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Post by Jisui on Jun 4, 2013 22:25:54 GMT -5
"..." Ciel silently listened while the two of them spoke, her mind quickly putting together what she had just learned. The fact that they were in another dimension was obvious. This place... Sanctuary, was clearly foreign to each and every one of them. However... a dimensional rift had brought them here? She was no expert in the field of dimensional theory, but rifts to another plane did not merely open on a whim. Time and space didn't just open itself randomly, unless you were someone skilled in the 2nd Magic, like Zelretch. Or did it...? Was there something going on that she didn't understand?
As Hellboy finished his story, she felt a silence pass over the group, as if expectant for her version of the story. Sighing lightly, the mediator rubbed her temples with her fingers, as if a migraine was about to emerge. Honestly, she didn't really want to associate herself with these people very much. If she was back at home, the Burial Agency would have killed her for even speaking to creatures like Hellboy. Then again, the Burial Agency was essentially filled of monsters themselves, so perhaps that point was moot. And they did give her information at any rate. There was no harm in giving it back.
"...My own story is similar to that of the demon." She finally spoke, gesturing to Hellboy with her offhand casually. "For months, the Church in my dimension had been detecting massive spikes in prana throughout various locations, as well as strange sightings of creatures we had never seen before." She muttered, thinking of the information that Merem had tipped her off about. Truthfully, she had been bluffing somewhat when she said she was still a member of the Church. When he had died, both the high school senior of Misaki High, and the cold mediator of the Burial Order had also died. She didn't abandon the Church, she just... wandered. Wandered the earth, and wondered what she was doing. She was essentially just a member of the Burial Order in name only. The last time she had contact with them was several months ago, ignoring any and all attempts to reach her.
"They were alien-like quadrupeds that attacked anything, from animal to human on sight... a similar rift was detected near Misaki City, the area where I'm based, so I went to go observe it and..." The mediator froze, recalling the events vividly in her mind. She was just going to observe it. Nothing more, nothing less. She shouldn't have been here, in the first place. So why then, looking at the swirling maelstrom of energy displacing the air, did she walk through?
In front of her, was uncertainty. Behind her, was a city with memories of him.
He was gone, and everyone she had known in this city was gone. There were no more undead in the city, no trouble, no conflict. Only a hazy pain that made it difficult to think straight, and a dull husk of a body that just responded to the thoughts of killing, and living. Kill. Live. That was her purpose now, and nothing more.
So when she went to go observe it, it was natural that she stepped through. Because Ciel, the high school student, and Ciel, the executor of the church both died, there was nothing left. Nothing to lose, but something left to gain. She'd find out what was going on, at the very least.
"...Nothing came out, so I went in to observe the other side. That's all there was to it." She finished, expression emotionless as she turned away from the two of them. "Now, where is the Sanctuary you spoke of?"
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Post by Advix on Jun 4, 2013 23:47:22 GMT -5
"...That's about all there is to it," the knight said to the red haired man as they approached the glistening citadel in the middle of nowhere. "The rifts are being formed by someone's meddling, and the Witch has amassed an army of people from across dimensions to combat this. This place is protected from the spontaneous rifts, which means that whatever brought you here brought you for a reason. Whether it was her or not is to be seen." The knight gave a quick glance behind them, and found Piccolo talking with the others. "Any other questions you want to ask?" he continued.
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Post by Greed on Jun 5, 2013 20:51:49 GMT -5
-Zelos-
"Hold up... based on your story, something doesn't add up here." Something smelled rotten, honestly, "If what you're saying about that lady is true, there's no way it would have been her; monsters were coming out of these portals. And then they lead here...?" Zelos shook his head, automatically becoming suspicious of the whole scenario.
"Sounds to me like someone else wants me here... and probably those other guys. Anyone else show up with this story before? Least something similar? I mean, I know I'm a desirable man and all, but inter-dimensional travel, man, that's a bit extreme." Honestly, he'd kinda filled up on enough weirdness over his life so far that this was... yeah.
"...So... you got a name, guy? Name's Zelos. Zelos Wilder."
-Satsuki-
"Ah... " The awkward vampire girl looked to Aika, then to Archer and back, not really making eye contact with either of them, "My name's Satsuki. Nice to meet you, Aika..." Satsuki remained silent for a long, drawn out and fairly awkward moment after that, glancing back and forth nervous. What was that saying about old habits...?
"O-Oh! Was there something you needed, Aika?" It was odd still, speaking to people so normally again. Then again, most of the people she had met at the sanctuary weren't really normal themselves...
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Post by Tokrochiru on Jun 5, 2013 21:59:48 GMT -5
"So you went in of your own initiative. That takes guts," Piccolo said after listening to their explanations. "That doesn't explain how you ended up here though. As I said, this place has safeguards against random dimensional entry. Either something deliberately brought you here...or you did."
Piccolo glared at the two. He made his suspicion clear to them. They needed to know that they weren't off the hook just yet.
"Either way, you're coming with me. We'll decide what to do with you after we give you a more thorough examination. So long as you're telling the truth, then you've got no reason to worry. If you're lying though..."
The namekian took one step forward and squinted his eyes.
"...We've got ways of making you talk."
Piccolo then made a complete turn, and began walking in the other direction, expecting the others to follow him. They'd better, he thought to himself. He didn't want to get...coercive with them just yet.
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Post by SlvrNight on Jun 6, 2013 11:01:08 GMT -5
? ? ? Inter-Dimensional Darkness
"Damn, this witch you're talking about..." Hellboy paused for a moment, quickly going over all the information in his head to make sure he understood things clearly. He, along with the red-haired guy and the church woman, had rifts opening in their worlds. Then when they entered them, they all ended up here. Yet, from what the black knight with an attitude was saying, this realm had a woman who was gathering people across dimension to combat some kind of threat. On top of that, this dimension was supposed to be protected from the rifts. So how else could the group have gotten here besides the witch bringing them?
"If she really did bring us here, then the monsters she made us fight musta been some kind of test. Maybe to see if we're 'worthy' of being here." The red demon gritted his teeth in anger. "That's a pretty damned careless way to recruit people. Lost some allies back when those demons attacked my place..." He then followed Piccolo, calling out to him as he went.
"Hey, green guy. Is that how the witch does things around here? Send monsters to people's worlds and then 'recruits' the survivors with the guts to investigate?"
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Post by BloodValkyrie on Jun 6, 2013 11:38:24 GMT -5
Pearl Sanctuary West Balcony
Aika shook her head and resumed leaning against the balcony rail. "No, I am simply being friendly, that is all. With all the different people here, many have encountered those that they would normally call enemies. On top of that, since the situation is, in reality, very, very, serious...well, how shall I say this?"
Archer finished for her. "Tensions are high."
The kitsune snapped her fingers. "Perfect. Everything is so hectic, so it is best to try and relax and keep things calm when possible."
Her bright orange eyes moved back to Satsuki.
"So, if thee does not mind my asking...how is thine group? Art thou getting along with them?"
Aika, for the most part, was still getting through her excitement at the prospect of fighting alongside beings from completely unrelated dimensions. The host of people she had met had filled her with interest in the multiverse, so she was often willing to talk to people from completely different worlds, mainly to see how different they were and to eventually ask how their world was in comparison to hers. Some people had brushed her off, feeling uncomfortable with the questioning or her overly-friendly nature of asking.
The intimidating presence of her newfound Servant probably did not help much either. Archer himself was not too excited about his new Master, but she was a powerful mage and had enough magical energy him to fight as hard as he wanted and as long as he needed. To put it plainly, he felt as if he had near-limitless energy.
Of course, such a thing made sense considering his Master was so closely related to the mythical kitsunes.
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Post by Greed on Jun 6, 2013 19:49:43 GMT -5
Satsuki
Satsuki froze up when Aika inquired about her group. What exactly would she say about that? What could she say? There wasn't much, honestly.
"I... don't have a group yet." Satsuki quietly looked off the balcony, and down over the edge, "Most of them don't want me. I mean, I'm getting along with people... I think. Some of them, anyways. I think that smaller witch likes me. Maybe." Satsuki couldn't help but add 'little' on the end of Marisa's name; it helped differentiate her from Amuzi, and, well, she was alot shorter than their... leader. Never the less, Satsuki wanted to move away from the subject quickly, just so she wouldn't think about the people who had be... not so nice to her.
"What about you, Aika? How's your group?"
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Post by Jisui on Jun 7, 2013 2:40:27 GMT -5
Ciel essentially ignored Piccolo's threat to use force to determine if they were telling the truth or not, walking silently along as she followed the two. If it was an interrogation tactic, they were all essentially useless to her. Back when she had been found by the Church, they had often run... tests on her, to see if her immortality was truly real. Cutting open her throat, burning her alive... truly, there had been little that the church woman hadn't seen before. She doubted anything would work on her. It was most likely just grandstanding.
"Hey, green guy. Is that how the witch does things around here? Send monsters to people's worlds and then 'recruits' the survivors with the guts to investigate?"
"...It's possible, but unlikely." She wasn't planning to speak very much to these people, especially the green-alien and demon, but the chance to piece together knowledge was something that she didn't take lightly. "My knowledge of dimensional theory is basic at best. But if this... witch." She muttered somewhat disdainfully, apparently thinking of the heretical sorceresses in her world. "Has the ability to create these rifts, it's not impossible for someone else to be able to do so as well. And even if she wished to test a person, it would be simpler to test someone with a weak creature, then force them through a rift, wouldn't it?"
That's why the probability that the random rifts opening throughout the worlds and this witch were separate incidents, were high. In her opinion, it was unlikely that someone would go through that much trouble merely to recruit a few people. Regardless... in one of the rare moments in her life, Ciel generally didn't know what to next. There were too many holes in everything, and so she was forced to grudgingly follow Piccolo in order to fill them. Rather ironically, she realized that a few months ago, she almost certainly would have tried killed them all in the name of the Lord no matter the situation.
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Post by BloodValkyrie on Jun 7, 2013 12:26:33 GMT -5
Pearl Sanctuary West Balcony
Aika's fox ears went down at Satsuki's sad tone. She mentally kicked herself for assuming this girl had a group. Then again, how was she to know the truth? She had barely met any people who still had not been designated to a group. The kitsune rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.
"Ah. Apologies... I should have been a tad more careful with my question..."
She perked up when Satsuki asked about her own group.
"Mine? Well...I have not been with them too long, so there is little I can say. One of them in particular is a bit...discomforting. A young woman with long black hair, green eyes, and a blue and white dress. She seems to have a fondness for stabbing things with her knife. Oh, now what was her name..."
"Alice." Archer calmly stated.
"Right! We also have a blonde-haired man with electrical powers. He seems to have an overabundance of pride, but he could be significantly worse."
Her Servant spoke up again. "Krizno."
"There is another blonde-haired man, but I know very little of him. He is rather quiet, but has an exceedingly large blade."
"Hmph...Cloud."
"And then there is out glorious leader! A rather handsome man with a military career. He primarily fought against biologically engineered creatures in his world. Oh, now what..."
Archer massaged the bridge of his nose, his frustration beginning to show. "Master, his name is Chris Redfield. We've been with them for a while, I'm honestly having trouble figuring out how you can be having so much trouble remembering their names."
Aika huffed and folded her arms. "It has not been that long."
"Three different realms already."
The kitsune pouted. "Such a time may be short to thou short-lived mortals, but to one who has such a long lifespan like I, three journeys is a relatively short time."
The red knight simply looked at his Master, his regret over accepting her slowly growing.
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Post by Advix on Jun 7, 2013 16:47:09 GMT -5
The knight turned his head toward Zelos briefly before facing forward again. "...Oswald of Ringford." When they reached the giant, carved white doors of the Pearl Sanctuary, Oswald turned around and leaned against the entrance. "Alright, let's wait up for them. Then maybe we can all get some answers from the Witch. I'll be frank, that woman is... unorthodox. It's hard to gauge what she will or will not do. I'd like to think that she is above using monsters to test people, though."
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Post by Tokrochiru on Jun 7, 2013 22:43:38 GMT -5
"Our job is to save people from the crisis," said Piccolo, reaffirming Ciel's stance on the issue. "Endangering them for the sake of recruiting a few potential grunts would be counterproductive. Moronic."
Amuzi wouldn't resort to that. Not even if they were severely undermanned. He was sure of it.
He continued to lead the newcomers to sanctuary. Soon, the fortress began to creep up from across the landscape. The closer they came, the more of its facade became visible. White and gold glimmered in contrast to the night sky. Its towers rose up high above the base, the tips of which were almost sharp enough to pierce the starlit sky.
It reminded Piccolo a little bit of Kami's Lookout, if only in color scheme. Its actual shape was quite different than the tower he once called home.
"Welcome to Sanctuary. Get comfortable. You're gonna be seeing this place a lot."
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Post by Greed on Jun 7, 2013 23:21:53 GMT -5
-Zelos-
"Right, right..." Zelos looked up, and around the gigantic castle, whistling as he did so. Oddly enough, it was reminding him of something...
"... damn, this place looks familiar. Looks kinda like Welgaia... deja vu." Zelos leaned back against the side of the door, looking back at the group. It was definitely a bunch of odd people... but, really, not that much weirder than the people he'd traveled with all over Aselia.
-Satsuki-
"Aaaah... I see. Sounds like a nice group of people, I think." Satsuki glanced away, a little bit of jealousy growing in her. This place wasn't bad, but the majority of the people here were humans. And alot of humans didn't really like the idea of having a fledgling vampire who wasn't exactly in the best control of her own appetite around. It was ironic, actually. The reason she was brought here was the reason she hadn't even been assigned to a group yet. She was eager to start helping, and yet she was stuck... with a few less than pleasant people around the Sanctuary. The school girl vampire couldn't help but slump on the railing for a moment.
"... Y-you know, um, you don't have to really stick around me. I, uh... don't wanna get you depressed by accident, you know?"
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Post by SlvrNight on Jun 8, 2013 8:43:54 GMT -5
Pearl Sanctuary Outer Gates
"Nice to hear you're so loyal to this woman. I'm sure we get nothing to worry about then." The second half of Hellboy's statement was partially sarcastic. He could never fully trust someone with as much power as these guys were implying. All it would take is a moment of weakness for such power to be used in a catastrophic and irreversible way. But he kept these feelings silent and to himself. There was no point in voicing them to the others before they even met the Witch.
Hellboy whistled, visibly impressed by the Pearl Sanctuary. It reminded him of the many castles he had been to, except bright and glistening. Not moldy and broken in ruins.
"Well at least the witch has a nice place."
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Post by Jisui on Jun 8, 2013 9:45:10 GMT -5
While she expressed her doubts over the Amuzi issue, inwardly (and rather grudgingly), Ciel had to agree with the demon. It didn't matter the dimension, but anything involving a witch, would almost certainly end in tragedy. There were almost no exceptions. In addition to that... what kind of being had the ability to create an entire place like this and teleport people into it? If the Mage's Association or Church ever found out about this, they'd have strokes, Ciel thought with a rare bit of dark humor. Speaking of which... she contemplated the worth of attempting to contact the Burial Agency and Church in this situation. It was true that she hadn't contacted them in a while, but...
...No, perhaps not. The only person in this situation who might actually help was Merem Solomon. It was likely that everyone else would just indiscriminately slaughter everyone on sight. She would have to scope out the situation first.
As they neared the actual Sanctuary, Ciel's eyes widened slightly, caught off guard by the magnificence of the Sanctuary. It almost rivaled the Shinso's castle in grandeur, which wasn't an easy feat. Near her, she heard the demon's quip, and she very nearly brought out a sarcastic quip of her own before it died in her throat, and silence prevailed over her.
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Post by BloodValkyrie on Jun 8, 2013 13:33:08 GMT -5
Pearl Sanctuary Outer Gates
An angelic feminine voice rang out from the heavens above. The tone was gentle, yet had a sense of authority.
"Your doubt is understandable..."
A feminine figure appeared a few yards above the group in a brilliant flash of light. Her skin was white as snow and her elegant dress was even whiter. She wore a red cape attached by golden buttons on her shoulders and the long dress had red going along its corset and the edges of her arm gloves. She wore thin red-framed glasses and her golden hair fell down past the middle of her back. The woman slowly descended to the floor and spread out her arms, welcoming her guests and returning warriors. A tall man in white and black armor appeared next to her. He had a black hat similar to the military and the golden handle of a blade strapped to his side.
"I am Amuzi. The goddess of this dimension and a sorceress of the highest caliber. And this is my personal guard, Colonel."
She looked at Piccolo and Oswald, nodding at them both.
"Piccolo, you did remarkably well. I am pleased to know it was a good choice to leave you in charge of new recruits. It is also pleasant to see you as well, Oswald."
Her hazel eyes looked at each of the newcomers, briefly stopping on Ciel, Hellboy, then Zelos.
"I am sure you each have many questions but, before that, you should all come into the Pearl Sanctuary."
As if commanded by her voice, the large gates of the building opened, allowing the group entry. Beyond the entrance was a long hallway made of white marble, with a golden carpet leading from the door, down the hall, and splitting off at the branched path at the end. Deep blue chandeliers of varying designs hung from the ceiling, bathing the hall in light.
In an odd twist, the golden sorceress looked at Piccolo and extended a hand towards the opened doors, a smile on her face.
"Piccolo, I'll allow you to lead us to the Central Chamber."
Colonel briefly glanced at the witch, curious about the unusual process.
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