Realistic or Modern [Closed] Magik Hero U In-Character

[Solirus]

Nexus​

It all seemed to unfold so quickly, in his distracted mind helping out Earthquake, he became unaware of the looming threat quickly approaching. Nexus felt the sharp pain piercing his shoulder as he was then dragged away into the forest, the sight of the group fading from distance. The bite of the beast dug deeper and deeper and Nexus could feel his strength slowly fading as his own vision darkened and blurred unnaturally. Yet just as it seemed that his consciousness would fade into nothing he heard Pier's voice echo from within. "Focus sir! You still hold strength, you may yet overcome this creature of darkness." Nexus's attention snapped back into the moment and soon analyzed his situation.

The beast's prized jewels were it's jaw and it's speed, if he could take out both of them he could potentially take it down. However from his current position, it would be almost impossible to break free from the jaws, thus he would need to target the beast's speed. With his free arm did Nexus grab one of the arms and with his leg did he swing his body to trip and tumble the creature using it's own speed against it as they were both dragged by the ground. The beast reflexively bit down harder and Nexus's winced at the pain, yet it was not enough to stop him, as now he was lying on top of the beast, his free hand clutched into a fist carrying the rest of his strength with the help of gravity into pummeling its upper jaw.

The Beast was resilient however even with his familiars aid behind his strikes the bite did not loosen or budge, yet with every strike he could feel energy surging within him until after the seventh hit he could feel he was at his limit and with his eighth punch he released all the stored explosive energy onto the beasts teeth.

 

[jmann]

EARTHQUAKE | Hector
"Thanks," Earthquake muttered with a nervous tremble. He had never liked the feeling when Atrian helped his form. Hector knew it was just out of kindness, but it made him feel so weak compared to Atrian and he detested that. Even guarded by the muscles of Earthquake, he was still just as nervous.
Earthquake took a long moment to think He had no ideas, no plans, no understanding of the scene. He didn't play MHU for the puzzles...
Then the swarm attacked. The savage critters sent Earthquake into action, he dropped down and swept up Pogo as the creatures closed in. Pogo chirped in distress and stretched for the slobbery rock that had slipped from its mouth. He turned and in a flash Nexus was gone. There was barely time to think.
"NEXUS!" Another sound tripped his attention. The swarm was all around. It had trapped Sol Invictus and the others. Nexus was too far to help, but maybe the others could help rescue him.
Earthquake half-ran and half-jumped through the swam to reach the others. Sol was running too, signaling Earthquake for a boost.
"Come on, buddy," Earthquake gently squeezed Pogo until a flash turned Pogo's warm skin to twisting metal and magic. First the size of a dinner plate, then the shield of full size in his grip. Earthquake dove low in front of the group waiting for Sol. Every muscle in his body was primed and ready for the moment Sol was on top of him, ready to launch upwards with his full might.

---

ThatWhichShouldBe Juju

 

[Tiguidi]

TWILIGHT​

“I guess staying away from all that corrupting stuff is a no-brainer, huh…”, Twilight commented with a dry laugh. She glanced at her staff, having trouble imagining her own familiar emotionally helping her through any kind of corruption. That monkey was extremely rigid in personality…

She switched her gaze to Moki, not impressed with the fuzzy creature’s ‘hint’. She opened her mouth to say something about how hints needed to be helpful but Moki seemed quick to realize and gave a proper explanation. “Ah, there you go, thank you! So it’s all a matter of correctly sensing it.”

She raised an eyebrow when Moki suddenly deemed it a good idea to disappear and leave everyone to their own devices but didn’t think much of it. “Useful as always…”, she mumbled before clearing her throat. “A-Anyway! Now that Dopple looks a bit better, we could try and find another way to the other side!”

“Twilight, I believe there might be more pressing matters.”, came the echo of her familiar’s elderly voice in her head. “Listening to Moki’s hint might have saved you this trouble.”

“Eh? What do you mean -oh no.” Her eyes widened when the crawling mass of darkness came into view. Things happened so fast from that moment onward. Everyone got separated by the swarm of tiny monsters; there were so many of them that Twilight couldn’t even locate some of her teammates. “Crap, er, gotta do something-!”

“I believe now might be a good time to-”

“Blast everything, I got it!”, she interrupted her familiar. Forcing a grin, she channeled her Magik, her body starting to crack with electricity. The swarm had yet to reach them; she could make her attack real big given enough time, but…

“Prism!?” Her gaze whipped to her ally as she dove through the mass. “What are you-!? Oh!!” While the path Prism had created got immediately covered by the swarm, it allowed Twilight to see what was beyond the immediate vicinity. It looked like both Candace and Nexus got caught by two bigger monsters. Splitting up the team really was these things’ only strategy, huh? Regardless, making sure helpless teammates were safe was top priority! “Clearing a path!”, she called out, pointing her staff forward.

Unleashing her Magik, Twilight shot forth a powerful bolt of lightning to the swarm between her and the leader, hoping it would give the team enough leeway to quickly go to Nexus and Candace. She didn’t know how quickly the swarm would recover from that but she was ready to pump up her power and fire multiple bolts if it helped clear the path without risk for the others.

---

Juju Nellancholy Cresion Breezes

 

[Nellancholy]

Finally, the situation had changed. Perhaps Doppelwalker's initiative, as careless as it was, happened to be exactly what was needed to tip the scales. But which way said scale-tipping had occurred was yet to be seen.

"YES! They sally forth, attempting to swarm us! We shall cut them down and render them to ash!" Kali shrieked in Gleam's mind. The time for battle was upon them.

Earthquake's bellow brought a most urgent matter to their attention: Nexus had been snatched, and it seemed so had Candace as well. This situation was hardly a battle that their enemies wanted them to take on equal footing. Nexus resisted, gathering his strength and focusing his blows, but would it be sufficient?

In the midst of panic, it wouldn't do for them to forget the main focus of this situation. "Earthquake! Sol! If you can get Nexus quick, don't let Prism and Candace off on their own! They want us to split up!" jmann ThatWhichShouldBe

Prism had pushed her physique to the limit in order to pursue Candace, likely trying to make up for her failure in crossing the bridge earlier. If being with Candace counted as not being alone, that was fine. But if it didn't...

In the meantime, Twilight's earsplitting attack cut a path through the swarm; though it healed up quick, it was perhaps diminished from what it was before, even if only a little. What a fascinating pattern, undulating and swirling, forming mass when needed and dispersing when not, almost like some kind of superfluid compound. Damn it, she should have brought a bottle or a slide or something to give to the Chemistry Club.

No matter. Win first, and hopefully study later.

Gleam pirouetted gracefully to press her back against Twilight's. "I'm not leaving you alone here. I got your back." Pulling out her familiar into chakram form, she snapped her arm out, flinging it into a sharp arc that cut through the elements of the swarm that might try to flank Twilight. With a pull of her arm, she drew it back, cutting through more of them as it returned. Tiguidi

 

[Cresion Breezes]

#776598 #c6b5c9
Interactions: Gleam ( Nellancholy ), Twilight ( Tiguidi ) Mentions: Prism ( Juju )​

Doppelwalker was still a bit groggy, but the black spots in her vision was fading and soon dissolved into the familiar yet unfamiliar scenery before. She coughed a few times before staring at the ravine's opposite side. Something was stirring. There was a jumbled group of something......moving, rushing towards them. Then, the misty cloud of creatures disappeared. Then, the sound of hissing and screaming came from behind.

"...Wait? What?" There seems to be some sort of teleportation or portal going on, Doppelwalker's first reaction was whether or not they could also use a similar mechanism to reach the other side. However, there seems to be no time to ponder anything long term as the swarm of monsters headed towards them. It was familiar, so familiar that Doppelwalker scoffed a bit at these monsters' lack of creativity. These swarms were a cover for something, a distraction, one that takes away their energy so the true enemies can strike.

And strike they did, as those who weren't as close to the ravine, being closer to the approaching swarm, was snatched up by the larger monsters that were using the swarm as a cover and prevented any solid rescue efforts. With a shout, another hero who was nearby, Prism, it seems her name was, charged forward, only to be slashed and chipped by the unrelenting attack of the swarming monsters.

"Tsk!" This was all too familiar as well, if Doppelwalker learned one thing from the previous mission, it's that you should never panic just because something bad happened to your allies. The last time someone died, another went down with them from the pitch of emotions clouding her judgement. Of course, for many people that is easier said than done. "Hey! Don't just charge in- Ugh!" This was frustrating. For something that says it rewards virtues, experience is telling otherwise, it seems like the best way to stay safe is to be apathetic. Doppelwalker shook her head as it seems like they had no chance of calling Prism back, she likely won't listen anyways.

Luckily, there seems to be two other more cool-headed (relatively) heroes around her, at least some people she could get along with. Twilight, or Samantha, being one of the few people that Doppelwalker had confirmed the identity of, and Gleam, another rather mysterious and capricious one. Trying to blow up everything in one go was a bit...suboptimal, to say the least, but at least she was not actively putting herself in harm's way.

"I'll keep an eye on them." Two rather translucent clones were generated and began heading in the direction of the two monsters that abducted their allies, the snake-like familiar also curled up again and transformed into the monitoring lenses that floated back up to Doppelwalker's eye level. "I will let you all know if something happens, so try to stay calm." Though to be fair, if those who were taken were going to be killed brutally, Doppelwalker would have not said anything to the rest. That type of news was bad for morale, and if someone had to see their teammates get shredded into pieces, then let it be her. It's not like she was feeling...protective, or anything like that, it was just pragmatic for someone who's already witness death to do it more. It'll affect her mental less than the others. Though Doppelwalker still sighed a bit, shielding others from trauma was unlike her, besides, trying to do that in a situation like this seems ultimately futile.

"Also, I've seen this one before, the small ones are just a distraction, they're hiding something bigger and more dangerous inside." With a wave of her hand, more humanoid constructs were generated, this time many of them ethereal and ghostly, as not much energy was expended into creating them. "At least her impulsiveness distracted some of them," She said dryly, referring to Prism, somehow critsizing another person for being reckless. "I'll handle the rest. Watch out for something that looks extra dangerous." The ghostly clones dispersed, attempting to think out the swarm of monsters while providing some openings for the two clones that went after the captured heroes to slip through unnoticed. Doppelwalker closed her eyes in order to focus, winching a bit as the amount of constructs she is making is taking its toll.

 

[galvanismgal]

Clair | Esper Princess [_____]

---

Seems the can wasn’t the only thing exploding given Rush’s temper. Everything seemed a mess just like it as well. The only thing good that came out of it was that Clair could now place two of their teams’ abilities. It was nothing to be smug about though. Based on what she had observed so far their party composition could be worrisome against some of the foes normally found in magic hero u if the game could be used as a reference. No sense it couldn't be given their ego forms came from it. A shame the group didn’t have more time or brain cells to figure more of these sorts of things out beforehand.

Gaia seemed to be trying to keep the peace at least as was Clair by keeping her own mouth shut. On the unlikely chance the mission went well she could chew everyone out later about this. If Rush had any morals, she would be able to look past the accidental transgression like the hero she should be even if that seemed out of character for the woman. God, with how she gripped that can Rush should be careful not to injure herself.

With everyone else seeming to go hog wild with using their powers there was no reason she couldn’t either. Clair knew from practice with her phone the night before the cost of using her ability and about how quickly she regained it so even if others found themselves in a tough spot from using their powers early she would be fine. The split drunk should be lighter than the phone she practiced on and it would be a good chance to check the range of her powers. To confirm the vague feeling of the limitations she felt while using her telekinesis Clair tried to remove the liquid from those caught in the crossfire. It was the first time trying to use it on something that wasn't a soil object so the results may vary. Keep in mind this was not out of the goodness of her heart because if there was one thing Clair hated, ignoring that she hated many things, it was being sticky. While Rush did not seem the type for skinship who knows about Gaia and Clair was not about to be one accidental touch away from disaster. Clair would have to start bringing her emergency cleaning bag with her to missions given…this.

The natural flow of the situation was interrupted by the appearance of Moki which sent Rush into a tizzy. It was a little concerning to Clair with how freely he could appear so she would have to make it clear to him later to not jump on her for a landing spot. Figures that Rush would be the type to stay out late and get drunk and Clair was on Moki’s side since he did give Rush a fair chance that she squandered. It was easy to not be disappointed though since Clair had no high opinion of their assumed mentor already. This new information just made it seem like Rush would either live long enough to get herself together or die to drive others to pull themselves together. Clair glanced at the others since the second was more likely needed. Rush’s sacrifice would probably be in vain though poor thing. Hopefully she would at least gain the wisdom that Moki was a cat before then.

While Rush continued to regret her life choices it seemed like Moki was gracing them with a Q and A period. Normally it would have been best to plan out things ahead of time but time seemed something the group was constantly short on so it was up to her to start things off. Clair, like everyone else, knew the best sort of questions to ask in these sorts of situations.

“What is something important that we should know that we can not find out from Rush or from the information on our phones that will help us?” She asked.

Moki said to make it quick so such a question was the best for multiple reasons. The first was because it could discourage people from asking people stupid questions that they would already have known the answer to if they read the information on the phone. Secondly it gave a clue into the sort of information they would be able to whittle out of Rush. The fact she mentioned normally not wanting to be on a team and this lonely dungeon somehow forcing her hand hinted that she would be forced to be more forthcoming with information at least unless Rush herself wanted to fail. Lastly it gave the group a chance to see how Moki would assess the questions. Given the strict yet vague nature of her question Clair should be able learn what he thought was important. If the answer was something like Rush enjoys holding hands teehee the team should know to ask more specific questions and it would set Clair up for better communication the next time. Lastly if it failed to give any merit at least people could collect themselves after suddenly using their powers. Clair would be paying attention to the answer so they could focus using the time to think of a good question themselves.

---

Juju x_Tasia_X mytho ave goin insane Elisa

 

[ThatWhichShouldBe]

Sol Invictus

"Mithras! Horus!"

His familiars are already transforming into the gauntlets around his hands, as Sol bursts into motion. They were surrounded, caught in a deadly trap. But for Sol, it was almost a relief. Finally, an enemy he could strike, an enemy he could fucking hurt! Sol lays about him with flaming punches, scattering the darkness before him as he rushes to the rest of the group, reuniting with Twilight and her group. He spends a moment just laying into the crowd, incinerating the opponents attacking his fellow heroes, watching them sputter out of existence in flame and mighty blows.

That'd teach them to attack his fucking friends!

Then he realizes what Earthquake is doing, and grins. Sol leaps onto Earthquake's prepared shield, preparing himself to be launched into the air. At which point, his gauntlets would burn, and he'd send himself flying towards Nexus and Candace like a comet. This asshole had stolen their friends once. He wouldn't get a second fucking shot at it! That much he promised!

 

[Peckinou]

Wisp​

The wish to stay at home started to grow within them as things began to unfold, they had mostly kept quite and stayed out the way till now, but as time went on Wisp had gotten more annoyed watching the entire display. The argument and the beckoning for questions wasn't something Wisp planned to participate in, they just wanted to hurry this up and go home, and as of right now she had no good words to say. Not that she would of said anything good in the first place anyways, just listening to the back and forth between Moki and Rush was honestly giving her a headache and she already had multiple retorts and sarcastic comments on standby if she felt like pissing people off. When one of the other girls decided to ask their own question Wisp let out a annoyed sigh though they did think that it would of been something they would of got to, they had to admit that they were annoyed with the fact it wasn't one of the first things the had gotten to. "Yeah that is such a valid question, and if you could get straight to the point that would be most preferable as well." It took a concentrated effort to not be even more rude than she usually was, and it almost sickened them, she was definitely didn't plan to act nice later and she didn't care if it didn't make her any friends either. mytho ave goin insane Elisa x_Tasia_X galvanismgal Juju

 

[Juju]

┌── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──┐
Nellancholy
ThatWhichShouldBe
Tiguidi
Solirus
jmann
Cresion Breezes
└── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──┘
Stored energy, now released, charged the air and splintered blackened fangs, knocking fragments and stray teeth across the torn ground. An eerie screech rippled through the woods, tapering off into a sporadic hiss. Nexus had managed to strike the monster, which was still recovering from its tumble and squirmed with its withered underbelly to the sky.

Nexus’s fist had blown a hole into its toothy maw, breaking most of its frontal fangs. A decisive strike, to be sure. At least, it would seem that way. With his arm having caved in the creature’s mouth, Nexus would soon feel a disgusting black tongue shoot out from the broken gap and wrap around his uninjured arm. It was slimy and cold, like scuzzy pond water in winter, and he could feel the same energy-sapping effect as before, only much more concentrated. He couldn't feel his arm by the time the creature pulled it into its broken, gaping mouth, and he could scarcely move as it unhinged its jaw and loomed it over Nexus’s head. Quite vaguely, he might even be reminded of a snake swallowing a rodent whole. Dark splotches threatened to invade his sight and filled his head with cotton static. Everything went quiet, even the sounds of his familiars’ voices were muted mumbles.

When his vision cleared up again he found himself standing in his house, though it was empty of anything and anyone. It was like all the signs of a life within the walls had been wiped clean. Actually, he inherently knew that it was only him that had been left behind. It was on purpose. He had been a̵̧̝̝͛͐̿b̵̢̈́ǎ̵̦͖̟ņ̷̮̫̈̀d̶̛̳̻͇̾̎́o̶̯͊̆̚n̴̖̙̩̔̽ë̷̢̳̼d̴̠̗̈́. Everything of real value had been taken. There was no remorse in leaving behind something so worthless, empty and forgotten. Just like this house. It's no wonder why his parents left. Seeking attention in others that you so desperately crave from people who hate you. They hate you. T̵͔̕h̵̤̄e̵̝͒y̷͎̒ ̵̑͜ạ̶̓l̴͔̈́ẃ̵͔a̷̛̜ÿ̵̮s̸͕̑ ̵̧̌h̴͍̄a̷̭̔v̶̩̚e̵͙͑.

Then again... hate would imply they care at all.

It was dark inside his house, and strangely every window and door had been removed. Only long, shadowy hallways remained. Were there always this many? In the rims of his eyes he could see tall, dark figures peering out from dark doorways and behind corners. Yet anytime he tried to look at them they disappeared. He could also tell that the longer he wandered the bigger each room and hallway became, as if the house was slowly drowning him. At every turn he could only remember childhood memories of pain and isolation.

**Nexus has encountered a creature that preys on one of his fears. In fact, it is linked with one or more of his Vices, making this especially dangerous. He is naturally at a disadvantage to its attacks and may take longer to recover. If he can at all. For now he will have to deal with the uprising of some of his darkest memories and emotions. There are no real wrong or right answers here, simply a reaction. Only once that is realized may one try to look for a way out of the pit. [[Please make a post describing Nexus' fear-memories and possibly gaining some sort of stability enough to think clearer in this hell, though he is still trapped. A fuller recovery may start in a different post!]]**

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──​

In a flash of light and electricity, Twilight’s magic ripped through the swarm of giggling monsters, evaporating a huge chunk of them in a single line. For a moment there was a clearing in the swarm, but soon the monsters began to reform back into the little clawed imps. This was quickly denied by a swift and precise chakram throw by Gleam. Using their teamwork, the two heroes managed to thin out the swarm that had gathered around them. While some stragglers remained, they no longer obscured their sight or posed a major threat.

Dopplewalker’s attempt to chastise Prism fell on deaf ears as the crystal-hero sprinted off after her friend. She didn’t even notice the clone that followed in hot pursuit. Both of the clones managed to run away from the swarm without taking any damage. In fact, they contributed to destroying a large chunk of the swarm as they made some of the monsters swap targets, leaving them vulnerable to the attacks of Sol Invictus, Gleam and Twilight. The two clones were free to chase after the two largest monsters, with only 3-4 of the little monsters managing to follow either of them. They seemed to be rather graceless without their swarm and could only stumble and hop after the clones with their stubby legs. So long as the clones kept moving, it was likely they couldn’t catch up.

With the help of Dopplewaler’s clones providing distractions and Gleam and Twilight working in unison, Sol Invictus was also able to destroy some of his own swarm. Without an additional teammate, however, a lot of the monsters he burned with his gauntlets simply reformed into the giggling monsters. A good deal of his killing spree was thanks to the recently made clones, which both absorbed some of the damage and also provided an alternate target. In the end one of them was destroyed while the other was heavily damaged, but the damage done to the swarm made it worth it.

Earthquake was also in his own mess, but together he and Sol managed to hatch a bold plan. Sol Invictus successfully leapt through the swarm, though their claws caught at his legs and left bloody lines. Despite this, Sol managed to land on Earthquake’s shield and with the help of his fellow hero, launched himself towards the fleeing Leader-monster.

Sol flew above the remaining swarm and across the dead grass, crashing down between Nexus and Candace’s monsters in a flaming burst. The lesser monster (holding Candace) was further away and managed to skitter out of the blast's range, while the other didn’t have enough time. The Leader, who had been preoccupied with the process of devouring Nexus, was hit by the flames and let out a horrible shriek. Still holding the nearly unconscious Nexus by its long black tongue, it scrambled back onto its feet. Its fangs were broken, but it had more weapons at its disposal.

The oily hairs along its back moved as clumped tendrils, lashing out at Sol Invictus like whips. Despite its presumably lethal claws, it seemed to be keeping Sol Invictus at a distance. Keeping Sol Invictus in its ugly sights, it backed up slowly while trying to keep the hero away with its whip strikes. Meanwhile, dark clumps began to break off of its hairy back, falling to the ground and transforming into more of the small monsters that had been swarming them earlier. The newly forming swarm was quick to jump at Sol Invictus, latching onto him to claw and bite his already wounded legs. Considering its previous technique, it appeared that the burnt and de-fanged monster wished to obscure itself in yet another swarm.

It still held Nexus in its tongue, holding him up by his good arm while blood drained from the other. A black miasma was centered around this wound, similar to Dopplewalker's previous ailment, though this time dark splotches stained his EGO. Sol Invictus would be immediately reminded of the stains that had plagued him just two nights ago. On the flip side, the monster seemed to be growing slightly in size. Its fangs regenerated and an increased amount of monsters were being produced from its back.

Seeing a new fight break out, the monster dragging Candace took a sharp turn and scampered further into the dead forest. Prism pursued the creature, with Dopplewalker’s clone following behind. They moved around the trunk of a large, blackened tree, and then all four disappeared.

**The way is now mostly clear. With just a little bit of fighting off the remaining monsters, the rest of the group can make it to where Nexus is being abducted or try to pick up the trail of Prism. She was bleeding so her blood would be on the grass. Dopple could also see where she went via her lens. Shall the team choose to split up or stay as one group?

---

┌── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──┐
ave goin insane
mytho
galvanismgal
x_Tasia_X
Elisa
Peckinou
└── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──┘

With Rush still muttering in the background, Moki purred in delight at Esper's question, “Quite a specific question! Moki will answer as best as Moki can!”

Eyes sparkling and tail wagging, it was clear they were revving up for a wordy explanation, but were cut a little short by Wisp’s irritated request to keep things concise. Moki tilted their head and their long ears twitched lightly. Summarizing things in an efficient manner had never really been their forte. “Oh, well Moki supposed they can condense the answer by cutting out unnecessary information. In that case, Moki shall answer thus; there is currently another team inside the Lair! Thank you for both your questions, Wisp and Esper Princess __. Please stand by for the mission start.”

This made Rush look up from her frantic scrolling and re-reading. Her eyes had sharpened, her tone holding a deeper agitation than the lost-booze and babysitting news combined. “Hold up, what? Shit. Ugh what are we wasting time out here for? They’ll get to the heart before we finish ‘baby’s first Q and A’.”

Rush paced back and forth on the grass and began to fumble with whatever item was in her pocket. Her brow was furrowed in a look of impatient worry as she looked off towards the woods at the end of the parking lot.

Meanwhile Tiny jumped up and down beside her. He chirped and squawked up at her in what one could only assume to be a conversation. She stopped her pacing to listen and ended up dropping her phone on the grass in front of him. In turn, he began to study the contents of Moki’s texts. He used the tip of his fuzzy nose to scroll through the wall of words, his eyes darting across the screen with a significantly faster reading speed than his Hero.

 

[Solirus]

Nexus's strike worked, breaking the monster's jaw and setting himself free, but a moment to breathe could not be spared as the monster shot out it's tongue trapping his own arm. Just how many tricks to these things have, it's unfair. He thought to himself as he was pulled slowly into the maw. His only good arm was now trapped and his other arm was limp, unable to move. The broken fangs slowly regrowing and opening up as the sounds around him were drowned out. Pier and Cer attempted to shout something at him, yet their voices too were swept away by the encroaching silence.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
​

Atrian no longer found himself in a withered forest moments away from being devoured by darkness. Had he fallen unconscious and ferried home? Had they won already? Atrian was wondering in his head, the only one who knew of his identity was Hector, did he carry him all the way here? He pondered more before trying to enter his Ego form to check, yet nothing occurred, his familiars were also missing, as a matter of fact everyone and everything seemed to be missing here. The room he stood in lacked windows of any sort and the room was nothing but dull in contents and texture.

Atrian placed his hand on the wall, it felt like it always did, and gave it a knock. The wall was hollow and made the same sound as his home. Atrian walked out into the hallway, the room itself lacked a door too. The hallways were darker than usual and there were no switches to turn the light back on. It was more than evident that something was extremely wrong here. Had he died and this was a sort of purgatory? He tried remembering what he saw, an encroaching darkness and a gaping maw. The possibility wasn't entirely out of the question, yet he somehow still felt somewhat alive.

From the corner of his eye did he spot a shadowy figure in the hallway, a figure which disappeared the moment he even tried to look at it. Atrian remembered more, in one moment he was surrounded by a team, a team of people he didn't entirely trust, yet a team that seemed capable and mostly well intentioned. Yet he also remembers them leaving him, had he been abandoned, what had he done? Atrian's heartbeat rose and his breaths became heavier, whispers slowly crept into his mind: He'd failed, he'd been left to die at the hands of a beast, they hated him... Atrian's attention snapped for a second, these weren't his thoughts, he feared loneliness, but he did not wallow in despair like this. He'd heard his own voice a thousand times before, his insecurities his gloom, yet they never sounded like this.

His memory cleared up once more, the team had not abandoned him, he had been forcefully removed from their location, snatched away and finally dragged into this poor replica of a home. Atrian quickly moved to the downstairs, only finding further extending corridors, ever growing, ever dark. More Dirty tricks, trying to make me give in? Atrian thought to himself, he hated those who took advantage of the vulnerabilities of other people for their own gains, and these creatures were the epitomy of this. Atrian would not allow himself to lose to such miserable monsters.

It was evident this place was a prison built for Atrian, a prison with no clear escapes, as even when Atrian tore through a wall, it simply lead to further endless sets of corridors. Yet a good while had passed and Atrian could not recall the maw ever closing shut... Someone must've stopped it, someone must've come for him, he was not alone. Even irrational, a glimmer of hope was needed. These creatures fed on the negative emotions that plague life, that is why this prison was the way it was. Atrian sat down on the ground and closed his eyes, this place had shown him enough lies, I am not alone. If these monsters wanted to feed, then he would make them starve.

 

[ThatWhichShouldBe]

Sol Invictus
Sol feels his strength building, flames churning as he presses forward like a living storm. He was a boulder in motion; unstoppable, indefatigable, his wounds barely a blip on his senses as he pushes forward in bursts of flame and fury. He bashes and smashes his way through the storm as he makes his way towards Nexus. He wasn't sure WHAT was going on, but that corruption, and the way the monster was going stronger, neither of them were. But he can feel his strength building, and so with Hope and Loyalty spurring him onwards, he continues forward. His arms pump like pistons, the flames on them gathering and glowing as he pursues the beast, fighting his way through the swarm. He knows that he might only get one shot, so he waits for the best opportunity.

And then, he sees it.

One fist strikes, a cone of flaming bursting forward to clear a path in front of him in blazing fury, a way opening for a split second. Sol then closes the distances, still not able to punch the beast, but he knows he doesn't need to. Sol punches forward with his second fist, the gathered flames burning forward in a lance to slam into the beast holding Nexus, a spear of purifying pyroclasm aimed to slam into the beast's jawbone so that it would be forced to release Nexus, giving Sol an opening to rescue his friend.

 

[Juju]

• group 1
• group 2

• 
  ┌── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──┐
  Nellancholy
  ThatWhichShouldBe
  Tiguidi
  Solirus
  jmann
  Cresion Breezes
  └── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──┘
  
  Nexus had managed to get a grip on his emotions, at least for the most part, although a sense of dread he could not control remained. The dark and silence of the Not-Home was oppressive, and made the walls feel equally suffocating and empty.
  
  I am not alone, he thought to himself. A simple, yet potent sentiment.
  
  “No, you’re not.” Said a girl’s voice. It wasn’t too far away and sounded like it belonged to someone of a similar age as him.
  
  “You’re lost…” It was a statement, more than a question. The voice continued, slowly, “Do you remember your name?”
  
  Nexus could clearly remember his name without issue, which made the question all the more unusual. It brought to mind the strange feeling he got during the first time he had seen Moki, like a feeling of water across his skin.
  
  Slowly, he could begin to see the source of the voice, though the shadows of the Not-Home still obscured them heavily to the point that he could only just barely make out a silhouette of a girl with long hair and wearing a dress with puffy sleeves. She was standing near one of the walls and didn’t move towards Nexus.
  
  
  ── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
  ​
  Shortly after her clone disappeared, Dopplewalker could sense her connection being cut off from it as the clone was destroyed by some unknown cause. Wherever it had ended up was too dark to see anything, and before she could gather any sort of useful information the connection was terminated by the sound of combat.
  
  Sol Invictus unleashed a flaming attack at the monster, but unlike his previous flaming attack, the strike to its jaw left hardly even a singe mark. In such a short period of feeding on Nexus, it had grown significantly stronger. It seemed that more attacks were needed to wound the monster.
  
  The oily mats of hairs lashed out, pushing Sol Invictus back. The creature then reared up and let out a deafening screech. By this time the other heroes would have caught up, and arrived in time to witness the Lair’s reality shift. The dead forest sloughed away, as if melted by the creature’s screech. Darkness swirled around the monster and the heroes, and they could just make out the creature running off with Nexus before it was lost from sight.
  
  When the darkness settled again the group of heroes found themselves in some sort of entry hall, though it had seen better days. A once spotless marble floor was now cracked and covered in dead leaves while the lounge chairs and potted plants were neglected and left to rot with the unknown ages. The whole area smelt of dust and mold and there were more than a few cobwebs everywhere. Actually, on closer inspection the webs looked more like mats of black hair.
  
  Unlike a typical entranceway, the room was circular in nature and split off into 12 evenly spaced hallways each with the same gold-foil embellishments over each archway. The shadows in the halls were unnaturally dense, making it impossible to see what was inside each corridor. The only thing that distinguished the hallways from each other was the presence of an illustrated portrait above each archway.
  
  3 of them had thin black curtains pulled over them, just thick enough to obscure the details of the person being depicted but just thin enough to see the general shape of the person beneath the veil. Upon closer inspection, they could probably be identified as all three had a vaguely familiar look to them. [you know the drill, just message me if you want to find out and write about it in your post]
  
  1 portrait was empty.
  
  The other 8 portraits were in full view, displaying a sublimely painted portrait of every hero in Team 1. The frame was made of gilded wood and each portrait had the same bundle of flowers settled below them and a black bow with its ribbons tied tightly around the top corners of the portrait. Although they were set up much like antique paintings in a castle, they looked eerily closer to funeral portraits.
  
  Faint snickering and whispers could be heard in each of the dark hallways, making it difficult to tell which way their missing teammates may have gone. The marble floor had no visible tracks or any sign of blood from either Nexus or Prism.
  
  Beneath the snickers and whispering down the halls, a steady ticking sound could be heard throughout the central entrance. To anyone familiar with grandfather clocks or metronomes, the sound would be quite reminiscent.
  
  To make matters worse, every odd tick of the disembodied clock signaled the spawning of one of the low-grade monsters that had made up the swarm. They appeared randomly from each of the entranceways without any pattern or reason, and they attacked the first hero that they saw after being created. Although they were easy to destroy, it did make investigation more difficult and movement more urgent.
  
• 
  ┌── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──┐
  mytho
  galvanismgal
  Elisa
  Peckinou
  └── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──┘
  While Moki waited for more questions and Rush busied herself with worrying over something nobody else could see, Tiny seemed to have found something of use in the text message conversation on Rush’s phone. He let out a squawk and hopped up and down to get Rush’s attention once more.
  
  Rush listened to his chirps and growls for less than a few seconds before her whole demeanor changed. The deep, agitated frown she had was transformed into a grin that was half-way between smugness and joy.
  
  “OK…now we’re talking.” She rounded on Moki, a new sharpness to her gaze. “Hey, Moki, you’re real shit with persuasion, you know? If you told me about the mentor bonus I would have agreed, no question. Forget about the cards, that’s the size of points I need for the ranking.”
  
  Moki, who was disappointed with the lack of new questions, tilted their head in a confused manner, “Well that is because Rush already agreed in her previous texts. Moki does not quite understand…”
  
  Rush ignored the creature and turned to address the group again. She tossed the remnants of her Black Stag can onto the grass and finally pulled out the object hidden in her pocket. It looked to be a playing card of some sort, complete with an illustration and some printed text below. She held it between her fingers and swung it to the side, causing the card to glow harshly with a bright blue light that spread across her body.
  
  In a flash, the girl reeking of booze and tobacco was replaced with a tall woman wearing a blue and gray outfit that could only belong to an EGO. Even the stink was gone. The only thing that hadn’t changed was the wide grin on her face and the look of anticipation in her eyes.
  
  
  
  Tiny had also transformed. He hopped up, and the moment Rush caught him with a hand he swapped out into a hulking greatsword that was almost twice the height of Rush in length. Despite this, she swung the blade over her head with one arm and propped it up on her shoulders.
  
  “Alright kiddos, questions are done. There’s another team in there so we’ve gotta speed run this shit, aight? I need that Heart so we’re gonna beat em to it. You’re all newbies, but lucky for you, you’ve got a top ranking hero. All you gotta do is keep up, keep quiet, and don’t wander off. Got it? Good.”
  
  Rush didn’t really wait for any response before dashing off past the parking lot, where the concrete ended and the treeline began.
  
  Moki’s ears drooped as they watched Rush take off, “No more questions? Well, not to worry, Moki will still be observing the heroes! Moki urges all heroes to remain close to Rush during your training mission. Moki wishes all heroes good luck!”
  
  Just like that, the creature jumped back into a nearby phone and disappeared in a burst of glittery pixels.
  
  Back at the treeline, Rush had narrowed her eyes, observing some unseen path. After a moment of contemplation she nodded to herself with a chuckle. “Heh, these guys are idiots. Rookie mistake. Let me show you all a real pro trick; lairs don’t have to be entered at the entrance. Observe!”
  
  Not even checking if the others were following, Rush sprinted off into the trees, her head swiveling left and right as if judging some unknown distance. She was fast, so much that it was difficult to keep stride with her in all the dense foliage.
  
  Thankfully she came to an abrupt stop in a small clearing, her sword now held in both hands. She heaved it upwards in a mighty swing, one that created a slice in reality itself. Anyone who had read up on Lairs would understand that Rush had broken the veil between the two dimensions. For everyone else, it looked like she just made a jagged portal into a dim and rotting courtyard.
  
  “Eh, could be worse.” was all Rush said before leaping through the portal.
  
  On the other side of the rift the change in lighting was drastic. Although they had just left the dappled shade of a woodlot, the area they found themselves in was shrouded by shadows and it took a moment for their eyes to adjust. They seemed to be in some sort of courtyard garden, though all the ornamental trees were dead and the garden plots were overgrown with scraggly weeds. There were large ponds to either side, but they were a horrible black color and choked full of algae… and what looked like wads of oily black hair.
  
  The water also began moving as soon as the heroes entered the area. A long, gurgling hiss was heard from below the water’s dirty surface and bubbles rose up. Soon enough the still waters began to boil and steam.
  
  "Alright, found a good spot to start. I’ll handle the monsters on the left, you guys get the right. Should be easy enough, yea?” Rush said as she dragged her sword across the rotten ground, leaving large furrows in the soft soil.
  
  Just as she said this, 2 creatures emerged from the black pools to the right. They were tall and skinny, their jagged bones almost completely visible through their semi-transparent skin. Sharp claws tipped each of their long fingers and their ugly heads were akin to deep water fish, complete with tooth-pick teeth and bulbous eyes. Steam curled from between their double jaws.
  
  Spoiler: large monsters

  
  
  One of them hissed and charged forward, claws at the ready, while the other stayed in the water and began to charge up some sort of breath attack. Fire welled up in its chest, glowing through the translucent skin between its ribcage.
  
  On the other side, 3 more of the creatures emerged, along with a group of 5 smaller creatures that were roughly the size of wolves. They were quadrupedal, with a mane of thick tangled hair on their backs. Rush held up a hand towards them and her palm began to glow a bright blue, charging up some sort of magical ability. She didn’t seem even slightly concerned by the hoard of monsters rapidly approaching her, nor aware that she just assigned her ‘teammates’ with fighting two high-class monsters.
  
  
  Spoiler: smaller monsters

  

 

[mytho]

Clementine knew that they had missed an opportunity to gain information, but he honestly just didn't know what to ask. The Rush girl sure seemed to be in a hurry to move things along. Ah, well. At least she was in a better mood now. He thought she was pretty before, but she was even prettier with that smug look on her face.

The new woman that appeared before them was different, but pretty too. He felt a little weird about the fact that, apparently, they hadn’t met her in her EGO form. That was a little unfair, wasn't it? They all saw her in her normal form, but she didn't know what any of them looked like outside their EGOs... he felt Bunnie nuzzle his leg, and for the first time he noticed that Bunnie was even there. He was a little numb to outlandish things at the moment, so he just accepted it, and leant down a bit to pat them on the head.

He didn't appreciate being called a 'kiddo', but he supposed it was better than Rush overestimating their abilities. It was good that she understood they were newbies, and wasn't trying to rush them into some big battle way out of their league. It was good that they were being babied right now, all things considered. Follow her lead? Keep quiet? Stick by her? He could do that.

He wasn't a very athletic person, and would have been last in the trail of new heroes running after her were it not for his long legs. He didn't have enough breath to outwardly huff at himself, but he chastised himself in his head. He could do better than second to last place. Well, he should do better, anyways.

He was so preoccupied with himself that he almost missed the woman tear reality in half. Was he sure he wasn't dreaming?

The place on the other side looked dark, and grimy, and abandoned. He didn't wanna go in there, but she seemed to jump in without a problem, so maybe it was safe? She was the expert here, if she didn't think it was too dangerous for them then it probably wasn't, right? In any case, it's not like he could just wait out here. He leapt in with everyone else, landing gracefully on his toes first.

His eyes had to adjust, but now that he was actually here, the place honestly looked kind of... romantic? In a gothic sort of way. It reminded him of a certain children's book artist from way back when, but he was drawing a blank on the name (understandably, if you asked him). The trees were dead, the lakes were murky... but he saw potential. Like this place just needed love, like something would break and he could lift the curse. Swans swimming in the lake together... maybe black swans would fit better, here. Black roses, a trellis-- no, better they'd climb the walls. He could see himself a maiden by the lake, weeping in the moonlight, the romance of tragedy sweet and wet on his lips... this darkness was nearly intoxicating, once you put it in the right frame. An intricate, golden frame. The oily black wads suffocating the lake looked like strokes of a paintbrush, to him.

That was, until he heard the hiss rising hot through the silence.

"Alright, found a good spot to start. I’ll handle the monsters on the left, you guys get the right. Should be easy enough, yea?”

What? What? They weren't going to do some kind of training first? It was right here right now!? What happened to them being kiddos? What monsters? He didn't see any monsters!

Clementine froze as, as if on cue, two beings started emerging from the lake to their right. They were tall, and spindly, and sharp. Clementine felt cold, a shiver running from deep in his stomach through his bones, all the way to his teeth. In an instant, things were tinted again, his force field up before he could even think of casting it himself. The tall one, the one that made it out of the water, hissed and started coming at them. Still without thinking, Clementine bolted. He didn't know where to hide, just that something primal in him was telling him to run.

Bunnie was in his arms, clutched tightly as he ran, and still as he dove under the dark. He probably shouldn't have cornered himself like that, but the shadows were darkest there, the dry and rotted foliage densest. He crouched down behind some dead plants and looked at the scene before him, feeling safer now that no one could come up behind him. Where was everyone? What was everyone doing, did they make it? Did they find a place to hide? He couldn't have been the only one to hide, right? They were crazy. If they were seriously thinking of fighting that thing, they were crazy.

Interactions : None
At The Scene : Juju galvanismgal Elisa Peckinou

 

[Nellancholy]

With a piercing screech, the dark tide that Gleam and Twilight kept at bay receded for a moment, then re-emerged like a tsunami coming in after the tide appeared to recede. Rather than striking them, the mass instead engulfed them loosely but impenetrably, like so much mist.

The scene of battle dissolved, reforming into the insides of a sturdy but desolate building, still standing despite the passage of time. Now was the time to really put their heads to work and get to the bottom of this labyrinth so they could save their...friends? Well, that was as good a term as any.

Gleam barely noticed the portraits of the other present heroes, nor the sporadic appearance of monsters attempting to herd them like sheep. If anyone else was in this situation, she imagined they might try to work out some plan for searching, like "always turn left" or something like that. But not so for her. Her gaze moved over the one empty portrait and the three veiled ones...

Really, there were three possibilities here. One, the beings responsible for the labyrinth already knew about them. Perhaps by witnessing their activities from previous nights? From the information present in Magik Hero U? And then they had set this all up to pit against them somehow. That was the worst possibility. The second was that this situation had to be made up by their antagonist on the fly, explaining the sudden change in scenery. That was a little better, and might give them the advantage if the heroes managed to catch this villain off balance. The third was that there was no...intent behind these events. That this inhuman power had no ability other than to refract them through the lens of "loneliness"...or worse.

Other heroes would have to puzzle. Gleam could cut through the obfuscation.

"Cover me, I'm going to check this out." Gleam nodded at the heroes alongside her.

Hopping up onto a dusty end table by one of the corridors, Gleam removed the veil from the portrait above it. Carefully pulling her datajack out from her neck, she held it between her fingers and plugged it into the portrait.

Neurons fired as information flowed into her, with seemingly none of the ill effects that befell Doppelwalker during her earlier experiment.

The subject of the portrait was...Potentia. She wasn't acquainted with her, but the ones who went into town on the night of the fire were. A somber type, perhaps. She hadn't reappeared since that night, and had been forgotten by many members of the public, as if by magic. Or Magik, perhaps.

That was informative, but not so important. Static buzzed in Gleam's ears as she pushed the irrelevant information aside, trying to pull more recent info.

Footsteps. Clawed, bestial, clomping footsteps. Who knew that the monsters were using this corridor, as simply as if they were humans going to work? That's crazy. Was this corridor somehow important?

Scrunching her face up, Gleam twisted her finger around the cable and pulled her plug out, enduring the jolt of feedback that made her nerves tingle.

"They took Nexus." She panted. "This way. If you ask me, we shouldn't split up. Stay in pairs at the very least."

 

[galvanismgal]

Esper Princess [____]

---

Well some useful information was learned at least. One being that Moki only had a vague understanding of what constitutes a question based on how they took wisps interjection. The other being another team already here. They must be having some issues given the fact their new team was also called in…maybe the factory fire had something to do with them?
Before anyone else could ask a question Rush started talking about a mentor bonus. Clair wasn’t sure if she had read anything about it on her phone so she would have to ask about it later. Not that she would ever mentor another hero but the more she knew the better prepared she would be for whatever else was thrown at them. Also the cards and ranking? Maybe things were closer to how the app worked than Clair originally considered.

Huh Clair was surprised that Rush’s transformation didn’t have a smoke break in the middle of it but it was nice the woman finally seemed serious about their situation. Seems like her ego form was short range and taking charge of the situation so Clair wouldn’t need to babysit her fellow heroes.

“Why are you getting to claim the hear-”, Clair started to ask but Rush just like her name was already off. Top ranking at being rude it seemed since everyone knew leaving while someone was talking to you was a terrible thing to do. With a heavy sigh Clair picked up her skirt and ran after her with a steady pace. No point in wearing herself out before the action started plus the slower heroes should be able to spot and follow her if Rush disappeared from their view.

“We have yet to see a normal entr-,” Clair started to comment again but Rush vanished through the tear in the veil between the two dimensions. UGH. She might forgive the woman if Rush taught Clair how to do that afterwards. If Rush wanted those mentor points Clair would make her work for them.

Once Clair entered she assumed a defensive stance while her eyes adjusted. Part of her wished they didn’t since she spotted what seemed to be oily black hair in the desolate lair. There was no way she would be touching that or entering any sort of pond here.

At this point Clair didn’t even bother to respond to Rush and instead glanced around for her fellow team. Prinzipe running caught her eye but she couldn’t spot the hero in the end, probably hiding away or creating distance to use their ranged ability. Hopefully the others were doing the same. It seems Rush got the grosser of the two fights though so it sucked to be her.

Given the immediate threat of the creatures comming from the pond Clair used her telekinesis to launch a small rock…straight into the air. Woops, guess it was a bit different than lifting her phone but at least it shouldn’t fall onto any of the heroes. Trying again she tossed a couple objects at her foes trying to draw their attention farther away from Rush and reposition so whatever spit attack the monster in the pool was charging up would not cross the battlefield to hit her. At least it seemed to be some sort of fire attack rather than vomit. Trying to stay in mid range Clair would do her best to make sure the enemy couldn’t pierce through to their backline.

“Prinzipe,” Clair projected since yelling was for the uncouth. Hopefully her fellow hero could use their power to protect whoever else was targeted or place it upon the creature itself so the attack was contained. She herself was keeping her scarf close preparing to deflect any sort of attack that came her way. Clair was confident she would be fine after all since with Lapis she didn’t consider herself to be alone in this.

---

Direct interactions: none
Yelling at mytho

 

[ThatWhichShouldBe]

Sol Invictus

Fuck.

That damn creature had gotten away, his friend in tow. It rankled. It infuriated. And now he was in this twisted funhouse castle, with twelve hallways before him. It was obvious what they really meant with those damn portraits. This was where they'd die. And the black, the covered up portraits- A taunt. For who had already been taken from them. As if he'd accept that either. Sol scrambles to his feet, his flaming gauntlets flaring, his blood pumping in his veins. As the little creatures spawn in, he immediately moves to beat back the ones attacking his friends, trusting in his friends to cover him, taking up a Vanguard position in their little party.

The blazing hero points to a hallway under a black portrait, chosen at random, and practically snarls his words.

"There. Let's get this over with."