Welcome to Gaia! ::

Things had settled into a rhythm in the strange little village, and for a while everything became predictable. Until, on the twenty first day of their imprisonment, something different happened.

Just before sunset, when the sky was still painted with light, a crash echoed throughout the entire village, and through all stretches of the forest.

Before, there were no clear markers, nothing to easily identify one region of the forest from the next. And yet now, a pale white tree, gnarled with age and decay, had fallen. Talismans of all sizes and shapes had been tied to it, but it seemed as though the life had been completely drained of this tree for some time. When it fell, it collided with the ground with such force that it shattered through the earth and toppled into the cellar below.

Whatever loose bricks had separated any groups in the cellar had fallen away with the impact, and more than that--the tree was a lifeline out. It had many branches, and the angle at which it had fallen made it easy to climb back up and onto solid ground.

There was a strange, electric humming in the air--like there was a sense of urgency, to gather, and prepare.

A river flowed near the uprooted base of the tree, twisting around the cellar and disappearing into the forest in an unexplored region that seemed previously inaccessible. Whatever illusion had hidden it seemed broken, now.

More importantly was the straight river that seemed to visibly lead out of the forest. There was still a wall of trees that spread for a great while, but lights seemed to speckle the horizon, far off and away in the distance.

There was something out there.

A way out, maybe.

Lawrence, Yolanda, and Cheriush

The souund was promising. Lawrence was considering another wood run when the sound of Something Big falling in the forest drew the physicist's earn. That sounded big, and with the daily vegetation collected for food (Apple pie. Yolie finally worked out a dough for it as well as thuroughly cleaned the apples), it meant something That Big could be chopped into logs to be carried back to be split for wood. It sounded old and dry and dead anmd perfect and he turned to the women carefully, eyes lit up in delight.

"Well!" He said merriluy. "I believe I heard a fina tree for firewood, wouild you ladies not agree? I'll fetch the axe!" And :Lawrence was off, whistling.

Cherish looked over from using a pocket knife on some wood, blinking. Her father was nothing jut cheery when he could contribute, and the blonde hummed,, thinking. She'd started whittling for something besides Satan's Card Game to do, and while crafting was fun, she just enjoyed her father's company in this hellhole moire. She had tried and failed to power to protect the other girl and Mrs. Abson and failed, a worrying turn oif events, but her father was comforting and soothing, and Cherish appreciated him all the more. Part of her was considering taking his last name, really, and the giurl bit her lip, before putting down her domino and rising to follow.

"Yeah, ok, Dad. Are you two coming? I think food will keep iof you want to helpo. It sounds big."

Yolanda looked up from her layting of crtust to apples and blinked. When Alex had arrived, Yolanda had welcomed her, and liked to ask questions and learn from the older lady. Yolie had never known a mother, or a mother finger -- she didn't remember her aunt Felicia, and grew up a,omg men, so when the large woman came mothering, Yolie was receptive, attaching to her like a kitten to learn and seek the feminine role model she never had. Wherte Cherish snuck off fa couple times for... Yolie had no idea, Yolie hadn't tried powering. Instead she prowled until midnight nightly with a steak knife, prepared to kill if the THING came in. It didn't, but others were audibly attacked, and it steeled the young blonde's rewsolve to protect the people she was with. And this trust was reciprocated, she felt. The falling tree did not escape her ear, and Yolie rose, placing her pie in a cast iron skillet, placing it by the fire to bake slowly, and walked after. "I don't mind carrying wqood, Mr. Dunn." Yolie affirmed sweetly, and offered Alex a warm look.

"We can all go! Maybe get more apples along with the wood, right, Mrs. Abson?"



Sailor Alsafi

She barely ate. She bassrely drank. Actually, Sailor Alsafi barely moved since the monster captured her. No, the Senshi of Pyroclastic flows was far from her cheery, bombastic self, instead withdrawing utterly from the world, not moving when others appeared in the cellar, and doing sio little she could be mistaken for dead. She didn't want to.

It was one thing too many. Her parents had their perfect daughter. Her cat had left her. She felt friendless and useless as a senshi -- all in all, Sailor Alsafi fewlt like there was nothing to react to, because nothing was as she felt the world shouild be. She felt utterly miserable without others to lean on and the senshi couldn't even feel pride in remembering how dragon-like her homeworld's past denizens were. Nothing seemed to be worth joy if she was a failure. And despite blowing her mother off consistantly, that was what Alsafi felt like.

Like maybe her mother was right, and she was a failure aty everything. Like she was hopeless. Worthless. Unworthy.

Thus, when the tree fell and cracked open the cellar, Alsafi only dshifted to look up,. normally fiery demeanor replaced with something small and sad, weak and perhaps broken in some fundsamental way no man should be. She could leave, if sdhe wanted. But really... Why? Well... Maybe it was becau7se it was something not dsirty qwaater and vegetation. She just didn't move with the same sensation iof purpose as others. She just felt... Broken.

Worthless.

Quote:

Sailor Alsafi is open to interactions, and probably needs a hug. "Oops".

Eternal Corrupted Kamacite | 5

Kamacite had been dozing, but the sound of something colliding with the ceiling quickly roused him. His eyes opened quickly, heart already pounding, the new adrenaline giving him no time to blink sleepily awake.

Parts of the ceiling were gone, and the obnoxious blond General had somehow managed to get up on his feet, despite the act that he’d put on that he was surely dying before. It seemed as though he was feeling a lot better now.

Okay, so even Kamacite could admit that seeing a way to escape was a breath of fresh air. He didn’t need to be told twice to get up and out.

One arm was useless, his hair had to be draped over his shoulders, and what was left of his robe was left behind so he could make the climb. Thankfully his outfit under the robe bore no sleeves to get caught on anything, but his injuries were at risk of more trauma.

Once out, Kamacite took a step towards the new view on the horizon, but paused as the General did, staring at him as he looked back towards the village.

“Let’s go or I’m leaving you here,” it was Kamacite’s turn to say. But he wasn’t nearly as heartless as the General seemed to be. At least towards almost everyone. “If he’s out looking for you, he’ll come this way. Better get away before that monster shows up again.”

Unfortunately, that was exactly what seemed to be happening. As darkness quickly swallowed them up, not just one monster appeared in the fog, but several, dozens, countless. Kamacite felt the color drain from his face. There was no way they would be able to fight this many.

Still, he had to try.

“Cover your eyes,” he warned, making sure the General had enough time to duck away before holding out his one good hand in front of him.

“Solar flare!”

Athalia - Senshi of Hercules Beetles - 4 |

It was to be a blessing in disguise given the circumstances and individuals he'd found himself surrounded by in his prison. Largely compromised of chaotic individuals he had been in the minority and that had led to a decidedly unpleasant experience. Strong as he might have been at other times, it was safe to say that the senshi did not and was unlikely to ever have the ability to take on that many people and win. More importantly there were more than a few of them that were considerably stronger than he was.

Taking injuries out of the equation, he wasn't stupid enough to imagine that even then he would have stood a chance. Outnumbered, outgunned and very much in the minority, he'd had little option other than to remain where he was in relative silence. With only dirt, grime and pulsing discomfort of residual injuries to keep him company, he wasn't in the best of moods to begin with and his once practical nature was under threat.

One could only imagine his relief as the cellar's roof caved in, an expression that flooded on to tired features as the tree tore through the very door that kept him contained and allowed the faintest of light to stream in to the damp and desolate prison. His head had bowed as the dust billowed into the air and only when it had settled again did he look up to observe the 'ruins' that had been left.

...And the large tree trunk that would prove to be his way out.

Lips pressed into a thin line he forced himself to his feet and began to make his way out, the others had the capacity to care for themselves and he knew better than to trust them. In the end, even the likes of Cybele would have the capacity to destroy him and he doubted they would hesitate for a second. Thus, when the opportunity presented itself it seemed obvious that his only option was to get himself out and make his way back towards the others. Given that they hadn't made it to the cellar he could only take that as a positive.

They were out there somewhere.

He should have known better than to expect this to be quick though and even as he moved through the forest the darkness rolled in, and with it, the familiar and otherwise hated fog that remained a reliable accompaniment. Yet another thing he didn't need, another memory he didn't need to relive again, and again, and again... Yet here he was in yet another of the City's ridiculous scenarios where it fed on him for sport.

He made a mental note to ensure he was never in town for any foreseeable, and often conveniently predictable moments. At this stage if he jammed the events into a calendar he could probably spot when they were going to happen anyway. Suffice to say, that at this stage it could feed on something else, he'd had enough.

In fact if he'd thought that getting back would have been easy he should have known better, the entire prospect of an easy life was depressingly farfetched and no sooner had he managed to catch his stride than he came face to face with reams of a face he owuld much have preferred not to.

In those moments he simply held up his hands.

At this stage, why even bother trying?

He wasn't immune to mental torture, he didn't know anyone who was, and it was safe to say that with the fog and already existing injuries he was equipped to do nothing more than give up.

And in those moments, that was exactly what he did.

In the end he'd either die or wake up from the city's otherwise sick and sadistic game with a considerable mental trauma but otherwise alive. He'd long gotten to the point where he recognised that in the grand scheme of things his control over any situation this city threw him into was questionable at best.

Needless to say the magic of the city was not kind and it certainly seemed ill inclined to show restraint, surrender in the face of sadism was largely ineffective, but it was a choice he'd elected to make.

Word Count: 710

Namielle, Guardian Cat - 5 |

When forums were often awash with discussions about which video game world people wanted to live in it was safe to say that she couldn't ever recall a time where a horror game was picked. Between pokemon, several MMORPGs and even some standard RPGs, people often picked the safer option and she certainly didn't blame them for it. Whatever world they were now in, it would have come at no surprise to discover that the Mauvian had long since fallen out of the novelty of this one.

With no zombies to battle and no genuine way to combat their new prison, they were stuck in an endless cycle of sadism and torture at the hands of something she couldn't see. As a general rule of thumb she knew she couldn't control everything but there was nothing she hated more than being thrown in to situations where there was no feasible way to fight unless something or someone got bored of whatever game they were playing.

...Either that, or until they all rolled over and died.

Namielle's love affair with this 'world' had never been there and as the weeks had progressed she had rather soured to whatever thing had dragged her and her family into this. The news that one of her own had been lost at the hands of the beast and another left decidedly traumatised by it was just icing at the top of an otherwise lousy cake.

Now she could only imagine what other nonsense she had to look forward to. The almighty snap of something in the forest had rippled and echoed across the town to the point that very few individuals had chosen to ignore it, if anything those who stayed behind seemed to be in the minority. They'd all moved at different times and selected slightly different directions, but in the end the vast majority (including herself) had elected to move towards the sound.

A cursory glance towards the twinkling lights and she assessed whether or not she would succumb to her own dark thoughts and launch a nuclear bomb at whatever little city had been watching them beyond the forest for sick pleasure. It had been there this whole time and done nothing to help, funny that, they really were just sport.

Given that Destiny City seemed to be the only place inclined to this type of sadism she did have to wonder if it was better to simply let it fall to ruin and select a more appropriate stronghold. After all, there were some things you didn't play with and in a place where you were a ragdoll and play thing to a higher power, it was probably a better idea to leave it alone and let it tear its toys apart without being caught in the middle of it.

Alas, with a snort she padded towards the forest and wove in and out of the trees, snorting out deliberate breaths against the dense fog. Repeated reminders to herself that this was all a lie certainly helped with the hallucinations, but that deep seated, torturous anguish that the paranoia left wasn't so easily shooed away. For that, she was just going to have to power through it and that's precisely what she did.

A shrill and familiar cry caught her attention and her ears swivelled.

Shaowei's Plea!

So the Mirror Senshi was nearby?

Based on the fact that she had just heard and felt a ripple of magic, Namielle could only assume that all was not well and she turned to move in that direction, just as a plume of 'fog' disintegrated and fell away. A path lay before her and at the end, stood a rather unimpressed Shaowei and an otherwise useless man.

A shuffle behind her and it was with a disgusted yowl that the Mauvian spun round and shot her own laser towards the fog beasts that had descended upon them. Perhaps it was her fury translating in to a more practical expression of her current mood, but the little burst of light tore through more than one of the beasts and gave her the chance to stomp towards Shaowei otherwise unhindered.

A cursory glance at Athalia gave her reassurance he was alive even if he wasn't responsive; and another towards Shaowei affirmed that on this occasion the Dark Mirror Senshi was also healthy. Provided that they managed to keep those things away from them then at the very least they might stand a chance.

She might not have been the best fighter, but she had claws, teeth and a laser beam - they counted for something at least. She'd not win any wars but at least she could hold off a skirmish or two while others showed off and 'saved the day' as it were.

Word Count: 796

Corrupt Eternal Cybele - 5

Cybele had been doing her best to stay alert overall. She did not fear death, but she did not welcome it, either, and there had been times over the last few days when she had stayed stock-still with her eyes on the trapdoor. She was as determined as ever to find a way out. Still, there were times when she needed to sleep, and she had drifted off.

She was awoken by the tree falling through the ceiling. The room was momentarily filled with a cloud of dust and she sat up sputtering. It only took a quick look around to understand about what had happened, and it only took a glance up to see the sky above. Some of the others in the cellar also seemed to be stirring, but Cybele did not wait for them.

She had been craving the feeling of fresh air on her skin for days.

When she leaped up onto the solid ground, she found that the mist had swirled to life again in much the same way that it had before, back when she had gone out hunting the monster in the first place. That was all right.

Fighting was the one thing that she could remember how to do.

She punched out, and one of the figures dissolved under her fists, and she kept walking, every sense perked as she looked for more.

Eternal Sailor Oberon, Senshi of Adventure | 6

Although his interaction with the forest's Guardian hadn't gone as well as he'd hoped, he still didn't want to see it hurt if he could at all help it. Sure, it was dragging people off to who knew where, but it didn't seem to be completely malevolent.

"I've got her," Oberon called over to Sessrumnir as he made his way over to Pendour. He'd been exploring on his own when he heard the crash and saw the sky darken. Seeing everyone running in one direction helped too.

"Woah, careful," he said, kicking at the fog creature that was trying to grab at Pendour.

From his pocket he pulled out the metal piece that seemed to have an adverse effect on his Guardian friend, so hopefully it will help drive these smaller ones away.

"You alright? You didn't happen to find one of these things, did you? I don't think they like it. Almost like it hurts them to see," he asked, holding out the metal piece with the runes on it.

General Aquamarine | Roll 1 | 4

Aquamarine was tired, and still not quite himself. He remembered pieces of the encounter with the creature, but a good deal of confusion and disorientation remained. He could not snap back at the Corrupt Senshi as passionately as he might have before, having neither the energy nor the brain power required to come up with suitable insults. The most he could manage were a few demands and the occasional muttered curse.

His injuries were beyond painful; he was in agony. Every movement was excruciating, and the headache had not let up for days. He hadn’t been warm in just as long, shivering as the fog grew around them, obscuring much of the view. Aquamarine’s heart sank as the lights in the distance almost disappeared. They had to reach it, somehow. He was almost certain of that.

Unless it was another hallucination, a trick of the fog or his injured head.

As the smoky creatures rose up, Aquamarine took a single skittish step back, then grit his teeth together and summoned his rapier, forcing himself to take up as much of a defensive position as his wounded state would allow. He would never consider himself to be particularly brave, but he wasn’t a coward either; he could fight while afraid, even if it hurt.

This time, he had the opportunity to shield his vision before the Corrupt Senshi used his magic. With a vague memory of what that magic was capable of, Aquamarine shut his eyes and brought a hand up to cover them, waiting until the flash was done before exposing them again.

One of the smoky figures had drawn closer in the few seconds he was made vulnerable. Aquamarine dodged it and lashed out from the side, sinking his blade into the creature’s flank.

Then he heard a voice through the fog calling his name.

“JET!”

The fog was too thick for Aquamarine to see him, the creatures too numerous for him to search effectively, and his wounds too painful to allow him to get very far on his own. He wheeled around, trying to determine which direction Jet’s voice had come from, sticking by Kamacite not because of any sense of camaraderie, but for survival; neither of them would last long on their own. Now that Aquamarine knew Jet was still alive, he refused to die here.

Unless the voice was a figment of his imagination, too.