Mari felt the bike slowing to a stop and opened her eyes slowly, adjusting to the bright light around them. "Guess we're here." She said shakily, awkwardly lifting one leg off the bike and nearly falling. She grabbed Jame's shoulder for stability. "Sorry, I've never been on a bike so I'm a little shaky." She took her hand back, smiling apologetically.

She looked around her, taking in everything. She could see the shrine's temple not far away from them. It was a beautiful area surrounded by lush greenery. It definitely looked like someone was taking care of it. She noticed Landon walking along the path that led to the temple. She hung the helmet Jame's gave her back on his bike and started walking in the same direction, catching up quickly to Landon. She turned around to make sure Jame's was following, not wanting to leave him behind.

Something about this area, however beautiful it was, also gave her a very eery feeling deep in her gut. The kind of feeling like if you've just crossed into a "no trespassing" area and you're waiting for someone to find you at any second. She gulped. "This place is pretty cool, huh?" She looked at Landon's calm exposure. Something about how unphased he was by this whole situation seemed to put her at ease too. It was also nice that they knew each other from playing games online together. "It's funny how even those is the first time we've all met, we kind of already knew each other from playing video games online together."

"Easy now." James said, steadying her as she got off the bike. He put the helmets away in the seat compartment and followed after Mari and Landon. He looked around at the sights and agreed with Mari "Yeah, it is pretty cool." When she mentioned how it was funny that they practically knew each other already, he nodded and said "Yeah, you guys are like my best friends, it's so odd we're finally meeting, and even odder that we all lived so close to one anonther."

Landon smiles and nods " yeah it is super weird but cool at the same time" Landon said as he walked up the steps. " so what do you think happened to everyone? " Landon asks beginning to pant a bit as it seemed like there were a million steps. " my theory is that aliens abducted all of the adults but left us kids here" Landon says but shrugs " also what's with the horizon? " he ranted until he felt the chilling feeling again and dropped back to be in line with James and Mari.

"Umm, we're all adults here." James said, looking at Landon kinda funny. "I think we were teleported to an alternate dimension that looks exactly like our home, but we're the only ones here."

Elle parks her bike in the shadows of a nearby building, pulling her jacket tighter around her. She glances around the shrine uncomfortably. She watches the others, gauging their skills and abilities. She checks her pocket knife tucked into her jacket, and takes another swig of the beer she’d been holding on to. She grins faintly and makes sure no one is watching before she trails them. She listens to the musings of a guy with white hair, and gathers that the three were comfortable enough to have met before. Maybe not conventionally, but they still trusted each other. There is definitely something between the girl and the boy with glasses. She glances around the building for any other signs of humans, beyond the well kept grounds. Is there someone here, or is it another manifestation of whoever brought them here? She keeps as silent as she can as she follows them along the path, looking around for another entrance. She strays from the path to inspect the shrine from the outside, and potentially to avoid a run-in.

James feels a tingle in the back of his neck, as if he was being watched. He turns around to look behind him, only to find nothing there, the feeling gone. "That's odd." he muttered to himself.

Landon frowns and shivers as he also feels someone watching him. He then looks at James " my bad I forgot we aren't teens anymore it seems like yesterday I just got my license " he says chuckling and shakes his head to clear it.

"It's alright man." he said, shrugging the feeling off.

Yumi heard she had visitors and put away her cleaning tools then went to meet them sure they must be in quite a state of turmoil what with the world not being the earth surely they all remembered

She approached them slow and gracefully knowing as she did that her function was both performance and theological.



Is the memory of her Grandfather's words on how important it was for priest, monk, and Miko to be precieved as serine, at peace with the world and self.

"Welcome to the Inari shrine" she says in a soft tone that has volume even so as she bows as slowly as the willow in a gentle breeze.

---

---

Damien sat on a ledge atop the highest roof of the mall, his legs dangling carelessly over what would surely be a life ending fall.
Although now, in this moment, nothing could be for sure. He stared out into the broken horizon, bent, sunken, surreal, beneath a frozen sun never moving.
Long gone were the ideas of this merely being a prank, or that he had slept through some dramatic evacuation. He had given up trying to contact anyone. It was not a disease or an attack. He had come to the conclusion, no, realisation, he was dead.

He looked over the edge down at the concrete car park far below. One sports car sat askew in now what seemed a concrete graveyard that should instead be bustling with life and activity. He sat still and silent, pondering for a time as endless as the suns movement. He didn’t know when or for how long but his eyes had been watery as he held back tears. One or two escaped and cascaded down his cheeks. They clung to his chin before loosing grip with his skin and plummeting down far below vanishing into the wild winds.

There was an unexplainable pull tugging on his chest, it called to him. ‘This way’ it whispered seductively from right there out in front of him, in that small void beyond thin air, and yet somehow at the same time it was so strangely very far away. He leant forward as if trying to listen to it. Trying to feel it. Teetering on the edge of his ledge he closed his eyes, listening harder, trying to answer it.
he whispered.

---

Damien put out the cigaret in his left hand and flicked it out into the wind, he dropped the binoculars from his right hand and they fell heavily back against his chest, hanging from the strap around his neck. They were weighty and worth a fortune, not that paid a cent for them, or any of his current gear.
As he rocked back and flicked his legs over to solid ground his equipment chinked and clattered. On a brand new holstered belt dangled the malls security master keys along within an extendable baton and a taser gun. All nice donations from the security office. Despite his best efforts he still couldn’t get hold of a real gun but the crossbow on his side found in the army surplus was good enough. That along with a few knives tucked away and a campers backpack stocked with supplies meant he was ready to go and face what ever was out there.

A short moment later and he was loading up that lonely sports car. There was something he had seen from atop the roof, something worth checking out, a someone.

’There is someone here.’ Elle smirks as the boys shudder, surely shaking off the feeling of her watching them. She’d always had a knack for making people uncomfortable, and she loves things that she has a knack for. She observes the Miko, determining that she is way too calm to be clueless, shrine maiden or no. She could be pretty, but that look on her face was too calm to be human, and it gave her chills.

Taking a side street that lead to her goal Martha stopped her cart and looked through the window of a small dealership that sold little GM electric cars.

It wasn't a large dealership but one of those places that was there so that internet buyers could drop by and test drive before placing an order and had only 8 cars to show the different styles. So she pushed her cart to the door and went inside to pick out a car.

Small cars Martha was lucky that she wasn't 6'2" or she'd have had to pass and it took her 15 minutes for her to find out that under the front bonnet was the boot though still slightly cramped itself adequate for her needs.

After finding the keys in the sales office she was soon tooling along at a crisp 75 kph and perhaps able to make 90 at best; clearing not made for highway use perfect for the narrow inner city streets of the city.

So she arivved at her new hotel and found the elevators working and took her goods up to one of the penthouse suites and was stunned



It was lovely and once she moved her shopping goods to it she headed home and raided not just her own but several friends rooms for things she thought might come in handy leaving a note in each place encase they showed up here telling them she'd borrowed them and where she could be found. two rooms she raided she got a pair of powerful tripod mounted binocular and a DJ light setup that had strobes and lasers.



Venus saw the others fly off but at this point didn't care because she'd seen some one moving in one of the stores nearby and went to investigate

Mari was awe struck at the beauty of the shrine maiden as she approached them. So much so that she didn't even notice the person who had been watching them had now shown herself to the boys. She kept walking ahead towards the shrine, it felt as though some otherworldly force was drawing her in. "Thank you." She bowed her head respectfully to the shrine maiden. She could hear some commotion behind her and realized that she had accidentally left the boys behind her. She turned and noticed them talking to a girl she's never met before. Curiosity eating her up she ran back to her group after giving the shrine maiden an apologetic smile. As she approached them she had time to get a better look at their new acquaintance. She was a beautiful girl, although she seemed to be making Landon and James pretty uncomfortable. "Hey, nice to meet you!" She waved nervously. Something about this girl was really intimidating.

James was surprised by the appearance of the shrine maiden and bowed low to her. Then he looked behind him again as Mari greeted the girl that had been hiding behind him. He pinched himself hard, wincing in pain to make sure he wasn't dreaming, with all these beautiful girls around him. He almost felt like he was in a harem anime, he just didn't know if he was the MC, or the goofy/pervy best guy friend.

Landon was looking around the temple when he saw the shrine maiden. He smiled and waved then looked at everyone else frowning as to why they were bowing. Landon then followed James gaze as he heard Mari greet some girl behind them. Landon then saw James pinch himself and smiled at that wondering for what reason as to why he did that. Landon then refocused on the girl Mari was talking to and realized they must have been the one who gave Landon his being watched feeling. " Yeah nice to meet you I guess" he said throwing up a peace sign. He wasn't all sure why this chick would just follow them but not reveal himself but it didn't make him exactly comfortable. Landon then turned to the shrine maiden and after looking at the temple some more asked " So uhhh do you get paid? "

>@Jasper19@Azure Flame@Bria The Human@Sharidi37495@Dark Light



" So uhhh do you get paid? " Yumi heard Lando ask

She smiled her eyes displaying her delight "Yes but it isn't very much but then this is a position that is my responsibility from birth so I may say I get paid in the satisfaction of continuing the family traditions and one day hope to teach my daughter or son so it may continue"

Turning sideways to them her movements are a graceful buyo (dance) as she makes an art of just offering a seat on the steps.

"Please join me on the steps so we may talk and relax forI am certian with the revelation that this is not the sky we all fell to sleep under I may offer you if not explination at least a sence of peace pointing out that I have experinced benevolence here in how bright the shrine colors are and repairs done"

"I knew it!" James said, smacking his fist into his palm. "We WERE transported to another dimension!"

Landon was sort of confused at her speech pattern it seemed very old like she was from another time almost. " That's cool" he says lying he really thought that it kinda blows having to manage this temple with low pay and just the apparent satisfaction of passing down this job to your kids. Landon jumped when James cried out " Yeah seems like you were right dude" he says smiling as he sat on the steps and leaned back on his elbow stretching out one leg and keeping his other on the step below him.

"We WERE transported to another dimension!"

Mari's eyes widened and she quickly turned away from their new acquaintance, now facing the Shrine Maiden. "Wait, what do you mean it's a different sky?" She looked up at the bent, dome like horizon. "I mean it LOOKS different, but you don't mean this is a different world altogether, right?" Her heartbeat quickened at the thought that they were no longer apart of the life they once knew. That maybe this meant new beginnings for all of them; new opportunities too. Her eyes lit up like a little kid's at the thought that this was some alternate dimension from there's. She turned to face James and Landon.

"Honestly that would be SO FREAKING COOL! It'd be like a video game!" Her mind was racing with all of the questions she had for the Shrine Maiden. But then she got thinking.

"Wait a second, how do you have so much information about what's going on? I'm not trying to be rude here, but how do we know we can trust what you're telling us?"

>@Jasper19@Azure Flame@Bria The Human@Sharidi37495@Dark Light



Looking at Mari as her question "Wait a second, how do you have so much information about what's going on? I'm not trying to be rude here, but how do we know we can trust what you're telling us?" was an interesting one.

"I do not think I have more Information than.... than.... " She says stuttering before finishing her answer and swooning a little.

"This is not the world you once knew this might be an Ark meant to protect mankind or as the one called Martha believes a zoo but what does it really matter as long as you are not harmed?" Her eyes seem to glow softly for a moment then they fade as she bows her head and tries to catch her breath.