Worlds Ending: Chapter 2

[Krylo]

Taken had ignored Suzume when he had first approached, intent, instead on watching the coming battle between Tayuumi and her new 'friend', and it had not disappointed him, despite its brevity. The strange man's powers were odd--some sort of limited telepathy and rather powerful telekinesis, being able to throw Tayuumi about so easily--and his weapon was strange. Made of pure energy.

Though as intriguing as the man was, it wasn't nearly as interesting as Tayuumi's attack. Taken himself had barely been able to 'see' the strike coming, and was unsure he would have fared much better, despite his hearing and speed.

"Where was that ferocity in our own battle, warrior?" Taken asked the woman as he turned to follow her. "With that, our situations may have been reversed."

[Mintaro]

(OOC:Edward Looks very much like a really short man, with the exception of his tail and teeth. Though he smells a great deal like a mongoose.)

Edward gave another laugh. "ha haar! Indeed I can forgive ye. After all, little fella probly just thought I was out ta eat him." Edward addressed the Dragon more directly. "That it little guy? Think I was gunna gobble you up?"

The low growl that came from underneath his new companions clothing was warning enough for Edward to back off a bit.

"Well then mates, we should be off to the town ahead eh? I've got gold, and gold is accepted everywhere. Lets get us some grub, wine, and women if theres any ta be had. We can talk on the way about where we came from."

Edward reiterated his earlier comments to Isser (though he had yet to learn the mans name). Explaining about the islands in the sky and ships sailing through the air.

**** **** **** ****

Caleb mopped up the last of his thin vegetable soup with a chunk of stale bread. There hadn't been much available for free, save conversation, which came in abundance. Apparently information was just as valuable a commodity here as anywhere. Unfortunately Caleb was of little help to anyone, though he did learn a bit about how the town worked. Everything seemed based on barter, what you could get for what you could give. So who you bartered with depended on what you could get.

His paper money was laughed at, they suggested Doc Heston to him. While a few people were suggested for the coins, not that he had many of them. His clothing on the other hand would fetch a good price from almost anyone, and the bullets could keep him fed for a long time.

Caleb wasn't ready to part with his clothes or firearms quite yet though. After all, one could never tell what was around the corner, as this whole land proved.

Caleb sat on the poorly constructed bench, at an equally poor table, and waited. He wasn't sure what it was he was waiting for, it might have just been bed time, but wait he did.

[mauve]

(Hope you guys don't mind me moving us along)

"Well, guess this means we're all in the same boat," Anya muttered, looking out across the river. "To be honest, we were hoping you'd have a ship we could hitch a ride on." Well, SHE was hoping that, anyway. Reese still wasn't buying the whole space travel thing. Where the heck did that dude come from, anyway?

"Oh well. Let's find this city." She shifted the rifle's weight on her shoulder. "With this many people running around, I'm guessing it's a pretty good sized place. Should be a space port too, I'm willing to bet. A place this desolate would need supplies flown in from other worlds on a regular basis." Man, a planet this crappy would make her family's business rich in a week. If it wasn't for those horse-riding things, Anya would have seriously considered finding someone to negotiate a trade route. She could think of a dozen places who would kill to sell supplies to a place like this, and who would pay well for a semi-reliable transport service.

They walked along the river bank, Anya still not going any closer to the water than necessary out of fear of the monsters that lived just on the other side. Soon, the outline of buildings silhouetted against the sky could be seen ahead. At first Anya thought it must have been some sort of abandoned outpost or something: Even from that distance, it didn't look particularly impressive. As they got closer, however, she realized with a sinking feeling that this might actually be the "city" they were hoping to find. It looked.... kind of... pathetic.

"Oh," Anya said sullenly. "Well. This is kind of a letdown."

It was busy enough: crowds of humans and aliens ("demons," as Reese had called them) were milling about, doing whatever it was that humans and aliens/demons did here, but there was a distinct lack of modern technology. Technology, and buildings that followed any sort of construction safety code.

"Okay, so far I'm thinking I may have been wrong about my assumption that there might be a space port here."

[Mesden]

"You wanted to fight, Taken, and that's not what I was doing back there. That man mocked the worst moment of my life and proceeded to blame me for it. I was not interested in a fight, I was interested in getting him to talk. There's no need for a straightforward contest when all I wanted was for him to tell me how and what he knew," her inflection told the two that the conversation on what had just occurred was over, whether they wanted to talk about it more or not.

"Besides, I'd rather have a sore gut then a flayed hand."

[The Artist Formerly Known as Hawk]

Reese couldn't help but smirk as he saw the expression on Anyas face. "And you thought there'd be spaceships here? HA! Hahahahahhah!" He couldn't contain himself, it was pretty hilarious after all. "Oh man, you guys are classic."

Still laughing he turned back to the "city", sizing it up. "Well, this place doesn't look so bad. Well no, it's a pile of shit, but I've seen worse. I suggest we hit the nearest bar or motel, we can probably learn more there. I'm guessing these people don't take credit cards though." Which was unfortunate, because aside from his weapons and the keys to his bike, he had nothing else of value.

Still, if worse came to worse, there was always the old standby; threaten somethings life until people started talking. He always found that to be far more effective than bribery. With that in mind, Reese headed into town, looking closely for a good place to start "aquiring" more information.

[Toastburner B]

Chester wasn't entirely sure what he thought about Laurella hanging on his arm. I mean: sure, Chester was a guy, and as such, was thrilled when an attractive young lady paid him attention. However, the key would in this case was young...the girl was a good deal younger than himself. Sure, he did hits for the mob, and later B.L.I.N.D., but he still had a sense of honor to uphold.

He almost scoffed. Nice ego there, Hatfield, he thought to himself. She's just latching on to you because you're offering a little familiarity in an alien place. She sure as heck isn't latching onto you because of your good looks.

Still, there was no point in not enjoying it while he could. He cast a look over at Kenneth. "I...uh...I guess I'll show them the way into town," he said with a wave. Kenneth managed to keep his face straight, but only barely: the path into town was almost painfully obvious, considering the path was well worn by years of being traveled on. Still, Kenneth decided to let Chester have his fun...after all, Chester had only been in Wayward for three weeks, as compared to his own 3 years. At least it appeared to take his mind off of the young girl's death.

Kenneth gestured for him to scram, and took his place back next to the fireplace, looking out into the Wastes. The next relief group was supposed to replace them by nightfall, anyways.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It took less than an hour to reach Doc Heston's house. Chester pointed out a few of the sights along the way...most notably the "Long Road Home" Inn and...er...actually, that was about it. Wayward wasn't exactly a place for a lot of landmarks.

"I'm still fairly new here myself," Chester admitted. "I've been here all of three weeks. Still really haven't gotten to know to many...er...people around here."

Doc Heston's house was rather sizable...on of the largest in Wayward, truth be told. "From what I hear," Chester explained, "Doc Heston is one of the people who have been in Wayward the longest. Had all kinds of loot with him when he arrived, and managed to get out of the Wastes with most of it. Hit the town and instantly became rich. Now, he just pokes around here doing his 'research.'"

Chester didn't even bother to knock, just opened the door and walked in. "He'd never hear us knock," Chester claimed as he walked in, "Better just to barge him and get his attention."

He preceded to do this by yelling "HEY DOC!" at the top of his lungs. The was a muffled crash from behind a door in a nearby hallway, and soon it opened to reveal an older gentleman, somewhere in his sixties, but still in seemingly good shape despite his age. A pair of glass that had obviously seen better days...better days 10 years ago...sat perched awkwardly on his nose. Despite his harried appearance, he smile when he saw Chester. "Ah, Mr. Hatfield...finally reconsidered the offer I made on your Thompson, I take it?" he said with a slight British accent.

Chester's smile faded a bit, and he shook his head. "I already told you, Doctor, you can have my gun when you pry it from my-" Chester glanced over at Laurella, and his mouth closed with an audible click.

He took a breath to calm himself. "Actually, Doc, we just got a few new arrivals from the Wastes. This young lady here seems to be from Earth, and claims to be possession of a bit of money. I know that's one of things you like to collect, so I fig-"

Heston's gaze drifted from Chester and over to Laurella, where he started slightly, as if mildly surprised to see someone in the room with the two of them. "My apologizes," he said to the young woman, "where are my manners: Dr. Stewart Buringham Heston, Professor of Anthropology and Archeology at the University of Cambridge."

A frown quickly replaced his polite smile. "Is there a University of Cambridge on your Earth?" he asked.

[Astral Harmony]

"University of Cambridge," Laurella echoed, stroking her cheek. "It sounds awfully familiar, but I don't know exactly. I guess the fact that I've heard of it before means it still exists in my Earth."

Still, it was hard for Laurella to think with her heart slowly being crushed with despair. She wanted to talk through her suddenly aching throat, and helped compose herself by leaving Chester's side and setting her pistol, the last extra clip she had, and her wallet on a nearby table. "So, Mister Hatfield has been here for three weeks, and you've been here for...well, god knows how much longer. Does that mean that there's no way to return to our original worlds?"

Then she remembered something. "Oh! Crap, I'm sorry. I'm Laurella Kalvantyne, highschool senior." She felt kind of dumb introducing herself since she had yet to attend a college and couldn't announce any degrees like Dr. Heston could.

[Krylo]

Taken ignored Tayuumi's barb. They both already knew her wound would have been fatal without his intervention, while his wound was merely a swiftly healing irritant. Pointing it out would have done nothing but further anger the warrior woman, and though Taken lived for battle, this was not the time nor place for needless conflict amongst the few allies he had.

He remained silent until they reached the city. An aura of desperation hung over it, the buildings in this area in poor repair, dilapidated and barely standing. All the same, though, the city housed wonders Taken had never seen before, and others that seemed vaguely reminiscent of the insane inventor the Genkai had known, but far more advanced.

He turned to his companions. "I suggest we find out as much as we can about this place from the beginning. Find the oldest citizen we can and ask them everything about the world we stand on now. We may decide where to go from there."

[Naqel]

[OOC:

Originally Posted by Mintaro

(OOC:Edward Looks very much like a really short man, with the exception of his tail and teeth. Though he smells a great deal like a mongoose.)

Fixed that.

Also, hopefully you guys won't mind if I'll move all the "pirates" with little to no flavor text.]

When his membership was settled, Isser properly introduced himself to his new companions, and even managed to convince Spark to allow a regular right-handed handshake. Having some gold and silver of his own, he decided to build some trust and offered their leader to take care of half of the money. Seeing as there was very little left to do in the camp, and no more people to recruit, the group set of for the town they heard of earlier.
"Hopefully I'll find a bow and arrows there." Said Isser aloud as they left the camp, hoping to begin a conversation that'd give him a general idea of how Edward and Argo handle combat.

[Incendius]

((OOC: This is addressed to Caleb, assuming you don't mind/I got your location right.))

The sand cat was now nowhere to be seen, as it had undergone another transformation in a private alleyway. In its place was no a rather large and extremely well muscled man, with strange vertical green pupils and a black iris that filled the rest of his eye. He had a veritable mane of golden hair that fell down to his shoulders. He had no shirt, no shoes, and his pants were a rather simplistic brown, with a belt that's only purpose seemed to be as a holder for a pair of metallic claws that would fit over a hand akin to a gauntlet.

As the man walked, his gait could only be described as if it was the stalking of some predator as it shadowed its prey; swift, silent, and tensed as if to spring. His eyes and head darted to and forth at all moments, reacting to the strange town, as well as to sounds and smells that were both entirely new and imperceptible to most normal human senses. He stopped only rarely, and for a few seconds at a time, to ask in a low voice directions to The Long Road.

Eventually the man reached The Long Road, taking a somewhat scenic route through a series of alleyways rather than along the main roads, and entered. Talking quietly to the proprietors, the man received his free meal, thanking them loudly. He then moved over to a half empty table, one occupied only by a seemingly morose middle aged man. Still standing, the feline man said.

"Hey, you mind if I sit here? I got a few questions for you if you don't, and maybe even a proposition depending on your answer. You look as new as I do, but you have that strange smell that seems to be going around, and have that strange weapon that carries it. Don't worry, I won't bite."