

Upon seeing that Eze was too preoccupied to notice the gesture, Madison pulled his hand back, folding it neatly against his chest before letting it fall to his side. It seemed that the being was happy, at least, draining the bucket as if it contained the nectar of the gods. And, as far as the researcher was concerned, a happy stranger was a peaceful stranger- and a stranger far more willing to establish familiarity. He paused, dusting off his sleeves, and then turned away to better take into view the youth from earlier, who had now hid himself under the umbrella with obvious gratitude.
âItâs no problem, really. With how hot it is in the shade, I can only imagine how it must feel out there.â Madison then smiled brightly at the other- although his expression once again shifted upon seeing the manâs hand suddenly fly from his wrist, wrap about the handles of his bag, and drag it back.
Madison blinked. Then blinked again. Then again, for good measure. After the third and final blink, he gave a small shrug, instead glancing back over to his own bag as if suddenly reminded that it existed. Considering his company- especially with the revelation of them all coming from different worlds- he supposed it wouldnât hurt to take a look. Dropping gracefully to the floor, Madison opened up the metal teeth and began to rummage inside. There was a sun hat and a pair of sunglasses within (which, to his delight, went wonderfully with his current outfit), various other pieces from his wardrobe, and even the notepad he had thought missing. After putting on both hat and glasses, and tucking his pocketbook back into his pocket, Madison resumed his search, intrigued by the contents lying inside the carry-on.
Beneath the neatly folded clothes, and beneath the small makeup kit that had been nestled up to the fabrics, were more...useful (not that what he had discovered earlier wasnât useful, of course) contents, to say the least. A rifle was tucked neatly at the bottom of the bag, along with a basic handgun, and a pair of knives. While Madison was curious to explore more of his little weaponsâ stash in the way that the others had, he thought better of it, instead turning to the rest.
Other than the same weapons-care items and customary bullets his coworker had, there was little difference between his pack and the basic items of the others- although there was no food or water whatsoever. Instead, his collection of medical items contained a basic blood transfusion kit, and a few plastic containers to go along with it.
Well, that was certainly thoughtful of their captor to include.
Suddenly, a girlâs voice rose above the clamor, calling out that she had found an exit. Intrigued, Madison looked up, only to find that the way out she was gesturing at had been closed off. And, in addition, there appeared to be...spiders? outside. From where he sat, he could see the creatures clawing at the metal, hissing at those who lay within and attempting to slide their fangs through the gaps.
While the girl certainly hadnât lied, it seemed that, at the moment, any way of leaving was blocked off. Frowning at the thought, Madison decided to turn his attentions onto something more positive- such as the youth who had joined them. He was clearly uncertain about his origins, hinting at amnesia, but Madison continued to smile placidly at the other- Oliver, or so he had said.
âThatâs fine, Oliver; youâve still helped with what youâre able to remember. Thank you.â A short nod, sending what hair was left uncovered by the hat swaying lightly with the movement.
While Madison had been far more lax about the prospect of an escape, Stride had already begun to make her way over to the iron gate, having heard both the shouts and whirring of metal from where she had been standing. However, before she had even reached half the distance between her âstarting pointâ and the gate, it had shut- with what visible land that could have been seen from through the bars quickly being hidden from sight by...lava?
âWell,â Stride suddenly drawled, gaze shifting to the one who had cried out that she had found an escape. âThatâs a real interestinâ way of gettinâ out you were thinkinâ of, but, yâknow, not all of us can swim through lava, kid.â Before she could even get a proper reaction to her words, however, the situation had suddenly taken a rather interesting turn. The Kora-doppleganger had suddenly started shouting at one of the younger-looking strangers gathered, calling him a terrorist, and- from the looks of it- preparing to fight. The kid didnât look exactly happy about the redheadâs presence, either, hands flaring up with visible blue light.
Even during such a scenario, Stride couldnât deny her interest in what was most likely a potential fight. She crossed her arms over her chest as she approached, hoping for a better view, although a scowl quickly overtook her expression at the intervention. Fights were always fun to watch, after all- especially when it was some weird emo kid versus an angry Norwegian. Nevertheless, she refrained from speaking at first, listening to the various back and forth for a while between the groups.
That is, until the Eze creature suddenly shot
a bolt of fucking lightning out of nowhere.
âThe fuck, Godzilla?â Instinctively, one of Strideâs hands flew to her submachine, preparing to draw it if necessary. âYa know, when ya rant about not fightinâ then go and shoot fuckinâ lazers everywhere, that kinda defeats the damn purpose!â Squinting at the lizard for a while, she cast a glance over to Kora-Ganger, what familiarity that would have inevitably managed to slip in cast away from the previous surprise.
âYouâre sayinâ that kidâs a terrorist?â Stride paused, peering over at Drake skeptically. âLooks like he could barely lift a stick âfore breakinâ his arms.â
Almost immediately upon seeing the fight brewing, Madison had practically flown from the ground and onto his feet, staring towards the little gathering with a deep frown. While he truly didnât know many here asides from Stride and Kora- and even then, the latter wasnât of his world, by the looks of it- there was still the matter of a godlike being watching over them. Of course, what the being even wanted was up for a debate, but Madison had a strong gut feeling that it wasnât for everyone to get killed off so quickly. He hurriedly slipped a pair of gloves on from the bag and jogged over, taking care not to use
]too much of his own skills so soon- and casting a friendly nod in the direction of the fairy floating above the arena, hello there, good to meet you and all- and stopped some distance away from the actual fight.
âHow about we all just calm down and donât use any sort of weapons or magic or anything in this situation?â Madison offered. âIt wonât do any good here, aside from potentially letting in those.â Almost casually, he gestured over to the gate, where some sort of vibrant red shark was baring its teeth against the grate.
Sharks. Wonderful creatures, really, but not something he exactly wanted flopping about and causing even more havoc.
And the lava also posed a problem, too.