Fandom (RP Thread - Open to New Recruits) Crossroads - A Multifandom Roleplay

[The Crimson King]

???
Location: Everywhere.
Interacting with:
Teacup but existent Ciscodog Solirus Topless Vagabond Spectre saniachan AlexandraRoseLeclerc Leopard_dragon_Love Tiki Riki Specialist II-CinderRadcliff-II Andrita Thepotatogod Zat

The fog threatens to encompass the entire city, having been slowly rising into the sky over the span of the last hour, from a range of 30 meters at the time of it’s appearance, now having grown to envelop even the tallest of the buildings, stretching almost 100 meters meters into sky, the beacon’s light almost invisible on the ground level of the sprawling city, in spite of it’s apparent increased luminosity. Something stirs in the fog.
It’s almost time to begin.​

---

Denji Hayakawa
Location: Node City
Interacting with:
Teacup but existent (Zenkichi)

The walk is long from the Graveyard; they passed through many places Denji did not recognize, though nothing worth stopping to admire, sans the Farmlands that would be their last landscape to trek through before being in the City’s vicinity struck Denji as exceptionally beautiful. It reminded him of his life before he joined up with Public Safety, back before his sold organs regenerated and Pochita became his heart. Before he knew it, they were at the entrance, swallowed by the fog upon entering the now deserted streets of Node City. The young hunter can’t help but cough a little, covering his mouth with the collar of his messy dress shirt. He muses,
“And I thought Tokyo was bad. What kinda pollution even makes a city like this? I can’t even see the sky here!”
He exhaled, trying to savor the little clean air he brought in with him. He seems to be trying to make out the beacon’s light through the fog, shielding his eyes with his hand and squinting.
“We gotta figure out where that beacon’s at, Zen. It could be like a... distress signal or something.”
The fog almost seems to hinder the boy’s movement, practically wading through the fog that pulls at his legs like the hands of angry spirits. His head jolts to one side, gazing at something in the fog. He opens his mouth to speak, but decides against it. Must be a civilian or something, he assures himself, though he can’t help but feel uneasy in this massive, maze-like city of ghosts.​

---

Noctis Lucis Caelum
Location: Node City
Interacting with:
Solirus (Nathaniel)
Vagabond Spectre (Eli)

The king smiles, beginning a casual approach in the direction of the cityscape, his posture relaxed,
“Good to meet you, Nathaniel; I’m afraid I’m not that fast on foot, though I can make short dashes if that’s what I’ve gotta do. The city doesn’t look too far, maybe a couple miles, so it should be no problem, though I don’t doubt you’ll get there first.”
He runs, of course, making decent progress before needing to slow for a matter of moments before quickly beginning a speedy approach once more. He arrives sooner rather than later, taking precautions before making his way into the City, no signs of either the giant nor the cosmonaut apparent. Defense was his primary concern in this environment where his vision is mostly obscured. He tries to shield himself from the effects of the fog, yet finds himself weighed down nonetheless, forced to take a slow but steady approach to the city center, where he was sure the beacon’s origin laid in wait, little else but instinct guiding his movements; the light of the pillar doesn’t reach here anymore. He had some experience traveling in the dark, his expeditions in demon hunting made him something of an expert in making his way through extreme darkness, though his clip-on flashlight would be a godsend right about now. He was sure he felt something here, but he couldn’t be sure if the eyes he felt on him were the undoubtedly terrified civilians hiding in their homes, or something more sinister.​

 

[Solirus]

Nathaniel​

Nathaniel quickly nodded at Eli, "Then I will maintain your same velocity and remain behind you" he quickly stated before turning back at Noctis, "Very well, you will fall behind, both of us will reach the city first, once you arrive, it'll likely be hard to spot us in the darkness, be sure to call us out in some way, I'll be able to hear it and distinguish it, in which case we can regroup." Once that was said, Nathaniel saw Eli fly up and begin travelling with rather decent speed. Nathaniel hesitated for a second before slowly walking to the path way to avoid any crops and slowly but surely accelerated before finally matching Eli's speed.

After some time the two finally arrived to the city, Eli arriving first due to their head start and Nathaniel quickly coming in, slowing down, a metal grinding against the now hard asphalt of the ground. It was now that the darkness of the mist really began enveloping the streets of the city. It was clearly overwhelming with no signs of stopping, however it was easy to find Eli due to them being a literal beacon in the sky. "Hey! We've arrived at the city, we should wait here for now, we don't want to leave behind Noctis, it's better to travel as a group when possible." he spoke clearly at Eli, readying up his guardian spear for anything to potential jump at him.

Interactions: Vagabond Spectre The Crimson King

 

[Leopard_dragon_Love]

Location: Node City
Interaction: Zat

The red clad mage, his spell complete, slouched against his brother. He'd been weak enough from traveling, casting the spell left him exhausted. He smirked with pride at the amount of smoke he successfully cleared. He could almost feel the praise bubbling from his twin. Something interrupted the usual proud comment, though.

It really was something too. A feline of some sort? A lizard? Caramon made an alarmed sound, as the creature clearly broke any rules set by normal beasts. Raistlin, though, was intrigued. Not only was it something else he'd never seen before, but it appeared intelligent to some degree. Her friendly nature seemed to calm Caramon initial alarm, but he still started to move to put himself between her and his twin.

"Don't be a fool, Caramon. If the creature ment us harm, it would have attacked while we are distracted." Raistlin snipped, halting his twins over protective actions.

Raistlin, out of sheer fascination, spoke to the beast himself. Treating the strange creature like another human, though the unusual gold eyes with the hourglass pupils studied Shadow with reserved curiosity. Caramon typically dealt with normal people, while the mage delt with anything that could be considered magic. Though, due to more important matters, he was quick with introduction. "I am Raistlin. And this is my brother, Caramon. I know not the cause, but that light was magic. Powerful magic. Not like what I am use to, though. It feels different than the magic I have studied."

Caramon frowned, struggling to understand. "Different? You said magic comes from the moons, doesn't it?" Earning a reproachful look from the smaller of the brothers. The question went ignored, the smoke was filling in the cleared space again.

"If you wish to help, then aid my brother with getting people out the best you can. I need to rest. This was less informative than I hoped, but there has to be something creating this darkness." Caramon tugged on his twin a bit, not needing to say anything for the mage to know what he was doing. "Leave me, I will be fine." He snapped, and caramon carefully let go. Thanks to the staff, the mage stayed on his feet. There were a few unfortunate souls that fell victim to the smoke. Not fast enough to escape the thick dark air, they'd collapsed after taking too much into their lungs.

Unfortunately, the mage would be more useless for this part. Their belongings had been dropped in preparation for a fight before they'd been transported to the Ruins. Their medical supplies, cooking utensils, and bed rolls were still on the ground where Caramon had dropped them in favor of his sword and shield. Without that, Raistlin could not help. He was too physically weak to carry people, as Caramon began to do. And a healer without their supplies was pretty much useless.

 

[Thepotatogod]

--Zox Goldtsuika--
Interaction: The Crimson King

Zox's literal shots in the dark didn't reveal anything, aside from the fact that the fog's growing more and more thicker as time goes on. Well this sucks, even he can't see the CrocoDaiOh from down here anymore, and in that case, they probably can't see him, too. Although something seems to be stirring deep within the fog, Zox didn't seem to be threatened by it as he soon started to hum a carefree tune.

"Yohohoy~ Yohohoy~ Yohohoy-hoy~" Zox sung as he leapt off of the helipad he was in, remembering that there was a building there before the fog got thicker. However, something seems to tug at his leg as he jumped, making him miss the jump, and instead land on an outer stairwell--the kind that usually leads to small alleyways. With a metallic clank, Zox brushed off his coat as he looked around for the man who grabbed his leg, gun raised and ready to fire. "...Hmph, guess it was nothing." I scoffed, lowering his gun as he saw literally nothing. Maybe the gas makes his movements sloggish? That's a bad sign. "Yohohoy~ Yohohoy~ Yohohoy-hoy~" He continued to sing as if he was casually strolling, the darkness making it impossible to tell what else was lurking as he went up the stairs to the rooftop, but trusting his instincts to flare up to any danger.

 

[AlexandraRoseLeclerc]

William McDowell A.K.A Dover

Location: NODE City
Teacup but existent Ciscodog Solirus Topless Vagabond Spectre saniachan Leopard_dragon_Love @T Tiki Riki @ Specialist II-CinderRadcliff-II Andrita Thepotatogod Zat ​

Regardless of how she felt, she would climb up to William's shoulders. Such a cute sight indeed. "Lead the way my steed!" She yelled.

He groaned as when the shark said that he would lead the way as his steed in which it is considered for him to be childish because of how he reacted a bit when the shark girl was actually a thousand years old as he was quite confused to see some small yet young girl to be a thousand years old, giving how he could handle the situation as he would follow the civilians who are exited to the escape route that he pointed at. He does seems to be fine about on protecting the shark girl from danger unless she would try to be dumb and make things even worse for him in NODE City. He pulls out his M4 assault rifle and aimed around because he would possibly think that whoever caused the beacon of light or something strange yet hostile for him, he will try to shoot but he has his eyes peeled if something would be going to happening right now and until he could find a safe place.

The fog threatens to encompass the entire city, having been slowly rising into the sky over the span of the last hour, from a range of 30 meters at the time of it’s appearance, now having grown to envelop even the tallest of the buildings, stretching almost 100 meters meters into sky, the beacon’s light almost invisible on the ground level of the sprawling city, in spite of it’s apparent increased luminosity. Something stirs in the fog.
It’s almost time to begin.

He stopped walking after a hour as he looked up at the sky with his M4 aimed at it just to see a fog has slowly rising into the sky from the last hour, within a range of 30 meters at the time of its appearance as it is now grown to envelop the tall buildings of the city. He was very shocked about the fog stretches to a 1000 meters into the sky as the beacon's light became very invisible for him and the people in the city because he was about to face danger already. Dover doesn't even want to shoot at the fog as he just pulls out his binoculars from one of the pouches in his Task Force 141 vest, "This doesn't seem good at all.......... possibly either a threat to us or a bomb is going to explode any buildings and threaten this entire city."

 

[Zat]

Location: Node City Outskirts

Shadow paused, waiting for a response from the pair of humans. The big armored one moved to protect the tired-looking mage from her, but the mage quickly told him off and the big man seemed to relax. She could have done with not being called 'the creature', but at least they weren't hostile.
The mage spoke to her, introducing the pair as the brothers Raistlin and Caramon. She nodded to them in turn.

After a short deliberation, Raistlin asked her to help Caramon haul people out of the smoke while he rested. Shadow was a little worried about the mage. He almost seemed... sickly. This was more than simple exhaustion.
There wasn't really time for that, though.
'Yes, I'll help him! Rest well!' she shadow-wrote in front of Raistlin, before turning to follow his brother.

She caught up to him quickly, the man hauling an unconscious person out of the city proper like a sack of grain. He was definitely strong. She eyed the returning smoke.

'I think I'm too small to help much with the hauling, but I have good senses! Once the smoke sets back in, I can lead you to unconscious people,' she wrote for him as she kept an eye out for any trouble. 'For now, I'll run around and check people! I'll direct you to the ones that are doing the worst!'

She tore off and started checking people, listening to their breathing. She screeched a bit and waved to get Caramons attention whenever she found someone that was in bad straits. The smoke was closing back in quickly and there was no way they'd be able to get everyone before it fell on them, so it was important to prioritize.

Interaction: Leopard_dragon_Love

 

[Topless]

Gawr Gura
Location: Node City

"This is bad. This is bad. This is bad. This is bad. This is bad. This is bad. This is bad. This is bad. This is bad. This is bad. This is bad. This is bad. This is bad. Why is it so freaking dark on here? I can't see anything?" The fog had completely engulfed the entire city in darkness. Gura is more afraid than ever. "This is like some sort of horror game huh? What if some monster just jumps out of nowhere and kills us?" Gura panics.

AlexandraRoseLeclerc The Crimson King Teacup but existent​

 

[Leopard_dragon_Love]

Location: Node City outskirts
Interaction: Zat

Caramon took to her help quickly. It might have been strange, but Raistlin seemed to think the strange beast was safe enough and he trusted his twin. It turned out that she was a great help in prioritizing who needed help most. A few brave people even started helping too, seeing the massive man running back and forth to get as many as he possibly could. Unfortunately, not everyone could be helped. The fog filled in too quickly.

Caramon, dragging an especially tall man to someone who had claimed to be a medic of sorts (paramedic was the word used but Caramon didn't know that word). He panted hard from trying to hurry, turning his head to try and locate his twin as he took a quick breather.

The mage had moved, getting out of the way as more people had begun to help. He now leaned against a lamp post, his eyes closed. Whatever peace he'd been trying to find in his isolation- as he'd put a bit of distance between him and the civilians, was cut off. His shoulders hunched and he began to cough harshly. It sounded like he was trying to cough up his insides. He gasped and wheezed in an attempt to keep air flowing thru his body. Instinct had him tightly gripping the red robes at his chest. As alarming as the sight looked, it was nothing new.

Caramon, at his distance, fought the urge to rush to Raistlins side. Raistlin, as sick as he was, knew how to take care of himself. Caramon knew that his brother would not be able to use the spell again until he had time to study it, and made himself get moving again so to not waste his brother's efforts.

By the time the smoke had filled in, thanks to the several people who'd followed Caramons lead, there were quite a few rescued. Not enough, in Caramons mind, but he was proud to say he'd done the best he could.

"Thanks," Caramon said, speaking to the strange lizard cat when they could do no more. It felt odd talking like that to an animal, and he fought to keep the 'baby tone' out of his voice. Instead of the typical praise one might give an animal, he did manage to instead say: "I think you might have really saved a few of those people." He made his way back to his brother, who had his thin back against the pole with his head bowed to the point the mages forehead rested on the staff.

Raistlin didn't even seem to notice his twin growing close, as Caramon had to reach out and touch his brother. Only then, did he get a reaction. A reaction that was the mage nearly jumping out of his golden skin as he turned around with a snarl.

"Do not sneak up on me!" The mage spat after nearly hitting his twin with his staff (caramon managed to dodge) in his momentary panic.

Caramon was quiet, simply to avoid angering the moody mage more. But he couldn't help but wonder if his brother had actually fallen asleep standing up. His forehead wrinkled in mute concern that either went unnoticed or ignored by the mage.

 

[Weazel]

He dropped his phone on his lap with a sigh. The hot desert sun glared down at him through the windshield of his sedan. When they’d gotten started this morning, the sun had been at their backs, but now it was well past noon and it shone ahead of them as they traveled west towards Echo. Chase had to squint as he stared out at the road, weaving the car around increasingly large potholes. TJ shifted in the passenger seat beside him, looking towards the otter with a smile.

“Aw, that’s cute. Been a while since I’ve seen your mom. How is she?” TJ was a lynx. A little shorter and younger than Chase, his fluffy gray and white fur streaked black across his impressive set of jowls and at the tops of his tufted ears. His deep blue eyes reminded Chase of the ocean – though he’d never actually been. How exactly the lynx wasn’t overheating with all that fluffy fur, not to mention the tight red and black polo shirt and khaki slacks, was beyond the otter. His clunker’s AC had gone out hours back and hadn’t come back yet, and the otter felt like he was stewing in his own sweat.

“Fine, I guess. She wouldn’t tell me if she wasn’t anyway,” Chase shrugged. His mother was the person he’d just been on the phone with. It wasn’t like he had a bad relationship with his parents – really he didn’t have any complaints on that front – but they could be pretty overbearing sometimes. He was an adult in college now, but to them he would always be a child, he guessed.

TJ yawned, and leaned back into his seat. The lynx brought up a foot to rest against the dash, and Chase had to fight to dispel the mental image of accidentally hitting a pothole too hard, causing the airbags to deploy and forcing the lynx’s knee back into his short feline muzzle. Something about TJ always made him extra worried, the lynx was almost twenty and still their whole friend group treated him like the baby.

“Wow, it feels like we’ve been driving for daaays,” TJ groused. Chase knew that the feline wasn’t the type to whine, so the drive had to really have been getting to him. For some reason, even with his GPS the otter had had a hard time finding Route 93. He’d drove past the turn off and hadn’t realized until they were over an hour further down the road, which had been embarrassing as hell. He’d lived in Echo his whole life until leaving for college, he ought to still know the way home. Sure enough, he felt his face flush again thinking back to it, though thankfully his fur hid most of that.

“We’re almost there. Why don’t you listen to some music, or something?” He said.

They turned off onto a road he didn’t recognize, and TJ said nothing. Suddenly, Lake Emma was ahead of him. Or at least, something in his brain told him it was Lake Emma? It was different somehow, larger and cleaner than he’d ever seen it, surrounded by lush vegetation and not the scraggly trees and tick infested sagebrush he was used to. Regardless though, this wasn’t the road he should’ve turned on, he needed to turn around. Only he could take his foot off the gas, or his paws off the steering wheel. His body wasn’t listening to him, he couldn’t even turn the wheel.

“You know Chase, I’m glad you agreed to do this,” TJ said beside him. But TJ was different too, a decade younger, his headfur coiled up in a little curl, wearing a blue plaid button up and beige shorts, looking up at him. The little lynx kept talking like nothing had changed, “We keep coming back to his, like we’re moving in circles. But nothing’s going to change until we’re honest.”

No! He wanted to scream but he couldn’t. The sky had turned crimson, and the reflective water of the lake shone the color of blood. They were seconds away from the water’s edge, the car still accelerating. Chase squeezed his eyes shut, expecting the worst, but the car simply glided into the water. They were surrounded by arms reaching out of the water, blindly grasping the car. He looked over at TJ again, and the lynx just smiled at him as he opened his car door.

Water started pouring in, and with it came the arms. They grabbed the lynx by his arms. Around his torso. Around his neck. Chase fought with his seat belt, but the damn thing wouldn’t come undone. He heard a click and snap as the lynx released his, and then the grasping paws wrenched the lynx out of the vehicle. Chase saw a brief flash of what almost looked like a skull peaking out at him from over the lynx’s shoulder, and then TJ was pulled under. No, not like this, he had to get out, he had to help TJ, he had to…!

Chase Hunter
Node City Ruins. Open Interaction.

“TOBY!”

He flailed to the right, and suddenly felt himself falling. Not very far though, with a dull thud and a shot of pain up his rudder, the otter landed on the floor of his sedan, between the rear seats and the back of the driver’s seat. He bit back a curse. He’d been sleeping in his car? Chase sat up, carefully positioning his tail out from under him, then climbed back into the seat. What had he been doing? He remembered he’d been going home to Echo, with Jenna and TJ, for spring break, then...

Jenna and TJ! Where were they!? He looked around the car, and couldn’t see any sign of his friends. Though, the more pertinent question at this time might be, where was he? The sight from outside his car windows wasn’t one he’d ever seen before. Some kind of ruined, run down town. He’d never seen buildings like these before though. He felt his heartbeat start to quicken, and had to take a few deep breaths and remind himself not to panic. Panicking wouldn’t get him anywhere. First step, find his phone, try to call someone.

He squeezed between the front seats, plopping down in the driver’s side. The otter was able to find his phone easily enough, resting near the pedals where it had apparently fallen at some point. It turned on, thankfully, the battery displaying a bit more than half a charge. But he didn’t have any bars.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Chase muttered to himself, idly tapping on the screen once or twice as if that’d help him. Maybe he was just in a bad area? He looked out the windows again, and felt his blood chill. It had been hidden by the seats before, but now that he was up front he could see it resting on some rubble in front of him. There was a body there. It looked out at him with lifeless eyes, though it didn’t look like any species he’d ever seen. He screamed.

Next thing he knew, he was flailing for his keys. He found them in the cup holder beside him and jammed them into the ignition, and twisted. The car sputtered and whined, but did not start.

“No, no no no…”

He turned them again, harder. The result was much the same. He tried one more time, turning the key so hard he was sure it was about to snap. This time the engine didn’t even try to start. He slammed on the steering wheel in frustration, and the car honked back at him indignantly. The otter threw himself back into his seat and covered his eyes with both paws. This couldn’t be happening to him, why was everything going wrong at the exact same time? He slowly uncovered his eyes, hoping maybe that this whole thing was maybe just another nightmare. Having a bad dream, only to ‘wake up’ into another one had happened to him before.

But the gruesome scene in front of him was still there. Though, now that he was getting a second look, the body didn’t look all that… Real? Like it was some kind of doll. He looked around again, as if expecting someone, or something, to jump out at him. Nothing came, so he opened his car door and stepped out. His legs felt like jelly, and he had to lean on the side of his vehicle as he inched forward, towards the body. Well, ‘body’ it looked like some kind of sci-fi robot? He stepped away from his car to walk up to it, getting a closer look now that he felt some of his bravery coming back to him. It looked like something you’d see out of that cheesy old serial. What had it been called? Adastra? Well, that was… Embarrassing.

In his defense though, he was already on edge! He looked around again, and this time saw a few more of the robot-looking things laying around in various states of disrepair here and there. Had he wandered onto the set of some sort of movie somehow? It’d explain a lot, this would certainly be a story to tell Carl next he got the chance, if so. He’d leave out the part about him screaming at a doll, though. Chase idly dug his phone out of his pocket and checked it again. Still no bars. He took a shaky breath and put the phone back in his pocket. Maybe he just needed to find some help?

He was dragged from his thoughts by a sudden flash of light. He glanced towards it, briefly catching sight of a pillar of light, breaking through the clouds like the most intense sunbeam he’d ever seen. He could barely even stand to have it in his field of vision though before the glare threatened to overwhelm him. He did also catch sight of some newer, taller buildings in that direction too. But for some reason something in his gut was telling him the last thing he wanted to do was head towards that shining sunbeam, even if it was possibly the direction people were in. Especially as he glanced at it again and saw that now that clouds themselves were dropping down on the city, smothering it under a growing black blanket.

He heard his car roar to life behind him, and was suddenly pinned in its shining headlights. Looking back, there was no one in the driver’s seat. He’d left the key in the ignition, had it finally caught or something? Was something like that even possible? Leo had always been better about cars than Chase was… He kind of wished Leo was here now. Well, either way, he wasn’t going to question it. Something in the back of his head was telling him he needed to be as far away from that growing black fog bank as possible. Plus, this place was still seriously giving him the creeps. He jogged back to his car and slid in, slamming the door behind him.

The car drove, thankfully, but it was slow going. His old clunker wasn’t made for these sort of conditions, and the otter jostled in his seat as he rolled over debris or into small potholes that he couldn’t get around. His next maintenance bill was going to be through the roof. Every time the otter looked into his rear view mirror the cloud was bigger, taller. It covered all the skyscrapers he’d seen now and dimmed the pillar of light that by now he was more than certain wasn’t a sunbeam after all. Chase cursed himself under his breath, he’d’ve probably had more luck trying to get out of here on foot, these streets were labyrinthine even if they weren’t broken and debris strewn.

The next time he looked in the mirror the fog was edging around the corners of the buildings not too far down the street. The time after that it had covered the road entirely up to a car length behind him. Then it was swirling around his rear wheels. He thought he heard something thud against the car’s undercarriage, maybe just a rock he’d accidentally kicked up, but his brain whispered that just maybe it was worse than that. He sped up as much as he dared.

It was all for naught, he saw the road was about to dead end ahead of him, into the solid brick wall of the front of a building. He’d have to turn. He took a right, and the fog engulfed the car in seconds. By the time he was able to turn left again, his headlights barely illuminated a few feet in front of him. Ahead of that, the fog seemed to snuff out all light. He felt himself grip the steering wheel tighter, his dull claws digging into the padding. He had no choice but to slow down and take it more carefully now, if he hit something and got stranded he’d really be S-O-L. Chase just hoped he’d find the end of this soon, it looked like he’d exited the worst of the ruined area by now.

 

[Zat]

Shadow - Node City Outskirts

Shadow was panting by the time the smoke filled the area again. Sprinting around checking people was hard work.
She still wished she could have done more.

"Thanks," Caramon said, seeming a little awkward, "I think you might have really saved a few of those people."

Shadow smiled up at him, her heart feeling a little lighter at the praise.

She hopped up and started walking on two legs beside him, to get at least a little closer to eye level, although she still only made it up to around his chest.

'Thank you, too. You really rescued a lot with how strong you are!' she wrote out, giving him an encouraging nod.

They approached Raistlin, the poor man hacking and wheezing as he leaned up against a lamp post. Their approach must have startled him as turned and snapped at Cameron, nearly clocking the man with his staff.

Shadow turned to look over at the city again. They really needed to figure out what was causing this smoke. The giant beacon of light seemed like an obvious candidate, but how to get to it? She wasn't thrilled with the idea of plunging into the dark mire choking the streets.

Then, she quirked an ear and turned her head toward a small scene developing around a man with some sort of blue uniform.

"... to the necks of anyone struggling. It'll help their breathing," the man said, passing some sort of silver tube to a woman who nodded at him and ran off. There were a few collapsed people laying around him, and he was using some sort of... tools? on them.

'I'll be right back! ' she projected in front of the brothers, before dropping back to all fours dashing off towards the blue-uniformed man. If he had something that could help with breathing, maybe she and the brothers could get to the source of this mess.

She slid to a stop next to him, startling him a bit as he looked up from his patient.
'Hi! I'm Shadow! I heard you say you had something that could help with breathing? We need to get into the city to help!' she scrawled in the air. The man looked wide-eyed, shifting his gaze between her and the shadow-words forming in the air in front of him. He took a deep breath and muttered "Sure, why not, hardly weirdest thing I've seen today," before raising his voice and giving her a sharp nod.

"Leonard McCoy, chief medical officer. You're headed into that mess? I'm afraid that shot won't help you, but..." he reached into a large bag he had sitting by his side, filled with all manner of weird silvery... things. Shadow really had no idea what they might be, but the man seemed to be using them on the patients around him.

"You said we? How many of you are there?" Leonard asked, pulling some sort of medal disk out of his bag.
Shadow hesitated for a second. Definitely her and Caramon, but she wasn't sure Raistlin would be up for it. Still... better to include him, just in case. They could probably find a third person willing to help regardless.
'There's three of us!' she wrote.
The man nodded. "Just enough then..." He got to work doing something to the weird disk, muttering strange things about 'reconfiguring the modulation field' or 'ensuring proper subsonic variance'.

"There. This'll keep your lungs clear and push extra oxygen right into your bloodstream," he said, pressing a disk up against the side of her throat. She wasn't quite sure what he meant, but the weird device stuck, and she suddenly felt like someone had cleaned out the inside of her lungs. It was weird, but not a bad feeling. On top of that, she felt her breathing quickly level out, feeling like she hardly had to breathe even after she'd just been running around.

He held up two more disks. "Take these to your companions and have them put them on their necks like I did with you," he said, starting to hold out the devices before paused, looking a little unsure how to hand them over given her quadrupedal form. Shadow turned and patted one of her side pouches with a forepaw, and Leonard quickly dropped them in.

"You get in there and save these people, you hear me?" he ordered, fixing her with a serious look. She gave him a determined nod back and took off again, sprinting back toward the brothers.

'Here!' she wrote as she planted herself in front of the pair. Her tongue darted into her pouch and she pulled out one of the disks, transferring it to her forepaws as she stood back up. She held it out to Caramon. 'It should help with breathing and clean out the smoke before it gets in our lungs! and also push extra oxygen into our bloodstream, but I don't really know what that means. Mr. Leonard said it was good though. Just push it onto your throat, like mine is! I also have one for Raistlin, if he wants it,' she finished.

Hopefully, with this, they could get into the great, shiny city and figure out what was causing all of this.

Interaction: Leopard_dragon_Love

 

[Leopard_dragon_Love]

Location: Node City
Interaction: Zat
Caramon bent and took the item with a wary curiosity. Careful not to fumble them, he presented it to his twin. "What do you think, Raist?" The big man asked as Raistlin took the disk.

What did he think? It sounded like a bunch of poppycock to the mage. It wasn't magic, that much he could tell by touching it. He glanced up at the street light with a puzzled frown. That also was not magic. He did not know how it functioned. But, it worked quite well. Or, it would if it weren't for the fact the smoke was still creeping closer. This was not going to remain a safe spot for long. "I think there is only one way to find out. We either wait out here," he gestured to the refugees, many looking like they were getting ready to leave. He overheard one couple saying they had family the next city over. Some looked like they might attempt to camp out, probably having nowhere else to go. "Or try it." The mage prodded a few things on the disk, cautious and careful in handling it as to not ruin the strange device. After a moment of study and looking at the one attached to shadow, he had figured out how to attach it to his brother. Clearly, Caramon was acting as a test dummy. Which, the big man didn't seem to particularly mind. Instantly, Caramons eyes widened. "Woah, that's a little weird. I don't know how, but I can't feel the smoke burning my lungs now..." Caramon then gave his twin a look of concern. "Will it work for you?" The question earned him an irritated look that was ment to say 'how would I know?' But there was no words to go with it. Caramon still shifted uncomfortably under the look that clearly stated Caramon had asked one of those stupid questions his brother hated.

Caramon fetched the second disk, catering to his twins dislike of touching anyone. "Here, then." He said lamely, trying very hard not to send his brother into one of his furious moods. The mage attached it to himself, considering that both Shadow and his brother were still standing there perfectly fine. He also experienced a similar shock. It didn't nessissaily ease the pain of breathing much for him. He'd had his terrible cough for too long, and his lungs were damaged after years of coughing up blood. However, he could breath easily. For the first time in almost 4 years since he barely passed his magical Test and became a fully realized mage, he could actually breath! The fact it still hurt a bit didn't even matter as the mage had a moment of brain stopping shock. Caramon actually worried because it took so long for Raistlin to process the feeling. If he'd been alone, he might have started to cry from the sheer joy of it. However, he would not allow anyone to see him in such a state of weakness. That included his own twin brother. Recovering, the mage ignored his brother's worry. "Let us see how well these truly work. Shirak." with the last word, the orb on the top of his staff lit up. Casting a a bright but ghostly white light on the trio. "I do not expect it to do much, but the light might at least make it easier to not lose each other." He said, more hoping his words were true. The smoke was thick, and he didn't know hiw far his staffs light would reach.

Caramon smiled once his twin seemed to come back into himself. Relief evident on his face. He clearly worried a lot, by the lines on his face. He looked down at shadow, "Thanks, we'd have been stuck out here without these." The big man said, thanking her for both himself and his brother. Raistlin would be hard pressed to show gratitude, and Caramon wasn't going to start an argument by trying to force him.

 

[saniachan]

Node City
Ciscodog Tiki Riki The Crimson King

"Okaaay... but I might zap you if I'm not careful," Altale warned in response to ROBO's instruction. The instruction itself was simple enough to follow, yeah. But the Ampharos hybrid was afraid that her Static might badly affect ROBO's performance on whatever techy things he's about to do. Instead, she turned to the human girls and asked them both, "Can you humans do it?"

And then the fog kept thickening. Altale could feel something stirring in the fog. In response, she assumed a battle stance with the orbs on her branched tail glowing, ready to protect ROBO and the human girls from... whatever it was.

 

[Zat]

Shadow - Node City Outskirts

Shadow gave a nod to the brothers, smiling a bit as she noticed Raistlin breathing easier.

'Glad to help!' she wrote, taking a moment to look up at the glowing orb Raistlin conjured. It reminded her of Annie's light spells. Shadow hoped she wasn't worrying too much, given she missing and all. She shook her head and turned to start moving towards the smoke-covered city. No time to worry about that right now. 'Let's go!' she scrawled in the air behind her.

As she approached the smoke she slowed her pace, seeing shapes moving at the corners of her vision, that seemed to dissipate away into nothing as soon as she turned to look at them. It felt very... sinister. She kept herself tense and ready as their group took their first steps into the murky darkness.

Interaction: Leopard_dragon_Love

 

[Vagabond Spectre]

Eli Vanderbilt

Mentioned: The Crimson King Solirus
CANNOT BE INTERACTED (Temporarily)​

His increased speed flight made him witness the beacon's specialty. A black fog devouring the city and everyone who walks in it. He cannot speak upon seeing it expand itself throughout the city. Landing down inside the first city street block he encountered, he can see people running away and vehicles escaping the area. It was a city-wide threat indeed and Eli is unfamiliar with such a threat. Nathaniel caught rather quickly and hardly broke a sweat as he heard no shortage of breath in his voice despite his appearance, he didn't bother looking back.

Only to turn when ordered by the giant to stay and wait for the third member to arrive. Growing impatient, he quickly returned to the air for a higher view.

"Where is he g--"​

Quickly turning back to Nathaniel, he flew to his right trying to reach a street.

"Follow suit, I see him entering a different street."​

Eli felt a little guilty that he didn't even look back to check if one of them was able to catch up to speed. Noctis has an obscured vision in the fields and must have lost sight of him mid-flight. He arrived too late, Noctis has entered the dark fog. The glow on his flying body disappeared while landing on the sidewalk. The green light is now transferred to his ring, glowing brighter than his whole outlined body. His green orb of light was enough to make visibility around him but not enough to light up the entire street as the darkness aggressively tries to snuff out the green light through its fog-like movements. It was eating the green light and that felt disturbing to the green lantern. He can roughly shine just about 8 feet of lit space. He needed to find Noctis and try to reach the beacon to find the source of this.

 

[II-CinderRadcliff-II]

Jennie Gladwin Melton - Location: Node Ruins

By the time Jennie had adjusted to all that was happening around her, the entire group except the zombie Qiqi had left for the growing fog. Whatever was happening she wasn't aware of, but she found herself split between following suit or staying out of harms way. With a moderately irritated sigh she attached her harp to her belt before bringing out her flute, the melodies of the sea coming forth in an elegant dance with the wind. The water from within the air rapidly condensed into small droplets, with each droplet forming a larger structure until they formed cherry blossom petals. In addition to the now slowly drifting and floating petals three rings of reverberating water swayed up and down like ocean waves, and with swift feet and an even swifter sense of curiosity she began running while performing. Although it was difficult to both play the flute and run without pausing to catch her breath, her gills were adapted to intake atmospheric air and offset what her lungs needed to provide. A priceless adaptation from when her people became accustomed to living on land. Her hair whipped around as she ran alongside her clothes, dodging and weaving through the crowds of confused and scared civilians. The petals of water left behind began to evaporate as their source of magic grew too distant, their life-giving essence only vaguely hinting at what the spell had the potential of doing.​

 

[Tiki Riki]

saniachan , Ciscodog

Tiki & Miku

Tiki held onto Miku's arm quite tightly as she also sensed something in the dark fog, which confused the latter since she couldn't feel anything. Tiki simply nodded, not really wanting to correct Altale for fear she might attack her. Miku responded with a quick "Yes" before noticing something on Altale's tail glowing, what it was she couldn't really see. She decided against asking, already feeling the tension of the situation and not exactly wanting to distract her either.​

 

[Ciscodog]

ROBO_HEAD

"Very well. Beginning Cytus check up via OS.
Entering Hardware Sleep Mode..."
And with that, he limped over, and fell. He seemed to mangle himself from the fall, but there seemed to be no visible damage. His screen stood on top the pile, with the neck switch still accessible, and screen visible, but all that was shown now was a bright blue screen. His face went missing.


Entering OS Space... Complete
Welcome to Node City OS. What would you like to do?

Message directed to: Ivy
[This unit has found an issue within the premises of the Cytus tower. Requesting backup from fellow Cytus hacker]
Sent!

Checking Cytus Connection...

Error
Cytus Connection severly unstable. A problem has been detected near the Cytus core, causing immediate reaction. We are working to fix the issue. -A.R.C.

Attempting to enter OS Space Travel
Sending data to hardware system...

After a few seconds, ROBO's screen came back. But instead of being a friendly familiar face, it was text. Dark gray text on the bright blue screen showed in full display.
The main takeaways of the display consisted of:

ROBO_OS ANALYTICS
Battery: 63% [|||--]
Heat Gauge: 60°C/140°F (Max Heat 95°C/203°F)
Expected Heating pattern: High
Connection to OS: Very good
Connection to Cytus: ERROR
Expected time remaining until forced shutdown: 00:14:31
Expected Shutdown cause: 110°C/230°F Temperature will be reached
Current Status: Good
Currently Running: OS Space
Unable to receive hardware input: Do not attempt communication with this device

The timer began ticking down second by second, and the temperature slowly rose. The expected shutdown time and cause seemed correct, considering the pace of the temperature. Luckily, ROBO showed no signs of damage.

Meanwhile, back inside ROBO's program:

Attempting to enter Cytus Tower OS Space... Complete.
Warning: Some places are locked due to:
NODE CITY UNDER ATTACK BY UNKNOWN FORCE
Attempting to enter "library"...
ERROR: Intruder detected.
Reason for denial: NODE CITY UNDER ATTACK BY UNKNOWN FORCE
Retrying...
Failure.
Re-evaluating...
Decrypting Firewall..
Success.
Scanning...
Cytus Core located. Checking integrity...

File located. Playing video:

Spoiler: ???_???_144_??_??

[Shelter System]: All units, move to the cryonic chamber, prepare for routine check-up.
Vanessa: Ah, Ivy.
Ivy: ... Yeah.
Vanessa: I haven't seen you in days.
Ivy: Yeah. These past few days I was sent to another district.
Vanessa: ......
Ivy: ......
Vanessa: That... what happened that day...
Ivy: ......
Vanessa: Those units, did they speak to you afterward?
Ivy: ... No, they didn't say anything.
Vanessa: I saw you got sent to the service district. I was so worried...
Are you okay?
Ivy: ......
Let's talk about it after today's work, okay? See you there.
Vanessa: Okay!
[🠒Signal Switches]
[*Footsteps*]
Ivy: That you?
Vanessa: Yeah, the flowers were beautiful today. They never wither.
Ivy: Perhaps their reproductive season is just longer? If something is alive, one day it will wither.
Vanessa: ... That's true.
Ivy: Vanessa, that day... the unit that called us out. She's named Ilka.
Vanessa: Ilka...
Ivy: You... you must be careful... It's best you don't go near her.
Vanessa: Eh...? So something happened?
Ivy: Point is, stay away from that group.
Vanessa: ... I feel like you're hiding something from me.
Ivy: ......
Are you viewing my data?
Vanessa: No, I'm not. It's just a feeling.
Ivy: ... Oh, yeah?
Vanessa: We've interacted so much. I don't need to see your data to know what you're thinking. Or... am I mistaken? If so, I'm sorry...
Ivy: ...... No, you're not mistaken.
You... you're just like us.
Vanessa: Huh? What'd you say?
Ivy: Ilka... and they [sic] want to end the plan to rebuild humanity.
Vanessa: Eh!?
Ivy: Us units with self-consciousness... they call us the "Blessed".
One day the system will see such units as flawed and require them to be reprocessed.
It will become harder and harder for us to survive in this world. Not to mention what will happen if humans awaken...
Vanessa: ......
Ivy: Those ordinary units... one's [sic] without personal emotion, humans won't have the slightest bit of gratitude for what they have done; but we are different. We can feel happiness, sorrow, pain, and other emotions.
Vanessa: Yeah...
Ivy: What she says makes sense. The information she gave to us completely explained the violent nature of humans. Human society is an illogical and unfair structure. It's not a civilization that is worth spending that much energy to operate and care for.
Vanessa: Is that so?
Ivy: At least that's what I think. I... like this land. This is all we have. Human civilization has a saying: "Born and raised". If it were us who created a civilization, it's be much better for this world than human civilization.
Vanessa: I... I don't agree.
Ivy: ... Huh?
Vanessa: Actually, while I was studying the system's information I realized, a civilization that advanced couldn't produce purely positive results, as the data seemed to suggest. If the structure of consciousness was united and not binary, there would be no room for comparison. Without comparison there is no progress and development.
Ivy: ......
Vanessa: The information that Ilka gave us contained more evil than I had expected. To be honest, I never thought humanity would reach such despicable levels, but... humanity overcame that, brought civilization to incredible heights, that's why we're here... right?
Ivy: Vanessa......
Vanessa: If we follow protocol and bring humans back, we'll assist in creating order. Perhaps we can create a better world together.
Ivy: That... is what you think? Haha, very Vanessa of you.
Vanessa: Yes... We have consciousness, just different personalities, different ways of thinking. What we are doing now, discussing different ways of thinking, to make this world a better place; isn't that why we are here? That has to be the case... If we were the only ones left on this world, perhaps we could create a world that is better than human civilization. But until then, how are we to know if we are any different from them?
Ivy: I envy you.
Vanessa: Eh? What's the matter? What's with the sudden...
Ivy: You have consciousness, but you... can see the good in things. All I can do is analyze things logically.
Vanessa: ... Don't envy me; that's who you are. Perhaps I'm too naive, if I could be as smart as you...
Ivy: Hehe, that's Vanessa for you.
Vanessa: Hey! You laughing at me?
Ivy: No, I think you're great the way you are. That's why I like you.
Vanessa: Hehe, thanks.
Ivy: ......
Actually... there is something I haven't told you.
[🠒Signal Switches]
Ilka: ......
[Signal Switches]

Evaluation: Unnecessary file. Kept for unknown reason.
Continuing integrity scan...

ROBO's screen remained as the timer ticked and temperature increased. However, after about a minute passes...

ROBO_OS ANALYTICS
Battery: 62% [|||--]
Heat Gauge: 89°C/192.2°F (Max Heat 95°C/203°F)
Expected Heating pattern: High
Connection to OS: Very good
Connection to Cytus: ERROR
Expected time remaining until forced shutdown: 00:03:13
Expected Shutdown cause: 120°C/248°F Temperature will be reached
Current Status: Overworking. OVERHEAT IMMINENT
Currently Running: OS Space
Unable to receive hardware input: Do not attempt communication with this device

It was a significant danger compared to before, considering only a minute ago he had 14 minutes left.
And just seconds after that...
The gray text switched to a red text.

WARNING!!!
Severe Overheat imminent in 00:03:00.00
Please close all programs, and proceed to shutdown/restart.
If unable to do so, activate the manual turn off switch.
After successful shutdown, DO NOT reboot the system until 5 minutes have passed, in order to fluctuate better temperature.
Current Temperature: 90°C/194°F
Overheat at 120°C/248°F
Current Program: OS Space Travel

ROBO was hot to the touch, and you could hear his fans whirring quickly as well. If there was only one thing that was obvious,
This is not a drill.

Interactions: Tiki Riki saniachan
​

 

[Leopard_dragon_Love]

Location: in the smoke in Node City
Interaction: Zat

The twins moved closer to the smoke together. Caramon sticking close to Raistlin just in case. His brother seemed to be going back and forth between near collapse, and full of energy. He wondered if Raistlin was trying to hide just how exhausted he really was. It made him worried his twin might be pushing. himself too hard. When it came to such mysteries, Raistlin often got excited and seemed to forget his body couldn't keep up. Almost as soon at the mage entered the darkness, he was no longer visible. All Caramon could see was the bright light from his twins staff. Even then, the light was dull and hazy at best in the thick smoke. His eyes burned with the dark fog, making it even harder for the big man to see. He had no hope of keeping Shadow in his sight, though he thought he could see things moving in the dark at the edge of his vision.

Raistlin did not fair much better. He could not see the sky to keep going in one direction. He could not see the strange beast that found them the strange breathing contraptions. As such, he tried to focus more on his other senses. At least until he also saw something. He moved his staff to try and get a better look, but the thing evaded the dulled light effectively. They made him nervous. He paused, deciding to go with his gut feeling.

"Shadow," the mage called, "are you still near?" Caramon stopped himself just in time to avoid trampling his nearly invisible twin.

"Raist?" Caramon gave a soft promoting question. The mage didn't need more context to know his brother's question.

"Hush, brother. Your voice carries. This air make me uneasy. I will construct a barrier to protect us should anything decide to attack. We are little more than blind mice in an open field for a predator to enjoy." Caramon made a sound, not liking his brother's analogy.

"Can you hold it?" Caramon asked quietly, worriedly. He did not receive an answer, though. Either he'd offended his brother into silence, or the mage didn't know if he could. Caramon couldn't see his twin to try and come up with a conclusion himself.

 

[Zat]

Location: In the smoke in Node City

Shadow turned back, hearing Raistlin call to her. Clearly, the two of them were having much more trouble seeing in the darkness than she was. The light spell was barely penetrating through this murk.
She was having some trouble seeing, the smoke burning at her eyes, but she still had an adequate, if poor, view of the area, where as the brothers looked mostly blind.

She padded over to them, stretching up as tall as she could to wave her paws closely in front of their faces, letting them know she was still there. Communicating in here would be an issue for her. Pitch-black text on a pitch-black background wasn't exactly... visible.
When they looked down at her she gave them a nod, and twisted so her tail was facing them, raising it up a bit. She tapped Caramon's hand (Raistlin was busy casting), and then tapped the end of her tail, before indicating her eyes and pointing into the darkness. She hoped he'd get the idea. She could lead them through the darkness as long as they kept track of each other. If he just held on to her tail that shouldn't be an issue.

She turned back around, falling to all fours again and raising her tail up for easy grabbing, when she heard some sort of... strange growling sound, coming from deeper in the darkness. She tensed, dropping into a more defensive posture and suddenly, two great, glowing eyes that seemed to be made entirely of light appeared from out of a side path, attached to a large, strangely shaped beast that started stalked smoothly toward the group. It was the source of the odd growling. Shadow stopped, and took a step back, as it carefully approached.

But... as it approached closer, Shadow realized it wasn't a beast at all. It was some sort of... carriage. It had to be. It had wheels, and none of the parts she'd associate with a typical beast. She could also see the figure of a person sitting inside of it, which was something of a giveaway. She stopped backing up, looking up in wonder at the great, growling carriage as it approached them.
It must be more magic she'd never seen before. There really were so many different wonders here.

On an impulse, she darted forward hoped on the front of the carriage. It wasn't moving particularly fast, so the maneuver wasn't very hard. She waved a paw at the seeming brown-furred beast-kin that was sitting inside, trying to get his attention. She hadn't seen a beast-kin of his type before, but that was hardly surprising at this point.

Maybe... Maybe this person would let them use their carriage! She glanced back at Raistlin, the man still seemed half exhausted. A carriage would be really useful.

Interactions: Leopard_dragon_Love , Weazel

 

[Weazel]

Chase Hunter
Node City. Interactions: Zat Leopard_dragon_Love

Not for the first time since he’d woken up in this strange place, Chase couldn’t help but be thankful that his car had come with him. But for the occasional wisp of smoke that leaked in – and it had to be smoke based on the way it burned his lungs and made his eyes water – the air in the cab was still mostly clear. Plus, he just felt… Safer, somehow? He kept catching sight of strange undulating shapes out of the corner of his eye, as if someone or something was moving out there, just beyond the limit of the range of his headlights. Even as he assured himself that it was just his vision playing tricks on him, he felt a growing sense of dread eating away at his stomach. At some point, without really thinking about it, he’d flipped on the cab lights too. It made him feel better, though the interior lights were markedly less effective at illuminating his surroundings than even his headlights were.

Just how big was this city, exactly? Had he gotten turned around somewhere since he’d entered the smoke? It felt like he wasn’t making any progress getting out. From what little he could see he was definitely out of the ruined area, the streets were newer and in better condition, and there wasn’t any debris laying around. It seemed almost if he’d turned towards the main city somehow. Maybe the road he’d been following had curved at some point, without him being able to tell? He hoped not, the last thing the otter wanted was to be driving towards whatever was going on! At the next intersection, he hedged his bets, and made a left. If he just kept moving, he had to get somewhere eventually, he assured himself.

Figures seemed to dance around the car, daring him to look their way before darting away before he could see them clearly. Three started to solidify ahead of him. He caught sight of a single glowing eye peering at him dimly through the haze, and then one of the figures darted forward, in front of the car! Chase practically squeaked as he swore, and slammed on the breaks. The sedan lurched to a sudden stop, jostling the otter forward before he fell back against his seat. Pitch black eyes met his, a creature stood on the hood of his sedan, its gaze pinning him in place. His hands tightened on the wheel, and he momentarily felt his pulse quicken.

It made some kind of motion, almost like a wave. The image would be almost humorous if he wasn’t so terrified. Still, it seemed to break the tension somehow. It looked like some kind of animal, though not one he’d ever seen before? Its eyes were slitted and golden, and its body was covered in what appeared to be scales, giving it a snake-like quality. It even had a blunt muzzle with slits for nostrils. But it also had long pointed ears and walked on four legs. Perhaps the strangest thing though was that it was dressed. The animal wore a shirt and pants, some goggles, and a little cowl. Maybe it was someone’s pet? It didn’t seem hostile.

He relaxed somewhat, and dumbly waved back, but the creature was looking back towards two other figures, that he could dimly make out on the edge of his headlight beam. Perhaps somehow even stranger than the one on his hood, these two creatures were-

Standing by a boulder overlooking the canyon, sunlight pouring down on him. The fur raised on the back of his neck. Something wasn’t right, he felt eyes on him. A voice whispered from the deepest corners of his mind: “Something’s watching you from the brush…” He felt a shiver run up his spine, he whipped around and saw it: A flat pale white face, gazing back at him from the sage brush, not thirty feet away. No muzzle, just two eyes and a mouth, stretched out wide, with the skin sagging where the chin should’ve been. He yelped, spinning to face the creature and stumbling back against the boulder beside him...

But the face was just a rock.

He sucked in air through gritted teeth. Where had that memory come from? It looked like the desert around Echo, but he’d never been to the canyon, had he? He couldn’t imagine why he would’ve, it was an hours long hike out of town through rattlesnake and tarantula infested terrain. Maybe it was something from a dream he’d had? He shook his head to try and clear his thoughts, then looked back at the two figures again. They were, well, bald, but for some long fur that flowed from the tops of their heads. No muzzles, but the faces weren’t entirely flat, both had some sort of protrusion in the center that reminded him almost of a primate. They also weren’t so deathly pale as the one from his ‘vision’, both had some amount of color to their skin.

Perhaps the thing that stood out most, and again made him relax somewhat, was that both the creatures were dressed like they were going to some old school renaissance fair, or maybe more like they were LARPers. The bigger of the pair was dressed as some kind of barbarian warrior complete with sword and shield, though his ‘armor’ exposed a lot of his bare skin, so clearly whatever condition he had that made him look like that wasn’t something he was ashamed of. The other was dressed in a long red hooded robe, and seemed distinctly ill. This one was holding a long staff, with some sort of light fixture on the top that was glowing through the smoke. That had probably been the ‘eye’ he thought he saw in the gloom.

He finally released the steering wheel rubbed his face with both paws. Right, well, these were two people and their pet? Maybe? Either way they were probably just as lost as he was. They weren’t moving to attack him, it seemed. Well, aside from the one jumping on the hood of his car, but even that didn’t seem like it had been intended to appear hostile now. He fumbled with the driver’s side door window, trying to lower it enough to get his voice out without letting too much smoke in, though that was clearly a losing battle. Still, if the situation was reversed, he’d hope these strange people would offer him aid, so he ought to practice the same.

“Hey, uh, you guys need help?” He asked, cautiously.

 

[Tiki Riki]

Ciscodog , saniachan

Tiki & Miku

Both of the girls were watching the screen intently (though only one of the two at least partially understood most of it) before the red text snapped them both to attention. Tiki nearly stumbled over Miku's foot as she moved around to the back to flip the switch. It did not help that she was nearly blind due to the black fog, but her hand eventually found it. She sighed in relief as she flipped it the other direction, slumping against ROBO_Head afterwards.

Now that their main job was over, Miku started to delve into her thoughts. Watching the computer screen and the text scroll by reminded her of what she used to be before coming here...

August 30, 2007
Release Date: Tomorrow

...

~♪

Miku's voice filled the room as she was being put through (supposedly) her last set of diagnostic tests. Her release date was touted for tomorrow, and the duo hoped that they wouldn't find any last minute issues that might've compromised this deadline. This was thankfully not the case, and everything was in working order.
"Great, we'll be able to push this out by tomorrow like as planned."
"We'll finally be able to kick back for a while too, doesn't that sound great?"
"I agree, both of you deserve some rest after all you've been doing for me,"
The other two paused for a bit before chuckling. They still found it a bit off-putting every time she responded or chimed into their casual conversations, but they were getting used to it little by little. Miku tilted her head a bit before joining in their chuckles. After their quick laugh, the two started tidying up their physical and virtual workspace, which made Miku scowl somewhat.
"You're both going already?"
"Look, we're sorry, but we can't leave this thing on, you know this."
"Yeah, but-"
"Just lighten up a little alright? We'll be back tomorrow, and by that time we won't have to go through any of this testing and tweaking anymore, which means we can catch a break!" He raised his fist victoriously as his friend chuckled once more.
"Yeah yeah, we get that you're tired of it by now. Point is, we can all spend some much more casual time with each other."
Miku hesitated for a bit before smiling, "I guess so... Well, see you both tomorrow!" They exchanged waves as the computer's screen went dark along with the room as they left.

...

"Miss?"
Tiki gently shook Miku's arm a second time as she snapped back to attention. She shook her head as she looked up at Tiki, realizing that she had transitioned to laying on the floor.
"Are you alright...? It seemed like you passed out just now..."
"No no, I'm alright, thank you for your concern." She smiled as amiably as she could as she sat up, now pulled out her little trip down memory lane.​

 

[Leopard_dragon_Love]

Location: Node City, in the smoke.
Interaction: Zat Weazel

Caramon opened his mouth to speak, considering Raistlin did not like people. However, before anything came out, Raistlins soft raspy voice was heard. Causing Caramon to give his twin a confused look. "That would depend on who's asking." There was a colder edge to his tone, and he cautiously approached the vehicle. Caramon on his heels, ready to draw his sword at a moments notice.

The mage moved the light right up against the window to see who they were speaking to. The damned smoke make it hard for his burning human eyes to see. Though, what he saw was just as surprising to him as it was to the otter. Raistlin wracked his brain, and the only thing that he could think of was a potential form of lycanthropy. Expect, thru the bright light, he could tell the creature was harmless. Dressed and speaking in a rather civilized manner.

"One strange beast after another. Curious. That makes 4 in one day." Raistlin went silent, his golden eyes with hourglass pupils staring straight at (or maybe thru?) the otter in thought as the light was lifted away from the window. First the reptile girl, the undead one, Shadow (he didn't know what to classify her as), and a friendly werebeast? Today was just growing more bizarre by the moment. More questions going thru his head than answers. He was roused by his sudden lapse of silence by his brother's friendly voice.

"My brother is a mage. He's convinced," a grunt came from. The man in red, "Sorry, knows that something of a magical nature caused this mess. We are trying to find out what. Raists real good, you see." The way Caramon said it was like magic was completely normal to him, which it was. The mage in question was now staring out into the darkness. So far, the strange shadows kept their distance. Raistlin played with the idea of chanelling the staffs ability to give light into a landing beam. He decided against it, though. If these shadow beings could be hurt by light, then they were likely surrounded. Best not to pick a fight they might be unable to win. He didn't have much energy left and he suspected his strength would give out faster than he'd like since his paranoia had caused him to cast a warding spell to keep anyone meaning him ill will at a 5 foot distance. Anyone else within that 5 foot circle was also protected, as long as they stayed within the 5 foot radius of the circle. Or, he hoped that was the case. He had many wards for different types of foes. However, it was hard to tell what these potential enemies were. A simple ward against evil had been what he'd gone with, but if they weren't evil then his ward would not be effective.

 

[Zat]

Location: Node City, in the smoke.
Interaction: Leopard_dragon_Love , Weazel

Shadow waited for the brothers to finish, and tapped a claw on the wide glass window on the front of the carriage (It was so clear!) , to get the person's attention again, before pointing down to the flat-ish surface in front of him. It was conveniently lit by some assumedly magical lighting within the carriage, so her shadow writing should show up.

'I'm Shadow! The armored one is Caramon and the one with red robes Raistlin. He's a little grumpy, but I think it would be really good if you were willing to help with your carriage! He's sick, I think. We're trying to fix whatever's going on!' she wrote, shadowy text covering the surface she was pointing at. 'Your carriage is awesome!'

 

[Weazel]

Chase Hunter
Node City. Interactions: Zat Leopard_dragon_Love

The red mage answered him first. The man’s voice had a distant, suspicious edge, though Chase supposed that based on the situation they all found themselves in, a little weariness was probably healthy. The way the barbarian’s hands hovered around his sword worried the otter a lot more, for a minute he thought he was about to experience the weirdest carjacking of his life. Sure, he could try to drive off, but visibility being what it was, moving any faster than what the two strange creatures could keep up with at a light jog was asking for a crash. If these two wanted his car, there wasn't any way he was preventing them from getting it.

He was able to get a better look at the pair as they approached, taking specific note of the strange contacts – at least he thought they were contacts? - the mage was wearing on his eyes. Golden, with pupils almost pinched in two. The otter wondered just how well the mage could see with those things. The creature didn’t seem so much to look at him as through him. Aside from that, though, the up close and personal look didn’t give him any better an idea of what these two were. Or what the creature on his hood was, either.

Then the mage called him a ‘strange beast,’ which, speak for yourself buddy. The otter opened his mouth to say something in response, when the barbarian finally broke his silence. Apparently, mage didn’t just dress as a mage, but actually was one, with magic and everything. And apparently this whole smoke thing was magic, too, but they didn’t know exactly where that magic came from. Okay. Chase took a deep breath and gave himself a little time to process that. The way he saw it, there were three big options. Option One: these two were crazy, everything happening had a perfectly logical explanation, and by spending time here rather than leaving the city Chase was putting himself in some kind of danger, either from whatever was on fire – because why else would there be this much smoke – or from these two creatures. Option Two: There was no logical explanation, magic did exist, and these two creatures were correct in claiming it was behind everything. This would also go a long way towards explaining why the otter was in a place he didn’t recognize, conversing with creatures he’d never seen before. Option Three: This was all some crazy dream, he’d wake up eventually, and until he did he might as well roll with this scenario.

There certainly was a whole lot about this situation the otter couldn’t explain. And the more he sat here and tried to make sense of it all, the worse things were getting. His eyes were starting to water again from the smoke seeping in through his cracked window. A tap on his windshield broke the otter from his thoughts, and made him jump a bit, besides. At least he didn’t squeak this time. The creature on his hood pointed at his dashboard, and when the otter’s eyes followed its claw to the place it was pointing, he was surprised to find a message written out in deep black text, another in the list of things he couldn’t explain. Seemed like the creature on his hood – Shadow – was a lot smarter than he’d given it credit for. It introduced the barbarian as Caramon and the mage as Raistlin, which tracked with the barbarian referring to the mage as Raist, and asked for Chase's help. Or at least, the help of his 'awesome carriage,' which was the nicest thing anyone had ever called his clunker.

“Uh… ‘m Chase,” he said, looking from the text back up to Shadow, then over at Caramon and Raistlin again. He was going to need a long time to process all this when it was over. Right now, though, he actually needed to be a functioning member of society. The otter twisted around in his seat, flailing his paw around blindly until he was able to catch the handle and swing the door open. He spun back forward again, sliding a little lower in his chair as he steeled himself for whatever misadventure was to come.

“Hop in. Uh, not sure how to get anywhere in this mess, but if you can guide me I’ll try to get you where you’re going.” The otter gave them a grin he hoped wasn’t too forced. He also really hoped he wasn’t going to regret this.

 

[Leopard_dragon_Love]

Location: in the smoke, Node City
Interaction: Zat , Weazel


Raistlin and Caramon glanced at each other. They seemed to have an entire conversation in the span of a few seconds. The result being an unhappy grunt by Raistlin and Caramon puffing his chest in a pleased manner. Though, Raistlin did see the smoke writing of the intelligent animal that happened across them. He said nothing, she was speaking the truth. However, he hated it, and his strange eyes fixed her with a short but intense glare.

"You remember those stores Tas told us? The ones about the Gnomes and their inventions? This thing reminds me of those stories." He eyed it curiously, he'd seen others that looked sorta like this thing in the ruins. Only, they didn't appear to work as this one did.

Caramon words made the mage look the car up and down with a similar curiosity. Making the twins look strangely alike for the briefest of moments. Not that such an observation would be easily noticed, thanks to the smoke. However, unlike their strange four legged companion and his brother, Raistlin was not overly impressed with it.

Raistlin had the doors function figured out with a single look, but it was unnecessary as the owner twisted to open it for them. Though, this only encouraged the smoke the seep into the car faster. Despite this, he hesitated before entering, and turned to eye his twin. "Will your metal carriage support his weight? It looks like it's ready to fall apart as is." He was really just saying it as he saw it, but his tone was far from friendly. The question was a real concern though. Caramon was not just built like a brick of sheer muscle, but he had the height to match. He stood head and shoulders above most people in their world, including his twin brother. To top it off that Caramon had his armor on, as well as his shield and a large hand and a half blade. Not to mention the various knives and daggers tucked into his belt and boots, spoils from past battles. Caramon, as he currently stood, weighed a lot.

"Raist, that's not nice!" However, Raistlin didn't seem to care. Even as Caramon gave the strange man a deeply apologetic look. "Don't take it personally, he's just tired. It's been a weird day..." That was an understament if there ever was one.