Onward: Red

[voidtreckermods]

They are in the vortex for what seems like forever but is perhaps not that much time at all. They do not hunger, they are tired enough that it feels like they have been struggling against the chaos of the sea for a few hours yet how much time they have been flying in truth, is unknowable.

They emerge, pushing up out of the vortex. There were four rockpools and now, as they land on a vast plain they will find they have all arrived at the same destination.

The sky is black, pin pricked with stars and in the distance, on the horizon there is a glowing white light. The light is bright, bouncing off the ripples of water and giving them light to see.

For it is water they stand on, a vast ocean, inky black in the darkness. They stand on it with ease and yet, if they wish, they can dive down into it. The water is clear and yet they will find no plants or fish.

Monsters though, they will find a plenty. As the voidtreckers arrive, their footsteps rippling on the sea, they are joined by creatures. Giant crabs, shark head beasts, water snakes. They stand between the voidtreckers and the light on the horizon.

Somewhere in this sea it seems there is a giant squid, as tentacles reach out of the water to grab the ankles of the void warriors and pull them down to the inky depths.

The voidtreckers feel a pull towards the light, yet the horizon seems endlessly far away, getting no closer as they fight their way towards it.

Comments

#1 Attn Danny, Xue Yang, Little One, #2 OTA

[enthunder]

[Within the Vortex]
They aren't the first into their rockpool, but it's close. Safe initially in the centre of the chaotic, interwoven waterspouts, whips of saltwater and weeds quickly begin to lash out and try to separate the four of them and drag them away into the maelstrom.

"Stay together," is all Lightning has time to snap out, before she has to twist around and slice through a tendril about to sweep across the group.

[Towards the Light]
It probably says something, Lightning thinks, that this isn't even the most annoying gauntlet of endless battles on a flat waterscape in pursuit of a nebulous and wildly unhelpful light that she's been forced into in the last year.

At least it means she traverses it with absolute, blithe unconcern, more interested in keeping an eye on the various groups that have split off to deal with the clumping monsters... Until the kraken gets involved, and then everything is gore and launching smoldering crabs into writhing tentacles to get them to release another teammate.

"I take it back," she says eventually, about three coatings of squid blood and crab viscera in. "This really is the worst waterscape I've ever had to fight in."

Towards the Light

[schrodingersghost]

"No kidding," Danny says as he freezes a crab in a block of ice. He throws it up at the kraken's face. "I'm starting to get seriously crabby."

[enthunder]

"Nice shot," Light follows the ice missile with a Blizzara, hoping to capitalise on the moment of staggered confusion from the frozen crab colliding with one huge eye.

It frees her up to give Danny a Look, at least. Which he deserves. "-- Really?"

[schrodingersghost]

"What?" He lobs a ball of bright green energy in the kraken's direction.

"I'm just trying to have a little fun before we all become fish food.

[enthunder]

"No one's becoming fish food." He's got it retreating, so she switches to driving back some of the more enterprising weresharks.

She pulls her sword out of one's throat, and corrects herself. "Except these guys."

[schrodingersghost]

"Do you think they turn into something else at the full moon?"

He shifts back over to ice energy and starts freezing them in blocks of ice.

me typing this tag: wait she grew up inside a sphere world

[enthunder]

"Other than more fish food?" She reaches into the ice he's just formed around one of the monsters, and snaps her fingers, wrenching at it with her own magic. A shark cube splinters into chunks.

"What's the full moon got to do with it?"

Re: me typing this tag: wait she grew up inside a sphere world

[schrodingersghost]

"You don't have werewolves in your world?"

That was shocking enough to make him pause in summoning up more ice energy, leaving him floating there with a ball of pale blue energy in his hand.

[enthunder]

She also pauses, though her own spell is less easily held and careens off towards the nearest monster as she turns.

"Might do," she says, blandly, "No moon, though, so... Watch out on your left."

[schrodingersghost]

He spins and blasts the oncoming crab away.

"No moon? Seriously? Do you have stars?"

[enthunder]

"Cocoon's inside a shell. The lights in the sky are cities on the other side."

She switches to Aero, and sends a shark-head beast spinning helplessly into the air, a decent target. Considers mentioning that she's pretty sure Gran Pulse has moons, but it wasn't like they discussed the sky much while they were down there. Or werewolves. "So, what, a werewolf changes during a full moon?"

[schrodingersghost]

"Oh man. I think I'd hate that. Watching the stars is like my favorite thing at home."

He waits for the shark head beast to be in position, and then casually blasts it with green energy.

"That's the idea. They're usually humans who change into wolves during the full moon. Though I know a ghost werewolf at home that's just kind of permanently in between human and wolf. I never got around to asking him what his story was."

Not that would have helped much until recently. Wulf only spoke Esperanto and it had taken Danny a while to pick up the language.

[enthunder]

She shrugs at his lament, unable to really relate. Or have any cultural touchstone to 'stargazing'.

Werewolves, though.

"Huh. You think we have any on the train?" If there's no moon on the train, she reasons, then won't they just look like humans? "-- squid's back, watch yourself."

[schrodingersghost]

"There's people from a lot of different worlds here, so maybe? I can only sense ghosts."

He crouches down a little, and throws up a translucent green shield to deflect the squid's attack.

[enthunder]

"Might be something to ask when we get back after, then."

She ducks around him, briefly taking shelter behind his shield long enough to finish a cast. A second later, a blast of fire ripples up the nearest three tentacles as they whip back for a second attack on Danny. She exhales.

"It'd be a real pain if we got to a world with a full moon and someone just turned into a wolf."

[schrodingersghost]

He holds the shield against the second attack, frowning a little in concentration.

"Yeah... Not really something you want to be a surprise."

[enthunder]

"I'll add it to the list."

And the squid retreats once more, drawing Red team further into the floating abyss.

[knifewithnoname]

She's trying alright! But how do you keep together when water is attacking you and you are swirling and nothing stays still? It is stupid and she kicks out legs and flails her arms, trying to grasp air, as if that will keep her near the others.

She yelps as her leg is caught by a tendril and she twists, trying to cut at it as she is pulled into the maelstrom.

Danny and Xue Yang feel free to be in this thread btw!!

[enthunder]

She's almost out of reach by the time Light twists around and makes a grab for her; she can only get a hold of the kid's ankle and tug.

yus!

[knifewithnoname]

She is trying to find the emptiness, but it is very difficult to do whilst in a maelstrom physically as well as mentally and the calm bubble is no where to be found. It is very rare that she can't enter it at all and it is adding to her frustration.

She is pulled in yet another direction and she barely has the strength to fight it, she is surprised as she enters back into the centre, hurtling towards Lightning.

Towards the Light

[xue_yang]

Xue Yang has managed to find a stick that he managed to break into a rather sharp stake and has been using that to take out the eyes of the various monsters. It's the best he can do give his lack of actual weaponry, but it's effective. By taking out their eyes, it leaves them angry but useless. They end up attacking each other because they can't realize the ones they are fighting are their allies. It helps that all their foes are rather dumb.

"This is my first time fighting what should be food."

[enthunder]

"Won't be your last."

She knows the frustration of being without a proper weapon; her first few missions had been an exercise in making do. Now, she's used to it, and with so many opponents, she can more easily use her magic and fists. He's holding his own, but that stick isn't doing him any favours.

Also, people are starting to look a little green at the eyeless crabs staggering around.

So she strikes down her latest opponent to give them a moment's breather, and throws over her longsword with a sharp, "Try this."

[xue_yang]

He catches the sword easily and with a couple quick movements takes down two of the crabs. It's obvious just in those few seconds that a sword is exactly what he is used to used. It's not exactly like his normal one but it will get the job done. How quickly the ones from his world would argue if they knew what she had just given him.

He smirks and takes down another crab. "Now maybe I can take down some bigger fish."

[enthunder]

Given that Light's current opinion of him is that he's a selfish but talented guy who can at least be incentivised to do the right thing, she's not going to lose any sleep over it. She watches him for those initial strikes, until she's confirmed that he knows what he's doing, and then turns away to launch another barrage of ice and fire at a writhing mass of seasnakes.

She snorts at his boast, though.

"These aren't big enough for you?"

[xue_yang]

"It's not like they are anything except mindless creatures. Their only advantage is their numbers." He has fought enough undead which are similar in they only know how to fight but aren't intelligent enough to win.

"Besides, these are only here as a delay and distract technique to hold us back from getting to what we need."