Personification Life IC IX - [Semi Open]

[The Carlisle]

Kale was about to speak, but then everything went to shit. The noise scared her and the chaos only furthered it. She did what she usually did in these situations and grabbed for the person nearest to her. This person turned out to be Deuce. She grasped onto his leg tightly, refusing to let go.

"W-What the hell is g-going on?!," she said with her eyes closed, shaking with fear.

Deuce had picked up most of the prattling between cultists although he was unfamiliar with whatever the hell it was they were going on about. "Some sort of shapeshifter," he replied to Kale. He took a step towards the window (thus taking Kale with him) but paused when he heard the infant crying. His eyes scanned the room and located the child flailing in his captor's arms.

"Fuck."

A large fist punched down the form that had sprung up in front of him and the Astartes took a step towards the kitchen (with Kale still attached to his leg). He looked down at the tiny humanoid. "You make vines, plant girly? Can you make vines that glow? Shoot them straight out towards the kitchen. Knock everything down. The magic will attract things but I'll take care of them with my fists. Someone's stealing an infant, you see. Can't have that."

Deuce's voice had a calming effect on Kale. She stopped shaking and opened her eyes. She looked up to Deuce and nodded. "Okay," she said in a soft tone, nodding at him. She let go of his leg and put her legs onto the ground. She looked around for the kitchen door. Not knowing, she just assumed it was the one that he chef came out of.

She got into her stance. She shook her head a bit, knocking a single seed out. "Okay, vines and glowing. That's bio-luminescence right? she said in her head. She started focusing on those things. The seed grew, turning into a giant thicket of glowing vines. The vines lashed out wildly at first, but were soon darting towards the kitchen door, charging through it and entering the room. The vines sprawled out everywhere in the room, ignoring objects in their way.

[Germanic Templars]

"Nevermind, forget I said anything." Natiya smiled, blushing a little bit. She sighed, and figured everyone on the ship was going to think she was stupid, so she quickly followed Aleki through the portal.

They arrived at the train station, at not too late. The train was still loading with soldiers and supplies being ready to be taken back to Gliese and from there to the rest of the empire.

Aleki looked at his love and playfully nudged her, "Come on, we got a train to catch before it leaves us here."

[Cerillium]

Flint was dumbstruck as to how a Bloodsucker could've gotten here, but was more concerned with the fact that it had Tori. She quickly drew her rifle. If it was any other Stalker, they might've turned tail and ran, but Flint was different. After taking on a whole lair of the creatures by herself, she no longer felt so afraid of them. She still knew what they were capable of, but she knew just how to engage them. She raised the rifle and dilligently shot for it's arm. The muzzle flash provided a bit of a strobe effect.

Bullets tore through the shapechanger, nearly striking Torii, and ricocheted off surrounding furniture. The creature tossed the small girl aside and took a swipe at Flint. It didn't have a normal form - no flesh, bone, or skin - which was always an advantage to it. It also wasn't skilled at hand-to-hand combat. The swat brushed stray strands of hair from Flint's face as the meaty fist passed over her head. The mock-Bloodsucker bellowed again and aimed another blow at the woman.

Dora folded her arms and sat down without a word, though the scowl twisting her normally stoic beauty warned everyone not to talk to her without an adequate bribe. Which, in this case, meant a bottle of alcohol or a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Am I getting too old for this, or do I start it up again?

*****

Swish. Swish. Swish.

Chrys' armor enveloped her body; but against normal practice, she left her head and neck uncovered.

"Let's dance," the Celtic woman purred, turning about.

The mischievous look in Hans' eyes caused them to sparkle. "Chrys, have I recently told you that I love y-"

"TRIBBLES!" Mezran bellowed at the familiar sound and sight of them. They were the worst infestation of the galaxy, sans the Ferengi. Always multiplying, always feeding. These seemingly harmless furred creatures were the bane of existance and the Klingon Empire had launched many campaigns to eradicate their species. But they always survived, on the pure good will of those that found it adorable, or helpless, or both. Their benign nature betrayed their true motives, to feed and reproduce. There was no filter that they processed for food, no environment that they couldn't adapt to; they were vermin of the worse lot in evolution.

"Hoch pIHoH jIH! (I will kill you all!)" Mezran bellowed in righteous fervor and charged at the sight of the lizard creature and the furballs, swiping at them with his mek'leth, twirling around with his d'k'tagh and plunging their sharp blades upon the creatures one after another in a violent craze. "lam roQ, 'ach SeHbogh! (Vermin, most unclean!)," the Klingon cursed, swiping and slicing at the creatures before him. It felt as though it was some kind of nightmare come true, to be plagued by an endless horde of tribbles with its master lizard targ at its command. No greater honor could be bestowed upon a Klingon to eradicate the worse vermin in the galaxy. "petaQ'pu! I will erase you from the universe itself! All of you, unworthy of an honorable death!" Mezran continued in a frenzy of unrelenting bloodlust at the sight of these 'harmless' creatures. "I will rid the Empire of its greatest enemy!"

In midst of his slashing and killing of "innocent" tribbles, the Klingon spotted the creature that reminded him of a mutated targ that endured too much theta radiation. The creature twirled its tail and made a grimace at the Klingon, staring at him like a feast to sink its vile teeth into. Mezran bared his own ragged teeth at it, his short curved sword raised and ready for a downward strike as soon as he was in range. "Lay on, petaQ! I do not feat the!" With that the grizzly Klingon bellowed a roar and charged at it.

---

"You know," said a familiar voice that Dan didn't recognized until the creature looked back at him. It was him, only the voice was much more oily, smoother even, refined in a calm sense that was disturbing all at once. This one was screamed different despite its spitting image of Dan. The edges of its mouth twitched at the corner of its mouth. Its brown hair fell at different angles even if there were the same as Dan's medium length. its clothes seems to be more form fitting and Its stance was aggressive. As though it had stalked them from the very beginning, waiting to make its introduction. None of it was so much as unnerving as it was...

...the eyes.

By the fates, the eyes.

They were the same as Dan's. Of mixed blue and greens, a representation of those Sidhe of Summer. But these eyes... they were devoid of any emotion past violence and pain, a haunted look of a predator that belonged to Winter. It bared its teeth in a predatory smile, tilting its head. "Never mind," shifter-Dan said and charged at the Fae and Chrys suddenly.

Out of pure instinct and fear, the Fae lashed out with his hand and illuminated a light bright enough to blind the creature. It had worked in the warehouse and Dan could only try it once more, praying it would work again. He grabbed Chrys by the forearm and pulled her to him, rushing out and leaving the illumination where it was. There was no time to warn Hans, and he only hoped the cultist had spotted it before it was too late.

"ou...?"

And then Chrys was gone, bouncing and jostling as Dan spirited her away.

"You, sir, were cockblocked," his inner daemon wheezed in laughter.

Hans grunted in reply. Chrys' business was her own. But still. C'mon! Damn it, it's a fight! Accepting that Chrys would now be safe though thoroughly deprived of fun, the cultist leader lobbed a punch at the false Fae (it had reformed into Minerva) and ducked between two more dark forms; Death and the Personification were in need.

Mortimer struggled for a while, until he gave it up. He wasn't getting anywhere. He had been stupid to come this close. Then again, he didn't have much experience with what traps looked like before they sprung. After they were sprung was another matter. He had seen lots of those. They just weren't hidden afterwards. "Can anybody hear me?" he asked.

The hands continued to grasp. Mortimer and Scandi were being carried towards the kitchen via a wave of unseen hands. A shadow loomed over them as Hans threw himself forward. It would have been a spectacular save but for the vines...

Deuce's voice had a calming effect on Kale. She stopped shaking and opened her eyes. She looked up to Deuce and nodded. "Okay," she said in a soft tone, nodding at him. She let go of his leg and put her legs onto the ground. She looked around for the kitchen door. Not knowing, she just assumed it was the one that he chef came out of.

She got into her stance. She shook her head a bit, knocking a single seed out. "Okay, vines and glowing. That's bio-luminescence right? she said in her head. She started focusing on those things. The seed grew, turning into a giant thicket of glowing vines. The vines lashed out wildly at first, but were soon darting towards the kitchen door, charging through it and entering the room. The vines sprawled out everywhere in the room, ignoring objects in their way.

Hans felt stupid. Vines? Who expects that? He hadn't.

The cultist tumbled and bounced and landed hard on Mortimer. The invisible hands receded into the floor and Death and the Personification momentarily found themselves in a tangle of legs, arms and Nazi wool. The trio came to rest near the kitchen door but the vines continued onward, invading the kitchen and sending the kidnapper flying. Cerril's offspring was knocked from its arms and landed on a springy, glowing stem.

"Get the baby," Deuce barked at the trio. He was fending off the shapeshifters that had swarmed when Kale used her magic. The brute had thrust the girl behind him so that his body blocked them from snatching her. His mind, tainted by Chaos, was as confusing to the creatures as the Ponies' minds.



Mezran hadn't been forgotten. It had taken this long for Rudolf to comprehend that the small fur balls were dangerous; the Klingon obviously thought so. They dissipated into smokey puffs once struck but they reformed again and again. The Klingon went for the canid and Rudolf formed his sword.

"TRIBBLES!" It was obviously an ominous alien battle cry. Rudolf's blade whistled through the air and turned more fur balls into smoke as he waded in to defend the Klingon's back.

The targ snarled and snapped its jaws. It wasn't any match for Mezran and found itself driven back. There wasn't enough time between strikes for it to reform into anything meaningful. It spat at him and turned tail, ducking around Flint and trampling Torii as it fled. The Bloodsucker was too busy trying to kill Flint to notice its companion's escape.

"Oh, I could do this all day." Kei rolled her eyes. Seeing as the bite from Saren was still causing her slight pain, the slap barely registered to her. This was a cakewalk if it took the form of a human. She could fight that. And seeing that her sword had no effect on her target, she made the questionable decision to charge up one of her petrifying shots, and fired the blueish ball of light at the monster, the monster posing as one of her more bland lovers.

--

"R-Ryll-Wait." Bran stuttered, still huffing from the excitement that they had just escaped from. He knew quite a bit about his Wife, in fact, there was nearly nothing he didn't know about her, so it wasn't a surprise when he saw that his wife was now white. She didn't even get that way when she was afraid like this. "Y-you're not Rylli." He huffed, wondering what she'd say to that.

Kei's magic had attracted the rest of the pack. Those that weren't busy with Kale and Deuce now wheeled to attack the god. Her action gave the rest of the people in the room some breathing space but had placed her at bad odds. Ti was joined by several dark forms which hissed at her in the gloom. Her magic was a banquet and they feasted on the energy radiating from her.


Rylli slid down the back of the truck and joined Giovenith and her companions. "We can get around the front. Come on!" She behaved as if she hadn't heard Bran. Her feet propelled her away from the group and around to the front of the building.

[Cerillium]

Todesfall eyed the people in the hallway. Only a few remained inside the dining room. He was attempting to discern which, if any, were shapeshifters but hadn't so far detected anything being amiss. The cultist growled a low "cover me" to Leroy and then began to walk past each person. He paused only long enough to sniff them before continuing on to the next.

"We should close the door," he advised once he'd walked the entire line. The rest can find their way out through the window."

[Giovenith]

Somewhat desperate to find a way to assist her friends still inside, Giovenith was ready to follow Rylli, and had taken her first few rushed steps after her before being tugged back by Willow's teeth on her shirt.

"What are you doing?" she demanded of the pony, utterly floored by his stopping her.

Willow spit out her shirt, looking dour, and turned to Bran. "What did you say about her...?" he asked the Communist, whilst keeping an eye on "Rylli"'s direction.

[The BranRiech]

"Alright, I see how this is." Kei rolled her eyes. This was going to get really annoying really quickly. If she didn't have a way of defeating these things, then hell, fighting them was near impossible, and fighting multiples was even worse so. They weren't the best at fighting though, so maybe she could make a dash for it? Nah, others were still either fighting or escaping, and Kei had a group of them away from the others, so this could serve to let others out.

She shot one more blast of her powers, and willed away her swords, and several non-essential pieces of her armor. She crouched down low, and prepared to dodge like hell when their attacks came.

--

Bran rolled his eyes, looking confused. Rylli was white now apparently, and wanted to completely ignore her husband and charge off? This was like her when she escaped from the Drones with Rachelle, except that her skin tone was off now. "Rylli, get back here!" He shouted in vain.

Turning to Willow, Bran spoke.

"She's my wife . . . Apparently. But her skin tone is off, and she wouldn't just charge off like that. She was a fighter jockey, they don't train you to make knee-jerk reactions like that."

He didn't question the fact that he was talking to the Pony, because dammit, this was the building, could he really be surprised who moved in anymore?

--

"Definitely beats the old Soviet models we use back home." Natiya muttered to herself as she took in the train station. The sleek train was awe-inspiring, and tppk her back to that childhood stage where everyone loved trains.

"After you, Aleki." She smiled, blushing a bit.

[Monfrox]

"Tori, get o-" Flint stopped mid sentence as the claw flew right on front of her face. She jump dodged and landed on her back to evade the next swipe. She kept scooting back to get distance and time for her to stand back up. "УБЛЮДОК!" She yelled as she tried to fire at it again and move around to get Tori. Cinnamon was quite terrified and kept her distance, having absolutely on idea what the hell was going on.

[Giovenith]

Willow didn't know how the beasts assaulting them functioned, but it didn't take much for him to put two and two together based on what he had been told, and the little he knew about changelings: Shapeshifting? Different behavior, changed skin tone? The pony zipped into the air and dashed for better view of the direction "Rylli." He thought about flying over and kicking the thing over, but decided against it, not wanting to go up against something dangerous alone. The flying pony flew erratically in his emergency state of mind, fast zipping a bit like a hummingbird, before swooping down in front of Bran.

"That was one of them!" Willow urged, pointing a foreleg in the fake Rylli's direction. "The Miss said they would turn into others we know!"

"That wasn't Rylli?" Giovenith asked, now feeling chilled. She'd almost followed it!

"I don't see another reason," Willow flew backward from Bran, squinting after fake Rylli and looking over the small crowd they'd fallen into. "Should we do somrthing, or leave it be?" He honestly didn't know, and hoped someone had better authority in these matters.

[Cerillium]

"Alright, I see how this is." Kei rolled her eyes. This was going to get really annoying really quickly. If she didn't have a way of defeating these things, then hell, fighting them was near impossible, and fighting multiples was even worse so. They weren't the best at fighting though, so maybe she could make a dash for it? Nah, others were still either fighting or escaping, and Kei had a group of them away from the others, so this could serve to let others out.

She shot one more blast of her powers, and willed away her swords, and several non-essential pieces of her armor. She crouched down low, and prepared to dodge like hell when their attacks came.

The shapes loomed around Kei, silently feeding off her magic. It was very subtle and not something easily detected. They sought to provoke her into using it again and so they remained just out of reach.

"Kei, lover," said Ti's voice from the crowd, "Kei, don't you know me?"

Jeering laughter followed this and a few of the forms grew larger (yet kept their distance). "Poor Kei. So alone."


The room was too dark for Cinnamon to see into from her vantage point in the hall. Nothing but flashes and weapons fire told her Flint's location.

Flint would even have some difficulty making out things beyond a foot or so. And so the woman found Torii by almost stepping on her. There was a rush of noise and the sound of claws swiping the air again. The creature was on the move and intent on reclaiming the girl.

"Fly away, little bird," it hissed at Flint. "Flee." A shape blotted out what little hall light was able to penetrate the dining room and the thing drew an appendage back to strike them both down. It allowed itself to solidify this time to put force behind the attack.




"Rachelle!" Rylli slipped on the sidewalk and smacked a knee on the hard pavement but scrambled up again and darted up the Building's front steps.

[Torsiedelle]

With Torii finally free, she started kicking away from the monster, but Flint soon stumbled upon her. She still wasn't safe, though. Her arm was hurt, and she was still in the room. Flint couldn't fight off the thing alone, and she couldn't do much against it anyway, so what could she do? Her first instinct was to run, but all she could do was crawl to her feet and try hobbling forward a couple of feet. "Flint?", She called. "We need to go, now! Just run!"

[Monfrox]

Flint shambled off Torii and let the girl up. She couldn't find what to do, and firing at this distance was dangerous. She could hit Torii, and wasn't that confident in her skills like a few minutes ago. She scrambled along trying to find Torii in the dark.

[The Factory of Spike]

The hands continued to grasp. Mortimer and Scandi were being carried towards the kitchen via a wave of unseen hands. A shadow loomed over them as Hans threw himself forward. It would have been a spectacular save but for the vines...

Deuce's voice had a calming effect on Kale. She stopped shaking and opened her eyes. She looked up to Deuce and nodded. "Okay," she said in a soft tone, nodding at him. She let go of his leg and put her legs onto the ground. She looked around for the kitchen door. Not knowing, she just assumed it was the one that he chef came out of.

She got into her stance. She shook her head a bit, knocking a single seed out. "Okay, vines and glowing. That's bio-luminescence right? she said in her head. She started focusing on those things. The seed grew, turning into a giant thicket of glowing vines. The vines lashed out wildly at first, but were soon darting towards the kitchen door, charging through it and entering the room. The vines sprawled out everywhere in the room, ignoring objects in their way.

Hans felt stupid. Vines? Who expects that? He hadn't.

The cultist tumbled and bounced and landed hard on Mortimer. The invisible hands receded into the floor and Death and the Personification momentarily found themselves in a tangle of legs, arms and Nazi wool. The trio came to rest near the kitchen door but the vines continued onward, invading the kitchen and sending the kidnapper flying. Cerril's offspring was knocked from its arms and landed on a springy, glowing stem.

"Get the baby," Deuce barked at the trio. He was fending off the shapeshifters that had swarmed when Kale used her magic. The brute had thrust the girl behind him so that his body blocked them from snatching her. His mind, tainted by Chaos, was as confusing to the creatures as the Ponies' minds.

Mortimer walked over to where the small person had fallen, and attempted to pick it up. Smaller people were granted a certain protection unavailable to older ones. The stem was glowing. That was slightly disturbing. Mortimer hoped to be able to retrieve the small person before it began to make the high-pitched wailing noise that he had come to expect from the examples he had seen. The smaller ones were also less sentient, for some reason, and had no concept of a bad time to cry.

[Fraire]

Two cultists happened upon Tsanis' sandball. They could sense the demon inside of it (they at first mistook it for a gritty dung ball) and gently pushed it towards the window. It seemed to glide under its own power and was soon outside, still perfectly formed with two eye holes that looked out into the dusk. The sun was setting in Bielefeld and that protective light would soon be gone.

"....the hell?" Tsanis muttered as he felt the ball moving. It was clear that something was happening. He looked through his eye holes, but it was becoming hard because the sun was setting. "Oh, it's almost tomorrow. But tomorrow's another day. Something something something enough of the riddles. I hope I'm not late for my first day on the job. That certainly would be embarrasi- aaaaaand I'm talking to myself. Much better, inside my dome. Oh, yes. Hmm, maybe I can just.... The sand-ball shook slightly. Darn, used up too much of my sand. He floated to the left slightly, ands then floated to the right. Where am I? It was getting too dark to see anything, but from how far he had gone, he could tell he was either outside or in some psychopath's apartment room. Tsanis suddenly got an idea. He started forming a small person. This didn't take as much sand, so it would work. It swam through the sand of the wall and out the other side. The sand thing fell onto the ground and looked around. After not really seeing anything, it grasped onto the sand to not only blend in, but to become part of it, only to return when it was lighter.

[Altito Asmoro]

Raka looked to the window. Seems a better way to get out. However, first he asks the people inside. Question and answer are needed in this time, especially when there are supernatural creatures lurking around.
"Where this window will lead me to?"

[The BranRiech]

"No!" Kei shouted, finding nothing better to say at the moment. She wasn't alone, not in the slightest. She had a good many friends, and a lot of people she considered close to her. But . . . Was that true? All her recent advances into the world of love ended in bitter defeats, and pretty much ending with her being, well, alone. Her face twisted, and a tear streamed down her cheek as the words actually hit her.

"I'm not alone." Kei said. "You're all here, want to get closer?"

--

Shaking his head, Bran bolted off after Rylli. The others stopped mattering at this point, and if this Rylli was really a fake one, then he damn well couldn't let it get anywhere near his actual family, safely in the bomb shelter, or hell, he couldn't even let this thing get out into public. There'd be no end to the chaos it could cause out there.

"Get back here, Rachelle's fine!" He shouted.

[Tiltjuice]

Raka would find himself in the hall with some of the others, his progress blocked by three formidable forms.

Raka looked to the window. Seems a better way to get out. However, first he asks the people inside. Question and answer are needed in this time, especially when there are supernatural creatures lurking around.
"Where this window will lead me to?"

(OOC - Also, per discussion with Min via TG)

Chrys closed her eyes tight, letting the blood-fervor drain away. She was silent for a minute; disappointment was the least of her feelings right then. The sword seemed to hang lower in its sheath than normal. An impossibility, of course, as it was neither sentient nor animate.

Dora, noting her Sister's perturbation, nodded casually at Dan. "Don't worry, she's not mad at you, just frustrated. She'll get over it pretty quick, cheerful as she ever is." The redhead, still sitting against the wall bouncing her leg up and down restlessly, turned her head slowly to regard Raka.

"Mate, there's no window...and if I were you, I'd be more worried about the giant wolf hanging out over there, next to the guy with the sniper rifle." She glanced from Todesfall, Leroy, and Wolfgang to Ray, Albert, and Jacob. "At least the humanoid cats and fox are friendly, most of the time," she drawled. "Not to mention our resident Fae over here." Another nod in Dan's direction. "He's one of my favorite residents, even though we haven't talked much. The bug creature" - here she gestured to Ki - "I haven't met before." She squinted, looking him up and down.

[Torsiedelle]

Flint shambled off Torii and let the girl up. She couldn't find what to do, and firing at this distance was dangerous. She could hit Torii, and wasn't that confident in her skills like a few minutes ago. She scrambled along trying to find Torii in the dark.

Torii's movement was pretty predictable; she was moving towards the door to the hallway, and her outline was somewhat visible, holding her arm. "Flint!", She called out, still moving. "Hurry up! Let's go, come on!"

She was really upset and freaked out, and just wanted to get out and into the light, with other people. A few of them had run in there, but she couldn't make them out in all this chaos. All she wanted to do was get out. She couldn't fight like this, and she didn't know how to fight against a shape shifter anyway. Flint seemed to be doing better than she did, though, but she was really worried, and wanted them both to get out fast.

[Primordial Luxa]

Primordial squinted at the man for a several long seconds before standing up slowly on his cane and braces and began walking out of the room. “Follow me.” He said solemnly as he began leading Glory towards the infirmary. Glory was courteous to Primordial and help him maneuver around, eventually Primordial asked, “So Glory, where are you from?” “Boston” he replied curtly “Oh my” Primordial replied “that’s quite impressive. I should have known from your attire, tell me what do you do for a living?” The man sneered slightly. He didn’t like Primordial’s questions it was uncommon for Luxans to bother with each other in this way but it was something Primordial had picked up on in this world so as not to act rude to his friends.

“I’m a trade organizer for the Moon-beasts mineral transportation between the dreamlands and all dimensions with classification 729J-6SSK-82MP.” Primordial nodded as they entered the medical ward where his friends were resting “I see”. Primordial took a seat in one of the room’s chairs in order to rest while Glory went over to inspect the two of them. As the strange and gothic figure hovered over the two of them inspecting them closely, Primordial began to relapse into thoughts about his time here. He studied Glory and was surprised how much about him he admired and respected. He wanted to be like that, but he had the strangest feeling that there was a point that he was like that. Only now it had polluted by friendship and happiness.

Eventually Glory came back up to him his eyes blank and emotionless. “Well there in pretty bad shape. Really I doubt either will make it, their suffering from third stage Gfi’an-Su’wn dematerialization. We could try to bind them to a Star Stone of M'Nar or devolve them to their Essential Salts.” Primordial hung his head. Neither of them were sure fixes and both were incredibly dangerous not only to the patients but their very fabric of reality.

“Fine but I don’t have any of the materials you should know.” Glory frowned, he was in no mood for charity and the resources required to conduct either ritual were rare and precious. “Well then…im not really in the mood to waste good dust on both of them. Ill try and fix him but im not doing anything for the girl.”

[Cerillium]

Mortimer walked over to where the small person had fallen, and attempted to pick it up. Smaller people were granted a certain protection unavailable to older ones. The stem was glowing. That was slightly disturbing. Mortimer hoped to be able to retrieve the small person before it began to make the high-pitched wailing noise that he had come to expect from the examples he had seen. The smaller ones were also less sentient, for some reason, and had no concept of a bad time to cry.

Hans latched onto Scandi's arm and hauled him onto his feet. They joined Mortimer in the kitchen where Saren was bawling his head off. The cultist leader would have made a wisecrack about Death and New Beginnings but there wasn't the time for that. The kitchen door opened with a soft snap and Hans found himself staring into the backside of Todesfall's sphere. He closed his eyes, focused on the harmonics and then thrust Mortimer, Saren and Scandi through.

The trio would find themselves in the hall outside the kitchen along with the rest of those who had darted out of the dining room. Todesfall sniffed at them and then directed them to sit on the floor with the rest.

Hans sealed the kitchen door. He didn't want to go back in but...

"Will you get the fuck out!" he shouted at anyone still dawdling. His glittering eyes attempted to focus on shapes in the dark. Torii and Flint were still hanging back. Neither of them possessed magic so the only thing preventing them from escaping was their inability to punch at the things. "Just fucking swing at them. They suck at physical combat."

He veered towards Kei and the greater portion of the group. They were still jeering at the god but, much to Hans' relief, she was wisely not using her abilities.

Deuce had edged towards the window and stood in front of it to allow Kale to make the small leap towards Jorgen and Minerva on top of the van. "Go, plant girly," he spoke soothingly, "I'll be right behind you."

"No!" Kei shouted, finding nothing better to say at the moment. She wasn't alone, not in the slightest. She had a good many friends, and a lot of people she considered close to her. But . . . Was that true? All her recent advances into the world of love ended in bitter defeats, and pretty much ending with her being, well, alone. Her face twisted, and a tear streamed down her cheek as the words actually hit her.

"I'm not alone." Kei said. "You're all here, want to get closer?"

--

Shaking his head, Bran bolted off after Rylli. The others stopped mattering at this point, and if this Rylli was really a fake one, then he damn well couldn't let it get anywhere near his actual family, safely in the bomb shelter, or hell, he couldn't even let this thing get out into public. There'd be no end to the chaos it could cause out there.

"Get back here, Rachelle's fine!" He shouted.

Rylli had progressed as far as the lobby interior before she realized that this wasn't her lobby. It was that momentary flash of dissimilarity that had given her a glimpse of the clean lines and pretty furnishings that should have all been blackened and still smouldering. The lobby reverted to the view she most expected to see, and the woman stared at the decrepit room. Something just wasn't right. Something was horribly, very horribly, wrong.

She wheeled on Bran as he darted through the door and a small revolver appeared in her hands. The lobby was illuminated by the setting sun and (for Bran) the soft lights normally found there. Rylli looked dreadful.

She could have been mistaken for a refugee or even a prisoner of war. Her clothing was somewhat tattered but still bore old Branriech patches along the faded uniform sleeves. Her paleness could have been due to malnutrition and feel, now that he could study her better. A snarl curled onto her lips.

"What have you done to my daughter? Who are you?" Rylli hadn't lost her spark despite all that she'd endured since the Invasion. She had followed this man out a window. She had thought he was her boyfriend. But he was too healthy, too plump, too young and untouched by the horrors they'd endured together. He couldn't possible be Bran. "Stand back. I'll kill you if you come near me. Where is my daughter, you son of a bitch, and where am I?"

"....the hell?" Tsanis muttered as he felt the ball moving. It was clear that something was happening. He looked through his eye holes, but it was becoming hard because the sun was setting. "Oh, it's almost tomorrow. But tomorrow's another day. Something something something enough of the riddles. I hope I'm not late for my first day on the job. That certainly would be embarrasi- aaaaaand I'm talking to myself. Much better, inside my dome. Oh, yes. Hmm, maybe I can just.... The sand-ball shook slightly. Darn, used up too much of my sand. He floated to the left slightly, ands then floated to the right. Where am I? It was getting too dark to see anything, but from how far he had gone, he could tell he was either outside or in some psychopath's apartment room. Tsanis suddenly got an idea. He started forming a small person. This didn't take as much sand, so it would work. It swam through the sand of the wall and out the other side. The sand thing fell onto the ground and looked around. After not really seeing anything, it grasped onto the sand to not only blend in, but to become part of it, only to return when it was lighter.

The cultists didn't know what to do with the sand ball. They paid a bit of attention to the sand person but then turned their focus back to the ball. One of them peered into the viewing holes.

"Hello? You in there, mate? You're outside now. It's safe."

Primordial squinted at the man for a several long seconds before standing up slowly on his cane and braces and began walking out of the room. “Follow me.” He said solemnly as he began leading Glory towards the infirmary. Glory was courteous to Primordial and help him maneuver around, eventually Primordial asked, “So Glory, where are you from?” “Boston” he replied curtly “Oh my” Primordial replied “that’s quite impressive. I should have known from your attire, tell me what do you do for a living?” The man sneered slightly. He didn’t like Primordial’s questions it was uncommon for Luxans to bother with each other in this way but it was something Primordial had picked up on in this world so as not to act rude to his friends.

“I’m a trade organizer for the Moon-beasts mineral transportation between the dreamlands and all dimensions with classification 729J-6SSK-82MP.” Primordial nodded as they entered the medical ward where his friends were resting “I see”. Primordial took a seat in one of the room’s chairs in order to rest while Glory went over to inspect the two of them. As the strange and gothic figure hovered over the two of them inspecting them closely, Primordial began to relapse into thoughts about his time here. He studied Glory and was surprised how much about him he admired and respected. He wanted to be like that, but he had the strangest feeling that there was a point that he was like that. Only now it had polluted by friendship and happiness.

Eventually Glory came back up to him his eyes blank and emotionless. “Well there in pretty bad shape. Really I doubt either will make it, their suffering from third stage Gfi’an-Su’wn dematerialization. We could try to bind them to a Star Stone of M'Nar or devolve them to their Essential Salts.” Primordial hung his head. Neither of them were sure fixes and both were incredibly dangerous not only to the patients but their very fabric of reality.

“Fine but I don’t have any of the materials you should know.” Glory frowned, he was in no mood for charity and the resources required to conduct either ritual were rare and precious. “Well then…im not really in the mood to waste good dust on both of them. Ill try and fix him but im not doing anything for the girl.”

The Luxans had been spared the insanity in the dining room by sheer virtue of timing. Naomi had ghosted them down the stairs and into the clinic before the madness had broken out. The clinic looked much like it always did. Old magazines littered the tables and the air felt wholesome. The waiting room was completely empty but several closed doors indicated that patients might still be present.

Ogoti came from his office where he'd been occupying himself with a game of chess with Sanjay. He bowed his heat at the pair (and lurking Naomi.) "Good day, Primordial. How may I be of assistance?"

[Fraire]

"....the hell?" Tsanis muttered as he felt the ball moving. It was clear that something was happening. He looked through his eye holes, but it was becoming hard because the sun was setting. "Oh, it's almost tomorrow. But tomorrow's another day. Something something something enough of the riddles. I hope I'm not late for my first day on the job. That certainly would be embarrasi- aaaaaand I'm talking to myself. Much better, inside my dome. Oh, yes. Hmm, maybe I can just.... The sand-ball shook slightly. Darn, used up too much of my sand. He floated to the left slightly, ands then floated to the right. Where am I? It was getting too dark to see anything, but from how far he had gone, he could tell he was either outside or in some psychopath's apartment room. Tsanis suddenly got an idea. He started forming a small person. This didn't take as much sand, so it would work. It swam through the sand of the wall and out the other side. The sand thing fell onto the ground and looked around. After not really seeing anything, it grasped onto the sand to not only blend in, but to become part of it, only to return when it was lighter.

The cultists didn't know what to do with the sand ball. They paid a bit of attention to the sand person but then turned their focus back to the ball. One of them peered into the viewing holes.

"Hello? You in there, mate? You're outside now. It's safe."

Tsanis looked and saw the same people from the party. The sand ball turned back to regular grains of sand. "Who are you and where am I?" The sand went back where they belonged, except for the tiny person, which climbed onto Tsanis's shoulder. He looked around with a slightly confused expression. What even just happened? "Safe from what? What was I in danger of before?"

[Monfrox]

Flint heard Hans' advice and looked back. The would-be Bloodsucker was still there. "SUKA!" She shouted as she brought the butt end of the stock quickly across it's face. Not wanting to stick around any longer, she started off out of the kitchen and quickly grabbed Torii out of there. "Yo-moyo...pochyemu menya..." She panted.

[Torsiedelle]

"B-but my arm!", Torii cried. "I can't....I....I'll try!"

But she could only really rely on her left arm to fight now, and Hans or Flint couldn't stay around. To hell with everything, she thought. She just ran for the doorway, left hand held up, and if anything tried to stop her, she'd punch it good.

At least she could still run good. She sprinted for the other side, and reached the doorway, only stopping to see how the others were coming along. She wasn't going to go back in once she was in the hallway. That would be crazy, if not suicidal.

[Mandicoria]

Scandi struggled to stay up since he was hanging by his ankle recently. His started to calm his breathing as he started to adjust to the pain he was experiencing in his legs. "What the fuck just happened? Fuckin' go in there, expecting a GODDAMN pleasant time, and what happens? Fucking I don't know what to say to describe it." He looked around "Its the goddamn Paskeran Border War all over again. If only I left with my damn gun."

------

Mandi looked back at the window as they rushed off. "No, Scandi's in there still, I just know it. Gio, I can't let that bastard get killed by some monsters, only I can pull that last breath of life from that motherfucker!" Mandi broke free from Gio's grip and ran back. "I'm coming for you, bastard!"

[The Factory of Spike]

"There were shape-shifters, and a trap. You were caught in vines." Moritmer thought that about covered it. The small person was making the obnoxious high-pitched noise. It was hard to concentrate. "Who is responsible for this child?" To his surprise, he enjoyed holding the small person. It was innocent. It was not to blame for the crimes of others. He, for no particular reason, began to rock it back and forth.

[Swith Witherward]

Minerva breathed out. She'd been completely unaware of holding her breath at all. Deuce's rump appearing in the window meant that nothing could get past him. Getting him extracted would be a different matter but she supposed she could enlist the help of one of War's cultists, not that he'd appreciate what they did to him.

Her mind reflected back to moments before the cultists yelled. What the hell was she doing? Ah, yes, Jorgen Rodgers. Minerva turned to smile at the man.

"Paperwork as in a contract? Certainly. Mr. Demens does everything by the book, so you'd be contracted and paid. Or your rent would be defrayed so you needn't pay anything each month. The boiler itself is one of the few normal things we have around here, and the bowels of the Building are very well patrolled. They're positively mundane, in fact. So you're an inventor as well? What sorts of things do you invent?"

The cultist leader kept a wary eye on the window as she talked. She wasn't overly concerned with Rylli. Bran had gone off after her and, in looking back on things, the woman hadn't seemed tainted by shapeshifter mana stench.

"Well as important as honesty is, I must say, I am crying because I wasn't there for you enough. I abandoned you as my father did me, but not for the same reason." He let go of Siduer and step back a little to kneel down to get to eye level with Siduer. " You see, my dad left me, and my brother and sister, only so that we could have a better chance than having to live in conditions of that of weak materials and work in unsafe conditions. Me, however, I left you just so I could fight in a war I could have said no to and stayed back to live with you, your sister, and mommy. That is why daddy cried." Thriller wiped his eyes and looked at his son with a flushed face and a smile.

The boy stared into his father's eyes. His face became very serious for a child his tender age. "It is our duty still to endeavor to avoid war; but if it shall actually take place, no matter by whom brought on, we must defend ourselves. If our house be on fire, without inquiring whether it was fired from within or without, we must try to extinguish it. Mr Thomas Jefferson. He's an important man, Daddy. Smart, too. You went because our people needed you. Our house was on fire and you had to extinguish the flames for all us Tempars."

Siduer peered to the left and then to the right as if to see if there were any eavesdroppers in the room and then whispered, "Daddy, did we win?"