Violet found herself being suddenly yanked away; her issues with personal space conflicted with shock at what the woman was trying to do, dragging her along even has her reflection whizzed out of control and indiscriminately slashed around. It was hard to be mad at her strongly apologetic tone as she explained what she was doing. It didn't do much to help since he followed straight after her regardless.

"I don't think friend means what you think it means," she said, taking a step back from him. "Why the hell are you following me?" Her attention was drawn by others who intruded on the scene, perhaps more specifically the enormous lava-flowing structure that seemed to have gotten much closer than before. She'd calmed down a little and parts of her reflections had retracted, but it wasn't doing a lot to improve the situation. A sword soared in out of nowhere, aimed straight for the parrot. Violet stumbled back on instinct, noticing that a younger girl had thrown it for some unexplainable reason.

Everyone here is crazy.

"Sorry, but we don't take those kinds of chances here," David shook his head. "When you see something that large and menacing coming toward you, the general reaction is not to wait and see if it's friendly. But if you say that he is, then it might be just what we need to make it through." He turned his head toward Violet and Patraeko. "...but we do have some internal problems that still need to be resolved."

"Hey. Hey, shithead."

A certain hulking, gas mask-clad individual had stepped out of the building beyond which Patraeko Payemyndii was currently harassing some poor 'lil pretty lady with demons sticking out her back or some shit. Real cruel shit, y'know? It was absolutely sickening, really. Bullies. Just bullies, nothin' better than that. Threnodist really hated bullies, you know? Really hated the sorta folks who had to put down others 'cause they had some dumb fuckin' inferiority complex or some shit. Why, it brought tears to the eye to simply contemplate such asinine individuals-- Threnodist really had no patience for them.

And yes, one supposed one could bring up the point that an individual who had something of a nasty practice of habitually massacring immeasurable lives and dooming their souls to an eternity of emptiness and abject nothingness probably didn't have a whole lot of room to criticise a bully, but hey, fuck you. Threnodist wasn't here for you to fuckin' judge her. Prick.

"I don't like cocky motherfuckers," she added as she approached the dipshit with the dumb ass parrot or whatever, fixing him in particular with a hard gla... wait, fuck, it was kinda pointless to try 'n look scary as shit with a gas mask in the way. Torn between relief and irritation, Threnodist dispensed of the callous glare and permitted the amusement and anticipation that was brimming within her crawl up to the surface and manifest in the form of a joyous grin carving across her hard-edged mien. "They think they're worth shit, when really, they're no different from the rest of life-- every bit as putrid and disgusting."

Threnodist came to a stop a few paces from the parroty cunt, and tossed a cursory nod his way. "Just look at ya," she continued, like an adult admonishing a toddler. "'Oh look at me, guys, I have an inexplicably sentient parrot! I claim to be somehow 'very thin but very strong', which makes no fucking sense! I have a cybernetic leg that 'lets me jump amazing heights', because obviously a single leg is the only thing involved in jumping! I got thrown into a generator as a means of execution, presumably because my 'executioners' were fucking brain-damaged, and as a result somehow lost an arm and a leg-- and then I built myself new limbs, because I'm such a genius! Everybody's afraid of me! Look how insane I am, guys, pay attention to me!'"

She chuckled, and added, "I've taken shits scarier than you."

"Atlanthal, hmm? Interesting name." Drannec hopped off of Gris, to give her a bit of a break. Happy for the rest, Gris shifted into a blue jay and stood on Drannec's shoulder.

"This here's Gris, my reflection. She doesn't look strong, but she's several times stronger than any animal I've seen. If she's shifted as an eagle, she can carry me around, for goodness sakes!"

Which is always a bother. You're too heavy to carry easily.

Quiet, Gris. It was a compliment.

The two of them kept walking down the path, Michael still silent, for now. It was clear he was still shaken up a bit by the Aether.

"So you're new here, right? Well, it isn't such a terrible place, if you stick with others. But some of the residents... well, let's just say that you should be able to fight yourself-- or at least run quickly-- because some of them could kill you faster than Atlanthal there could rescue you. Of course, I'm sure you already figured that." He paused. "Your friend there-- Luna, right? She's scary enough as is, and I've never seen her before!" Drannec realized he was rambling quite a bit, and caught himself.

"Anyway. Be careful, is all I'm saying. And here we are." The two of them had reached their destination, to see David and Luna talking.

Michael smiled in response to the compliment that the man on the elk--or rather, shapeshifting Guardian--gave him. "Well...I hope I don't have to explain why I chose that name, though," he laughed, although he really did hope that. "Although...I suppose your Guardian is also pretty amazing...shapeshifting is a very convenient ability, isn't it? It's like you can practically do anything."

The two were starting to near a group of people, the leader of which was talking with Luna. After the man with the shapeshifting Guardian finished saying something about Luna being scary, Michael almost laughed, but he quickly silenced himself, for fear she'd hear him. "It's sound advice, sir. I'll remember to be careful," he nodded, taking his claymore back. Oh dear, he probably wouldn't have time to get a scabbard crafted after all.

But as they got closer to the group, Michael quickly realized they were talking about him and Atlanthal. A little bit worried by this, he cleared his throat and stepped forward. "Ah, yes, um. I am the master of the magma titan whom you all...seem to have been a little bit unsettled by," he declared, trying to keep his voice calm. Public speaking...ugh.

"Well, I believe I heard something about an expedition into a ravine? If that's the case, I might not be qualified to go into such a dangerous place right away, but I would like to accompany you." And with these words finished, Michael waited for a response.

As he waited for the leader to say something, he noticed the two girls that he had tried to chase after earlier. It seemed they were starting to calm down...not very much, though. While Michael wanted to go over to them and ask what had happened, he figured it was probably best not to do so...the woman standing near them, who was speaking rather harshly to some kind of cyborg abomination, was proof enough that whatever went on with those girls was too intense for him to approach them now.

Jeremy moves away from the flying sword at the same speed Patraeko does. Leaving shadows in his path, it seems the reflection also covers the bird. He flies over to Patraeko and sits on his shoulder, causing the shadows which were dripping up from his shoulders to swerve around his body.

Ignoring what the girls were saying he heard the speech of someone who obviously had some speech impediment or something, after hearing the insults he slowly turned around. Slight pieces of anger flowed through his body, the balls of shadow orbiting him reacted by becoming slightly spiked as they were being pulled apart in all directions.

"I don't recall claiming any of that. You obviously do not understand the systems of my substitute limbs. And as for the fuckers who threw me into a generator, they were thugs. Gangmembers. Of course they are retarded." Patraeko spoke in a normal tone, it was rare to hear him speak normally, but he normally does when someone presses the wrong buttons.

"That girl. That girl. Meanie. Swords. Attack me!" Jeremy called out facing Luna while flapping his wings.

That was when Patraeko lost his temper, yeah people could insult him or attack him. He just finds it fun most of the time. But attacking Jeremy is asking for shit to hit the fan. As he faced the little girl, he said nothing but walked up to her. The shadow balls simply broke up and molded together and circled closely around his body, covering most of his body.

"What are you doing attacking Jeremy!?" Patraeko spoke through gritted teeth, grabbing his rifle. He also drew his sword and held the rifle in one and and the sword in another. Firing the rifle would make no difference, the recoil would be cancelled out by his arm.

Patraeko stopped when he was so close to Luna that he could elbow her in the head without moving any closer. He didn't point his weapons he just stood and waited for an excuse. The guy is simple enough to accept any excuse anyway.

Suddenly, the crazy cyborg was standing right in front of Luna, demanding something about attacking some person called Jeremy. Though Michael wasn't sure who this Jeremy person was, he was aware that he was holding a gun and a sword, as though he was going to attack Luna at any moment. And regardless of whoever she attacked, alarm bells were going off in his mind. "Atlanthal! Come here, now!" he shouted, as if to open air.

The magma titan did not disappoint, and the familiar rumble of it moving resounded through the air. Meanwhile, Michael, gripping the claymore with both hands, rushed between the cyborg and the girl who had given him the sword. Shoving the cyborg backwards with his shoulder, and pushing Luna away with his free hand, he raised the claymore in the best defensive posture he could manage at his level of skill and strength. The worst thing he hoped Luna would do to him after this was poke him (as usual), but he was more frightened of what that monstrosity of metal and flesh would try.

"Stop right there!" he commanded, voice unusually steady despite the sweat dripping down the back of his neck. "I don't know what my friend may have done, and I apologize for it. But you are acting equally out of order! Please, put down your weapons, and talk this out!"

But even someone like Michael was prepared to go to more violent measures in this sort of circumstance. For Atlanthal's hands were both upon its lava whips, and it was raising them in the air, poised to swing. And this time, should this crazed more-machine-than-man try and attack Luna, the colossal guardian already had Michael's approval to smite him.

The mere touch of the shadows enveloping Patraeko brings a burning sensation to Michael. The anger of Patraeko causing the shadows to burn through Michael's clothes and his skin upon touch.

"No need to act all hostile. Newbie. But if your only friend had a sword thrown at him, you would react in the same way. Like you are now. You are acting more out of order than you should do, it's obvious by the sweat and the poor usage of your blade." Patraeko spoke in a deep, evil-like voice. The anger within him reached a steady level, stalling him and talking to him about random stuff was the best thing to do back on earth. It calmed him and allowed him to return to his happy, hyperactive state.

"That guardian of yours... I like it. I have no quarrel with you, but if you are wishing for a fight then you should make it a fair sword fight. After all, you pulled the sword out at me, not your guardian." He smiled, bearing his teeth which were covered in blood. He was gritting his teeth so much that his gums began bleeding, his insanity really has removed the natural 'Limiter' from his brain.

Even though Patraeko was claiming his peaceful nature towards the newbie, the shadows showed differently. Above his head, a new ball of shadow began falling. It did not have the liquid properties of the rest of the shadows, instead it was so dense that it became a solid. The shadows surrounding his body even began to fade and thin as they were transferred to the ball which was already soo tightly packed that it could explode with great energy at the slightest touch.

Somehow the bird demon dodged the harpoon. That didn't even make any sense - unless it was being controlled by another demon. She scanned around - but she didn't even have to do much. In the next second, a stupid looking cyborg materialized beside her, an obvious villain. And perhaps - could demons rape? If so, then it could even be the rapist.

"Shut up." Luna said, sneering. She brandished her cavalry sword and held it in an offensive thrusting stance, eyeing the strange man threateningly. She saw the cybernetic shit - and as far as she knew, back in whatever year it was, there still wasn't the technology for all of that. A cyborg? Didn't exist in the current time. Technology simply didn't go that far yet. So... the obvious conclusion? It was a talking demon. It had to be a talking demon. "Another demon, huh?" Luna pointed her sword at the obvious cybernetic implantations, shrugging her shoulders at David. "It's gotta be a cybernetic demon of some sort. Maybe a hybrid. Should kill it before it threatens the weaker ones, David."

A familiar voice struck the air.

"Stop right there!" Mike. "I don't know what my friend may have done, and I apologize for it. But you are acting equally out of order! Please, put down your weapons, and talk this out!"

Then the demon seemed to turn against Mike. This was ridiculous, asking him to fight without the Guardian? Idiot.

"Heh." Luna murmured darkly, to Patraeko. "You're probably the rapist, right? There're rumors 'bout. Didn't think it was a demon, though." A scowl. She couldnt let Mike be the main target - she couldn't lose a possible future ally so quickly. "Don't attack the weak one. Fight the strong one, like me, instead. Coward. Rapist. Scum. Villain. I'll dispense justice on you, for your helpless victims!"

To face the off against the cyborg demon, she formed a weight-modified-greatsword, wielding it easily in her right hand, while her dominant held the curved cavalry sword. Power and speed, a nice combination. She opened her wings again, smiling wickedly, and lunged for the cybernetic demon named Patraeko, first using her greatsword to smash out at the rifle, and then her cavalry sword to knock his sword from his hand. This manuever sent her behind the demon, allowing her to quickly spin on her heel and lunge again - this time throwing her greatsword at the demon, before swerving around and stabbing out from the front, making it a two-sided attack.

Beside her, the man-looking-for-his-daughter then backed her up, using his reflection - a giant laser cannon - to send honed-blasts of lasers at the demon, yelling something about his daughter in the process. The cannon itself had a modifier on it that it only attacked those the owner considered an enemy - in this case, the cybernetic demon.

"The sooner we kill this demon, the sooner we can get to the ravine!" The man yelled. "C'mon, everyone! Help the fuck out!"

"Man, you talk a whole lotta shit," Threnodist mused to the parroty cunt. "You know, I take offence to that. I used to be a gangster myself, back in the day. I like to think I'm not retarded-- after all, I'm not the one who thinks you can somehow wield some impressive degree of physical strength whilst still being skinny as a goddamn anaemic stick. I mean, that's some A-level retardation right there, kid. Or, uh, what'd you call that idiot with the big-ass guardian? Newbie. There's a nice condescending word to use. And it sure as hell fits."

The mass murderer rolled her head around her neck a bit, cracked her knuckles-- showy as shit, y'know? Ya had to be real theatrical-like about it. Give it some flavour. Didn't do no good to just get shit done with no class 'n no style. And ya had to give the fuckers a little bit of their own medicine-- shit, that was why Threnodist was talkin' so much shit here. Man, she hated fuckin' shit-talkers. Never shut the fuck up about how much ass they kicked, and then whoop-de-fuckin'-doo, didn't take nothin' short of a flick of her fingers to paint the walls behind 'em with their brains. Real disappointin' shit. But a shit-talker deserves shit-talkin', am I right, gang?

But more importantly, a shit-talker deserved an ass-whoopin'. And Threnodist was just handin' out them motherfuckers.

"You think you're scary?" she continued gleefully (man, this shit-talkin' shit could be a bit fun now that she gave it a go). "Kid, you ain't shit. I've been in the game longer than you've been alive-- both in this world and in the other. Killed more motherfuckers than your 'so insane l0l' brain could conceive. You wanna try 'n play a game of who's the scarier psychopath? I'll feed you your goddamn intestines, ya insignificant little--"

Threnodist was halfway through layin' down the mother of all verbal smackdowns on the parroty cunt when all of a sudden some daft little bint with a couple big ass swords decided to have a go at him, completely shitting all over Threnodist's speech. "HEY, WHAT THE SHIT, MAN," the mass murderer bellowed furiously, immensely distraught at having been so unceremoniously interrupted. "I WAS DOIN' SOME SHIT HERE." Man, y'know what? The fuck with the shit-talkin'. The time had come for ass-whoopin'. Bloodlust flitting across her masked features, Threnodist launched herself at the parroty cunt, becoming a blur as she hurtled toward him, snatched him up in one of her hands, and then slammed him into the ground so hard the ground beneath them cracked and fragmented from the force of it, because godmodding is okay when the other person did it first.

Patraeko reacted to the Luna's attacks by using his sword to block some of the attacks, the shadows defended him against other attacks by forming solid circles around the areas that were aimed at. However, the shadows were destroyed with every hit.

"Damn, you know what your doing don't you." Patraeko spoke through a smirk as he continues fighting in the defensive. "What's this stuff about being a demon? I'm a seeker, like you. Cut me some slack will ya?"

Suddenly, he was grabbed by someone and smashed into the ground. The shock of it caused his eye to shut down, allowing his vision to return to color. The shock of finally seeing everything in color rather than infra-red brought confusion through his whole body. He spat out a tooth and slowly pulled himself up, struggling through the pain. He grew dizzy of seeing the world in a way he never has before since he was a child. Soon, he fell to the floor again and puked.

"What is this?"

((I would like to state my sincere apologies for what i have done to mess shit up. I have now changed Patraeko and toned him down. You can take a look at his profile again if you want.
And the Godmodding, I am extremely sorry for that. I still haven't grasped the concept of what godmodding is, and I did not mean to post stuff like that. After talking to AtlasAtrium, I have learnt what not to do and sorted a bit out.
I can see why you are raging at such a badass level Comrade.))

"Guess my work here's done," Threnodist decided with a shrug, before turning and walking away from the lot of 'em. "Well, for now, anyway." After all, ya never knew when you'd need a crazy fuckwad in a gas mask to teach a motherfucker a lesson about proper RPin' 'n whatnot.

Or maybe you do know. I dunno man. Shit's fucked.

((Good on ye lad.))

"A newbie..." Michael sighed and lowered the sword, rubbing his arm and wondering what the pain was...he couldn't see any serious injury at all, save for a slight discoloration. It seemed to have damaged his clothes a bit...disappointing. But there was no point in crying; his clothes were way too extravagant and expensive to begin with. "Well, I guess that does summarize me well enough." He watched the person with the gas mask slam the cyborg into the ground and walk away. "Um...okay, no need to worry anymore, I suppose?"

Looking up, he called to the magma titan, "Atlanthal, the problem has been taken care of. Ease off a bit, but just be prepared in case he tries anything." Then he walked back to Luna and smiled, a relieved look on his face. "Well, sorry for jumping in there without knowing what I was doing. I probably caused you to worry more, didn't I?"

Just as the cyborg had claimed he had attacked Luna for attacking his only friend, Michael also had jumped in to defend one of his only two allies--Atlanthal couldn't really be called his friend yet. Seems he was still being a bit too reckless about it, though...clenching his hand a little, he reminded himself he'd have to get a bit stronger. Let's see, what had the person with the gas mask called him...a "goddamn anemic stick"? That really needed to be corrected.

With the claymore lowered to his side, he changed to a more serious expression as he faced Luna. "So, why did you attack his bird, anyway? It's not like that could have been the rapist. So don't go attacking people on a whim like that again, okay? That might get us into a bit more trouble next time."

After more or less disarming the demon, Luna saw a trash talking gask masked... seeker rush in and more or less end the fight in one blow, simply grabbing and smashing the demon into the ground. Luna felt a strange sort of kinship with that gask masked seeker - another knight of justice? - but all to soon, they left, before Luna could even discern the gender of the individual. The swordswoman shrugged then, looking down on the fallen, puking demon.

"You're obviously a demon." She said, after gask mask exited just as quickly as they appeared. Luna's face was twisted into one of annoyance - why was the thing claiming to be a seeker? As far as Luna could tell, it wasn't seeking anything. It didn't even look like it had higher brain function - or the ability to rationalize one's thoughts, actions, or emotions. Therefore, a demon. She dispelled her greatsword, but kept her curved cavalry sword out, and she used it to first tap the cybernetic eye, then the arm, and finally, the leg. "In the world I came from, shit like this didn't exist. An' there ain't no tech in the Aether, so you couldn't make it. Furthermore..." She then pointed her weapon at the demon's throat, wondering why she was even bothering. "Ya probably are the rapist I was huntin', too. Any last words before I avenge your victims?"

"Well, sorry for jumping in there without knowing what I was doing." Mike. Before she could deliver the finishing blow, the newbie had returned, walking up to her. Luna acknowledged him with a bit of a nod, slightly disappointed that she didn't get to see the extent of Atlantshit's power. "I probably caused you to worry more, didn't I?"

"Ain't justice to let a new seeker die." Luna murmured quietly, refusing to look at Mike. "That's all."

"So, why did you attack his bird, anyway?" Luna scowled more deeply, but still kept her weapon on the target. Looks like the boy needed some more explaining to happen, huh? "It's not like that could have been the rapist. So don't go attacking people on a whim like that again, okay? That might get us into a bit more trouble next time."

"The bird's a demon." Luna said simply. "An' the robot guy, he's a hybrid. Seeker that merged with a demon for fuck knows why." She gestured at the impossibilities of the hybrid-demon, making sure Mike understood. "Tough to kill. But not unbeatable. Both are enemies of us seekers, Mike, an' don't you forget it."

She turned her gaze back down to the cyborg, looking eager to slice it open. She pressed the point of her weapon down harder.

"So, rapist." She said smugly. "Any last words before you're vanished from the Aether?"

The tap on the eyepiece brings it back to life. It was a normal thing that happened quite frequently, it was still in development before the scientists were killed, so malfunctions are bound to happen. With his infra-red sight regained he looks up to the girl pointing the sword at his throat.

"Man, this will take some explaining. I have no idea how I got these limbs and eye. For all I know it seemed normal to me. My family would constantly set me down and play around with them, sending electrical currents through them and 'Upgrading' them." Patraeko considered rolling over to get up, but that sword is too damn close to get away from.

"I came to the Aether to bring my family back to reality. It is quite insulting to call me a demon, even more insulting to call Jeremy a demon. We both came here as we are now, there was no merging. Be nice if you believed me." The wings and shadows retracted back into Patraeko's body, he was too damaged to keep control of them.

"I have a question though. What's a 'rapist'?" He seemed confused, he really had no idea what some words meant. Being out of the lab has given him new adventures but more confusion. Jeremy flew down and stood next to Patraeko, looking at his eyepiece and nudging it with his head. He was trained to fix the malfunctions in the eyepiece, all it took was a few taps anyway.

Completely unable to understand how Luna knew exactly what was and what wasn't a demon--the bird looked normal enough on the outside to him--Michael sighed and shrugged. "Well, if you say so. It seems a bit arbitrary to me, though."

As the cyborg--whom he still believed was fairly crazy--told his tale, Michael listened with skepticism...and maybe a bit of anger at the boy's "family." Honestly, they didn't sound like they cared very much about him, tampering with his body like that. But if that was the case, wouldn't he feel angry at them? And then, there would be no reason to enter the Aether, right?

Glancing at Luna, Michael shrugged. "Well, I don't know how believable his story is. What do you think? Or you?" He glanced over at Gris' master as well...ugh, and that man still hadn't told Michael his name yet. Did that pass over his head or something?

While he waited for their responses, he couldn't help but feel that they should have started their journey into the ravine quite a while ago.

Patraeko's story was vaguely familiar to Drannec, who remembered it from when he'd first joined this little village. He'd been here a couple months, and the man hadn't been a threat to anyone, really-- as far as he'd seen, he was just a little bent. And, honestly, who wasn't a bit insane in the Aether? It wasn't a place sane people went to.

So you're insane, is that it? No wonder you never listen to me.

Drannec's reason for entering the Aether was... less desperate than most others, so Drannec supposed he was probably one of the less sane ones. Not that it mattered. He wasn't getting anywhere new with his report on the Aether, however, and that was a concern. So, for his interests (and the others', really,) he decided it best to get the expedition underway if he could.

But first to respond to Michael-- oh, wait! He'd forgotten to introduce himself, hadn't he. "Patraeko's a bit odd. But I've heard his story before, and I believe him. Oh, and I'm Drannec." He paused. "And for the good of us all, I say we get this expedition together-- if it's going to happen, that is."

For the good of us all? When'd you learn to preach, Drannec?

Sometime in college, probably. Anyways, that doesn't matter-- what matters is that we get going.

"I thank you Mr. Drannec!" Patraeko speaks in a happy tone as he smiles towards the man. He raises his arm and places his hand on the flat edge of the sword held to his neck. Giving it a little push with means to allow him to get up.

"I would love to join in with the expedition! It seems fun, don't you agree Jeremy?"

Jeremy looks towards Drannec and speaks in a high pitch tone. "Yes. Lets go. Mr Drannec. You Nice. Work with Mr Payemyndii. Please." Jeremy had already made the impression of being the more sane out of the two, he had always helped Patraeko out, mainly with calming him down and stopping the malfunctions of the cybernetic limbs and eye.