OOC: Scratch that...I have a better idea...

OOC:

Name: Claire Dunn

Species: Fox

Gender/Sex: Female

Age: 19

Description: Tan-furred fox with neck-length, straightened, brown hair and red eyes. Wears a green body-suit with a pack-belt, very long sleeves. Right-hand sleeve is missing and she wears thigh-high dark green boots.

Personality: Very sarcastic and somewhat mischievious, Claire is a quiet character that prefers to be alone and can get very agressive when annoyed. Above all, she has a good heart, though she tends to go a little overboard sometimes.

Natural Abilities: Using dark magic, making calculations, and being a leader

Weaknesses: Claire can be emotionally unstable at times, as her past still haunts her. She can also be very snappy, and in turn getting herself in trouble with that tongue. Claire can be very suspicious, and it takes a lot to earn trust and respect from her.

Magic Powers: Can make dark balls of magic, the size depending on her level of energy, and blend into the shadows. Another power of hers is the ability to fly. And if magic fails, she was trained in several fighting styles.

Backstory: Claire is a twin, who was taken at the age of 12 and taught in the art of magic. Naturally, her element turned out to be darkness. However, her teacher disappeared before she could learn any more about her powers, and she was left to learn herself with her sister, Kristi. As she grew up, she roamed the land, fending off any evil magic-user(s) or creatures that posed a threat to herself or others.

Name: Kristi Dunn

Species: Fox

Gender/Sex: Female

Age: 19

Description: Silver-furred fox with neck-length, wavy, mettallic blue hair and green eyes. Wears a lavender body-suit with a pack-belt, very long sleeves. left-hand sleeve is missing and she wears thigh-high dark lavender boots.

Personality: Very friendly, Kristi is not one to leave someone out, and she's a very social person. Unlike her twin, she is very easy to talk to, and she hates blood and gore.

Natural Abilities: Using light magic, making friends.

Weaknesses: Kristi can sometimes be a little too gullible, and can sometimes have her kind ways taken advantage of. She can also be a little sensitive and naive at times, rushing in to help somebody before thinking of the risks.

Magic Powers: Can make balls of light, the size depending on her level of energy, and can blend into light spots. Another power of hers is the ability to fly. And if magic fails, she was trained in several fighting styles.

Backstory: Kristi is a twin, who was taken at the age of 12 and taught in the art of magic. Naturally, her element turned out to be light. However, her teacher disappeared before she could learn any more about her powers, and she was left to learn herself with her sister, Claire. As she grew up, she roamed the land, fending off any evil magic-user(s) or creatures that posed a threat to herself or others.

IC:

Farmland. And lots of it.

Country-land stretched as far as the eye could see, a single dirt road dividing the farms and their land. The sun was brightly shining on this day, and it appeared the crops were growing quite well. Animals were grazing in the pastures and fields, and families were working on chores or relaxing. A grand day, one would say.

A few hundred miles west of the newest farm, where the open land blended into dense forests, shouts echoed throughout a clearing. Trees were felled and dust was being kicked up. One could only wonder what was causing such racket....

"Claire! DUCK!"

Claire Dunn heeded her sister's warning, ducking and narrowly missing the swipe of a clawed hand. The owner of the hand was not pretty at all, several eyes and one huge, gaping mouth filled with endless rows of teeth. The two sisters fired blasts at it, seemingly not deterring the monster in the least. Kristi fired repeatedly, edging backward until she and her sister were against a tree.

"Any bright ideas?" The silver vixen asked, eyes darting around.

"One: We combine."

"Combine? That last time we did that we almost killed ourselves!!" Kristi looked at Claire as if she had lost her mind.

"We'll be killed if we don't combine! You and I both know we can't keep this up!! And what about the farmers if this thing finishes with us!?!?" Claire and her twin jumped away from the tree as the creature slashed it in half, both rolling to the ground on oposite sides.

"Right...Let's do it!!"

Getting up, the two ran around to the monsters back-side, running up trees and jumping off like pin-balls. The twins met, arms locked within each other, seemingly frozen in the air, as a ball of swirling white and black colors shot out from their palms. As Claire and Kristi landed in the dirt, the ball engulfed the monster, and it screeched a pain-filled cry.

"Yes! Claire, we did it!" Kristi jumped up, thrusting her fist into the air in triumph as the light dissipated, and the creature had disapeared. Looking at her hands she commented, "Wow...and I thought we'd kill ourselves. Haha..."

"We just might."

Before the silver vixen could respond, she spotted a portal in front of them. She was about to question the existence of the thing, when it lunged forward and sucked them both inside.

"Claire!!" Kristi's scream was lost in the emptiness, and soon, she could feel herself losing conciousness, but only after casting a fleeting glance around for her sister....

----

"Ugh....oh, that smarts......"

"I'll say..."

The twins slowly sat up, their senses and thoughts coming back gradually as they observed their surroundings. The portal had dropped them off in some kind of forest, moist with fresh rain. Still it was raining, pelting the two with little droplets, making them all the more miserable. Standing up, Claire leaned against a tree for support, then went over to help her sister up.

"I wonder where we are...?" Kristi pondered out loud.

Claire sighed, "...and how the hell we got here."

"We should look for a town, or a farm, or a..."

"Something that could tell us where we are!!" Another sigh.

Kristi looked around once again, spotting a cave on top a hill, "Look! We can rest and wait out the storm in there. Then we could try and find out what just happened!"

"Beats standing in the rain like idiots."

Heading toward the cave, the twin vixens put an arm about each other, hoping not to lose balance. The Dunns glanced back to where the portal had dumped them, then continued on, wanting to get out of the rain as fast as possible.

IC:

Torn awoke from the spill she had taken while walking through the forest and found herself in a dark alley. The buildings cast an ominous shadow over her and she paled. She stood up and looked around. "Okay, where am I? I remember falling down a slope and hitting my head on something so am I dreaming?" She asked. She pinched herself and flinched. She wasn't dreaming. She heard engines and ducked behind a trash can, in time to see a yellow hovercar pass by. "This is horrible. I don't know where I am and how will I get home?" She asked.

She noticed a young man standing at the end of the alley. He had short brown hair and wore a brown leather jacket (among other things)...she was sort of scared of him at first because she could sense some power surrounding him but she also knew that she couldn't get home unless she started to ask for help. She began to back away but tripped over something and knocked the trash can over.

Mike leant aganist the walls of the alleyways as he wiped his face. All he'd remember was being around the Institute, the detectives firm he techniqually worked at. But ina flash he was tooken somewhere else. Somewhere new, even. "Where am I, again?" he muttered as he looked at his surroundings. It looked something out of a How-to-Magna he had read quite a while ago. The Castle was there yet it had a futuristic feel. Mike smirked, this was definatly his world nor Sega City.

"Jeeze, this place is new..." he muttered again as he looked around as a hovercar zoomed by him. He shook his head as he tightened his light brown trenchcoat and looked around.

The noise of the trash can making him jump slightly, "What the?" he yelped as he turned around, looking for the source of the noise.

"Who's there?" he asked.

((OOC: Obviously thought Torn was reffering to me, so I'll just say he was in the same alleyway....=P))

OOC: I already answered Swift's question via EZmail, but just in case there's anyone out there who wants to join but not immediately for some reason, I'd say it's okay for more portals to be generated later on in the thread - who's to say that all the portals had to activate at the same time? So if other people want to join up later on in the thread, as long as their entry is appropriate, then it's fine. Also, if players already in play want to introduce some more of their characters during the thread, they may, though caution should be used to avoid overloading the thread.

I am quite pleased with the sheer response this RP has gotten...and it hasn't even been twenty-four hours since I posted it! Still, it's up to us to see whether that popularity is justified or not. Seeing a lot of neat-o stuff, now may be the time to start gathering people together sorta-kinda.

For this "opening sequence" of the thread, focus more on having fun exploring the new world your characters now find themselves in. I'll explain IC how the supporters of Sir Garadon are able to track everyone who came through the portals, though it will take them longer to find some characters than others. Remember to think of how your character will react when they are faced with people trying to track them down and bring them to someone they don't know in a world they've never been to before. I don't want anyone else getting dragged off just yet, let's let some characters bump into each other first before we start having them face the mysterious Sir Garadon's supporters.

And now, to continue.

IC:
Lilian stood in the command center of the Core, her black catsuit replaced by a more businesslike bodysuit and windbreaker. She was manipulating the controls of a black radio transmitter set to a special frequency, a hasty set-up on a tripod. Her hazel eyes were concerned, yet focused.

"Team Leader Three, reporting in," warbled a male voice through the back box. "We still haven't found any of the heroes."

"Are the trackers working?" asked Lilian.

"They are, but this storm is giving us some interference, we're having trouble calibrating. Don't worry, we think we're close to some of them now."

"Keep it up, Team Leader Three, you know how much we're counting on them," encouraged Lilian. "Report in when you make visual contact with any of the heroes."

"Roger that, Lilian. Out."

"This is Team Leader Five, readin' some heroes outside of the city. Looks like two of them somewhere in the forest to the west of the Core, 'bout two miles I reckon."

"Good work, Five! You know what to do, bring them back here in whatever way you need to."

"Acknowledged, Lil. Out."

Lilian stepped away from the radio and sat down on the raised edge of one of the miniature gardens around the command center, sighing deeply. I hope those heroes are all right out there in that weather, she thought. We've already inconvenienced them enough by taking them from their own worlds, I hope they'll understand after we explain everything to them.

Justin was dashing through the thunderstorm that had begun a few minutes ago, rain splashing on and around him. Typical, he thought with a mental chuckle as he dodged puddles and looked along his right for shelter. First a random portal pops up and eats me, now it's raining. With my luck, some of that lightning's going to feel attracted to me in about a minute. There was only humor in this thought, not bitterness or sarcasm.

He stopped as he looked up to see a sign hanging in front of a shop. "Ye Olde Inn," the drenched human read aloud. What better place to start an adventure than to come here? thought Justin as he went to the front doors and walked through as they automatically opened. Besides, it's out of the rain.

He stepped into what must have been the first page of a stereotypical medieval fantasy novel: tables with a variety of odd characters laughing and drinking, a rather attractive barmaid serving the patrons, a barrel-armed bartender standing behind the counter while washing a glass mug, and a fireplace, all surrounded by warm brown wood with gray slabs of stone used when needed to counterbalance.

"Aye there, laddy, what can I do ye for?" asked the bartender as his eyes looked at Justin. "Ye here for lodgin', a table and refreshment, or ya lookin' for directions?"

Justin came over to the counter, taking a quick glance around at the various patrons. There were humans, anthropomorphs, and what he figured were aliens or some other kind of species he didn't recognize. Their garb ranged from primitive to medieval to futuristic, the leather-clad barbarian standing alongside the neon body-suited erudite. He looked up at the bartender and said, "This may sound like a funny question, but where am I?"

"Now that ye mention it, it does sound a bit odd. You're in Ye Olde Inn, welcoming travelers far and wide from all across the land."

"Okay, what city am I in?"

The bartender continued to wash the mug. "This here's Notopia, capital of the Empire. Funny ye wouldn't know that, do ye come from across the sea?"

"You could say that," answered Justin diplomatically. "I guess that helps. Is it okay to stay in here to wait out the storm?"

"Shore thing, lad, pick yeself a seat, and I'll have Brandy come around to serve you."

"Thanks."

Justin looked around the barroom and found a table very close to the door that didn't have anyone sitting at it. He walked over to it and sat down into one of the old-fashioned wooden chairs, grateful for the chance to dry off and warm up. He noticed that he was getting some odd looks from some people in one of the corners, but he brushed it off as simple curiousity. He was probably the only person in here dressed strictly as an early 21st-century human from a big city on Earth, and he had to suppress a laugh at the irony of this reversal. Never thought I'd stand out like this, he thought merrily as he looked outside. But it doesn't look like interdimensional travelers are too common, that guy didn't even bring up that possibility. Which means I've gotta be careful, not make too much of a ruckus. Last thing I'd need is to start a cross-dimensional war.

The rain outside continued to pound, and now he wondered how he was going to get home.

IC:

Inside the cozy little cave, a fire blazed, made from sticks of wood the girls had gathered. Claire was squeezing her hair out, trying to get the extra rainwater out so her hair could air-dry as best it could. Kristi was prodding the fire, gazing into the flames and letting a long sigh escape her lips. Quietly, her twin walked up and sat on a rock oposite Kristi's, putting her hands close to the fire for warmth.

"Hey Claire?"

"Hm?" Claire kept her eyes on her hands, rubbing them together.

"Ya think we'll get outta here? I mean...we're in a cave in the middle of a forest.....and......."

The vixen warming her hands sighed, feeling a bit agitated and cold. "I dunno sis....I just don't know....."

A few moments of silence passed, with only the crackling of the flames and the pounding of the rain outside being the only sounds. The Dunns both stared at the fire, watching the flames leap and swirl, heat emitting from the blazing center of warmth. Suddenly, Kristi was struck with a thought, and, having nothing else to speak of, she said, "'Member what Jami always used to say?"

Claire raised an eyebrow, looking up at her sister, "Refresh my memory."

"'Nothing happens without a purpose'. Our landing here wasn't just a random event....it has a purpose."

Nodding slightly, Claire gazed at Kristi with a contemplative expression, "True...but our landing here....what purpose would that fill?"

Silence again. Kristi sighed once more, turning away from her sister's gaze. Claire went back to staring at the fire, thinking on what her twin had just said. What purpose would they serve? Was this actually just a random happening? Or did something deliberately cause that portal to appear and engulf them?

"I dunno, Claire...we'll just hafta see about that....."

Name:
Silver the Hedgehog
Species:
Hedgehog
Gender/Sex:
Male
Age:
19
Description:
Light Grey hedgehog, Grey eyes, White gloves, Black and Red Hovershoes.
Personality:
Perfers not to show emotion, but when it breaks out, he can be VERY emotional. ISn't confused easily and thinks before acting.
Natural Abilities:
Immunity to fire, can Manipulate flame, and can create flame at will when angered.
Weapons:
Fire swords
Weaknesses:
When he is angered he gets very sloppy, Machines more complicated than his hover-shoes can confuse him, although he learns fast enough.
Backstory:
A residen of SEga city of the MFW, he has saved it on two occasions that were little known. His past is filled wth mystery to all but the closest friends, and even to them the details are cloudy.

OOC: I'll get a good IC post going tomorrow. I edited the last, specifically Jerin's part, so it isn't necessary that he confront Lilian or her employer straight away, as Tergs suggested (which is a good idea). I plan to move him into a prison cell tomorrow and leave him there until I see fit to pick up with him again, so I can focus on getting Cherry round and about. Was hoping to post tonight, but am SO tired from Sin City.

Great movie though <3 SEE IT!!

Until tomorrow =) goodnight everyone!

The winged hedgehog remained in the shelter, as the rain poured down. He couldn't fly - the rain would weigh him down. And there was no way he was going ot go back out into the rain.

With a sigh, he activated his eyepiece yet again. Maybe there were people around he could talk with - find out where he his, and how to get back. The HUD didn't show too much, however, there were various people in his area.

Maybe, this is what he had needed. Without giving it a second thought, he dashed out from the shelter, making towards the next one, heading in the direction of the closest person(s), no matter if they be friend, or foe.

OOC:Alright, let's get going.

Name: Ryan(rarely tells anyone this)
Last name:( Will never tell anyone this)
Superhero name: Cosmic Kid
Species:Human
Gender:Male
age:12
Descript: 5'2,83 lbs, blonde spiky hair, blue eyes,Blue spandex with a star in the middle and the star says 'CK' on it.Brown shoes.Is rather skinny, and doesn't have many muscles.Has a black cape.
Personality: positive and never gives up on his goals.Has a very strong sense of justice.Never kills, after an "incident".LOVES bacon.Quite playful.Pretty nice kid overall.
Abilities: Super strength, super speed to a limited extent,can fly up to 10 minutes, andc can shoot a limited supply of laser blasts.Has a new ability he can't quite classify yet.(Don't worry, it's not godlike)
Weakness: Gets very hungry sometimes, is 12, and he's not superman.If he's shot, he'll DIE.No bullets deflecting off his chest.
Backround: Little is known, except he became a superhero because of an "incident" and refuses to kill because of it. That day still haunts him.

IC: Cosmic was sitting at home, eating bacon.The TV was blaring loud,hi apartment was a wreck, he needed to get outside.Cosmic walked slowly out, and started to fly upward. "Hey, I wonder....How fast CAN I go?".He swtarted to fly forward, an it was a snail's pace. But then the speed picked up, and started to go at the speed of a car, a racecar! But then a glow opened up in front of him. "Wha-?". He tried to steer. "Dang, I'm going too fast! I can't steer!" And flew right into the portal.

-------

The light went away. He was still rocketing through the sky, over a town and before he knew it, slammed into a building, and was knocked unconsious.

OOC: Added and editted info.

She noticed the young man dash off and she sighed but was secretly relieved. Rain began to pour and she put her hood over her head. She walked out of the alley and looked up and down the roads. The town seemed a mix of sci-fi and middle ages. She had never seen such a place before and she shook her head. She began to walk up the road, looking for a place to stay.

IC:

Claire gazed out into the forest, watching small animals scurry back and forth from tree to tree, rock to rock. The trees swayed in the wind, their roots soaking up as much rainwater as they could possibly take.

She glanced over to her sister, who was sleeping on her side, breathing gently. They had decided to take watches, Claire having the first watch while Kristi slept.

"Not knowing where we are is a big disadvantage. Say something popped up and we were asleep...if it was dangerous, we'd be in trouble. So I suggest we take watches," Claire had said to her twin.

Looking around, Claire muttered sometihng about "stupid portal, rain, strange place" under her breath, before exhaling deeply. Picking up a rock, she began to draw on the ground, just to pass the time and keep her awake until Kristi's watch came.

"Team Leader Nine reporting. We found someone. Repeat. We found someone."

Looking up from the marks she was making on a large map, Lilian smiled, speaking into the black box beside her hastily constructed work station.

"Excellent work Team Leader Nine. Where did you find him...or is it her?"

There was a pause. Lilian frowned, leaning closer and speaking in a loud, clear voice.

"Team Leader Nine...?"

Another pause...some static...then.

"Sorry about that Lil, storms still raging like a she-devil. I nearly lost you just now. I heard your last question though. We found him near that abandoned warehouse at the edge of the city, the big metal one with the red number 7 painted on the west side."

"I know it. Thank you Team Leader Nine. You can bring him in."

Another pause. Then the voice continued, somewhat nervously.

"Might I be permitted to speak freely, ma'am?"

Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Lilian's brows drew together in concern.

"Certainly Team Leader...what's on your mind? Is something the matter?"

"It's just...I'm not sure bringing him to the core would be entirely wise."

"What do you mean?"

"Well...frankly, we aren't sure if he's...well...one of the ones we're after. He certainly doesn't LOOK anything like any great hero I ever seen or heard of. In fact, he's particularly sinister-lookin.' I feel like I should know him, but I can't quite put a name to his face..."

"But he came through a portal?"

"Well, we found him not far from where one of them opened, yeah, and he doesn't seem to be from around here. But there's something...well...wrong and odd about him. And if I might voice my professional opinion, I feel bringing him straight into the core without knowing who exactly he is would be a very bad idea. Ultimately, of course, it's up to you and the boss man, Lil. But I need to know what you want us to do with him straightaway, because we want to get rid of him. He's making my men very nervous, and I don't like him much myself."

"I see...thank you for your opinion, Team Leader Nine. I'll consult with Sir Garadon, and I'll run a background check on him as soon as we have more information...have you gotten his name by any chance...?

"Not yet, but I'll get it before we part ways...where would you like us to take him in the meantime?"

"...In the meantime? Well...perhaps it would be wise to exercise some caution. I don't want this fellow alarming the other heroes, as you seem to think he might..."

She sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"...I feel terrible about this...but...we'll have to place him in one of our holding cells for now. Make certain to apologize and explain to him we're only being cautious and that he'll be released as soon as we've cleared him."

"Roger. I'll take care of it."

"And Team Leader Nine?"

"Yeah?"

"Do see that's he's put in our nicest cell and treated very well. I don't want anyone offending him more than he's bound to be already."

"Understood, Lil. And I don't think he'll care too much. He's been quite agreeable throughout this whole ordeal, despite his talk being somewhat odd, and him looking like a right awful demon."

"Indeed? Ah well. I suppose appearances can be deceiving."

"I s'pose. We'll take him to the holding cells straightaway though. Team Leader Nine, out."

"Roger Team Leader Nine. Keep up the good work."

Turning, Lilian circled the warehouse Leader Nine had spoken of on her map, glancing at the other marks she'd placed. After a moment she stood, her expression inwardly drawn and anxious.

"...I do hope he isn't too offended...I feel just awful...I'll report this to Sir Garadon straightaway. Perhaps he'll know better than I what should be done now..."

"Get in thare!"

Jerin kept his body lax as he was thrown unceremoniously into a dark, dirty prison cell by a towering guard built much like a bulldog (and in the hedgehog's own opinion, possessed of about the same manners as one). Extending his right hand with a smooth and practiced gesture, he landed upon it, pushing off his fingers and tumbling head over heels to land unharmed in a neat, crouching position upon the dirt. The guard glowered at him for a moment, before grinning toothlessly and jabbing in his direction with his large axe.

"Muller, 'e say treat 'im you WELL. But Muller, 'e not 'ere, yes?"

"Indeed. Muller is not here...I assume I'm not to be treated so well, then?"

"You assumum right!"

Jerin stared at him for a minute, his empty, blind eye widening slowly, unblinking.

"...I'll remember your face."

The guard shifted his weight from one leg to the other, staring at the hedgehog's creepy eye as he tried to come up with a retort...a wave of terror clutched at his heart quite suddenly, though he wasn't entirely certain why. Maybe it was his cold, formal tones. Those unblinking, unrelenting eyes. That statement, which seemed a deadly promise. Enraged at such feelings, the guard finally slammed the door, the hedgehogs now insanely widened eyes lost in darkness. Flopping back on the floor, Jerin laughed, loud and full and demented.

"I'llllllll remember you. I remember everyone. But I never keep count. No no. Never. I leave that to someone else."

He grinned terribly at the dark.

"Iiiiiiiiiiii leave that to someone else."

The world was cold and inhospitable to Cherry O' Kidna on the night she was in trouble. Every inn seemed full, every place of rest, tired, every face, full of suspicion. And the further she went, the weaker she grew, days and weeks and months and years of travel all seeming to converge upon her on this one night. But she kept going. She...kept going. For Luminos. For Legs. For him. And for herself.

When at last she came to Ye Olde Inn, Cherry could barely force the doors apart to make her way inside. Legs was saying something, but at the moment her brain couldn't process it. So she merely stroked his head with her good hand and shushed him. She found she had to press her paws to the nearest table almost as soon as she entered, or else collapse where she stood. Looking up after a moment, the echidna realized a young human male seated at the table was staring at her, a mixture of concern and horror in his eyes. She wasn't sure what he was so horrified by. Looking around though, she quickly realized everyone in the tavern was staring at her with the same expression. It was far too quiet. Sighing tiredly, she turned back to the young dark haired man and smiled brightly, staring directly into his blue-green eyes and speaking in a soft voice.

"Hello stranger...I do apologize for startlin' you...I needed something to lean against for a moment. I'll be on my way now..."

Straightening before he could speak, Cherry nearly slipped in a pool of something wet.

Did someone spill their drink...? she thought, looking down.

Oh...no...that's my blood I suppose. Bollocks...eh...well...I've had worse. And I guess that explains all the staring. I'm certain I look a fright.

Despite her growing delirium, Cherry noted with a degree of relief that her garb wasn't that outlandish compared to that of the rest of the tavern occupants. She wore a pair of worn black boots, her now torn and ragged black pants tucked into them, and a skintight top with short sleeves, laced loosely up the front much like a corset. It was the same brilliant blue color as her eyes, and at her neck hung a thick black cord, from which a small, silvery blue orb dangled. Her hair was tangled, messy, and piled atop her head in what had probably been a bun of some sort at one time. She was wet, dirty, covered in slashes, and just generally a wreck to the eye.

But she could still move...just a little further...just a little further...if only Legs would stop his incessant chattering.

Pressing her claws to the bar at last, she confronted the horrified tender, who spoke in a voice full of concern.

"Good 'eavens young lady!! You need a doctor!"

She smiled, glazed eyes dancing merrily.

"I need a room, actually, is what..."

"Ye be bleedin' all over th' place!"

Turning his head, he barked at the pretty barmaid, who now looked quite pale.

"Brandy, why're ye still standing there?! Run and fetch 'er a doctor!"

"Mmm...it's just a lot of bollocksy scratches s' all...m' just bleeding sumpthin' awful from 'em. I need a room though, yeah..."

And for some reason, or maybe for no reason at all, she found herself staring at the young man seated near the door. There was something about him she felt she should recognize. So she smiled, speaking in his direction, though perhaps she spoke to someone else entirely, someone who was not there.

"Just a lot o' nonsense...I just need a sit-down, is all...it's not my death, you know? Not like this. Not yet."

She collapsed, falling to the floor in a heap. Dimly she could hear Legs chittering in fright, feel his small legs caressing her face. Running feet...she heard lots of running feet. She tried to speak, to comfort Legs, to tell all of them she was fine.

But then everything was dark.

"Get back! Give 'er air, no use crowdin' the place!" bellowed the bartender as he made deft use of those barrel arms of his to keep the female from being crowded.

Justin was on his feet already, getting up the instant he saw the echidna girl start falling over. She was talking to me, he thought, feeling somewhat haunted. Trying to talk to me, anyway. Who is she, and why is she here like this?

The bartender had managed to clear up the crowd, calming them down enough for them to either return to their tables or to leave for the night, and he walked back over to where Justin was down on one knee next to the unnamed girl. "Do ye know 'er? She seemed to be talkin' to you."

Justin turned to look down at the girl's face. He had never seen her before in his life, and for that matter, she was somewhat different from any anthro echidna he had seen before. Yet that was somehow what he recognized her species to be. And she was pretty.

But she's in trouble, too, thought Justin. She's defenseless right now, and it looks like whatever went after her was going for blood. She needs help.

"Yeah, I know her," he replied to the bartender. "We were gonna meet here, but she was a little late."

"Well at least ye can tell why she was late. We'll take 'er up to one of the spare rooms 'til the doctor arrives. Can ye lift 'er?"

Justin reached down with both arms and tucked them underneath the girl's limp body, not caring about the blood that was getting onto his leather jacket as he did so. He wordlessly followed the bartender up the staircase against the far wall and carried the girl into one of the inn's guest rooms. "There lad, right there on the bed," directed the bartender. "I'll have Brandy send up the doctor when 'e gets 'ere, we'll take care of her. Ye can have the room free."

"Thanks, man, that's real generous," said Justin as he placed the girl onto the bed and stood straight. "I'll try to pay you back after this is over."

The bartender waved at him dismissively. "Y'think this is good publicity? Last thing I need is to have this all lined up on the news channel, ye can have the room if ye can just keep it quiet, ye understand?"

Justin smiled at the bartender. "I gotcha. Thanks again."

"All done, as much as can be," announced the anthropomorphic reptile doctor as he closed up his black bag. "She's got to heal the rest on her own, just make sure she doesn't do too much when she wakes up, and keep her off of that right arm, and that left leg! The shoulder's back in sync, but that hand cast needs to stay on for a while, she shouldn't use that hand much. If something else comes up, give me another call."

"Thanks doc," said Justin in respectful tones. "And have a good day."

The human waited until the door closed behind the doctor, and then he turned and walked over to the side of the girl. She was looking a lot better now, her wounds cleaned and patched up, her right hand in a temporary cast and her left leg more heavily bandaged. He crossed his hands in front of himself and gave a low whistle. "Don't know who you are or where you came from, girl, but you really got yourself torn into," he said thoughtfully. "Dislocated shoulder, slashes, broken hand...and whatever did that to you is probably still out there. Might be after me too, for all I know."

He had to chuckle at himself. Here he was, hardly in a new world for an hour, and he had already gotten himself into a new adventure! Typical of my luck, he thought cheerily. Which is good, I'd rather have something interesting to do. Never was much the daily routine type.

Justin looked wonderingly at the girl, and then noticed the two things she had been carrying, a little bag and a long thin package. Wonder if she's carryin' some kind of ID, he thought innocently as he reached for the bag.

Something moved with such speed out of the corner of his eye that he whirled and managed to get struck in the face. He staggered back, wondering what the heck had just hit him, when he saw the aggressor sitting on the edge of the bed, putting itself between him and the girl. It chittered at him madly, and now he could make out what the heck it looked like in the low light of the old-fashioned lamp by the door.

Looks like a giant centipede with grasshopper legs, thought Justin, raising his arms defensively. Where did that come from? "Hey, what was that for?" And why am I talking to it?

The tiny bug's chittering changed a little in pitch as it somehow managed to gesture toward the girl, the bag, and Justin. It seemed very agitated.

"Look, calm down! I'm not going to hurt her, I'm just trying to help!" protested Justin, trying to understand what this little critter was saying.

This seemed to quiet the bug somewhat as it lowered the intensity and volume of its chittering, hopping up to the side of the girl's head before turning to face him and make a noise that sounded to Justin like the growl of a very small dog.

Justin held his hands up as he stepped backward and sat down into the chair against the wall. "Okay, whatever you say," he said resignedly. "Maybe she'll wake up soon and explain what in blazes you are. Probably some kinda alien guard dog or somethin'."

The insect chirrupped at that.

"Yeah? Well, same to you!"

The two of them sat there, looking at each other warily, until Justin had to break down and start chuckling. "Here I am, arguing with you when I don't even know what you're saying," he explained as he relaxed and sat back into the chair, throwing his hands up behind his head. "But you want to protect her, so we're on the same side, the way I see it. That's cool, I'll stay right here 'til she gets up, 'kay?"

This seemed to settle the bug down, and the two of them stayed quiet. The rain pounded outside the window.

Silver had been simply doing nothing, and was suddenly transported to a strange place. Finding himself on the top of a fast moving hovercar, he was trying not to fall of, failed horribly, and landed luckly in a soft patch of grass. Upon landing he hit his head, knocking him uncontious.

OOC: Torn, who were you refering to in your last post?

IC:
Spiner blinked, halting under some shelter. Did he just see that right on his HUD? Lifeforms, which he most likely believed to be people, just appeared from out of the blue. 'Something definitely isn't right,' he had thought to himself. 'Maybe that's how I got here..?' The thought quickly passed him. 'I've seen stranger things than this, it probably might be some sort of teleportation device. Some of the buildings do look slightly technologically advanced, so it might be a possibility.'

He had now came across what resembled to be a street, having travelled back alleys, unintentionally. He headed for more shelter, before reflecting on his situation. 'Maybe it's not best that I seek out help, just yet. I should do a little aerial surveillance once this bloody rain dies down.'

IC:

"Kristi...Kristi!"

Awaking with a start, the silver vixen rubbed her eyes, staring at her sister. Claire was very agitated, as she gets when she has so sleep, making Kristi realize that it was her shift.

"Alright, alright..I'm up!" She raised her arms in defense as she got up to switch places.

Laying down, Claire muttered something incoherent, before letting her eyelids droop shut. Kristi crawled to the mouth of the cave, sticking her head out into the rain. Shivering, she quickly pulled it back in, wiping her wet face with her sleeve.

"What on earth were you doing?"

The silver vixen looked at her sister, who had watched her the whole time, "It's a good way to wake up."

A weary grumble from across the cave made Kristi giggle as she sat back, ready to being her shift.

OOC: Spiner I was referring to Terg but it doesn't matter now since he's far off and she's lost...again...

IC:

As Torn walked up the streets, she noticed the various stores. One of the stores had spellbooks and other items for spell casting and she practically froze in her place. She had never seen such a store in her land and was quite glad not to. She walked past it and almost bumped into a large warrior. He carried a huge sword and glared at her. "Uh, sorry. I didn't mean to cross your path," She said and hurried past him. She stopped in front of an inn and leaned against the lampost. How will I ever get home?

OOC: Sorry about that, Torn! I just assumed that she had seen Mike's character since he posted right after you as being in an alleyway and hearing the sound of the trash can tumbling. I realized earlier that his character and mine actually look quite alike, but after reading your first IC post again I realize you were referring to the brown-haired man in the leather jacket rather than in the trenchcoat. Sorry again, didn't mean to make you feel left out on that.

Now, I'm just going to post a little bit to see if we can't motivate some character interaction. Remember that I don't expect you to actually get "caught" yet, if you want to then that's your choice, but this might give you the chance to get to know some of the other characters while they're being chased about and bump into each other and such.

IC:
"Lilian, this is Team Leader Five, we are approachin' the cave to the west of the Core where our trackers say there's two heroes holed up," reported in one of the black-uniformed troopers. "I can see the cave now through the rain, it'll maybe take us about ten minutes to hoof it up there."

"Remember, try to avoid frightening them if you possibly can and treat them with respect. They are guests, after all, and they have powers that can either help or hurt our cause."

"Acknowledged, we'll do our best. Out." The anthropomorphic bear turned to his comrades. "You heard the lady, let's get this job done! Then we can fight to bring back Sir Garadon!"

The small group started making its way up to the cave, unaware that Kristi had seen them from her vantage point.

"Team Leader Six, we are approaching what appears to be a pair of heroes on our trackers, looks like they're in that alley ahead of us," reported another team leader, an anthropomorphic eagle, in a very businesslike voice. "Wait, it looks like one of them is leaving the alleyway."

"Move to intercept, we can't lose them now!"

"Roger that, Lil. We'll bring them in safe and sound. Out."

With practiced gestures, the eagle divided his plainsclothes team into two groups, one group of which went into the street to look for what turned out to be Torn, while the other group dived into the alleyway to look for who they unknowingly were about to run into Mike.

"This is Team Leader Two, we found two of the heroes!" announced a human proudly as his plainsclothes team circled the unconscious Silver and Cosmic Kid, who had coincidentally landed quite near each other. "They're both knocked out, I think they're still alive though."

Nearby, Spiner could see the circle closing in on the unconscious pair, and it looked awfully suspicious.

OOC: There you go. Remember, Silver, Cosmic, that your characters can wake up at any moment if you want them to. And also remember that your character reactions are your own, you can be as friendly or as unfriendly as you see fit, or you might come up with a reaction I hadn't thought of. Either way, it's all fun and games at this point, so go ahead and see what happens!

Also, in case I missed anyone, you can include a team trying to track you down as well, that's the point of these NPCs at this point in time.

Torn got off the lampost and continued to walk down the street. She stopped for a minute and frowned. It almost felt like someone was following her. She wasn't sure but if so, she figured running into a large crowd would be the best option. She kept walking up the street and could see that she was nearing an open marketplace full of people. She threw her hood on and walked into the large crowd.

OOC: Seems okay to me though Lena might be the type to just grab onto a complete stranger, especially a guy but more on this later...

IC:

Torn could hear the insect loud and clear and she was shocked to hear it talk to her. She hated insects! She sighed and tried to think, hoping it would pick up her thoughts. How do you expect me to distract them? I can't do much of anything!

OOC: Cosmic would know Silv from the Tails Doll RP right?

Cosmic had listened to enough. He "woke up" and turned toward them. "You guys...I don't trust them. Something seems wrong here. It gives me a strange feeling..." he whispered to them.

OOC: That'll work for me. I'll post in a moment... I have something I need to do.

OOC: Ah, ok, got it. I changed it so she only moves closer to him instead of actually grabbing his sleeve =)

Pleased as he was that Torn could understand him, Legs didn't like the look on her face at the moment. Though he couldn't read minds, he read expressions quite well, and to him it was plain she had no idea what to do. Leaning close to her ear again, he chirped.

"Errrr...what sort of skill do you have then?"

Staring at the armed men warily, she whispered to him out one side of her mouth.

"Skill...?"

"You know...all the fairy and elf folk I've met have had some skill with the elements...what's yours? Fire, water, earth, wind?"

"Oh...fire, I guess."

"Oh, that'll do nicely...can you create some sort of blinding flash? You know, enough so they can't see what's going on?"

"I could try but my powers are so weak, I may not be able to do much," She said. She put her sword away and she gathered her breath. She tried to unleash a blast of fire capable of blinding the guards if temporarily but she could barely emit a flame. "I can't do it...I can't do it!" She yelled.

As Torn vented her frustrations at a volume the decipede was sure the stars themselves could hear, he sighed, rubbing his small head and cursing his bad luck. Of all the fairies or elves or whatever in all the world, of COURSE he'd get stuck with the one who didn't have much in the way of fire power. He could hear a very confused Justin trying to calm her now, though he didn't do the same, seeing very little point to the act. Their captors had surely heard that racket. Peeking around her hood to confirm this, he could see he was right, as an anthropomorphic eagle lifted his visor, lowering his gun slightly and looking somewhat concerned. He glanced around at the crowd, noting the additional attention she was attracting to their group, then turned back, addressing Torn in a hasty, nervous voice.

"Errr...we don't want to hurt you, young lady, we don't want to hurt any of you...so there's no need to carry on like that...just calm down-"

"-I CAN'T DO IT!!"

"-Miss, PLEASE. Stop yelling, it's ok, we just want to talk-"

Several of the other men were saying things along similar lines, lowering their guns.

And their guards...and...

And that's when Legs got a brilliant idea. Turning excitedly, he chirped in Torn's ear, just as she was starting to calm and mumble an apology.

"Don't apologize, that was perfect!! Don't stop! Just keep yelling and carrying on!! You're distracting them!! They're too concerned with calming you down so they don't attract further attention to pay much mind to their weapons! Keep at it, and clue the human in if you get a chance...wink or shoot him a look or something, you know? Just so he'll play along! I'll be right back! Be prepared to run!"

Trusting her to trust him, Legs crawled carefully around the corner of her hood without waiting for an answer, and leapt nimbly to the ground, scampering into the crowd. Crawling along behind the circle of men, he quickly saw his opportunity in the form of one fool who now held his gun particularly low. Leaping high in the air, he clung to the underside of the gun, careful not to advertise his presence. Staring, he quickly recognized the large, obvious clip, tucked snugly into position just about midway along the barrel. Making his way towards it rather smugly, and careful again not to nudge one of the man's hands, Legs thanked his good fortune once more.

Thank the Gods for stupid makers...nice large, obvious clip, too. Sacrificing stealth for firepower never was smart. All the better for me, I suppose...in fact, compared to disarming one of Jerin's guns, this'll be a cake walk...

Thinking of something just then, he peeked out from under the gun, counting the men he'd have to disarm. Fourteen.

Legs swallowed hard, calculating. He knew he could loosen the clip enough so it'd be about thirty seconds before it actually dropped. At least, that was his current record. That meant he'd have to have all fourteen clips loosened before the first one hit, because after that they'd drop like dominoes. So he had less than 2.2 seconds to spend on each before he had to move. He'd never done so many before, nor so quickly...he didn't think it was physically possible...in fact, he knew it wasn't possible. But he had to try and hope for the best. And it had to be now...he could already hear one of the men trying to tell Justin they needed to come with them again.

Maybe if Torn's carrying on loud enough they won't hear the first one drop...

He thought, as he started to loosen the clip grimly.

Oh yes, a cakewalk...a very fast cakewalk...

Torn nodded and kept up her little tantrum in hopes that their little plan would work. She kept trying to unleash a blast that could blind the guards but to no avail.

___________________________

A young man stood atop a building that overlooked the plaza. He could see several guards approaching Torn and the others she was with and he found it very amusing how she kept the guards at bay by basically throwing a tantrum. "It almost doesn't seem like you Torn but at least you're delaying them. Maybe I should throw my hat into the ring," He said, wielding a bright orange flame in his hand.

OOC: New character time!

Name: T.J

Age: 20

Description: Light black skin and silver hair. He has one green eye and one blue eye but they both turn red when he wields flames. He wears a black tank top, a black jacket with a white crescent moon on the back. He wears dark blue jeans and black and red tennis shoes. He wears a necklace with a crescent moon pendant.

Personality: A mysterious guy. He is very private and keeps to himself most of the time. He sometimes doesn't want to be bothered with people and rarely has any friends. He is friends with several people, including Torn who he adores. He can be a little cocky when he wields his flames. He is very kind and nice but prefers to show it only to people he cares about.

Natural abilities: Good with computers, very agile, packs a punch despite his thin frame.

Advanced powers: T.J can wield flames in his hands and can also wield lightning. He tires very quickly from his usage of his powers and prefers to use his sword (Or whatever weapon he carries at the moment)

Backstory: T.J is basically Torn's boyfriend (She doesn't know it though). They grew up together as childhood friends in a small village but T.J left the village to get a job in the city. He wants to save up enough money so he can move out to Keno and marry Torn. She doesn't know how much he likes her and thinks he's in love with another girl, Riku. (He's not but she pretends that they are together)

IC (again):

T.J noticed that some of the guards had began to lose patience with Torn and he frowned. "This could get ugly quickly. I doubt I can do much help because there are so many guards but maybe I can buy them some time," He said. He grabbed hold of a long rope that held up large flags over the plaza and he slid down.

Spiner gave a slight nod. "I don't trust them either," he had said. "But, this might be the only way to find out answers." His eyes shifted to the group leader, before back to the other two.

"By the way, the name's Spiner," he had said, his wings fluttering lightly, brushing away the remnants of the water.

"Let's get going," the leader had said. "Any questions you may have will be answered at our destination."

Spiner mentally sighed. Tonight was going to be a long night.

Some say that life is cheap in Basin City. That life is only worth the cost of the bullet that ends it. They're half right.

Alright, this is the correct floor. If the mole's all he's cracked up to be, this should be a snap.

The value of life varies, in truth. One person could be worth only a bullet, the other could be worth so much more.

The mole did good. Guard's right where he said he'd be.

For instance, the life of the policeman in front of the window on the 10th floor of a condemned tenament building was only worth about a bullet... or the length of fibre wire in Castor Troy's hands. The walkie-talkie in the policeman's hand crackled as his fellow officers checked in.

Good timing, the target's about five minutes away. This'll be the final check-in before the transfer.

The policeman in front of the sneaking form of Castor Troy checked in. Afterwards, he started whistling a quiet tune to pass the time, blissfully unaware of the sudden plummet of his life's value.

Just a few feet more...

Quick as a viper, Castor whipped the fibre wire around the front of the guard's neck and pulled it taut.

And another obstacle goes away...

Despite the callous way Castor calmly held the struggling policeman by the neck, there was no malice in his actions. This was no senseless killing, only murder as a means to an end. And the "end" in question was at the other side of the value spectrum: A single shackled man who'd be passing through, surrounded by armed guards. Castor didn't know his name, what he'd done or who he'd done it to. All he knew is that this man's life was worth $1.5 million to end.

And as the policeman's struggles faded along with his life, Castor knew that the only thing between him and his payday was a single bullet from the sniper rifle he stowed in one of the briefcases he'd carried with him. The other case contained what he called his "Things Go To Hell" case. An assortment of weaponry should things go to hell and he'd have to shoot his way out. A handy supplement to the silenced Sig P228 handgun he carried in the back of his pants. As the policeman expired, Castor rested him quietly to the ground and wound the wire back up. He quickly walked back towards the briefcases he'd set down by the stairwell door he'd used to enter the floor.

As he picked the cases up, he saw the room suddenly illuminate strangely. He looked toward the source and saw what looked like a ripping puddle of water hovering in midair. But the reflection was off. Instead of the darkened tenemant building Castor was in, a darkened alleyway was shown instead.

"...the hell?" Castor said, puzzled at the sudden anomaly in his usually normal world. The puddle quickly moved toward Castor, and before he had time to react, it enveloped him.

Castor regained his sight inside the alleyway he'd seen in the puddle, but the vertigo from suddenly shifting dimensions in a heartbeat overwhelmed him. Castor retched loudly before the darkness took him and he passed out.

OOC:
Name: Castor Troy
Species: Human
Age: 32
Description: 5'-11", lean and muscular male. A grim and gaunt face, topped with receeding short black hair. Normally wears a black business suit and pants, but no tie.
Personality: Very self-serving in his actions and motivations. Nihilistic and efficient, cold and calculating but detached enough to avoid being categorized as 'sadistic'. The only good things that can be said about him are that he has a fierce loyalty to whomever is employing him and will see things through until he dies or until the task is complete, and that he doesn't kill women or kids.
Abilities: Exceptional shot, good at improvisation. He carries a holstered silenced handgun at all times, and also has a small armament in the briefcases he carries with him.
Weaknesses: Bullets, of course, as well as a very cynical and off-putting attitude that prevents him from meshing well with others. Also, his trust follows money, so he only does the right thing if it will line his pockets in the process. No actual special powers or defense against special powers.
Backstory: Assassin-for-hire in Basin City, a city so frought with crime, violence and other sins that it's garnered the nickname 'Sin City' from everyone who's heard of it. Castor is a predator among predators, a man who keeps the nickname alive through his actions. His ability to take and handle pretty much any job under the absentee sun made him a popular choice for jobs that needed doing (despite his code angering parties who want him to exact some vengence inflicted upon them by the women of Old Town).

If the RP heads think this character might be a bit too grim, let me know. I can make necessary changes if needed.

OOC: Castor, I'll speak to Tergonaut when next I see him. Love Sin City, though, and love the idea of your character being involved...so perhaps Tergonaut should have final say, as I might be a little biased in your favor XD;

Justin wasn't entirely sure what was going on, and for that matter, things weren't looking exactly good. They were virtually surrounded by fourteen armed strangers who wanted to take them somewhere for no good reason he could see, Torn was freaking out about something (he had no idea what), and the bug had gone missing. Taking a deep breath to try and clear his head, the young hero began to make some hasty plans of his own. He didn't want this already testy situation to turn into an outright brawl, not with so many people around. Someone innocent might get caught in the crossfire, and he simply couldn't allow himself to take that risk. Besides that, he couldn't exactly do too much with the still unconscious echidna girl in his arms. In order to do any fighting he'd need to put her down somewhere safe. Could they fake a surrender and try and confront their captors later when they were in a less crowded area? Justin frowned. That still didn't solve the problem of his hands being full. Actual surrender was beginning to look less and less like an option and more and more like a reality. But he wasn't giving up. Not just yet, anyway. At present, he decided, the best thing he could do was keep their captors talking until he could think of a better plan, or decide what to do with the girl in his arms. And above all, he needed to get Torn to calm down. She was really starting to create a scene, and some of their more short tempered assailants didn't look so happy.

"Torn, what's wrong?"

The pointy eared girl continued to pace about, throwing her tantrum at anyone who would listen.

"I CAN'T DO IT! I JUST CAN'T DO IT! I WON'T!! DON'T TRY AND MAKE ME-"

"No ones making you do anything, girl. Just calm down, ok? It's ok, everything'll be alright."

"I CAN'T DO IT...SO DON'T TRY AND CALM ME DOWN..."

She shot a glance at the armed men, then looked back at Justin, winking quickly at him between her fingers.

At first he didn't get it...then it hit him. Torn was putting on...some sort of act, for some reason. Could it have something to do with the disappearance of their multi-legged companion? She HAD started to behave strangely shortly after he vanished...and the small insect didn't seem the type to just abandon his companion, who he'd displayed affection for on a very deep level, so...

It's some sort of distraction? Justin wondered. I don't know how the two of them could have worked the whole thing out...but I think she wants me to play along...

Shifting Cherry's weight in his arms again, he spoke in a voice he hoped sounded appropriately confused and overflowing with concern.

"Calm down Torn! Get yourself together!"

Justin continued to try and placate her alongside the rest of the men, though he wondered just how much longer the ruse could last.

He got his answer eight seconds later.

"What the-?!"

Directly to their right, the clip of a anthropomorphic weasel's gun suddenly dropped from it's slot, landing in a puddle with a loud splash. No sooner had this happened when the human next to him lost his clip as well, and the next, and the next, a virtual domino effect swinging through the circle, creating a wave of panic among their would be captors, until it reached its eleventh victim, and paused. The human holding the gun lifted it to examine the underside while the others scrambled on the ground, trying to save their loose ammo. He found Legs in the act of releasing his own clip, which hit a puddle, splashing him.

"WHY YOU LITTLE-"

He made a grab for the insect, but Legs jumped away, chittering angrily and landing on the next man's gun. Panicking, the human shook his firearm wildly, trying to throw the small insect off. The decipede held on as long as he could, but eventually he flew from the slippery surface of the gun, landing with a bounce upon the wet cobblestones. Ignoring the pain of impact, he turned, chattering hurriedly to Torn. She relayed his message to Justin.

"He said he disarmed all of them except for those three across from us, the eagle, the human with the dark hair and eyes, and the lizard...he wasn't quick enough..."

"You mean you can actually understand him?"

Before Justin could say anything else, the aforementioned dark haired human lunged forward, advancing on Legs as he got to his feet, shaking himself off.

"You little PEST!"

He took aim.

Torn could never really say why she did it. She wasn't particularly fond of insects. Any insects, really. She didn't even know Legs that well. But he had tried...he had tried so hard to help them. Even after he was discovered. And Torn didn't know much. But she knew she simply would not, could not, stand there and watch him die.

She heard Justin yell as she darted forward nimbly, scooping Legs to her chest.

The eagles's eyes widened, and he squawked at the human.

"Hold your fire!! You'll hit the hero!"

The man advanced on the girl, holding out his hand.

"Give it up, girly..."

Cupping Legs to her chest tightly, Torn trembled, but would not relent. The man growled, raising his hand as though to strike her.

"I've had JUST about enough of you!"

She glared up at him, Legs' angry chirps accompanying her next words.

"I don't care what you do to me. But I won't let you hurt him."

T.J let go of the rope and crashed into the eagle, knocking him to the ground. The dark haired human swung his weapon at him but he ducked it and jumped back. He wielded fire in his hands. "Why mess with them when you can get me?" He asked. He hoped to lead them away so Torn and the others could escape but he wasn't sure how the remaining guards would act.

OOC: Just a quickie OOC post to let y'all know I'm back from the weekend. I personally don't see a problem with your character, Castor, heck, Cherry's character Jerin's certainly grim/mature enough and I haven't received any complaints. Though I still prefer the slightly cinematic side of things, and I'd definitely prefer this thread not to become a solid string of PG13 posts (as some RPs are wont to do), having some grittiness added in to make things more complicated is welcome. That's why I made the provision that not all the characters have to be "heroes" - to allow for anti-hero and even villainous characters to join in, whether to be forced to join the group of heroes or whether to perhaps discover a new side of themselves and willingly assist in this endeavor. Just try to keep it from getting too graphic and I think it would fit in just fine.

I'd try to come up with a quick IC post for what's currently happening with Justin and co., but I think Torn can handle this one. I can't stay on much longer this early morning and can't post, so if Torn wants to go ahead, he's free to. After all, he's sort of left his new character hanging (nyuk nyuk ny-*mauled for bad pun*). I'll try to get back to posting later today.

EDIT: Whoops! Posted at the same time as Torn, thank goodness my post didn't matter that much. 😛 So there you go, I should be back to post around early evening time.

OOC: Cool then =) welcome to the play, Castor. And people think Jerin's grim? Whatever gave y'all that idea? =P j/k. But YES. Good times.

The real reason I'm here is just to note I have a mondo huge test thing to study for today, and I probably won't be on again until tomorrow night sometime, after this exam is over. So I leave it to you lovelies and your mad skillz to move everyone around and get things settled. Hope I did ok while you were gone Terg o_o GET JUSTIN SOME ACTION!

An' yes =3 pleasant somethings.

<3

OOC: Since some of the characters are being "caught" as we speak, it looks like about time to start bringing everyone to that point. If there's anyone currently wanting to join but hasn't gotten the gumption to yet, go right ahead. If you're waiting for a specific reason, then don't worry - there should be other points in the RP for you to join. Just try to wait patiently until we reach such a point, it will be awkward to keep track of if more characters join continuously throughout this adventure.

Now please, if anyone here feels left out or forgotten, please speak up and make yourself known because I'm having a hard time keeping track of everybody in all of their various locations. Also feel free to roleplay yourselves freely, don't necessarily wait for a post from Cherry or me if you feel like there's more that can be done. We'll handle big plot points for the most part, like when all the current heroes are gathered together to be briefed on the situation, but until everyone gets "captured" then it's free game. I'll try to provide stimuli here.

IC:
"Lilian, only a few of the heroes have been contacted successfully. Is there something wrong?"

"The heroes are resisting our efforts to bring them in," reported Lilian as she adjusted the headset. "There are a few of them being brought in as we speak, but most of the others have reacted badly to us. There is one group in particular that is especially resistant, they have somehow managed to virtually disarm the entire team that was set after them."

"We may have to resort to more drastic measures. Time is of the essence, Lilian - you should know that better than the others. It won't be long before the Kaiser realizes that we haven't been disbanded as he had thought."

Lilian's eyes closed as she leaned on the radio set, feeling awfully weary. "But what of the heroes, Sir? Won't they question our motives if we use the netguns?"

"That is a risk we shall have to take. Once we explain everything to them, then maybe they will see why we thought it worth that risk."

"Yes Sir," replied Lilian as she opened her eyes and stood up straight, adjusting the radio frequencies. She forced her voice to be strong now. "All units, this is Lilian. Due to resistance from the heroes, we must begin using netguns on ANY heroes who resist us. We didn't want it to come to this, but we don't have a choice if we're to stop the Kaiser once and for all."

I just hope those heroes understand after this is over, thought Lilian sadly as she stopped the general broadcast and sat down, waiting pensively for the next wave of reports to come in.

Awright, boys, time to break out the netguns, announced many of the team leaders, and they strapped their assault rifles to their backs while they reached for the smaller weapons they had strapped to their lower back. These weapons folded out like crossbows, their ammunition taking the form of baseball-sized spheres. Equipped with these weapons, given the direct order to use them on any hero that resisted capture, the combined forces under Lilians supervision began spreading out across the sections of the city where their trackers told them heroes were to be found.

The rain over head had lightened, and no longer was the fierce storm that had disabled their tracker devices. The heroes would soon be found.

T.J.! What are you doing here?! exclaimed Torn as she saw who her mysterious savior was.

No time for questions, Torn, just run! shouted T.J. as he threw a small spray of embers at the dark-haired human, forcing the human to drop and roll to avoid catching on fire. T.J. reached for his sword and raised it up in time to block another soldier who tried to swing his rifle as a weapon. RUN!

But-

Cmon, Torn, hes giving us our chance! If we dont run now then hes throwing away his life for nothing! shouted Justin as he began running for the edge of the pack of troopers. Truth was, he was getting tired fast from all this running around while carrying the girl in his arms, and even if he dropped the girl at that moment he wouldnt have enough strength to fight off an entire group of troopers. He was wondering why they hadnt just shot him and the others already, but apparently the mysterious assailants wanted them to be brought back alive.

Torn hesitated for another moment, but she was soon following Justin as fast as her feet could fly. Justin still didnt know what to make of this latest girl he had met, but she seemed to be smart enough. Heaven knew he was going to need all the help he could get.

Suddenly, the troopers on either side of him were pulling out new guns and leveling them at him. Torn, grab me around my neck! he ordered as he skidded to a halt. He was grateful that she didnt question the order and did as she was told, because what happened next required split-second timing. This was going to be risky, but it was their only chance...

He jumped into the air, the combined weight of Torn, the stranger in his arms, and legs all on his body.

The troopers fired their weapons simultaneously, the round shots aimed straight at them.

Through the strain of his leap against gravitys combined force, Justin smashed his heels together.

With a burst of power underneath him, he felt two forces push on him from above and below, feeling almost ripped apart though they were now flying above the line of troopers. He looked down and could make out through blurred eyes that the troopers had knocked themselves down, their bodies wrapped tightly in some kind of net. But just as fast as they had gone up, Justin could now feel himself being pulled back to the ground without any resistance, and he realized they were going to land hard.

Dang.

And land hard they did, Justin curling up and rolling to the side, the girl in his arms tucked carefully to avoid aggravating her injuries. Torn fell to the other side, hitting the ground with a thud that Justin knew had knocked the wind out of her. And as to where that bug was, it was anyones guess.

Justin tried to kick back up to his feet, but all he managed to do was get himself up halfway before falling down on his butt. He was too tired to do anything more as the troopers quickly surrounded him and Torn once again, firing their weapons. The net whipped around Justins body and scooped him inside, the girl still in his arms, and he was tightly constricted.

The temptation came for him to reach into the power inside his body, the power that could save them all from this terrible fate - but he could not bring himself to risk his secret here. Not yet. But he had not given up yet, though his body had failed him.

Run, Torn! shouted Justin with his last breath, and he laid quietly inside of the net, waiting to recover from the exertions of the last hour so he would be prepared for what would happen next.

OOC: Note for Torn, you can decided whether Torn and/or T.J. get captured, the choice is up to you.

"Nice to meet you.", Silver said to Spiner, as they started moving, "And unless my eyes were ripper out of my headwhen I went through that portal-thing, You're my old pal Cosmickid, havn't seen you in a bit.", Silver said to Cosmic, then sighed. "I wonder what they want with us anyway, they keep referring to us a heroes, so either they hate us and are the bad dudes, or the need us and are under very wierd orders.", Silver said to both of them.

Torn struggled to get up. It felt like a ton of bricks had fallen on her. The officers fired their guns and a net collapsed around her. She began to panic as they approached.

"Not so fast you idiots!" She looked up to see T.J rush into the crowd, flinging small fireballs everywhere to break up the crowd. She got out of the net and T.J smiled. "Get out of here Torn. I'll hold them off," He said. "I can't let you do that T! You already risked your life once for me!" She yelled. She also realized that changing T.J's mind was impossible once he had his mind set. She ran off and he smiled.

T.J turned to the officers and wielded fire in his hands. "Doesn't that impress you? Why go after these losers when you can have me? I might even volunteer to help your cause if you let them go," He said. He waited for doubt to form in their eyes and he attacked.

"My best guess would be the latter," the winged hedgehog replied, walking along with the plainsclothes. "I don't know about you two, but I can't think of anyone coming to mind on who would want to take me in. I don't even know where on Destiny I am."

"Destiny?" One of the eavesdropping plainsclothes spoke up.

Spiner nodded. "Yeah, our planet, you know?"

The leader chuckled. "Hey, hero, I got news for you. You're not in your world anymore."

Anyone who was watching the winged hedgehog's reaction would've seen his jaw drop. The others nodded in agreement, they knew. "Great... Just great." It was no wonder the HUD didn't know his location.

"Jackpot, man! We just hit the jackpot!"

"I dunno, he's dressed kinda funny and he's laying in a puddle of his own vomit. Sure he's got money, or maybe he just spent it all at the pub?"

Castor stirred slightly under the lessening rain, prompted back into consciousness by the bickering voices near him. His eyes flared open and he saw the sky, rain clouds starting to break away. He was about to sit up when...

"Course he's got money, Reggie! He's got these two suitcases!"

Castor thought better of it and continued to play possum until he could clear the cobwebs out of his head. It'd be easier to handle whoever's pawing through his stuff without the disorientation of suddenly waking up in an unfamiliar alleyway.

"How do you know there's money in there! There could be clothes or somethin'. The hell are we gonna do with a man's clothes?"

"Sell them at the pawn shop! Jesus, Reggie, do I gotta do all the thinkin' for you? Now here, help me open these cases up."

"So close to the alley entrance? What, you want the cops to see you mugging this guy?"

Castor rolled his eyes as he listened to the bickering. A pair of hoodlums, no idea what they were doing. The lump in his pocket assured him that they'd missed his wallet, while the uncomfortable lump in the small of his back reassured him that they hadn't found his piece... but they'd find it soon, as soon as...

"Fine, Reggie. Let's go to my apartment and sort through these. Now go search his pockets before he wakes up."

As soon as right now, it'd seem. Castor closed his eyes, making believe that he was still in the grip of the little death. He heard the footsteps get gradually closer and then stop right next to him. He waited until he felt the soft tugging at his pants pocket before he sprung, wrapping his legs around the would-be mugger and whipping him face-first to the ground. Instant KO. Castor quickly got to his feet and get his first look at them.

The one that was taking an unexpected nap was a normal human in old-time clothes, but Castor was surprised by the other: a human-sized rat waving a switchblade at him. Castor had seen many things in his travels, met and killed some of the strangest people he'd ever seen. There was little left in the world that could surprise Castor Troy, but somehow he'd just been served two very surprising things right in a row. Kinda reassuring, in an odd way.

"S-stay back, m-m-man!" the ratman stuttered at Castor, bringing him back from the surprise. "I-I'll gut ya if ya c-c-come any closer."

"The hell are you?" Castor replied as he advanced toward the oversized rodent. "Some kinda freak?"

"Who you callin' freak, pal? I'll cut ya, I swear!" The ratman threatened as Castor stepped closer. "C'mon Reggie, get up! Reggie!" Castor stepped forward again and the ratman finally decided it was time to make good on his threats. He lunged toward Castor...

And the next thing the ratman knew, Castor had him in a chokehold with his own knife pressed against his throat. He suddenly felt something press against the back of his head, something circular and cold.

"Now here's the way it's gonna happen," Castor hissed through clenched teeth. "You're gonna tell me things that I wanna know. If you don't, you die. Try to escape by going forward and you'll slice yourself a new smile with your own blade. Try to escape by going backward and I'll blow your head off. Try to go left or right and I'll do both. Get me?"

The rat nodded, whimpering. "Now, where the hell am I?"

"N-N-Notopia."

"Notopia?" Castor searched his brain. "Never heard of it."

"What? It's the capital city of the Empire? How could you not have heard of it?"

"Humor me, freak," Castor growled as he tried to think of what else he needed to know. He needed a hub of information, where the people who really knew what was going on went to. In his experience, there was only one place like that, and that was... "Which way to the closest bar?"

"Bar? Uh... um... oh yeah, the Ye Olde Inn's just a couple blocks that way!" the rat said as he jerked his thumb over his shoulder. Castor followed it back until he could see what lay outside the alley in his peripheral vision. It was like Camelot and some city out of a pulp sci-fi comic had collided. This place is just getting weirder and weirder...

"Look," the ratman continued. "I know my way around here. I can take you there. Hell, I'll even buy ya a drink! Just let me go..." Castor considered just ending his life right then and there, but he was a stranger in a strange land, and it probably wouldn't be smart to leave a trail of dead bodies until he got his bearings here.

"Nah, don't think I'll be taking you with me," Castor said as he diverted the knife away from the rat's throat and clubbed him on the back of the head with his pistol. He closed the rat's switchblade and pocketed it as he holstered his gun in his pants. He bent down over the unconscious body of the rat and searched his pockets. "But I will take you up on that free drink," he said as he pulled a couple pieces of paper that looked like money out of the pocket. "Jackpot." Castor did the same to the human he'd knocked out earlier and got a couple more bills before walking over to his briefcases and picking them up.

Got my gear back, got some local currency... alright, time to figure out what the hell this place is and how I can get back to Basin City, Castor thought as he walked out of the alley and in the direction the hoodlum had pointed.

As the rain started to fizzle out, leaving only a few dark clouds in the sky. Blu wrenched his jacket to try and get rid of some of the rain that had waterlogged his jacket.

"Gah, this isn't how I expected to spend my afternoon." Blu mumbled as he put his jacket back on, all the while thinking about how the heck he could get back home. The best thing he could probably do is ask around. But he wasn't too sure who to ask, or who to trust...

It wasn't too long before he could hear the soldiers voices again. And they seemed pretty confident as they marched down the street. Blu figured he wouldn't be able to outrun these guys forever. He had to come up with a plan...

"There! Up there!" one of the soldiers shouted, while pointing directly at Blu. There wasn't anywhere to run this time. "Time to try a different approach..."

With that thought in mind, Blu jumped down from the roof in one mighty leap and landed in front of the guards.

"That's definetlty him! That's one of the heroes!"

"Heroes eh? what do you want with me?"

"We are not at liberty to say yet, please come with us so we can explain to you what is going on here."

"And if I refuse" Blu added, in a sarcastic tone.

"There are ways..." The lead soldier patting his gun at the end of his reply.

Blu sighed. "Fine. Lead the way. But don't touch me. I hate being touched."

So with that, the guards just nodded and escorted Blu through the town, not saying a word.

"Well, there's a surprise, it seems that not everyone wants me dead" Blu thought. Desperate to raise a smirk to his comment, but concluded unwise, being surrounded with amred soldiers and all...

Claire grumbled once again, her ears lowered, and her hair plastered to her face. The team leader had said something about going to a town and regrouping with the others. What others, the vixen had no idea...

Kristi sighed, eyelids drooping, constantly fighting the urge to fall asleep right in the middle of the team formation around them. Wearily she moved her bangs away from her eyes, glancing around at the stern faces of the men and women who had insisted on making it to a nearby town. No longer did the cold droplets of rain keep her awake and refreshed.....it just made Kristi even more tired.

"Almost there ladies."

The twins looked up at the bear, who had identified himself as Luke, Team Leader Five. Kristi adopted a hopeful expression, one that looked a little more alive due to the nearness of a town and a chance to get out of the rain. An agitated look made its way onto Claire's face, which went unoticed by the whole team.

Growling, she muttered, "This better be good...I hate rain.....I HATE getting wet........"

Justin Hobbes.

Cherry O' Kidna stood straight as an arrow within the brightly lit shower, arms held slightly away from her sides, pretty face and palms turned upwards, towards the torrent of water pouring down on her from an ornate shower head. Puffs of steam like great mounds of cotton candy billowed and swirled around her body, caressing it playfully, and her long hair now hung smooth as silk down her back, fragranced lightly with the exotic scent of moonflowers. She flinched every now and again, but other than that she paid her discomfort no mind. Her eyes were closed, and her thoughts were inwardly focused, as she meditated on all she had learned from Clarice thus far and on what Legs had re-counted to her of their situation.

Legs said...his name was Justin Hobbes.

She drew in a deep breath.

A human named Justin Hobbes watched over me when I was unconscious. He tried to take me somewhere safe, to make certain no one would harm me.

She opened her vibrant blue eyes slightly, fat, shimmering droplets of water plipping and plopping down her long lashes.

And one of the fairy folk saved Legs' life. A girl with long blue hair, called Torn. He said there was another one as well, a boy with dark skin...T.J. He fought the guards while Justin and Torn tried to escape...

Lowering her head, Cherry ran her good hand through her hair, absently checking for knots she had untangled many minutes ago. Her brows were drawn together in concern.

These three people performed very brave and dangerous acts on behalf of I and my companion...I hope they weren't injured. In any case, before I attend to anything else I must find them so I can thank and reward each. If Legs was correct, they should all be nearby, unless they've been moved somewhere else-

Startled as a thick streak of bright yellow cut across her thoughts, Cherry turned to the shower door, peering through the frosty glass at the counter where her sword sat.

Luminos...? What's wrong...?

Turning the water off quickly, the echidna wrung her hair out, stepping from the shower and tying a clean white towel around her body. She could hear shouting now, which sounded very close...from the other room, even!

Alarmed, she took up Luminos, pulling the bathroom door open and bolting into the bedroom. Puzzled, Legs hopped from his own bath within a small cup on the counter, dripping and leaping after her.

Peering cautiously around the bedroom door, Cherry frowned, flicking her wet bangs aside with a claw. At the end of the hallway, she could see what looked like a human in a black business suit...though his back was to her, she was at such an angle that she could see he had Clarice at gunpoint. He was yelling angrily at the frightened vixen, but he also sounded dazed and confused. Preoccupied. Definitely preoccupied. Taking this into account, Cherry adjusted Luminos over her left shoulder and dashed silently down the hall, Legs bounding nervously at her side. After a time he leapt on to her shoulder, shivering, though more from worry than cold.

Light footed as she was, Cherry slowed a bit as she entered the room to avoid detection, and gathering all the strength she could muster, leapt over the couch, drawing her sword with a loud shing!

"What the-?!"

The human whirled to face her, but the echidna didn't intend to give him the chance to act. Wrapping her right arm around his neck, she pressed Luminos' keen, deadly edge firmly against his throat. He struggled for a few seconds, then stilled, swallowing as she pressed the edge of her blade more insistently into his neck. Perched firmly atop the couch cushions, she held him in this way until his breathing slowed, and he seemed calmer. After a few minutes she spoke softly, her voice without a trace of malice or contempt. On the contrary, it was quite soothing and kind.

"Shhhh...don't move. There's a good lad...you're ok."

He started to speak, but she shushed him, whispering calmly in his ear.

"Shhhh...hold off...lets start easy. My name is Cherry O' Kidna. Might I ask your name?"

The man didn't answer her for a moment...then he spoke, though he sounded somewhat out of it, almost drugged.

"Castor...Castor Troy."

"Castor Troy, I see. Well met, Sir Castor...have you met Clarice? She's the vixen you've got a hold of there."

"MET her??? I don't even know where I am, and she came at me with-"

"Shhhhh...you're getting excited again. It'll be ok...we'll get everything sorted out. But I'd like you to meet Dr. Clarice Tymmarron. Clarice, this is Mr. Troy."

Clarice stuttered, still frightened, but somewhat more at ease with Cherry in the room.

"A-ah...it's...it's nice to meet you, Mr. Troy..."

"Of course it is. Now that we're all more or less acquainted, lets get right to business, as I'm sure all of us are getting very uncomfortable. I don't believe Clarice wants you to kill her, Mr. Troy-"

"-I really don't..."

Cherry nodded, continuing in a gentle voice.

"See? She doesn't. And I myself don't want to kill you. If I had wanted to kill you, you'd already be dead. So the final question is this: do you really want to kill Clarice? I can't say I'd understand why, havin' just waltzed in and not really havin' the full story an' all, but I will say this. If you're tryin' to get some information out o' the good doctor, I think there are more polite ways of doing so. And if you're in some sort of trouble and you're taking it out on her, just take a deep breath and calm yourself. I promise to do what I can to help you as soon as I'm dressed, and I promise I won't let anything happen to you."

Her next words were sad and forlorn, but resolved.

"And if you're simply here because you were sent to kill her, well...I hate violence and I hate killin' people...but Miss Clarice has been very kind to me, and she doesn't strike me as a bad sort. She doesn't deserve to die. So whatever she's done to you, if anything, if you're here with the intention of killin' her, and only that, I'm afraid I have no other choice but to end yer life. So you have two choices, Mr. Troy: you can hand that gun to Miss Clarice, who doesn't want to hurt you or be hurt by you, and we can all sit down and talk about it, or you can shoot her and I can arrange for you to get a little more intimate with Luminos here."

She angled her sword a little.

"Your choice, mate..."

Torn noticed the young man running alongside her with short brown hair and a brown trenchcoat. She wanted to talk to him but wasn't much in the mood while running for her life. "Listen, if they are both after us, maybe we should split up and try to lose them. What do you think?" She asked.

OOC: Not much from me but my creative process is sort of burnt out after wasting too many hours on one pic...

Castor seethed with anger as Cherry whispered her warnings to him. His disorientation was wearing off, pushed aside for the rage he felt at that moment. Rage at being kidnapped, at being thrown somewhere unfamiliar, at letting himself be ambushed, at being at the mercy of these... things.

"Your choice, mate..." she whispered as the sword angled closer to his throat. Castor continued to hold the gun against the vixen's head, despite Cherry's insistance to not do so.

"Choice? What choice?" Castor snarled. "Way I see it, I don't have much of a choice in this matter, since either way I'm winding up a corpse. Either you curve me a new smile now or your people torture me later. Yeah, great freakin' choice."

"You think I'm a murderer, Mr. Troy? Like I said, had I wanted you dead, I'd have finished you by now." Cherry calmly intoned into his ear. "And I'm pretty sure they don't mean to torture you, given your surroundings. This room doesn't look like a very good room to do it in. Too comfy." Her voice was soft and settling, but Castor was still in a bad state of mind for negotiations.

"And if I was a murderer, I'd have put two in her long before you showed up. Doesn't prove anyth..."

"See?" Cherry interrupted Castor. "Now we're getting somewhere. We're both not murderers." Cherry smiled. "Good to know we have a little somethin' in common." Castor grumbled in response, the idea dawning on him that he'd be better off playing along with them. Maybe turn this lose-lose situation into something he can win. Better to play it cool. Better to get the information. Better to know what's going on. Besides, I can just shoot my way out when their guard drops.

"She has information I need," Castor said in a calmer tone. "I need to know things: where I am, why I'm here, who and what they are..."

"You asked her awfully hard. Bit too hard, I think. 'Sides, I think the poor girl's had enough weapons pointed at her today."

"Fine, I'll ask nicer this time." Castor said as he moved the gun away from Clarice's head and uncocked the hammer. "So, you gonna keep your blade on my neck while I ask, or do I get to breath without worrying about getting a new hole in my throat?"

Major Scorpion Knight

Real Name: Vass Knight

Species: Human

Gender: Male

Age: Physicaly apears to be 25. Actualy he is only 5

Description: 6'3'' tall and very well build he looks like a competent soldier above all else. Hazel-Green eyes and brown hair that are short (they used to be longer, but were burned short in a battle).

Knight wears a black, almost skin tight, uniform that's tentaviley called a "Sneaking Suit" - that Suit is a very advanced combat suit that combines Unstable Molecules technology (the same type that the Fantastic Four and the X-MEN are using) and a layer of nano-machines (no-where near as advanced as the ones found in Terg's omnisuit). That nanos only help repair the fabric and serve to help in the healing of injuries.

Personality: Knight seems friendly and outspoken and seems to hold respect for fellow warriors but above all he is a professional soldier. He also has a weird sense of humor and has been noted to possess an uncanny knack for shifting between a 'Somber philosopher' outlook to 'jack-the-lad' wise cracker in the middle of a mission. Part of that is actualy intentional since Knight often attempts to lighten the mood after intense events to help his comrades 'keep it together' and remain focused. One might even go as far as to say he is inspiring thanks to his good empathetic insticts.

Abilities: Knight doesnt seem to have any special powers. He is however an extremely capable soldier specializing in the use of tactical weapons, guerilla warfare, stealth tactics, and a veritable master of CQC - Close Quarters Combat; a fighting technique developed for use by modern soldiers and is all about judo and knives and guns and is all Special Forcesy
He also has a guns-fetish.

Weaknesses: Nothing specific. However skilled, he is just human - and that alone could be considered a weakness. It is apparent however that he would do everything in his power to protect his lover, Camden Bayfield, from harm, and that could - in theory - be use against him.

Backstory: Knight is the Clone of Mobius TetherBlood - one of the MFW Admins. He is aware that he IS a clone, but it is unlikely that he knows who his genetic original is.

Developed to be the perfect soldier - in essense a living thinknig weapon, Knight became free when the corporation that created him was shut down. Knight is now a member of Special Operations National Inteligence Collaboration - a special taskforce of Sega City in the MF World - an outfit that Justin Hobes also holds membership in.

He was promoted in the rank of Major after the events of Group Mission Inferno - and has since been romanticaly involved with his teamate; Camden Bayfield.

IC Intro later today.

OOC: I probably won't get to post until late tomorrow. After sixish, I'm thinking. Homeworks coming up, and it needs attending to before anything else I'm afraid =/ I've got the next post pretty much entirely written though, I just have to finish and edit it. I just don't think I'll get around to it today. Sorry everyone x_x

Part 1: The Search

Outskirts of Sega City

Vass Knight felt the breeze of the afternoon air on his face as he sped through the highway that leads out of Sega City, on his motorcycle.

After exiting the borders of the sprawling metropolis he touched a button on his OpComm (Operation Communicator; think of it as a cross betwen a RADIO and a PDA) and established communication with HQ.

"Jack, this is Knight. I'm heading towards the target site - wanna tell me what this is all about?"

"Being assigned on an afternoon mission beats being awoken in the wee hours of the morning - eh, Vass?" Jack Reeves' voice - Commander of SONIC - rang in Knight's earpiece.

"I'm not complainin'." Knight smiled. "You mentioned this is an investigation mission."

"Correct."

"Hope it's not gonna deteriorate like the last Investigation I had... I dont need another Inferno right now."

"Heheh - Dont worry. This apears to be more routine than a serious threat. It could be nothing more than a communications devise mualfunction."

Knight sped up and passed by a police car. "So, what am I looking for?"

"Who - might be a better question. You are looking for a man."

"So this is a rescue mission?"

"At the moment - no. But it might be turned into one."

"Right. So, who's the VIP?"

"Justin Hobbes."

"What?!" Knight yelled as he made a sharp turn to get out of the highway and into a nearby forest.

"You heard me.

"A SONIC Operative gone missing? What was he working on?"

"He was working on a non-SONIC operation with Administrator Vector as his support. He was to search some nearby ruins for renegade droids of some sort - Vec didn't elaborate much on that. However, upon the apparent completion of the objective, Mr. Hobbes dissapeared. Vector said that his last transmission stated something about a portal - so it is speculated that he may have entered into a teleportation field of some sort."

"A portal, huh? So then, how come we dont ask the Templar to handle this? This looks more like up TBlood's alley."

"Oh, you know TBlood."

"Lemme guess - he is unavailable at the moment."

"Well, Administrator TetherBlood is a bussy man. He is not even on this dimension at the moment."

"Right - so what are my orders?"

"Investigate the ruins where Mr. Hobbes dissapeared and report back to HQ. That is all for now."

"Gotcha. I'm already closing in. I'll talk to you later. Knight, out."

Knight's bike continued on towards the designated position. After about 40 mins of driving, Knight had finaly reached the entrance to the underground ruin.

He only spent a few moments to check in with HQ and then proceeded for some extensive spelunking. Exploring the dungeon without a map would take well over a day for Knight - but fortunately his OpComm was updated with a map of the ruins (which was thanks to Justin's expedition earlier the same day). So, a process that would take over 20 hours was completed in about 6. However, Knight didn't find anything of great interest with the exception of some robotic remains - and many, many walls adorned with strange hieroglyphics and oddly familiar murals.

It was however an extensive excersise - and extensively tiresome at that. When Knight finaly crawled out of the claustrophobic structure he sat on the ground and leaned on a nearby ancient wall. He took out a cigarette and smoked it in an attempt to relax and rest a little.

After this was done he decided it was time to report back to Commander Jack. HQ seemed dissapointed that Knight hadn't discovered anything useful - but it seemed to Knight that the zero results of his search were not unexpected.

Finaly calling it a day, Knight hops back on his bike and takes the long way home. His primary thoughts now was getting back on the HQ Tower, finish up his report and head back home to see Camden - and ask her how was her day for he had heard that she too was sent for a routine mission of a different sort.

These were the thoughts that dominated Knight's mind. As a soldier he was prepared for an attack at any time. On a theoretical level that means he was could react to something odd even now.

On a theoretical level.

On the practical level, Knight didn't so much as blink when an a portal of some sort opened right before him - not having the time to hit the breaks; Knight drives right through the portal.

----

Part 2: The Alien World

Knight hits the breaks to stop from crushing into a wall. He quickly jumped off his bike and drew his weapons - his gun and knife - and looked around for any attacker.

Much to his surprise no one seemed to attack him. Surveying his surroundings he deduced that he was in an urban enviroment of some sort. And in a back alley at that.

However, this was unlike any city he had seen before, he soon realised as he walked out of the alley to take a look at his current location.

The city was an odd mixture filled with elements both technological and clearly mediaval.

Knight HAD heard of worlds that combined elements of Magic and science and seemed a cross beten the future and the past - but he had never SEEN such a place.

"Look's like we're not in Cansas anymore, Totto." he whispered to himself as he sheathed his weapons.

He took out his OpComm only to have his suspicions confirmed: Whereever he was, the OpComm was evidently out of reach from the Sattelite system. He was in another dimension - another world. It was a no-brainer for him.

"Riiight..." He continued talking to himself. "No reason to panic - I've been in worst situations in the past... Justin. I have to find Justin. That portal just couldn't be just a coincidence. If I'm here, then so should he. But where to look for him?"

Knight looked around - he saw the streets and decided he would use them to scour the city. It was unlikely he'd happen to bump onto Justin that way - but it was likely to draw attention from the locales - and THAT might give him a clue.

"Damn... not another wild goose chase." He muttered under his breath as he hopped back on his cycle and begun skimming through the roads of this alien world.

Little did he know that he was being watched by a devise of some sort...

TBC...

OOC: Irrelevant starting post 😀

Camden Bayfield

Real Name: Sailor Bayfield

Species: Sailorness Infected Human

Gender: Male

Age: 20 Years Old. Has been Sailor for 3 years.

Description: 5'11'' medium sized, slim and slightly built in muscle. She has shortish red hair and bright blue eyes.

Personality: Camden
's personality
is very hard to nail down with words, because she suffers a mild case of schizophernia, which is just complicated by the fact that she does, infact have two alternate personalities who actually exist. Most of the time she tries to remain cool, calm and sensible, and can do a very nice job of it. Alas, she has a short fuse and is often too caught up in her own personal drama that she alienates herself from everyone else. Camden Bayfield: Basket Case of the MoFo.

She's really nice though, especially now she's got some stability in her life from latching onto Knight.

Abilities: Camden is no way near as skilled as her partner, however she has learned all of his combat skills in the 5 months between missions. Her main strength certainly comes from her strong and long legs, which have sent many a soldier flying unconcious to the ground. Weapons wise, she tends to prefer brawling (though, thanks to Knight, she at least has some style to her mindless rampages now), however SONIC have issued her with two Stun-Batons, which offer great protection, without killing anyone. Which is a feature Camden was all too happy about.

She has mild psionic powers, but has never honed them, nor overly cares about them. Though they have been known to get destructive if she is having a fit, or is asleep.
This is a control issue she refuses to face.

Weaknesses: Camden's weakness is herself. She's completely unbalanced and also easily manipulated. Her unwillingness to kill has also caused problems in the past. Overal, she has no physical weakness, but her lack of strength makes up for it.

Backstory: Camden has had a rough life. How she came into this world, or how things turned out the way they did, is a question she couldn't answer even if she did decide to face it some day. All she knows is that in his 17th year of life, Craig Bayfield became Sailor Bayfield. Some kind of spell gone wrong, or maybe an affect of the virus, or something even more worrying, had prevented her from returning to the male form, and thus Camden Bayfield was born, seeking refuge in the Sailorness District, the young scout tried to make a life for herself, distancing herself from the previous life. Trying to start afresh.

For 2 whole years she managed to live in realitive peace. Alas, some things are never meant to last. Sometime during her time in the district, her two alter-egos, Craig and Stressed Bayfield had become their own beings. It was once Craig went missing, that things started to go crazy, and she found herself strung along on the Inferno mission, in November 2004.

After the mission, Camden found new love in Vass "Scorpion" Knight, the SONIC agent who lead them in the war against Pyroclad's army. She also gained a personal ghost in Stressed Bayfield, a dark and very intellegant varation of Craig, who is trying to force Camden to face some parts of her psych she would rather leave alone.

In the past 5 months, she has settled down, but has changed in her time with Knight, and serving as a SONIC agent. She's stronger and more steady than the shaky young girl she was 5 months ago, but still carries alot, if not, more of the troubles she did back then.

-

IC:

5 months ago

Camden watched the numbers slowly trail down on the display screen of the elevator. Her heart was still pounding from all the chaos that she had gone through in the past few hours. It felt like a dream already, as she decended from the SONIC headquaters based in HQ Tower - or what remained of it. The mission was finally over, despite some injuries to both body and mind, she had made it out in one piece, and was ready to go back to life as normal. Well, maybe not totally as normal, but the nearest one could get, after treading through the fires of hell.

The elavator shuddered to a stop and the bell rang, Camden instinctively snapped her head around in a blaze of paranoid suspision. After a moment her muscles relaxed from their tensed state and she strolled out of the building, breathing in and out deeply, and being thankful that she wasn't ambushed by her "personal demon" as she was the last time she rode that elevator alone.

As she strode out into the dim redness of the early morning sun, she let out a deep sigh of relief, and picked up a stride to take her back to normality.

'And what will you do when you get there?' came a strong yet caring voice from behind, the sailor didn't need to turn around to disern the identity of it's owner, instead she stopped, just a pace ahead of the crawling flow of Sega City's crater-filled and battle-worn streets.

'Do you think you can go back to a normal life, after all you've done. All you've been through?' Knight continued, approaching her with small steps 'Do you still need to hide yourself away, stare at the morning sky each day and convince yourself that you're living life to the fullest because you're dull enough to sit down look at the sky and think it's a life' his tone became less serious and more somber at this point, clearly indicating he was speaking from personal experience 'normal people don't understand people like us, Cammy. The battlefield changes you, the thrills, the tension... the killing' he paused for the desired effect from Cammy, who's head sank down 'Nothing out there can recreate that, and once you've spent a long enough time in the fire, it's hard to go back to the cold' the soldier placed a hand on each arm and lowered his head to meet her ear 'But, you can stay here, in the warm... with me.'

Camden closed her eyes and considered her options. Life as a waitress, trying to build a life from nothing and being proud of each little nothing she achieved. Or sharing a dangerous and exciting life with the man she had grown to love.

-

Present Day - several hours before Knight's search mission on the Ruins

'and you think she's ok to be going on this mission?' Jack asked, pacing behind Knight, who was fully decked out in his sneaking suit and leaning on one hand against a door.

'Better than ok. She's been having health problems like this since she signed up. Always goes away when she's on the field. 100% guarantee.' the soldier replied, in a light hearted tone, which most soldiers could never deal to their supreriors unless they were long friends as Jack and Vass.

'I'm sure that might be the case. But I'm afraid I cannot accept a risk like this' Jack continued, trying to maintain a bit of authority, given the ridiculous situation.

'GO AWAY!' Camden growled, in a woosey voice on the other side of the door 'I'll be fine in a minute'

'Honestly, Vass. If you've not been using protection and this is morning sickness, I'm going to be very angry at you both' Jack stated, in a startlingly straight-faced and serious manner.

'Not that it is any damn bussiness of yours what I do in bed, but no - nothing like that. Cammy's like this from time to time. I promise, it'll be fine when she's on the job' Knight insisted, keeping a casual and relaxed tone, 'She gets pretty strong headaches, which don't seem to go away unless she's keeping herself active' he explained 'Come on Cammy, get your rear in gear'

After the sound of flushing water, the Sailor emerged from the toilet, looking pretty worse for the wear, 'Alright... I'm fine now... what's my mission' she murmured, sickly, not catching the disapproving glance Jack was giving her partner.

'Jack here thinks your pregnant' Knight gested, causing the Sailor's eyes to bulge into a miracle of awareness, stamina and vitality, 'See, she's fine!' Knight laughed

'HE SAID WHAT!?!' Camden screamed, in a trademark eruption.

'Now. Usually it isn't SONIC policy for it's agents to run off during briefing. If you feel you're ok for a mission, please pay attention or go home and recover. One or the other' Jack said, walking along.

Soon the trio found themselves sitting in the briefing room, again, watching the screen showing a slide of the harbour area of Sega City.

'Anyway' Jack continued, trying to regain dignity and authority 'Camden, you are to infiltrate a warehouse, in the Sega City harbour which we believe is going to be the base of a mafia group, consisting of trolls'

'Trolls, sir?' Camden asked, trying to focus, despite her buzzing headache.

'Indeed. Organised crime is a real hazard when it comes to handing out bannings and arrests, as they tend to stay out of the admins reach, and boast stay spotlessly clean'

'Pretty impressive, for trolls' Knight commented, causing a stiffled laugh from his partner.

'Yes, quite. However, we are aware of a DATA-disk which may contain some incriminating evidence which could clean up another area of the mafia circle which should make the city just a little bit more safe'

'Am I allowed to rough them up abit, at all' Camden asked, in a genuinely sincere voice '...sir!' she added, as quickly as she could, as an afterthought.

'If the situation calls for it...' Jack sighed, knowing full well what Camden's track record was for foes that she was allowed to "rough up"

-

Sunset

'HIIII-YAAAAAAAAAAA!' Camden screamed, as her foot connected to the final troll's jaw, sending it flying into a pile of crates stacked up in the dusty and unused warehouse.

Knight was right, the headache just vanished in the excitement of a good fight, and all her stress and worries seemed to be so much less troubling when she was blasting a punk thug with uncountable volts of electricity from her Shock-Batons.

Creaking her neck and sighing blissfully from the newfound euphoria that post fighting brought to her mind, Camden casually danced across the warehouse, humming to herself as she looked for the disk that she had been sent to retrieve.

'HQ, this is Camden. I've taken care of the trolls, and am currently searching for the disk' she reported, over her OpComm.

'Excellent Camden. I hope you didn't hurt them too much' the responce came, from Jack back at SONIC headquaters.