[GAME] Vanguards of Hope

[Havoc Knight]

Ryan cautiously headed north, following Byakko's constant stream of directions as closely as possible. Walking through the city, he passed by a number of stores, hotels, schools, parks, and parking lots - all of them closed or empty. Whatever people he passed by in the streets were in a frantic hurry, and looked him over with equally frantic eyes.

"The twelve things have become thirteen. I suggest slowing down as thirteen hostiles would prove to be deadly." Byakko said.

"Twelve wasn't too many already?" Ryan replied sarcastically.

"The thirteenth is more powerful than the other twelve."

Ryan tried to ignore his comments and kept his speed up. "I don't want to lose track of them. If they're writhings, then that means people are in danger. I wanna keep an eye on them. How far away are we?"

"Turn right on the next street. They're approximately a hundred meters down."

Turning the corner, Ryan was overwhelmed by a sudden and intense sense of dread. He quickly shook it off and kept moving towards his targets.

"Are you okay?" His blade asked.

"You didn't just feel that?"

"Feel what?"

Now he was really worried. Byakko senses everything, so what did he just sense?

"Never mind." As they got closer to the thirteen, Ryan noticed that the fog was actually getting thinner. A nearby building had a fire escape, which he quickly scaled to reach the rooftop. Pulling out a pair of binoculars from his backpack, he tried to see if he could spot the thirteen "oddities" that Byakko had mentioned.

He could see several shapes, human in appearance, gathering around what seemed to be a female in red robes. After some kind of odd ceremony, the twelve figures around her violently transformed into monstrous beings.

"Ryan, I sense Fiends!" Byakko quickly exclaimed.

"I know, I'm looking at them now. They're splitting up." He said as the twelve split off into three groups.

Four of them, a squid-head, cycloptic Sasquatch, giant gremlin, and were-bat, headed right towards him.

"Do not engage them, Ryan." Byakko cautioned.

"I'm not going to." Ryan said as he began following them from the rooftops. "Not yet at least."

 

[G.K.]

â€The man in white…he gave you something good didn’t he? But he took so much away hehehehehe-â€

Gin's body propelled itself backwards the moment she uttered "the man in white" It'd be another second before his conscious mind fully acknowledged what she'd said in full. As his heartbeat grew rapid Gin stared at the old woman. Her eyes were wide and she smiled from ear to ear as she spoke. Just the way he imagined another person he encountered would if not for the immaculately white hat obscuring his face from view.

"What do you know about him?!" Gin said with anger in his voice. He swung the hand he was holding the small briefcase in around and pointed at the old woman moving towards her slowly. "What do you know about him!? What the hell is smart brain?!"

But the old woman said nothing. She merely laughed as Gin edged closer to her

â€Oh, another customer this soon? This is really turning into a busy night.â€

Gin stopped cold when he heard the girl's voice. He turned to greet her and tried to plaster on a disarming smile. he turned his head just enough to catch the what looked like a glimmering white fabric fluttering in the air behind the woman. He turned completely, eyes wide in panic only to find the woman sitting in front of the tv in so deep a daze it seemed impossible that she'd ever gotten up to begin with.

â€Oh no…grandma said something weird to you didn’t she? Sorry, she does that sometimes with new people."

The young woman's words pulled Gin out of his haze. He instinctively plastered the smile onto his face again. But without seeing it he could tell it wasn't too convincing. He just hopped he wasn't creeping the poor girl out. So many years spent as an investigator produced moments where Gin's mind would go on autopilot. Needlessly deducing and filling in blanks regarding subjects he had know business concerning himself with. Though young the redhead had an air of maturity about her. One which could only come from responsibility and a strong work ethic. Her Grandmother's unusually bipolar states only furthered that assumption. Gin hoped he was wrong. Even if it was in a sleepy town with few visitors, running business and taking care of a sick relative was a lot to deal with. Too much for a child her age.

The sound of feet beating the pavement rang out from behind Gin. He turned to find a man in a trenchcoat and red sneakers standing in front of him. The man glared intently at Gin for a moment and Gin returned the gesture. There was something about the guy Gin didn't like. That feeling only grew when he gestured for the girl to speak with him out of away from where Gin stood. Again Gin's brain went on autopilot honing in on bits and pieces of their exchanged words without any visible indication that he was listening. two things stood out. Mention of a park and a woman in red. The latter sent a chill down Gin's spine. It had to be coincidence. Before he had time to think about it The girl turned to Gin and told him he could stay in room 3A for free. Before he could celebrate the girl grabbed her coat and ran through the door...with The Grown man n the trenchcoat. A new feeling stirred in Gin. Feelings that would be paternal in nature if he had children of his own. What directly in the hell was she doing running off into the night with a man that had to be at least twice her age!? And why the hell was he glaring at Gin. What'd he need to be do defensive for?! This had "to catch a predator" written all over it and Gin wasn't gonna stand for it.

Gin was so caught up in this train of thought that he didn't notice the change in the air. The old lady's words jumped at him like a spring loaded cat. He found himself pressed against the wall again. instinctively moving himself away from the woman as she spoke cryptically of the man and white and the woman in red. Gin inched over to where The girl had left a key for room 3A, Snatched it, then took off like a bat out of hell through the doors of the black moor. As he ran he listened for footsteps, heavy breathing and looked for any signs of the little girl and the potential pedophile. When caught sight of them he'd hang back and fallow from a distance. From there he'd wait. Whether it was the appearance of the man in white or what Gin mistakenly believed to be Thomas's lustful intentions, Gin would be ready face it head on.

 

[Icefish]

Cam took a look around his new home away from home. As promised, his things had already been moved in. Surprisingly enough, they had even been unpacked and set up. Cam wasn't sure who had done this- presumably someone from Indigo- but hey, it saved him the agony of doing so himself. The flat was a bit on the small size, but that didn't bother Cam. He didn't really need a ton of space. The bedroom was fairly spartan- a bed, a dresser, and a closet. The bathroom was, as his surprisingly young landlord had mentioned, rather small and a bit cramped, but it'd do. The remaining room was sort of a living room/kitchen combo. A couch, coffee table, and small television were close to a small refrigerator/microwave combo, sink, and a few cabinets.

Of particular note to Cam was the coffee table and the items on it. First was a laptop computer. He knew it had a link to Indigo and would be used mostly for face-to-face chats with the folks at HQ. The next two were a high-tech looking belt buckle and an equally high-tech looking book: the Decadriver and Ride Booker. They had just finished their last round of tweaks and were ready for Cam to use once again. He had asked Jurgen about the somewhat Engrishy names once, but had received a twenty minute lecture on the nature of names and how they reflect...something. Honestly, he hadn't been paying that much attention. The final item was an earpiece. Cam put it in as he fired up the laptop. Within minutes, he was connected to HQ and graced with Alys' smiling face.

"Nice to see you've settled in."
"Nice to see most of the work was done for me. I hate unpacking."
"Same here. Sadly you won't get a chance to relax just yet. Satellite picked up signs of ULF activity. I'm sending the image now."

On the screen, an image appeared. It was dark and pixelated, but Cam could make out one figure in red and twelve...things. He couldn't see what they were, but they clearly weren't human.

"How long ago was this?"
"Maybe ten minutes. Live feed's coming up now...looks like they've split into three groups. Closest one is only a few miles from your location."
"I'm on the way. Where's my bike?"
"They parked it around the corner."

Cam stood up, pocketing the buckle and book-like storage container. A short dash took him to the aforementioned vehicle. With Alys' guiding words in his ear, he fired up the bike and took off towards one of the groups of foes.

 

[thunder]

Steve kept driving to the university for some food while 4 Monsters stood in his way and didn't look like they were there to make friends. Startled, Steve hit the brakes and stopped. For it looked like while Steve was searching for that dark evil, it looked like the dark evil had found him instead. Draco stopped and looked at them at slight unease. The four each had a different form. Ugly monster #1 looked like a necromorph-reject. the second looked like your everyday creepy-ass human-sized doll with clown make up. the third looked like a reptilian humanoid with claws and fangs that were oozing with drool. and finally, the fourth one looked like a demonic-incredible hulk.

"So i take it you Four gents are the dark evil that Gandalf the cosmic have told me to find?" Steve asked.

The 4 stood observing their opponent with Seemingly bloodthirsty interest. Practically drooling around their feet, ready to consume their prey.

"Steve, i think these monsters want to EAT you." Draco suggested in a rushed manner.

"Ok, Ok, Draco. If these guys want me, They got it." Steve said confidently as he put his hand ring over his belt.

"DRIVER ON! PLEASE!" the belt just changed from just a regular belt buckle into a silver belt. Steve pushed the switch and the hand on his belt changed from a right hand to a left hand singing it's usual catchy music.

"SHABADOOBIE TIME TO CHANGE" and it kept repeating in a loop.

Steve put the visor down on his red ring and put it over his belt.

"FLAME! PLEASE!" the red burning seal appeared before him as he got off of his bike.

"HI-HI-HI-HI-HI!!!!!!" the belt sang as the seal approached Steve and transformed him into his red ruby wizard form.

Steve ran his connect ring through his belt.

"CONNECT! PLEASE!" Steve took his WizSwordGun from the red magic seal that appeared.

"Ok boys" Steve said as he readied his sword. "Let's dance".


Steve slashed at the Clown doll and it attempted to spray some questionable scent at him, Steve jumped high and figured the hand on the sword was meant to do something, so he pulled the thumb and the hand opened.

"COME ON AND SLASH! SHAKE HANDS!" Steve put his flame ring over the palm.

"FLAME! SLASH STRIKE! HI HI HI! HI HI HI! HI HI HI!" Steve descended and shoved the sword down the doll's mouth, destroying it.


"Steve, use the other jeweled rings." Draco Suggested as Steve took the blue jeweled ring and ran it over the scanner.

"WAAAAATER!!!!!! PLEASE!" A blue magic circle appeared before Steve and the seal changed Steve to a blue Sapphire form.

"SUI SUI SUI SUI!"

Steve changed the WizSwordGun from sword mode to gun mode and pulled the thumb back again like he did with sword mode.

COME ON AND SHOOT! SHAKE HANDS!" Steve put his blue ring over the palm and blasted the Necromorph-reject with enough force to kill it upon impact.

The reptillian humanoid prepared it's claws and attacked while the demon-hulk attempted to punch downward at Steve. Steve got out of the way and ran the green ring through the belt.


"HURRICANE! PLEASE!" a green magic circle appeared above Steve as he jumped through the circle turning him green. "FU FU FU FU FU FU FU!!!!"

After he jumped through the circle, Steve nearly crashed into what looked like a Gothic church. Steve saw a shocked librarian jump back from the impact through the window.

"Sorry, kind of new at the whole Hero thing." Steve apologized to the librarian. Steve pulled the thumb back like last time and put his green ring through.

"COME ON AND SHOOT! SHAKE HANDS! HURRICANE! SHOOTING STRIKE FU FU FU! FU FU FU! FU FU FU!" Steve jumped from the bricked window of the library, and blasted the reptile into a pulp with extremely pressurized air.

"Ok. Looks like it's you and me Tiny." Steve said as he took his yellow ring out and ran it through his belt.

"LAND! PLEASE! D-DON DON D-DON DON!" Steve changed into his Yellow form and put on his Ran his kick-strike ring through the scanner!

"YOI! KICK-STRIKE! SAIKOOOOO!" Steve jumped into the air and used his Earth-powered kick to destroy the demon-hulk.

"Ok, that seemed a little easy." Draco said. "I do not think that's the dark evil that Gandalf the cosmic told you about."

"I agree Draco..." Steve pondered, and then let out a sigh. "....and I'm still hungry as hell. I still need to find some pizza."

 

[Solo the Wingman]

"So remind me, why did we just join a university?" Alice shrugged as she picked up the sheaf of papers and slipped them into her bag. "We could have found a job or something more profitable."

"Because we need a place to stay and they're giving away free tuition." Melinda replied as she pushed the front door open and stepped through. "Which... admittedly is rather odd... It's really convenient."

"This entire freakin' reality is off its rocker if you ask me." The raven-haired lass responded. "Or haven't you noticed?"

"No, I noticed. It was midnight when we arrived, but now it's only a little after nine. It makes me wonder if time went forward or backward."

"Or if everyone's perception of time is off. Either way, you might want to check your sense of punctuality at the door for a while. Speakin' of doors..."

By now, the two had reached the dormitory entrance. To their mild surprise, the door was unlocked (something which did little to help their sense of security). They entered the front entryway and poked around a bit, taking stock of the enmities, before picking out a room as their own.

Throughout their entire search, Melinda began to grow concerned. Alice was acting off, or more off than usual, and borderline jumpy. Still, her friend seemed to be in full control of herself, so Melinda decided not to press the issue.

Alice arranged her things on a spare bed and then dug out the paperwork that they were supposed to fill out. She stared at it with disdain and, when it didn't vanish into the ether, resigned herself to completing it. The raveness plucked a pen from her bag and started scribbling on the paper.

Melinda opted to unpack her electronics and set up a workstation. She wanted to get on the grid and start finding out what she could about this area and the college.

"So, whattaya think of the leadership around here?" Alice asked.

Melinda stopped her task of wiring and rewiring to collect her thoughts before replying. "Much like the town, it was really convenient. They don't care about dress code and are giving all of this away for free? It makes me wonder if we're being set up for some sort of abduction for twisted experiments."

"Or a bunch of zombies come barging through our doors." Alice grunted a reply. "I tell you, the sooner we can get this place purified the better off I'll like it..."

 

[Havoc Knight]

Ryan did his best to keep up with the monsters from the rooftops of the city as they roamed the streets below him. They weren't presenting a danger to anyone, but he knew that their non-violent behavior wouldn't last long. Byakko was bombarding him with questions, mainly about what his plans were for the creatures, but he ignored the blade, knowing that he had to keep as quiet as possible to prevent being detected.

To be fair, Ryan understood Byakko's concerns about their current plan of action - mainly because Ryan didn't really know what their plan was. For whatever reason, he felt compelled to follow them, and not engage them until he was sure they were a threat. Well, he knew they were a threat, but how big of one? And would they lead him to one of their masters, or maybe even a base of operations?

Wherever it was, he'd hoped they get there soon - he was starting to run out of rooftops.

Looking down to check on his targets, he noticed that they'd randomly stopped. They seemed to be staring at something in front of them, but all he could see was a large building. It looked like a... A UNIVERSITY!

"Byakko, they're heading for the university. Do you have any idea what kind of damage they could do there?" Ryan asked, not really expecting an answer.

"I could try to calculate it."

"Don't. We need to get in there and stop them before they reach the school." Ryan said, pulling Byakko out of his backpack.

"What are you doing?" Byakko asked nervously.

"Just go with it." He replied. Going to the edge of the rooftop, he yelled down at the fiends. "Hey guys, do you know how to get to the university?"

The creatures slowly (and simultaneously) turned their heads towards Ryan. Upon seeing him and his weapon, they let out various warcries and began climbing up the building to engage him.

Squidhead was the first up the building, using his tentacles to spring himself up the side, and attempted to crush Ryan with a leaping strike. Ryan leaped out of the way with ease and rolled onto one knee. With a twist of his sword hand's wrist, a black and gold device took shape, and in his free hand, a golden key was created. The creature, now joined by his three horrific brothers, moved in for the quick kill.

Before their strikes could land, Ryan quickly inserted the key into the wrist device, and cried out "Kibachanger!"

The monsters were thrown back as a golden aura covered Ryan's body. As the light faded, he was covered head to toe in white, gold, and black armor.

"Now, you're all in big, big trouble." Ryan said, his voice altered by the helmet.

Running towards them, he flipped over the closest three creatures, and landed a vertical slash on the were-bat, who was a few yards away from the others. Sparks and blood flew from its chest, as Byakko ripped through its armored hide. Down, but not out, the were-bat let out a sonic scream, throwing Ryan flying back towards the other beasts.

Adjusting as he flew with a mid-air flip, Ryan turned his fall into an attack of opportunity, connecting with a flying fist in the gremlin's face.

"Byakko, Dairinkens." Ryan ordered. As the words left Ryan's mouth, Byakko was engulfed in light and transformed into two white and black bladed discs, with a handle running down the center. "Keep them busy!" He exclaimed, throwing the discs at the others. Byakko flew through the air, creating a bladed barrier for Ryan as he engaged the gremlin in hand to hand combat.

The gremlin attempted to slash at Ryan's face, but he blocked it with his left forearm, then twisted it around to lock his attacker's arm in place. Empowered by his armor, Ryan landed several quick blows to the monster's face, then used its own arm to swing it around and throw it towards Byakko.

"Byakko, return." Ryan commanded. The twin blades flew back towards Ryan, tearing through the gremlin. "One down, three to go." He said as it exploded.

Byakko returned to its original form, and delivered a sweeping strike against all three writhings as they attempted to cut down Ryan. All three were knocked back, with squid-face being thrown off the building, and were-bat falling down dead.

The Sasquatch got to its feet and roared at Ryan. The armored warrior simply replied with "Fang Rush", and connected with a dashing strike. The single cut he landed multiplied itself a hundred times within a second, overwhelming the hairy beast.

"Looks like we're back to where we started!" Ryan shouted down to the injured creature. He jumped down towards his final target. The writhing thing attempted to defend itself with a multitude of tentacles strikes, but to no avail. Ryan cut each tentacle down as they approached - his speed was simply too great for this lesser beast.

Byakko made contact, digging into its left shoulder before Ryan cut down to its right hip. He used the momentum to spin around, and stabbed backwards with increased force. The last of the writhing things slid off his blade before exploding behind Ryan.

"That was fun." Ryan said, powering down.

"Fun isn't the word I would use." Byakko sternly replied.

"Look, we took care of them, and no one got hurt. I'd call that a win."

"It was still risky to go four against one."

Ryan sighed and shook his head. There was just no pleasing Byakko.

He took a look at the university. "I guess we should go see what they were looking for in there." He said, walking towards the eerie school.

"Ah crap." He suddenly said, stopping in place. "I forgot my backpack on the roof."

 

[MagiPink]

Looking out from the balcony within the one bedroom apartment at the panoramic view of the city lost in thought. It seems nearly next to imaginable Gwen was now far away from home studying aboard on her own for the first time. Barely out of high school was an invitation for a trial scholarship at the university a chance to find her place within the world. With her parents help with the promising studying hard for the entrance exams agreed to pay the apartment rent while in school. A fair arrangement Gwen agreed with. Nestled within Gwen’s arms a small white creature with purple and silver décor, Cologne shared the same view. At a glance one may easily be convinced that he was (and could pass for one) a plushy that played well in their favor never far apart from one another. While his partner appeared excited at the opportunity granted a chance pursuing a higher education felt that this city hide a great secret. “Gwen, I know that this goes without saying how proud I am of you right now regretfully must…†Cologne’s words faltered as Gwen’s icy blue eyes met his with a quiet nod indicating she felt it too.

There was no mistake that Gwen wanted to be the first in her family to get into a University than community college had an uneasy feeling as they entered the city. “Let us keep an eye open for now rather rushing into things first. Crazy that it may sound cannot help place there being a connection of the ones that had led you to me are within this city as well. If that is the case our purpose being here is no coincidence.†Reaching into the pocket of her leather jacket pulled out a small white compact with a golden heart. There was a promise Gwen vowed squeezed the fairy more tightly against her causing him to blush embarrassed.

~~~~~~~~

Another day…Another complete douchebag trying to cop a feel of the voluptuous brunette’s rear as she reached clean up after patrons as they left. Not for the reason keeping this job an essential have a roof over her head longer needed to exercise complete restraint. If it were in her power Abby would have had the next arse try get a good feel into the bar’s counter repeatedly till they lost conscious. This not being the case took a deep breath turning to face the patron balancing the tray of dirty dishes. “Excuse me sir,†Abby said sternly, “Like to request that you refrain from touching or any of the other waitresses’. It is a distraction for both the others and I will have you remove should you ignore my warning.â€

Aside from the manager serving as the bartender kept an eye on the situation were the eyes of a small white feline with unusual markings accompanied by jewel-like creatures, Harmony and the fairy tones. It pained them beyond measures that this was the only form of work she had opted. Regardless of the efforts made on their parts to help out and change Abby’s decision met with vain continued to do what they seemly can to return the one they had grew up with.

(Yay, my first post)

 

[The_Bladesman]

On examining the room Hayato seemed happier, the room met all his expectations and the news of the services of the board and manor seemed almost too good to be true. as he put aside his clothing Hayato’s mind began to wonder what if this was how the town trapped its inhabitants as the bartender suggested, no outright bribery or intimidation but with a smiling face and promise of a cheap hot meal. None the less it was still too early to suspect molly or even her impolite grandmother of underhandedness just yet.

Unclipping his briefcase Hayato much to his own annoyance removed a large notice board, a laptop, a note pad and a small map of the town, it didn’t make any sense how could he keep such large objects in the briefcase and how did it not weight it down, its very existence created questions which he had no idea how to answer.

“Trying to understand any of this is just frustrating.â€

A short while later Hayato had prepared his work space with some early concept sketches and numerous pages of notes on the G2 armour. Hayato still had a lot to consider before even beginning construction, how to enhance the speed, was projectile weaponry needed and finally he needed a way to put it on quickly. This was all just speculation until he could actually test G1 in real combat. Ultimately Hayato decided to wait before planning out G2 any more after all it was late and with his bags unpacked he could get some sleep.

Hayato starred at the inviting bed for a moment but no matter how stupid it seemed he just couldn’t shake that nagging feeling, it wasn’t too late yet and he probably wouldn’t actually find any fiends out tonight so what harm would it do to look. Even if there was nothing out there, at least he’ll become more accustomed to the town at night but if there were fiends sulking in the shadows, G1 would finally see real combat and that data could be priceless.

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

At that same moment in different part of town a young woman thoroughly searched through a back alley, she was certain that bizarre bar was here not these old bins and fire escapes. She couldn’t belive it had vanished but unless it was hiding under the cardboard box in the corner it had.

While continuing her fruitless search on the streets, Reika pondered her next course of action, she had only woken up an hour ago after her extended couch journey and was in no mood to sleep yet but most places would likely closed save for some pubs and bars, it seemed all she could really do was walk around the streets looking for trouble.

Blinking suddenly as if a struck with inspiration Reika abruptly ended her search and almost ran across the empty roads with the suddenness that gave the impression of someone certain of where to go next. she was on her way to the university, after all if cold march was anything the town she stayed last year most of the bars would be scattered along the way letting her patrol the streets to ensure the safety of the tipsy civilians while also getting a better look at the university.

“I could continue my course here so long as the fiends don’t attack too often.â€

Reika wondered as she headed to the university, expecting the university to be closed, demolished or under attack by some kind of gigantic fiend already.

 

[Ziginz Zegell]

As Molly and Thomas approached the park entry way, the young girl closed her blue eyes as if trying to concentrate. Her companion, Thomas, was more than a bit unsettled about the situation. He looked around as if expecting something to appear from the park at any moment. He looked back at his young friend from time to time seeming unhappy that she was there. Rather, he seemed unhappy that she had to be there.

”Molly…you know you shouldn’t have to be here. You’re only thirteen for Christ sake. No one should have to worry about this sort of ****, but especially not a kid.”

The man’s words didn’t seem to reach the girl who was mumbling beneath her breath. He turned back to her and shook his head in frustration before turning back to the park entrance. When next Molly opened her eyes, they had gone from blue to a bright yellow color, and glowed faintly with some ancient power. ”Twelve of them…scattered about in groups of four…the Lady in Red is already gone.”

Thomas let out a sight of relief at the girl’s words. The odds were very much against them, but at least the source of the beasts wasn’t here. Believe it or not, that was the best news they could hope for. What Molly said next caused Thomas to tighten up and take on an almost panicked look. ”Four of them are heading this way…they are after something, but I don’t think it is us. They’ve been told to kill; we have to stop them.”


Before Thomas could argue that the situation was too dangerous for Molly to be there, the girl had already begun chanting a new verse. A white glyph appeared and shined beneath her feet, and four objects began to form around her. Thomas knew what came next and prepared himself as the creatures came into sight. Most people would run in terror, and indeed Thomas’ instincts told him he should. Instead he stood his ground, prepared to protect Molly from the animalistic creatures. He wanted to snatch her up and run, but trying to do so now that she had started her summoning could injure her in several ways. The last thing the man ever wanted was to bring the small girl harm, especially since it was his meddling that got her caught up in all this madness. He had to protect her, because it was all his fault that she was here.

As the four monsters rushed in from the fog, one of the lights floating around Molly took solid form. It was now a bizarre looking sword that was a mix of organic and mineral that shown with a blue glow. ”Almace!” The sword responded to its name as it flew to Thomas’ hand just in time for the man to strike off the head of the first beast. The creature fell, seemingly dead (if it could have been called alive to begin with), at which point the sword wielder prepared for the rest of his enemies. It had been a lucky blow, one that the creature hadn’t expected, but its siblings would not fall so easily. Two of the creatures turned their attention to Thomas, attacking the man with reckless abandon while the third ran right past him and toward the unprotected girl.

”Molly!” Thomas shouted as the creature leapt for the girl. She didn’t bait an eye as another of the lights took form and rotated from its place at her left to in front of her. ”Caduceus!” The unique staff, that was entwined by two, serpentine creatures shined with a brilliant energy that knocked the skeletal monster away from the girl. The knocked back monster attempted another attack, but was again knocked away. Thomas tried to swing around and help the girl, but his two foes kept pressing him too hard for him to turn away. After about the fourth attempt, the monster before Molly began to convulse as the bits of flesh holding its body together began to postulate and bleed. Both combatants knew what was coming, but didn’t have the time to stop it. Suddenly, the grotesque flesh enwrapped the beasts body and where once there had been only bound bones, there was a fat, slug like humanoid. The creature opened its slit mouth from which rolled a generous amount of slime and a single, long, spiked tooth.

The monster pulled back its entire body and then slung itself forward, driving the spike into Molly’s protective item like a rail spike. The girl let out a scream as her shield took the blow, but was chipped in the process. Thomas, too concerned about protecting the girl to wait any longer, turned away from his two enemies and lunged at the slug. Strangely, the two fiends let the man go, and his sword met with the slimy body of the fiend. To the man’s horror, his blade rolled right off the creature and did nothing to harm it. The creature did not even feel it necessary to acknowledge the man as it reared back to impact the strange shield once more.

Then another sound erupted from the other two fiends as both began their own hideous transfigurations. One was covered in a grey layer of skin and had a more feline appearance, though sickeningly thin. It twisted its body unnaturally and spun about in a macabre dance of claws and boney blades. The second was a thicker, canine like monster whose massive mouth opened to reveal row after row on razor sharp teeth. It barked loudly as it ran forward with surprising speed toward the outnumbered swordsman. Another strike from the slug shattered the item called Caduseus, leaving Molly open for another attack. The seal beneath her feet suddenly vanished as her eyes changed back to blue. At the same moment the sword in Thomas’ hand faded away leaving the man even more vulnerable than he already was. The girl jumped away as the monster slammed its face into the ground, barely missing the child. At this moment the feline fiend sprang into action, spiraling toward Molly to finish the girl off. She looked on at the creature as Thomas broke away from the hound in a vain attempt to reach her. For the first time during the whole ordeal, the courageous young girl looked scared.

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She clenched her chest tightly as she felt their lives fade away. She felt them slipping into nothingness, as if they had never existed. It wrenched her heart as much as it would any mother whose children had been murdered but ruthless monsters. The woman in red gritted her teeth and cried red tears as her youngest ‘child’ stared aimlessly into the night. The University had grown dark and quite, except for her whimpering moans. ”They will die…they will all die. They spilt the blood of my children…and I demand blood in recompense!”

Her hand dug deep into her body, deeper than she had ever forced it before. She was searching for something within herself, something that would kill everything she demanded it too. She found it…and pulled it form herself. What she removed was not of this, or any other world. It was something so formless that even she did not complete know what to call it. The hole in her chest closed and she turned to her last child. ”Kill my beloved…kill everything!” With that she thrusted the horrid thing into her bone born offspring, and it began to change the creature into something more horrid than any of its siblings before it. The Lady in Red vanished and the monster she left behind roared a blood curdling cry.

A giant creature, it looked something like an otherworldly sea anemone, but with far more tentacles spreading from its form. It stood over twenty feet tall and was as thick as a bus. From some of its tentacles, strange creatures spewed forth and let out hideous roars and gulping screams. They were like eyeless, humanoid eels that walked upright and bore sharp fangs as well as cartilage spears that erupted from their parent beast’s body. Soon more than twenty were ready to make war with many more still on the way. A scream filled the air as a group of students who had been out on the town met their ends while heading back to the dorms. They had become food for the behemoth, and from their flesh four more of the eel things were born. The hunt had begun, and the terrible creatures were spoiled for prey.

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From a distant spot stood five figures watching the events before them unfold. One seemed rather perturbed as she spoke with her associates while the others were all quite amused. ” Tearing a chunk of flesh from a Writhing Thing only to fuse it with her pathetic manifestation. Are we really going to let something like that go to waste?” Another member of the group answered with a chuckle as he finished another slice of the group’s shared pizza. ”I say let her have fun. After all the fact she was even able to touch a writhing thing and not be torn asunder is a sign of her potential. If anything we might be able to make a farm out of her for reliable servants.” A third figure scoffed at the suggestion with a bit of disgust, while the fourth smiled wickedly at the idea. When the fifth spoke, the others took heed and showed him due respect. ”The vanguards have appeared…some of which may be of use to us. For now we will let those like her do as they want, and watch from a distance. After all, rushing into things could be more trouble than it is worth.”

 

[Icefish]

Cam sped down the road, following the directions coming through his earpiece. A quick turn brought him to two people being attacked by a cat, a dog, and a...slug? Well, he had seen stranger. He revved his bike, hoping to draw their attention, but they were too focused on their prey. Time for plan B. He raced towards them, even as the cat lunged at one of their targets. With little hesitation and even less of an actual plan in mind, Cam smashed his bike into the feline creature. It didn't do nearly as much damage as he had hoped it would, but it did keep the cat from killing the...oddly familiar girl. Was that the landlady? As he skidded to a halt, Cam filed that under "things to worry about later." He dismounted with a bit of flair and moved to place himself between the civilians and the creatures.

"You might want to run away now. It's about to get messy." He grinned as he cast a second's glance at the civilians, one of whom he was now moderately certain was his landlady. "Oh, and you two might want to leave as well." The dog growled, the cat hissed, and the slug made the sound one might expect a giant monstrous slug to make. Cam turned back to them, shaking a chiding finger at them. "Now, now," he said as he pulled out the Decadriver. "I haven't forgotten you." He put the driver to his waist, prompting the rest of the belt to materialize around it. He opened the buckle before cracking open the Ride Booker, drawing a single red card featuring bust of a pink armored warrior, and slid the card into the buckle.

KAMEN RIDE

Cam took a step towards the trio of enemies, smirking confidently. "Well, let's get started!" He slammed the buckle shut.

DECADE

A series of nine grey silhouettes, almost transparent in nature, appeared around him before coalescing on his body and sheathing it in grey armor. Several glowing rectangles of energy, rather card-like in appearance, flew into his face and formed something of a bar code like pattern on the armor's face. Finally, the armor's color shifted from grey to its usual black, white, and pink color scheme. The whole process took only seconds, and the end result was a form no one present, save its wearer, had seen before. With a well-practiced motion, he had the Ride Booker drawn and in sword mode. He rested the blade one one shoulder while gesturing with his free hand.

"Here kitty, kitty!"

The feline creature screeched as it lunged at Decade, lashing out at him with its claws. Each blow was either blocked or parried by the pink warrior. Decade, in return, struck the feline with several fierce slashes. He quickly had the monster on the defensive and was driving it back away from the civilians. The difference in their strength was vast and clearly apparent. The feline backed away, trying to flee. Decade merely drew another card and slid it into the belt. "Oops. You blinked."

ATTACK RIDE: SLASH

Decade lashed out, slicing at his opponent. His blade was glowing with pink energy, and each strike hurt as if it were a dozen. The feline was utterly defenseless against this sudden onslaught. The force of the blows knocked it off its feet. It managed to utter a wounded whimper before its body failed it and the creature's life ended in a magnificent explosion. Decade turned to the remaining two creatures, who had been oddly passive during the fight. He ran his hand down the length of his blade, as if wiping off blood from his fallen foe. "Alright, who's next?"