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Lilian, what is your status?

I am inside the Core now, answered the blonde-haired anthropomorphic vixen as she lowered herself from a ventilation duct into a metal-decked hallway by a thin cable. Her black-suited feet made hardly a noise as she touched the plated floor, and she left the cord hanging there as she went down the hallway, quiet as a shadow.

The svelte vixen kept one hand up to the headset that she wore. Sir Garadon, I see no sentries. The enemy does not seem to be here.

There was a deep chuckle from the bass male voice on the other side of the communication link. And why would they? After all, they believe that they have defeated us because we have no more soldiers. If we had not faked my own death, they would still be searching for you and the others who are left.

Still, it seems quite unusual, commented Lilian as she continued to sneak along the corridors. Kaiser Crugenhoff must not have thought this secret base of yours to be important enough, he surely had to find the documents leading to its location in our primary base.

Ah, but there were no documents, replied the voice. What use is a place of last resort if the enemy can be lead right to it? And this is a last resort. If we dont return me soon then it will mean the Kaiser has won. Hell have complete control over the continent. We cannot afford to let that happen, Lilian!

We wont, sir. I believe I can see the main room now, theres a light up ahead.

Lilian slowed her pace to a walk as she entered the large room ahead of her, and she gave an involuntary gasp of surprise and wonder as she stepped into it. It was a warm room, filled with sunlight from the domed roof above, sunlight that was filtered through the branches that had grown over it in the course of time. The inside of the dome itself was a well-kept garden of various plants that were arranged around a circular platform that was perfectly smooth and cut into square sections. There was a control panel next to the platform, a panel that had been integrated into the garden itself with vines growing in a uniform manner around it. It was to this panel that Lilian went as she pulled back her black face mask to reveal her pretty face. Sir, you didnt tell me-

That I was a gardener? I didnt tell a lot of people a lot of things, Lilian. It was easier to keep the safety of our team that way. But that backfired, and so I now trust you with it all. Hopefully you can correct what an old wreck like me messed up.

Youre not an old wreck, sir, Lilian said. But, now what do I do?

The plants are directly connected to the Core, they provide power via enhanced photosynthesis. If you activate the panel with the red button, that should automatically start the process.

Sir, not to question you, but are you sure this device will bring heroes from other dimensions to help us? What if it brings someone more despicable than the Kaiser?

Do not worry, I personally examined the heroes I have selected for this. They have been pre-selected. The only thing we should worry about is where exactly the heroes are teleported, as that is the one element I was not able to control. They should all land in and around Notopia, near the Core, but it will be up to you to find and gather them somehow. Hopefully some of the others will also be in position to find some of the heroes, but whatever the case, bring them all here so that we can brief them on the situation, it is far too complicated to try to tell them separately.

At once, sir, was Lilians reply as she pressed the red button and the platform in front of her began glowing with intense light that shot out into the sky, causing her to close her eyes and turn away...

The Mobius Forums Roleplayers Guild presents

Crossover Heroes

OOC: This is going to be a crossover RP - an RP in which you play as your avatar character (the one whose name you use as your online screen name). If you dont have one or would prefer not to use your avatar for this RP, then choose whichever character you have that you consider one of your main or trademark characters. It doesnt matter where the character may appropriately fit genre-wise, whether its a Sonic the Hedgehog fan character, a Mega Man fan character, another fan character for something else or a completely new creation. Wherever your character may be and whatever they may be doing, somehow they are caught up in a dimensional portal that drags them somehow into the city in which this story takes place.

Lilian, an agent of Sir Garadon, has activated a dimensional portal that is designed to bring heroes from across the Multiverse. The portals will open up in a city called Notopia, which is a Middle-Ages themed city with several modern twists and some advanced technology, like hover vehicles and laser guns. You are allowed to have creativity when making up the city, but try to work with each other in developing it since much of the adventure will take place in and around Notopia and it will be a key part of the RP. Your character will be dropped into whatever part of Notopia you want, whether it be an open field on the outskirts to an apartment in its center. The only feature of Notopia that should be considered is the Central Spire, a huge tower-fortress that is home to Kaiser Crugenhoff, the supreme leader of Notopia and by extent this entire world in which the adventure takes place. You are also free to choose how soon your character is discovered by Sir Garadons forces, but please roleplay the other people on Sir Garadons side as non-player characters (NPCs) rather than as additional characters.

For the sake of this RP, we are setting a maximum character limit of four per player, not counting NPCs like Sir Garadon, Lilian, Kaiser Crugenhoff and the others. It would also be preferred if you only started out with one character and introduce others later on, though if you have good reasons for using more than one character at once then that is allowed. If you have questions on what would be appropriate, EZmail me.

Also, this RP will feature a variety of action and also violence. But it is not the place to swagger around with earth-shattering powers. Super powers are cool, but within limits. If your avatar is extremely powerful, then either tone the character down for the RP or use another character.

Despite what Sir Garadon said in the introduction to this thread, not all of the characters involved may be characters who are good guys. You might even bring in a villain character if you feel it could add to the story.

This RP is an idea to see what our trademark characters will be like meeting each other. Though there will be plenty of action, Id like everyone to focus on roleplaying their characters interactions with other characters. What would your character do if they were suddenly transported to another world? Well just have to find out.

This RP is a brainstorm that Cherry Echidna and I had. She and I will be acting as moderators for this thread, working on major plot twists and such. If you want to make a major plot twist, contact one of us and well see what we can do.

With your first post as you join this RP, make sure to add a brief profile of your character at the end of your first post so that others can see what your character is like. No extended biographies, please! Just a basic profile to give us an idea of who your character is, what they look like and what they can do is sufficient.

To provide an example, I will begin by bringing in my avatar character, Tergonaut. Also known by his alter-ego Justin Hobbes, he comes from the Mobius Forum World RP setting from this board, though his original home is an alternate Earth. Your avatar may or may not come from the Mobius Forum World (or MFW) as well, though if you want to establish a previously-existing relationship with Justin then please contact me (i.e., if your character happened to know Justin or Tergonaut from the MFW, whether as a friend or enemy or just another person, then please talk to me).

IC:
Deep within the bowels of the Mobius Forum World, universes away from Lilian, in a set of ruins left behind by an ancient civilization, darkness and silence dominated the perfectly-carved metallic hallways. But unlike most corridors found in ancient ruins, these were places where the corridor would turn into a loop-the-loop, go up and down and around and around, and some places required most people to get on hands and knees to crawl through...or roll up into a ball and spin through. Strange hieroglyphs covered the walls of this place, hieroglyphs that looked oddly like an Archie comic strip if one squinted at it enough.

Closer to the deeper parts of this dungeon, however, the sounds of battle echoed in the air. The remnants of robots left their mark in the corridors, and as one continued along, it seemed as if the robots got bigger the closer one got to the center of the ruin.

And the one getting closer to the center was also the one responsible for the scattered robot remnants.

Vec! This ones got to be the boss! hissed the human man into his wristwatch, crouched as he was behind a fallen pillar along the corridor. In his gloved right hand was a handgun, a Glock to those familiar with such armament.

What makes you say that, Justin?" said the voice on the other side of the line.

Its as big as a honkin truck!

Thats a pretty good reason. Can you see what its doing now?

Justin Hobbes raised himself up until first his brown hair, then his blue-green eyes came up above the pillar, looking beyond it into the wide corridor. It was lined with other pillars that were still doing their job in supporting the ceiling above, but Justins focus was more on the huge robot that stood in front of the end of the corridor, standing between him and the pedestal-mounted golden statuette of a stylized golden ring. The robot was almost twice as tall as Justin, and was three times as wide as his height. It was configured like a spider, brought to life in mechanical facsimile by the power of long-lost advanced technology. Though it stood still now, Justin had already seen it move hard and fast, which was the reason he had this pillar to duck behind now.

Justin ducked back down. Not moving an inch. I think it might be programmed to attack anything that moves within a certain range of the ring.

Sort of limits your options. Maybe you should pull back for now, it sounds like you need more ammunition to deal with this one.

No can do, Vec, replied Justin as he reflexively popped the clip out of his gun, checked it and snapped it back in. Maybe Im being prideful, but heck if I just went spelunking for half a day only to turn back and take another half a day getting back without anything to show for it.

I was afraid youd say that, said Vector on the other end with a chuckle. Go ahead, but be careful, I wont be able to teleport you out of there for a few minutes more.

You know how I feel-

Just in case, assured Vector.

Okay, Im going in, said Justin, reaching up to the edge of the pillar with his hand. Only one bullet left, thought the human as he launched himself over the pillar and landed running. Hope its all I need.

The robot spider stayed still as a statue as Justin ran straight toward it, but as he closed the distance he saw the glass globes on the sides of its head activate with a glow. The spider suddenly turned to face him, its pincers raised up to neck level. Its legs shifted as it reared up and threw itself forward at him.

Game time! shouted Justin as he waited a second longer before touching down on both feet and leaping into the air. The spiders eyes developed twin points of intense light that tracked his movement, and the spider changed direction with a powerful lunge upward. It opened its artificial jaws wide, targeting to swallow the torso of its target. Its calculations proclaimed victory; its target could not possibly avoid-

Gotcha! exclaimed Justin as his sneakers emitted a burst of power at the last moment, thrusting him over the spider and out of reach of its pincers. Thought you had me didnt y-OO!

His foot was caught on one of the spiders legs, jolting him as his momentum suddenly changed and dropped him like a rock toward the ground, falling on his side. He grunted as he approached the metal-plated floor, his reflexes kicking in to help him fall more softly, rolling to the side and back up to his feet. He had still hit the ground with a thump, and he reached up with his free hand to rub his shoulder, squinting with one eye as he winced. At least I learned something useful in Aikido, he muttered.

How to fall without hurting yourself more than otherwise?

Justin got to his feet as he saw the spider land on the ground and spin around. No time to chat, Vec! he shouted as he turned and ran.

A glance over his shoulder told him that the spider was not chasing him. He was tempted to stop and figure out what was going on, but then the spider whipped back around and pointed its abdomen at him, another set of those glass globes tracking his movements from just above the hole in its rear.

Aw no, its gonna-

A stream of sticky gray webbing shot out of the spiders abdomen with a sound like the crack of a whip, and the stream sprayed out as it approached him. He whirled around mid-step, trying to dodge out of the way again but failing as the sticky matter went taut and closed together onto his legs up to his torso.

I got splatted, Vec! shouted Justin as he saw the spider turn around once again. It began clambering toward him, its movements slow and deliberate this time as it scanned him with those illuminated dots. Got any bright ideas?

If its anything like what youve seen before, then fire is the best option.

No time to play Boy Scout! Its creeping in on me. Justin felt his adrenaline turn cold as the cybernetic spider started walking right over him, the pincers coming closer and closer to his neckline until they stopped there.

Vec, have I ever told you how much I hate robots? asked Justin quite calmly for someone who was about to be devoured by a gargantuan artificial arachnid.

Often. Why?

The sound of gunfire blasted throughout the ruin as Justin pulled the trigger. The bullet smashed through the spiders head, leaving a sizable hole that opened Justins view to the ceiling. The spider jolted back as circuitry sparked inside its now open head.

I hate robots, said Justin with some satisfaction as he switched the now-empty Glock to his left hand as he reached with his right for one of the quarter-sized disks at his belt. With the flip of a switch, two blades came out of the disk directly opposite of each other like the points of a compass. He pulled his arm back and flung the weapon hard with a flick of his wrist, the disks wings guiding it into the open hardware of the robot.

Bulls eye, said Justin as he shielded his eyes from the flash the weapon caused, electricity surging straight into the robot spider. When Justin looked up, the spider had fallen to the ground, its globular eyes losing their light until they were empty of any trace of activity.

kay, I think that does it, commented Justin. He holstered the gun in its holster under his left arm, hidden under the brown leather jacket he wore. He then reached for another tool at his belt, a cylinder with a small flexible neck protruding from it that he pointed at the weapon and triggered. White-hot flame spurted out in a controlled jet, and in the same second that it cut open the webbing that trapped Justin, he shut it off and tossed aside the empty container. Vec, any more robot signals you can see?

Not a blip. I think you got them all.

Justin stood up, webbing trailing in wisps from his baggy jeans as he stepped toward the pedestal where the ring stood upright, its open face towards him. Then theres only one thing left to do before heading back, said Justin as he reached forward with his hand.

As his hand reached the center of the ring, he felt a tingle as particles of light enveloped his fingers, causing them to vanish. He continued to push his hand forward until he felt his fingers grasp something, and then he pulled back his hand to reveal his hand and the object contained inside of the ring.

Hey, it looks like a chip module! exclaimed Justin as he held the glassy block in his hand. Maybe we can use it to figure out the rest of the stuff we have at your lab.

Possibly. Return to base, your job is done.

Justin smiled as he began walking down the corridor, but the smile dropped as his path was blocked by a rippling dimensional portal. Uh, Vec, I didnt order a warp zone.

A warp zone? I didnt make one.

Then what the heck is-

Justin was cut off as the portal suddenly moved right at him, swallowing him up entirely before winking out of existence. The palm-sized transparent block fell to the ground, the noise creating an echo that was not heard by one living soul.

Justin dropped onto his rear into an alleyway before he had even realized that the portal had come at him.

-this? he finished quizzically as he looked at his new surroundings. He pushed himself up to his feet, rubbing his tush as he had landed on hard cobblestones. Where am I? He raised his commwatch close to his mouth. Vec, you roj?

There was no reply.

Nada, sighed Justin as he stepped out of the alleyway. That means Im not in Sega City or even in the Mobius Forum World, Vectors satellites would be able to get the transmission to me anywhere on the MFW. And that means Im on my own until I can find a way back.

He looked to his left, and then to his right, looking in wonder at the city he found himself in. Its like something out of King Arthur, he though as he looked up at a nearby castle parapet. His eyes came back down to ground level as he saw a crowded street with streamlined hovercars and an incredible variety of species all intermingled. That plus Star Wars, he added as he began walking out into the crowd. Ive got to find out where the heck I am, and which way is home, he thought as he stuck to the sidewalk, trying to avoid getting swallowed into the crowd.

OOC:
Name: Justin Hobbes

Alter-Ego: Tergonaut

Species: Human

Gender/Sex: Male

Age: 21

Description: 5'10", lean yet muscular build, blue-green eyes, short straight brown hair with a part down the middle, lightly tanned skin. Typically wears red and white and gray sneakers, baggy dark blue jeans, light gray T-shirt with a blue SEGA logo across the chest, brown leather jacket, gray gloves with red fingers, and a pair of shades. As Tergonaut, is 6 feet tall and sheathed in orange and blue metal armor, with a helmet spike rising from his forehead and gently curving backward, and a V-shaped black visor.

Personality: Positive and determined, with a strong sense of justice. Hates being used, and hates and distrusts robots. Loves cheeseburgers. Refuses to kill. Has occasional flashbacks that may be set off by crying. Maintains a personal code of honor of sorts. Likes to work on machines. Down to earth and plainspoken without swearing.

Natural Abilities: Knack with machines (mechanics), and gut feeling danger sense.

Weaknesses: Refuses to kill, terrible luck with money, developing cancer, secret identity as Tergonaut, cannot use supernatural forces of most kinds (especially magic and psionics), and is a weirdness magnet.

Alter-Ego Powers: When Justin activates the OMNI-01 (also known as the omni-suit or the O-1), he becomes the superhero Tergonaut! This nanite-based suit forms into hard metal across his entire body, becoming fully sealed and giving him super strength (enough to lift a car), visor capabilities like telescopic zoom and night vision, limited energy shielding called impact screens that reduce damage, powered flight via boot jets, and the ability to morph parts of the suit into different configurations to replicate tools or a particle cannon. Electric attacks are conducted right into the suit, and EMP can cause it to lock up - it will protect itself against EMP, but that will leave it vulnerable to attack! He also cant afford to wear the suit for long, as it worsens his cancer every time he wears it. The suits limited energy pool also means that he is far from invincible, and the impact screens can be worn down to do actual damage to him.

Backstory: Justin Hobbes is the secret identity of Tergonaut, a superhero from an alternate Earth who has been in the Mobius Forum World before. Now hes back, and hes after his arch-nemesis, Georgia Stahlmansche. But shes already set up a new corporate conglomerate called Effective Cybertronics Unlimited, and theres no proof that she has any goals to conquer the MFW. Justin plays his dual life as he tries to uncover the truth behind Stahlmansche while defending Sega City from criminals and supervillains.

There you are. Begin!

OOC: Would my character know Justin from GMI or not?

OOC:

Note on Forumers who participated in GMI and intent to use the same characters on this RP.

The events that transpired in GMI took place in November 9 and November 10 of 2004. I'm assuming this RP (as far as MFW inhabitants are concerned) Starts on March of 2005 - basicaly a few months after GMI.

So yes, characters from GMI who participate in this RP with their MFW/GMI characters, do in fact know each other.

However, that only states so much. If you want to elaborate on what kind of relationship you char had with Terg or any other GMI Char; you'll have to clear things between yourselves via Chats or PMs. For instance I have already cleared some things with Terg.

I will not spoil GMI so I guess you chars can only talk about this that extent up to the point of GMI's current status.

However, it's not gonna be a spoiler if I say that Pyroclad was stoped, so yeah, you can assume the good guys won in GMI

I believe that pretty much covers it. If you want more specific questions about Terg, ask him.

Will post IC later.

(OOC: I'll post IC later, but for now a profile.)

Name: Michael Sentarous

Species: Human

Gender/Sex: Male

Age: 19

Description: 5'6", medium build, and hazel green eyes, he also has dark brown hair cut short and styled messily - his skin color is of caucasian with a light tan. Mike usually wears a light brown trenchcoat and a black buttoned shirt over a typical white tee. He also wears black jeans and a pair of dark brown workers boots. A belt keeps his pants up, and has a pair of glasses. He also bears a glock handgun holstered in his pants, under his coat.

Personality: Mike is overal pretty cynical, dark when in relation to life itself. Otherwise his personality shows that he is a loyal friend that will stick through strongly if he trusts you enough. Mike is often paranoid aswell. He's often friendly overall, and is not hostile at first.

Weapons and Abilities: Mike has a Glock 7 handgun and it is firmly holstered in his belt, colored brown at the handle and black at the gun itself. Mike's abillities include accuracy with his gun, and standard mechanics aswell as building guns if the parts are included.

Backstory: Mike lives in a different reality of Earth whilst he has been to the Mobius Forum World several times, once there he potrays a personality of a Private Investagator of a firm called the Institute, but usually goes on his own whilst in the Mofo. He generally stands by the Roleplayers Guild - but is known to goto other parts of Sega City. Mike is like any PI - he goes day by day solving things, and sometimes getting into things he shouldn't of gotten in the first place.

NOTE: There is a picture of Mike on my DeviantART webpage that can be reached through the link in my personal profile. Its the more recent picture of him, course.

OOC: Oh, this looks nice. Very nice. How can I refuse?

Full Name: Spiner Storm.
Species: Anthromorphic Hedgehog / Angel Half.
Gender: Male.
Age: 18.

Physical Desciption: Spiner's Appearance Like the other anthromorphs from his world, Spiner stands the size of an average human. He wears a robotic eyepiece over his left eye, and a medallion, a family heirloom, hangs around his neck. Upon his middle finger on his right hand, is a silver ring with a similar design to the medallion.

Personality: Spiner was brought up to be a fighter, and thus, meant to have serious discipline. Too bad he lacks it. He'd rather go out partying with his peers than have to take orders from his superiors - He has a slight problem with authority. However, if the situation is bad enough, he'll be dead-set serious, all jokes aside. He's a high-risk taker, a thrill-seeker, and will pull off some crazy stuff to get an assignment done. If others are in trouble, he'll do all he can to help them.

Abilities: Spiner's abilities include: Flight, thanks to the wings he has; low-level White (Healing) Magic and Black (Elemental) Magic; various fighting techniques; slightly above normal senses, which include strength, reflexes, and the like, due to being an anthromorph. Also, the robotic eyepiece he wears is a highly-advanced piece of technology, as it can display statistics of various sorts, as well as give different modes of vision.

Weaknesses/Fears: Ghosts, and anything spooky-like; Fire; The fear of having something happen to his wings, to be able to never be able to fly again; and needles, the ones used to inject.

Background Info: Spiner comes from an alternate reality, on a planet called Destiny, where magic and technology go hand-in-hand with each other. Spiner spent most of his childhood in the city of Haven, learning the ways of his people, until they were invaded. He grows up in an orphanage, where they raise children to be fighters, mercenaries. Since 'coming of age', and going out into the world with others of his age, he has proven his worth on the battlefield many times, being one of the many children who are foretold of in a prophecy, after all. However, this has yet to be confirmed.

No IC post as of yet.

EDIT: Made slight changes to 'Abilities', and 'Weaknesses/Fears'.
EDIT #2: Added another fear to 'Weaknesses/Fears'.

OOC: I'll post profile now and then IC tomorrow...or today if I can...

Name: Torn
Age:18/19
Race: Terran/Fairy
Gender: Female

Look: Long blue hair, blue eyes and long pointy ears. She wears a blue long sleeved shirt, a green vest that is actually a strong armor plate (Light but strong), a knee length blue skirt, white socks and brown shoes. She carries the Everblade, a sacred sword with two blades, a long one and a shorter one. The blade is white and the hilt is bronze.

Personality: A kid despite her age. She is naive, gulliable and sort of silly. She is extremely kind to all (Even those who mistreat her) and caring but tends to get taken advantage of. She is quite shy and timid

Natural abilities: Small and agile.

Powers: Can heal others though she can only do it several times a day. She can also wield fire but only enough to light candles or light up a room...of course it will hurt if she touches you with her flaming hand...

Background: A young fairy who lives in a forest on Terra Nova. She loves the forest and hates the city or being around a lot of people. She is very independent and is quick to hide from others.

OOC: Hello hello, it is me!! =D That's right, I'm actually going to be co-moderating this little gem. I've never really been in partial (or complete, for that matter =P) charge of a thread, but I promise to do my best and answer any and all questions as helpfully as I can, with Tergonaut's help and input, of course. I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank Terg most graciously for thinking of me and including me in what I hope will be a great story. I'm really excited, and I hope we can all have fun together.

I'm going to be using my main "hero" character, Cherry, as well as her accomplice, Legs, and my main "villain" character, Jerin, and his accomplice Junk. In brief, so I can get right to the writing: Cherry is a red short beaked echidna from one of Earth's many realities who pursues the highly wanted criminal, Jerin (a mostly dark hedgehog hybrid) on order of her unknown and very powerful organization (of which she will not speak). Legs is Cherry's companion and repair "bug," and helps her where mechanics are concerned. Junk is Jerin's small robot assistant, who serves much the same purpose to him as Legs does to Cherry. Extended profiles on all four characters (including profile pictures) can be found in the main profile thread, on the very last page (17). Please consult those before asking me questions directly about any of the four. You're quite likely to find your answers there ^_~ and I'm sure simply reading and interacting with them will also help you learn a lot.

If there are any other thread related questions, re-hashing what Tergonaut said, please don't hesitate to ask either one of us, and we'll get back to you ASAP =) my e-mail address can be found in my EZBoard profile, and as I said, I'm happy to help.

And now, on to the fun part!

IC:

Within the dismal, depressing streets of Notopia's slums, an old man looked up from the trash cans he was rooting through, startled by the sudden crash of thunder, and quickly shielding his eyes to the plump drops of rain following speedily on its heels.

"Huh," he muttered, "big storm, she 'ere. Storm ain't bad though. Water ne'er 'urt no-body, s' fer sure I sez."

Somewhere in the back of his muddled, sluggish brain, the man may or may not have known the same is often said of the dark. Perhaps he'd heard it from his parents as they'd heard it from their parents: "the dark cannot hurt you. There's nothing to be afraid of. Go to sleep."

A perfectly sensible thought. After all, it's not the dark that truly terrifies us-

-it's the things in the dark you need to worry about.

So the rain came, faster and faster as night crept over the world, covering her already dark skies with an even greater dark, storm ever increasing to tumultuous magnitudes as terrific, terrible sound and light fought each other for control of the skies. It was some of the worst weather anyone could remember, and as the very air itself shook and howled and as small spheres of water were hurled at the few sentient beings still rushing for cover, the thick, black clouds seemed to bellow their triumph, as though their sole intent had been to drive every living thing from out the sight of them for a time.

Then again, perhaps it was only for their protection.

For in the skies high above there came a brilliant flash of light which would have put the brightest star to shame...and Time seemed to still for a minute, even cough, if you will, as though it had some troublesome particle stuck within it's throat. Several minutes passed as this beacon twinkled, convulsing and expanding, until Time spat the troublesome offenders forth at last, though at such a blinding, unnatural speed, no one could have said for sure what, exactly, they were. Shortly there after though, sharp, quick eyes might spot two streamline, fast moving shapes cavorting and careening among the thunder and lightening, sometimes chasing, sometimes pulling close together, and sometimes plummeting dangerously only to pull up at the last instant.

Sad to say, with the storm raging as it was, it was only a matter of time before the two collided violently, ricocheting off each other and crashing to the ground in different directions. Of the few who claimed to have observed said phenomenon, none can say for certain whether or not either actually hit.

Because the storm was such that all sound was lost, save that of the deep, mirthful thundering.

The grim dark, the gritty, dirty pavement. For a minute, these were all she knew...and if she could just hold on to them for another instant-

-but then again, no.

Her hand twitched idly, and she flinched, swallowing a small squeak of pain.

Oy...me arms given up the ghost, I think...paws gotta be busted...shoulders off its kank...rests torn up right bad...legs're killing me...back hurts...warm all over, bleeding, yeah...it's not bad...it's not...minor scraping...arms gone, yeah...arms gone...heads killing me...might just be lack of sleep...I wonder if my legs are ok...frellin' vortex...oh...arms gone all right...

...but I can still use the other one.

She smiled in amusement.

Ok wee girl...time to open your eyes.

Two beautiful pools of brilliant blue light parted slowly, fluttering like twin butterflies as they fought to remain open among the rough blacks and grays, the metallic silvers, the liquid reds and deep, dark puddles gathering round her fallen form. Cherry O' Kidna stared for a minute, uncomprehending. She should have seen the sky. Instead she saw-

"-LEGS!!"

A small insect, looking much like a cross between a millipede and a grasshopper and no longer than her middle claw, was perched directly on her snout, staring into her eyes with a mixture of anxiety, anguish, and fear written in his tiny features, and effectively obstructing her view of all else. No sooner had she spoke when he took up a strange and excited chittering, clinging to her snout and bawling at her. Overwhelmed with concern, she sat up, forgetting herself and leaning heavily on her right arm as she reached to comfort him with her left. Crying out in pain, she further frightened her small companion, who squeaked in fright and leapt from her nose. Leaning forward, she bit her lower lip, tears coming to her eyes as she cradled her arm. She babbled feebly.

"Oh...oh Legs...I'm s-sorry...I didn't mean to frighten you...I'm ok..."

Peering out from behind a soggy cardboard box, the small insect inched forward, finally leaping to perch on her good shoulder. Once there he pressed his small face to her neck comfortingly, chittering sadly.

"Yeah...I don't know..." Cherry responded, stroking the tuft of blue fluff on his little head and nuzzling him...

"I'm really glad you're ok though...oh Legs, m' so frelling sorry..."

Her voice cracked as she lowered her head, whispering, "...I'm so sorry for everything..."

Legs merely smiled though, rubbing his little nose against hers and chirping happily. Cherry returned his nose rubbings and smiles after a minute, albeit tiredly.

"Hee, yeah...I'M glad I'm ok too, and I PROMISE I am, so stop worrying...it's ok...there's a good mate...now, where's Luminos gotten to??"

Legs chittered excitedly, hopping down from her shoulder and bounding carefully past puddles to land three or four feet behind her, upon the dark sheath of what appeared to be a long, curved sword. Three rings of glistening silver dangling from the hilt by thick, translucent threads emitted a soft, mysterious light, as though the weapon was marking where it had fallen. Reaching out, Cherry pressed her good paw to the hilt, half lifting, half dragging it as best she could until finally it was settled upon her lap. Warmth flooded her body as she held it, and the echidna smiled a little, slightly cheered.

"I'm glad you're ok too, Luminos...it's good we all made it...this is a blessing..."

Resuming his place on her shoulder, Legs chittered in agreement, rubbing his face affectionately against hers once more. Giggling, Cherry scratched his little head gently with a claw while she rested and took proper stock of their surroundings. A dead end alley, nearly pitch black, silent and filled with jagged shapes and protrusions, garbage, and wispy curls of smoke from-

"MY CYCLE!!!"

Forgetting herself, Cherry leapt to her feet, and nearly fell right back to the ground. Gritting her teeth against waves of pain, and willing her trembling legs to get themselves together, she lent heavily upon her blade while her insect partner babbled at her reprimandingly. She responded sadly.

"Yes...I forgot myself...I know...but look..."

She stared at the jumbled mess of iron and circuits a few feet away, her once proud sky cycle.

"...guess I should be grateful that's not me, huh?"

An agreeing chitter was all she needed to hear. She ran a hand through her tangled hair, glancing at Legs.

"Oy...bad luck day still...I don't suppose you can fix that?"

Legs stared at her. She didn't need him to say anything.

"Roight then. Guess there's nothing for it...disassemble her. A few more pieces of scrap metal won't be noticed."

Hopping down from her shoulder, the insect landed near the ruins, sorrowfully chittering to them as much as to himself. Once close, he squeezed between two pieces of broken metal, and was lost to view.

Slumping down against a rough brick wall, Cherry pressed her forehead to her sword hilt, good hand still clenching it tightly while her brain worked furiously.

I can't possibly go on like this...I shouldn't have even gone on as long as I did. But I was so close that time...

She fought the tears that stung her eyes. Luminos trembled gently, comforting.

I was so frellin' close...

A crash. Looking up, she watched the compact mess of metal fall to pieces. After a moment Legs squirmed out. He returned to her shoulder in a single bound, emitting a small, tired chatter.

"Yeah, that works...didn't need much disassembling, piece of junk..."

Standing shakily, Cherry fell to scattering the broken pieces throughout the trashcans, until eventually a bit of smoggy air was all that remained to mark her presence. Glancing around, she eventually found a thin black knapsack made of a material much like leather, surprisingly unharmed for the most part, although soggy. Picking it up from the ground, she pulled one strap over her left shoulder, leaving the other to dangle and spare her injured one.

"We better go...someones sure to have seen that load of cack somewhere, and I'm in no position to receive visitors of any sort. Hope we haven't bothered anyone with the noise or the extra hardware..."

Stooping, she picked up Luminos and slung him over her good shoulder by the strap on his sheath, and torn, dirty, wet, and defeated, left the dead end alley. Her legs seemed to be ok for the most part, albeit scratched and jarred from her sudden leap. It was her arm she was worried about. That, and-

Roused from her thoughts by a curious chitter, Cherry glanced at Legs, incredulous.

"GOING? I thought that was obvious...where have we been going this entire time? Toward him, wherever he is, I think I saw his bike go down somewhere thereabouts, and if w-"

The rest of her words were overpowered by a furious outburst of chitter chatterings.

"-I CAN STILL STAND, and my -other- arm still works!!"

Legs frowned, climbing into her hair and peering into her eyes, upside down. He chittered sardonically.

"NO. I am NOT..."

He rolled his eyes, retorting.

"I am NOT being stubborn either. I'm FINE. We can't just let him roam around...WHEREVER we are! Think of all the damage he could do!"

Legs stared at her earnestly. He gave a small, sad chirp. Cherry stared at him a minute. Her shoulders slumped some. On her back, Luminos tingled warmly, vibrating strongly through it's sheathe. She glanced back at it, smiling warily.

"...But...think how many more people would die...if I threw my life away foolishly, as I would in this state. Is...that it?"

Legs nodded his small head rapidly. Luminos tingled warmly against her shoulder.

"Tch...bollocks...I guess that's two against one then..."

She glanced around.

"So did either of you notice an inn or something while we were plummeting to our deaths?"

Letting out an excited and happy CHIRR-up, Legs clung to her face, hugging. She smiled, refusing to wince despite the pain against her scratches.

"Aww, I love you too...lets get inside where it's warm now. We'll get some candy corn and some silver polish and some band aids and have us a grand party. Beds going to feel good after so long, I could sleep for a million years..."

"Do you plan to sleep for a million years, master, or shall I start looking for a way out of here?"

"Ugh. Goway Junk. I was having a nice dream about a harem in some warm country somewhere...Arabia? India? Thereabouts, you know? Musta been good, I'm drenched-"

"-THAT, master, is the rain and nothing more. If you'll recall the situation."

"I DO recall. You know what your problem is, Junk...?"

Striking pools of a brilliant green color ripped across the perfect darkness, shattering serenity in their wake.

"-You don't know how to take a joke. But then again..."

He smiled.

"-I DID program you, so I guess the fault is mine, hm?"

"MASTER...now that you're awake, It is IMPERTINENT that we get OUT of here NOW. Someone has SURELY seen us, and if not, heard us, we landed with such a cacophony of sound..."

"Not so fast, not so fast, mon petit ami...where exactly is here?"

"I can EXPLAIN on the way."

Jerin sat bolt upright within the dark, wrapping his arms around his legs and confronting the small robot perched on his left kneecap, it's pale green eye regarding him without emotion.

"Explain NO-OH...!...OH WOW...Oh ouch...ouch ouch OUCH baby, that cut me to the quick!!"

Falling back dramatically, he laughed, examining his left arm, which harbored a long slash that went from shoulder to just below his elbow.

"Junk, did you get a load of this number? Beau-ti-ful. Talk about lovely...it's absolutely killing me."

Exasperated, Junk slumped forward, tension in his voice.

"YES master...I NOTICED. All the more reason we need to go and get that disinfected and treated."

"Her work?"

"It was not there before we fell."

"Ah, well, it's gorgeous, I think I might keep it."

"Master, PLEASE."

"Please what?"

He sat up again, wincing a little.

"You don't seem to be enjoying yourself!"

"So long as you are, master, I suppose I am as well. But it is impertinent to your continued survival that we depart from this place. I've seen to the remains of the Cannibal-"

"-What?? The Cannibal went kaput???"

"Yes, master...we're lucky we didn't go...'kaput,' as well. Anarchis saved our lives, though it was brilliance on your part to activate her when you did."

"Ah thank you. Where is my little beauty anyway?"

"Near your right hand. A mere two inches from, in fact."

Glancing over, Jerin lifted a perfectly harmless looking black baton from the ground, no longer than his forearm. He felt a warm sensation against his hand, and smiled.

"Master-"

"Yeah yeah, I KNOW, we're getting we're getting we're so outta here we're already practically out of here."

Standing finally, he braced himself against the back of a warehouse wall, grinning and wincing and throwing his head back to stare at the sky, exhilirated.

"Ohhhh...that's good...oh wow...I haven't gotten that beat in a looooonnnggg time."

Extending his long metal tail, Junk inched along the wet pavement distastefully, finally slithering up Jerin's leg and taking up his perch on his left shoulder.

"Your BAG, master..."

"Yeah yeah..."

Reaching down, he gripped the single strap of a long, black bag haphazardly slumped against the cold, metal wall. As he started to lift it, he heard several simultaneous clicks.

"Don't move."

Turning his head slowly from side to side, Jerin's sharp eyes took in the forms of seven creatures, four humans, three anthros, who currently had him surrounded. All were clad in black, and each held a large, ominous gun trained directly upon his skull. He smiled.

"Might I at least be permitted to stand up?"

There was a murmuring among the assembled, whispers fluttering around the circle like a bad game of telephone. Finally, a male weasel stepped forward (their leader, he assumed) and nodded.

"Yes, that'd be ok. But don't move other than that."

"Understood."

Lifting his bag, Jerin set it casually across one shoulder, hand still gripping the strap. His injured arm went into the pocket of his long black coat, bleeding unchecked. The men continued to watch him alertly, probably anticipating some sort of a violent reaction. He merely contemplated each, studying all seven shrewdly, until the uncomfortable exchange of glances started, the near inaudible shuffling of feet that were nervous, climaxing with the sudden and deliberate avoidance of his gaze. He smiled again, perfectly calm, as the weasel leader and another anthro who appeared to be a kind of stoat started whispering to each other. His long ears caught the words "hero" and "portal," but the rest was a series of confused mumblings drowning in a burst of thunder.

But for Jerin, that was enough to go on. It was something, anyway.

After a moment, the weasel spoke again, nodding to him.

"We're going to have to ask you to come with us, sir."

"I see. Well. That might be fun. Shall we?"

The men glanced uneasily between each other, obviously confused.

"You'll...come without a struggle?"

He winked. "Gonna give me a reason to struggle?"

"No sir...but...we're going to need to disarm you, precautionary matter, I'm afraid. Hand over that bag, and any other weapons on your person. Don't try to hide anything, we'll only find it later."

"Understood..."

Kneeling and unzipping his bag, Jerin first set the black baton inside, and right next to it, a perfect metal sphere. He then proceeded to pull various other knives, guns, and implements of torture and death from out his coat and person, forming a sizable pile within the apparently empty black bag. When he was finished, he zipped it up, stood, and held it out to the nearest man, who seized it quickly and jumped back. Staring at Jerin, he narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"Hey...wasn't there something you were talkin' at before? On your shoulder?"

Frowning, the hedgehog ran a hand through his wet hair, waving vaguely at the bag as he remarked.

"I don't know what you mean...it's all there. You can search me here if you think I've something to hide. On a separate but not altogether unrelated note, I don't suggest touching that black baton with your hands alone...she can get very, very nasty if she's touched the wrong way. Like a lot of women I know."

Before the man could respond, the weasel spoke again, perfectly nonchalant.

"If you'd be so kind as to come with us now-"

"-But we've only JUST met, and really, I'm not that type of girl."

The weasel's disposition seemed to shift abruptly at this statement, and he growled menacingly, jabbing his gun at him.

"I thought you said no trouble!"

"My apologies sir, 'twas a mere jest...nothing more..."

As they started to move, Jerin walked along obediently enough, though encircled by the seven at all times despite his disarming talk at the nearest.

"Hi there, what's your name..........?

..................

...............

.............Ah, no name, that's ok...I like a man of mystery. So, anyone else besides me coming to this little get together?"

The man scowled, eyeing him with distaste.

"What're you talking about? Are there MORE of you somewhere?"

"Why, more of -I-? Certainly not. I'm quite unique, I think you'll find. And I am to be your only guest?"

"Yeah, you're it bub...now shut up."

"I see..."

He glanced over his shoulder, smiling.

"Just curious..."

TBC.

A starry night, in the courtyard that was the building of the Rogues, an organisation which took in youngsters and trained them to become effecient fighters, mercenaries, for a greater cause. Young adults, of various species, from anthromorphs to humans, made a crowded circle, in the middle of the courtyard. They were all cheering in unison, as two others stood in the center.

One of them was a purple hedgehog, with long, flowing angellic wings. He smirked, cockily, at the figure opposite him, a human teenager, with dark brown hair.

"Spiner! Spiner! Spiner!" Half the crowd called out, hollering a waving fists in the air. "Nathan! Nathan! Nathan!" The other half chanted.

"No holding back, eh?" The human grinned, wiping at his nose with his thumb, before getting into a boxing-style stance.

The hedgehog nodded, keeping himself relaxed, looking back at 'em. "I'll try not to hurt you," he flashed a cheesy grin, "much."

A larger human man stepped between the two. It was obvious to the others watching that he was acting as 'the referee', as he was also a member of the staff. "Spiner," he glanced towards the hedgehog, "ready?" He nodded in reply, still not even going into a fighting stance. "Nathan," he now looked towards the human, "ready?" He gave a thumbs-up. "All right," he begun to step back, "begin!"

The two opponents immediately dashed towards each other, the hedgehog bringing up his arm, and going for a straight punch. However, the human brought up his own arm, knocking away the hedgehog's, and went for a hook with the other. The hedgehog moved his face to the side, the human's hand just grazing across his cheek, and his knee then connected with the human's gut, knocking the wind out of him, and hunching him over. He went to bring his elbow down upon the back of the human's head, but before he could, he could feel a jab of pain in his abdomen - the human had struck his own elbow into the hedgehog.

Spiner staggered back, wincing lightly. Nathan stood back up, hiding the pain in his stomach. Now that he was out of distance of Spiner, he reached his arm over his back, withdrawing a large, double-sided broadsword. He then made a dash for the hedgehog, going on the offensive, and hopefully catching him off guard.

Spiner had leapt back, withdrawing a blade of his own, a gunblade, and the two blades met each other with a clang. He stepped in, the blades being interlocked with each other, turned upwards, as both combats stood each other down. It was then Spiner had brought up his leg, and kicked Nathan away, withdrawing the other gunblade from his belt, and went to strike at Nathan before he had a chance to regain his balance.

However, it wasn't going to be that easy for him. Nathan brought his sword back upwards, the blade hitting against the other two simultaneously, and knocking Spiner back. It was at this time, that all control over things were lost. A thing, which can only be best described as some sort of portal, had appeared behind the winged hedgehog.

Nathan and the others could only look with confusion and horror as it engulfed the hedgehog. "Hey!" He called out, and went to lunge at it, before it disappeared right before their eyes, and he fell straight to the ground. Not a trace of either Spiner, nor the portal, was left behind.

The winged hedgehog hit a wall with a thud, and he let out a pained groan, before he slumped to the ground. "What the Hell just hit me?" He let out a whine, as he rubbed his head, running gloved fingers through his hair. He opened his eyes, and slowly got up to his feet. His eyes squinted as he focused on his new surroundings, and it was only now he could feel the coldness of the rain pelting against him. "Argh..." He shivered, ruffling his feathers, and made for quick shelter.

"..." He tapped a finger against his robotic eyepiece. The heads-up display (HUD) he saw seemed to be working fine, however, it couldn't determine his location. "Piece of crap," he muttered, switching it off, and back to his normal vision. "What happened to Nathan, and the others?" He questioned himself, brushing his hand through his hair again, trying to rid it of the water.

"But more importantly, where in the name of Destiny am I?"

OOC: Aww, i wanna join but im not exactly sure where my characters in GMI are going...

Swift i'm pretty sure wouldnt be suitable for this, and Bomb is, at the moment in the middle of a chaneover and i've got 2 or 3 options on how he emerges, as i discussed with Tetherblood.
I'll wait and see how GMI turns out, then if I can i'll keep reading this and slip in when the time is right, if that's okay Terg/Cherry?

OOC: This looks promising, I might insert two of my other characters soon as well, for now though, I'll use "Blu", as he seems my most known avatar.

Name: One Tru Blu (Shortened to OTB/Blu, One Tru Blu is just a cover name, but he refuses to tell anyone his real name.)

Age: 17

Species: Human

Strengths/abilities: Blu has recently undertook training in a fighting style that focuses in swift punches and kicks that are amplified through the use of magic, though his main strength still stems from his "frying pan of justice", an item that controls the balance of magic in another realm along with the "Stealth toaster" (An item possessed by Evil Lord Tru Blu) This realm is where Blu and his companions originate, but he refuses to disclose the name or location of this realm.

Weaknesses: The frying pan of justice is an unstable object, and is free-willed: it does it's own thing and just because Blu wants to use its power, doesn't mean it will comply, Blu is also physically rather weak.

Background: Born and raised on a far off planet. Blu arrived in Sega City with his companions, and brother and sister, Sue (One Tru Sue) and Lloyd (Evil Lord Tru Blu). They have settled down and retired from there adventuring antics and now live in an appartment in Sega City. But somehow, fate still seems to throw them into strange situations...

IC:

"HYAAAAAAAAAA!"

Blu let out a scream, as he continued his training. This time, he had launched a big ball of energy and ripped a hole in the wall.

"...I'm not fixing that." ELTB said as he turned around the corner, sipping on a cup of tea.

"Heheh. Sorry, guess I don't know my own strength" Blu replied. "By the way Lloyd, did you get around to examining that inbalance between the fryoing pan and your toaster yet?"

"I had a look, but I'm not sure what the heck is causing it."

"Well, we'd better fix it fast, because if the balance tips too far, this whole city could be levelled..."

"What the hell is that?!" Sue screamed from downstairs. Upn hearing it. Blu and ELTB went down to see what it was.

"What the..." EL stood bemused at the swirling energy infront of them.

"That's...A dimension portal!" Blu shouted. "Don't you remember, we encountered one when..."

He stopped as he realised it was gathering energy, and was coming towards them.

"Do you think this could've been cause by that inbalance?" EL said.

"Not likely" Blu replied, "but...Oh crap, it's getting nearer, get back you two!"

The portal gathered energy and creeped up towards Blu. He started launching a volley of magic blasts from the Frying Pan, but it was to no avail. Suddenly, it lashed out at Blu and dragged him in.

"...He's gone." Sue said as she peeked around the corner.

"Oh for gods sake, now I've got to mend that hole in the bloody wall!" EL snarled. "What is it with him? First he goes off blowing things up on a remote island, and now this, why don't we get to do anything fun?!"

---

"Ugh..."

Blu opened his eyes. He was lying face down, staring at the sky. He got to his feet and looked around.

"OK...This not my house...Where the hell am I?" He then remembered what had happened. "The dimension portal! It must have threw me here...Wherever 'here' is!". Looking around, he could only see what looked like a settlement about a 15 minute walk away. He picked up his frying pan and began a slow walk, while taking in his surroundings.

"Seriously, I never thought I'd use a dimension portal again..."