Voyage Through the Multiverse (Open) [IC]

[Menschenfleisch]

The Forbidden Act | Avarice

Avery took a moment to admire the ring of flattened and decayed trees around her landing site. It wasn't so much that the trees had been knocked over but physically degraded until they'd simply been too weak to stay up any more. The ground beneath her feet was silty and fertile, lush with grass and loamy with nutrients. It'd make for a decent snack if she ever needed an on-the-spot meal. Rays of sunlight pierced the canopy of leaves ahead, revealing a dim and damp floor of mud and thick ferns. enormous trees stretched into the sky; their branches billowing outward like volcanic plumes coated in broad, shining leaves. Nobody seemed to be around. This was going to be a good day.

The young concept pushed through the canopy, stepping over thorned creepers and plants that, while never seen before, could not be considered 'strange'. Wonderful, wonderful! It was another lush world! Her eyes danced with unsteady rhythm, her fingers creaking with preposterous snaps as she clenched and unclenched her fists. The ground rippled beneath her with every step. Wait, no. Those tremors were from something in the distance falling to the ground. Now that she thought about it, she did see an enormous hulk of flaming metal falling from the sky earlier. Weird how that escaped her attention, but ok. Nevertheless, she was standing in somebody's camp. Somebody who was also pointing a sharp stick at her. Moira? Percy? Ah, yes! Gold knew them! She'd just traversed a universe; why were they here?

Avarice put on a stupidly goofy grin and waved at them enthusiastically, walking forward and beaming like a toddler. She was so happy to meet her friends again! After losing Muffet and Phoenix, she thought she'd have to start all over again, but seeing these two here, it was obvious that she wasn't alone on this wonderful planet!

"Hi! You're probably a bit worried because I did something a bit illegal earlier but I've changed now; no more killing for me! At least, not until I learn whether it's again the law or not. Oh man, it's so good to see you! How did I get here? I fell through a portal, silly! Hey, did you see the huge thing falling from the sky? Let's go check it out! Oh man, I bet it's going to be amazing! Ahahahahh, this world is so beautiful; I don't think I could ever get over just how pretty everything is!"

Avarice's heightened state of emotion began to show, shattering reality around her. The trees and air around her distorted, melting like someone had doused paint-stripper on an oiled canvas. One moment she was standing in front of them, ten feet away. The next, she was enormous, and thousands of miles away, looking over the plain like some mythic titan. The ground around her turned hazy and indistinct as space twisted upon itself, creating fractals within fractals and impossible geometries on Avarice's body. Waves of invisible emotion rolled off of her; fear, craving, euphoria, enthusiasm. She seemed to have paper thin fingers and continent-thick palms. She looked wrong. She looked disgusting. She looked at the team of AEGIS agents hiding, invisible in the underbrush. She easily sniffed out their conceptual trail, though no doubt they could easily sniff out hers in turn. These soldiers reeked of flesh and bone. They looked like delightful people who knew how to have a good time!

"Oh, hi there guys! Oh man, you won't believe the day I just had. Say, you kinda smell like the Concorde Trust Organisation. Conceptually, I mean. They were really fond of holding guns and being invisible, too - though truth be told they weren't very tasty. The seven billion or so humans behind them were delicious though. Gotta suffer to win some, right? Anyway, do you know where the nearest feast is? I was thinking of munching on a couple of mountains or two, there's gotta be a few islands or lakes the world won't miss around here."

Avarice walked over to Hex, completely ignoring the glaive pointed at her and held her hand out toward the invisible AEGIS agent.

"Well? Get out of the bush! You look pretty uncomfortable down there."

[The Dark Brotherhood of Deros]

The Forbidden Act

Nali Mendra - Misty Peaks

It seemed as though the mega potion was doing it's magic, as the man was starting to stir. While she looked down at him, Nali had to admit to herself that he was quite handsome, the bruises and cuts on his face notwithstanding. Then she heard another, unfamiliar voice, and she let out a short shriek and quickly looked behind her. She saw another unfamiliar man, but he didn't seem threatening. If anything, he seemed concerned for the pilot as well. "U-um... Yeah, yeah he's okay... W-who are you exactly?" Nali inquired, giving the man a quizzical look.

Then she heard another voice, but this time it came from the man, and she looked back down at him. Oh... Um, hi, I'm Nali. And yeah, I healed you... Well, technically it was the mega potion that did the healing, but I gave it to you, s-so I guess in that way I did heal you, but not really... Yeah..." She replied awkwardly. She noticed the sullen look on his face as he looked at his peculiar craft, and she couldn't help but sympathize with him. "I'm sorry about your vehicle... But, and I mean no offense, you were just asking for it to fall without balloons holding it up. I guess the fire didn't help either but, well, you know..." She said.

[Slenderman The CreepyPasta King]

Naruto had done it. The six paths of pain were defeated, and the original pain, Nagato, used the last of his chakra to bring back everyone he had killed during the battle. Konoha might have been nothing but a cbetter after now, but it could be rebuilt, what’s important is that everyone the young man cared about, everyone in his village, was alive. Walking back he saw his teacher, Kakashi, and smiled sadly. If only his godfather could be here. When he was closer to the center of the village, a rift appeared due to the mass amount of chakra being slung around and hitting one another while also being absorbed, he walked right into it, the toad sage not seeing it.

The Catch A King
Outset Island
Madi; Ammy; Link; Po
Madi spun around and came face to face with two newcomer.
"Uh....Yeah, my name's Madi. Nice to meet you."
She noticed the floating backpack and grinned.
"No way. You do magic too?"
Issun yelled something about "you magic people and your powerful spells" before Ammy put the Poncle in her mouth like she usually did when she was either tired of him talking or when she simply wished for him to shut up.

The wolf god then got up and trotted over to Madi and the new arrivals, where she began sniffing all of them.
Ammy then couched and spat Issun out onto the sand.
The Poncle rolled around a bit, then got to his feet and began to bounce around radially.
"I TOLD YOU TO STOP DOING THAT!!!! But do you ever listen?! Nooooooooooooooo...."
He then got the feeling that people were staring at him and he turned around.
"Uh......Hello......"
Ammy then spoke to Madi in her mind.
"Issun is....Issun. He has a liking for woman and drinks, art, music, and isn't afraid to speak his mind. I'm Amaterasu, by the way."
Madi merely blinked.
"Okay, now the turtle and now a wolf??? The hell? Something must of happened to me when I went through the portal, normally I can only talk to animals when I'm in my beast form...."
madi then got an idea and a huge grin appeared on her face.
She turned to the others, who had joined the group by now.
"You want to see my beast form?"
Po looked confused.
"Wait. You can become some sort of animal?"
Madi nodded.
"Yeah. Everybody step back."

Everyone would hopefully step back and Madi took a deep breath, then was surrounded by a black fog, her vague shape grew bigger and when the fog cleared, a massive grizzly was standing before them.
The beast reared to her full height and let out a roar, then merely stood there, looking amused.
Link was the first one to speak.
"...Holy Din" was all he could get out and Issun merely stared up at the shape shifter.
".....Whhhhaaaaaaaa......"
Ammy sat down and grinned a wolf grin.
"Fascinating."
The bear shifted a bit and then let out a short roar and then transformed back into Madi.
".....Geez it's hot. Uh.....Right, introductions...."

Madi introduced herself again, showing off that she could do magic as she did so.
She then started off the introductions by introducing the newcomers.
"The woman with the floating backpack is Polly K. Delilah, her guy friend is Marcus Cain, the vampire merchant hasn't told me her name yet, I'm Madison Goodwill, though you can call me Madi for short, the kid with the sword is Link, the wolf is Amaterasu, or Ammy for short, the little man is Issun, the panda is Po, the turtle creature is Atlas, I have not named the Eevee yet, that's the fox creature running around..."
Madi took a deep breath.
"And we're currently on Outset Island. Any other questions?"

Just then, a boom could be heard outside of the cabin, the boom was because a rift appeared in the sky and a figure could be seen being flung out of it at high speeds. The figure landed hard right before the group. Very injured, but still breathing. If they went to investigate his wounds more, they would be steaming and healing rapidly.

[Prusselanden]

Misty Peaks
"Gah!" Cicero leaped back as Nali shrieked at him, a shocked look on his face. "Geez, you almost gave me a heart attack. Anyways...my name's Cicero. I...I'm lost. I just happened to notice the wreck and...I came to help, I guess."

He pulled his beanie closer over his head, tucking a strant of teal hair underneath it.

"Oh...so you're conscious. And you don't seem to be *too* injured. Good. Anyways, your aircraft is pretty smashed up, but I bet it could be salvaged with a lot of work....and some flex tape." Cicero said to Doug. "Of course you could always wait for a new portal to open, jump in and hope for the best, too."

[Skylus]

To Catch A King

Madi had only just finished talking when yet another rift appeared in the sky, but this one was different - a sonic boom seemed to go off when the portal appeared.
When the person landed, there was actually steam coming from his injured body.
Madi looked between the rift in the sky and then injured man a few times before throwing her hands up and yelling at the rift.
"Is anyone else going to be coming through rifts today?!"
She didn't receive an answer of course and realized that she probably looked weird standing there with her hands up so she dropped them to her sides and walked over to the new arrival.
"Hmmm....."
She used Tergo to clean the guy up and so that they could tell where he was injured at.
Only problem was, Madi wasn't sure how to exactly heal the guy.

Aryll gawked at the man that had fallen from the sky before she turned to her older brother.
"We have to do something!"
Link looked at his younger sister for a moment, then raised his gaze to Madi, who was currently down on one knee before the new arrival, doing something with that magic of hers.
"You aren't going to be doing anything, although..."
He reached into his side pouch for a moment and then took out a jar of red healing potion.
"Not sure if this'll work, worth a shot though."
Aryll blinked.
"Did you learn to speak differently while you were away?"
The Hero of Winds had started across the sand but stopped and looked back.
"You could say that."
He then continued to walk up to Madi and when he reached her, Link handed her the red potion.

Madi looked down at Link for a second, then at the glass jar.
"What?"
She took the jar from him anyway and titled it a bit.
"It's red healing potion. I'm not sure how he'll help him, but it might do something."
"Hmmm....Alright."
The Witch unscrewed the lid and looked around for a bit before handing it to Link and Madi then smiled.
"Never had to do this before."
Madi used various spells to basically force feed the healing potion to the injured guy and then all they could do was wait.

---

The Forbidden Act (Misty Peaks)
Lincoln Douglas Forester (Second Lieutenant of the Hyrulialus Royal Air Squadron) "Chain-Link"
Unknown location, unknown time

Doug stared up at the woman who called herself "Nali".
"...Balloons?"
He forced himself onto one arm and twisted himself around to gaze at what remained of his fighter jet.
The pilot then looked up at Nali.
"What do you mean by balloons? Do you mean hot air balloons?"

[Naval Monte]

Secrets of the Raven
Branhwrn

"So you have a twin sister? Makes sense considering how close time and space is. Tell me is she act like you or are your personalities different? Do you both have that twin bond thing where you can sense what is happening with the other or even guess what the other is thinking?" She said, not really expecting to get much other than just throwing out new topics to keep the conversation going and maybe gleam more information from this woman.

When she mentioned the Borderland the witch was starting to have some of her doubts being quelled by her reaction to it. "That Borderland is new. No doubt it was formed because of the Nexus Storms and Rifts. I doubt they allow caused it but I suspect they have a role to play in the creation of this one." She told her. Elizabeth looked to Kyle, Jackie, and Kents. "All of you stay close. Borderlands are by their nature glitches in reality. Anything is possible with them." She warned.

When the group finally reached the Borderland they found that it was an abandoned tenement building. Elizabeth can feel both Azoth and another magical energy that felt alien to her coming out of the building. "Dawn freeze time. I don't need anyone seeing us getting in. Jackie I need you and your boyfriend to scare off anything that might try to get close to us." Elizabeth told the group. "Skylar I would tell you to go in to scout but sense this is a Borderland I'm not risking your... "life" on this. So just keep your family safe. Lilith you help out Jackie and Kyle." She took out a lock pick and climbed up the steps, picking at the old lock.

---

The Forbidden Act
Misty Peak

As Doug woke up the team that was watching him and Nali along with the new arrival was surprise to see the apparently dead man getting up. "Correction, dead pilot is very much alive. Unknown substance may have unknown medical properties that saved him, might by thaumaturgical in nature." Agent Vega said. When the group began to speak the invisible and silent drones flew off to not only record them visually but also everything they are saying.

Back with Hex some members of the team was getting unnerved by Avarice displays of her powers, the world being so casually warped and decay was something that told them that back in her world containing her would be a nightmarish process to go through, let alone trying to terminate her. As the world began to change some of the drones began to turn back yet just as she noticed AEGIS's presence one of the drones become visible as it exploded into a fold of non-euclidean shapes. Shapes folding within itself only to reemerge as it remain place in the air. Another drone become visible as it melted down to the ground and from the melted remains metal flowers grew. Another drone began to elongate, pushing the other drones as it was now the size of a man and still growing. The growing drone was instructed to fly away which it did as it kept on growing.

By the time it flew past the tree land the drone already cast a shadow over the hunters and on the ground the saw that the shadow was still growing. Another drone exploded into a bright flash that temporarily inverted the colors of the world before everything revered back to it's usual colors. Two more drones fell as they were now a plushies, one visible and another still invisible. One drone had every piece of metal replaced with flesh, organs, and bones, the only part of it still mechanical was the machine gun attached to it like a cybernetic prosthesis.

Another drone that became visible was now made by what can be described as solidify absence of light and another was made of solidifying light. Another drone flew faster than the speed of light and annihilated itself and a large chunk of the tree it crashed into as a large flash and explosion was seen from the group. The final anomaly to effect the drones was two teleporting, one appeared before Nali by having on land on top of Doug's head, as it fell it teleported again and was seen floating on the air before teleporting once more behind her. The other vanished into an unknown location as AEGIS lost contact with it. The surviving drones began to fly away even as one was slowing turning into candy.

With Avarice now standing before Hex the woman was stuck staring at her behind her mask. Before she can say or do anything one of the soldiers began to open fire on Avarice with their assault rifle. That soldier action made another open fire with their pulse rifle, the sounds of the gun firing with electronic wires can be heard, two weapons kept firing until their ran out of ammo.

Hex saw the holes on Avarice but to her amazement and horror they began to regenerate from the wounds. The one sniper with a gauss rifle took aim to fire but Hex stood up and decloak, on her hands was a kukri with runes engraved on the blade and pistol. As she walked out she still had her two weapons pointed at Averuce as she got into a defense postion. "You wanted me out? Well here I am." Using her cyber-telepathic aug she told the members of her team to leave the area while she kept Avarice distracted. "As for a good place for a feast I don't know sense I'm new here as well. But I do suggest eating a mountain as oppose to people."

[Demincia]

Secrets of the Raven
Branhwrn
Dawn Elissa and Lilith von Brandt

Dawn tried to keep any feelings of annoyance in check, it was only natural for a mortal to be so inquisitive about a higher power. "The three of us can communicate no matter where we are, so meeting in person is preferable."

When Elizabeth took out a lockpick and tried formulating a plan for the group, Dawn was quick to speak up. "I suppose now would be a bad time to mention that I'm sworn to non-interventionism, isn't it? Only in the most dire cases do I intervene. I'll give you all the emotional support you need though."

Hearing this, and Liz's lackluster plan in general, Lilith sighed. "Move. I can do it faster." she said, pulling the witch back and standing in front of the door. She disappeared in front of the group, turning into a cloud of mist and floating under the door and rematerializing on the other side of it. She unlocked it and pushed it open, motioning for the others to enter with an exaggerated bow. "Kommen Sie herein."

[Skylus]

The Forbidden Act (Misty Peaks)
Lincoln Douglas Forester (Second Lieutenant of the Hyrulialus Royal Air Squadron) "Chain-Link"
Unknown location, unknown time

He was looking up at Nali one moment, the next something had hit him on the head. Doug then spotted a drone of some sort teleporting around the clearing, it was currently floating behind Nali's head.
The pilot got up and raised his hands a bit, slowly backing up towards his still smoking jet.
"Don't move."
He then spun around, darted over to the storage compartment and some how got it open. Doug then reached into the compartment and grabbed

and

. Once his gear was in hand, he spun around and aimed the Slate towards the drone but then faltered a bit.
"....That's right.....the Stasis rune was corrupted when they upgraded the Slate..."
Just then there came a voice of some sort from the device.
"Stasis Rune is now operational, please see the operating manual on how to use the Stasis Rune."
Doug merely stared at the device for a moment before he shrugged, aimed the Slate towards the drone, and activated the rune.
A bolt of blue lightning shot out of the Sheika Slate and towards the drone, but it missed.
"...Huh....Yeah, figured...let's try this again."
He his the button that activated the rune a second time and the bolt missed again.
Doug lowered the device a bit and then hit the button one more time.
BANG. A flash of light appeared as the bolt of magic hit the drone and it hovered in mid air, not moving.
Doug grinned and walked up to the drone and plucked it from the air, turning it over in his grip as he put away the Slate in its custom holder on his waist.
"Huh.....Interesting....never seen this kind of tech before...."
He heard what had to be gunfire at least 500 feet away.
"....Sounds like we have company."

[Rostavykhan]

To Catch A King
Miria Bankhari
Outset Island

Miria jumped when another rift opened, startled by the boom, and baffled by the sight of a person falling from the sky. She was in a bad situation, she realized, since she wasn't the only one who had been whisked away without warning, and she just knew that it was a matter of time before something nasty came through, if it hadn't already - She didn't know just how friendly the talking animals and the Human were.

When she had the chance, she thought, she would need to learn if Madi's stone was the same as her own. When she had the answers she wanted, she would make a run for it.

Until then, however, she needed to act normal. Masking her anxiety behind a smug, nonchalant facade, Miria moved up behind Madi and the Elf, peering over their shoulders at the stranger who had fallen to the beach. She wanted to know who could survive such an impact, and what was causing his injuries to steam like they were. She was also mildly interested in the elixir that had been handed to the Human, and what exactly would happen if it worked, and the newcomer came to. Was it a good idea for the two of them to be doing that for a person who was steaming from cuts anyways? She'd never seen anything like that, and it worried her even more.

[Menschenfleisch]

The Forbidden Act | Avarice

Avarice didn't react to the obvious distortions occurring around her. Her abilities didn't usually result in such drastic physical changes but those drones were certainly displaying some interesting properties. She snatched the fleshy one out of the air and crunched on it like a cracker, casually biting into solid metal and anomalous machinery. The AEGIS team stood up soon thereafter and began pelting her with projectiles. Fear. They were infused with fear, a desire to keep the unknown away. Those bullets weren't fired with lethal intent, more like a craving for isolation. The damage they did was still severe but the primary effect they had was flinging her body backward, slowly pushing her toward the campsite. Countless bullets and blasts passed through her skin, causing the distortions around her to intensify. They took enormous chunks out of her constantly regenerating body, littering the floor with her entrails. When all was said and done there was a cone of burnt bones, charred chunks of flesh and bits of malformed organ lying in a pool of deep crimson blood around and behind her, easily 60 feet long and 8 feet wide. Avarice, who'd been pushed back about a metre, simply stood there as her entire body formed itself from nothing, twisting her neck and letting out an audible popping noise as her vertebrae set themselves back in place. She held out an unhealed arm in front of her, watching as bones stretched from the severed wrist and blossomed into knuckle bones and fingers, before layers of gristle covered them and finished the healing process.

"Ow. That wasn't the reaction I was expecting. Please don't do that again. I'm running very low on fuel right now, so it's not like I can keep up this recovery forever."

She stepped forward, leaves and bones crunching underfoot as the see-through hole in her chest patched itself together. First came the ribs, and then came the strangely formed heart. Finally, the layers of fat and muscle that sealed the deal. She brushed her hand across her face, cleansing it of the layer of gore covering every other inch of her body. Her clothing was dripping and steaming with her own blood, creating a rather unusual aroma. The distortions around her cleared up as she returned to a calmer state, her eyes setting themselves firmly upon Hex's helmet and the scared oculi that surely lay beyond. She smiled comfortingly and fell to one knee, levelling with the agent who'd been crouching in the bushes. She leaned in close, seemingly ignoring the knife and pistol pointed at her forehead. If anything, in that moment, Avery seemed more like a grown woman talking to a child. Close, understanding and warm. As she knelt the last parts of her body healed, hiding her teeth from Hex as the missing portion of her cheek fixed itself up. Even the blood on her seemed to have melted away. Her crystal blue eyes looked straight at Hex, caring as a mother toward its child.

"My name is Audrey, but you can call me Avery. As for my eating habits, well, I think killing has fallen out of fashion. If you don't want me to, I won't do it. I come from a very chaotic place, much less ordered than this one; there are far fewer laws of physics over there, to begin with. So what's your name? I'd be delighted to learn about you."

Secrets of the Raven | Jacquelyn and Kyle

Kyle could tell Elizabeth could see something he couldn't; which was something he hadn't experienced before, and quite disliked the feeling of. Rapid eye movements, quickening heartbeat, soft twitches in her neck. To him it appeared that she was staring off into space but he knew that someone of her talents would never do such a thing. If she was watching out for potential threats, she wasn't doing a good job of it. So either her eyes were even better than his or she was just an incredibly bad watchman. Again, as before with the car, he assumed she knew something he didn't. So, he kept his mouth shut and walked alongside Jack, an unspoken agreement between them that they'd just enjoy the walk while they could. It was a rare moment of quiet and peace, at least, before Elizabeth stopped outside some kind of dilapidated shack and asked them to keep watch while she picked the lock.

"Watch out for what? You're the only one who can see the things we're meant to be looking out for, you know? Even I can't catch a glimpse of 'em. Without my rifle, I can't really do much either besides spotting for Jack."
"I could blow everything up in a couple buildings' radius. Maybe that'd clear out your invisible infestation."
"Ha. Seriously, don't."

Lilith however, had a more expedient means of opening the door. She simply melted beneath it and opened it from the other side. Honestly, why'd Elizabeth even bother trying to pick it? Jacquelyn could've melted it off its hinges. Kyle could've picked the lock in two seconds with a rusty nail and a twig. Liz was probably the least qualified person out of all of them to open a damn door. The thought of that made Jackie smile. Not to insult the witch or anything but it was pretty funny imagining Elizabeth having such trouble with a simple lock. It didn't mesh with the authoritative, almost overwhelming persona she exuded. What a trooper, what a woman.

"So what're we here for? From one suspiciously broken down location to the next, huh? If you ask me, I think the gods are just set-dressing."
"Honestly. I can't even see anything important in this building."

Jacquelyn tucked her hands in her pockets and raised a snarky eyebrow at Lilith, smiling with one side of her mouth.

"Wait, you're about to tell us something important and make us look like idiots, aren't you? C'mon, prove us wrong. Tell us about like... how this building is important somehow. I need my narration fix, lady."

To Catch a King | Avenoir and Mnemosyne

They were getting nowhere with this. The appearance of several other wonderfully eccentric characters did nothing to alleviate Marcus' delirium and Polly's desire for something interesting to study. She seemed to be very uncomfortable, standing around as the proceedings around them got increasingly jovial and social. Her breathing sped up and her eyes danced around the people in front of her like she was afraid of looking them in the eye. Look at them. What do they look like? What are they wearing? She'd practised these exercises before on rocks and trees but in person it was much harder than she'd expected to keep her attention on them. It was no wonder she'd chosen such an isolated profession. What was more unusual however was her decision to stick by Marcus. He pondered that for a moment, noticed his reflection on a rock and decided to just look down at the ground and avoid any more hallucinations. It was hard to tell whether it really was just the last few days' trauma or if he was really just going mad. He didn't remember a thing before emerging from that obelisk. Did he even have a past? He had to. He remembered the name. Mnemosyne.

He approached Naruto quickly, surprising Polly with just how determined his movements seemed to be. He stared at the boy in the eye for a moment, trying to catch even a hint of recognition. He struggled to remember anything, to try to tease out some feature or otherwise on his face that might bring a memory to light. But there was nothing. Only the shadow of an invisible library. He reached out with one hand and offered his help. Although he appeared to be healing quite quickly the newcomer still appeared to be ragged and confused. Letting the 'vampire' do it wouldn't turn out well.

"Hey. My name's Marcus Cain. You're on Outset Island and just about everyone here only just arrived the same way you did. Are you feeling okay, buddy? Can you remember your name?"

[The Dark Brotherhood of Deros]

Moira and Percy - Misty Peaks Camp

Moira liked to think she had a pretty good poker-face, and that she could keep her cool in tough situations. But the shear look of pure, unadulterated horror on her face right now suggested that wasn't quite true. The woman said that she didn't intend to kill anyone, but it seemed that her very presence was completely distorting the world around her, suggesting that she might be doing something that went against that notion. Moira could hardly comprehend this shear and utter madness, and she was even more confused when this... thing went to talk with something that apparently wasn't even there.

And then suddenly there were things there, people to be exact. These people were all adorned in strange looking equipment, and carried weapons that looked similar to bowguns, but smaller. They then absolutely unloaded into Avarice, convincing Moira and Percy that she'd undoubtedly die. Both hunters winced at the grizzly state the psychopath ended up in, but were both absolutely shocked to see that not only did she survive, but was starting to heal everything! She also seemed to totally disregard Moira's presence, opting instead to speak with the new people.

Nonetheless, Moira quickly moved forward and placed the tip of Leumundslist to Avarice's throat, and scowled down at her. "Listen here freak, I don't know what you are or what your true intentions are, but let's get something clear:" Moira then knelt down to look the thing that she now definitely knew wasn't human in the eye. "This is my world you're in, and if you do anything to harm it I will end you myself. Are we clear?" She said. Percy in the meantime was unsure of how to react to his partner suddenly acting much more serious and dark than usual, which spoke volumes of just how badly Avarice scared her.

And it was true; while Moira put on a strong outward appearance and indeed meant what she said, she was utterly terrified of Avarice. Not once had she encountered a creature like her, and it was both confusing and horrifying all at once. Moira then stood back up and moved the glaive away from Avarice's neck. Then she looked at the new arrivals with confusion written on her face. "Now, who are you and how did you get here? You're obviously not from my world, so where are you from then?" She inquired.

Nali Mendra - Misty Peaks

Nali seemed puzzled by the man's confusion over what she meant by balloons before answering. "Well, yeah I guess. I'm not sure how they work exactly, but the airship techs pump hot air into them and they float so I guess that has something to do with it. I'm not expert of course, so I could be wrong, but I think I'm right..." She replied. Suddenly a floating metalic object appeared out of nowhere and struck the pilot in the head. He seemed unphased though, and quickly jumped up and began gathering some of his equipment.

Nali too quickly moved into action, rolling away from the object and drawing her bowgun. But before she could fire, the pilot had trapped the object with some sort of... magic? It had to be, right? There was no way that could've been tech. Granted, some of the things Nali had on her person could very clearly be mistaken as arcane in nature, but was in fact science, so maybe it was technology? "That... that was cool! How did you do that? How does that thing work?" Nali asked in an awestruck tone.

It was then that she heard sudden banging noises from far away, making her perk up. Could that be Gesh and Rex? We didn't bring any bombs though, and neither of them have bowguns, so maybe not... Nali thought, once again worrying for her companions. She looked at the pilot. "Well, what do we do then? Oh, and did you give me your name? I don't think you did."

[Prusselanden]

Misty Peaks
Cicero sprung into action when he spotted the flying object, and shifted his arm into a sword, ready to cut it down. However, Douglas already took care of the thing and trapped it in something. Cicero morphed his sword back into an arm. He felt uneasy, since his two companions would have seen him shapeshift and might question what he was. He hoped they would take advanced tech as an excuse.

Just as Douglas dispatched the drone there seemed to be another ruckus in the distance-and it seemed like two parties fighting.

"Should we go check it out? I'm a fast runner, so I guess I could scout out those noises over there." Cicero suggested to the two.

[Naval Monte]

Secrets of the Raven
Branhwrn

"Now she decides to tell me about some arbitrary divine rule. Nice timing Dawn." the mage mentally sassed as she realize that her plan of breaking into the building unnoticed won't go over as easily as she planned. However Lilith decided to pull her back and tell her she had another idea. When the vampire turned into mist and enter the building through the door by it's crack it didn't take long for her to open it through the other side. "Thanks for that Lilith but I was trying to avoid you doing that outside encase someone sees us." Looking around Elizabeth was glad that right now it seems most people were ignoring them.

The witch stepped inside and immediately she can see that the building was making its nature known. In the place of a decaying and crumbling tenantment building was the interior of a seedy and dated office building. The type of firms that perform of shaddy services that you are never quite sure that they are doing but one heavily suspects they might be a front for some illegal activity of some kind. Elizabeth saw the aged wallpaper had a few stains on it and cracks. The lightbulbs above were rather dim and emitted a buzzing noise, some flickering as they struggle to stay on.

Walking further deep into the building she turned around and looked at the group. "Welcome to the Borderland everyone. Please leave all sense of logic and sanity out the door because were we are going we won't need those." She told them with a big grin as she faced the building, for a brief moment seeing the interior of the tenantment building until she blinked and the office building returned. "Oh this is going to be fantastic." The mage said in mock excitement. As she began to take a few more steps before she stopped, swearing to have heard movement in the room.

---

The Forbidden Act
Misty Peaks

Seeing her eat the drone didn't ease Hex's worries that at any moment she could decide to eat them all. Hex was glad that her years working with AEGIS harden her to certain things like gore, because seeing Avarice' current form would have made her nauseous, the sickening regeneration happening before her would have insured she vomited. "None of those parts are suppose to move like that." were the words that repeated themselves in her head as she saw the regeneration go on.

However Avarice mentioning she was running out of few did put her mind at ease, knowing that she can't regenerate continually assured her that eventually they might inflict lasting damage on her if they have too. When the conceptual being got uncomfortably close to her the augmented agent was ready to use her weapons against Avary should she try anything fishy. Yet instead of a hostile action she introduced herself and asking for hers along with asking if she doesn't want to kill anyone. As Hex's green eyes stared into Avary's blues as she looked for any signs of her lying go her while thinking over what she should do with the entity.

Just as Hex was comprehending everything she heard and saw Moira made her presence known by pointing her gliave at Avary's neck. As the woman threaten Avary Hex took this as the right opportunity to slowly back away from the conceptual predator, to put some distance between the two. Just as Hex toyed with the idea of turning invisible and leaving Moira turned her attention back to her. ["i]So much for evading the locals[/i]" she thought. Hex turn her sight back to the woman and while still keeping her mask on and hood raised she spoke, the speakers mechincal tone mixing with her voice.

"You can call me Hex and how I arrived in here is the same way as you all did, by the rifts. As for where I'm from that is classified." She told the the huntress. Hex was not going to tell her that the rift she came from was one made and controlled by AEGIS. The other members of the team decloak and slowly approached the site, their weapons aimed at both Avary and Moria. The now airship size drone above was instructed to leave the site along with the drones made of solid light, shadow, and candy. Turning her attention back to Avary she said. "What are you? As for killing I would say to avoid killing any humans for the time beings. If you have to eat than you have my permission to go after the animals."

At the campsite Cicero's wish that no one has saw his shapeshifting went unfulfilled as both invisible agents and drones saw and recorded what he did. However he was lucky in that he was not their main concern, instead it was one of their drones which was teleporting around and Doug who just open it and was examining the machinery inside. The team didn't need to wait for orders from command to know what they must do.

A few soldiers threw flashbangs ar the trio and just before anyone can react the explosives went off, temporarily blinding them. Now distracted the invisible agents sprint toward to Doug and the drone, gene modded and cybernetic enchanted legs made them quickly cross through the distance separating them from Doug. Before he or the others can get their sight back the agents grabbed on to the drone to take the machine before Doug can learn anymore about it. The agents tried to run back but found that the drone won't budge from it's spot, no matter how hard they pulled. With everyone's sight returning back the invisible team had no choice but to leave without the drone, returning back to the bushes as the invisible drones observed the trio.

[Prusselanden]

Misty Peaks
Cicero let out a cough as the smoke cleared and the agents were gone. He pulled himself into a fighting stance, ready to engage an opponent in case they tried to attack next. Fortunately, there was no movement for a long time after the smoke grenades, and Cicero relaxed a bit. He still had to keep an eye on his surroundings, though, just in case.

"It seems we're being followed. Maybe we should get out of here."

[Skylus]

Okay...Let's see if I can still remember the Slate lore.....

The Forbidden Act (Misty Peaks)
Lincoln Douglas Forester (Second Lieutenant of the Hyrulialus Royal Air Squadron) "Chain-Link"
Unknown location, unknown time

Doug still had the drone in his hands when Nali started asking questions.
The airships sounded like a good way to contact back home, if that was even possible.
Then the woman asked about the Slate and Doug grinned.
"It's a long story but this device is...well....very old, despite how it looks. It's called a Shieka Slate and this is the original. One other existed besides this one for a very long time until around 20 years ago. That's when an ancient burial site was...rediscovered, so to speak and the people that found it discovered everything that an ancestor of mine used to save our nation. Although it was a kingdom back then....Anyway, a very long time ago, there existed a powerful, very advanced race called the Shiekah, no one knows what happened to them but the technology they left behind wasn't discovered until at least ten thousand years after they all vanished. The Slate was one such device. There's six Runes on it, which are basically magical abilities that can interact with the world around the device.
The six runes, which are - Magnesis; it lifts/lowers stuff; Sphere and Square Bombs, they blow things up, of course; Cryonis, it freezes things and harms them; Stasis, it stops time; and Camera, it takes pictures - have been converted into actual weaponry for the Slate, but are still a work in progress. The Stasis rune was what you just saw, it had been corrupted in the upgrading process, but I guess it works now."

Doug took a deep breath and then continued.
"As to what we do...uh...."
He looked down at the drone which was beginning to move verrrrrrrry slowly.
"Well, I want to try and figure out how to operate this thing, shouldn't be too hard. As for my name..."
Instead of giving out his usual answer, what he said surprised him.
Doug glanced up towards Nali, shifted the drone to one hand, and then stuck out his other one for her to shake.
"Call me Link."
His smile faltered a bit and he blinked.
"I usually don't go by that. I usually go by Doug or Douglas, that's my middle name. Reason is because a lot of my ancestors that are famous were also named Link, per tradition and stuff and...I dunno....I guess I don't want the fame and glory associated with the name..."
Doug's gaze wandered to the back of his left hand for some reason and, maybe it was because he was still out of it, but he could have sworn he saw something for a brief second, but he didn't see what it was.
His gaze returned to Nali.
"But yeah, you can call me whatever. Last name is Forester. Lincoln Douglas Forester is my full name, in case you were wondering."

[Menschenfleisch]

The Forbidden Act | Avarice

The disgusted look in Moira's eyes was all Audrey needed to see. In her mind's eye the hunter seemed to sweat dense droplets of fear and confusion, mixing in with the layers of glistening adipose and human humour that coated the ground. Why couldn't they understand? Was it the regeneration? She had to be better. Yes! These living things were just scared of what they didn't understand. She had to show them she was one of them, make up for the things she'd subjected them to. Honestly though it didn't seem as if anything she was saying or doing was getting through to them. Oh well. She had time. Moira's glaive came dangerously close to cutting her open but she didn't seem to mind. She didn't seem to care about anything at all.

"Well, I guess you could call me a freak. I'm not like you, right? If someone shoots you then you die. We're crystal clear, Moira. Won't harm anything at all! Though that might be a bit difficult considering how much stuff there is around me. Does hurting bacteria and insects count? Doh, silly question - of course that's not okay! All life is precious! Oh, but there's such a mess on the ground now. Hang on, I'll clean it up for ya."

She looked around rather energetically, trying to find some place she could stand where she wouldn't be inadvertently killing microscopic life. Seeing nowhere that fit the criteria she shrugged and reached out with one hand, a wave of black gas and grit emerging from her arm. The limb dissolved as she did so, revealing pitch black insides that shivered like acoustic glass. The blanket swept over the earth, dissolving the viscera on the top soil and hoovering up the larger bits and pieces bobbing in the mud. When the dust had settled the clearing looked rather more pleasant, sans the trees and foliage which had been torn to shreds by the soldiers' gunfire.

"You know, I don't really need to eat. I could probably operate at the same efficiency as you for eons if I wanted to, not that I'm showing off. I only need food to keep up my more exceptional physical abilities. Whatever you eat will serve me just fine. So, then! Hex! You wanted to know what I am? I'm Avarice, a bona fide concept! The manifestation of an empty universe's hunger! A cosmic predator in the pathetically insufficient flesh."

Avarice regurgitated a conductor's baton, spitting it out like a chicken bone into her hand. It was perfectly preserved, as clean as the day it'd been manufactured, beside the coating of blood on the end of it, which she surreptitiously licked off. There was no reason to worry; that was her own blood, back when she'd been stabbed by an orchestral conductor. You learn something new every day, such as the exact method by which a man wielding a fragile stick will stab you in the face. She flipped it through the air and pointed it casually between Hex, Moira and Percy.

"So why are all of you so interested in this place? What, is something interesting going down tonight?"

[The Dark Brotherhood of Deros]

The Forbidden Act

Moira and Percy - Misty Peaks

Classified? That wasn't very encouraging to hear, but neither were the weapons being pointed in her direction. Percy hissed and brandished his spear, ready to strike if needed, while Moira simply addressed the agents. "Wait! Let's all just calm down and talk this out, alright?" She said, lowering her glaive to her side.

Moira's gaze once again returned to Avarice, who was only furthering her distrust and discomfort with her words and actions. Nonetheless, she seemed peaceful... for now. After Avarice inquired as to why the group were so interested in this place, Percy finally decided to speak. "Well, like Moira said, this is our world, nya. We just got back through another rift, and we're currently trying to find a way back to our village." He said, still keeping his eyes on the strange agents. Suddenly a thunderous roar echoed in the distance, making both monster hunters perk up at the sound.

It was a disturbingly familiar roar.

Percy slowly looked up at Moira, and she down at him. "Uh... Moira? Did that sound like a... a Deviljho roar to you?" The Palico inquired. Moira grimaced and nodded. "Y-yeah... We should probably get out of here quickly..." She replied, now looking at both Avarice and the agents. "Okay... Now you no doubt heard that roar as well, and let me tell you that it belongs to a particularly deadly creature that would no doubt love to make us all it's breakfast. Now whether we entirely trust each other is irrelevant right now, because we need to move." She explained, her voice taking on a serious tone.

Nali Mendra - Misty Peaks

Nali seemed enthralled with the pilot's story, but she couldn't help but notice that nothing he was talking about rang a bell to her. "The Shieka? Is that your name for the Ancient Civilization? We've never found technology that advanced from any of their ruins before..." She said. Then the man introduced himself as Link, but mentioned that he usually called himself Doug. "Oh... Well I suppose I can understand not wanting to be treated like a hero due to your heritage. That's a lot of pressure to live up to, you know?"

Suddenly there was a blinding flash of light and a loud popping noise. It almost seemed like a flash bomb, but worse. Nali clutched her eyes painfully, and a few moments later it was gone. "What was that about?!" Nali exclaimed, still blinking her eyes to clear them. Cicero then suggested that they were being watched, which wasn't a pleasant thought for Nali. "Well then we should probably get moving and, I don't know, try to lose them? Those shots could mean someone's in trouble, so we should help them!" She said.

After waiting for confirmation from the rest of the group, Link decided to stay and attempt contact with wherever he came from. After this, Nali lead the way in the direction she heard the shots, still hoping beyond hope that her companions would be there alive and well. The sudden echoing roar of the Deviljho immediately added to the immense concern she felt, and the fear was now visible on her face. "Oh no... We need to hurry!" She said to her two companions as she quickened her pace.

The group then broke the treeline, now finding themselves in the Misty Peaks base camp. What they saw both surprised and overjoyed Nali, as while there were a large group of strangers in the camp, there were two individuals that she recognized. "W-what? ... Moira?! Percy?!" She exclaimed in disbelief.

Moira's head immediately turned in the direction of Nali's voice, and a smile found itself on it. "Nali?!" She exclaimed. Moira soon found the breath nearly knocked out of her as the young huntress slammed herself into her chest, enveloping her in a hug. "You're alive! I'm... I-I'm... I'm so relieved! You, you, you're, you're...." Any semblance of coherent language suddenly left Nali, and were replaced by joyful sobs as tears ran down her face. Moira returned the hug, glad to see her young friend again, but surprised by just how emotional she was to see her.

She knew that the rookie huntress looked up to, and cared for her deeply, but It had only been a day or so since she had been drawn into the rift. Surely she wasn't that concerned? "Easy now Nali, shhh. I'm fine. I'm fine. And you're not going to believe the story I have for you." She said to the huntress, who was still in the middle of a fit of tears. "What... happened? You... you were gone for months!" Nali said, shocking Moira.

Months?! How could that be?! Percy too seemed surprised by this, but couldn't think of anything relevant to say. "What? No, it's only been a day... How could? ..." Needless to say, Moira was thoroughly puzzled, and so was Nali. "Huh? A day? N-no, you were reported missing almost four months ago... Moira, what happened to you?!" She exclaimed, making Moira pause. "I-I... I don't know... How could that be?" She asked aloud, now barely acknowledging the others.

Her mind then returned to the here and now, and she quickly inquired as to who were accompanying Nali. "Oh, uh... This is Cicero." She explained, making Moira give an acknowledging nod. "What about them? Who are they?" Nali asked, gesturing to Avarice and the agents. Moira wasn't sure how to answer at first, but eventually came up with something.

"That one calls herself Hex, and that one's Avarice..." Then getting closer to Nali she whispered: "Stay away from her, she's... I have no idea what she is, but she eats people." "What?!" Nali exclaimed, suddenly clamping her hands over her mouth as a delayed measure of keeping quiet, and causing Moira to wince. "S-sorry... But jeez Moira, what did you get yourself into?!" The huntress asked, causing Moira to shrug. "That can wait, right now there's a Deviljho on the loose, and we need to get out of here." She replied, resulting in Nali frantically shaking her head.

"No no no! Gesh and Rex could be fighting it! We were hunting it earlier, but got separated when I... messed up. I've been searching for them for what feels like hours now!" She said, making Moira's eyes widen. The thought of her best friend and her mentor fighting off one of the most dangerous monsters known to the Guild without their help made Moira's heart sink, so she immediately glanced at Percy, who gave her a nod of assurance, and then looked to the others. "You two can fight amongst yourselves, and you can stay here if you want, but I'm going after that monster." She said first to the agents and Avarice, and then to Cicero.

Then without waiting for a reply, she pushed herself through the agents with determination in her step, now sprinting in the direction of the roar with both Percy and Nali behind her.

The hunt was on...

[Prusselanden]

Misty Peaks
Cicero had followed Nali to Percy and Moira. Guessing by their reactions to seeing each other, he deduced that they were old friends and had not seen each other in a long time-at least to Nali. The fact that time passed differently for the different places that the portals connected worried him a bit. How was it flowing in his home dimension? Could he get back in time?

He shuddered a lttle as Moira mentioned Avarice's people-eating habits. He wasn't worried for himself, mainly the people around him. A being of energy like him wouldn't taste very good when ingested. But, seeing as he himself wasn't human either, Cicero also thought that he shouldn't judge Avarice so negatively.

Then the one called Moira had dashed off to fight a monster. Cicero was unsure of whether to go. He didn't want to get in the way, and his combat skills were still rusty from his resurrection. And yet...if this thing was as dangerous as it was...should he let the woman face it alone?

"Hey, hold up." Cicero ran after Moira. "I'm coming to help."

[Naval Monte]

The Forbidden Act
Misty Peaks

As Nali began to lead her small group towards another location where the gun shots came from the agents and drones followed them. While those agents followed Nali back with Hex her only response to Avary's question was. "I'm afraid that one is also classified." She replied back plainly, knowing that would only sever to make her infuriating and distrustful. Nothing she can't do really, not without disobeying orders and jeopardizing the mission and her life. When Moria asked for everyone to calm down Hex gave the order for everyone to lower down their weapons.

"So you are a concept? I will admit you are... different, compare to the ones I've encountered before." Hex's reaction to Avary's macabre act with the baton was obscured by the mask like helmet. Hex looked at the AR map to see that some members of the other team were arriving to her current location, the others staying in the other location. Just as she began to ponder why the other team was heading for them they all heard a roar. "Oh great, don't tell me we are in Jurassic Park now." One of the agents said. When Moira told everyone that the thing that made the roar would eat them and that they should move, am idea no one argued against.

When Nali suddenly arrived the other agents looked at her but did nothing, all of them knowing from their headset that she came in with the other team. As she saw the reunion between the huntresses Hex turn her sight back to the cat. "Maybe I can ask this one how he can talk and stand upright or even use tools?" hex thought when Moira pushed through the agents to go fight the monster that made the roar. The agents that were visible stayed as the invisible drones flew off to follow Moira and see whatever it was that made the roar. The agents that were visible didn't know whether to assist the huntress or to go or with the original mission. The other team stayed with Doug as they awaited for the time to get back the drone

[Skylus]

The Forbidden Act (Misty Peaks)
Lincoln Douglas Forester (Second Lieutenant of the Hyrulialus Royal Air Squadron) "Chain-Link"
Unknown location, unknown time

No sooner had Nali spoke then Doug was blinded by a flash of light and a loud bang.
As soon as his hearing and sight came back he swung the Slate out in a circle, trying to figure out where the flash-bangs had come from.
"We're not alone. Wonderful."
A roar rose up from where nearby and it did not sound friendly.
"...Okay....Now there's wild animals everywhere....Just greeaatttt...."
Nali and the other guy left Doug alone without warning and as soon as they had left the crash site, Doug went over to his jet and started trying to contact mission control. It was probably worthless, but it was worth a shot.

[Menschenfleisch]

The Forbidden Act | Avarice

Woah woah woah, what was this now? Was Moira advocating for peace? She certainly hadn't been expecting this. As the woman lowered her impressively sharp weapon Percy piped up, informing them that they were looking for a way to return to their "village". A small settlement? Perhaps there would be company there. She turned in a circle, admiring the beauty of the environment around her. Perfect angles and scars in the trees, precisely measured patterns occurring again and again as nature repeated itself in a million identical, unique ways. She took the time to remember the universes she visited. Their physical patterns, their inherent flaws and properties. Every world had its own signature and this one smelled to her like nectar would smell to a bee. Unbelievably rich and gourmet.

The roar of the Deviljho reverberated throughout Ava's body, giving her a rather good impression of the being which had made such a sound. An enormous thing, dozens of metres tall and overwhelmingly forceful. While she would rather have stuck around and tried to take it down it seemed her companions were more interested in either running away or killing it. Nali, another hunter, appeared from the bushes and tackled Moira. For a moment Ava thought they were engaging in some particularly violent wrestling but it soon turned out to simply be a social greeting. What a strange way of saying hello! No time to stick around though, they were already leaving to go hunt the monster down. She stepped forward after Moira addressed her - knowing that she wasn't saying anything nice about her to Nali but honestly not caring. If they had low expectations, then fine. She'd just exceed them and make them even more convinced that she had changed!

"Well, if we're going after this thing then I'm coming with you. That roar positively shook my to the core. I want to find out what it came from!"

Avarice put her hands behind her head and skipped along with Moira and Percy as they ran toward the Deviljho, completely disregarding the grievous risk of dying to an enormous multistorey organic obliterator. She could honestly relate to the big lizard more than some of the people here. Being a very big fish in a very small pond, and then realising that there are only even smaller ponds all the way out. Every now and then something would catch her eye, convincing her to turn toward it and glide over the ground with almost mannequin-like movements. Her crystalline eyes would sweep over lines of trees and ratios. The whole world was an equation as simple as arithmetic to her. All that really remained was for her to learn the finer details. She could see exactly when and how a rock had been formed, what precise geometric rules the fauna around her grew to fit. She stared into the beady eyes of rabbits hiding behind foliage and smiled just a little bit too enthusiastically at the larger woodland creatures that they passed. Did that four-legged thing just fall over? Oh, yeah. Staring at things paralysed them. How could she forget?

The woman fell in line behind the group, tucking her hands into her pockets and remembering something humans were fond of doing on long adventures. She began to whistle and talk to the agent, really quite confused at why she'd chosen to accompany them when her objectives seemed to be so utterly unconnected to the hunt at hand. Was she acting without her fellows? Maybe it would be nice to join someone some day for coffee and biscuits, get to know a couple of people and join some kind of organisation. Companionship was one thing she'd never known. With any luck, well, maybe she'd have the opportunity to broaden her metaphorical horizons. She stamped on the ground, flipping a flat stone on the ground into her hand and fidgeting with it. As they passed a river she tossed it in, watching it bounce over the water and land amongst the silt and fish. She'd never been properly swimming before. Maybe later. With a wistful, curious gaze she stared up at the sky and tilted her head toward Moira.

"So, what's this Deviljho we're looking for? Sounded pretty powerful to me. I'd love to see what we can learn from it, once we've subdued it. Frankly, life is amazing."

It really was. More interesting and new than all the broken crusts and molten cores in the multiverse. No matter how many stars she'd consumed and worlds she'd razed, being able to talk was something still quite new to her. It was still something she loved to do, if only so she could feel satisfied that she was learning something new. Her body leaned toward Hex, just a bit too close for comfort.

"So, you said your orders were classified. Pretty secretive bunch, aren't you? But you smell like steel and concrete. Lemme guess, you're here to learn, just like me! Don't you think this planet is wonderful? I could get lost, staring at it for years. So vibrant and not-on-fire! Finite time's too short to witness the world, don't you think?"

[The Dark Brotherhood of Deros]

The Forbidden Act

Moira, Percy and Nali - the Misty Peaks

Moira glanced behind her to see both Cicero and Avarice following her. "You're sure you want to come? I don't see any weapons on you, and Deviljho's not exactly easy to fight." She said, trying not to acknowledge the fact that Avarice had decided to follow. Percy in the meantime decided to answer the concept, though not without some modicum of trepidation. "Well, it's a really big meownster with teeth and claws. Trust me, you'll know it when you see it, nya." He said.

As the group pressed on, Nali still held a look of fear in her eyes, and she continued to worry for her other companions. Please... please don't be too late... She thought.

Meanwhile...

"RRRAAAGH! COME ON YOU BIG GREEN FREAK! STAY DOWN!"

Two men both wearing armor and carrying oversized weaponry were both currently locked in combat with a truly monstrous foe. The beast was absolutely huge, standing 20 feet over the heads of the two men, and stretching a total of 68 feet from nose to tail. It's bulky frame was held aloft by two muscular legs, while two smaller arms hung down from its chest. It's mouth was filled with rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth, and a viscous saliva dripped from it's maw onto the ground below.

It's body was covered in dark green scales, and rows of sharp spines. Strangely enough however, it's scales also held a peculiar blue tint to them not common among the species. Rearing back onto it's hind legs, the beast let out a thunderous roar, before snapping at one of the men, who rolled out of the way.

This man was adorned in bulky red, brown and blue armor, and wielding a huge striped hammer. After he dodged the beast's attack, he retaliated by bashing it in the head with his hammer, making it recoil backward. "HAAAA! HOW'D THAT FEEL?!" He said in his hardened and stern voice. He was quickly flanked by a second man, who was wearing blue and yellow armor, and wielding a huge blade with a peculiar device built into it. "It's just not backing down! We've been hitting for how long now?!" He asked in a much younger sounding voice.

The first man didn't look at him, his eyes still locked on the huge beast in front of them, but he answered. "Yeah... I'm starting to notice that too. A normal Jho would be down by now, but this one's different. I guess those rumors about 'rogue' monsters was true..." He said. The Deviljho once more reared back, and then jumped forward, causing both hunters to scatter to the left and right as it landed with a thunderous crash that shook the ground around it.

"Maybe we should flare for evac and find Nali? This is starting to look like a lost cause!" The younger man suggested, making the older one grimace behind his helmet. "Maybe, but we'd have to loose this thing first to do that safely! Just hold it off for now, and let me think of some-" "Gesh! Rex!" The older man - Gesh - was cut off by the sound of Nali's voice, who was running toward them with her bowgun drawn.

Even more surprising, a certain huntress adorned in Nargacuga armor was with her, Insect Glaive drawn. "Nali? M-Moira?! H-how did?... Agh, it can wait! Glad to see you two, this big lug's giving us a hard time. I'd love some assistance!" Gesh said, now turning back at the Deviljho. The younger man - Rex - seemed surprised by Moira's sudden return as well, but he was also currently the target of the Deviljho's ire, meaning he couldn't really get any words out.

Then the Deviljho turned around and noticed the two new hunters and their strange companions, snarling at them all, and then letting out an ear-splitting roar that made everyone stop and clutch their ears in pain as their very bones shook from the force. The mighty Brute Wyvern Deviljho, was hungry.

Quest Start: The World Eater

First the Deviljho looked at Moira's group, opening it's mouth wide and digging it's lower jaw into the ground like a shovel, and then it hurled a large mound of soggy earth at them. Moira, still recovering from the roar just barely managed to get out of the way, while Nali and Percy weren't so lucky and were flattened by the blow. The Deviljho then followed up on it's assault by moving forward, and sweeping its sharp lower jaw along the ground repeatedly in small arcs, once, twice, three then four times, making Gesh dodge out of the way. Percy and Nali barely managed to get out of the near-mud mound they were in to avoid this onslaught, but that left Cicero and Avarice directly in the beast's path.

[Prusselanden]

Misty Peaks
“Don’t worry about me. I can handle myself.” Cicero smiled at Moira. As they arrived, The two men seemed to be ok, but now they had the problem of the monster looming over them. It was huge.

Cicero wasn’t going to back down.

Then it let out that shriek, which shot through his head as if it were a physical weapon. Why did it have to be sound? Just as he was getting used to normal sound levels-

Cicero stumbled back, holding his head. He couldn’t move. He felt a wetness from under his hearing organs-they were bleeding. This wasn’t good.

In pain, Cicero decided to strike first. He had no choice then to shift for now. Cicero morphed his arm into a cannon and fired a beam of energy at the Deviljho.

[Menschenfleisch]

The Forbidden Act | Avarice

The sound of battle was audible even before they'd cleared the treeline. While they couldn't exactly hear the two men fighting the Deviljho its roars and monolithic cries were almost overwhelming. It drowned out all else, scattering the birds and leaving the forest eerily quiet. Except for the aforementioned demonic screams of a monster, of course. The bushes parted to reveal a large field filled with shattered stumps and splintered wood, craters in the shape of lizard feet littering the ground from one of the horizon to the other. This creature, this... glorious force emitted the scent of a predator. Something borne of hatred and hunger wrapped in a sheath of impenetrable hide and gristle. It must be lonely to be it, Ava thought. All alone in a world full of nothing but food and vermin. She walked up to it and shouted against the din, struggling to be overheard.

"Hey! Hey! Calm down, big fella. You're hurt, right? Calm down!"

No response. Only its eyes sweeping over her and disregarding the threat she might pose as quickly as possible. She looked around, taking in whatever it was they were doing. She'd honestly been expecting the group to try subduing the monster but from the looks of it they were just helping to bring the thing down. Killing intent lingered in the air, forming an intoxicating concoction. She'd seen lesser creatures (and she said that without a hint of condescension) kill one another before - they weren't evil, this was simply a question of survival. She weighed up the numbers. One life against dozens. The conclusion was obvious but...

Well, by her own admission, killing was wrong. Fighting was wrong no matter who said when or where it was okay. All life was interesting and precious; deserving of preservation, not destruction! Were both sides bad? No! She trusted Moira's judgement, even if it appeared utterly hypocritical upon shallow examination. Obviously, Ava had a lot to learn. Still, fighting wasn't an option, she knew that much. They would never trust her if she went on another rampage. No, she was going to save lives. She was going to show them what a good person she could be.

As the Deviljho jumped toward the two hunters already engaging it, Avarice pounced out of the bushes. Despite knowing that the pair of men were already out of the way she headed straight for Gesh, grabbing him beneath the shoulders and pulling him far from the beast's landing spot. Her feet kicked up a cloud of burnt dirt which she used to hide her movements, skidding to a halt and flinging a plume of grit into the air. Gently (relative to her), Avarice deposited Gesh against a tree and tapped him on the shoulder, looking at his face with concerned eyes.

"Watch yourself. You look exhausted."

She whizzed back toward the main group, stopping close to Cicero, her momentum creating a blast of rock and sediment as she stopped again. She had done all of that in less than a second. Her incredible speed took quite a bit out of her, leaving her legs in a rather bad state, runny with blood and audibly popping as her shins straightened themselves out. Nobody could've told how much damage she'd taken from her face though: Avery was downright exuberant.

"Hell yeah! Oh, this is going to be such a learning experience for me! What say you guys? Isn't this amazing!?"

She stood straight up in front of the Deviljho's roar, feeling the reverberations shake her entire body as the titan came charging toward them, leaving deep imprints in the ground as it did so. She looked over at Cicero, standing in the way of the monster as it came barrelling down toward them. Crap! He was going to die! Almost instantaneously she kicked him in the side, throwing him clear of the stampeding attack. In the blink of an eye she ran between the Deviljho's legs and stopped near the mud, trying to help Nali and Percy free themselves from the ooze. Thinking quickly she reached out with one hand and completely dissolved the wet earth they were buried in. The great black appendages on her back retreated into her body and she fell to one mutilated knee, still smiling at them despite having massively overexerted herself. Her body was steaming now, visibly dissolving and turning into dark gas. Without food very, very soon she would almost certainly collapse.

"Come on! You're warriors, right? Take this thing down! We're all counting on you!"

[Prusselanden]

Misty Peaks
Cicero had been kicked aside by Avarice. Before he could react, he tumbled into the ground. He groaned and got up. Everyone else seemed to be safe and out of harm's way...everyone except for Avarice who seemed to be injured. He ran over to her quickly, scooping her up and taking her to a patch of grass at the side of the fight scene.

" Try not to move too much...lay down. Thanks for saving me back there." He smiled at her, as he rushed back to the battle.

How was he going to fight this? He could try punching it, but seeing how attacks were easily deflected off of its hide, and its mud attacks, it looked like he'd need a stronger, long-ranged assault.

Problem was, he wasn't very good at that. But something had to be done.

Cicero thought of distracting the monster first and foremost. He was quick enough, he could lure it into chasing him. He picked up a rock nearby and hurled it at it.

"Over here, big boy!"