Setting
Default Location for The Rend
Minimap
northwest |
north |
northeast |
west |
You are here. |
east |
southwest |
south |
southeast |
The Rend is a part of 
The Rend.
31 Characters Here
Adira Hasidare [85] "C'mon Fell, we have work to do."
Khojin Malqir [75] "I don't suppose we get paid for this? No?"
Rasteva [73]
Drake Coleman [69] "Are you kidding me? I have more important things to be doing right now... Like fighting a WAR."
Knight Kora Norrevinter [68] "For King and Country!"
Xinder Ouquid [57] "I am going to have to get used to fearing death."
Madison Lovette [56] "Well, things could be worse."
Ezenvare Queem [54] "I am Ezenvare, but most call me Eze."
Phoebe Stride [49] "You'd think we'd get a heads up or somethin' 'round here..."
John gray [33] "Sorry but it's all part of the job! Nothing personal."
Start Character Here »
Xinder Ouquid
Xin wasn't gonna shoot first. No, he wasn't going to shoot first. Let them all just kill each other before cleaning up the mess. It was no use, the hostility in the air was like a bad glass of milk to Xin. Disgusting because it was left to hang for too long.
While he would have gladly watched and enjoyed the fighting that was about to ensue, this failure for either the fighting sides to start fighting or the peacekeeping side trying to stop the fighters from fighting. Which side would eventually win was anybodies' guess, but it was still wearing down on Xin's limited patience.
Anger. Kill. Maim. Destroy. Strangle. All these things went together in Xin's head, a problem and its solutions. Looking around, he knew that it was coming to take him over. If he didn't find a living outlet to release his rage upon, Xin would soon be putting himself in danger while likely taking a few others down with him.
Another quick look around the arena and finally something useful seemed to show itself. There was a shark swimming in the lava near the gate to the outside world. That would do.
Pulling out his pistol while walking towards the gate, Xin focused on the shark. There was more then one. It swam to do as the other was doing, biting at the bars of the cage without any signs of stopping. When he finally reached the bars Xin shot one of the sharks with his rifle-sounding pistol. Its body exploded from the force of a hollow round from the little rail pistol, but there was no visible blood. This wasn't satisfying enough.
Xin shoved his hand into the mouth of the second shark mid-bite. Grabbing hold of it from the inside, Xin pulled back with all his might and force the creature through the bars. Surprisingly, only the fins got separated from the lava beast that was now flopping about on the ground. Using the plasma knife Xin cut off two feet of the sharks back end before picking it up and beating the bleeding shark to death with it. Xin could feel the pleasure with every strike as the 'fighting' soothed him.
One moment Kichi was casually venturing through the forests of his world, on the hunt for a certain person corrupted by a demon. He was going to be paid for this job too. He'd do it anyway even if he wasn't paid. The money was simply a bonus this time and he kind of needed it considering nothing was for free. The next, he finds himself surrounded by darkness. It was such a strange place to be in. It did not feel as though the lights had gone out but more like he was in a strange realm dedicated to the colour black. He wasn't sure how to explain it but he couldn't say it was a very comforting place. The Rend, this Rend guy, he sounded like an idiot. Like some employee hired out of pity. He sounded so unsure of his own words, and all that rambling was pretty annoying.
Although the idea was quite intriguing that this strange being came up with, it would have been nice to be notified in advance. Kichiro suddenly felt his stomach drop, as if he was falling before his mind went blank and there was silence. Kichi lay there on the hot, colourful mosaic tiles. He was conscious and felt like he was waking up after a long nap. Didn't feel like moving, just wanted to really go back to sleep. But it was a bit hard with lightning bolts, ice, fire and yelling happening around you. Kichi simply stirred, groaning out of irritation. He wasn't too far from the gathering of troglodytes, that's how he'd see them for now anyway. A bunch of uncivilised cave people fighting over who gets to light the fire first.
The bickering didn't seem to end and just went on and on. Kichiro rolled over onto his side, eyes lazily open now as he studied the gathering of strange looking people. They were certainly an odd bunch. Kichi couldn't help but get excited over the possible fun things headed his way. Considering how emotional some of them were it would be too easy to toy with them. The soothing sounds of a flute playing nearby only made him want to sleep even more. How annoying that he would be forced to wake up. "Oh my god no one cares." Kichi said out loud to no one in particular; at was almost aimed at everyone really. A shame the peaceful ones couldn't keep the brats under control. "No one cares if you think you're stronger than they are. And no one cares that you lost your damn daughter, go have a cry somewhere else. Is this really going to be some kind of stupid fight over 'my guns are bigger than yours'. Or hey I'm angry because you did bad things in my world?" Kichiro himself was in fact, one of those brats. He liked to stir shit and most of his statements were probably not even relevant but simply there to make someone annoyed or to see who would get annoyed first.
"Why don't you all take a fine look at green eye metal man over there. Use him as a role model for how to take your anger out on other things." With that said he pointed casually with his thumb at Xinder who was casually and amusingly tearing a lava shark apart. Kichiro grinned at the sight. He hoped to see the man do that to a person some day. All of the white hair male's words were spoke in a calm and lazy tone. As if he were forced to read something out in front of the class by the teacher. Madison was doing quite well with trying to keep things calm, hopefully her words would work and everyone would calm their tits. Otherwise. "Fighting would be such a waste of time right now. Especially considering we only just got here. Surely there are more fun things to do." Kichiro didn't care if his earlier statements struck a nerve or anything, and a simple insult headed his way would only encourage him to be a pest even more. To think that the creatures in his world were fun to toy with, imagine the surprises this lot had in stall for him.
"Oh and I'm Kichiro. Destroyer of imbeciles or something like that. Yeah."
Although the idea was quite intriguing that this strange being came up with, it would have been nice to be notified in advance. Kichiro suddenly felt his stomach drop, as if he was falling before his mind went blank and there was silence. Kichi lay there on the hot, colourful mosaic tiles. He was conscious and felt like he was waking up after a long nap. Didn't feel like moving, just wanted to really go back to sleep. But it was a bit hard with lightning bolts, ice, fire and yelling happening around you. Kichi simply stirred, groaning out of irritation. He wasn't too far from the gathering of troglodytes, that's how he'd see them for now anyway. A bunch of uncivilised cave people fighting over who gets to light the fire first.
The bickering didn't seem to end and just went on and on. Kichiro rolled over onto his side, eyes lazily open now as he studied the gathering of strange looking people. They were certainly an odd bunch. Kichi couldn't help but get excited over the possible fun things headed his way. Considering how emotional some of them were it would be too easy to toy with them. The soothing sounds of a flute playing nearby only made him want to sleep even more. How annoying that he would be forced to wake up. "Oh my god no one cares." Kichi said out loud to no one in particular; at was almost aimed at everyone really. A shame the peaceful ones couldn't keep the brats under control. "No one cares if you think you're stronger than they are. And no one cares that you lost your damn daughter, go have a cry somewhere else. Is this really going to be some kind of stupid fight over 'my guns are bigger than yours'. Or hey I'm angry because you did bad things in my world?" Kichiro himself was in fact, one of those brats. He liked to stir shit and most of his statements were probably not even relevant but simply there to make someone annoyed or to see who would get annoyed first.
"Why don't you all take a fine look at green eye metal man over there. Use him as a role model for how to take your anger out on other things." With that said he pointed casually with his thumb at Xinder who was casually and amusingly tearing a lava shark apart. Kichiro grinned at the sight. He hoped to see the man do that to a person some day. All of the white hair male's words were spoke in a calm and lazy tone. As if he were forced to read something out in front of the class by the teacher. Madison was doing quite well with trying to keep things calm, hopefully her words would work and everyone would calm their tits. Otherwise. "Fighting would be such a waste of time right now. Especially considering we only just got here. Surely there are more fun things to do." Kichiro didn't care if his earlier statements struck a nerve or anything, and a simple insult headed his way would only encourage him to be a pest even more. To think that the creatures in his world were fun to toy with, imagine the surprises this lot had in stall for him.
"Oh and I'm Kichiro. Destroyer of imbeciles or something like that. Yeah."
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Rasteva moved to sit, armor creaking loudly as they lowered their bulk into a cross legged position. The eye in the helm's visor began drifting lazily from one side to the other, not particularly focusing on anything as the others continued to speak and introduce themselves. The Girl's Flute song was soothing to hear, and it took the edge from the Daemon's irritation, though it did not have the same effect on a few of the people gathered around. For the second time that day, the armored figure found themselves wishing they were capable of sighing. This was unfortunately, not a situation they could simply swing their blade at. To be sure a few of the individuals gathered around were irritating enough that the Daemon would gladly cleave them in two. But many of them HAD been rather polite, and the armored figure did not want to upset them by doing so. A bit of an issue.
A small tap on Rasteva's armored leg brought them from their reverie, and their burning eye settled upon the Dragon Man called Eze. An interesting sort as Rasteva was not unfamiliar with Dragons, but had not seen a being quite like Eze. The Daemon would have gladly fought him, as his previous display of magic was quite impressive. But the Dragon Man had already made it obvious that he took no pleasure in it.
A shame really.
The Daemon listened closely to what Eze told them, as it had become clear that this was not the first Arena the Dragon Man had entered.
"One that is meant to be a holding pen. Something only to be walls and a floor. Or an arena made by one who does not like to use things for their purposes."
Rasteva could only let out a loud creaking sound at that moment, a sound the Daemon made only when they were bothered by something. "So we are but pieces on a game board? To be moved around and displayed at the whim of some bored God?" The loud creaking sound continued. "It is looking more and more as if This One will be trapped here with you for Eternity.....Or at least until you natural lifespans run out."
The Daemon's eye resumed drifting about lazily, revealing nothing about the thought's roiling in the figure's mind. "If Rasteva had simply killed them all to begin with....This One would have long since been freed....." The eye settled first on the girl playing her flute not far off, and then on Drake, attempting to make peace with the Flaming woman. It settled back on Eze, looking quite tired of the whole ordeal, and then on the masked individual, seeming too shy to speak up. "But as things are now.....This One cannot do such a thing to those so unwilling to fight....It would be very rude."
The Daemon's eye was beginning to fade from sight, a sign that the figure was moving to meditate deeply. "Rasteva will wait....Hopefully something of interest happens soon." The armored figure's burning eye flickered out of view, and their visor went completely dark.
It did not stay dark for very long.
Shouting cut through the air at precisely that moment, a rather grating voice throwing taunts and insults at all gathered around. The Daemon's eye flared back to life once more, and for the third consecutive time that day, Rasteva wished that they were capable of sighing.
A small tap on Rasteva's armored leg brought them from their reverie, and their burning eye settled upon the Dragon Man called Eze. An interesting sort as Rasteva was not unfamiliar with Dragons, but had not seen a being quite like Eze. The Daemon would have gladly fought him, as his previous display of magic was quite impressive. But the Dragon Man had already made it obvious that he took no pleasure in it.
A shame really.
The Daemon listened closely to what Eze told them, as it had become clear that this was not the first Arena the Dragon Man had entered.
"One that is meant to be a holding pen. Something only to be walls and a floor. Or an arena made by one who does not like to use things for their purposes."
Rasteva could only let out a loud creaking sound at that moment, a sound the Daemon made only when they were bothered by something. "So we are but pieces on a game board? To be moved around and displayed at the whim of some bored God?" The loud creaking sound continued. "It is looking more and more as if This One will be trapped here with you for Eternity.....Or at least until you natural lifespans run out."
The Daemon's eye resumed drifting about lazily, revealing nothing about the thought's roiling in the figure's mind. "If Rasteva had simply killed them all to begin with....This One would have long since been freed....." The eye settled first on the girl playing her flute not far off, and then on Drake, attempting to make peace with the Flaming woman. It settled back on Eze, looking quite tired of the whole ordeal, and then on the masked individual, seeming too shy to speak up. "But as things are now.....This One cannot do such a thing to those so unwilling to fight....It would be very rude."
The Daemon's eye was beginning to fade from sight, a sign that the figure was moving to meditate deeply. "Rasteva will wait....Hopefully something of interest happens soon." The armored figure's burning eye flickered out of view, and their visor went completely dark.
It did not stay dark for very long.
Shouting cut through the air at precisely that moment, a rather grating voice throwing taunts and insults at all gathered around. The Daemon's eye flared back to life once more, and for the third consecutive time that day, Rasteva wished that they were capable of sighing.
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The sound of a familiar voice stopped Kora in her tracks, and the Knight turned to see a very familiar face in order to match the voice.
"...Makorai?"
The heat around her began to dissipate, for the moment retreating back to a red glow around her hands.
"We aren't dead Makorai. Death can't be this anticlimactic. We just got teleported some place. Did you hear the voice beforehand? Some gifted is obviously fucking with us. Doesn't look much like Liberty stuff. Not enough communism, too much weird."
Her gaze flickered over to Drake again for a moment.
"You gotta get used to the fact that you can't ever get them to stay dead. They're like cockroaches. "
Something that had made the whole issue of heavy losses during the Helton battle even more galling. The only proper casualty scored against the terrorists hadn't even stayed dead.
Still, she endeavoured to answer Madison.
"Look uh..Madison, if I wanted to fight someone I wouldn't have been dancing around the issue. Other people have been the ones attacking me so far. Just because I called fly-boy a filthy terrorist, and I stand by that. He is a filthy terrorist, even if the people round here have no principles and take no issue with it."
She shrugged.
"But he's also fucking impossible to kill so what would me tearing his head off and punting it across the arena do in the long run? I mean, other than making me feel better? Like I said, if I wanted to kill somebody, I would have set to it waaay before now."
Having another Knight around made Kora feel somewhat better about her situation. Or rather, it did until someone else she'd up til now had nothing to do with, began shouting at her. The Erubescan woman looked over, more out of disgust than hostility. She was getting a little tired of people attempting to pick fights and claim she was inviting it.
"Well them maybe you should mind your own business instead of listening in on something that has nothing to do with you and then getting pissy about it not mattering to you. I was not talking to you, or Pipsqueak, or the lizard, or that pompous overgrown soda can that attacked me. I was talking to wing-boy. If it's boring you, or anyone else then you're free to fuck off do something else." Kora growled curtly, waving him off in a dismissive fashion.
"...Makorai?"
The heat around her began to dissipate, for the moment retreating back to a red glow around her hands.
"We aren't dead Makorai. Death can't be this anticlimactic. We just got teleported some place. Did you hear the voice beforehand? Some gifted is obviously fucking with us. Doesn't look much like Liberty stuff. Not enough communism, too much weird."
Her gaze flickered over to Drake again for a moment.
"You gotta get used to the fact that you can't ever get them to stay dead. They're like cockroaches. "
Something that had made the whole issue of heavy losses during the Helton battle even more galling. The only proper casualty scored against the terrorists hadn't even stayed dead.
Still, she endeavoured to answer Madison.
"Look uh..Madison, if I wanted to fight someone I wouldn't have been dancing around the issue. Other people have been the ones attacking me so far. Just because I called fly-boy a filthy terrorist, and I stand by that. He is a filthy terrorist, even if the people round here have no principles and take no issue with it."
She shrugged.
"But he's also fucking impossible to kill so what would me tearing his head off and punting it across the arena do in the long run? I mean, other than making me feel better? Like I said, if I wanted to kill somebody, I would have set to it waaay before now."
Having another Knight around made Kora feel somewhat better about her situation. Or rather, it did until someone else she'd up til now had nothing to do with, began shouting at her. The Erubescan woman looked over, more out of disgust than hostility. She was getting a little tired of people attempting to pick fights and claim she was inviting it.
"Well them maybe you should mind your own business instead of listening in on something that has nothing to do with you and then getting pissy about it not mattering to you. I was not talking to you, or Pipsqueak, or the lizard, or that pompous overgrown soda can that attacked me. I was talking to wing-boy. If it's boring you, or anyone else then you're free to fuck off do something else." Kora growled curtly, waving him off in a dismissive fashion.
With all the arrogance and stupidity flying around, Ocean was tired of dealing with these creatures
and ashamed of herself for even getting involved in their “I’m the best” contest. However, it was
when another newcomer told the woman on fire that her losing a child didn’t matter- /What an
arrogant selfish ass, who says that, ever?/ - that the fairy just...gave up. She landed over at the
site of her waking, rummaging through her provided bag. One of her clips was there, thankfully,
and she pulled back her locks, the weight on her head lessening significantly as the hair became a
much more manageable mid back length. She also found the hilt of a sword, which she shrank
and placed in her pocket, and a miniaturized bow along with several arrows of water fey make with
the distinctive slots in the metal body. Renewed, she began to pull out the water
she had - multiple bottles, much more than anyone else - and finally, in a box at the bottom, she
found them. Capsules, one of her nation’s most well known weapons.
The queen’s next step was to scan the minds of those present with a spell for telepathy, finding
herself shocked when the woman to greet her first was a male vampire (in a dress) who
happened to be one of the most sensible there by her own personal judgment. She walked over
briskly, and dropped the bag with all its water replaced beside him, before kneeling to pull out the
box and show the vampire its insides.
“You seem to be sensible, so I’m hoping it’s not wrong to let you have these.” she told him,
opening the tin to reveal pale blue, well, capsules, on the inside.”They freeze any liquid they come
into contact with instantly, including blood, which is why we often use them within our weapons to
make any strike devastating. You seem like you won’t run around on a murder spree.” she put the
capsules away, and stood back up with three of the bottles of water, which she held in her arms
while creating a small but strong shield over Madison, and out of courtesy, his companion Stride.
Having to shield the man’s world companion reminded her to be kind, and she looked around, also
shielding others not involved in making things worse, the cyborg and the flute girl with her dragon
companion included.
Then she walked back to the scene of the fight, placidly opening the three bottles and setting them
on the ground. “Maybe Rasteva needs an upgrade to hear better, because that isn’t what I said.”
she informed him lightly, fluttering up to his “eye” level. “And you,” she flew over to Drake,
“should land, alright?” Finally, she moved over to the newcomer, and her face said she would very
much like to spit on him. “How much of a bastard are you, to tell a mother losing her child doesn’t
matter? You should be ashamed.”
She waited for no replies, only flying as high as the grates above them would allow. The water in
the bottles flew up to meet her, and she dipped her hands into it, gathering herself, before
unleashing her powers. Storm clouds flew in, with pelting rain that soon turned into snow, sleet and
hail. With this distraction, force-fields shoved most of the aggressors away from each other and
back into the walls. The storm, confined to the arena because Ocean wasn't arrogant enough to
take on a sea of lava, grew fiercer, while the fairy flew lower, tossed wet hair from her face, and
slashed a hand before her. Before her, what seemed to be a tear in the air appeared, pouring in
sunlight, and Ocean slipped through with a cheeky wave. It sealed behind her, and immediately,
the storm died down. Soon the sky was back to blankly sunny cloudless blue, and without the water and
melting ice on the ground, there was no evidence anyone had been there at all
and ashamed of herself for even getting involved in their “I’m the best” contest. However, it was
when another newcomer told the woman on fire that her losing a child didn’t matter- /What an
arrogant selfish ass, who says that, ever?/ - that the fairy just...gave up. She landed over at the
site of her waking, rummaging through her provided bag. One of her clips was there, thankfully,
and she pulled back her locks, the weight on her head lessening significantly as the hair became a
much more manageable mid back length. She also found the hilt of a sword, which she shrank
and placed in her pocket, and a miniaturized bow along with several arrows of water fey make with
the distinctive slots in the metal body. Renewed, she began to pull out the water
she had - multiple bottles, much more than anyone else - and finally, in a box at the bottom, she
found them. Capsules, one of her nation’s most well known weapons.
The queen’s next step was to scan the minds of those present with a spell for telepathy, finding
herself shocked when the woman to greet her first was a male vampire (in a dress) who
happened to be one of the most sensible there by her own personal judgment. She walked over
briskly, and dropped the bag with all its water replaced beside him, before kneeling to pull out the
box and show the vampire its insides.
“You seem to be sensible, so I’m hoping it’s not wrong to let you have these.” she told him,
opening the tin to reveal pale blue, well, capsules, on the inside.”They freeze any liquid they come
into contact with instantly, including blood, which is why we often use them within our weapons to
make any strike devastating. You seem like you won’t run around on a murder spree.” she put the
capsules away, and stood back up with three of the bottles of water, which she held in her arms
while creating a small but strong shield over Madison, and out of courtesy, his companion Stride.
Having to shield the man’s world companion reminded her to be kind, and she looked around, also
shielding others not involved in making things worse, the cyborg and the flute girl with her dragon
companion included.
Then she walked back to the scene of the fight, placidly opening the three bottles and setting them
on the ground. “Maybe Rasteva needs an upgrade to hear better, because that isn’t what I said.”
she informed him lightly, fluttering up to his “eye” level. “And you,” she flew over to Drake,
“should land, alright?” Finally, she moved over to the newcomer, and her face said she would very
much like to spit on him. “How much of a bastard are you, to tell a mother losing her child doesn’t
matter? You should be ashamed.”
She waited for no replies, only flying as high as the grates above them would allow. The water in
the bottles flew up to meet her, and she dipped her hands into it, gathering herself, before
unleashing her powers. Storm clouds flew in, with pelting rain that soon turned into snow, sleet and
hail. With this distraction, force-fields shoved most of the aggressors away from each other and
back into the walls. The storm, confined to the arena because Ocean wasn't arrogant enough to
take on a sea of lava, grew fiercer, while the fairy flew lower, tossed wet hair from her face, and
slashed a hand before her. Before her, what seemed to be a tear in the air appeared, pouring in
sunlight, and Ocean slipped through with a cheeky wave. It sealed behind her, and immediately,
the storm died down. Soon the sky was back to blankly sunny cloudless blue, and without the water and
melting ice on the ground, there was no evidence anyone had been there at all
Madison remained unruffled as Rasteva stared him down, doing little more than place a hand upon his face, the other moving to clasp his elbow lightly in an almost contemplative posture. He had to crane his neck a little in order to better meet the thing’s “gaze”, but he managed, and was just about to speak when Eze had chimed in before him. The vampire gave a short nod in the scaled gentleman’s direction at his words, before turning back and giving a roll of his shoulders.
“He’s right, although I have my own reasons for agreeing with him.” Idly, he gestured towards the various bags littered about the arena- either hanging off the shoulders of some, or abandoned on the floor. “From what I’ve seen, everyone has gotten one of these, and each one seems to have the basics of a survival kit. Food, water, medicine; things you wouldn’t really need if you were expecting everyone to start hacking away at each other all of a sudden. To my knowledge, gladiator battles weren’t made up of camping between fights; although feel free to correct me on that point.
“Plus,” without warning, Madison’s voice had took on a lighter tone, as if he was merely discussing a particularly good day. “I don’t really consider myself much of a fighter. Given the...well,” another gesture. “abilities of everyone else, it would be an extremely short battle, wouldn’t it?” A subtle caress of pride. Adding onto this, he added, “And, well, if we are here to fight, I suppose I’ll die, of course!”
This was said even more cheerfully, oddly enough.
To Kora, the vampire gave another slight frown, the jovialness of before having drifted. “I know you didn’t start it, Kora. The most you’ve been doing is calling the boy a terrorist- and I’m sure that there’s evidence of him being one in your world. I don’t blame you- but I do blame the ones who keep trying to stop violence with violence.”
At the sound of a newcomer’s voice, Madison bit back a sigh, and moved to capture this one in his sights, as well. Another youth, by the looks of it. Human. Madison didn’t show any sympathy for the young man being trapped there, however- instead, his features had been pulled into obvious sternness as he regarded the other, words more cold than before. “Mr. Kichiro, losing a child isn’t something to joke about. While I’m sure that you haven’t had to deal with anything like that before, that’s a very raw nerve to hit, no matter the circumstances.”
He had just begun to turn away once again when the fairy woman approached, dropped a bag at his feet, and revealed to him the contents of a container. Madison took a look inside- it appeared to be filled with some sort of...pills? capsules?- before raising his head and listening to the woman’s explanation of what, exactly, they were. As the explanation went on, the seriousness that had been abandoned shortly after looking from Kichiro returned. Carefully, he lowered himself to the ground, taking another glance into the bag before glancing back up at the woman.
“Thank you, ma’am,” he said. Giving a polite nod of his head, he rose from his place on the floor, the new bag slung on his other shoulder. Despite the weight both must have had, Madison hardly seemed bothered, only nodding once more as he watched Ocean. “I’ll do my best to use these responsibly; thank you, again.” While some might have been more skeptical as to what the capsules could do, Madison had seen enough for today to have a healthy amount of openness in regards to what was possible. And if what the woman said was true, then...Well, he would do well to keep them to himself, especially given his company. As if to prove his point, Madison caught sight of one of the captives brutally mauling a shark from within the grate from the corner of his eye.
When the shield was cast over him, and the storm appeared shortly after, his belief of the capsules’ power only grew. Watching as the rain fell about him, with several of the offenders being blasted about, Madison clutched his sun hat tight and remained where he was. He watched as, almost as soon as it came, the storm passed, with its maker having disappeared completely from the arena.
That just about confirmed the capsules twice by this point, Madison thought brightly.
“He’s right, although I have my own reasons for agreeing with him.” Idly, he gestured towards the various bags littered about the arena- either hanging off the shoulders of some, or abandoned on the floor. “From what I’ve seen, everyone has gotten one of these, and each one seems to have the basics of a survival kit. Food, water, medicine; things you wouldn’t really need if you were expecting everyone to start hacking away at each other all of a sudden. To my knowledge, gladiator battles weren’t made up of camping between fights; although feel free to correct me on that point.
“Plus,” without warning, Madison’s voice had took on a lighter tone, as if he was merely discussing a particularly good day. “I don’t really consider myself much of a fighter. Given the...well,” another gesture. “abilities of everyone else, it would be an extremely short battle, wouldn’t it?” A subtle caress of pride. Adding onto this, he added, “And, well, if we are here to fight, I suppose I’ll die, of course!”
This was said even more cheerfully, oddly enough.
To Kora, the vampire gave another slight frown, the jovialness of before having drifted. “I know you didn’t start it, Kora. The most you’ve been doing is calling the boy a terrorist- and I’m sure that there’s evidence of him being one in your world. I don’t blame you- but I do blame the ones who keep trying to stop violence with violence.”
At the sound of a newcomer’s voice, Madison bit back a sigh, and moved to capture this one in his sights, as well. Another youth, by the looks of it. Human. Madison didn’t show any sympathy for the young man being trapped there, however- instead, his features had been pulled into obvious sternness as he regarded the other, words more cold than before. “Mr. Kichiro, losing a child isn’t something to joke about. While I’m sure that you haven’t had to deal with anything like that before, that’s a very raw nerve to hit, no matter the circumstances.”
He had just begun to turn away once again when the fairy woman approached, dropped a bag at his feet, and revealed to him the contents of a container. Madison took a look inside- it appeared to be filled with some sort of...pills? capsules?- before raising his head and listening to the woman’s explanation of what, exactly, they were. As the explanation went on, the seriousness that had been abandoned shortly after looking from Kichiro returned. Carefully, he lowered himself to the ground, taking another glance into the bag before glancing back up at the woman.
“Thank you, ma’am,” he said. Giving a polite nod of his head, he rose from his place on the floor, the new bag slung on his other shoulder. Despite the weight both must have had, Madison hardly seemed bothered, only nodding once more as he watched Ocean. “I’ll do my best to use these responsibly; thank you, again.” While some might have been more skeptical as to what the capsules could do, Madison had seen enough for today to have a healthy amount of openness in regards to what was possible. And if what the woman said was true, then...Well, he would do well to keep them to himself, especially given his company. As if to prove his point, Madison caught sight of one of the captives brutally mauling a shark from within the grate from the corner of his eye.
When the shield was cast over him, and the storm appeared shortly after, his belief of the capsules’ power only grew. Watching as the rain fell about him, with several of the offenders being blasted about, Madison clutched his sun hat tight and remained where he was. He watched as, almost as soon as it came, the storm passed, with its maker having disappeared completely from the arena.
That just about confirmed the capsules twice by this point, Madison thought brightly.
...Where’s Ocean?
What happened- I- where did she go? What just happened? What...wait.
How…? Characters...characters don’t do this. Characters can’t do this! They can’t just- just get up and walk away from the Rend like this! That’s ridiculous! They- they can’t- but what if she did...
…
EVERYTHING IS GOING HORRIBLY WRONG.
N-no, it’s too early for everything to be that bad, Rend! Sure, the gates just- just magically opened themselves, and sure, one of the characters just- just somehow left, but...but it’s fine! I can still do this! After all, every GM starts off rockily, right? They always have that one that ends up going all...like this, right? In fact, I’d say I’m doing decent, given the...uhm, the characters I picked up. And yeah, it’s my first one! Nothing to feel bad about! I just need to, uh, start things now. Intervene.
”Okay, everyone! I- well, one of your fellow...people just ended up leaving, but...but don’t worry, alright? I’m pretty sure that no one else can do that, but- but I probably have to make sure, uh...Heh. Sorry! B-before I do anything like that, though, I just want to go ahead and clear up a few things. Actually, uh, y’know. Do my job and all.
“Well, I just want to go ahead and clarify that nobody is supposed to kill anyone here. Yep! Haha, yeah, no, uh, trying to cut people in half, shoot someone in the head, noooope. In fact, you’re actually doing the exact opposite of what I wanted, if you can believe that! Weird, right? Heh. Basically, uh, I’m going to send you all out to do these amazing missions! Fun, right? You’ll be explorers of a new world, and you can fight evil monsters and things like that! Everything you could want, I’m sure- but, uh, still, no killing the other people here? You’re supposed to form a nice little group down there, and, uh, not supposed to attack everyone else? In fact, you guys will actually, ehm...get...punished if you do anything like this again! Scary, right? Nobody wants that. And you’re also supposed to protect each other, too, so if you don’t do that, you’ll...Also get punished!
“Now, now, I know what you all must be thinking- ‘But Rend, you sound like some evil god trying to watch us all suffer!’ I would also like to clarify that I am neither a god, demon, daemon, daedra, angel, death, Gifted, or anything like that. You guys are not, in fact, in hell. But I do have to be a bit strict in things, however, since you all are so...uh, violent? And because one of you just suddenly up and left, but, anyway. Let me just, uh, clear my throat here…”
Suddenly, several of the characters found themselves feeling...well, not as absurdly strong. Got to even the playing field and all that, but, eh-hehm. Don’t want to end up causing more trouble, but, uh, the ones with the most skills and powers and magical stuff ended up with less. Like Rasteva, and Eze- mainly because I’m just kind of worried about how far this will, uh, escalate, if they’re so strong...Uhm, and, uh, the other ones who triggered the problems, um, got less strong somewhat, too, and, uh, yeah. Less power. Of course, not planning on, uh, taking away from those who need the power, but yes. Weakened somewhat. This is both punishment and to make sure nobody else escapes.
“Now, I’m going to remove the lava and, uh, other things right now. And open the gate properly. I expect for all of you to get along at this point, or else, you know. Punishment. Have fun!”
With that, all obstacles that had been placed outside the arena vanished, and the gates began to open once more…
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The Winged woman was talking again.
Skies above she really did like to hear herself talk.
Even worse, she was talking to Rasteva, something about their hearing needing to be fixed. The Daemon was unsure, they had barely any time to react before she fluttered off again. Creaking in mild annoyance, the Daemon had barely the sense to registerwhat the Flaming Woman was saying again, she was still shouting, and angry. Rasteva felt it would simply be best to ignore her for the time being, perhaps she'd burn herself out.
Funny.
What wasn't funny was that it started to rain, and then storm, and then...Snow? The Daemon tilted their head back, staring up at where the Winged Woman was fluttering. She seemed to be conjuring the storm in question, and the Daemon felt their irritation beginning to pick up again. Rasteva moved to stand, their bulk casting a wide shadow over everyone nearby as they continued to stare upwards. "What is she doing NOW?" The query had barely left the Daemon before an invisible force slammed into them. Rasteva was shoved backwards forcibly, snow and dirt kicking up as the Daemon left a massive trail in their wake. Attempting to right themselves, the armored figure made a low groaning sound as they tried to push back against the force, wind and sleet howling around them.
And then as suddenly as the storm had started, it stopped.
And so did the invisible force.
Finding themselves pushing against nothing, the Daemon toppled forward, landing face first on the ground. Their impact sent a tremor throughout the arena, as tiles and dust were loosened from the ground and sent flying. The dust settled and Rasteva was still laying face first on the ground, their voice echoing out loudly.
"She didn't have to do that."
Skies above she really did like to hear herself talk.
Even worse, she was talking to Rasteva, something about their hearing needing to be fixed. The Daemon was unsure, they had barely any time to react before she fluttered off again. Creaking in mild annoyance, the Daemon had barely the sense to registerwhat the Flaming Woman was saying again, she was still shouting, and angry. Rasteva felt it would simply be best to ignore her for the time being, perhaps she'd burn herself out.
Funny.
What wasn't funny was that it started to rain, and then storm, and then...Snow? The Daemon tilted their head back, staring up at where the Winged Woman was fluttering. She seemed to be conjuring the storm in question, and the Daemon felt their irritation beginning to pick up again. Rasteva moved to stand, their bulk casting a wide shadow over everyone nearby as they continued to stare upwards. "What is she doing NOW?" The query had barely left the Daemon before an invisible force slammed into them. Rasteva was shoved backwards forcibly, snow and dirt kicking up as the Daemon left a massive trail in their wake. Attempting to right themselves, the armored figure made a low groaning sound as they tried to push back against the force, wind and sleet howling around them.
And then as suddenly as the storm had started, it stopped.
And so did the invisible force.
Finding themselves pushing against nothing, the Daemon toppled forward, landing face first on the ground. Their impact sent a tremor throughout the arena, as tiles and dust were loosened from the ground and sent flying. The dust settled and Rasteva was still laying face first on the ground, their voice echoing out loudly.
"She didn't have to do that."
"Kora." There was one he'd rather be stuck in a dangerous situation with. Aside from being the buffer between he and the things that typically wanted him dead on the battlefield, six foot plus of screaming red fury had a way of making most people feel safe, and happy to have her in their side.
What the really flat chested chick said made sense, and was in line with what Kora has said, making it more believable in his eyes. Makorai could tell she was one of those 'calmly now let's logic our way out of this,' and he appreciated that. However, he had just been tossed into some weird universe from the comfortable space of rock he was about to snipe from, where some dude who speaks in the third person, and a lizard man were getting fresh with red. These ingredients mixed into the perfect stew for the same violence he was advocating against. Still.
"Makorai Saika miss, yeah we know eachother, enemies, old story." His response was quick despite the fact he had seriously considered what she said. Quick in part due to his and Rasteva's verbal sparring match.
"Yeah, you'll know when I'm ready suit. I'll put a round that could puncture a tank in your midsection, then your eye hole as you fall, cuz, well, I like to be flashy. Ladies like that shit." Makorai decided against pulling the bolt back for effect. There was a difference between a strong show of force and ill intent. He'd stick with the former.
His eye left Drake and moved over to the Lizard man, who had an equally strange speech pattern from Makorai's perspective. "I can tell you two are going to be good friends." The 'really' and the 'good' were stressed in the atypical form of sarcasm, with his still parted lips alluding to another line of inflammatory dialogue. Before the word could leave his mouth a new contender appeared, this forced him to change the ammunition before he fired.
"Hey Kiricho, 'prone to suicide' my gun is bigger then yours. So is my sniper."
All that needed to be implied.
Destined apparently, to have all his best material prematurely blocked, the voice, the stumbling voice which held the confidence of a pants conscript was beckoned by...
Yeah, apparently one of them was a magic fucking princess and he, and the cloths he liked to keep generally dry were soaked and sent into the opposite wall via some kind of invisible force magic Try as he might, he couldn't get the his sniper rifle back into firing position until.. she left. Great.
"Well shit."
Once all was said and done he rested the barrel of his weapon on his shoulder.
"It ain't hell and we definitely aren't in Kansas."
What the really flat chested chick said made sense, and was in line with what Kora has said, making it more believable in his eyes. Makorai could tell she was one of those 'calmly now let's logic our way out of this,' and he appreciated that. However, he had just been tossed into some weird universe from the comfortable space of rock he was about to snipe from, where some dude who speaks in the third person, and a lizard man were getting fresh with red. These ingredients mixed into the perfect stew for the same violence he was advocating against. Still.
"Makorai Saika miss, yeah we know eachother, enemies, old story." His response was quick despite the fact he had seriously considered what she said. Quick in part due to his and Rasteva's verbal sparring match.
"Yeah, you'll know when I'm ready suit. I'll put a round that could puncture a tank in your midsection, then your eye hole as you fall, cuz, well, I like to be flashy. Ladies like that shit." Makorai decided against pulling the bolt back for effect. There was a difference between a strong show of force and ill intent. He'd stick with the former.
His eye left Drake and moved over to the Lizard man, who had an equally strange speech pattern from Makorai's perspective. "I can tell you two are going to be good friends." The 'really' and the 'good' were stressed in the atypical form of sarcasm, with his still parted lips alluding to another line of inflammatory dialogue. Before the word could leave his mouth a new contender appeared, this forced him to change the ammunition before he fired.
"Hey Kiricho, 'prone to suicide' my gun is bigger then yours. So is my sniper."
All that needed to be implied.
Destined apparently, to have all his best material prematurely blocked, the voice, the stumbling voice which held the confidence of a pants conscript was beckoned by...
Yeah, apparently one of them was a magic fucking princess and he, and the cloths he liked to keep generally dry were soaked and sent into the opposite wall via some kind of invisible force magic Try as he might, he couldn't get the his sniper rifle back into firing position until.. she left. Great.
"Well shit."
Once all was said and done he rested the barrel of his weapon on his shoulder.
"It ain't hell and we definitely aren't in Kansas."
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Adira Hasidare
As Adira stood and moved to walk towards the others, Rend's omnipresent voice rang out, sounding rather flustered (which was odd if this being was trying to play god). However he managed to bumble his say through explaining that not only were they not supposed to kill each other (which was a relief) but that they would be "punished" if they tried. This coming from the being that summoned lava sharks and giant spiders because Adira opened a gate, she was not eager to find out what his concept of "punishment" was.
More than that though, they were all supposed to work together to go on this heroic quests he'd supposedly be assigning them. Looking at the others Adira couldn't help but to wonder exactly how thoroughly Rend had thought this through. If he'd intended for everyone to get along and work together, he probably shouldn't have chosen a group of people from opposite sides of an active war. She also noted that, while everyone else was exceptionally powerful, she was somewhat on the weaker side which would make it rather difficult for her to keep up with them on their missions.
This thought was addressed a moment later when Rend said:
Suddenly, several of the characters found themselves feeling...well, not as absurdly strong. Got to even the playing field and all that, but, eh-hehm. Don’t want to end up causing more trouble, but, uh, the ones with the most skills and powers and magical stuff ended up with less. Like Rasteva, and Eze- mainly because I’m just kind of worried about how far this will, uh, escalate, if they’re so strong...Uhm, and, uh, the other ones who triggered the problems, um, got less strong somewhat, too, and, uh, yeah. Less power. Of course, not planning on, uh, taking away from those who need the power, but yes. Weakened somewhat. This is both punishment and to make sure nobody else escapes.
As he said this a strong gust of wing blew through the arena and past- no, through- the bodies of the characters. She saw many of the more powerful beings sway as the wind blew through them, appearing to have been significantly weakened (especially that fairy who seemed to have just caused a hurricane on a whim). However when the wind reached Adira she felt... well, the same actually. Nothing seemed to have happened to her. Too bad.
However as she glanced over at Fell she could see that he was equally confused, the scales on his back rippling oddly as if his muscles were sore. There were strange lumps under the skin that hadn't been there before. They bore a resemblance to young adult Fanghur who were in the first stages of wing development, however Fell had not reached that age so Adira quickly scratched that off her mental list of explanations. Before she could ponder any further, Rend spoke again.
“Now, I’m going to remove the lava and, uh, other things right now. And open the gate properly. I expect for all of you to get along at this point, or else, you know. Punishment. Have fun!”
At these words the gate did open, the monsters and lava having disappeared. Adira looked at Fell but he stared back at her in equal confusion. "Well, I guess we know why we're here..." she said slowly, still trying to process all of this, "If we're all supposed to work together like some big, happy family then the first step would be to go meet everyone. And not pick a fight this time." Fell bobbed his head in agreement and Adira hesitantly started walking towards the group of now significantly weakened heroes.
Drake couldn’t even get a word in, everyone was talking so much. And once again a lot was going on. “Hey, can we stop pointing fingers? None of you know either of our situations, or the situation of anyone here to properly judge. Not even she knows the full extent of my situation,” he replied, pointing to Kora. The boy wished he had known the fire-woman’s name. Someone had called her Kora, but he didn’t want to make any assumptions yet. He opted to simply address her with eye contact for the time being. “Your daughter was the one who came to us if I recall, we didn’t take or kidnap her. She said that the people at Erubesco had hurt her. Were hurting her. Surely you know about the experiments in your faction? Maybe you don’t, since they sure as hell cover it up pretty well. This was never about taking her away from you, this was always about protecting your daughter. She was scared to go back, how could we possibly take her back knowing they were hurting her? Especially if they were experimenting on her, she was too young for that. Does it really bother you that much that we tried to protect her? We’re not heartless. You could come see her, but you’re too busy calling us terrorists. Heck, it’s a WAR. Everyone is a terrorist! Erubesco is a terrorist to Liberty. Liberty is a terrorist to us. We’re terrorists to both factions, the factions are terrorists to each other. Maybe I am a terrorist to you from your angle, but when it comes down to it, from OUR angle, we’re just a family of wanderers trying to survive a war. I don’t know how I can make that any more clear to you without you just assuming I’m full of shit.”
Drake was getting pretty frustrated. He didn’t exactly have anyone here to back him up, so of course he felt singled out. Every accusation thrown at him he could try to counter, but unless the people around him chose to believe him over the others, he was screwed. “I don’t want to fight you. I don’t want to fight the factions. I simply don’t have a choice. I have to protect the ones I care about. We make it a point take in those oppressed by the factions and looking for shelter… In this case, that was your daughter. It was her choice to make, and she has the choice to leave. So I’m sorry she hasn’t chose to return yet.”
Makorai’s comment and gaze caused the boy to stiffen a little. A chill ran down the boy’s spine, followed by a feeling he couldn’t quite place. A feeling of displacement. “I seriously don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve never even seen you before,” Drake commented to Makorai, still rather confused about the man’s claim of execution. As far as he knew, things had been rather calm when he’d gotten snatched up and thrown here. There hadn’t been any battles or bloodshed, though perhaps that was what was so chilling about it all. Was Makorai from a different timeline, perhaps? Even Kora was talking about how he couldn’t die, even if he was ripped apart, the idea of that causing the boy to cringe and feel sick.
They were right, though, to a point. He could die… He could feel pain and the agony that came from death’s touch… But he would always come back, to live and die again.
Ocean’s comment towards Drake caused him to only get more frustrated. He landed on the ground, closing his eyes and running his hand through his hair. “That’s not what I meant at all, stop putting words in my mouth. Of course it matters, she wouldn’t be the only one who had a kid taken from her. But my baby brother’s dead and her kid is alive and safe, so maybe she should count her blessings first. How about we stop verbally attacking the guy who just wants to get the hell out of this cage and back to the only family he has left to protect? Is that so much to ask for?” Perhaps the stress was getting to him. He didn’t exactly handle this stuff well on his own. Drake could feel a headache coming on, too.
And then a storm. Some rain. Wind, snow. All of it putting the boy on edge. He couldn’t survive this stuff, not for long anyway...
And then she was gone.
She had gotten away?? How? He wanted out, too. The winged boy didn’t want to be here anymore. And then there was a voice. The dumb voice from the beginning which Drake was starting to hate. Or maybe it was his temper starting to seep in after all this frustration. He was fighting it now, trying to calm himself down.
It’s fine, Drake. You’re gonna be fine. You’re gonna get out of here.
Except he felt pretty unmatched at this point. Even when the wind blew through to weaken the stronger foes around him, he was unmoved. The boy, admittedly, was never that strong to begin with. Which is why he typically had to rely on his silver tongue, which wasn’t working so well for him thus far.
Drake was getting pretty frustrated. He didn’t exactly have anyone here to back him up, so of course he felt singled out. Every accusation thrown at him he could try to counter, but unless the people around him chose to believe him over the others, he was screwed. “I don’t want to fight you. I don’t want to fight the factions. I simply don’t have a choice. I have to protect the ones I care about. We make it a point take in those oppressed by the factions and looking for shelter… In this case, that was your daughter. It was her choice to make, and she has the choice to leave. So I’m sorry she hasn’t chose to return yet.”
Makorai’s comment and gaze caused the boy to stiffen a little. A chill ran down the boy’s spine, followed by a feeling he couldn’t quite place. A feeling of displacement. “I seriously don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve never even seen you before,” Drake commented to Makorai, still rather confused about the man’s claim of execution. As far as he knew, things had been rather calm when he’d gotten snatched up and thrown here. There hadn’t been any battles or bloodshed, though perhaps that was what was so chilling about it all. Was Makorai from a different timeline, perhaps? Even Kora was talking about how he couldn’t die, even if he was ripped apart, the idea of that causing the boy to cringe and feel sick.
They were right, though, to a point. He could die… He could feel pain and the agony that came from death’s touch… But he would always come back, to live and die again.
Ocean’s comment towards Drake caused him to only get more frustrated. He landed on the ground, closing his eyes and running his hand through his hair. “That’s not what I meant at all, stop putting words in my mouth. Of course it matters, she wouldn’t be the only one who had a kid taken from her. But my baby brother’s dead and her kid is alive and safe, so maybe she should count her blessings first. How about we stop verbally attacking the guy who just wants to get the hell out of this cage and back to the only family he has left to protect? Is that so much to ask for?” Perhaps the stress was getting to him. He didn’t exactly handle this stuff well on his own. Drake could feel a headache coming on, too.
And then a storm. Some rain. Wind, snow. All of it putting the boy on edge. He couldn’t survive this stuff, not for long anyway...
And then she was gone.
She had gotten away?? How? He wanted out, too. The winged boy didn’t want to be here anymore. And then there was a voice. The dumb voice from the beginning which Drake was starting to hate. Or maybe it was his temper starting to seep in after all this frustration. He was fighting it now, trying to calm himself down.
It’s fine, Drake. You’re gonna be fine. You’re gonna get out of here.
Except he felt pretty unmatched at this point. Even when the wind blew through to weaken the stronger foes around him, he was unmoved. The boy, admittedly, was never that strong to begin with. Which is why he typically had to rely on his silver tongue, which wasn’t working so well for him thus far.
Ezenvare Queem
After Eze's few words to Rasteva, all that any of the others did was shout at each other. Figuring that his intervention would be, once again, pointless the half-dragon began walking back to his bag. Almost halfway through his little walk a storm picked up. The rain Eze liked, but as it escalated he simply dug his claws into the ground to prevent himself from moving with its wind.
Even with the storm, Eze managed to make progress to the bag. However, as soon as the storm stopped the being that brought them here spoke up. Something about things not turning out how it wanted to. Perhaps the 'god' should have made a place a little better for introductions, or given everyone some time before sending them all to the same place. Eze didn't care at this point. The only thing he cared about from this being was the fact that it mentioned that the exit was now open.
Then it happened. Just an arm's reach from his bag and Eze dropped to the floor. The air was becoming dryer, his mind foggier, his muscles more tired, and his scales dulled of their bronze-like shine. Then his shoulders began feeling pain beyond anything he had ever experienced. From his crawling position, the half-dragon let out a long, loud, high-pitched screech like a dragon mounted on a pike. All the while his wings were being forced from his back, slowly growing out to 6 and a quarter feet each. After 5 or so minutes of the excruciating pain, the death screech ended as Eze shakily stood up. Finishing his march to the bag, Eze quickly opened it up only to devour the once again full bucket of water and fish.
Placing his bag's straps around his neck and rolling his wings on his back, Eze shakily marched towards the gate. Useless. I am weak. How am I supposed to fight evil like this? No, I useless. Just another reminder as to how useless I am. I couldn't even stop a fight, how am I supposed to protect everyone else?
Xinder Ouquid
Again. Again the damn voice in his head spoke. Another shaky speech from a god with no idea as to what it was doing, saying that it was going to punish people. Xin would like to see this 'Rend' come down and try him. Now it wanted him to go out questing like a group from some old fantasy RPG. I'm a fucking soldier, not some pretty boy mage who just so happens to know some near invincible paladin.
Then they opened. They finally opened. The gates no longer stuck. Xin smiled beneath his helmet as he walked out of the arena, not even taking a moment to check if anyone else was coming with him. It was time for him to tempt fate, or Rend as it was calling itself.
Well, that... solved that? Khojin sighed and pulled herself to her feet, adjusting the bag on her shoulder. This was one hell of a way to get her to do what she already got paid to do.
She studied the wall of the arena; if Rend wanted them to go off on 'heroic quests' to fight 'evil monsters' then there was bound to be some kind of board where they could find their marks, right? Or was there supposed to be some kind of town outside the gate, with this 'arena' just being a gathering point for new arrivals? She didn't see any kind of board from where she stood, so she opted to rejoin the others for the time being.
"So, how we gonna do this?" she called out as she approached. "I figure there's enough here we could form teams, if we wanted." She came to rest next to the white-haired Sha... girl, scratching the back of her head and looking at those around her.
Suit of armor, Magitek Armor Shark Mutilation (now gone, she noticed), a guy who looked to be 80% metal now that she was close enough to see it wasn't armor, wing boy, hot lady, gun dude, umbrella mask, shock lizard, girl who's black clothing wasn't as nice as her's, white-hair boy, white-hair girl, Adira, and others. Haha, yeah. Heroes.
Oh gods, this wasn't gonna end well.
Khojin really wasn't particularly eager to start team-building; getting Adira to accept her as an ally was hard enough, and she wasn't really sure who she could group with, anyway. She was pretty certain the guy in magitek armor wouldn't be up for it, and the red-haired warrior queen likely wouldn't want anything to do with her since she was allied with one of the ones who had sided with the winged boy. He might be a possibility, of course. The suit of armor who had apparently traded his polearm for a sword at some point was questionable; Khojin had no objections to it, but Adira might have other thoughts on the matter, assuming the big guy was even interested. The rest were... strangers. She didn't know enough to say either way. She glanced at white-haired girl out the corner of her eye, looking her up and down. She might be able to handle herself.
Khojin nonchalantly tapped her hand, looking in a different direction to pretend it was an accident. She turned her head to look at the girl, as if only just noticing she were there, and pulled her hand back. "Oops, sorry. My bad." Good. Ice: broken. "I'm Khojin, by the way. Don't think we've met yet."
She studied the wall of the arena; if Rend wanted them to go off on 'heroic quests' to fight 'evil monsters' then there was bound to be some kind of board where they could find their marks, right? Or was there supposed to be some kind of town outside the gate, with this 'arena' just being a gathering point for new arrivals? She didn't see any kind of board from where she stood, so she opted to rejoin the others for the time being.
"So, how we gonna do this?" she called out as she approached. "I figure there's enough here we could form teams, if we wanted." She came to rest next to the white-haired Sha... girl, scratching the back of her head and looking at those around her.
Suit of armor, Magitek Armor Shark Mutilation (now gone, she noticed), a guy who looked to be 80% metal now that she was close enough to see it wasn't armor, wing boy, hot lady, gun dude, umbrella mask, shock lizard, girl who's black clothing wasn't as nice as her's, white-hair boy, white-hair girl, Adira, and others. Haha, yeah. Heroes.
Oh gods, this wasn't gonna end well.
Khojin really wasn't particularly eager to start team-building; getting Adira to accept her as an ally was hard enough, and she wasn't really sure who she could group with, anyway. She was pretty certain the guy in magitek armor wouldn't be up for it, and the red-haired warrior queen likely wouldn't want anything to do with her since she was allied with one of the ones who had sided with the winged boy. He might be a possibility, of course. The suit of armor who had apparently traded his polearm for a sword at some point was questionable; Khojin had no objections to it, but Adira might have other thoughts on the matter, assuming the big guy was even interested. The rest were... strangers. She didn't know enough to say either way. She glanced at white-haired girl out the corner of her eye, looking her up and down. She might be able to handle herself.
Khojin nonchalantly tapped her hand, looking in a different direction to pretend it was an accident. She turned her head to look at the girl, as if only just noticing she were there, and pulled her hand back. "Oops, sorry. My bad." Good. Ice: broken. "I'm Khojin, by the way. Don't think we've met yet."
For all that could be said about what these folks were doing, Stride mused, one thing could be said for certain.
At least seventy percent of the people around here were pretty fucked up.
While it had begun to dawn on her before this, it was only really until she had found herself hunkered beneath some sort of magical shield, storm raging around her, that she really had the time to properly realize just what...interesting company she had ended up with. Within the span of some minutes and whatever seconds, she had watched several people try to kill the clone of someone she knew, defend someone who was- apparently- part of some sort of terrorist-cannibal cult, maul a fucking shark, and go off to play the flute as if all of this wasn’t happening in front of her.
She supposed that it didn’t matter at the moment, however. After all, being picky in a situation like this would just be stupid, unless she decided to march out into the storm and demand better company. Oh, Mr. All-Powerful being that kidnapped us all? Would you mind putting less sociopaths in here, pretty please with a cherry on top? Stride soon stopped putting so much thought into the subject, however, upon catching sight of the source of the storm suddenly tear open...something, hop in, and go off on her merry way like she hadn’t just made a total mess in the arena with her powers.
However, shortly after her disappearance, the clouds slid out of the sky, the water quickly evaporating when exposed to the bright sun. Warily, Stride stepped out from where her bubble had been, giving her bag a little bounce on her shoulder as she glanced about. Part of her was surprised at what had just happened, while the other...well, you could only see so many cyborgs in one day before getting a little expectant of such bullshit. They didn’t get much of a breather, though, as the voice- Rend- soon popped up and began to address the matter of the fairy lady leaving in a panicked manner. “Punishments” and “monsters”; “fun” and “exploring”. In the back of her mind, Stride was reminded of some awkward little kid, but the thought fled her mind soon enough.
Admittedly, the woman had to bite back a snicker upon seeing the suit of armor plant, face-first, into the title.
She found less amusement in Mr. Godzilla screaming his lungs out, and, cringing, she moved to clamp her hands over her ears before they began to bleed. It was only until the muffled cries had completely stopped that Stride tentatively lowered them, and turned, squinting over at the now-opened gates. Thankfully, there was a lot less lava and spiders this time. Stride was just about to look for Madison and a few other people when she felt a light tap on her hand, drawing her attention.
It was one of the girls who had ended up leaving right when things were turning into a complete and utter shitstorm- the one who looked more like some sort of videogame character than a human. Stride raised a brow as the girl acted as if it was an accident, before introducing herself as “Khojin”. The hybrid went over the pronunciation of the rather unique name in her head a few times before giving up, golden eyes narrowing into a squint as she gave the other a lookover.
“Call me Stride.”
And that was all for a while as the woman once again looked over at the gate. Soon enough, however, she turned back, squinting yet again at Khojin. “Ya want anythin’?” While she didn’t exactly have manners at the best of times, considering that they were all supposed to get along and make a team, she might as well try and throw something out there.
At least seventy percent of the people around here were pretty fucked up.
While it had begun to dawn on her before this, it was only really until she had found herself hunkered beneath some sort of magical shield, storm raging around her, that she really had the time to properly realize just what...interesting company she had ended up with. Within the span of some minutes and whatever seconds, she had watched several people try to kill the clone of someone she knew, defend someone who was- apparently- part of some sort of terrorist-cannibal cult, maul a fucking shark, and go off to play the flute as if all of this wasn’t happening in front of her.
She supposed that it didn’t matter at the moment, however. After all, being picky in a situation like this would just be stupid, unless she decided to march out into the storm and demand better company. Oh, Mr. All-Powerful being that kidnapped us all? Would you mind putting less sociopaths in here, pretty please with a cherry on top? Stride soon stopped putting so much thought into the subject, however, upon catching sight of the source of the storm suddenly tear open...something, hop in, and go off on her merry way like she hadn’t just made a total mess in the arena with her powers.
However, shortly after her disappearance, the clouds slid out of the sky, the water quickly evaporating when exposed to the bright sun. Warily, Stride stepped out from where her bubble had been, giving her bag a little bounce on her shoulder as she glanced about. Part of her was surprised at what had just happened, while the other...well, you could only see so many cyborgs in one day before getting a little expectant of such bullshit. They didn’t get much of a breather, though, as the voice- Rend- soon popped up and began to address the matter of the fairy lady leaving in a panicked manner. “Punishments” and “monsters”; “fun” and “exploring”. In the back of her mind, Stride was reminded of some awkward little kid, but the thought fled her mind soon enough.
Admittedly, the woman had to bite back a snicker upon seeing the suit of armor plant, face-first, into the title.
She found less amusement in Mr. Godzilla screaming his lungs out, and, cringing, she moved to clamp her hands over her ears before they began to bleed. It was only until the muffled cries had completely stopped that Stride tentatively lowered them, and turned, squinting over at the now-opened gates. Thankfully, there was a lot less lava and spiders this time. Stride was just about to look for Madison and a few other people when she felt a light tap on her hand, drawing her attention.
It was one of the girls who had ended up leaving right when things were turning into a complete and utter shitstorm- the one who looked more like some sort of videogame character than a human. Stride raised a brow as the girl acted as if it was an accident, before introducing herself as “Khojin”. The hybrid went over the pronunciation of the rather unique name in her head a few times before giving up, golden eyes narrowing into a squint as she gave the other a lookover.
“Call me Stride.”
And that was all for a while as the woman once again looked over at the gate. Soon enough, however, she turned back, squinting yet again at Khojin. “Ya want anythin’?” While she didn’t exactly have manners at the best of times, considering that they were all supposed to get along and make a team, she might as well try and throw something out there.
Khojin hadn't thought that far ahead. However, let it never be said she couldn't think on her feet. "I just figured, since we're apparently a team now..." She considered how best to phrase her question before settling on a finger-gun and an eloquent, "Shao?"
"Or-" she let out a frustrated sigh, her voice taking the tone of one indulging a bratty child as she recalled her earlier interaction with the guy who had just spent several minutes turning a shark into something unrecognizable. "Human." She felt dirty.
"Or-" she let out a frustrated sigh, her voice taking the tone of one indulging a bratty child as she recalled her earlier interaction with the guy who had just spent several minutes turning a shark into something unrecognizable. "Human." She felt dirty.
Cold. That was the first thing Dawn felt upon awakening. The second was the feeling of being completely soaked to the bone by...something. Shivering reflexively, the mind-manipulator pushed herself out of a puddle, wincing as the back of her head throbbed and moving to rub the tender spot once her hand was freed.
What happened? The last thing she could remember was them dealing with...well, whoever that speedster was. Some of them had been taking her to a building for the time being, Dawn knew, but other than that...her mind was hazy. She bit the inside of her cheek, attempting to stir something, only to have her focus broken by a gentle breeze hitting her damp clothing. Wrapping her arms about her torso, she rose into a standing position, squinting in the sunlight until her vision focused enough to let her see where, exactly, she was.
It was only until she laid eyes on the surrounding arena, on the various blurred figures surrounding her, that memory hit her like a brick- she had been in some sort of...darkness. There had been a voice, and according to it, she wasn’t in her world anymore. As the fog in her mind cleared, so did her use of her abilities, and soon enough she could hear faint voices within her skull like radio static. Not the best thing to have when her head was still pounding, but Dawn put it to use nonetheless, giving a brief scan of the area as soon as she felt that she could handle it. Some sort of godlike figure named “Rend”- that was the voice, apparently-...a fight, with a woman leaving somehow in the middle of it after...causing a storm? Some sort of mission to go on “adventures”, and so on, and so forth.
From the sounds of it, these people were, indeed...well, not from where she was from, at least. Even with her Gift, the concept of others coming from another world was still quite foreign to her, difficult to fully wrap her mind about. Deciding not to focus on that for the time being, Dawn began to search for her own duffel bag, quickly finding it (somehow, the slip of paper reading her name had remained intact through the storm) some few feet away from where she had been lying. After checking the contents to see if they had been affected by the apparent storm- which they hadn’t, miracle of miracles- Dawn slung the bag over her shoulder, deciding to look through it in detail once she had a more in-depth understanding of what had happened, instead of a brief summary plucked from the heads of others.
Hopefully, she would get a moment to change into dry clothes soon- while the sun was doing well to warm some parts of her, it couldn’t remove all the water at once. Clenching her teeth to keep them from chattering, Dawn hesitate where she was for a moment before starting her own walk towards the gate. While it would probably be in her best interests to try and get to know the people she was trapped with soon, she thought it better to leave the arena first before attempting to start any conversation with the others. If things went well, there wouldn’t be any death traps lying right outside the boundaries of the arena, and she would have a decent chance to speak with the others while looking for the “goal”, so to speak. With that idea planted in her head, she pressed forth, maneuvering around the occasional puddle and attempting to keep a low profile for the moment. After all, with how things stood, conflict wasn’t exactly the best thing to encounter.
Needless to say, Dawn had not yet noticed the variety of Erubescians littered about, nor a certain winged Gifted.
What happened? The last thing she could remember was them dealing with...well, whoever that speedster was. Some of them had been taking her to a building for the time being, Dawn knew, but other than that...her mind was hazy. She bit the inside of her cheek, attempting to stir something, only to have her focus broken by a gentle breeze hitting her damp clothing. Wrapping her arms about her torso, she rose into a standing position, squinting in the sunlight until her vision focused enough to let her see where, exactly, she was.
It was only until she laid eyes on the surrounding arena, on the various blurred figures surrounding her, that memory hit her like a brick- she had been in some sort of...darkness. There had been a voice, and according to it, she wasn’t in her world anymore. As the fog in her mind cleared, so did her use of her abilities, and soon enough she could hear faint voices within her skull like radio static. Not the best thing to have when her head was still pounding, but Dawn put it to use nonetheless, giving a brief scan of the area as soon as she felt that she could handle it. Some sort of godlike figure named “Rend”- that was the voice, apparently-...a fight, with a woman leaving somehow in the middle of it after...causing a storm? Some sort of mission to go on “adventures”, and so on, and so forth.
From the sounds of it, these people were, indeed...well, not from where she was from, at least. Even with her Gift, the concept of others coming from another world was still quite foreign to her, difficult to fully wrap her mind about. Deciding not to focus on that for the time being, Dawn began to search for her own duffel bag, quickly finding it (somehow, the slip of paper reading her name had remained intact through the storm) some few feet away from where she had been lying. After checking the contents to see if they had been affected by the apparent storm- which they hadn’t, miracle of miracles- Dawn slung the bag over her shoulder, deciding to look through it in detail once she had a more in-depth understanding of what had happened, instead of a brief summary plucked from the heads of others.
Hopefully, she would get a moment to change into dry clothes soon- while the sun was doing well to warm some parts of her, it couldn’t remove all the water at once. Clenching her teeth to keep them from chattering, Dawn hesitate where she was for a moment before starting her own walk towards the gate. While it would probably be in her best interests to try and get to know the people she was trapped with soon, she thought it better to leave the arena first before attempting to start any conversation with the others. If things went well, there wouldn’t be any death traps lying right outside the boundaries of the arena, and she would have a decent chance to speak with the others while looking for the “goal”, so to speak. With that idea planted in her head, she pressed forth, maneuvering around the occasional puddle and attempting to keep a low profile for the moment. After all, with how things stood, conflict wasn’t exactly the best thing to encounter.
Needless to say, Dawn had not yet noticed the variety of Erubescians littered about, nor a certain winged Gifted.
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There was a lot of noise. Not a surprise. Then there was screaming. Also not surprising all things considered. Rasteva briefly toyed with the idea of remaining face down in the dirt until the end of the Universe if it meant some peace.
But the Daemon had been an creature of action for as long as they existed. This time should be no different even with their less than sterling company. And so with that resolve in mind Rasteva moved to stand.
Or at least tried very hard to.
It had suddenly become VERY difficult to move, much less rise. The Daemon tried again, this time managing to move to a crouching position. Rasteva managed to raise their head gazing around the Arena.
Had everyone suddenly grown taller, or was their perception from the ground skewed? Shaking off their confusion the Daemon managed to pull their legs beneath themselves to a standing position.
They immediately toppled backwards onto the ground.
Staring up at the sky and Arena walls that were certainly higher than before the Daemon felt inclined to utter a phrase so loved by Mortal creatures in situations like these.
"Fuck."
Flailing wildly at their back, Rasteva managed to unstrap a sword that was far bigger than they could possiby hope to wield in their current state.
Current state being short. Very short.
To be fair Rasteva still stood a good few heads over even the tallest of their present company. But when a person goes from being able to piledrive an entire Castle to only being able to piledrive small to medium sized homes it's a rather jarring change.
Rasteva let out a loud creaking sound of irritation, their burning eye dashing around madly within their helm's visor. The Daemon recalled however vaguely, the one called Rend saying that they would put everyone here on even footing. Which the Daemon supposed was fair enough. What WASN'T fair was that they were now woefully stunted.
Looking at their now smaller hands, Rasteva suddenly went still. Reaching out with a now trembling claw, the Daemon tapped at their guantleted wrists.
Magic suddenly flared to life upon them, forming chains wrapped tightly about Rasteva's arms. Forged from Magic and held together by only one true intent.
The Daemon had seen these before. Near a Millenia ago.
Rasteva had been bound. To a God that had no idea what they were doing.
The Daemon let out another loud creaking sound and fell face forward into the dirt once more.
But the Daemon had been an creature of action for as long as they existed. This time should be no different even with their less than sterling company. And so with that resolve in mind Rasteva moved to stand.
Or at least tried very hard to.
It had suddenly become VERY difficult to move, much less rise. The Daemon tried again, this time managing to move to a crouching position. Rasteva managed to raise their head gazing around the Arena.
Had everyone suddenly grown taller, or was their perception from the ground skewed? Shaking off their confusion the Daemon managed to pull their legs beneath themselves to a standing position.
They immediately toppled backwards onto the ground.
Staring up at the sky and Arena walls that were certainly higher than before the Daemon felt inclined to utter a phrase so loved by Mortal creatures in situations like these.
"Fuck."
Flailing wildly at their back, Rasteva managed to unstrap a sword that was far bigger than they could possiby hope to wield in their current state.
Current state being short. Very short.
To be fair Rasteva still stood a good few heads over even the tallest of their present company. But when a person goes from being able to piledrive an entire Castle to only being able to piledrive small to medium sized homes it's a rather jarring change.
Rasteva let out a loud creaking sound of irritation, their burning eye dashing around madly within their helm's visor. The Daemon recalled however vaguely, the one called Rend saying that they would put everyone here on even footing. Which the Daemon supposed was fair enough. What WASN'T fair was that they were now woefully stunted.
Looking at their now smaller hands, Rasteva suddenly went still. Reaching out with a now trembling claw, the Daemon tapped at their guantleted wrists.
Magic suddenly flared to life upon them, forming chains wrapped tightly about Rasteva's arms. Forged from Magic and held together by only one true intent.
The Daemon had seen these before. Near a Millenia ago.
Rasteva had been bound. To a God that had no idea what they were doing.
The Daemon let out another loud creaking sound and fell face forward into the dirt once more.
/It appears we’re leaving. Time to get up, I suppose/
The young man stood carefully, lifted his sodden bag, and then nodded at his Mirror, which nodded back and vanished, revealing Verge to the sight of the arena. He hefted his sodden bag onto his shoulder, with all its remarkably ordinary supplies, yawned and walked closer to the main group, smirking just a bit at the sight of all the overconfident ones suffering the punishment set out by this Rend being, and trotted up beside the woman who had last spoken to the fairy who had drenched him, resulting on sopping wet locks that he constantly had to push out of his eyes, and in his clothes clinging uncomfortably to his body with every turn.
“Excuse me, ma’am.” He bowed gently, then kept talking. “What did the fairy want? Any hints on how to get out, perhaps?” he winked and grinned, then looked around the arena, his eyes landing on an unclaimed bag not far from where he’d woken up. “Be right back, sorry.” He jogged over and checked for a label, finding nothing, so he shrugged and unzipped it, finding some clothes, a squeaky bone, a jar of peanut butter and multiple packets of dog treats.
Verge blinked, lifting out one of the foil packs. Maybe it was for the Adira girl and her dragon pet?
The young man stood carefully, lifted his sodden bag, and then nodded at his Mirror, which nodded back and vanished, revealing Verge to the sight of the arena. He hefted his sodden bag onto his shoulder, with all its remarkably ordinary supplies, yawned and walked closer to the main group, smirking just a bit at the sight of all the overconfident ones suffering the punishment set out by this Rend being, and trotted up beside the woman who had last spoken to the fairy who had drenched him, resulting on sopping wet locks that he constantly had to push out of his eyes, and in his clothes clinging uncomfortably to his body with every turn.
“Excuse me, ma’am.” He bowed gently, then kept talking. “What did the fairy want? Any hints on how to get out, perhaps?” he winked and grinned, then looked around the arena, his eyes landing on an unclaimed bag not far from where he’d woken up. “Be right back, sorry.” He jogged over and checked for a label, finding nothing, so he shrugged and unzipped it, finding some clothes, a squeaky bone, a jar of peanut butter and multiple packets of dog treats.
Verge blinked, lifting out one of the foil packs. Maybe it was for the Adira girl and her dragon pet?
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Whilst what Drake said was not something Kora was all that pleased about, it was what he addressed to others. "maybe she should count her blessings first".
Kora's eyes narrowed once more at him, however, ever she was not given a chance to answer back.
The storm took a rather distracted Kora rather by surprise. She skidded back across the stone of the arena, boots struggling to find any purchase on the now rain-slicked rock. By the time the Ocean woman had disappeared, Kora was pretty soaked. Her uniform hung dripping from her form and her hair had stuck together in limp, darkened strands.
The Knight advanced forward again, shaking her hair off like a dog coming in from the rain. She looked over toward where the woman had been to find her no longer in appearance. Whether she was a teleporter or something like that was a question that was not the primary concern in Kora's mind. Moreso was letting a certain winged individual know the depth of her disgust. Much like when dealing with the man before, Kora didn't raise her voice, but conveyed enough antipathy in her low tone to make it clear how she felt about his attempt to dismiss her grievance.
"So...what? You lost a brother so it's okay for you and your buddies to wreck my life and turn my little girl into a child soldier? You got a pretty fucking twisted sense of morality there. Like you deserve a fucking cookie for not murdering a six year old a second time. She was not being 'experimented on'. She was sick. They were trying to help her. And you stole her and turned her against me with your lies. I was sent to the front because you people slaughtered my Knights. I will never see her again. Fuck you and your bullshit 'should be gratefuls'. If you actually had any understanding of family you wouldn't be dismissing that. But apparently no-one here cares about it, and no-one here cares how morally bankrupt you are, so, by all means carry on. "
She gave him another look of undisguised contempt before turning and starting to walk toward the exit.
She wasn't actually especially interested in the whole aforementioned progress, but it gave her a valuable chance to put some distance between herself and these people. As it was, the alternative to this place was finding herself back on the front lines of the war, something that was not really something to strive for. Life was pretty cheap at the moment, but she wasn't in a hurry to die either.
Kora's eyes narrowed once more at him, however, ever she was not given a chance to answer back.
The storm took a rather distracted Kora rather by surprise. She skidded back across the stone of the arena, boots struggling to find any purchase on the now rain-slicked rock. By the time the Ocean woman had disappeared, Kora was pretty soaked. Her uniform hung dripping from her form and her hair had stuck together in limp, darkened strands.
The Knight advanced forward again, shaking her hair off like a dog coming in from the rain. She looked over toward where the woman had been to find her no longer in appearance. Whether she was a teleporter or something like that was a question that was not the primary concern in Kora's mind. Moreso was letting a certain winged individual know the depth of her disgust. Much like when dealing with the man before, Kora didn't raise her voice, but conveyed enough antipathy in her low tone to make it clear how she felt about his attempt to dismiss her grievance.
"So...what? You lost a brother so it's okay for you and your buddies to wreck my life and turn my little girl into a child soldier? You got a pretty fucking twisted sense of morality there. Like you deserve a fucking cookie for not murdering a six year old a second time. She was not being 'experimented on'. She was sick. They were trying to help her. And you stole her and turned her against me with your lies. I was sent to the front because you people slaughtered my Knights. I will never see her again. Fuck you and your bullshit 'should be gratefuls'. If you actually had any understanding of family you wouldn't be dismissing that. But apparently no-one here cares about it, and no-one here cares how morally bankrupt you are, so, by all means carry on. "
She gave him another look of undisguised contempt before turning and starting to walk toward the exit.
She wasn't actually especially interested in the whole aforementioned progress, but it gave her a valuable chance to put some distance between herself and these people. As it was, the alternative to this place was finding herself back on the front lines of the war, something that was not really something to strive for. Life was pretty cheap at the moment, but she wasn't in a hurry to die either.
“No, you’re right. I don’t know what family is like. Not blood family, at any rate, especially at a parental level,” the boy responded bitterly, “What, you think we fed her lies, are you serious? Turned her into a soldier? What the hell are you talking about? We didn’t ask anything of her outside of, ‘Are you hungry?’, ‘Would you like something to eat?’ or ‘did you sleep alright?’ Yeah, we’re real awful, complete monsters taking such good care of her like that and making sure she’s happy. She’s alive. That was the point I was making about my little brother, nothing more. I would much rather my brother be alive and I never see him than I would to know that he’s dead because I kept him around.”
A pause to gather his thoughts. “And she sure as hell isn’t sick as far as I can tell. Open your eyes. She was never sick. Erubesco’s idea of science is sick. I remember being taken hostage by them. I can still feel everything they did to me, trying to figure out my powers, as they claimed it was. Right down to boiling and melting my insides. Yeah, real informative, killing me over and over to see what makes my powers tick. Ever had your insides radiated over and over again? Because that’s only one of many things they did to me. I can only imagine what they were planning on doing to the girl, or what they already have. But gee, what do I know? How dare I help a young child for fear that she might be getting hurt? I must be a real awful terrorist.” The sarcasm was getting pretty heavy on his part. Drake took a breath. A shaky one, at that. His drenched clothes and the cold wind were starting to get to him.
“I get it,” he said after a moment, trying to take a calmer approach, “You miss Hel. I’m sure she misses you, too. Who said you’ll never see her again? Our door is open and as long as you don’t come with ill intent, I know I would have no qualms with you seeing your daughter. Enemy or not, I would never dream of taking that opportunity away.”
Drake seemed a bit distracted suddenly. A familiar aura had appeared, he noticed, one he couldn’t remember being there before. He looked over to the gate, a hint of surprise in his eyes.
Dawn?
She seemed distracted. He figured he should finish this up first before seeing if she was alright. Or if it was even the same Dawn. There seemed to be a lot of different people here from different dimensions, after all.
A pause to gather his thoughts. “And she sure as hell isn’t sick as far as I can tell. Open your eyes. She was never sick. Erubesco’s idea of science is sick. I remember being taken hostage by them. I can still feel everything they did to me, trying to figure out my powers, as they claimed it was. Right down to boiling and melting my insides. Yeah, real informative, killing me over and over to see what makes my powers tick. Ever had your insides radiated over and over again? Because that’s only one of many things they did to me. I can only imagine what they were planning on doing to the girl, or what they already have. But gee, what do I know? How dare I help a young child for fear that she might be getting hurt? I must be a real awful terrorist.” The sarcasm was getting pretty heavy on his part. Drake took a breath. A shaky one, at that. His drenched clothes and the cold wind were starting to get to him.
“I get it,” he said after a moment, trying to take a calmer approach, “You miss Hel. I’m sure she misses you, too. Who said you’ll never see her again? Our door is open and as long as you don’t come with ill intent, I know I would have no qualms with you seeing your daughter. Enemy or not, I would never dream of taking that opportunity away.”
Drake seemed a bit distracted suddenly. A familiar aura had appeared, he noticed, one he couldn’t remember being there before. He looked over to the gate, a hint of surprise in his eyes.
Dawn?
She seemed distracted. He figured he should finish this up first before seeing if she was alright. Or if it was even the same Dawn. There seemed to be a lot of different people here from different dimensions, after all.
Adira Hasidare
As Adira walked up to the group she could see that there were still more arrivals. She paused a moment to wonder exactly how many heroes Rend had thrown into this arena or how he expected them all to succeed in a mission together. This was quickly becoming less like a party of adventurers and more like a small army.
She'd missed the majority of what they'd said, but it seemed things had calmed down for the most part. Many of them were standing in a wide circle or on the outskirts of the circle. The red-headed warrior was no longer on fire nor was the dragon-man hybrid was not perched on his staff shooting lightning - they were both walking towards the now open gate. The fairy who'd causes the storm had vanished (which must've been who Rend was referring to), and the empty suit of armor... well, it was laying on the dirt ground. And perhaps it was a trick of the light, but it seemed smaller than before.
"Um, Rasteva...?" Adira let her question hang in the air as Fell nudged one of the suit's legs with his snout. "Are you alright?"
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Armory watched as tensions only heated further with the new arrival. A few moments ago this whole affair was interesting, and made the cyborg curious about what was to happen next. Now however he was starting to get irritated, these people were being ridiculous, in their current situation there was only two possible things that should be happening. Either they should be working together to get out of here, or those involved with heated tensions should be battling it out, killing each other preferably, so the ones still interested in surviving could continue to do so. All this arguing however was getting everyone no where.
Armory started to open his mouth, only to stop as another newcomer made himself known and said something rather callous that made even the friendly murderer shudder somewhat. This apparently angered the strange ice fairy who began to fly into the air and whip up a storm. With rain. Armory shuddered visibly this time. Things couldn't be getting any worse for the cyborg, it seemed everything that could kill him or cause significant damage to his systems decided to rear their ugly heads today. He frantically looked for the umbrella, anything really to shield him from the rain. He stopped abruptly when he noticed the strange force field around him, causing the rain to harmlessly slide off the force field. He breathed a sigh of relief, and watched as awe as the strange woman's storm only grew worse, only to shortly fade. That woman whoever she was fully reminded the cyborg of many of the heroes from his own world. A powerful,self-righteous, do-gooder, with a pompous attitude. Though it hardly mattered with her sudden disappearance.
Rend clearly didn't approve as he spoke again sounding as unsure and as before. Clearly he didn't put much thought into this game of his, which greatly irritated the cyborg. If you're going to do something like this you should at least do it right. It seemed however that they were not meant to be fighting each other at all, rather work together to finish likely dangerous tasks, and even protect one another. Suddenly John understood.
To him it seemed just like a contract he would accept back home. Get called in, assigned a job, get it done, then get paid. Though he obviously wouldn't get paid for this, he had hoped he would at least be rewarded with freedom back to his world. In any case he knew his goal, or at least part of it. Work with these people, and keep them safe. If that's what Rend wanted, well then that's what he'd get.
He looked over the others, for the time being his teammates. "Well as odd as all that was at least it cleared a few things up. We're supposed to work together then, and the gates open. So we should probably get going, and sort the rest out on the way". As he spoke he noticed that at least two members of the group had already made their way for the gate, with out so much as a word. The antisocial soldier, and Eze both made their way to the gate, Eze looked significantly weaker, he was practically shambling away. Rend's punishment no doubt. While he couldn't deny that he was glad, was much weaker than before, the damn lizard was going to get himself hurt going off on his own in his condition like that. Not that he cared personally but Rend did say to protect each other. He looked over at the others once more, particularly the ones who seemed to share the same universe.Looks like you all still have some issues to work out though. So why don't you settle those out and come to an agreement? Peacefully this time if you don't mind. I'm going to check on the dragon, make sure he doesn't fall over or something. Try not to take to long alright. I'm assuming that the sooner we get this done, the sooner we get to leave. With that he parted from the group,grabbed his bag, and made his way to Eze.
As he walked toward the dragon he could clearly see the effect Rend's punishment must've had. The guy deserved it for stirring up all that nonsense with the lightening but still. You know you probably won't get very far like that on you're own. You should wait for the others. Maybe rest a bit, who knows how long they'll take. Whatever Rend wants us to do probably won't be easy. I bet that's why he brought so many of us."
Armory started to open his mouth, only to stop as another newcomer made himself known and said something rather callous that made even the friendly murderer shudder somewhat. This apparently angered the strange ice fairy who began to fly into the air and whip up a storm. With rain. Armory shuddered visibly this time. Things couldn't be getting any worse for the cyborg, it seemed everything that could kill him or cause significant damage to his systems decided to rear their ugly heads today. He frantically looked for the umbrella, anything really to shield him from the rain. He stopped abruptly when he noticed the strange force field around him, causing the rain to harmlessly slide off the force field. He breathed a sigh of relief, and watched as awe as the strange woman's storm only grew worse, only to shortly fade. That woman whoever she was fully reminded the cyborg of many of the heroes from his own world. A powerful,self-righteous, do-gooder, with a pompous attitude. Though it hardly mattered with her sudden disappearance.
Rend clearly didn't approve as he spoke again sounding as unsure and as before. Clearly he didn't put much thought into this game of his, which greatly irritated the cyborg. If you're going to do something like this you should at least do it right. It seemed however that they were not meant to be fighting each other at all, rather work together to finish likely dangerous tasks, and even protect one another. Suddenly John understood.
To him it seemed just like a contract he would accept back home. Get called in, assigned a job, get it done, then get paid. Though he obviously wouldn't get paid for this, he had hoped he would at least be rewarded with freedom back to his world. In any case he knew his goal, or at least part of it. Work with these people, and keep them safe. If that's what Rend wanted, well then that's what he'd get.
He looked over the others, for the time being his teammates. "Well as odd as all that was at least it cleared a few things up. We're supposed to work together then, and the gates open. So we should probably get going, and sort the rest out on the way". As he spoke he noticed that at least two members of the group had already made their way for the gate, with out so much as a word. The antisocial soldier, and Eze both made their way to the gate, Eze looked significantly weaker, he was practically shambling away. Rend's punishment no doubt. While he couldn't deny that he was glad, was much weaker than before, the damn lizard was going to get himself hurt going off on his own in his condition like that. Not that he cared personally but Rend did say to protect each other. He looked over at the others once more, particularly the ones who seemed to share the same universe.Looks like you all still have some issues to work out though. So why don't you settle those out and come to an agreement? Peacefully this time if you don't mind. I'm going to check on the dragon, make sure he doesn't fall over or something. Try not to take to long alright. I'm assuming that the sooner we get this done, the sooner we get to leave. With that he parted from the group,grabbed his bag, and made his way to Eze.
As he walked toward the dragon he could clearly see the effect Rend's punishment must've had. The guy deserved it for stirring up all that nonsense with the lightening but still. You know you probably won't get very far like that on you're own. You should wait for the others. Maybe rest a bit, who knows how long they'll take. Whatever Rend wants us to do probably won't be easy. I bet that's why he brought so many of us."
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Rasteva heard the Girl's approach before she even spoke, her small Dragon Beast padding along beside her. The armored figure let out another creaking groan of frustration at her question, still lying facedown in the dirt.
"No, Rasteva is not all right. Rasteva is small. No respectable Daemon exists under twelve feet. It is shameful."
The Daemon was vaguely aware of the Girl's pet nudging at one of their legs, and Rasteva managed to summon the strength to flap an armored hand in its direction before pushing themselves up to a sitting position.
The visor of Rasteva's helm was pitch black, their burning eye not visible yet it was easy to tell that they were staring at the ground. "This is an issue that cannot be resolved easily. This one can recall a time when they were bound to another's will....But Kingdoms have come into being and long fallen since that time."
Rasteva let out another creaking groan. "And this is.....Different. Rasteva is not sure how weak they truly are this way." The armored figure glanced at the giant sword sitting next to them, its blade wider than the Daemon was tall. "This One is sure to be restored to glory if they play Rend's game..But there is no telling how long that may take....Or of Rasteva will survive to see that day.
The Daemon fell silent, mulling over their thoughts. Uncertainty was something rarely felt by the armored figure, much less uncertainty in regards to their own ability. They were also reluctant to reveal the depth of their doubts to the girl standing beside them. The people brought here with them seemed confident in their ability. And Rasteva had little reason to doubt in their ability and experinces on their own worlds.
But here it was different.
Here a God stole the power from two beings he thought too dangerous to leave unchecked. Rasteva was not sure about the Dragon Man Eze, but judging from their earlier display they were clearly not to be trifled with.
The armored figure already knew well the cost of putting a Daemon under one's thumb.
Rend's inexperience was obvious. But the same could be said for their immense power.
And that truly was what made the current circumstances so dire. He could very well set before the small band a challenge they were incapable of defeating. And in his inexperience they could all wind up dead.
Many of the people within the Arena probably felt well in charge of the situation. But Rasteva had just received a small taste of the Game Master's power.
They did not like it.
Letting out another creaking groan, the Daemon moved to stand, pushing down the surge of rage they felt as they were truly reminded of how small they were now. Staring first down at their sword, now too large for them to wield and then up at their massive polearm, still encased in ice.
"Rasteva shall return for these. This one always returns...." Glancing down at the Girl and her pet, the Daemon nodded their horned head, their burning eye sparking to life within its visor. "Come along. If we go together we may fare better than going off alone."
"No, Rasteva is not all right. Rasteva is small. No respectable Daemon exists under twelve feet. It is shameful."
The Daemon was vaguely aware of the Girl's pet nudging at one of their legs, and Rasteva managed to summon the strength to flap an armored hand in its direction before pushing themselves up to a sitting position.
The visor of Rasteva's helm was pitch black, their burning eye not visible yet it was easy to tell that they were staring at the ground. "This is an issue that cannot be resolved easily. This one can recall a time when they were bound to another's will....But Kingdoms have come into being and long fallen since that time."
Rasteva let out another creaking groan. "And this is.....Different. Rasteva is not sure how weak they truly are this way." The armored figure glanced at the giant sword sitting next to them, its blade wider than the Daemon was tall. "This One is sure to be restored to glory if they play Rend's game..But there is no telling how long that may take....Or of Rasteva will survive to see that day.
The Daemon fell silent, mulling over their thoughts. Uncertainty was something rarely felt by the armored figure, much less uncertainty in regards to their own ability. They were also reluctant to reveal the depth of their doubts to the girl standing beside them. The people brought here with them seemed confident in their ability. And Rasteva had little reason to doubt in their ability and experinces on their own worlds.
But here it was different.
Here a God stole the power from two beings he thought too dangerous to leave unchecked. Rasteva was not sure about the Dragon Man Eze, but judging from their earlier display they were clearly not to be trifled with.
The armored figure already knew well the cost of putting a Daemon under one's thumb.
Rend's inexperience was obvious. But the same could be said for their immense power.
And that truly was what made the current circumstances so dire. He could very well set before the small band a challenge they were incapable of defeating. And in his inexperience they could all wind up dead.
Many of the people within the Arena probably felt well in charge of the situation. But Rasteva had just received a small taste of the Game Master's power.
They did not like it.
Letting out another creaking groan, the Daemon moved to stand, pushing down the surge of rage they felt as they were truly reminded of how small they were now. Staring first down at their sword, now too large for them to wield and then up at their massive polearm, still encased in ice.
"Rasteva shall return for these. This one always returns...." Glancing down at the Girl and her pet, the Daemon nodded their horned head, their burning eye sparking to life within its visor. "Come along. If we go together we may fare better than going off alone."
"Hm?" He looked skyward, to wear the torrential downpour had fallen from the clouds, soaking the once dry ground of the arena turning the dry dust into a thick sludge, the kind that held your boots down with every step you take. Parting with a lonesome squelch as you tried to move. This wasn't nearly as interesting to Amos as the sky, which had immediately reverted back to it's arid heat. It was gone without a trace, just like the woman who he assumed called it. Lucky break in his mind. She skipped out right before this 'Rend' character depowered the loudest of them all. Served to make things more interesting for the leader he figured, which made things more interesting for them.
He shook himself off, each raindrop that landed on his gear flying aimlessly into the puddles below, absorbed by it's sibling liquid in an instant. The rain did little to quench whatever fire was causing the original two to argue, wings and fury over there. Political idealisms from the sound of it, mixed with some personal issues they had. Whatever, they could trade words neither listened to all they wanted. Long as they got moving.
Which a fella who looked a lot like him pointed out, by 'looked' Amos was references the dual revolvers, one shy of his trio, and cybernetic implants. All seen and studied through his right eye. His own differed in looks, as his enhancements were all internal, and linked with his biology in the subtlest of ways. A feat only accomplished by a faction that put the majority of their scientific weight behinds genetic enhancements and robotics.
"Ayup." Was the first word that came out of Amos's mouth. He decided to throw in with the other cyborg for now, less out of a sense of brotherly connection, and more because he was moving the group forward.
Amos suddenly spun around, his grey shawl freeing the last bits of moisture from its folds and sending them curving into a swirl that misted around his body as it moved. His revolvers, long barreled things balanced perfectly to fit his hands flashed from his two side holsters, they were single actions, requiring a quick thumb of the revolver to pull back so the hammer could fall and send the hot metal flying.
Hot being literal here, as each bullet that left was sheathed in white hot plasma, perfect for melting/shattering the faye ice that incased Rasteva's pole-arm.
"Can't leave a fella without his weapon can ya."
Amos paused before re holstering his weapons, waiting to see if any of them had gotten jumpy over the sudden onslaught of bullets. He didn't figure tensions were that high, but you never knew with some folk.
He shook himself off, each raindrop that landed on his gear flying aimlessly into the puddles below, absorbed by it's sibling liquid in an instant. The rain did little to quench whatever fire was causing the original two to argue, wings and fury over there. Political idealisms from the sound of it, mixed with some personal issues they had. Whatever, they could trade words neither listened to all they wanted. Long as they got moving.
Which a fella who looked a lot like him pointed out, by 'looked' Amos was references the dual revolvers, one shy of his trio, and cybernetic implants. All seen and studied through his right eye. His own differed in looks, as his enhancements were all internal, and linked with his biology in the subtlest of ways. A feat only accomplished by a faction that put the majority of their scientific weight behinds genetic enhancements and robotics.
"Ayup." Was the first word that came out of Amos's mouth. He decided to throw in with the other cyborg for now, less out of a sense of brotherly connection, and more because he was moving the group forward.
Amos suddenly spun around, his grey shawl freeing the last bits of moisture from its folds and sending them curving into a swirl that misted around his body as it moved. His revolvers, long barreled things balanced perfectly to fit his hands flashed from his two side holsters, they were single actions, requiring a quick thumb of the revolver to pull back so the hammer could fall and send the hot metal flying.
Hot being literal here, as each bullet that left was sheathed in white hot plasma, perfect for melting/shattering the faye ice that incased Rasteva's pole-arm.
"Can't leave a fella without his weapon can ya."
Amos paused before re holstering his weapons, waiting to see if any of them had gotten jumpy over the sudden onslaught of bullets. He didn't figure tensions were that high, but you never knew with some folk.