[IC] Aurora, The Land of Twilight and Falsities

[WaddleDaisy]

@Ashifili@Card Captor
When Mana felt a hand on her shoulder, she couldn't help but cringe a little bit. She then felt a hand on her chin as it was tilted side to side, she was ready to get her knuckled knives out and attack him in an instant, but chose not to do so due to this raw magic power that was surging from him. When robes suddenly appeared out of the air she blinked for a couple of seconds what she was seeing, when the elven man pointed to a castle in the distance, that was where she had to go, and without being caught that is. She then threw the hood of her jacket down off her face, now you could see a little bit more of the feminine features that she had.

Mana placed the robe over herself, but felt a little bump somewhere in the pocket, she reached her hand into it as she noticed a note and a key. 'The shadows are your friend girl...' Mana thought to herself before she looked to Joel and Darius, he had the idea of splitting up and Mana had to agree, with the same cloaks we would stand out.

"I wish you both luck, if I hear any of your screams then I know that it will be the end for one of you." Mana said before she ran into the streets, throwing her hood on her head before she ran into dark alleys. 'He said the shadows are my friend, so he might mean like this.' Mana thought as she crawled along walls.

[Card Captor]

@Ashifili@WaddleDaisy

"W-w-wait!? Are you really leaving? What about safety in numbers?" But it was too late; the other two kids had already left, leaving poor Joel all alone. This was something that he was completely unused to. Back in the coal mines, everyone was a fervent practitioner of the buddy system, no one alone, due to how dangerous it could be by yourself. Down in those mines, whether or not they liked each other, those boys were all in that hell together, so they had to look out for each other. In fact, Joel couldn't even remember a time when he had been completely and utterly alone.

At least down in the coal mines, he was in familiar territory. Here however, everything was strange and new. He didn't know about any of the dangers in this place, or even the signs to look out for. So despite having achieved his life long dream of finally seeing the sky, Joel was feeling far more vulnerable then ever. "I suppose now that I've seen the sky at last, I could die happy...but big brother would be mad at me if I let myself be satisfied with just that" Taking a deep breath, he gathered his courage before running to the castle at full speed.

[ImNotADamnRobot]

Max |@MonkeyBusiness@Mcmolly

Max looked at FunkyColors and smiled and big dumb smile. He cracked his knuckles and rasped his fist on the cave walls in anticipation. Finally a sensible idea, maybe these guys aren't so bad after all, sure they were a bit on the odd side (at least to him). MAYBE they'd make better acquaintances than he thought. He put his ham-like arms around FunkyColors and cood~

"Yeah, I like that idea, get them to come here... yeah... that could work..." He chortled a bit, "And we take one of those kidnapping fucks and wring him for all the info he's worth." Max figured they'd goad one down and give him the good ole' "Brooklyn hello", tie 'em up with...something... and give 'em the 3rd degree. "Great idea Colors! --- soooo~ do you want me to hold em down, or..."

He looked to Pansy in hopes of bringing him into Max's clearly brilliant and flawless plan, "What do you think? A swift bash to the head or a less permanent sleeping hol-" It became quickly apparent that the other two might have had other plans, "What?"

[Mcmolly]

"Oh jeez," Shill said, rubbing her neck and looking back up at the ladder. The big man and Filip seemed to have a plan going, and she couldn't deny that having whoever was above come down to them would be the safer option. Still, every moment they spent in the cavernous oven meant they were a little bit closer to nearly dying of heatstroke again. Besides, the spin the big man put on their plan didn't sit too well with her when she thought about it. He seemed just a tad too eager to get her hands on someone from above, and while she certainly couldn't fault him for his anger --lord knew she wanted answers too-- there had to be a better, more peaceful way to go about it. Right?

"I don't...we really don't have to hurt anyone. Could be they're just as lost as we are, y'know?" she asked, eyes going from up to down, studying the cooled rocks below in an effort to avoid his eyes. Something told her they wouldn't be full of sudden compassion. "Not that we shouldn't be ready in case they're bad. But jumping the gun might...I dunno, it might just make more problems. Definitely don't need more problems now."

She glanced to Filip, wondering if he shared her stance on a peaceful attempt. Shill wouldn't be able to argue against the two of them, she supposed she'd just have to go along with it if they outnumbered her. Didn't keep the hope from sticking in the back of her mind, though.

--

@ImNotADamnRobot@Monkeybusiness

[MonkeyBusiness]

@Mcmolly@ImNotADamnRobot

Filip didn't know how to react when the large man suddenly threw his arm over his shoulder as no one really did that to him. That feeling quickly went away as he was called colors for the second time that day which was never fun getting called a nickname that you didn't like. "I told you already, my name is Filip not colors or whatever else is in that head of yours." He told the man as he shrugged off the arm and stepped a few feet away from Max.

"Why must you be so aggressive. I never said we had to hurt them, I would still rather just talk to them than take some hostages." Filip told the two after he had heard Shill's suggestion and agreed with him completely. He understood that there was a time for violence and a time for negotiation and this was definitely a time for negotiation over beating people's heads in.

Without even consulting the other two on the rest of the plan he stepped up to the gate in front of them and took a deep breath. "Help! We are trapped down here and have no idea how to get out of here!" After the shouting was done, he turned back to the others with a shrug and a half smile. "Well, what's done is done. No going back now. Let us wait and see what happens next."

[chukklehed]

@ProfessorNV

"You have fun stumbling around in the dark down there." Free called after Dominic. After he passed from sight, she stood at the top of the stairs, looking down into the darkness below. Finally, her frustration overtook her caution and she started down, keeping her hand on the wall as she went.

"Wait up," she grumbled, blinking as her eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness. She could see him now below her, just before he turned the corner.

[ProfessorNV]

Dominic didnt stop as Free said to wait up, if she wanted to follow it was up to her to keep up. The building got darker the farther down they descended, until he was slowed down to a snails pace, keeping his hand firmly against the walls as he tried to find perhaps a switch or anything to try and turn on the lights. With his other hand, he pulled out his hunting knife, not sure what could be down here, and wanted to be ready should something cross his path that was aggressive.

[Gnar The Missing Link]

Kael’valtar, The City of Soaring Hopes

The elf teleported back to his workshop, and waited patiently for his guests to arrive. Focusing in front of him, three magical orbs began to form with the images of the three he spoke to. Watching their progress, he silently observed how well that they would do to get there. Kathos' Solar Earings were to enhance Darius' focus while allowing him a better grasp over his powers, as was Joel's necklace; something that should allow him a source to fuse with Adamantium- a very rare and strong material in this world.

A simple touch was all he needed to get a grasp of their powers, and to decide what would be best for them.

Although, hesitance prevented him from giving the girl any thing of his magical items- something he very rarely felt, even when in the heat of battle. First, he had to see how well she performed with using her powers over the shadows; the reason why he gave her the note instead.

"Depending on how well she does, Kuel'Dalas may choose her to be its new master..." murmured Kathos as he looked towards the slightly curved elven-blade within a mirror. Runes ran along its side, etched in elven tongue and crafted by the most powerful elven craftsmen. The gem within both the edge and the base of the hilt were a cerulean color; glowing faintly with power. "Seems that you're interested in how they do as well as I am... and to see if the girl is worthy of wielding you."

Snapping his fingers, Kathos activated the Sentinels in the city then began to awaken and walk about, looking for the three that he spoke to not long ago. The Sentinels were tasked with capturing and incapacitating them, without hurting them of course.
"Now then... let the games begin, Children of Earth... Are you worthy?"

---

Halls of the Fallen Saints

With the puzzle solved, and with Valair starting to open the door, a bright blue light immediately flash from it... then he and he alone saw an image flash through his mind-

It was a world unlike any other, something that that for a moment seared the very epicenter of his cranium. The image hurt just seeing it; something so beautiful but so terribly wrong... almost as if something was missing from it. Things just couldn't click in his head, but at the same time they did. It was as if things were, for but a briefest, moment filling and teaching him everything in his mind. It was as if he was seeing the seat of the god of this world.

Then, he saw them. He saw other humans, those like him and Rena who were also in this world as well, trapped and without anywhere else to go. Some where in a city of light, a city of ruin, a nest of the damned, on top of a moving dragon, on top of a large earthen creature, and inside of a mountain thing even... he could see it all for the briefest of moments despite all of the intense and grueling pain it caused him.

Maybe it was because of his ability of transferring a part of his soul into things, but for a brief moment his soul was here in this realm and bearing witness to all of this knowledge and pain... but finally he saw it; Earth- his home. THEIR, home. He could probably even touch it maybe... but just as it all started, it ended...

...and both Valair and Rena, would now find themselves laying on the grassy plains of a new land, somewhere completely different and far less cold. Valair would find that his nose and his left eye are both bleeding, and that his head was now hurting tremendously and a new ability; Eye of the Seeker... while Rena would have found that she now has a redish-orange stone ring in her hand; a Philosopher's Stone.

(Eye of the Seeker: Allows Valair to see rough location images of someone that he knows from Earth at the cost of tiring himself out physically and mentally.)

---

On Top of Lovos' Head

Lovos couldn't help but let out a loud roar of superb glee as he successfully got the ones who helped him onto his head, delighted that he could get the chance to meet with them at last.

"Ahhhh... Fi.. nal... ly..." spoke the Titan of the Skies as it open his mouth to speak after so many years. Having lost his mind, literally, the dragon forgot most of his words and how to speak despite regaining his intelligence. Still, his joy and happiness would not stop him from trying his best to thank those from saving him his eternal torment.

Next to Hana, Rin, and Mabel, the land started to tear apart slowly and close again, as mountainous-like reptilian slits started to stare at them; they were in fact standing next to the dragon's right eye. "You... human girls... restored my brain... back to normal somehow."

As Lovos continued to talk, his memory and familiarity of speaking came back to him, the fluidity of his speech increased, "I must thank you... somehow for your deeds, although... I feel as if it... will be difficult to do so considering... you are all so very tiny," muttered the Sky Titan as he blinked, before swooping down slowly and landing on the valley nearby and by a massive lake of water. "So thirsty..."

Lowering his head and practically drinking the entire lake as the sounds of his gulps can be heard for minutes, the dragon let our a massive roar before laughing aloud, "Much better! I haven't felt this alive since... since I was but a hatchling! Now then, little ones, may I ask how is it that humans, the race with no magic, was able to restore me to my former glory?" asked the mighty Titan as his voice roared and shook the land without even trying.

---

Within the Forests on Gorlock

The roaring sound of what sounded like propulsion systems came closer and closer, until finally the images of small white dots could be seen. Then, the sounds of loud cannon fire could be suddenly heard as the images started to become scarcely visible. Dozens of artillery started to hit and lay waste rear of Gorlock, with the Titan letting out small grunts of discomfort and pain as the cannon fire continued, until the white dots could be easily seen by Tamaki.

Creatures carrying Scions of all kinds immediately landed onto the back of the Earth Titan, and roared aloud with their mechanical wings as their tails swung about, before firing their cannons into the forests. Multiple of Scions quickly hopped off of the mechanized and disfigured dragons, who all began to quickly load their weapons and began heading into the forests.

One of the Scions, however, stayed where they were at, and simply looked around, seemingly taking in the view as they stared... directly at Tamaki.

Unlike the others, this one was fully mechanized and their whole body was void of any human parts, and wielded a massive weapon of sorts that looked like it could cleave a normal person- no, a tree or a boulder in two. The Blue Scion stared intently at Tamaki, before pointing slowly at them as an energized ball began to form at the tip of their finger...

---

Within the Mountains on Kormog

As Filip called out to those above them... the voice from earlier spoke again, and this time sounded very surprised, "Oi... Wait a blasted minute, you ain't sound like a Dwarf nor aren't ye sounding like any of them Orc fellas either!"

Almost immediately after saying that, a bearded man half the size of Arimax, but with more muscles than him, slammed onto the floor in front of them, with a large axe in hand. Despite being bald, his beard was fully grown and he had more arm hair than any of the other three combined. Taking a heavy step towards them with his boot, the Dwarf spat towards the rocks and grumbled a bit, before glaring at them as another Dwarf jumped down behind him, along with a larger tanned muscular man with small sharp tusks protruding from his mouth. This man was larger than Arimax, by at least a foot and a half, and he too wielded a weapon, but his was a halberd, and while the dwarf was fully equipped in armor, he only had pants, boots, and gauntlets. Instead, tribal tattoos covered his torso... and probably showcasing that he didn't need the armor to fight. It would seem that this was an Orc, despite not being the fairy tale green colored.

"Humans... what are humans doing here, Dwarf? I thought they were all Scions?" asked the Orc as he glanced at his partner before staring at Arimax, Filip, and Shill.

"That be what I'm wondering, Lad! And the name's Ironbeard! You're supposed to be calling me that, Valeosh!"

"Hmph... Well, I say we go ahead and just kill them, they could just be spies..." murmured Valeosh as he equipped his halberd and took a step towards the trio.

"Hold onto yer horses, this could be the Miss' doing! You know? Her and Cherin have been preparing lately, and she did say that a ritual will be happening today! Oi, lads," Ironbeard glares at the three of you, "just who are ye? And what are ye doing in Kormog?"

Seems like you guys have to persuade them that you mean no harm... considering what they said, it should be easy to convince them that you are good since this world is strange, and you are the first humans they have seen in a while. You really don't want to have a fight on your hands, and a hard one at that... do you?

[ImNotADamnRobot]

Max |@MonkeyBusiness@Mcmolly

The monotonous staccato of picks clicking on rock seemed to be the only noise throughout the caverns. Max was still very much angry at Colors' dismissal of his ingenious plan, but as of the moment he was still reeling from shock of seeing the 3 new faces. Two were midge- er... little people (ripped as fuck at that) and the other was some massive tusked brute with jawline that could pulverize stone. The Big One, as Max now ceremoniously named him had moved towards his gigantic... spear-thing? But BeardFace stopped him.

At this point Max would have tried to wallop these fucks, but he was no fool, these guys had more muscle per pound than him and his skinny team and unfortunately thanks to Colors had forfeited the element of surprise. He meet eyes with The Big One, they were both tense and each made clear to keep a wide berth from their respected groups. Max looked over his shoulders to the defacto delegate, Colors, prodding him to follow through with his "negotiation." He hoped this'll go well, Max knew well enough how to handle himself in a fight, as he should, he did it for a living. So, should the situation fall to shit he resigned to at the very least buy some time for his smaller -partners?- to make a break for it before he himself tried to lose the attackers.

[Mcmolly]

Whatever soreness Shill still had from their near wash-out faded when she saw the newcomers. In fact not only did it fade, but it was entirely replaced by fascination. With starry eyes and a smile on her face she meandered forward, first looking to the dwarves with their thick beards and large axes, then to the giant tusked fellow. She was surprised to see someone bigger than their pierced companion, and while he didn't seem too keen on them, at least he wasn't outright attacking.

The one called Ironbeard appeared to be the diplomat, and Shill was thankful for it. The last thing she wanted to do was fight with these mysterious and wondrous folk, who she could only assume were natives to the world they now inhabited. What was it knights did again? Did the men curtsy, or the women. Did they all bow? She decided to go with that, and lowered her head in a sign of respect. Couldn't hurt to be courteous.

"Hello! I wish I could tell you what brought us here, but we're just as confused as you are. We woke up in here not too long ago, and we'd very much like to know where we are," she said, only to jolt a bit when she realized she had still forgotten some of her manners."I'm sorry, I should have led with the introductions. I'm Shill, it's very nice to meet you!"

She offered out a hand to shake, but held back from introducing the others. She didn't know the pierced man's name, but if he didn't want to give it before she didn't want to force it out of him now, and Filip might have very well had something else entirely to say. She figured it was best to let them do their own talking, the more questions they could get answered the better.

--

@ImNotADamnRobot@MonkeyBusiness

[Zombehs]

@Damiann47
Valair lifted his hands away from the doorknob to shield his eyes from the blinding light that seeped through the opening, but even with his eyes closed he saw. It was beautiful, but he couldn’t admire it as a sharp pain lanced through his mind. He understood it deeply, but trying to think about it sent him to his knees as he clutched at his head. Then something compelled him to look up, even as the blood began to run down, and it was impossible to ignore.

He saw them then. Other humans from his own world, he understood that innately somehow, scattered across this same world. Even as his head threatened to crack and his mind reeled from the pain it caused, he understood that he and the other two were not the only ones in this world. In the distance to all this, beyond this world he saw it for a brief moment. Earth, in all its glory from space, spinning on without care to the loss of over a dozen of its inhabitants. The moment came to an end with the sight of his home planet though, the pain intensifying till he could do nothing but scream.

He could feel the soft soil beneath him, the wavy grass that tickled his skin, and the sun’s warm rays on him, but the pain drowned out all other sensation. He managed to stifle his scream before his throat died, but continued to groan at the worst migraine in his life. Curled up as his brain throbbed and pulsed sharply, he didn’t even care about the blood that flowed from his nose and eye as his body twitched. The gift of unconsciousness had been denied, but the pain still rendered him completely useless at the moment.

[daltar]

@SilverDawn
@Anderiel

"I... we don't know" says Rin as she faces the eye of a being so much greater than she is. It hit her then, more than even when she had been sent flying... this was a living, reasoning being. Gigantic. Flying. A... dragon?

The thought of it was so dizzying that she almost dropped... however, her grip on dragging Kyoukai kept her somewhat grounded, enough to take a deep breath and try to recover her senses. She may be on another world... but she was still Yukino Rin. She tried to gather her strength and confidence, speaking to the eye.

"We are not from this place... we were called. Brought here. By what, I don't know... I vaguely remember speaking with someone in my dreams. Someone that would give me a new chance... and a new place. I don't know about humans not having magic or anything... but since coming here I feel... different. Not ordinary as before. Perhaps something about that is why we, somehow, were able to help you"

[MonkeyBusiness]

@Mcmolly@ImNotADamnRobot

Filip was not expecting two dwarves and an orc to come down from the level above and took a few steps back to get some distance from the creatures. This solidified the Dutch man's conclusion that they were definitely were no longer on earth. The others seemed to have been surprised by the other group as well as they were silent for a moment before Shill spoke up in response to what the one called Ironbeard had asked.

"I am Filip and just like Shill said. We have no idea how we got here and know I am sure that we are not even on the same planet." The young man said as he stepped forward next to Shill to give him support against these strange creatures so that he was not alone. "If things go bad, get behind me and run down one of the tunnels leading away from here." He whispered to his shorter companion quiet enough that the other group couldn't hear what he had said.

Ideas were flying through the Dutch man's head, but none of the plans seemed to work on non humans. He was just not sure how they would react to humans showing up on their doorstep. "So what is this Kormog thing that you mentioned earlier? Is that the place we are right now?"

[Whitepulse]

@chukklehed
@ProfessorNV

"Hello?! Is anybody Out there?!"

Aarne had woke up in pitch black on cold hard ground that felt like stone, but he as unable to confirm due to pitch blackness in the room he was in, or was it a room, hallway? Before this he just had finished making design sketches for commissioner and went straight to bed.
every attempt to find some sort path was useless, so he could only result to hoping to call out to anybody who might hear him. It certainly did echo his voice, but he still felt nervous to call out into dark.

"This isn't fun one bit, going to bed and then waking up in pitch black room with stone floor... Can anybody hear me?!"
He kept calling wishing any kind of friendly answer.

[ProfessorNV]

@whitepulse @chukklehed

Dominic stopped as he heard the voice calling out from the darkness, sounding like it had come from a lower level but due to the sheer emptiness of the building, the voice bounced all along the walls, making it seem like it was coming from all directions. He made his way further into the inky blackness of the building, trying his best not to trip on the steps as he walked closer toward the source of the noise. He reached an area where the floor leveled off and he could walk normally, still keeping his left hand against the wall and the other gripped onto his knife.

He almost wanted to ask Free if she were still there, but her footsteps told him she was still following, so he pressed onward, feeling his way along the walls, the only sound now was the tapping of his boots on the hard floor.

"Who's there?" he called out, trying to locate the voice once more. If someone was in danger then he might as well see if he can help, he wasnt heartless after all.

[Ashifili]

Kael’valtar, The City of Soaring Hopes

---

Good, they weren’t following behind him like a bunch of preschoolers who needed to hold hands in order to go to the washroom. Taking in a deep breath, Darius narrowed his eyes and plunged into the most crowded streets he could find, pressing himself against the walls of flesh that would have practically devoured him if he wasn’t so tall and bulky. It smelled weird and disgusting and all those other negative attributes one would associate with having to be stuck inbetween so many…people? Monsters? Animals? It was a good enough screen though, and, even as those armored guards milled about, Darius felt safe enough at the moment, walking through the busiest streets and keeping to himself.

The spices and ripe fruits melded with bodily sweat, creating a heady aroma as he half-shuffled through the cobbled roads of the city. Smoke from vendors grilling skewers of meat caused his eyes to sting, but he ignored it. He had no money and no time for those distractions, and it wasn’t like the vendors themselves looked too friendly in his eyes. Sure, one of those crocodile-headed merchants smiled at him as he passed, but it was all teeth and more than just a little scary. Looking up once more with his eyes, the brunette searched for any more of those armored guards. It was clear by the moment of their heads that they were looking for someone in particular, and it became increasingly clear that the elven bastard probably slipped a word to their captain or whatever.

It was really tempting, then, in the stifling crowds, to shed his cloak and steal a hat or something…but Darius wasn’t a pickpocket, and his face was already seen by that elf bastard anyways, so there was no point. He continued to follow the ebb and flow of the crowd, ready to bolt the moment something out of the ordinary happened.

There weren’t any screams at the moment. Good, so those others hadn’t gotten caught yet.

The Ruined City of Mankind, Halton

@chukklehed@ProfessorNV@WhitePulse

---

Despite the dampness in the air, the stone steps were, thankfully, not very slippery. With careful probing and slow steps, the two would be able to make it down to the floor with little incidence, even when it was pitch black. There were no windows, no convenient glowstones, that provided any source of illumination, and by the time they reached the area where that voice most likely would have been, they could do nothing but trust in their ability to hear and feel.

The ground floor was damp, and the room itself was cavernous. Each step that they took was accompanied by a splash, groundwater filling up their shoes and making each footstep rather uncomfortable. The sounds of dripping water could be heard in every which direction, and it was rather obvious that whatever drainage system that might have once existed here was long gone. At the very least, they were deep enough in the core of the building that the rainstorm could no longer be heard.

As Dominic and Free wandered about in search of the voice, a ball of light flickered into existence. It wasn’t attached to a string, nor did it appear to run on electrical power. Shedding a cold, blue light, that orb allowed them to see for a radius of five meters, before it lackadaisically wandered off. The mysterious orb traced a path through the waterlogged cavern, eventually leading the unlikely couple up a slight incline, and towards individual that had called for them.

They were now in what appeared to be a hallway filled with hieroglyphic scribblings, and the light had grown stronger, more potent than before.

The Nest of the Highborn

@Shikaru@VitaVitaAR

---

As the three began their comedy routine or whatever else it was, the uncanny wind picked up, roused into a fury by those that had trespassed onto the grounds. The smell of death and decay swirled all about the three in a maddening spiral, the gale shrieking at them madly. Through the buffeting veil, the trio could hear an incessant chit-chattering, as if something was tapping their claws or manibles together. As if it was communicating. As if it was….

The storm of dust-brown wind was changing, gaining form, gaining substance. It was taking the shape of a snake, six insectoid wings sprouting from its back as it revealed its terrible form to the mortals before it. The chit-chattering was not from its ‘teeth’, but from the fluttering of its wings, even though there was no need for the wind elemental to raise up its intangible body. For a moment there, it stayed floating, a two-story monster that smelled of the dead.

And then, like lightning from the night sky, it descended upon Kevin, swallowing him whole. Nary a scream escaped from the young man’s mouth before the snake’s body was colored red, the stench of blood now mixing with the blood.

Despite that violent action, however, the wind elemental did not follow up with yet another taking of life. Instead, it opened its mouth, and a voice eerily similar to Kevin’s resounded in a distorted manner, as if it was spoken whilst holding a fan to one’s mouth.

“Ye who trespassed on the holy pilgrimage,
Ye who desecrated the ancestral dead,
Ye who robbed the descandant’s wings,
Ye of Scion-blood,
Dost thou understand the blood-price of thine sins?”

[WaddleDaisy]

Mana wasn't really sure on what the plans were for the other humans, if they were to hide out like her or even just walk down the street. She had her hands in her pockets gripping the knuckled knives that she had, in case she needed to defend herself and run off to find another hiding place. She felt the key in her pocket and wondered what it actually was for, was it to get into that castle and to make her way into the workshop? Who exactly knows. 'Not much volume in this street, I can just run past them and make my way into another alley.' Mana thought to herself before she looked both ways, but widened her eyes to see some sort of monster with a hammer moving down the street, she put her back to the wall quickly.

'You don't think that they're looking for us? Anyways it looks like I must avoid that thing, the shadows are your friend...' Mana thought to herself before she took one more look at the monster. 'Okay.. if I keep quiet he might not notice me.' Mana said as she stuck to the wall as she moved onto the street, trying to not stand out to the other fantasy creatures. She managed to make her way into another alley without being noticed, she was slowly but safely making her way towards the castle. She was most likely about 1/4 of the way there.

[Card Captor]

While it might not have been a good idea to madly dash to the castle, in hindsight it ended up being a smart decision. Because of his decision to book it, Joel was getting close to his goal. While his time in the coal mines didn't make him an Olympic level sprinter, he was both scared out of his mind and desperate. That was a combination that tended to get people to push past what they felt was their physical limits. So while his lungs were starting to feel like they were on fire, fear for his life kept him going...and that was before he noticed the strange things prowling the streets.

Joel was lucky that the first one he saw was looking in the opposite direction, so it didn't see him. Now while he didn't know what it was or what it wanted, he was alone and afraid, so his mind went in a rather predictable direction. 'they must be after us' was what he thought. Indeed, it was rather suspicions to see more the one humanoid figure walking what were otherwise empty streets, as Joel had made sure to avoid the more densely populated ones. Had circumstances been different, he might have fought them, in order to strike back against the fear that had gripped his heart. However, he wasn't cornered enough to overcome the desire to run to the castle.

[kapuchu]

@Grey Star@Rin
This world was beyond weird. She'd seen plants and critters alike, none of which seemed like anything she'd ever witnessed on Earth. There were neon pink beetles, flies that six set of wings instead of just two. She'd dared taste one of the berries she had found earlier, and found it incredibly sour to the point where she had to spit it out seconds after biting into it. She had then thrown the rest of the berries away, saving her tanktop and chest from the possibility of them smearing themselves all over her if she accidentally squished them for one reason or the other.

As she'd continued passing over and under branches--hanging low and high--she'd faintly heard what Tamaki had said (or rather shouted), that they were on a giant creature that carried this forest on its back. A literally living mountain it seemed. For some reason she didn't quite feel as if the news surprised her. Things had been strange ever since they got here, not to mention the fact that they had arrived here so suddenly and without warning. She'd walked through the door to her apartment, having just collected her sword from the smith, and suddenly found herself standing in a forest. Of course they were in an entirely different world, nothing else made sense. "Assuming anything made sense at all," she muttered under her breath, pulling herself up in her arms unto a thick branch. She had a somewhat better vantage point here, but was still below the foliage of the trees, and thus could not see all that far. She could see critters aplenty, but not much else of interest. Instead, she simply sat down on the branch, leaning against the trunk of the tree.

A... something seemed to poke her in the back of her head. Not in a physical sense, but more mental, or even metaphysical? It was as if something was trying to make itself known. She'd felt some sort of dormant presence ever since she'd taken her first step in this strange forest, but it wasn't before the past few minutes that it seemed to become almost insistent. Her lips pursed and her gaze went skywards, fingers interlocking behind her neck. What is it? She thought, trying to "poke" it with her own mind, but feeling nothing and sensing nothing. Poking it was the same as whenever she poked a make-believe intruder in her mind when she was a child; It was empty, and amounted to nothing. She sighed, a mix of confusion and curiosity settling over her, seasoned with a slight bit of worry. Something was different about her but she couldn't for the life of her figure out what exactly it was that was different than before. In some strange way that didn't quite make sense, it felt as if she were capable of more--far more--than she had been just a few hours prior, when she still was on Earth.

She brought one arm in front of her, the tan skin stretching smoothly across the toned, yet subtle, muscles underneath. She looked as she had before stepping onto this giant creature. Her muscles hadn't grown, nor did she have any new appendages or additions to her body.

A thought struck her. What if... Concentrating on her arm, she tried to seek out that strange presence in the back of her mind, trying her best to coax it to the forefront of her mind. It felt like wading into a lake, getting more and more difficult the further along she got. With the same stubbornness she had used whenever her muscles screamed at her to stop during training, she kept going, watching every perceived change. Seconds passed with nothing, but then a tingling started in her arm, and her skin seemed the harden and dividing into segments. The change of her arm was such a surprise that she lost all concentration she had, her skin returning to normal without a single blemish of any kind. Her mouth hung open, eyes wide in surprise. That was new. That was strange. That was... Magical.

It had only been a single experiment, but it was enough for her to know that there was definitely something different about her. She could only call it magic for now, but only time would tell. Unfortunately, it seemed as if that time would have to wait. A mechanical sound filled the air, bringing her out of her reverie. It seemed almost too normal for place this strange, prompting her to climb further up in the tree until she could see much farther. What she saw sent a chill down her spine, starting alarm clocks in her head. A swarm of something akin to robots were laying waste to the forest they were in, albeit far away from them. That, however, did nothing to assuage her fear.

It was adrenaline and her body's instincts that acted rather than herself. He all but jumped down from the tree in a single leap, landing in a roll and transitioning into a sprint as soon as she got onto her feet. She reached the clearing in which they had found the lake in the span of a handful of seconds, barely even out of breath, yet still breathing deeply. She didn't know what was coming, and she didn't want to know. There was nothing that could convince her that those things bombarding the forest were friendly.

"You alright?" She asked out loud, eyes trained at the place where the sound of a propulsion system came from, not even looking to see if both Tamaki and Fiona were both there. "I think we've got incoming, and we might need to run." Her voice was shaky, hand clenched tightly against the scabbard in which her sword was. She knew it was meant for combat; for killing, but to say that she wanted to seriously use it was a lie.

[Click This]

@Damiann47@Zombehs

Unlike some other people across other plains and realms, Shannon Forsyth seemed to have it easy, or as easy as a college student who was suddenly punted from a musty old library onto a field in the middle of nowhere. This spiriting away was so immediate and unexpected that she still held a pen and clipboard, atop her laptop, which had recently become dead. She was lightly dressed, wearing a button down shirt and a black skirt under a blue windbreaker; it had been lightly raining only a short while ago.

Upon blinking, she had found herself amongst vast, grassy plains, stretching as far as the eye could see. For a few moments upon arriving, she had thought VR goggles had been shoved onto her face by her enterprising sister. But after clawing at her face and applying a clipboard and laptop to such aforementioned body part, she had been convinced that the landscapes in front of her were in fact, quite real.

Of course, this was a bit of a bothersome scenario. She had yet to question how she’d gotten here, but civilization itself seemed to be absent. And she really needed to get back to the library to charge her laptop and finish her paper, because that thing was due in less than a day. But unfortunately, there was no road or metro to ferry her back to her dreary, rain sodden city.

The only thing that broke the unending green was two figures in the distance, lying on the ground. She had to question her own sanity, but nonetheless walked towards them, because there simply was nothing else to do. With some luck, perhaps they could tell her how to get back to Oxford. On arrival, she came upon what appeared to be a businesswoman and man in plain looking clothes. The man’s face was a obscured in blood, as if he’d been clocked by the woman next to him, leading Shannon to raise an eyebrow as she greeted them dryly.

“Come here often?”