The Underworld IC

[CAT XIII]

☆The Underworld IC☆

There is a war going on that not all of humanity can see. The creatures of the underworld feed off species alien to themselves- humans. What will we do? This group of 16-25 year olds have a plan. What plan? Slay them all!

 You were brought here, to a small town in Liverpool (England), in the night, monsters were chasing you but you're safe now. The people in the distance fought the monsters off and they've taken you under their wing.

 We will bring out supplies for you shortly. You will get a room as soon as possible and you can decorate it however you want, within reason. If you share a room with someone it might be an idea to ask how they feel.

 As a fighter here you will live in a room in a house on a normal street. There are 20 rooms to stay in (there are 4 floors underground) and, depending on how many fighters join, you may have to share. There's also a kitchen on the ground floor and a bathroom on each floor.

 You may use magic, skin or weapons to fight against the monsters. The monsters only come out at night so there will be time for you to get to know the other fighters.

 Good luck!


OOC LINK-http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=376334

[CAT XIII]

The House

 Elliot woke up early that morning, despite the round of monsters he and Luna had fought the night previous. The nightmare was back. He'd had to kill a demon in his dreams last night.

 He got out of bed and crossed the landing to Luna's room. He knocked the door,

 "Are you asleep?"

 There was a groan from the room. "Uh oh. I woke her up."

 Luna got up, turned the handle and let him in. Her room was the same as always, a little messy, dark blue walls, dark blue carpet, drawers and a wardrobe bursting with stuff around the edges of the room and a blue four poster bed in the middle.

 "Nightmare again?" She asked him.

 "You can read me like a book can't you?" he laughed, "Sorry I woke you up by the way."
 
 "It doesn't matter. I'd rather that than..." she couldn't say it. Elliot once ended up in a coma due to his nightmares. It had been a difficult time for the whole family.

 Elliot coughed not sure what to say. They stood in an awkward silence for a moment. He was about to suggest that he made breakfast when he heard a noise at the door.

 "Did you hear that?" He asked her.

 "C'mon," she said, bolting out the door. Elliot followed.

 When they got to the hallway they saw a shape through the glass in the door.

 "Should we open it?" Elliot asked.

 "I think so," Luna responded. Elliot aent ahead and opened the door.

 "Ummm. Hello?"

[Heidelski]

"Hello" Frostbite said tiredly. "I need some shelter and you were the ones I first saw. Can you help me? I was attacked by demons last night. I know I m a demon but I fought them and I am not like them. Would you please help me with this? I was told that you were the ones that could help." Frostbite had a current of thoughts running through his head. Why would they attack me? I just want to have a peaceful life. Its on though now. THe demons have declared war. He was scared but not as much as most would be since he grew up in the underworld. He looked back up at the two. "Please?"

[CAT XIII]

The House: Elliot and Luna

Elliot was slightly shocked by what he saw, a living, breathing dragon. At first he thought it was an underworld creature but the monsters didn't tend to speak to them like Frostbite had just then, he'd also admitted that he wasn't one of them. He decided to be friendly, the unfortunate soul had probably had a rough enough time without him gawking at him- which he realised he was doing.

Elliot turned round to face Luna,

"Here, this poor guy's just ended up on our doorstep."

"Ok... Right..." this certainly didn't happen everyday.

"He's a dragon. He heard about us and I think he wants to help us."

"Erm... What's going on? Is this a joke?" Elliot ignored his sister (adopted sister),

"Come in," Elliot said to the dragon, "Here, I'll make tea. Do you drink tea or...?"

[Heidelski]

Frostbite shrunk to Human size. "I drink tea. Is this size fine or do you need me to shrink further? I can do dog size." He felt uncomfortable under their stares. He knew he was something you did not see everyday but he was a bit shy under their gawks. Had they never seen a living dragon? He snorted in anxiousness.

[CAT XIII]

The House: Elliot and Luna

Elliot could tell that the poor dragon was frightened for its life,

"Here, don't worry, we won't hurt you. My name is Elliot and this is my sister Luna- although she's my adopted sister and not blood-related. If you want to join us, feel free to, we're always happy to have a helping hand."

Luna looked at Frostbite and smiled a little, although she was often hostile in the company of strangers.

"I'm afraid we only have Earl Grey tea because I can't bring myself to drink anything other than it when it comes to tea. Do you take milk or sugar?" He edged towards the kitchen/living area.

[Heidelski]

The House: Elliot and Luna

Elliot could tell that the poor dragon was frightened for its life,

"Here, don't worry, we won't hurt you. My name is Elliot and this is my sister Luna- although she's my adopted sister and not blood-related. If you want to join us, feel free to, we're always happy to have a helping hand."

Luna looked at Frostbite and smiled a little, although she was often hostile in the company of strangers.

"I'm afraid we only have Earl Grey tea because I can't bring myself to drink anything other than it when it comes to tea. Do you take milk or sugar?" He edged towards the kitchen/living area.

"Neither. I just drink tea plain. I would be glad to help. I will lso fightalthough I won't for a a few certain creatures." Frostbite began to feel better and more welcome. He sat down on the floor and politely waited.

(OOC: We need more people to join... Mabye bump the OOC??)

[CAT XIII]

The House: Elliot and Luna

"Plain's cool, that's how I like it. Luna's a weirdo, she takes a cube of sugar. He're, come into the living room, I don't want to leave you sitting out here," he motioned for the dragon to join him.

"Hey! I'm not weird, you're the weirdo round here," Luna defended. To Frostbite she said, "Do you mind if I call you Frosty? I think it would be cute." She walked towards the living/kitchen area too.

When Frostbite went in, he would see an open plan kitchen on the right and a living area on the left.

In the kitchen area there was a mahogany table with six wooden chairs around it that all had black cushioning on them. The kitchen countertops were black with shiny rhinestones in them that sparkled beautifully when the dark blue curtains were open and light could get in the window.

The carpet was blue and white striped like the ocean. Two walls were white and the other two were a calm red while the ceiling was an off colour white, heading towards blue.

There was a TV over on the other side of the room with an old black fireplace to the right of it. The blue couch with its soft red cushions was centered between the TV and the fireplace.

[Heidelski]

"Uh, Sure. Yes you can." Frostbite walked into the living room and sat down on the floor. He did not sit on the couch for his scales tore up soft furniture. "So what can Ido to help here? Is there anything I need to know?

[CAT XIII]

The House- Elliot and Luna

Elliot was busy making Frosty's tea so Luna answered for him.

"We fight against the evils of the underworld at night, by day we chat and catch up on sleep we've missed. If you want to help us, you can join us in battle," Luna stated quite coldly, "If you want to stay with us there is room on this floor."

Elliot picked up on Luna's attitude and added, "We'd love to have you here!" He looked round and smiled at Frosty for a moment before drawing his attention back to the tea- "It shouldn't be too long, the tea I mean."

[Heidelski]

The House- Elliot and Luna

Elliot was busy making Frosty's tea so Luna answered for him.

"We fight against the evils of the underworld at night, by day we chat and catch up on sleep we've missed. If you want to help us, you can join us in battle," Luna stated quite coldly, "If you want to stay with us there is room on this floor."

Elliot picked up on Luna's attitude and added, "We'd love to have you here!" He looked round and smiled at Frosty for a moment before drawing his attention back to the tea- "It shouldn't be too long, the tea I mean."

"OK. I can fight. I don't have anywhere else to stay so if it would be fine with you I will stay. What kind of demons do you fight? I will fight any but other dragons.

[CAT XIII]

The House: Luna and Elliot

"You can stay here, that's cool. We'll sort you out in a bit.

We fight anything we find. Don't worry if you don't want to fight others that are the same species as you, we won't force you to do anything you don't want to do. We have to fight demons disguised as humans sometimes, it's horrible. I may look hardcore to some people, and I can be, but I'm not an ass," she sympathised with him.

"Yeah, we get a lot of demons," Elliot added, "We don't get many dragons or anything huge, probably because the creatures of the underworld want to start off quiet so humans don't know they're here. The few we have seen, we avoided. We're not on a suicide mission, we can't help anyone if we're dead. We saw them close to the end of the night anyway, they wouldn't have done much damage in thirty seconds. We get a few weird mischievous dwarf things, they look easy to ward off but they follow you around for ages. We get all sorts of crazy stuff but not many bigger things yet."

Luna looked worried. She drifted into her own thoughts for a moment, which may have caused an awkward silence in the room."What are we going to do? What if it's only the three of us and we're up against a dragon? Am I strong enough to deal with it? Is Elliot? What happens when more start appearing? What then? Do we just get killed? What'll happen to the world if we die?"

Elliot was almost done making the tea, then he saw Luna in the corner of his eye. "What's bothering her? She doesn't usually space out like that."

He finished with the tea, handed it to Frostbite and went over to tap Luna on the shoulder,

"Are you ok?" He asked her.

"What? No...no...I'm fine. Just pondering some stuff," she replied. "Do you want me to put the TV on?"

"Are you sure you're ok?" Elliot whispered.

"I'm absoloutely fine. Jeez, can a girl not just space out for a second? Anyway, any preferences Frosty?" She got up to get the TV remote.

[Heidelski]

The House: Luna and Elliot

"You can stay here, that's cool. We'll sort you out in a bit.

We fight anything we find. Don't worry if you don't want to fight others that are the same species as you, we won't force you to do anything you don't want to do. We have to fight demons disguised as humans sometimes, it's horrible. I may look hardcore to some people, and I can be, but I'm not an ass," she sympathised with him.

"Yeah, we get a lot of demons," Elliot added, "We don't get many dragons or anything huge, probably because the creatures of the underworld want to start off quiet so humans don't know they're here. The few we have seen, we avoided. We're not on a suicide mission, we can't help anyone if we're dead. We saw them close to the end of the night anyway, they wouldn't have done much damage in thirty seconds. We get a few weird mischievous dwarf things, they look easy to ward off but they follow you around for ages. We get all sorts of crazy stuff but not many bigger things yet."

Luna looked worried. She drifted into her own thoughts for a moment, which may have caused an awkward silence in the room."What are we going to do? What if it's only the three of us and we're up against a dragon? Am I strong enough to deal with it? Is Elliot? What happens when more start appearing? What then? Do we just get killed? What'll happen to the world if we die?"

Elliot was almost done making the tea, then he saw Luna in the corner of his eye. "What's bothering her? She doesn't usually space out like that."

He finished with the tea, handed it to Frostbite and went over to tap Luna on the shoulder,

"Are you ok?" He asked her.

"What? No...no...I'm fine. Just pondering some stuff," she replied. "Do you want me to put the TV on?"

"Are you sure you're ok?" Elliot whispered.

"I'm absoloutely fine. Jeez, can a girl not just space out for a second? Anyway, any preferences Frosty?" She got up to get the TV remote.

Frostbite looked perplexed at the wall. "What is that?" He asked in doubt. " What does it do? About the dragons, they are recovering from a civil war between themselves. The serpents of the sea are in the bermuda triangle mostly. The dragons should be coming out soon." He stared at the tv again. "Is that some magic device?"

[CAT XIII]

The House: Elliot and Luna

Elliot sighed, he had feared a reply like that, "We'll have to pull together then, Luna and I. Don't worry too much, we're stronger than you might think." The last part was more intended for himself and Luna than Frostbite.

"Oh, this is called a TV. It's not magical, it's umm..." Luna looked to Elliot for inspiration.

"It's a machine that humans use to watch things on , like a mundane magic of sorts," he added.

"Right! And we watch people in a different character, pretending to be someone else. It's like an acted out story. Like uh..." she flicked through the channels, "Well, this guy is being a superhero, this girl is pretending to be a girl in MI5 disguised as a restraunt waitress and this is a dog being...himself. So that's how a TV works." She scratched her head as she flicked through more channels, trying to find something to watch. Nothing. She turned it off. "There isn't always something worth watching on though."

"Do you want us to sort out a room for you?" Elliot asked, changing the subject.

[Heidelski]

The House: Elliot and Luna

Elliot sighed, he had feared a reply like that, "We'll have to pull together then, Luna and I. Don't worry too much, we're stronger than you might think." The last part was more intended for himself and Luna than Frostbite.

"Oh, this is called a TV. It's not magical, it's umm..." Luna looked to Elliot for inspiration.

"It's a machine that humans use to watch things on , like a mundane magic of sorts," he added.

"Right! And we watch people in a different character, pretending to be someone else. It's like an acted out story. Like uh..." she flicked the channels, "Well, this guy is being a superhero, this girl is pretending to be a girl in MI5 disguised as a restraunt waitress and this is a dog being...himself. So that's how a TV works." She scratched her head as she flicked through more channels, trying to find something to watch. Nothing. She turned it off. "There isn't always something worth watching on though."

"Do you want us to sort out a room for you?" Elliot asked, changing the subject.

He stared weirdly at the TV one more time. "Sure! Um.." He looked around. "Is it just you two that fight here?" He paled as he expected the answer.

[CAT XIII]

The House: Elliot and Luna

"So far, yeah, it's only us but I've got the feeling that there will be more of us soon. Anyway, you'll be in, what I am now going to call, Room 1C. I'll need to devise a numbering system. I could take you through if you want. You can decorate it if you'd like," Elliot told him.

"See you guys- I'm going back to bed," Luna got up and left, gently closing the door behind her.

[Heidelski]

The House: Elliot and Luna

"So far, yeah, it's only us but I've got the feeling that there will be more of us soon. Anyway, you'll be in, what I am now going to call, Room 1C. I'll need to devise a numbering system. I could take you through if you want. You can decorate it if you'd like," Elliot told him.

"See you guys- I'm going back to bed," Luna got up and left, gently closing the door behind her.

"Ok, 1C. That's fine." He followed Elliot to the room and entered it. He still had doubts about they would take down a dragon. He decided he would help them all he could.

[CAT XIII]

The House: Luna and Elliot

"Alright, here it is," Elliot looked out onto a barren looking room. The walls were white, the carpets were white and there was a small bed in the centre of the room with a window next to it. It looked like it should've had a "Watch This Space!" sign on it, it was pleading to be decorated.

"What do you want?" Elliot asked, looking at Frosty, "I've got blue paint, red paint, purple paint and black paint. I've got a collection of duvet covers, I'm sure I have dragon pattern ones somewhere if you want those, we might even have a matching set of curtains. If there's any furniture you want I'll see what I can do, and yes, yes we did buy some stuff in case anyone ended up here after being chased by underworld creatures. It didn't seem creepy at the time."

Meanwhile Luna set an alarm on her mobile to go off later, she knew she probably wouldn't wake up until it was about time to head off. She put on her fighting gear and slept like rain falls after a drought- heavily.

[CAT XIII]

ENTIRE DAY RUN-THROUGH

Frosty agreed to light blue paint, dragon pattern duvet covers and dragon patterned curtains. Elliot went off to fetch supplies and came back with paintbrushes and everything else they needed to decorate the room with. Elliot put a brush in Frosty's mouth which the dragon then proceeded to dip in the blue paint and off they went.

It took the whole afternoon to get the room looking perfect and Elliot was already tired out from the previous night, he took a snack from the kitchen and went to bed for two hours suggesting that Frosty do the same.

Luna went into Elliot's room to wake him up. She looked awesome in her gear and Elliot had to rub his eyes.

"Elliot, I know I look hot but come on," she had her hands on her hips and a smirk on her face.

"I...I..." Elliot blushed, "I didn't...I wasn't..."

"Uh huh," Luna turned on her heels and walked out the door.

Elliot changed into joggers and went into Frosty's room. The dragon was fast asleep after a long day and it took a while to wake him up.

"C'mon man!" Elliot sighed. He rolled the covers off Frosty who fell out of bed.

"What did you do that for?" he huffed.

"Sorry but you wouldn't get up. We have to go. Follow me." Frosty and Elliot walked out into the hall where they crossed paths with Luna. "You got your knives?" he asked her.

"Yeah!" she called. The three of them then left in a rush, Frosty shut the door with his tail.

"Right, we stick close till we see a monster, got it?" Elliot asked them, they nodded.

They found several demons which Luna simply cut back with her knives. They were fine. Until...

"Um...guys?" There was a small voice, Frosty's. A dragon was in front of them.

"Guys, I'll handle this." Elliot got ready to use his spell. The dragon got closer- Frosty jumped in front of Elliot and Luna. "Thanks buddy," Elliot breathed. "Remember the demons, remember the nightmares," he whispered to himself. Fury raged in him. He saw the symbol, the fire symbol in his mind that allowed him to cast the spell.

Suddenly Elliot rose in the air, fire flooding out his mouth towards the dragon.

"Screw his orders!" Luna said, chasing towards the dragon, a knife being held firmly in her hand. Frosty turned away as ahe avoided Elliot's attack and sliced the dragon's tail.

Elliot fell to the floor and Frosty ran over to him. Elliot rested his hand on him:

"Thanks."

Luna came running back over., leaving the burnt, tail-less dragon on the ground.

"Let's go, before we see another one!" She yelled, running off. The other two followed behind her as she slashed small demons out of their way.

When they were nearing the door, Elliot asked her,

"Why didn't you just stay? You could've caused yourself some serious damage to yourself."

"Sorry, I wanted to be a part of it. Besides, I can take care of myself."

"Just be careful," his eyes were serious. Then he saw a shape on the porch. "What? Um, hello?"

[The Green Union]

Liverpool Suburbs: Michael

The calm quiet of the English night was rent apart by a deafening howl, shaking the very ground and bringing the fleeing, terrified boy in the black coat to his knees in the street. Fighting back tears he tried to rise, but panic had hijacked his body as well as his spirit.

Tearing back his hood Michael gasped at the moon, trying with all his heart to drown his nerves in oxygen. Breath after breath he took into his lungs to no avail, the image clear in his mind of what would happen if he was caught out here by the things that pursued him, until slowly his breathing steadied and his eyes focused, and fatigue replaced the fear. Michael slumped down into a sitting position right there on the curb, wondering for the millionth time what he was doing here. It was now clear to him that Britain would not be any safer than the other places he had tried to find refuge in, but somehow this just about broke him.

He had hoped he could find something in the centre of the world's greatest empire that would help him. Perhaps an magical artifact he could use to fight the demons, or even some clue as to why the monsters had come to him and his family like carrion birds to a slaughter.

No, he warned himself, don't think about them or it will break you again. Don't think about what happened to them. Don't think about what the creatures did to them. Only think about how you can avenge them.

Another howl split the night, but this time Michael gathered his courage and with only mild trembling fled from the noise as any condemned man in London wished he could run from the St. Sepulchre bell.

He almost even made it to the end of the street before they were on him, two figures that made Michael's blood run cold. The first was a great hound black as night, but the other took the form of a man, though taller than any Michael had seen before. The demon humanoid drew two long knives and the two advanced on Michael with dizzying speed.

But Michael was not without his own blades. Dropping his pack he drew from his belt he drew his twin sais and went to work, dodging the demon man's knives and kicking the hound, though the latter seemed to merely irritate the beast. Ten seconds of dodging and bashing later and Michael saw an opening, hurling a sai past the humanoid creature's guard and straight into his chest, the demon immediately beginning to collapse. Michael was just about to move forward and retrieve his weapon when a huge black shape slammed into his side, sending him skipping across the concrete.

When his vision cleared Michael found himself cut and bleeding but somehow still holding his one remaining sai. The hellhound was advancing on him slowly, wary now of the steel weapon which had slain its companion but no less intent on making the kill. Seeing this Michael weighed his weapon in his hand, trying to gauge the distance between himself and the monster. Maybe if he could throw the sai when it got closer-

But the beast moved with dizzying speed. In the blink of an eye it was on top of him, its jaws clamping down on Michael's side, blinding light filling Michael's vision as his pain receptors were overridden. Then, just as he was about to lose consciousness, Michael's sword arm came up, his blade entering the monster's fur.

The next thing Michael knew he was alone on the street; just him, his pack, and the slain demon, which was slowly crumbling into dust. The hound was nowhere to be seen, as was the sai he had managed to drive into its hide. His right side felt wet and numb, and when he moved pins of excruciating light danced in front of his eyes. Michael dared not look under the remains of his tattered shirt for fear of what he may find, but he managed to get to his feet and grab his belongings. He didn't need to be reminded, but the demon wolf's howl off in the distance, answered by a dozen others, proved that his hunters would be back.

Michael made it three blocks before the poison started to kick in, though he did not know it yet.. His steps became unsteady, his head swam, and his vision blurred. Not knowing what else to do Michael dragged himself up the porch of a house, the most secluded place he could reach within a few steps, and slumped against the door. With any luck, he thought, I'll be feeling better before people notice I'm here. The dawn was only a little while from breaking, and it seemed unlikely that the monsters would get to hi before the sun drove them off. Taking comfort in this prospect Michael tried to examine his wound, first without sight, and was rewarded with a shooting pain.

Michael fell back against the door, out of breath and shocked by just how bad the injury had felt. Then in the faint light he noticed something on his hand where he had touched his side. Sickly green pus covered his fingers, stinging his skin that it touched.

Poison. Michael thought as he slipped into unconsciousness. So that's how I die.

[CAT XIII]

The Porch and Into the House

Elliot was moving towards Michael but Luna stepped in front of him.

"No," she said shaking her head, "he's unconscious and injured. I'll handle him. Frosty, Elliot, you two off to bed. I don't want to startle him so much that he has a heart attack on us and dies." Elliot looked like he was about to say something but Luna waved it off with a hard stare.

Elliot scrambled to unlock the door as Luna picked up Michael and Frosty stared at him nervously. When the door was opened they each said "goodnight" to each other. The boys went off to their rooms while Luna took Michael to room 1D.

Luna laid Michael down on the spare bed with white sheets. The room looked the same as Frosty's had before they decorated it- barren and blank.

She put the boy into the recovery position before dragging in a First Aid Kit and a chair from the kitchen. She sat down after checking he was still breathing alright and waited until he regained consciousness.

[The Green Union]

The House: Michael

Just because he slept for a long time didn't mean he was well rested. Time had no meaning while he floated through the netherworld of unconsciousness, only measurable in the length of dreams. And he did dream, or rather relive the terror of his last year.

When Michael's eyes did open he barely knew it. Slowly an image of a wall and pillow appeared in his vision, but he could not yet register any other senses, and at first he thought it was part of a strange dream. In blank thought he stared until his view moved, by his own power or someone turning him he knew not. Suddenly he saw a ceiling above him, and a face appeared in front of his sight . . .

Michael fell back into unconsciousness.

The next time he became aware of his surroundings, or what happened to be real despite belief, Michael once again saw a face come into his field of vision, and after a moment began to recognize that he was no longer asleep. He tried to focus on the face and saw that it was a girl, and she was saying something . . .

But just then Michael fell back into unconsciousness.

[CAT XIII]

The House: Luna and Elliot

Luna sighed, the boy just would not get up, she decided she'd just have to bandage him up- asleep or not. She used disinfectant to clean the wounds before wrapping bandages round them. She shoved a few painkillers down his throat as well. By the end of it all, she was exhausted. She was too tired to go back to the chair, she just fell asleep leaning on the sheets of Michael's bed.

Meanwhile, Elliot stirred, he heard a sound at the door.

"Jeez, don't tell me we went in too early. I know we didn't put much of a shift in tonight," Elliot murmered, getting up to check who was there. He could see a strange shape in the doorframe which made him want to call for Luna, but he didn't. He just opened the door, preparing himself in case it was a demon.

[Barikistan]

Standing at the door was him. A skeletal creature with large black wings similar to an archangel. His black robes resting on the floor and his glowing red eyes making one feel as if death was right on its door. Holding his blade he put it back in its holster. He lifted his hood revealing his skeleton head and its darkness it held.

" Who are you and where am I". He breathed deeply and looked at this person more devilishly. Rubbing his hands together the shadow magi surrounded him in the forms of two dark hands. Then they turned into a puff of smoke. He usually did this to scare people into not messing with him.

[CAT XIII]

The Door: Elliot

Elliot shivered and gulped in fear. This creature was certainly creepier than the impish demons they fought. "Come on man, man up!" Elliot pulled himself together.

"I'm Elliot. I live here, along with Luna, Frostbite and another guy who got injured and stuff. We're in Liverpool, England. Erm, are you lost or do you, uh, want to see us for any reason?"

He leaned on the door, trying to seem comfortable.