Private/Closed Bootleg Bros. Ultimate - The Muspell Campaign

[comic]

ANAKIN SKYWALKER​

Once the crow had made himself comfortable (Snips would have loved this thing), the jedi took off, amplified by force speed as he zeroed in on the presence of life he’d detected, bounding across boulders where he could to speed their rapid journey.

Anakin grit his teeth to keep them from chattering, fighting back the biting cold. He’d always disliked the cold, it got under his skin and made him slow and numb, two things a jedi couldn’t afford to be. Plus, it was very uncomfortable. Sand wasn’t much better, but at least he could deal with scalding desert heat. He’d been raised in it.

Anakin finally skid to a stop, reaching the group and letting the crow hop off, the two probably earning looks as the others would notice their arrival. Anakin held up his hands “Oh, don’t mind us, we were only left way back there, cold and alone,” he said sarcastically—before his eyes found the woman. Her energy was weak, but that strange device Bennett had given her seemed to have strengthened it, if only by a bit.

Thinking quickly, Anakin began to look around. A cave would be a boon right about now, but if not that, then maybe...

That’s right, the structure on the hill, back in the other direction from where they’d awoken.

Anakin turned his gaze toward Nikki. “Can your bird still fly?” he asked, though it was rhetoric as he turned and pointed back in the direction of the building. “If nobody else saw it, there was a building that way. Even if it’s unused, it can block out the elements. We need to take her there.”

He really hoped there was a warm fire waiting inside.​

 

[Mokko]

Nikki Prez
Nikki stared down at the woman in the snow, swallowing nervously. For a brief moment, Nikki wondered if she was… dead. A morbid thought, but all those injuries, the blue lips… as she drew closer though, right behind Bennett, she could see that the person was shivering.

Bennett’s amulet worked wonders, but that alone wasn’t going to be enough- she was covered in burns, cuts, bruises, and generally just looked totally battered. Even with the warmth flowing through her body, along with the immediate results it produced, she was unconscious a few seconds later. At a bare minimum, she needed shelter, some fresh clothes, and maybe a hit of that healing magic Akira had.
So when Anakin made his proposal, Nikki was totally on board.

“Oh yeah, ‘Pacho’s still got plenty of juice left in him!” Nikki nodded to Anakin, patting the side of the huge bird as he stared intently at the body in the snow, making an unhappy cooing sound. “We’ll get her to safety, and then maybe she can tell us what the heck is going on around here…”

Kneeling down, Nikki lifted Fjorm up in her arms, but it didn’t seem to be an easy process for her, the Alolan a lot more skilled in agility than raw physical strength. Still, she was capable enough- Fjorm wasn’t much bigger than Rosemarie, who Nikki had carried before.

“Aaaaaaaaauuuuuu…” she huffed, strained further as she managed to place the former prisoner on Gazpacho’s back, letting out a triumphant sigh.

 

[Fraseandchico]

Akira Tadokoro

"Tch, I'm not apologising. We were in a rush, figured those assholes might've been trying to get here as well." Akira was quick to retort to Anakin, making his way over to the person found by Bennett. Great, she was unconscious and injured, but alive. Bennett had tried to awaken her with that amulet for heating, but she'd fallen back asleep.

Healing was probably needed. Luckily, Anakin had an idea, noting a building he'd seen earlier and asking if Nikki's bird could still fly. He was about to offer a hand in moving the lady, but it looked like Nikki had it so that was unneeded. Feeling his own anger finally cool down, the cold finally struck Akira, causing him to grit his own teeth and shake slightly. "Really regretting not having a shirt, but it's worth looking badass." He muttered under his breath, stretching his neck out.

"Alright, I can heal her up once there, probably safer than doing it here. Enough space on there for more of us?" Not so subtly, Akira seemed to be suggesting that he should go with Gazpacho, walking forward towards the bird.
Goodness sake, it really was cold.

 

[Mokko]

Nikki Prez
Nikki winced- she did feel a bit bad, having left part of the crew behind, but she ultimately agreed with Akira's response. They'd had no way of knowing if Loki, or that freakshow from earlier, was just going to scoop this poor girl back up if they'd been too slow!

"I think Gazpacho's got a max capacity of... threeeee... yeah, three people," Nikki estimated. "Maaaybe four in a pinch, but he only has so much room up there... he could probably carry someone with his claws, too, but they're pretty sharp. Hup!" she let out a huff of air as she hopped up, slinging her leg over Gazpacho and assuming a seat on his feathery back, sitting at the front so she could properly steer and command the avian.

"If you're gettin' on, get behind her- you can make sure she doesn't fall off midair! Because that would... that would not be good!" Nikki said to Akira, in regards to their stolen prisoner.

 

[Fraseandchico]

Akira Tadokoro

"Three, then. Hrmph!" With a little effort, Akira hoisted himself onto Gazpacho, behind the prisoner, turning around to face the others. "Yeah, right." He agreed to Nikki's request quickly, though sounded pretty lazy. Looking at the others, he decided to address them.

"Hey, if you're going there too, make sure you get something to stay warm, right? Freezing out here..." Akira noted to them, crossing his legs and leaning back slightly. Considering he had to make sure the prisoner didn't fall off, he seemed rather relaxed - But on a closer look, his off-arm had moved to secure her position to the best of Akira's ability. He seemed rather confident in his own ability to stay on as well, this position bringing back in Akira's mind sitting on the back of Matsu's motorcycle. Closing his eyes, Akira activated Self-Care, slightly healing himself, and tuned his Mind-Reading towards the unconscious one. She may have been unconscious, but since she was still alive, perhaps her mind was still working...

"Oh yeah, guess I should introduce myself - name's Akira." The sudden introduction was very last minute, and very lax, as though the teenager had only just remembered to do so. Which was, in fact, the case. "And I hope we can keep working together, you guys don't seem like total assholes."

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Bennett


Capacity of three people huh? Bennett knew his mental math. Between Nikki, Akira, and the newly rescued Fjorm, they were already at max capacity. Ah. That was okay. The could go on without him, that's how it usually went anyway. As Akira introduced himself rather foul mouth like, Bennett hesitated but gave a thumbs up to him.

"You sound like a seasoned adventurer, glad to meet you!" Bennett beamed. "I'm Bennett, leader of Benny's adventure team. You really want to keep working with me...?"

Looking both ways for a second to see if he was actually talking to another person, Bennett whipped back around, rubbing the back of his head.

"I see that all seats are taken up here, and I don't wanna cause any discomfort for your buddy Gazpacho here, so I can walk. It's fine, honest! I could use the exercise anyway."

 

[Psymallard]

Caw!
The human was off! Much faster than any creature the Reaper had seen with his own eyes (maybe excluding Betty), Anakin bounded through the snow. The bird began to slip at one point, but managed to keep hold for the duration of their journey. When Anakin stopped, the bird dropped. There, they found a woman beaten and unconscious. The crow had life seeds on him, but there was nowhere to plant them in this frozen ground.

Gazpacho was re-summoned, and from the sounds of the conversation, the corvid was about to be left behind again. Would it kill these people to walk somewhere? Just then, a cold breeze blew up Little Crow's feather layer- which caused a chill to spread through his body. He shivered. Oblivious to how cold everyone else was, he decided to warm himself up, as a small, magical flame charged to life in his wing. The heat was pleasant in this frigid environment.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

The Gazpacho Gang

Akira looked into the blonde girl’s mind. There was some thoughts there, but it was weak and faint. She shifted slightly, letting out a small groan as Gazpacho took flight.
Mother… Ylgr… I’m sorry…

Gazpacho flew closer to the fort, and the riders were able to get a better look at it. It was a short tower, only two stories tall, constructed of gray stone bricks. Scorch marks and soot scored the walls. Over the parapet, the scorched remnants of a blue flag flapped in the wind. Wooden door to the fort sat heavily in its hinges, and there was no sound of movement or light from inside the tower.

With some struggle, the pair would be able to force the door open. The sight that greeted the heroes was not a good one. The inside of the fort had been totally trashed. Shattered wooden chairs, tables, crates, and stands were scattered about the place. Many things were burnt and reduced to ash, signs of a fire that had long since been extinguished. More grisly were the trio of skeletons that laid scattered around the place. Each one lay in a pile of ash and debris, and each wore armor that had been cindered and burnt past its usefulness. In one part of the room, a stand where weapons were stored could be seen, but it was empty. Stairs led upwards to a second floor.

Even though the tower had been trashed, at the very least it was dry and out of the wind. Only slightly warmer than the snowy terrain outside.

 

[Fraseandchico]

Akira Tadokoro

During the journey, Akira stayed mostly quiet, having been thinking on the words heard through the girl's mind. Whoever this lady was, sounds like she lost her Mother recently. Was it to those soldiers? And who was Ylgr... Another family member, probably. A sibling? The name sounded foreign, anyway.

God, he really hoped that wasn't a younger sister's name.

Luckily, when the pair arrived and got inside, his mind was drawn off of that. Unfortunately, it was because the sight was grisly, the fort completely overturn. Chances were the destruction was from something like that last group.
At least it wasn't completely devoid of evidence that life had once existed here, no matter how disturbing it was to see skeletons amidst the ashes.
"Ugh, this place has seen better days." He murmured, darting eyes around. "Straight down to the bone... That's fucked." Akira sighed, kneeling next to one of the skeletons. At least it was a little warmer here...

"Hey, I don't think this is the sight she'll want to wake up to, wanna see what's upstairs?" With an offhand suggestion, Akira looked over back to Nikki and Gazpacho. "I mean, we could just wake her up here anyway - my healing won't cover all her injuries but it'll kickstart the recovery way faster."

 

[Mokko]

Nikki Prez
Nikki had actually been pretty excited to get inside this place- her mind had been filled with thoughts of what could lay within. A nice fireplace, maybe? A bountiful feast? A cool rug?! Cell service!! As long as it wasn’t too cold, all that stuff was pretty secondary, but it sure wouldn’t be unappreciated.

And that made the reality of the interior so much worse…

Just fragments of furniture strewn all over the place, everything looking like it had just been lit on fire and then… left to turn to ash, and rot. That wasn’t even mentioning the bones- not just bones, but entire skeletons. A surefire sign that people had literally died in this very room, and Nikki and Akira were perhaps the first ones to discover what was left of them.

“This is…” she began, but she didn’t quite have the words yet. She was… not used to seeing dead bodies, at all. The battlefield earlier was actually a very… very unique experience for her. Back home, even the most violent, hard-hitting of Pokemon battles just about never ended in death. Battles that physically involved humans were pretty uncommon, too…
“Terrible,” she finally concluded her thought. She looked back and folded her arms, seeing that Gazpacho wasn’t gonna be able to fit through the door. That meant it was up to Super Nikki to get this lady to the second floor- no big deal!

“Hm… yeah, anything’s better than this!” she nodded to Akira, turning toward her bird and having him lower himself down a bit, so she could once again lift the prisoner. It didn’t look like Nikki was having an easier time than before.

“Hyuuuup- there it is- get back in your ball now, buddy…!” the strained trainer said.

Gazpacho suddenly began to peck at the side of the tower.

“No, don’t eat the wall! Get in your ball! Ball!” she groaned

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Gazpacho Gang​

Before Nikki could bring the unconscious woman inside the fort...

Peck! Peck!

Click!

Griiinnnnnnd~


As Nikki complained to her bird Pokemon, there was the grinding of stone against stone. Gazpacho's pecking of the fort wall had revealed something. One of Gazpacho's pecks struck one of the stone bricks, pressing it into the wall. A closer inspection of the brick, one that was at shoulder height, would reveal that same six-sided snowflake like symbol, the one that was in the platform the heroes had been summoned to, was carved into it. Quite small, it was something easy to miss in the dim overcast and snow. With a click, a small hidden door revealed itself in the side of the tower. Within, a narrow staircase lead downwards before curving out of sight. It was very faint, but with the Pokemon's keen sense of smell, Gazpacho would be able to smell food coming from within the hidden area. A soft blue glow could be seen emanating from whatever lie below...

 

[Fraseandchico]

Akira Tadokoro

"Quit fooling around, what're you even-" Akira sounded exasperated as he stood up and followed outside while Nikki was struggling to get Gazpacho to listen.

Click!
Griiinnnnnnd~

"-!" The teen cut himself off, the cold air striking his chest but undercut by the sounds of frosty stones moving. Moving out further to see better, Akira noticed the brick that was pressed in. A six-sided snowflake symbol.
Hey, I should keep an eye out for those later...

A passage leading down, with a faint blue glow. Akira didn't usually like those, the cylinders in his mind were firing off the buttons of 'this is bad news'. Then again, if something was bad, it could be handled easily enough - Surely...
"Can't say I expected that," Akira quietly admitted, before continuing to speak- louder. "But hey, if it was closed off and out of the wind, it'll probably be way warmer. If we work together, we'll be able to get her down there without, I dunno, bashing her head on the wall with that curve." The esper suggested, moving to try and assist with carrying the lady, grunting if he was given room to do so.
He certainly wasn't the strongest around, but Akira still had strength in him to help - Those muscles weren't for show, even if he much preferred his psychic abilities for fighting.

 

[Mokko]

Nikki Prez
“W-Woah… ‘Pacho, what’d you… a secret basement!” Nikki was in disbelief, so much so that she momentarily forgot her struggles with hauling this lady around. Staring down into the unknown, she couldn’t help but agree that it seemed like a good idea to head down- if it was no good, they could always go back to their original idea of bringing this prisoner up to the second floor, even if it would be a lot of leg work.

“Ah, I’m careful, she would be fine,” Nikki said, but didn’t deny Akira’s help. Admittedly, carrying the prisoner solo seemed a lot safer going upstairs than it did going downstairs- a misstep in this direction could mean a tumble, so despite her boastful words, she was grateful for the assist.

“Pacho, ya genius! That’s a good Windrome!” Nikki told her big Pokemon proudly, the avian squawking as he poked his head into the door… before cramming his bulky, feathery body inside, hurrying downward, sniffing out the food.
“...Aw, geez. Well, guess we’ll have to be the second people to ever discover this secret place. Guess it’s only fair he got dibs…” she laughed lightly, as she and Akira began the careful descent.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

The Gazpacho Gang

With the Windrome in the lead, Nikki and Akira carried the unconcious woman down the tight staircase. It went down for 15 ft, and opened up into a small, single room. The blue light they had seen was coming from a small line of runes carved in the wall, just below the ceiling. The ruins glowed bright enough to illuminate the room. It was just as cold as the upstairs, but as Gazpacho stepped into the room there was another soft click! This one coming from a pressure plate beneath the Pokemon's feet at the base of the stairs. The blue runes glowed slightly brighter. The air in the room warmed, as if it was being heated by a cozy fireplace.

Unlike the upstairs fort, this area was clean and organized. A thin layer of dust covered everything in the room. Clearly, whatever had ransacked the upper floors had not found this place. Chests lined the walls, and on one part of the wall a shelf held sleeping rolls. In a corner of the room, tents and tent poles leaned against the wall. On another wall, a rack held swords, lances, and axes. While dusty, the weapons were still sharp and ready for combat.

Gazpacho moved to one of the chests, easily flipping it open with his beak. The chest contained food rations. Dried meat and hard bread, among other things. But food!

 

[comic]

ANAKIN SKYWALKER​

Nobody made much effort to get to know each other. While Anakin, the crow, Bennett, and the shovel-bearing knight walked, they were kept mostly in silence. It didn’t bother the jedi any, it was likely that the others, like him, just wanted to get to the structure as quickly as they could. Visiting and chatting would slow them down and distract them.

Maybe they were also digesting their situation, coming down from the high of the recent battle and saving the captured woman.

Anakin tried to keep himself from shivering to look tough. Not out of a desire to uphold an image in front of these people, but more as a personal discipline. Jedi were taught not to show weakness. Anakin really wasn’t the most conventional jedi, but he did try to stand by his teachings at least once in a while. Obi-Wan would be mildly impressed that Anakin hadn’t yet openly complained about the cold, but to be honest, the jedi general would have if Obi-Wan was actually here.

“There,” Anakin said, the group rising up the snowy hill as the dark shape of the building came into view. They were pretty much right on top of it, and would hopefully be out of the weather in just a few moments. There was no obvious sign of Nikki, Akira, and the giant bird, so that probably meant they’d made it inside. Anakin could pick up the unique energy of life within, which was likely them—but he was also getting the overwhelming presence of death and decay.

That wasn’t good.

“Keep your guard up,” the jedi told the others, just in case.​

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Bennett


Well, this was a trip. Shovel knight and Anakin to his sides, he knew one was kind hearted. Anakin? He seemed very...focused. Didn't seem like he was too interested in conversation from the way he dove into battle earlier, so he hadn't really made an attempt.

"Well, they'll be alright. That Gazpacho will make sure of that!"

At least they starting talking now. At least the ice was broken a little bit. Eyeing shovel knight and then Anakin, he cleared his throat.

"So...uh...you were pretty good with that laser sword back there. Did you find it in a rare chest or something?"

 

[Gamingfan]

Shovel Knight
There was a rather uncomfortable silence as the group trudged their way towards shelter. Shovel Knight tried to think of something to say, but failed to say anything more than a "Hm." at Anakin's warning.
At least Bennet tried speaking, asking Anakin about his weapon. Shovel knight chimed in.
"Ah, I've wondered about that too. And the way you pushed those soldiers down...what kind of magic is that?"

 

[Psymallard]

The Reaper
The snow might be pretty, but it was hell to walk through. The crow followed after the humans, struggling to keep up with their longer strides. They talked amongst each other, likely having forgotten about the bird by now. Little Crow rolled his eyes, and then peered past them to look at the house. It seemed to be ruined, but then again, ruins were common where the corvid had come from. Heck, seeing this many humans in one place wasn't common where he came from- not anymore.

What was this world? The crow could deduce that the soldiers that they just fought were part of a larger, but similarly merciless army. He'd faced a tyrannical regime of the same kind in the form of the Frog King, but he'd also heard of the destructive wars humans had waged. Either way, he probably shouldn't meddle in a war he had no stakes in nor information on.

...However, there was another problem. Abducting warriors from other realms and subjugating to your will- that was an interdimensional crime against freedom. Something of this caliber was nearly as heinous as Death's Door, and as a member of the Free Crows, he could not let this crime against the multiverse stand. He had to find any trace of this magic and destroy it. Any meddling he did do would only be a side effect of this task.

 

[comic]

ANAKIN SKYWALKER​

They were beginning to crest the hill, Anakin’s boots dragging through the thick snow. Some of it was getting inside... that wasn’t very cool.

Then, the boy, Bennett, spoke to the jedi. Anakin only really checked in to what he was saying when he said ‘laser sword.’ A normal term for those not in-the-know with jedi and jedi affairs.

“Rare chest?” Anakin asked. “Do you normally find deadly weapons in chests?”

Shovel Knight piped up with his own query.

“Not magic; the force,” Anakin corrected. “I’m part of the jedi order. Have you heard of it?”

He was still under the assumption he was in his own galaxy. After all, he had yet to see anything strange enough that he couldn’t place within his own complex and diverse galaxy.​

 

[Mokko]

Nikki Prez
“This… place… is… perfect!!” Nikki exclaimed, eyes lighting up with enthusiasm. It was so nice and warm (though only after Gazpacho made ANOTHER accidental discovery), so much so that she was almost able to forget momentarily about the literal corpses just up above. She couldn’t quite tell where, exactly, the heat was coming from- was it those glowing runes?

Either way, this seemed like a much safer and more comfortable place to put the girl while she recovered from Loki’s abuse.
The weapons made Nikki a bit nervous about who owned this place… but the area above seemed totally abandoned, and the layers of dust on everything around here made her feel better, too. If they could reseal it, this could be a stellar hiding place!
Not that Nikki Prez was one for hiding!

“Let’s set her over- oi, Gazpacho!” Nikki spotted her Windrome pigging out in the corner of the room. “...actually, you know what? You’ve earned that.”

“Rooooo!” the Pokemon called out happily, digging his beak back into the chest and pulling out a big mouthful of bread, wolfing it down with greed, before walking around in circles for a few seconds, and then plopping down to take a nap.

“As I was saying, let’s set her down on one of those!” Nikki spoke to Akira, gesturing toward the shelves and the sleeping rolls on them.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Bennett


"Often? No I've never found anything like that. I hear only really seasoned adventurers ever find stuff like that. I usually find stuff like cabbages though."

Suppose the concept of finding stuff in chests sounded alien to the swordsman. It got even more alien when Anakin name dropped an organization he didn't recognized. The Jedi.

"Jedi? Huh...is that like, a librarian kind of thing?"

Lisa, someone from Mondstatd had a lot of magical abilities he couldn't quite explain, and she was a librarian. Maybe he was along those lines? Was a bit reassuring that Shovel knight was also a bit out of the loop, he wasn't alone in his confusion.

 

[comic]

ANAKIN SKYWALKER​

The general couldn’t help but give a small chuckle. This place was definitely in the far outer rim. He himself had only heard of Jedi as a kid by listening to the right pilots in the right places, wandering about through cantinas at night. Otherwise, the jedi were a myth, or even an unknown to some people - though Anakin felt that had to be a bit rare. The jedi had a very profound reputation in every quadrant.

“Librarian’s a word for it,” he admitted. “Madame Nu takes care of the jedi archives- it’s where we store the galaxy’s knowledge, and secrets. But the jedi order itself is a peace-keeping one, we’re guardians of justice. You really haven’t heard anything about jedi?”​

 

[Fraseandchico]

Akira Tadokoro

Seeing the room found below the surface, Akira let out a small whistle.
"Oh, this is way nicer..." For a moment, he almost dropped his part of the woman's weight, quickly catching himself. While devoid of life, whatever heated the room showed someone had care in it, and with the weapons around it was like a far better version of a place he'd seen in fantastical past.

The bird was...gorging, to say the least, quickly beginning to eat before soon taking a nap after Nikki seemed to resign and allow it. Akira sighed, a little annoyed still.
"Yeah, on one of those seems right. Hang on, I can get one without putting all her weight on you." Closing his eyes, the esper reached into his powers once more.
Telekinesis was...not Akira's strong suit. Much like teleportation, his greater focus on his mental powers left the physical side lacking. However, he still had minor Telekinesis, something he demonstrated. It took a moment, but a glow around one of the sleeping rolls shimmered as it seemed to fall off the shelf. While slow, it then unrolled, Akira clearly strained from the effort - He needed more practice with Telekinesis.

Once the woman would be set on the sleeping roll, Akira would keep on hand on her shoulder, beginning to channel his healing into her, interplacing more positive thoughts to reinforce her consciousness for the time being. With any luck, she'd stirr.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Bennett


The fair haired adventurer shook his head, offering a shrug in response to Anakin's question.

"Nope, no bells ringing here. Though it sounds awfully like the knights of favonious where I'm from. They are peace keepers and are a reliable bunch. Though if you are any bit like them, then you are alright in my book!"

He held a thumbs up to Anakin, but froze instantly doing so. He just clicked some words the Jedi said together.

"Wait a second. Back up. Did you say...galaxy? As in, the one in space? You got secrets from all around there?! The archives must be massive! Bigger than a whole city to hold that much! You guys have all that?!"

Woah. This guy is a big deal, talk about a chance encounter!

 

[Mokko]

Nikki Prez
“Ah! Psychic powers! Awesome!” Nikki pointed out upon seeing Akira’s powers. She’d seen some of his stronger abilities already, but this was more in line with what her idea of a psychic was, back home. Everyone here had unique powers, few of which Nikki had seen before- not performed by humans, at least.

With the girl carefully placed onto the sleeping roll, Nikki knelt down and watched as Akira used his healing powers on her- hopefully, that would be enough to set her on the right track to a full recovery, after what Loki and her crew had put her through.

“So… what region are you from? Sinnoh? No, a Sinnohian would never wear their shirt like that. Umm, Kanto? They've got that one spooky psychic lady, isn't she a movie star now? Oh, Kalos! Totally Kalos, right?” Nikki broke the silence with some chatter, rubbing at her own arms, trying to rid herself of the rest of her goosebumps from being out in the cold.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

The Gazpacho Gang​

Healing energy flowed into the woman. At a slow but noticeable rate, her wounds began to heal. Cuts closed, bruises and burns began to fade. There was the soft clinking of metal from the shackles on her wrists and ankles, and the woman let out a quiet groan. Her eyes fluttered open, and she looked around the room with an unfocused gaze.
"Ugh... H... Hríd?" The woman muttered, looking at Akira through half-lidded eyes.

The woman regained her focus, and realization spread across her face. She gasped and attempted to push Akira away and scramble back, but due to her exhaustion and injuries was still rather weak.

 

[Fraseandchico]

Akira Tadokoro

"How does none of the above sound?" Akira sounded rather dismissive of Nikki's attempt to break the silence, as if it was a dumb question. "You heard that 'Loki' creep before, right? 'Other worlds', she'd said. I get the feeling we won't be thinking by the same regions." He quickly added, a shorthand explanation of his answer as he saw the wounds on the woman began to heal, the clinking of metal and a groan alerted Akira to her awakening.

Before he could act to rectify the shackles still loosely being there, nor to talk, the woman mentioned another name in questioning - 'Hríd'. Another family member? Someone she mistook Akira for? If that one were the case, he felt bad for the guy's reputation. Then, she attempted to shove him back and scramble back. It caught him off guard, but thankfully she was too tired and injured to make the most of that surprise, so it didn't exactly move him much.

"Tch, I'm trying to help you, lady." The tone was somewhat scolding, leaning back to give the woman some space. "Feeling better? Shit's cold out there, you're lucky those freaks didn't try to kidnap you again after they ran away." Akira made another attempt at mind-reading. The woman was still recovering clearly, but it surely wouldn't hurt to learn more quicker... right?

 

[comic]

ANAKIN SKYWALKER​

“Yeah, they’re big,” Anakin replied. ‘Bigger than they’ll let me know,’ he added in thought. The archives were expansive, but only those with the proper position could access them, and the holocrons.

Though the kid seemed unfamiliar with the galaxy. The ‘one in space’—where else would it be? Had Bennett never left this planet?

A suspicion was lingering in the jedi’s mind. They were almost at their destination.

“Have you never left this planet?”​

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Bennett


He's so indifferent about it...it something that big not mean much to him? How much has this guy seen to make such big things seem so small?? He must have a lot of stories.

"Planet? You mean Teyvat?" Bennett blinked. "No, I haven't left it! I actually haven't even left my own region, was always told that was a terrible idea... You talk about leaving the planet like it's something that's easy to do. Must have been some pair of wings!"

Bennett heard of windglinders that were so strong they could soar through the air like a bird, if Anakin came from a place with much stronger ones, it would be no wonder that they could travel planets!

 

[Captain Cardboard]

The Gazpacho Gang

Akira's comments, while rough, seemed to have a calming effect on the woman. She looked from Akira to Nikki, and appeared to decide they were not threats. They're not soldiers, or Contracted Heroes... This isn't the Fortress. Are they heroes from another world? The woman thought. As much as she tried to stay sitting up, it was too much for her, and she laid back down on the bed roll. She gave Akira a nervous smile and nod.
"Th.. thank you. Where am I?" She looked from Akira to Nikki once more. "Are you the ones that found me?"

 

[comic]

ANAKIN SKYWALKER​

The general smirked. “My starfighter’s pretty good,” he admitted, lacking humility - though he maintained enough not to mention the only reason his starfighter was so good was because he was its pilot. “Never left the region...”

Anakin didn’t know of any planets called Teyvat, but it wasn’t as though he knew them all by heart. Certainly not by committing them to memory, scholarly achievements was one of his least favorite things to pursue.

Anakin came to a stop, their group only a few meters from the building. The secret entrance was in view now, though the jedi had yet to take notice, turning to face Shovel Knight and the crow. “What about you two?”

His suspicion about the situation was growing. He had this underlying feeling that this frozen place wasn’t found in the galaxy he knew.

It might not even be in the same universe.​

 

[Psymallard]

Caw
As he asserted his goal, the humans began speaking of their home lands. Well, one did, while Anakin shared that he could travel between worlds, using something called a 'starfighter'? The corvid hadn't heard of such a transportation method, must have been something related to a pantheon of the old gods in the mortal realm. Teyvat was also a name unfamiliar to Little Crow, sounded like it was a safe haven for humans. The higher-ups never told him much, so it made sense that he wouldn't of heard of it unless he was stationed there.

They were nearing the ruins now, and Anakin's sudden halt snapped the crow out of his thoughts. He acknowledged the bird, asking about his homeworld. The Reaper was pretty sure he hatched in the mortal realm, but he had been in the Reaping Commission stationed in the Hall of Doors for as long as he could remember. Until recent, events, that was. He supposed his home was in the Forgotten Lands, now. Little Crow relayed this information to Anakin:

"Caw."

 

[Mokko]

Nikki Prez
“Other worlds, huh…” Nikki mumbled, as those words slowly began to set in and go wild in her mind. Other worlds… that meant… not only was she not in Porto anymore…
So that meant- she wasn’t even on the right PLANET right now?
Terrified, she considered pulling out her phone and trying to spam-call her friend, hoping this was a dream she could wake up from… but before she had a chance, the prisoner had woken up, causing a bit of a ruckus. It woke Gazpacho from his short-lived nap, too, the bird staring at the newly awakened person with his one-braincelled gaze, slightly interest.

“Don’t move around too much- that’ll reopen wounds and whathaveyou!” Nikki advised the woman, a bit startled by her shoving Akira, but it was a reasonable response to waking up in an unfamiliar place, with unfamiliar people. Even Nikki herself had been questioning the people around her just recently, but the group she’d woken up with had luckily turned out to be pretty cool people.

“As for where you are, uh… your guess is as good as mine! Some awesome secret basement to some not-so-awesome, creepy tower… it’s a good thing we found ya when we did, that Loki really is a piece of work, doing all that and leaving you in the snow! And she talks serious smack considering HER clothes are WAY worse for cold weather than mine, but that- that’s besides the point… are you feeling… non-frostbitey, Miss?” the Alolan inquired.

 

[Gamingfan]

Shovel Knight
The knight brought a hand to his chin, thinking deeply.
"I see. You could say I found my relics in a chest." Shovel Knight mused, displaying his Flare Wand as an example. "But I've never found a weapon like yours. Nor have I ever heard of this 'Force' or 'Jedi'."
Shovel knight grew interested as Anakin explained himself, and even more at Bennet's earnest confusion. Shovel Knight had never heard of anything they spoke of in The Valley. Then that could mean...
Of course, this wasn't the first time the knight had been unceremoniously dumped somewhere with other world travelers. He had even wandered into other dimensions by sheer happenstance. But he still didn't understand why he had been summoned now...
Anakin's question brought him out of his thoughts.
"Ah. I have travelled far and wide in The Valley, yet I never heard of anyone going beyond the stars. That is very impressive."
Shovel Knight looked at the crow as he relayed his thoughts in a rather condensed form. He was actually rather surprised it didn't speak English, but in hindsight, The Crow's size and the fact that it didn't wear clothes made it obvious that it wasn't related to Birdfolk from his world.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

The Gazpacho Gang

The young woman took Nikki's advice, laying back on the bedroll. She took a closer look at her surroundings, pausing a moment to stare in confusion at the large creature that was Gazpacho. She nodded to Nikki.
"I'm... alright. I think." The woman said. "A secret basement... I know of this place, I think. My people's forts have these shelters, for travelers who need shelter from harsh winter storms. This certainly looks like one of those.

The woman looked Nikki and Akira up and down.
"Who are the two of you? Were you the ones that pulled me from the snow?" The woman asked the pair.

 

[Mokko]

Nikki Prez
“Ah, this place was made by your people- for hiding? Well, it’s- it sure is effective!” Nikki blinked. After all, whatever had happened upstairs hadn’t taken place down here. “I mean, we probably wouldn’t have found it, if it weren’t for Gazpacho over there… he’s a genius! Um, situationally,” she looked toward her Windrome, who was back to his nap, flopping onto his stomach and spreading his wings out.

In the midst of the conversation, the prisoner being, y’know, not dead, gave Nikki the relief she needed to split her focus. Sliding her phone out of her pocket, Arcanine-themed case and all, she took a peek at the screen. No service- and okay, so maybe it WAS a long shot that what was apparently a different world from her own would have service, but that wasn’t going to stop her from calling Rosemarie a billion-gazillion-trillion-scovillian times as soon as she had a proper minute to herself.

“Ah, yeah, I s’pose we do get to take credit for that!” she smiled proudly, folding her arms and glancing at Akira. “Some other people helped, though, they should be on their way right now…” she then stared at the girl blankly, realizing it was getting a little weird to keep referring to her as ‘peculiar blonde’ and ‘the former prisoner’ in her head. “You got a name, Miss?”

 

[comic]

ANAKIN SKYWALKER​

The force normally brought on a natural connection among all living things, and provided those sensitive to it some unique abilities. One way to bridge a gap in communication was the ability called ‘Beast Language,’ something a jedi could use to understand animals. Some jedi were naturally talented with this, able to understand and communicate with animals without even trying. Other jedi simply couldn’t get it down and would never understand an animal.

Anakin was... somewhere in the middle. Being so powerful with the force, it was only natural that he had this ability to an extent, but while he was naturally skilled and talented in many areas, this wasn’t one of them. His understanding and use of Beast Language was usually shifty at best, but when the simple ‘caw’ was said by the crow, to answer Anakin’s question, he did understand what that single syllable entailed - to a degree. It probably helped that the crow had higher intelligence than most beasts Anakin had encountered, making the use of Beast Language less of an issue for him. Instead, it was more of a language barrier, and the force could substitute that to an extent as well.

Even if this force here felt so artificial...

The crow believed he was in the ‘Forgotten Lands.’ The jedi had picked up on that piece. Shovel Knight, on the other hand, had never left a ‘valley’ much like Bennett. These people had been confined to more... linear spaces. They’d gone beyond the stars.

The thought of that was a little sad, actually. Anakin loved the stars, even if they were cold, with immense darkness between them. The adventure, the danger, the discovery, it was what he really lived for - not that he’d ever tell Obi-Wan or Master Yoda that. They’d have a fit about ‘responsibilities’ and ‘duty.’

Hey, maybe once the war was really over... no sith... Anakin could link up with Ahsoka and they could have some adventures outside of the Jedi Order’s jurisdiction, considering his old padawan was no longer part of that.

Anakin snapped himself back to the here and now with a soft “Huh” in response to them. Either this planet was teeming with complex individuals, factions, regions, and powers, and he’d somehow never heard of it... or this rally was beyond the scope of even his own galaxy and/or universe.

The galaxy was already so huge. He could remember Master Qui Gon telling him about how impossible it would be to explore every planet within it. Just the thought of an even larger universe, and things beyond...

That probably should have been intimidating, but it only inspired a stronger sense of adventure in the young Jedi Knight.

He turned his sights upon the building they’d set out for, and he caught sight almost immediately of a passage beside the door that was open. Sounds faintly echoed from within. The decay of death that lingered about the force wasn’t present down there like it was in the main part of the building. Hopefully that woman was awake now, and hopefully she had answers.

“Well, let’s go see if that prisoner is awake. Maybe she can help us understand more about where we are,” Anakin told the others, and continued walking, now headed for the stairs in the revealed passageway.
​

 

[Psymallard]

The Crow
Anakin started moving again, and so did Little Crow. However, instead of following him down the passage, the crow wandered into the aboveground building. He looked around at the destruction. There were no souls wandering the area for the Reaper to collect. No, he simply looked from one charred corpse to the next, and held a moment of silence for them.

Then, the crow turned around and tailed the party into the warmer underground.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Bennett


What a team. Someone who handled faithful animal companions, a bird knight, a...shovel knight? And a guardian from the stars. He hasn't quite pinned what Akira was yet, but definitely a seasoned adventurer for sure. This was the biggest adventure team he had ever been on, and filled with talent too! If he didn't know better, he'd think his luck had forgiven him.

Following in tow with the group, he examined the hidden entranceway alongside the building itself. This had all the groundworks of...

"Could this be...a dungeon?"

He had a certain history with dungeons. Even the most beginner friendly would suddenly become perilous adventures if he were in the party. A twinge of worry came over him as he glanced around, not wanting to harm his teammates just by being here. Instinctively, he inched to the tail end of the team.

 

[Fraseandchico]

Akira Tadokoro

As Nikki and the woman spoke, Akira decided to keep listening for a while, before speaking up when Nikki asked for the blonde woman's name.
Hell of a hiding spot...
"Hey, she did ask first," Akira reminded Nikki, rolling his eyes before looking back to the woman. "Name's Akira, Tadokoro. That's Nikki, and as she said we got some others arriving. They're nice enough, I guess, so don't worry about them."

Suddenly, Tadokoro felt something begin to approach. No, someone - this wasn't really something he versed himself in usually, but there was the slightest noise in the background, coming to and down the stairs. His head perked up at the sudden noise.
"That's probably them, figured they'd find their way down."

Whenever the travelling group would arrive down the stairs, Akira would greet them with a very casual wave.
He would have to ask about those names, Ylgr and Hríd, later.
And how she thought of 'another world', too. Was this ordeal of being dragged from home something normal here...?