GambolMuse

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

Using some Ki to assist in her attack Yumi took a swing at the beast's neck, and while Ki itself wasn't dangerous to them her hand acting like a blade most certainly was. With a clean slice she cut right through and took off the creature's head, watching as it turned to dust and vanished from sight. When she heard Viral yell at her she nodded, turning and racing after him towards the portal. A handful of beasts were still looming by the gate yet that was quickly helped by Shu and Takeshi flying by, playing bait for them to get an opening. Smiling through the nerves she was feeling she waved to Orion to follow, falling in behind Viral and leaping for the portal. Just the sight on the other side was unnerving enough but they had to do this, the rift wouldn't close any other way. Not sure what to expect she placed her arms in front of her face and closed her eyes, flying through the rift and for a good moment feeling utterly weightless. That quickly changed however as she dropped to the ground with a thud, taken aback from the change in gravity. It was nothing serious as she could stand and move without much issue but it had been sudden, as was this dry, hot air they were now engulfed in. Were they in Hell, or was this just a really lousy world?

So these things were a little faster than Takeshi remembered them being, he was putting on a decent amount of speed and they were pretty much keeping pace. Good thing they couldn't fly at least, for the time being the air was their friend. "That's it buddy! Just like throwing rocks, just keep lobbing them!" Trying to keep steady for his brother the older boy frowned when two of the beasts broke off from the pack, and a quick glance showed they were doubling back towards the portal, trying to get after Viral's group going through. "Tch..." Putting on the brakes he came to a sudden halt before turning and dashing back, several of the beasts below slipping at the quick change of direction. Figuring he could blast them with some Ki he reeled back and threw a blast, nailing one in the hind and making it stumble, falling and tumbling into the dirt comically as a result. The second was drawing nearer however and blasting the portal might not be a good idea. He wasn't needed to handle that one however, Vegeta was on it and swiftly knocked it aside. "Alright, kick it's ass Vegeta!" Takeshi shouted, redirecting again and continuing to lead the creatures around in circles.

"It's not a game you dolt, stop playing around..." Vegeta grumbled, frowning as he watched the brothers zip on by, the herd of beasts still in tow. Moving on the beast he'd knocked aside he watched it climb to its feet and howl at him, all kinds of foul liquid spewing from its maw as it screamed. Gathering Ki in his hand he threw a small blast right into its jaw and watched as it stumbled, unharmed but dazed from the hit. Taking the brief window he dashed in and drove his knee right into its skull, following it promptly with a kick to the side of the head that lifted it off of its front legs. Dropping his body down he reeled back his right arm and again gathered Ki, throwing a hard punch that combined with a blast, smashing the beast into the air and sending it flying some several meters away before slamming back down into the ground. The creature which Takeshi had blasted was now upon him as well, and with a quick jump he narrowly avoided being caught in its jaws, landing on its back before aiming and blasting its head at almost point blank range, causing it to fall and slide along the ground as a result. It wouldn't kill them, but then they couldn't kill them anyways, this was only to buy time.

Haku, now visibly trembling, was trying to force himself to fight. While the Princes and Vegeta had the majority of beasts occupied there were still a handful running free, and with their job to protect the scouts he couldn't well stand by idly. Looking to T'charrl in hopes he might take the lead he gasped when one of the creatures howled at them, rearing up on its legs before charging. Raising his fists up he swallowed nervously before charging forward himself, yelling as he closed the distance with the beast. He intended to smash it as he'd seen others do before yet when it opened its mouth he quickly gave up on that, instead darting up abruptly to avoid becoming lunch. The creature had to take a wide turn to readjust its path and snarled up at him, squatting down and taking a leap to try and pull him out of the air. Not knowing what more to do Haku created a sizable ball of energy and hurled it down at the creature in mid-air, driving it back to the ground and burying it in a small crater as his attack blew apart the ground. "T-T'charrl? Uh... Little help please?"

Eris couldn't explain what it was about this world, it just felt... Wrong. She had been to plenty of worlds before and she'd never felt anything like this, she didn't even know what to call it. Her palms felt clammy and the hair on the nape of her neck stood tall and, despite not seeing any enemies, she swore there were eyes on them. Grinning she told herself it was just nerves, they were in an unknown place against a new foe, it wasn't so insane that she might be a bit wound up. "So here we are, time to kill these things!" They might well be doing that if there was anything immediately visible, but there wasn't. Looking around the barren landscape she tried to spot any small sign of movement and found none, wondering if perhaps the rift wasn't supposed to dump them here. Looking back at the portal she noticed then the ground on the other side, dry stone rumbling and breaking from some unseen force. The heat seemed to grow suddenly as well to the point where it felt like they were beside a fire and at the last possible moment Orion tackled her to the ground, a searing beam flying over the spot where she had been standing seconds before. "What the hell was that?!"

If anyone had been wondering where the creatures were on this side they were now getting their answer. From the shale-like ground several of the beasts burst up from the layers below, clawing their way to the surface with bone-shaking screeches. More were surfacing further away, and once one took a look beyond the portal they could see why. A massive creature stood above all the others on four hooved legs supporting a thick, muscular torso sporting two thick trunk-like arms, four claws on the end of it. The creature's head was long and sported several rows of fangs, many of which jutted out from its lip. Staring down at the group at the portal it let out a bellowing roar, slamming its front legs against the ground as it gathered red energy in its mouth, firing at the back of the portal and shattering it with ease. As though it knew what it had done its lips curled back in a smile, letting out a guttural growl as the smaller beasts began to converge on the group.

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

People are going to re-converge eventually, so don't worry too much about who you're with :)

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

Another collab down! :D

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

Asta sighed, all of these people crowding around made getting away even more of a headache. Sure, they were a distraction for others, but crowds made her uneasy. If she could hide in them, so could anybody else. She looked at the piece of parchment with a rough sketch and a name written beneath in scrawled handwriting. The man had an angular jaw and piercing eyes, the artist had clearly made an effort to make him appear more malicious than he really was. Asta had trailed him for a week, but he was nobody special. A lumberyard worker named Daren Carol who came home at the same time every night to his wife and two daughters. He had icy blue eyes at work, but they seemed kind at home. He slept peacefully, like a man with a clear conscience, but had to leave each morning before the rest of his family woke up. Not even his wife was a wicked woman.

This would be another purse of coins she didn’t receive and a payment her manager would miss because she had made the executive decision to abort. This man had no idea who she was, but she knew everything she needed to about him and it would take only a matter of seconds to end his life. Asta stood by the fact that she had yet to grow into a heartless monster who would end any life for little more than a few pieces of gold or silver.

On the other hand, she had found lately that the idea was less abhorrent now than it had once been. The realization came to her when she realized that her father hadn’t needed to take the life of any being that was at least humanoid in all of his years, but she had already taken enough that she required at least both of her hands to count, though she preferred not to. How did men of the military in this world do it? They knew not the people they killed… But she knew each of her victims more intimately than she cared to admit.

From the mouth of the alley now, she scoped out the street, her hood covering her face. She had to leave this town and never go home; this decision was certainly spur of the moment and she was still coping with the fact that now she would either have to go back to her tribe or start yet another life among the Muran. She shuddered at the thought of how difficult it was for her kind to make an honest living here, so perhaps it was time to go back, after all these years. Father would be furious and she would have nothing but this wretched, Saints-forsaken, sorry excuse for an occupation and ‘experience,’ as she called it at first, to show for it. Beyond that, she could not recount any of this; surely she would lose all of her birthright and even her life amongst her own people should she tell them who she had become. Maybe she could live in solitude - it wouldn’t be so bad, relying on nobody but herself and Myria.

Maybe stepping into the open was too clear, she did not want to be seen even walking this town after all. If there was one thing she knew, it was that you had to assume somebody could hear or see everything you were doing, otherwise you could be easily tracked. Some strangers are so good with faces that they’ll remember a description of somebody they saw that only looked slightly mischievous, while others were racist to the point where they made note of any Ydra that walked by them. No, she would slip out of town and make her way as far as possible, following the roads, perhaps slipping into a caravan now and then. Maybe she could try that escorting thing again - that worked once.

She pivoted with a measured ease and walked back into the alley, trying to stay between buildings as she made her way to the gates of town, her long, slender Cobra Fox silently padding alongside her as they walked. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she turned a corner and looked just out of the corner of her eye to glimpse a small figure following her. Asta picked up her pace and tucked herself behind the very next corner she came to, drawing her blade as she awaited her pursuer - who would be following her already?

Who had that figure been? Nymira knew she had seen someone, someone cloaked in a dark garb and peering around the corner. Whether or not their eyes had been on her mattered not, a suspicious figure like that so near to the scene couldn’t be left unchecked. Once she breached the entrance to the alleyway her footfalls became slower and silent, her deep purple eyes slowly moving back and forth, searching for any sign of movement. Her time in battle had conditioned her to be very methodical when in tight spaces, it was very akin to walking through the crevices that littered much of Dimuran territory back home. While she might feel almost at home here she was also highly alert, her hands gripping both daggers securely in anticipation.

“Show yourself, I’ll be far less lenient if I have to search for you,” Nymira called out, frowning as she failed to encounter anyone. Not that she had expected this stranger to simply hand themselves over to her, one didn’t skulk about in a cloak to greet strangers. Letting out a level sigh the Dimuran stopped abruptly when she heard the faint shuffling of fabric, her head swiveling about as both of her arms raised expectantly, blades of her daggers crossing to catch a falcata blade, pushing it to the side before backing off swiftly. No one with good intentions would strike out so callously, and the beast at the woman’s side hardly reassured her that this was a friendly encounter.

There were two facts that she could glean immediately from this encounter: The woman she was contending with was an Ydran, and the beast at her side was doubtless very well trained. On top of that her leg was still hampered from the burn suffered by the Vazra, leaving her mobility somewhat lacking. Her lone saving grace was that in such cramped quarters it would be a difficult fight two on one, she’d have to make use of that.

“Who are you, and why are you here?” She wouldn’t waste time with pleasantries, not when this woman had pulled her weapon on her. Flipping one dagger around so the weapon was inverted she held it a bit higher, prepared to deflect any incoming blows, while the other remained securely gripped in her left hand, ready to strike. “Speak quickly, I don’t have time for petty criminals.”

“I could ask the same of you,” Asta spat, reacting quickly as she raised her blade again, “You were following me, not the other way around. Who are you?” She asked, taking up an offensive stance. This girl spoke like some haughty snob who would grace any who received mercy. The Ydran sneered, noting her opponent’s scaled flesh and the protrusions from her forehead. With a snarl, Asta moved her blade again, aiming really to just push the opposing girl away and recover distance without retreating.

“My business is none of yours, I’m free to enter any city I like and leave much the same. You answer first.”

“Very well, my name is Nymira Rumia, daughter of Hákon Rumia and heir to the Rumia clan. Though I have to wonder why I need to sully myself by sharing my name with a common criminal,” Nymira repeated, narrowing her eyes as she slowly began to move towards the woman, “I won’t ask again, who are you? Answer me or I’ll force you to speak, it matters not to me.”

“My, what in introduction,” Asta retorted, sighing with exasperation. “I have absolutely no cause for my own introduction, I didn’t follow you down a dark alley to assault you, did it? Assuming I’m a criminal because I prefer not to walk through crowds of gawking citizens who, by the way, tend to have a distaste for my people? How noble of an heiress.”

Myria slipped between Asta’s feet, staring up at the Dimuran with bared teeth. The Ydran hissed and the animal took a couple of steps back, so as to not interfere, “But if you must know, my name is Asta. I’m a huntress and I haven’t been here long. In fact, I was on my way out - I’m looking for new work as my previous line wasn’t so… fruitful. Nor was it particularly fulfilling. Does this satisfying Her Highness?” She asked, clearly aiming more for sarcasm than cordiality.

Nymira’s teeth ground together slightly at the Ydran’s impudent behavior. She knew she had no hold here, her nobility meant nothing to these people and yet it wouldn’t kill the woman to act somewhat civil. “Accusing me of assaulting you? I simply had my weapons out, you could have approached me unarmed and we would have been on far better terms. Don’t try to play yourself the victim here.”

Asta, she couldn’t say she had ever heard that name. She would remember it now though, and particularly the sarcastic remarks the Ydran was so deadset on making. “Forgive me if I don’t appreciate your vague answers. A cloaked woman brandishing a weapon slinking through town, does that strike you as odd?” Nymira posed the question as she continued to inch forward, her eyes shifting down briefly to hold Myria in her gaze. “I have questions for you, Asta. I have no desire to waste my time fighting you, lower your weapon and let us speak civilly.”

“You were following me with a pair of blades drawn. I’ll not be so quick to forget that. I owe you no answers and the ones I’ve given you are far more than enough for you to know that attacking and pursuing me are tasks better left to more skilled professionals.” She set her expression more sternly, not budging from her point as the Dimuran inched forward again. “What strikes me as odd is that I have, standing before me, a self-proclaimed heiress who follows characters deemed shady by Her Holiness wherever she pleases. I was raised to never lower my weapon before my opponent does and, considering you were the pursuer, I would say that gives me more than enough right not to trust you by letting my guard down.”

“Forgive me if I do not chase hooded individuals blindly. I’ve a companion that would fit the bill, but he’s too busy to play village idiot for you right now.” If the quip about skill was meant to bait her into attacking then Asta was a fool, she wasn’t a child whose emotions were so easily stirred. Smiling when Asta called her out on trust the Dimuran let out a sigh, standing upright and shrugging her shoulders. “I don’t know what your idea of a princess is, but I am not some helpless flower or naive woman. I know sometimes you must sully your hands to accomplish things, and if that involves dealing with a haughty Ydran…” Nymira took brief pause, raising her right arm in a swift arc with her dagger slicing through the air, aiming for Asta’s side, “Then so be it!” She had to find Amune, she hadn’t time to chatter with this woman. She’d deal with her, learn what she could, and move on.

Asta snarled, pivoting to allow the small blade to slice naught but air at her side. She took a large step away from the small Dimuran and slashed her falcata from the right with a flick of her wrist. “Chasing a hooded individual is what qualifies you as the idiot!” The woman exclaimed, eyes locked on her adversary.

Nymira’s eyes watched Asta’s arm for any slight movement, concerned mostly with the weapon the Ydran had. As soon as she saw the limb begin to move she raised her second dagger and swiped her left leg back, catching the falcata with the flat of her blade and preventing it from reaching her. “And fighting me makes you an even bigger fool.” Pushing both blades up she slipped beneath them, turning her body with her arm outstretched in an attempt to drive one blade into Asta’s lower back.

Asta grunted as her blade was stopped. This girl was fast, but that was to be expected considering the way she armed herself. The Ydran felt her blade give way as the heiress moved to slip inside of her guard and she moved with the same flow, spinning with the Dimura to evade her advance. As the two were locked in a moment of stalemate, Myria leapt into the fray, aiming to latch onto one of the girl’s legs.

Again Nymira’s blade only found air, and she had to admit she’d not expected the Ydran to be able to dodge that. So the woman wasn’t some common street thug then, it appeared as though she knew how to handle herself. Poised to take another swipe at Asta the Dimuran instead had to back off as Myria came after her, jumping to the side to avoid snapping jaws. To get a bit more distance between them Nymira jumped and kicked off the wall, spinning and perhaps to Asta’s surprise threw a small ball of fire at her feet, trying to ward off the animal with her with the flame. “I don’t appreciate having my time wasted, Asta. Stop this foolishness and answer my questions, I don’t have much patience for this right now.”

The Ydran took a step back as fire exploded at her feet. Fancy tricks and flowery names, this girl was still demanding information that the woman could not provide even if she had been given a question. “And you’ve yet to ask a single question, now who’s wasting whose time?” She retorted, “I don’t know what you think I’m guilty of, but I can guarantee you that if you don’t put your weapons down, I’m not going to be any help at all.”

“Forgive me if I don’t strike up conversation with a woman who swung her blade at me. And I think I’ll hold my weapons for now, I can’t say I exactly trust you,” Nymira shot back, frowning as she adjusted her stance, daggers crossed in a defensive style. On her leg she could feel warmth trickling down and into her shoe, a sign her wounds from before had reopened. Not unsurprising given her movements, it would make dodging in a battle rather uncomfortable. “I’m seeking out an Ydran child, she was taken by slavers. Answer me this much: Are you or are you not associated with them?”

“Forgive me for making an attempt to scare off somebody who had been in pursuit of me for no clear reason, nor had they made themselves known until they were already found out,” She retorted, taking a moment to catch her breath as the exchange of blows lulled again. The woman furrowed her brow, “Stealing a child? By the Saints, you think I’m a kidnapper?” She asked, absolutely astounded by the question, “Of course I’m not. My people quite often work alone or only with our own kind… What would I be doing if I was selling my own kind into slavery? Not the brightest of dragon-children, are you, Princess?” Asta asked venomously, not dropping her guard. She had to wonder briefly when she became such a cynical ass, though the thought quickly fled her mind.

“I know little of your people, and it’s not as though you told me anything before. As I said, a woman like yourself hardly paints the best picture,” Nymira quipped, sighing as she lowered her daggers, “I can see that speaking with you is a waste of time. If you know nothing then I’ve no quarrel with you.” Ignoring the name-calling again the Dimuran sheathed her blades in her belt, swiping her hand through the air to extinguish the small flames still burning in the corridor. She’d dawdled long enough here, she had to get back to work and find Amune. “Tell me, Asta… What is it you do then?” Nymira asked, frowning as she looked over the woman for an appraisal, “I sincerely doubt you run a stall here. Care to tell me?”

“No stall, no, I don’t live here. I’ve been working odd jobs since I left home several years ago. I hunt for skins and sell them, from time to time. Sometimes I work as a guide between towns, helping people get where they need to go with a little bit of protection and direction. I’ve spent some time in an arena, which is probably where I made my most steady, though hardest earned, money,” She answered truthfully, sheathing her blade after Nymira had put her own away. “Otherwise, I was just thinking of returning home.”

She paused for only a brief moment, running through what Nymira had said again, “Did you say an Ydran child was taken by slavers?” The woman rolled her shoulders slightly, shaking her head, “Is there anything I can do to help? It’s the least I can do, I suppose, after what happened here. Even if it’s not my fault,” Asta pointed out before finally adding, “Or anybody’s fault, for that matter. A simple miscommunication.”

A traveler then, and one willing to do whatever work came her way. Fighting in the arena would explain Asta’s combat ability and hunting would explain why she carried her weapon, and admittedly Nymira felt a bit daft for being so rash. “I see… Forgive me for being so quick to judge, it was my mistake,” the Dimuran said, placing her right hand over her left breast and taking a bow. Asta hadn’t done herself any favors until the explanation just now, and with that out of the way perhaps she could get back to the task at hand. Gritting her teeth as she began walking again, the wound on her leg throbbing dully, she paused when Asta made a surprising offer.

The woman nodded, “I understand. I wouldn’t trust me at a glance either, Miss Nymira.” As she was not a Dimuran, Asta did not feel inclined to return the bow, but rather acknowledged the other girl’s apology with sufficient forgiveness.

“You wish to help us? Why, you’ve no reason to do so…” She hadn’t met too many upstanding folks since arriving in the kingdom, having someone so selflessly offer assistance was highly unusual. She had no reason to doubt the woman and yet no reason to trust her either, she was an unknown and one which could end poorly if not careful.

The Ydra looked at Nymira skeptically, cocking an eyebrow in curiosity. “Would you not do the same were it a Dimuran child whom you have never met, abducted by a group of slavers who target children? It’s my duty to offer my services if they would be helpful in a situation such as this, I’m sure you would be in exactly the same boat. Besides, I would ask you as well - what reason have you for helping an Ydran child who has been taken by evil men?”

“That child is a companion of mine, and we’re to rescue her. And even were she not I cannot sit idly by as a child is stolen away. Those who would take and harm children are cowards and deserve punishment. If you wish to help then fine, I won’t stop you. I’ll pay you for your services when all's said and done.” Stepping past Asta to move out to the road again Nymira frowned when spotting Geoffrey at the end of the alleyway, sighing inwardly before approaching him. “Why, pray tell, are you here? You’re supposed to be looking for Amune, not chasing me,” she chastised, shaking her head before waving at him to move, “Forget it. Put that arrow away and move, we’ve got work to do still.”

-----

Now then, the woman had said down this alley… Right? Or was it the next one? How had he managed to screw up her directions so quickly? It didn’t matter much in the end he supposed, both appeared to go to the same street. Glancing back for the others he was a bit concerned when he didn’t spot anyone here, waiting at the mouth of the alley until Cecil and Zander finally showed up. Still no Nymira but she would fare fine on her own for now, there was too much a sense of urgency to wait for her to catch back up as well. With the others now in tow he hurried down the alley and onto a branching road, taking inventory briefly as he tried to get a sense of where to head next. “There’s no helping it, we’re going to have to ask around again,” Ethan muttered, sighing as he rubbed the side of his head, “It’s going to take so long though, but we don’t have any other choice. Unless either of you two have any ideas? Because going to be honest… I’m fresh out of them.”

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

Viral had a point with that, there had to be some reason this village in particular was taken above the others. The one they had come from wasn't terribly far off, it could just as easily have been that one. Was it purely chance? Yumi didn't know and nor did anyone else and the implication that there was something more going on here made it rather uneasy. No matter how she tried too she was unable to pick up any trace of the inhabitants, it was as though they had never existed to begin with. "If it's here though... Where is it? You'd think we could see it by now..." Yumi muttered, frowning as she looked further along, off towards the trees. Nothing, while she hadn't a clue exactly what it was they were looking after she was certain there were no portals to another dimension here, or if there was it was tiny, much too small to steal a village. "I can take a look from the air if you want, maybe I'll spot something a little further away?" Least she could do, at this point it was all their trying to just find the damn thing. Slowly rising up into the air Yumi put her head on a swivel, casting glances in every direction to try and find anything that looked remotely out of place. Even from up high however nothing stood out, not a single thing seemed to be amiss.

"Y-Yeah... But uh... I mean we can do it... Right? It's not like this is our f-first fight..." It was their first time dealing with some rift, portal, whatever the heck this thing was supposed to be. Haku wouldn't say it aloud but he was terribly grateful he wasn't one of the ones having to cross over, he'd probably soil himself from being scared so silly. Kill the monsters, close the portal, save anyone stuck on the others side, T'charrl was right when he said there was a lot that needed to get done. Haku still didn't know how they would accomplish even one of those goals let alone all of them. Rubbing his hands together nervously he saw how everyone was beginning to split up to look around, Yumi taking to the sky herself to get a different vantage. All he could do was stick by T'charrl and look around, he was much too strung up to wander away. Biting his lip as the search went on Haku sighed and glanced back the way they had come, wondering if perhaps the rift might be in the other direction instead. Could they have waited at the village? Considering suggesting as much he turned back to speak to T'charrl, stopping himself and looking back again. He had just seen a glimmer hadn't he, or was he seeing things? Looking back again he furrowed his brow in concentration, his eyes widening when he did indeed see a shimmer in the air behind them, some several meters away. Uncertain what it was he gasped as the glimmer began to expand, reaching back and tugging on T'charrl's arm uneasily. "T-Tcharrl?!"

A lot happened in the span of just a few seconds. The glimmer which Haku had seen had spread in mid-air, going from a tiny spark to a massive glow, encompassing several meters in every direction. As the light spread a sound similar to the tearing of fabric broke the silence, and once the light had reached its full sized a low yet loud growl came from the tear. What seemed to be shimmering air took form as a black void took its place, replaced then by what could only compared to a window into another world. Where the area around it was green and lush the world through the portal was almost barren, the ground an unusual purple and gray, dry and cracked like the harshest of deserts. The sky on the other side was tinged red as well, and a notably dry heat seeped through the rift into their world. Another low growl was emitted and then seemingly out of nowhere one of the creatures crawled through, then another, then a third. It seemed the beasts had been waiting for the rift to open as fairly soon over a dozen had emerged, fangs barred and eyes trained firmly on those before them.

So that was it then? A rift that could be opened and closed on command, how very intriguing. What manner of power did they use in order to do this? Vegeta wanted so badly to know but he doubted any of these beasts would oblige him with an explanation even if they were capable of doing so. At least their search had ended, now for them to get to work. "Seems like we've been graciously handed our target, isn't that considerate?" Now they had to make a path for Viral and the others to get through, and right now the only thing keeping that from happening were the beasts gathered at the foot of the rift. Starting to approach it he watched as the creatures howled and snarled at him, lowering themselves onto their haunches threateningly. Simple beasts, nothing more, even if they were of a hive mind. With a howl from one of the pack four of them launched themselves into the air and at Vegeta, claw and fang barred with intent of tearing him apart. All four came down on his location with an audible thud and yet they only found dirt in his place, snarling and looking around in confusion until one of them was sent flying as Vegeta reappeared, flipping himself over and driving his knee deep into one of the creature's necks, slamming it into the ground with a choked snarl.

"Finally! Something to do!" Eris shouted enthusiastically, taking off immediately to get into the fray. Going after the beast that Vegeta had kicked away she threw herself at it as it tried to get up, rolling along the ground with it as she tackled it back down. With jaws snapping at her she grinned and punched it hard in the side of its head, doing so several times and leaving it in a daze. Pushing it away with her legs she jumped up once again and came down on its neck, driving both feet down on its throat and crushing it. Maybe they couldn't kill them in this world but she'd make damn sure they would feel pain, that much she could do. Preparing to strike it again she frowned when the beast vanished beneath her feet, turning to smoke and watching as said smoke traveled back to the portal, seeming to vanish into it without a trace.

Yumi made it a point to quickly get into the fight as well by flying down after one of the beasts, trying to take a little pressure off of Vegeta. Throwing a Ki blast just to distract it she landed on its flank and spun around with a kick, lifting it up off its feet and running beneath it, grabbing one of its legs and throwing it back down towards the ground. Orion was below her now and with a roar on his part he threw a powerful fist skyward, the beast's body folding slightly at the point of impact before it was sent back up towards her, where she raised a leg and kicked it back down yet again, sending it smashing into the ground below. Dropping out of the air she bounced lithely on her feet as it struggled to stand, spinning on her heel to avoid it as it charged her with jaws snapping furiously. Letting it double back after her again she reached out and placed her hands on its head this time, flipping up onto its back and driving her heel down into the back of its head, knocking it over and its face slamming into the dirt.

"Looks like its time to kick some ass, ready buddy?" Takeshi asked, grinning as he grabbed Shu by the hand and helping his brother onto his back. If the others needed to go through the portal then it was probably best to pull the creatures away from it, and he and Shu would work well as bait, flying around together. "We're gonna go make some friends, hang on!" Dashing over towards the portal itself he smirked as several of the beasts looked up at the two brothers, a few going as far to raise up on their hind legs and swipe at them. Well out of their reach the older boy amassed some Ki in his hand and threw it down at them, causing the creatures to scatter from the blast. Even if it wouldn't hurt them it still did the trick, and now several of them were angry at him and Shu. "We're gonna play tag with these things, hope you're ready!" Lowering himself just enough to nearly be attainable Takeshi waited until they were close before rising up some more, flying himself and Shu away from the portal, dragging some of the creatures with him.

Legend of Zelda: Templar Ascension

The further up they could get like this the better, that seemed obvious. The less floors they needed to cover on foot the less a chance of being spotted by guards, obviously a good thing. There was also the chance that using the hookshots would end catastrophically and someone would see them and, call him crazy, but Caelan couldn't imagine their being able to explain their way out of that one. If this was the route they wanted to take then they had to do it quickly. After fetching the tools from their supplies he prepared his own, taking pause when Link began to question his plan. He wasn't sure if Link was against climbing itself or trying to do four floors worth, or if he thought he meant four at once. He wasn't even sure if these tools could reach four floors on their own, one likely had to land on the balcony above and keep going up from there.

"Well then you start with one floor, I'll go on ahead and keep an eye open for you," Caelan explained, moving beneath the far wall and craning his neck to look up. From here none of the balconies seemed to be guarded, of course he couldn't see inside of the halls where the guards would more likely be posted. Taking aim he fired off his hookshot at the second level balcony, just to test the reach of the tool, and was satisfied to find it reached it easily enough. Giving the line a tug to make sure it was secure he glanced back at Regol and Link with a smirk, pulling himself up and using a nearby pillar as a foothold. Letting the line itself be reeled back in he began scaling the walls with relative ease, pausing at each balcony and listening for any guards moving on the other side. With no issue he managed to make it to the second level and pulled himself over onto it, peeking into the hallway to check for patrols. Lucky break, no one was around on his side. Leaning over the balcony he flashed a thumbs up, deciding to wait where he was before continuing on ahead.

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

"Buddy, would I be asking to fight with you if I didn't think you were good?" Takeshi asked, smirking as he reached over and ruffled Shu's hair, "I wouldn't waste my time if I didn't think so, you know? So yeah, I want to fight with you." Besides even if Vegeta was pretty strong he was just a pain in the ass, he'd probably have to listen to the guy correcting him the whole time. Whatever the guy said would probably be right too given his penchant for being a know it all, but that was the last thing he was wanting to hear during a fight. With their arrival at the village, or where it had been anyway, it was probably a good idea to get some battle plan into place. "Yeah you're good at fighting, I already said that buddy. And you know what? If you don't wanna fly around blasting stuff how about we try something else? Got any ideas?" He was the one always dragging Shu along and making him do what he thought was best so maybe it was time he let his little brother do the thinking. Was he skeptical? Of course he was, he'd never let Shu really think for them before, but this was the kind of thing he should be doing right? Stop babying the kid and let him think for himself. Hopefully right now wasn't a bad time to start with that.

Haku had hoped for some kind of answer from T'charrl on the subject of the village, some idea of what they were seeing. It was a good thing his friend wasn't noticing any spirits he supposed, that meant no one had been killed here right? But then that made the disappearance only creepier, it meant all these people were still alive somewhere. Well... Maybe alive. Rather unsettled he rubbed at his arms as he looked around, goosebumps dotting his skin as he became paranoid about an attack. No one had a clue what happened here and no one knew whether the monsters were even present or not, they were flying completely blind. "I d-don't know... Are they even alive? If they were taken by these things... Oh man..." Haku was finding himself very much wishing he could be back at the ship right now, or even the village, anywhere but here. If he ran away though then he was leaving T'charrl by himself and he'd likely be okay but he'd be a terrible friend for doing something like that. "So uh... Are we saving these people too? Or are we just uh... Closing the rift? I mean we don't even know if they're alive..."

"I noticed... It's like no one was ever here..." Yumi mumbled, frowning as she tried again to pick out even the remotest of traces. Absolutely nothing, the only smells that might show some of the natives were around came from the scouts with them, nowhere else. "A conduit...? So they needed it for something?" Did they need the village itself or the people? They weren't just closing the rift here, they had to try and save whoever had been taken through as well. With the fear of the rift closing on them already weighing heavily on her mind the thought of having to stay longer didn't sit well with her; leaving the people behind because of her own fears wasn't okay, she had to try and help. Heading towards the empty land there was certainly a disconcerting feeling that washed over as they entered the area, stopping at the first empty lot and toeing the dirt with her boot as if to test it. "It's just so strange, thinking that an entire place vanished without a trace..." Had more villages been taken too? They had no way of knowing, the Chieftain himself said villages weren't regularly in contact with one another. This was going to end up being a very, very long day.

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

D: Well then take some time and recuperate, don't force it!

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

"You and Viral killed the bug thing pretty quick too, didn't you? And you're plenty strong buddy, I know you are. Wouldn't be asking to fight with you otherwise, you know?" Crap, now the little guy was going to be thinking he was useless wasn't he? That was Takeshi's own fault and he knew it, treating his brother like he had to rely on him for everything. How else was he supposed to keep Shu from changing though? If his brother didn't fight then he wouldn't risk changing, yet keeping him from battling seemed to cause even more problems. There had to be a way for him to do both here and he'd try finding it, so long as his trying didn't result in Shu going all ape and crazy. Stopping with the rest of the group Takeshi rubbed at the back of his neck again as he tried to find words for his brother, figuring he ought to try and build Shu's confidence a bit before the fight. "Hey, remember when we fought that big thing on Namek? How we flew around together and you blasted it?" he asked with a smile, "How about we try that again? I mean I don't think blasting will kill them, but it's something we can do together, yeah? Or... We can just smack 'em around."

Haku didn't know what to say about the creatures as it was far from his expertise. They had no souls? That sounded... Creepy. If that was true as T'charrl said then it kind of made sense they couldn't kill the things yet it also made him wonder how they even existed in the first place. "So... What? Are they just... Puppets?" Living, breathing puppets with big sharp teeth and claws but puppets nonetheless. Up ahead the scouts called everyone to come to a halt and Haku's nervousness returned as they did so, wondering if they had managed to find the rift so soon. While no one could see from the looks of it he didn't notice the unmistakably empty land before them, much of it discolored like something had recently been on it, smothering the grass. Had there seriously been a village here just before? How did an entire village just up and disappear like that? He'd seen villages vanish before sure but there was always rubble left over, they had never just up and vanished like this. Feeling awfully nervous again he looked around the area as he rubbed his hands together, almost paranoid now they might be attacked. "Uh... You feel anything... Weird?"

"Fair point, I won't underestimate them." Viral wasn't wrong there, plenty of idiots managed to somehow fight purely because you never knew what they were going to do; some people always tried the same thing when fighting however, some people you knew exactly what they would try if 'A' didn't work, or if 'B' didn't work, she'd fought enough to notice some had certain ways of going about things. Maybe it was impossible to apply that to these creatures but it went to show dumber fighters were usually predictable. With the group having stopped at the arrival of the village she kept close to Viral, her ears twitching at every little sound in anticipation. It certainly looked like something had been here until recently, all the patches of dirt among the grass suggested as much. After Viral's warning to the scouts they began to slowly advance on the area and, with luck, were on their way to find the creatures as well. On a whim she took a whiff of the air around them to try and find some kind of trail, frowning when there was nothing whatsoever from the village. So if there really was a village here then there wasn't a single trace of it left, meaning it had either been wiped out entirely or, more eerily, no longer existed on the world. A small part of Yumi had hoped the rift wasn't a real thing but now she wasn't so sure.

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

"Who knows, perhaps she didn't think of it. No use in questioning it now, won't change our situation," Nymira pointed out, "At least we know the general direction, now it's simply a matter of tracing his steps." If the old woman had seen the man then someone else was bound to have as well, providing them with a trail to follow. Cecil's suggestion for an explanation didn't do much to help with Zander's question but as she'd said there was little use in pondering that now. Ethan had once again begun to move off on his own and with a resigned sigh the Dimuran followed behind him, though perhaps in better judgment letting the directionally challenged one lead was a mistake. How was she to have known she would be beset with so many issues on her travels? Nymira hadn't anticipated the easiest of travels, not after how it had started, but this was beginning to become tedious. These men would be made to pay two fold for their transgressions then: once for taking Amuné and again for delaying her mission. It was as though every place she traveled to there were morons determined to get in her way. Surprised when Geoffrey offered over her daggers she nodded in silent thanks, slipping them into her belt for safe keeping.

No warehouses meant Ethan didn't have a clue where to look, given his very limited experience with criminals. They had to have some kind of place they were working out of, no way could they just be in the middle of some street stashing away kidnapped children. "We'll find her still, just going to be a little tougher, that's all." Approaching the alleyway mentioned by the woman they spotted a man at the entrance on the ground, picking up his merchandise from the ground. A quick inquiry told them a large man sporting a beard and carrying a girl had come rushing through, knocking his stall over as he tried to get down the alleyway. Thanking the man Ethan continued on ahead, coming out onto a now emptier street with only a handful of shops lining its edges. So where to from here? Both ways didn't seem to hold any obvious clues and he couldn't see anyone that particularly stood out. Approaching a pair of men he tried to question them if they had seen anything, moving onto one of the stall owners when that line came up empty.

"We can't be asking every single person, it will take far too long. There must be another way to do this..." Nymira muttered, watching Ethan go about asking anyone who would speak with him. The man wasn't being terribly careful if he'd knocked over that stall so there should be more signs of his flight if they only looked. Leaving Ethan to his questionnaire she wandered a bit from the group, looking for anything that seemed recently disturbed: with the street far less crowded it wasn't too difficult to get a look at their surroundings and yet nothing stood out, no signs that anyone had come bursting through in a hurry. A bit disconcerted she began to double back when something caught her attention, movement out of the corner of her eye. Glancing back she caught sight of a cloaked figure disappearing into an alleyway, having the distinct feeling they had just been watching her. Chalk it up to paranoia perhaps but she swore they had been staring at her, did they know something? Unwilling to let a potential lead go she hurried in the direction of the figure, entering the alleyway and pulling free her daggers. No one in sight, yet she was certain she had seen someone. Where could they have gone?

"I see, thank you sir!" Finally, something that sounded like a lead. After asking a handful of people there was a picture at last of a large man running down the road, cradling something in his arms. No one had gotten a clear look at what he was holding but it fit the bill, that had to be the man they were after. Relieved Ethan clasped his hands together and turned back to the group, his grin wavering slightly when he noticed a particularly short member of their ensemble missing. "Er... Where did Nymira go?" he asked as he glanced around, unable to spot the Dimuran anywhere. Scratching at his head he let out a long sigh before groaning, not sure now if they should look for Nymira or keep searching for Amuné; Amuné was not a trained fighter and she was only a child, she needed someone to look after her. While he hated to think Nymira may have found herself in some trouble as well Ethan was sure she'd just chased her own lead, she could handle her own business for the moment. That being said... "We really shouldn't split up, but we can't make Amuné wait either... I'm going ahead, you guys can wait around for Nymira or come with me." Right call or not he wasn't going to stand around and wait, and so he turned and began his way down the street again, head on a swivel as he looked for more clues.