flashed into his mind.

The pain of death. The thrill of invincibility. The indescribable glow of immortality.

It was not the first time that a smile had come to Jane's face. But that... that was not a smile.

Jane's breathing began to come heavy again as he reached into his pouch to pull out his radio again. "Get me a sword," he growled into it. "You know which one."

Jane shoved the radio back into his pocket and stared at the rising tide of ink, waiting patiently for something to arrive. And soon enough it did -- a dull, uninteresting scabbard appeared in the air in front of him in a red flash. He caught it expertly and, in a single motion, affixed it to his belt. "You know," he growled as he gripped the sword's hilt, "I do not think I have mentioned lately how much I! HATE! MAGIC!"

Jane screamed again, but this time, there was not a drop of fear to be heard. He drew his weapon with a loud, dramatic scraping of metal on metal. He thrust his fists skyward and beat his chest like a wild ape, slicing open his cheek with his sword in the process. And charged forward, sword in hand. He smashed into the tide of ink like a battering ram, randomly swinging his katana at neck after neck after neck, coating his sword in a sickly black ooze.

And, for the first time in a long time, he fought.

...Well. Now this was getting interesting. Sticking with the Junko and her followers had been worth it. But which of its powers should it use to fight? The light? Fire? Nature? Water? Or pure death?

Eh. All of them. Five orbs separated themselves from the Myst, and went about their duty. Burning, lighting, drenching, growing, and just pure destroying. This was fun.

OOC: You guys let me know if the Mysts are becoming too powerful, okay? So far it's got elemental powers, animation powers and transformation powers, but I don't wanna god mode. This was just the first thing that came to mind for the fight.

The black minions continued to pour forth. The impostor seemed to call forth another wave of minions every time he broke something. Broken windows, smashed foundations, even the pavement oozed out more minions when he smashed it with his heel. But he did not turn around to face the adventurers. Though it was evident that he knew what was going on behind him.

"Well, sate your blood lust while you can. I have other places to be."

The impostor erupted into a black fog, and then three perfect clones of him emerged from the cloud of tar. Each one holding an identical bag and retreating in a different direction. They were also moving much faster now. One ran straight down main street, another took a back ally, and the third one retreated down a side street at the intersection.

Jane's neck snapped up so fast you could almost hear his bones snapping into place. "Oh no you don't!" he snapped. "Get your candy ass back over here and FIGHT LIKE A MAN!" That said, he slashed through a small group of tarbeasts in order to clear a path. As he charged forward, through the rising tide, he sheathed his sword again. The black sludge that had accumulated on his blade slithered uncomfortably off the weapon and poured in a sickly slime onto the street behind Jane as he ran. As he ran, Jane held his hands out in front of him and pulled out his rocket launcher. He didn't really pull it out of anywhere in particular, it just sort of appeared in his hands. He aimed it at the ground again and fired, propelling himself through the air. The explosion had no effect on really anything except him. It propelled him high into the sky, leaving the slime monsters completely unharmed and leaving nothing more than a scorch mark on the pavement.

Jane wasn't very fast on the best of days, but he knew a thing or two about aerial motion. He pulled the ripcord at the arc of his jump and twisted, soaring to the left, towards the alley. He grinned as he approached, and then, at just the right moment, he aimed his rocket launcher at the wall next to him. He fired at the wall, which propelled him away from the wall of that building, deeper into the alley. As he approached the other wall, he swung his feet up and fired his rocket launcher at that one, sending him ricocheting down the alley like a pinball. He pulled the same trick a third time, the soles of his shoes leaving a trail of smoke and flame behind him, before finally dropping his rocket launcher and pulling out his sword.

"Surf's up, maggot!"

With that, his parachute sucked itself back into its pack, sending Jane careening forward and down. At just the right moment, he swung his sword down in a vicious arc, directly at the neck of the Lord of Lies.

Seeing the Jane go towards the left, the Mysts decided to go after the one to the right, down the side streets. The sludge was not worth it - the Liar had created an endless loop. The creatures would just return. But the Liar... well, the Mysts didn't know. It might. It might not. But for the Junko's sake, the Mysts were going to try.

Spotting its target running down the street, the Mysts called on the Nature powers. As soon as it did, a wall of trees burst out of the ground, cutting off the Liar's path. Steadily it continued to summon more trees, before finally both the Mysts and the Liar were surrounded by a wall of oak. The Liar had nowhere to run...

OOC; Apologies for the avatar change, but I'll have a justification for it coming up.

"Flee while you can, as it gives life to the hunt and the chase." The retort came with bellowing might, another strike crushing the sickly dark before it. Sure their numbers were many and their "persons" inhibiting, but there was no shortage to the raging wrath they endured for it. They had stepped into the forward wind of a hurricane, one armed to the literal teeth.

The primal force crashed upon them despite their cascade of resistance, inky fingers reaching out in desperation to score a blow upon the avalanche. They did, but what good it would do them was... questionable. At most they phased through bits of spirit-stuff, sending its ethereal essence away and dispersed for a breath, only for it to reignite. Weakening the hewing claws and the force behind them was only delaying the inevitable.

"There is nowhere you can go that I cannot follow, not this life or even the next, as I have all eternity."

And delay they did until they could no more and it vanished without dim flicker or trace with ghostly fire. It waited a few prolonged moments before life, as it seemed, returned to it and it resumed its place not as the beast of legend but a fierce paragon of feline form.

From there, it quickly joined pursuit, seeing that its unexpected ally and that which seemed to be its most long-standing had split off. An unwise decision, but it now found there was no time but to pressure the break it had cut open.

@Conch Shell VII

The lord of lies's continued to run in a straight line, making it all to easy to part his head from his shoulders. Black ink spewed forth, spattering all over Jane's sword and even a little on his face. The impostor dropped the bag he was holding and used his last ounce of strength to run as far as he could before ultimately expiring. The bag however, was quite alive. but it was not so much the bag, but it's contents that were moving. Out of the bag came another lord of lies, also carrying an identical bag over his shoulder. If there was any difference between this one and the last, this impostor might have been a little smaller. "You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?" The lord of lies picked up his own corpse, seizing it by the leg as he ran on by. a trail of black ink followed him wherever he ran. He braced himself before smashing through the front door of a hardware store.

@CollectorOfMyst

"Again with the barriers?" The lord of lies swung the back of his hand at the trees before him, splitting the oak like it was mere paper mache. Though what the mist observed was that his swings didn't really appear super human. That was to say that whatever force that destroyed everything he touched wasn't borne from superhuman strength, but mystical might. as he continued to swing his arm about, the mighty oak before him was splintered into more minions. "You keep erecting barriers, i'll keep forging minions." The Lord of Lies bolted ahead. veering right as he neared the second intersection.

@The Harbinger of Ferocity

This one seemed like it was much faster than the others, as it was able to stay ahead of the pursuing feline. But not without great strain to himself. The lord of lies was breaking apart at the seams. First his cheek, his pants leg, but he continued to run with all of his might. until he arrived at an intersection and stopped. The black tar like substance was dripping out of his ears and the corner of his mouth. "Isn't this nice?" The impostor lowered the bag he was carrying onto the ground before turning to face the feline. "You really get a much better idea of what someone is all about when you fight them or chase them. It's the only real way to measure someone's ambition." He pointed at the bag. "Go on, try to take it from me. I bet you can't..."

There was a surge of anger. Something the Mysts had not felt... for a very long time.

"Disregard for life..." it whispered. "Attacking my friends... I am beginning to see you for what you are, Lord of Lies... You will not escape me!"

Bursting through the minions in a cloak of flame, and leaving them to burn, the Mysts continued its pursuit.

@BrokenPromise

"Oh, of course it isn't. You need to learn to respect your elders!" Jane snapped, sheathing his sword again. After a moment, he pulled out his radio and continued to bark into it. "This loadout isn't working. I need something better fit for combat. Switch me to A! That is an order!"

Jane tossed his rocket launcher to the ground and shrugged off his parachute. He stood still, snarling like a wounded beast, and slowly wiped the ink off his face with the his red sleeve. until at last there came a flash of crimson light. A shotgun with an olive tint and a white star on its handle materialized in front of him, and a slim, high-tech rocket launcher with a mounted scope and a wooden stock landed on the ground in front of him. Jane swung the shotgun over his shoulder and slipped it onto his back, then charged forward and picked up the rocket launcher. He slung it over his shoulders as he ran, bounding unevenly forward with a simple rhythm and cadence.

Jane charged towards the hardware store, loading rockets into his launcher one by one with a simple mechanical thwoomp until he heard the door to the hardware store crash open. "Ha! You call that destruction, you pastel pansy? Let a real Soldier show you how it's done!" And with that, he fired his rocket launcher at the back of the Lord of Lies, still charging towards him. This rocket was a lot faster than the other ones, and it shot forwards like it was on a mission. Of course, what the Lord of Lies (presumably) didn't know was that this explosion would be a lot smaller than a standard rocket's explosion, and if it was dodged, it would be pretty easy to avoid being hurt by it. However, unlike the now-abandoned orange rocket launcher, this explosion would certainly not be harmless.

It had seemed that everyone forgot about the snek, but they actually slithered off somewhere else for the time being. As the new male caused "reactions" from Jane and others, the 'snek' walked back to the group. In place of it was a small cartoonish yet classy devil. He stretched his arms out and spoke,

"So, what did I miss?", He said as he looked around.

OOC: The fact that you are now Bendy when our avatars are fighting ink minions...

OOC:Fite fire with fire amirite?