Soul Jumpers IC

[Julian84]

GRMM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JuqftEdm_k&list=PL096537D6F8BDA7B4&index=13)

The stars shine unseen over the city that never sleeps, the bright lights of New York competing with the celestial bodies in their eternal burning. Even in the dark of the night, this city remains bright, a constant ward against the pressing shadows from all sides.

Home to over eight million souls, it is a constant hub of activity, as trade and commerce arrives from all over the world, people coming and going as they see fit. Strangers from distant places, searching for a place to belong.

A young woman stares up at the stars, barely visible, as the lightest of breezes rustle the leaves of Central Park, the din of the city falling unheard on her ears. Tears slide down her cheeks, faintly catching the mixed starlight and city light, reflecting them, refracting them, reducing them to their most base elements.

The tree branch she sits upon barely sways with the breeze, creaking ever so lowly under her weight. It is a silent, elderly guardian; giving her support no one else will give, providing company on another sleepless night.

It is the city that never sleeps, for who knows what it would dream of if it did?

http://i1253.photobucket.com/albums/hh599/Malganis84/9.jpg

---

August 31st - 12:27 AM

A man walks into the impromptu headquarters of the hidden band, his hair dark and cut short, with a dash of grey at the temples. He is thin and tall, not powerfully built, but the glint in his eyes belies his keen mind.

Around him float three balls of multi-colored mist, pulsating with blues, greens, and purples as they casually drift here and there, but matching his pace, whispering words that only they can understand. They care not whether he can comprehend their words, for their thoughts are alien and unfathomable.

Maxwell Valencia’s eyebrows flicker into the lightest of frowns, perturbed by how agitated the Wisps were to follow him around. Obviously, the mark was in trouble.

---

August 30th - 5:23 PM

Sitting on a pylon in the waterfront by Brooklyn Heights, Waldemar Frost calmly watches ships sail by on the East River, bearing loads of tourists or commuters. He blinks owlishly in the orange light of the late afternoon, the sun already beginning to set. A slow smile begins to spread across his face as he hops down from the pylon, hands pushing into his pockets, his right hand gripping the trinket he carried with him everywhere. A reminder of past mistakes.

Half past twelve, that’s what the man who found him had said. Half past twelve, at the Goldstein Building on 1st Avenue by 95th Street. It wasn’t a long walk, Waldemar capable of easily making it with hours to spare. He put one hand over his stomach. He was hungry. He peered at the orange sun for a brief instant before deciding he could grab something to eat before going to the meeting point.

After all, he had time.

---

August 30th – 11:59 PM

There are some people who are born lucky, who fortune seems to smile down upon and shower with blessing. Seth Credeo once was one of those people. Not anymore.

Frustration and resignation plodded through his mind as he stood off with the three hoodlums. He had been living in a shelter in Queens for a while, and he had thought it was a safe neighborhood. Apparently he had been incorrect. One of the thugs smiled innocently, a feint to cover his darting attack with a knife. Seth ducked back, hurdled over his attacker, and ran flat-out to escape. Sure, he could destroy them in the soul world… But Maxwell had said when they first met that… “Soul Jumpers” like them shouldn’t abuse their powers. Perhaps he was right. But, sometimes, drastic measures were needed to survive in this world.

It wasn’t long before Seth reached the odd grey-bricked apartment building, the door left hanging open for anyone to get in. Seth chuckled a little, a private little joke about how ironically like the normal soulscape this apartment was. Open and unprotected.

---

August 30 – 6:44 AM

Already awoken by the bustle of early morning traffic, Trevor Magnusson quietly wandered the streets of New York, having no mission and no purpose beyond his own whims.

People in suits and nice clothes passed him by, barely paying him any sort of notice, considering him just another homeless bum, another irremovable fixture of the city that had to be tolerated, if not accepted. He was invisible in their eyes. They held money and influence and power in the physical world… But in their hearts, they were all weak and frail compared to him.

He paused. But… Today… He had a purpose. Maxwell had given him one. Help people. Be a hero. Use the odd and mysterious powers he had possessed since childhood for good, for the betterment of the people who paid him no heed. It was… An odd thought.

But… Perhaps it was a good thought.

---

August 31st – 12:33 AM

GRMM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1RuTd9q2xk&list=PL096537D6F8BDA7B4)


http://i1253.photobucket.com/albums/hh599/Malganis84/735-white_room_with_lonely_chairlarge-1.jpg?t=1370302204


Maxwell strode into the bare and empty apartment he rented, overlooking the lights from Queens reflecting on the East River. It wasn’t much of a base, but he was certain that, over time, it would become a workable headquarters.

Three young men waited for him inside, three of the five Souljumpers he discovered with the help of the Wisps. They were obviously haunted and broken, but he hoped deep down that they could be forged into the weapon that would protect the people of New York from the demons that preyed upon them, be they the shades of their soul or the malevolent spirits that prowled the city unseen. These three young men were the hope the city needed in increasingly dark times. The three wisps departed from their orbit around him, each flying to one of the young men and hovering above their heads.

“… Welcome.” He said simply, slinging his satchel down and retrieving his portfolio. His gaze flicked over the three quietly. The oldest, Trevor, was a tall and gangly kid, quiet and looking between his two new comrades. His hair was black and long, unkempt from the many months spent homeless on the streets. The wisp bobbed up and down next to his right ear, glowing a dark shade of blue.

To his right, standing in the middle and illuminated by the soft purple light of the wisp, was Waldemar, the 15-year-old German boy who had mysteriously turned up in New York. He too had dark hair, but it was neatly looked after, his whole appearance carefully groomed and cultivated.

And finally, the youngest, Seth, who was watching the dark green wisp above his head curiously. The boy was athletic and fit, his body healthy and well-kept. His clothes too were nicer than one would expect, and Maxwell quietly mused to himself that perhaps he came from money.

“Welcome.” He repeated, pulling a stack of papers out of his portfolio and handing them to Trevor to pass out to his younger comrades. “To the White Room.” It was a simple name, one he liked. It was not pretentious, but it did convey a bit of mystery.

The paperwork was a dossier on Angela Thornwood, a pretty young Brunette who had been living in the city for seven years. “She is our first mark, and I daresay tonight is the night we must act. Angela… Has been greatly depressed for the last few years, according to her medical history, with one attempted suicide attempt in the past. She’s prescribed to various pharmaceuticals to control her situation… But we all know that won’t last long under any circumstances.”

He paced through the room. “I don’t know why the Wisps brought me to her, or why they consider her important, but we’re going to do as they direct. Right now she is in Central Park, and I believe her life is in grave danger.” He stopped behind Waldemar, forcing the boy to turn and stare over his shoulder. “We’re going to jump in and see what we can do. I haven’t set foot in her soulscape yet, so I haven’t a clue what we might be facing.”

He circles around and stops in front of them. “Any questions? I apologize for the lack of notice on our first meeting, but I do not think we have any more time to waste.”

[Space Lawyer]

Trevor

Trevor shifts uneasily in the company of the other two boys. His own ragged t-shirt, faded hoodie, tattered cargo shorts, and barely-held-together sneakers compared unfavorably to the well-kept appearance of the others...and he had put on his best clothes for this occasion. It wasn't everyday one got an offer to be, well, a hero. He self-consciously tries to brush the unkempt black hair from his face. He always tried to tell himself that what went on in this world hardly mattered, that it was in some ways less real than the soul world, but that wasn't always true.

Trevor accepts the papers and passes copies to the other two, then scans the dossier. "I'd say your right. I've been inside people like her before...it wasn't pretty. Clawing, grasping things reaching out of the darkness, only to be banished by unbearable light with whatever cocktail of drugs they stick into her. Then anger and self-loathing come into the picture, despising ones own weakness." He then summons up his courage and introduces himself to the others. Hi, I'm Trevor Magnusson. I, ah, don't like to be called that when we're inside. There, I'm Atlas.

He turns to acknowledge the blue wisp hanging by his head. It was their world he was going to be going to. He whispers to it "Thank you for coming with me. I'm Atlas. I'm going to be helping."

[gunnar11]

Seth

"These are an interesting bunch" Seth thought, sitting at the meeting. Maxwell would come in just a moment, with his promise to teach controlling the powers Seth had. Until then, there wasn't much to do. Seth plugged in his earphones and listened to some music while looking at his 'partners'.
The large guy seemed in a poor hygene state, and very closed, though reliable. The german boy was a lot more difficult to measure. It seemed like he came from a decent home, but was more on the wild-side than his heritage suggested. Seth didn't try to make any contact, as he would soon learn who they were anyways.

Finally Maxwell came in. And with him came three sprites, one of them now hovering above Seth's head. The dark green creature "Spirit?" was intriguing to watch, but also gave a little bit the sense of safety. Seth decided to acknowledge it by just giving a nod towards it.
Maxwell explained 'the mission' and told the group 'the target', and even a little before he could finish his explanation, Seth was already standing "Let's go, then". He had read the file and knew his target. The sounds he hadn't heard because of the earphones in his ears, but it seemed to him it didn't really matter anyways.

Seth's inside-the-city-on-the-go Music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgdH0fa_1H0)

Moving through the city just free-running or on bike could be really freeing sometimes. More even when you don't like to be around people, like Seth.

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar looks at the other two standing with him as he quietly mused to himself about what it would be like inside their soulscapes. He read through the papers silently as Maxwell explained the situation to them. He had been a good boy lately, keeping out of others' souls and not meddling in their lives, but nevertheless he was excited to explore the tortured mind of their target. He was starving.

After whom he had perceived was the eldest spoke, Waldemar decided to introduce himself. “Sie scheinen viel zu wissen, wenn es um die Seelen der anderen kommt. Glaubst du nicht?” Maxwell expressed confusion. “Damn Americanz,” he said quietly to himself. He looked at the purple mist above his head and said “Zumindest kann man mich verstehen.” He then looked back at the other two and said, “Vhat I zaid vas you zeem to know much vhen it comes to the soulz ov otherz. Do you not?” Before the boy could respond he added, “My name iz Waldemar, pronounced Val-day-mar. Nice to meet you.”

[Julian84]

All:

GRMM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJ4pquWuzhg&list=PL096537D6F8BDA7B4)

Maxwell holds up a hand to still the group. “There will be plenty of time for questions later.” He pauses, and looks at Seth. “I take it you’ve never attempted a long-range jump then? It’s alright, I’ll show you how to do it.”

He walks over to a closet and opens it up, pulling out four white folding chairs and setting them up so the each member of the group is sitting facing each other.

He settles into his seat. “A soul-jumper is limited in their ability to jump only by psychological barriers they place on themselves. Sometimes one gets the feeling of vertigo or a lack of air when performing a jump that’s too far away, but if you practice you’ll be able to do it with relative ease.”

He closes his eyes. “You need to fix the target’s face and name in your mind… And concentrate. Block out all distractions, or you may end up misjumping into someone else’s soul. Just breath… Concentrate… Visualize the person in your mind… And…”

Everyone roll a concentration check, DC 15

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar chuckled as he sat down in the chair. To think that his first assignment was something this simple. He closed his eyes and his head immediately drooped.

Rolled a 15.

[gunnar11]

Seth

This was new for Seth. He had, up until then, always felt the need to be in contact with the person he wanted to jump into. It just felt so natural. He didn't know it was possible to do from a distance.

Seth started to focus on his target. This woman, depression, aspects, ideals, way of life. Everything started to come together in his head, and he tried to localize her soul.


Concentration: [roll0]


But he didn't have a clear enough picture, not enough focus or something, to find it. Or, well, he could see it, but not reach out to it. Seth really felt powerless.

[Space Lawyer]

Trevor

Jumping into a soulscape intentionally wasn't something Trevor did often. Most of the time, he was dragged in.

He takes a seat on the hard white plastic chair. It was the same sort of style the had at the institution: sterile, no character, and unexciting. The only difference was that these weren't bolted to the floor.

He holds the picture of Angela in his mind, trying to use the same techniques that a Buddhist meditation teacher had tried to teach in the Institute. Those had never really stuck with Trevor, but it seemed they might come in handy now.

[roll0]

[Julian84]

Reverend, Cgrela:

Waldemar and Trevor find themselves in a dank room, the walls and ceiling made from carved stone blocks, a torch of green firelight flickering in the corner, emphasizing the mold and mildew seeping from the moist walls. The air is humid and clammy, thick and almost difficult to breathe. The only way out is a thick wooden door with a metal handle.

A note flutters down in front of them, which Trevor snatches out of the air.

Seth misjumped, going to go find him
-Max

Gunnar11:

Suddenly, Seth is standing atop a thick stalk of bamboo, mist rising in the air around him as he surveys a massive forest of thick deciduous trees and bamboo groves. Off in the distance, tall forested mountains roll through the landscape.

Sitting in front of him, however, is a pudgy, bald Asian man balancing on a bamboo stalk with one foot, meditating quietly.

He is only wearing a loincloth. One eye peeks open. “Eh? What?” He looks around suddenly. “What is this place?!”

Maxwell suddenly appears beside him. “You misjumped. I’ll guide you to her soul.” He grabs Seth’s shoulder and he feels a sharp tugging, the soulscape disappearing in a flash of bright light.

All:

Maxwell and Seth appear in the dungeon a minute after Waldemar and Trevor, surprising the two. Maxwell rises, surveying the room.

“Hm. Her soulscape has been corrupted.” He looks around. “Or she is a lot more messed up in the head than I thought.”

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

The hulking red-skinned being is hunched over. "At least this one hasn't tried to kill us yet. I'm grateful for that. Want to take the lead, boss?"
Atlas liked having a boss. Someone to give him a purpose for the first time ever.

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar looked over to Maxwell, “Zo, vhat are ve to do? The amount ov shadez inzide thiz girl is unzettling, to zay the leazt.” He refused to acknowledge the younger one who had misjumped, and was marginally terrified of the beast standing next to him. Though he had seen worse.

[Julian84]

All:

GRMM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7D_21JWn9o&list=PL096537D6F8BDA7B4&index=17)

Maxwell walks over and opens the door slowly, walking out into an empty hallway, more green torches lining the walls in either direction, the corridors stretching impossibly long lengths. There’s an odd howling noise, wind blowing in the distance.

He looks left and right. “… Hn. Probably an illusion to unnerve us.” He sighs, and turns left. “They’ll come for us in due time.”

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

“Wunderbar.” He was so hungry. It always became worse when he was inside a soulscape. Not wanting to show weakness, he suppressed it, and turned to follow Maxwell.

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

Atlas follows after Maxwell. "The dark things always come out when they're least expected. I don't like being constrained like this. They want us to feel fear, come at us from all sides...and devour us."

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

“The dark thingz you speak ov do not inztill vear into me. It zuprisez me that zomething az large az yourzelv iz avraid ov them.” Waldemar looked around Maxwell to see that the hallway stretched on for an unknown length. He longed for whatever shades were hiding in wait for them to pass by to reveal themselves. He turned to look at Atlas and tapped his side to get his attention.

To Atlas:
Waldemar whispered to the giant, “I need your help vith something. I am poverless right now. I can explain later, but I need you to immobilize vone ov the shadez. I need to abzorb spirit energy, but since I hafe not in a vhile I cannot hope to take a shade on. Iv you can do thiz vor me, ve can safe the girl vaster than any ov you could imagine. Trust me.”

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

"...I wasn't always like this. It took a long time for me to be able to protect myself. Even now, I'm not always sure I can.

To Waldemar
"As soon as I see one, I'll try and grab one for you. Be quick about it though; I've got a habit of crushing them to nothingness pretty fast.

[Reverend1124]

To Atlas
“Sehr gut. Az long az it ist veakened, all I need to ist touch it.”

[gunnar11]

Seth

Seth jumped, and came into an oriental-looking world. In it, only mist and a man were to be seen. It was a strange soulscape, considering that New York wasn't that full of oriental people. Or did Seth just jump cross-continentally? That would be weird...

In a second Maxwell appeared, saying "You misjumped". And before Seth could ask how Max was able to follow his jump, they both vanished in an explosion of bright light. Now, arriving at the destined soulscape, Seth couldn't help but to ask: "Tell me, Max, what soulscape was that? And how are you able to follow my jump?"

Seth listened to the answer and then turned to the mission at hand. He had once again received the faint blue-ish glow he normally had in soulscapes, and felt the energy flow around him, like some sort of waterflow. He could perceive that of his comrades too, although much more faint than his own.

The boys were talking about something, and so Seth decided to just ask: "Say, fella's, what're you talking about? I think that as a team we ought to share, don't we?"

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar looked up at Seth, noting the blue glow around him. The amount of energy surrounding him was amazing, but it only made it more difficult to suppress his hunger. He definitely should have grabbed that bite to eat before he came. He said curtly to Seth, “Wenn das Kind seine Kräfte zu kontrollieren lernt, dann werde ich halte ihn für meinen Teamkollegen.” Then he laughed and looked to Atlas. “So vhen you sait that you hafe seen soulz like thiz vone before, vhat dit you mean? Hafe you mate many jumpz in the past?”

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

"...I wouldn't exactly call them jumps. That makes it sound intentional. More like I was dragged into some broken, deranged, or malicious individual's soul many times over the years.

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

"Intereztink. I myself hafe only hat vone infoluntary jump many yearz ago. But now I hafe been jumpink for so lonk that it ist secont nature to me."

[Julian84]

All:

Maxwell pauses, weighing his response. "I don't know whose soulscape that was, or if we'll ever see him again. You made a random jump into someone else's soul, there was no real reason why you went into his."

The group arrives at the end of the corridor, finding a spiral staircase that ascends to points unknown.

(Notice check, y'all)

"As for how I followed you, the wisps put a... highlight, of sorts, on each of you. For some reason, I can feel where you're at, and follow the signal." He remains silent at Seth's questioning of his teammates.

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

Atlas gazes upward. "Huh, endless corridors and everlasting staircases."

Notice: [roll0]

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

“Wunderbar. First ve valk down a seemingly endless halvay, and now ve hafe a staircase that goes up for who knows how lonk.” Waldemar said, staring up into the void.

Notice: (1d20+3)[17]

[gunnar11]

Seth

"So this little guy helped me out, huh?" Seth mentions, looking for the tiny wisp above his head. "Thanks little dude!"

He walks along with the group, until he arrives at the 'endless' stairway.
"That's a lot of steps, I've got to say"


notice: [roll0]

[Julian84]

Maxwell sighs. “That is a lot of stairs.”

Reverend and Gunnar
Waldemar and Seth notice out of the corner of their vision that the green torches behind them are slowly turning red.

“I suppose we go up. It's either that or turning around.” He murmurs, taking the first few steps.

OOC: Sorry for confusion Gunnar, trying to figure out the skills issue.

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar turned and looked at the once green lights. “Vhy are the lightz not grün? They turnet to rot.”

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

Atlas turns and stares at the lights Waldemar mentioned. "I'm not sure, but it can't be good. We might want to get a move on up the stairs. I'll let the rest of you go first. I tend to block views if I'm in front."

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar turned away from the empty hallway behind them and looked back at the daunting staircase. It wasn't so much the amount of stairs that it was what might lie at the top. Maxwell had said the girl was broken, but they hadn't encountered any kind of defense, any shades...nothing that would point to there being a problem. And the lights changing color worried him a little more than he let on.

"Vell, let us be goink then." he said as he started up the stairs.

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

Atlas follows up the stairs after Waldemar, his enormous frame moving far easier than it should. From green to red could mean a lot of things, but with the girl's cultural paradigm being what it was, it was unlikely to be anything good. As the red light draws closer, Atlas' shade turns to a deeper crimson as the torches shine off his skin.

[Julian84]

All:

The group ascends the stares, passing by green torches that soon begin shifting to red by the time Atlas walks past.

“If worse comes to worse, we retreat and come up with a battle plan.” Maxwell murmurs, leading the group up.

The stairs come out of a covered gazebo in the middle of a large stone courtyard, green torches flickering around the perimeter. Large stone walls soar around the courtyard, topped with crumbling towers, protecting an ancient and ruined keep. Pennants flutter in the harsh wind, carrying snow in the early evening light. Turbulent thunderclouds rumble and roil high above, lightning flashing deep in the shadows.

Maxwell frowns, walking out from under the covered structure onto the mossy cobblestone. “I’m surprised we haven’t encountered anything-”

With a terrifying and deafening CRACK, one of the walls crumbles inward, huge blocks of stone shattering into rubble against the ground, as flaming arrows and grappling hooks begin to sail over the huge gap in the wall, ladders rising in the distance.

“… Oh.” Maxwell mumbles. “That’s not good at all.”

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar felt at home in the coolness of the courtyard. It reminded him of the snowy nights in Berlin. But then the wall crumbled and thoughts of home vanished as the arrows began to rain. He retreated back beside Atlas, the gnawing hunger inside him growing exponentially.

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

This whole place seemed foreboding. Storms and castles, sure signs of a troubled mind trying to keep things in check. The sudden crashing of the walls...maybe a sign that things weren't going well.

"I'd say we've encountered some resistance." He leaps to the top of the wall to have a look around.

Notice: [roll0]

[Julian84]

All:

Atlas alights atop the wall, staring out across the horde of armored troops rushing the castle, scaling the walls by pulling themselves up with grappling hooks or climbing ladders. Flaming arrows bounce pathetically off of his hardened frame, leaving little specks of black ash on his chest.Off in the distance, huge siege engines launch missiles at the fortifications.

There are thousands of oncoming hostiles, armed with knives, swords, spears, bows, and axes, screaming incoherently as they rush the breach.

“Jump down, I’m going to close the gap!” Maxwell shouts, his arms upraised.

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar watched Atlas hurdle away and waited. Little did the others know, except for Atlas, that he was useless at the moment. He could hear the screaming from the creatures on the other side of the wall, all rushing to devour them. If only he had eaten before this. Or touched her. Either way though, Maxwell seemed to have the situation under control. He slipped into the shadow of the walls to hide himself until the most opportune moment.

Stealth Check: (1d20)[20]

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

Atlas leaps down, cracking the stone below. "You might want to put a rush on that, boss. There are quite a few angry people heading this way." He brushes the ash off his chest. This is only the beginning.

[Julian84]

All:

GRMM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgDhJmqpg1c&list=PL096537D6F8BDA7B4)

Waldemar steps back into the shadows, effortlessly blending in.

Once Atlas is clear, Maxwell closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. When he reopens them, they are a deep, vibrant blue.

Wind hurtles around him, whipping at their clothes as snow begins to appear, and suddenly huge jets of white frost erupt from his hands, forming large ice crystals over the breach.

The sudden storm around his feet settles down, and there’s a trail of large ice crystals from his feet to the wall.

“Well, that ought to buy some time. Let’s get into the keep and secure Angela, then we’ll plan our next step.”

He bolts across the courtyard towards the inner walls and keep.

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

Atlas follows behind, ready for whatever is lurking inside the keep.

[gunnar11]

Seth

Above the steps Seth suddenly encountered the courtyard. It was quite a beautiful one, and as such, when the walls came crashing down, it was quite a shame. He was about to call upon his powers to protect everyone, but maxwell was already in control of the battlefield. "Why did we get called here if Max can do everything on his own?" Seth thought. It wasn't the first time this thought had crossed his mind, but now more than ever he wanted to know.

He followed Max, running towards the in, keeping cover from the arrows.

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar watched Maxwell use his power and mused to himself about how different everyone's expressions were. He also watched as the the three ran toward the keep, and he followed closely behind in the shadows, out of sight.

[Julian84]

All:

The group runs into the keep, dashing down corridors and up stairs until they reach the Great Hall, the central room within the enormous stone structure.

Waldemar notices as he quietly follows that the green torches in the courtyard swiftly turned red when he entered the keep, and every torch down every corridor turned red when he passed by.

There are rows of wooden tables with simple benches, 6 large, cumbersome suits of armor lined up alongside either wall, colorful banners draped above them.

And at the end of the hall, slumped unconscious in a large throne, is Angela, clad in a rich green dress, her brunette hair tied back in an intricate braid.

“… That’s odd.” Murmurs Maxwell, who strides forward down the central path between the rows of tables. “I’ve never seen someone unconscious in their own soulscape.”

[gunnar11]

Seth

"Has she been taken over? Is that even possible?" Seth asks. He's wary, expecting some kind of trap to occur while they approach her. Or maybe she herself is the trap!

He approaches her, ready to activate his forcefield, may it be necessary.
"Hello!?"

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar looked at the suits of armor and felt a bit uneasy. Then he looked at Angela and became worried for her. In all the jumps he had made he had never seen someone unconscious in their own soulscape, which led him to think that they might be too late. But they were also still inside.

He crept around to the corner of the room, working his way to Angela, when the young one called out.

"Dummes Kind..." Waldemar whispered to himself.

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

Atlas strides forward, ready for trouble. He stands near Seth. When whatever trap had been set for them sprung, it would be best to stand back to back with someone else. Waldemar seemed pretty well hidden in the corner, and Maxwell could no doubt take care of himself.

[Julian84]

All:

Maxwell joins Seth and Atlas, gently pushing her head and opening one eye. He jumps back, gasping in shock, as the socket within is pitch black.

“It’s a trap!” He growls, and as he does so the six suits of armor step forward, bringing their weapons to bear, each armed with a massive sword.

Roll initiative!

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar watched as Atlas and Maxwell joined the child up by Angela. He kept creeping forward until Maxwell called out and the suits stood up. He could feel the spirit energy emanating from them, which only made his hunger worse. He also, for the first time in a very long time, felt fear. He was completely powerless, and one of these things could rip him to shreds in this state. He prepared for an attack.

Initiative: (1d20+3)[23]

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

Atlas shrugs his shoulders and stretches out his arms the muscles rippling beneath his black and red hide. Gotta hold one down for Waldemar first, then I can start thrashing them.

Initiative: [roll0]

[gunnar11]

Seth

He knew it, it was a trap! Luckily, Seth was able to respond quickly. "Quick, get behind me!" he said, already standing next to Max, and producing a forcefield. He made it so no-one could get in or through, with the exception of Maxwell, Waldemar, Atlas and the powers they used.


Initiative: [roll0]
Force Field [roll1]

[Julian84]

Order of Initiative: Waldemar, Knight 1, Knight 4, Seth, Maxwell, Knight 6, Knight 3, Atlas, Knight 2 ,Knight 5

OOC: Gunnar, as Forcefield is only a personal range power, you’ll have to either HP it or use extra effort to boost your forcefield to cover four people. I’m operating under the theory that you’ll want to EE it for now. Also, since it's a sustained power, Seth cannot make any actions without making a concentration check or risk dispelling the forcefield.

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

As the knights began to move Waldemar burst from the shadows and ran between them before they could even react, ducking between their legs and flailing arms over to the rest of the group. He got behind Atlas and looked up at the hulking beast.

"This ist all you, mein Freund," he said to Atlas, "Just hit wone hart enough to tage it out. I can do the rest."

[Julian84]

All:

Before Atlas or Maxwell can retreat behind cover, two knights charge forward, swinging their swords viciously at the two soul jumpers.

Maxwell skillfully dodges the knight, ducking under the swing and rolling away. The other knight slams his blade down onto Atlas’s chest, but the blade doesn’t even leave a scratch.

Seth's Turn

[gunnar11]

Seth

Seth notices Maxwell and Atlas getting attacked and barely making it. They are, just as he could've expected, quite the warriors, and wouldn't be destroyed so easily. Still, it would be useful for Seth to be a fallback, and so, he decides to maintain his forcefield alive, to defend everyone.


Using the new roller: Concentration [1d20][8]

[Julian84]

All:

Waldemar retreats into the forcefield, curling up so he is fully protected in the cramped space.

Maxwell follows after him, diving in and turning around to throw a crystalline bolt at one of the suits of armor, spearing it through the chest. The knight lurches back and comes to rest on one knee, one hand already sluggishly grasping the spike and beginning to remove it.

Two more knights approach Atlas, swinging at the same time to deliver a savage blow to his chest, their combined strength dealing him a savage blow!

Roll toughness!

[Space Lawyer]

25 on toughness.

Atlas shrugs off the attack, but gives a grunt. "Now you've annoyed me, little toys. I'm gonnna tear you apart."

[Julian84]

Success!

Annnd now it's Atlas's turn :smalltongue:

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

Atlas swings a mighty fist at the knight on the right [27]. As the knight is reeling backwards, Atlas' other arm comes around the knight, crushing him in a mighty one-armed hug [32]. The creature is held immobile, slowly being crushed by the strength of Atlas' mighty arm.

[Julian84]

All:

The first knight is thrown backwards, landing in a heap, its chest plate crumpled. It struggles vainly to rise from its position (Stunned, Injured). The one in Atlas’s grasp slowly crumples beneath the strain of his crushing pin (Disabled, Staggered, Stunned, Injured)

The other two rush the forcefield, recreating the powerful blow the previous two laid on Atlas, smashing their blades into Seth’s field in an attempt to hit him.

Roll toughness with the added forcefield, Gunnar.

[gunnar11]

Seth

ForceField: [1d20+14][33]

The same force as was used on Atlas came now down upon Seth. He was ready, though, and his forcefield resisted the incoming blow.

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar saw an opportunity to strike and took it without hesitation. He ran forward and used all his strength to hit the knight that Atlas was holding down, praying that in his weakened state that he hadn't just killed himself.

Melee Attack: (1d20+8)[12]

[Julian84]

All:

The twin blow of the knights reverberates off of Seth’s forcefield, and Waldemar dashes out to make his move.

Either by the jumper’s strength or Atlas’s continued pressure, the Knight cracks apart like an eggshell, slowly dissolving into a purple sparkling mist.

GRMM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmvuNH34Lrg&list=FL_eOlHRPkVaDS7atZsjaAMg&index=3)

Waldemar grabs ahold of the dissolving suit of armor, opening his mouth and inhaling deeply, sucking the purple mist down into his gullet until the entire suit of armor has vaporized and been devoured.

He rises, his eyes glow a vibrant purple, wiping his mouth.

Not seeing the knight walking behind him, laying down his sword across the boy’s neck.

Roll toughness!

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar could feel his energy renew, the newly absorbed spirit energy coursing through his body, just in time to get attacked from behind when he wasn't looking.

Toughness: (1d20+2)[12]

[Julian84]

Waldemar:

Waldemar goes flying forward, blasting through the wall and crash-landing back in the courtyard, bouncing off of a sudden red shield, flying over the wall, and smashing into a group of soldiers on the other side.

He is stunned, with two bruised and injured counts.

All:

Waldemar goes flying through the wall.

"... Well bloody hell." Maxwell mutters.

Seth’s turn!

[gunnar11]

Seth

"That's just it!" Seth says, before letting go of his forcefield. He wants full focus on the knights before him, and collects the energy out of this Soulscape to produce a single blast of energy.

5ft. step back
Ranged Homing Blast [1d20+7][24]
DC 18 Toughness or 8 Damage

[Julian84]

Gunnar:

One of the two knights flies backward into the wall, his armor broken and steaming. (Disabled, Staggered, Stunned.)

Maxwell darts forward, shooting another lance of ice into first knight he injured, knocking the armored golem down again. (Stunned and Injured, again.)

Another knight is stunned and is still struggling to right itself after being attacked.

Atlas’s turn!

Current Battlefield stats:

Waldemar (Stunned, Injured 2, Bruised 2, Out of Combat)
Knight 1 (Injured 2, Stunned)
Knight 4
Gunnar
Maxwell
Knight 3 (Injured)
Cgrela
Knight 2 (Disabled, Staggered, stunned)
Knight 5

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

"Damn! Hold on Valdemar, I'm coming!" He goes for the knight that attacked Waldemar. One hand comes forward in a massive fist, the other reaching the unfortunate creature.

Unarmed attack: [roll0]
Grapple: [roll1]

[Julian84]

Reverend:

GRMM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92q-bWLeq0A&list=PL096537D6F8BDA7B4)

The soldiers around Waldemar blink in surprise as he warily stares up at them, weapons in hand. Their faces are serpentine and scaly, eyes glowing bright red.

“… Sssshhhould we eat him?” One hisses cautiously.

The others mill around in confusion. “He issss an interloper…” Another murmurs.

“…” They all just stare. Shades are apparently not very bright. “… We sssshhhould do sssssomething.” Another growls in frustration.

They all point their weapons at Waldemar. “We’re going to eat you now, ok?” A fourth says quietly.

Cgrela, Gunnar:

Atlas’s fist smashes into the knight, but does no damage. The massive soul jumper snatches the knight’s neckpiece, yanking it back into a crushing pin.

Atlas’s strength must be waning, for Atlas is only able to do a minimal amount of damage to the armored knight.

Another knight rushes forward, but his blow against Atlas has no effect. The knight in his grasp attempts to pry his way free!

Cgrela, roll a grapple check

Seth’s turn

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar knew he had been hit hard, but to break through a stone wall and then bounce off a force field of some kind and fly over the walls into the army of shades was not what he had anticipated on happening. And then there were the shades to deal with. If it were five, or even ten, it wouldn't have been a problem. But there was an innumerable amount, and he was badly injured. And to top it all off they wanted to eat him now.

"Now now, let us not be hasty." Waldemar said quickly, standing up and brushing himself off. He was trying desperately to think of a plan of action so he wouldn't need to jump out. And then it hit him. "You all, you are at var, are you not?"

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

"You aren't getting away from me that easily!" Atlas roars.

Grapple: [roll0]

[gunnar11]

Seth

While Atlas is grappling one knight, and getting attacked by the other, Seth decides to relieve him a bit off of his burden.
"You just keep restraining him, Atlas, this one is mine!" he shouts, and a powerful blast surges from his palm.

Blast: [1d20+7][24]
DC 18 Toughness or 8 Damage

[Julian84]

Reverend:

The shades look at each other uncertainly. “Yesssss….? Why do you assssk?”

Cgrela, Gunnar:

Seth’s blast pushes the knight back, but fails to inflict any fatal damage. (Injured)

Atlas manages to maintain his hold, applying more pressure to the suit of armor in his grasp, crushing the writhing knight down a little more. (Disabled, staggered, stunned)

Maxwell launches a spear at the crushed knight embedded in the wall, impaling it through the helmet. With an anguished howl, the twisted armor crumples and dissolves into mist.

Atlas's turn


Knight 1 (Injured 2)
Knight 4 (Injured 2)
Gunnar
Maxwell
Knight 3 (Injured)
Cgrela
Knight 5 (Disabled, staggered, stunned)

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

With a mighty heave, Atlas upends the crumpled knight in his grasp. "This is how you hit somebody!" He grabs the knight by the leg, rears back, and flings the knight in his hand at the knight Seth attacked (Knight 3?).

Using the knight in my hand as ranged weapon attack roll:[roll0]

OOC: I'm hoping this works; I'm not sure how much these knights weigh.

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar was confident in his ability to fool these simple creatures."Vell, I think I can help you then. You see, I hafe come here vith some comrades of mine to help you end this var. Unfortunately I was thrown from vhere the battle vas and endet up here vith you all. But, to ent this I neet to know vhere the girl is. The girl who owns this soulscape. And if you tell me then ve can help you. I also neet a vay back to my comrades to tell them. So, vhy risk your lifes vhen ve vill ent this for you? You help me, help us, and ve vill help you in return. Vhat do you say?"

Gather Information: (1d20+14)[29]
Bluff: (1d20+)[28]

[Julian84]

Cgrela, Gunnar:

Atlas lifts the knight over his head and tosses it mightily at the other suit of armor, sending them both crashing to the ground. The heavily damaged suit slowly rocks back and forth, barely able to move, its partner lying prone on the ground but no more damaged than before.

Two damaged knights once again move to attack, striking at Seth! However, they both miss.

Seth’s turn!

Reverend:

The snake-like soldiers look at each other hesitantly, word of Waldemar’s proclamation wrippling through the horde.

“SssssSssssSsss…” They hiss thoughtfully. “… Ok, that ssssoundssss reassssonable…” One mutters. “Ssshhee’ssss down in the underccittyyy.” He points down. “The only entranccccee issss in the casssstttleee.”

He hears various other murmurs, how they are the army of doubt, they'll conquer her mind and force her to kill herself, how they're fighting the myriad other forces in her mind for total control, etc.

Another pushes forward. “But you cannot reach the casssstttleee again, not the way you came.” It hisses. “There are wardssss to prevent your passsssage back in. Unlessss you can fly, you won’t be able to enter.”

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

At first Waldemar was delighted at the information that the shades had given him, but then he was distraught that he could not go back to where he had come from. If only he had been able to touch her before entering, maybe he could have summoned some winged nightmare from his consciousness to aid him, but there was no point on dwelling on an impossibility. He looked at the creatures, still staring at him. He knew he had to get back to the others.

"Vell, do you hafe anythink that coult sent me back? A tunnel system, or maybe a flyink device? You must hafe somethink!" He said, yelling as loudly as he could so that as many as possible could hear him.

[gunnar11]

Seth
There're some murmurs to be heard on the group on the far end of the place.
Then Seth's attention gets diverted as two knights try to hit him. He quickly dodges the first attack, and with a deflecting move to the other knight, he spins around the knight's fist. At this close range battle will do him no good, so he moves back.

5ft-step backwards

And shoots another blast of energy at the knight closest to him.

Blast: [1d20+7][14]
DC 18 Toughness or 8 Damage

"You ok, Waldemar!?" Seth shouts across the space. Maybe Waldemar will need backup soon.


For future reference: is it possible for me to activate my forcefield in such a way that I can 'push' my enemies out of the squares around me? Even do some damage of some sort?

[Julian84]

Reverend:

The soldiers stare at him blankly.

“We… Have a catapult.” One says, tilting its head to the side, towards one of the massive siege engines.

Gunnar, Cgrela:

A blast of energy erupts from Seth’s hand, blasting the suit of armor backwards into the walls. It crumples to the ground, it’s leg segments cracked and straining (Disabled, staggered, stunned, injured 3, prone)

With a howl, Maxwell creates a large sledgehammer of ice, bringing it down on the armor that Seth crippled, smashing it into oblivion.

One of the remaining knights, the least damaged, picks itself up from the ground, and with an intricate twisting of its fingers causes its sword to burst into flames!

Atlas’s turn

Knight 4 (Injured 2)
Gunnar
Maxwell
Knight 3 (Injured) [Firesword]
Cgrela
Knight 5 (Disabled, staggered, stunned, Injured 2, Prone)

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

"Well, I guess this makes things a bit more dangerous. I'm guessing you can't use that thing if you can't more your arms through... Atlas goes for his standard punch and grab combo.

Going after Knight 3
Attack 23, Grapple 35

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Catapult. He distinctly heard the creature say catapult. He looked over at the crude device and then back at the reptilian shades and shook his heat. "Vell," he said, sighing, "looks like I hafe no choice if I vant to go back." He began to walk over to the machine. "Just do me a favor and aim for the hole that is alreaty there."

[Julian84]

Cgrela, Gunnar:

Atlas surges forward, snatching up the knight and doing his utmost to destroy the armored phantom. The knight thrashes and struggles, its armor creaking and groaning. (Injured 2, Stunned)

The wrecked knight pushes its self around, but makes little progress.

The third knight rushes towards Seth, bringing the sword down in a powerful blow, but the sword bounces off of his force field.

Seth’s turn!

Reverend:

GRMM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKYw6xyU5nw&list=PL096537D6F8BDA7B4&index=3)

The soldiers load Waldemar into the catapult, slowly turning it towards the building.

“Now, becausssseee your cohortsss haven’t left the room, you can sssstill enter…” One murmurs. “We will do our besssst to get you through the hole…”

The catapult winds up, the basket getting closer and closer to the ground, pulled by the thick rope. “Ssssteady… Ssssteady…” One growls, as they carefully position the siege engine.

“Ready… Ssseetttt…” The apparent commander orders. “… Annnnndd-“

“WHAT’SSSS GOING ON HERE?!” A thunderous voice booms, a shadow falling over Waldemar as a huge crowned snake-thing marches into their midst.

“Fire?”

*Whoosh! getwang*

One soldier lowers his sword. “… Oopssss.”

Cgrela, Gunnar, and now Reverend:

Atlas, Maxwell, and Seth turn in confusion as a low, odd sound fills the air. Almost like…

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagottenhim melaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

Waldemar comes flying back through the hole, looking a lot worse for wear.

Gunnar, Cgrela, roll reflex to catch him!

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

Atlas looks up from trying to crush the knight with a bear hug. What is that...Valdemar!?! He leaps for the flying boy.

Reflex save: [roll0]

[gunnar11]

Seth

Fighting against these knights can be quite bothersome. As such when a knight attacked Seth, for a brief flickering of a moment the forcefield could deflect the sword. Seemingly, Seth's defences were up unconsciously.
He took another 5ft step back, before blasting this knight dead once and for all:

Blast [1d20+7][9]
DC 18 Toughness or 8 Damage

Then, Seth perceives some noise:
aaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
while Waldemar comes crashing back in.
In one swift movement Seth turns and in a waving tai-chi-like motion catches Waldemar

Reflex [1d20+13][25]

[Julian84]

All:

Seth blasts the knight in front of him, the waves of energy vaporizing the armor in one shot. With a fluid motion, the youngest member of the team turns and flies up to catch Waldemar, gently lowering him to the ground.

Maxwell drops another block of ice on the wrecked and broken knight crawling on the ground, smashing it into oblivion, leaving only the one in Atlas’s grasp alive.

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas continues his crushing grasp. [27]

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar flew through the hole in the wall and was surprised when the child of all people was the one to catch him. After being set down, he silently nodded towards Seth to say thank you.

[Julian84]

All:

The knight in Atlas’s arms crunches into a tight, hourglass shape, falling limp in his titanic grasp.

Maxwell dusts off his hands. “Well… Good job, team.” He says, a grin growing. “We may succeed yet.” He turns to Waldemar. “What happened? I thought you were gone for good when you got blasted out of the wall.”

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

"Vell," Waldemar began, "It is a funny story. First, I fount out that anyvhere that ve hafe been up to this point is no longer accessible to us. Vhen I flew through the vall I bouncet off some sort of force fielt and ofer the vall. I landet amonk to army of shades out there. I vas able to confince them that ve are on their side and they tolt me about an under city that is below our current position. Angela is down there. Then they launchet me from a catapult back through the hole in the vall, and Seth caught me." Waldemar brushed himself off and moved his hair out of his face so that they could all see his eyes. "Fortunately, I hafe regained my power from consumink the vone knight. Unfortunately, I am fery injuret and vill not be of much help for the rest of the mission."

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

Atlas drops the knight, the armor clanging on the ground before dissipating. "An army? That doesn't sound good; I don't think we can bring enough force to bear to bring down that many. We're gonna have to sneak around if we want to get to Angela then...and I'm not so good at staying hidden." Atlas spreads his hands wide, demonstrating his size.

"So, just head down then?"

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

"I don't think that ve vill hafe to sneak all that much, to be honest. The shades are stupit creatures. I can easily talk them down, as long as ve don't engage in combat vith them. Plus, they are out there, and ve are in here." Waldemar walked over to the hole in the wall and looked out. "But vhatefer ve do, ve neet to hurry."

[Julian84]

All:

Instead of dissolving as expected, the knight at Atlas’s feet jerks and twitches. It still lives!

Waldemar calmly walks over and pats it on the helmet, causing it to dissolve into purple mist, and the younger man sucks the essence into his mouth.

Maxwell raises an eyebrow. “Well… That’s interesting.”

Unexpectedly, there is a clunking and grind of stone, as the blocks around the fake Angela’s throne fall away and slide into the floor, revealing a hidden stairway.

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

I'll go first; stuffs less likely to get me than the rest of you. Mind putting up one of those force fields in front of me, Seth?" Atlas says this as he walks toward the staircase.

[gunnar11]

Seth

"Sure thing" Seth responds to Atlas, and immediatly he conjures a forcefield up around him and Atlas. "I will have to walk second, though" he continues.
"And just a moment before we enter:" he turns to Waldemar, who he had just caught: "Am I now worthy enough to accompany you, sir?" Seth makes a small bow with a grin on his face.


forcefield [1d20+5][11]

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar was slightly taken aback by Seth's comment, but replied with: "You're gettink there." He then flashed a smile and motioned for the others to proceed.

[Julian84]

All:

“Waldemar, you go ahead of me, behind Seth. I’ll bring up the rear.” Maxwell orders.

The group descends the stairs, noting with some apprehension the long white material inset into walls and acting as railings, ominously looking like they were crafted from bones.

“Remember…” Maxwell says, lightly gripping what appears to be an arm bone. “None of this is real. It’s a product of her mind, nothing more.”

The green torches in the great hall turn to a bloody crimson as he marches down the steps with them.

The long spiraling descent is interrupted only by a shaking rattle and the sound of a low rumbling explosion. “Hn. I think the army have already burst through. Doubletime.”

GRMM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7D_21JWn9o&list=PL096537D6F8BDA7B4&index=17)

They hurry down the staircase, plunging further and further into the earth, knowing the only way they can go is down. After an interminable amount of walking, they arrive on a balcony, overlooking a massive cavern, stalactites carved into buildings hanging in the void over a shimmering verdant sea, whose luminescence brightens the shadows of the hollow.

Three pathways lead from the balcony, all leading out to a platform the size of a football field suspended in the air between their stalactite and another, larger one. A thick and lush garden grows across it, paths leading through hedge mazes and patches of flowers. In the distance, a woman with pale grey skin trims a rose bush with electric blue petals, her red hair floating and swirling like oil in water.

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

Atlas walks forward a bit. "...I'm going to guess we're in the part of her mind where things really start getting weird. Say hello to the subconcious." He turns back to Maxwell. "What do you think, Boss? Is she likely friend or foe?"

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar walked to the edge of the balcony and peered into the cavern. It was quite different from what was above them. He looked at the creature in the garden and felt a bit uneasy. He took a deep breath and spoke: "I don't care if she is friendly or not, ve neet to keep movink so the shades don't catch up with us."

[Julian84]

All:

Maxwell frowns. “I’m not sure… The subconscious is a tricky thing, and the evident fracturing of her mind isn’t going to help matters any.”

He cautiously leads the way forward across the central bridge, the female creature noticing them and moving to intercept.

When they are halfway across, the woman has already arrived at the other end, her hair floating and writhing behind her. She has a familiar face, looking quite similar to Angela, but when she gives a sinister smile they can see her teeth are razor sharp.

“… Honored guests.” She says quietly. “Welcome to the Garden.”

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

"Boss, I'm pretty sure we're looking at some sort of negative reflection of Angela. Anything that gives that sort of slasher smile isn't something I want to let my guard down around."

Knowledge (Behavioral Sciences) to figure out what part of Angela's mind/soul this might be: 18

Atlas puffs out his chest and straightens his shoulders."Listen! We aren't looking for trouble, but we won't hesitate to fight back. Trust me, that isn't something you want." He cracks his knuckles just to emphasize his points, the sound reverberating around the cavern.

Intimidate: 13

[Julian84]

Cgrela:

Her appearance, mannerisms, and demeanor suggest that she is primarily a being of chaos and violence.

All:

The woman raises an eyebrow at Atlas’s threat. “You are here to rescue Angela from the bonds which hold her.” She pauses, weighing her words. “You are here to set right what once went so wrong.”

Her shoulders shake and heave, and she makes odd choking noises before erupting into laughter. “AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” She bellows. “You fools… She is trapped so deep in her own mind she could never find her way out.” Her pointed teeth glitter in the gloom of the cavern. “And that leaves me in control. Agatha von Endmärz to you, honored guests.” She titters gently. “And I won’t release her. Not now, not ever, not to you, not to anyone.”

“Angela is mine.” She growls fiercely. “But, if you want her, come and claim her from me!” Agatha launches into the air, but instead of attacking, vanishes, appearing on the far side of the garden, fleeing into the massive hanging structure of the stalactite.

“Blast.” Maxwell growls. “After her!”

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

Atlas takes off at top speed, then leaps at the end of his run. He crashes to the ground, the rock cracking under the force of his impact. "The longer you make this take, the more painful it'll be for you when we catch up!"

[Julian84]

Cgrela, Gunnar11:

Seth and Atlas cover the gap quickly, running into the massive stalactite building after Agatha, who has disappeared inside.

They bolt down the hallway, not noticing a very important detail.

Reverend:

“Wait!” Maxwell yells as their two teammates cover the gap easily. “… I guess we have to hoof it.” He sighs.

Maxwell and Waldemar run down into the labyrinth of the garden, weaving through the hedge rows until they reach the midpoint, a circular clearing with a fountain in the middle.

C, G11:

As they run through the meandering hallways, Agatha’s mocking laughter ahead of them, Seth and Atlas notice little glowing purple lights hanging around them, leading off towards other hallways and corridors. They ignore the lights and determinately press on ahead to-

Cgrela:

Atlas runs into a circular room, a heavy metal door slamming shut behind him. Around him are nine suits of armor similar to the ones they encountered in the Great Hall.

Gunnar11:

Seth finds himself alone in a long room, filled with tapestries and paintings, two suits of armor at the far end, one carrying a massive longbow and the other a large shield.

GRMM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quYsEVcr7rM)

Reverend:

Maxwell looks around anxiously. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this…”

A vine lashes out and strikes him across the chest, sending him flying into the fountain. Waldemar can see a strange little purple eye sticking out of a hedge before disappearing into the undergrowth, vines and tendrils suddenly erupting from the flowerbeds and hedges around the two.

Cgrela:

The room begins to spin wildly around Atlas , turning into a nauseating blur. The suits of armor seem to meld together until the room stops spinning, one suit of armor remaining. It begins to rumble, and falls over, groaning and gasping as twenty four arms sprout from it’s extended torso, carrying flaming longswords, the armored beast rearing up onto its new twenty four legs, the twelve helmets growing out of it’s tiny neck, the visors popping off with a clang to reveal a single hideous eyeball contained within.

The beast growls lowly, staring down at Atlas with malevolent hatred.

Gunnar11:

A heavy metal door slides down behind Seth, trapping him in the long room as the two suits of armor creak and step down from their pedestals, the one with the longbow drawing back the string, creating a white bolt of energy notched in the weapon. It’s compatriot lowers the shield in front of them, and they slowly begin to shuffle forward.

Roll initative!

[gunnar11]

Seth

"Damnit! how could he have been so dumb to get separated from the rest of the group, but more importantly: Where did Agatha go?
Did he just have to go past these Armored beasts? Either way, destroying them seemed like the best option for now. He had to take into account the shooting speed of the statue, so he decided to just put up his Force Field and see how fast the guy could shoot, and how fast the shield moved.

Initiative: 11
Force Field 21

Filled with confidence he said: Come at me"

GRMM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFsu6Pn05lc) (OOC: what does this stand for anyway?)

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

"Scheiße!" Waldemar yelled. He knew he was heavily weakened from the last battle, and these vine-tendril things were going to be difficult to deal with. He ran over to Maxwell to help him up. "If I can touch the creature I can do massife damage to it." He told Maxwell.

Initiative: [1d20+3](6)

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

Atlas stares up at the creature, and tilts his head. "Huh." is the most eloquent he can manage. He remembered seeing something like this a book of Hindu religious art, one of the more fearsome depictions of Kali, or maybe Durga, but seeing such a thing for himself was much more intimidating.

Intitiative: 23

[Julian84]

Reverend:

Maxwell stirs, slowly trying to rise, when a vine lashes out and smacks Waldemar away!

Roll toughness.

Gunnar11:

The armored shades oblige his request, the one armed with a bow unleashing his bolt of energy, which unfortunately for it goes wide and blasts away a chunk of wall.

The other suit of armor slams its shield down in front of the two of them, waiting for Seth’s counterattack.

Cgrela:

The gestalt creature sways back and forth, awaiting the attack of it’s muscular opponent.

[gunnar11]

Seth

"That's a poor aim" Seth said to himself. He checked out the reloading speed of the bow this time, counting the seconds it took for the statue to have another shot ready.

In the meantime, he also decided to take a shot at the shield. To see how tough it was.

Blast: 14
Concentration to maintain ForceField: 22


OOC: What are the dimensions of the shield, how far are they away from Seth and how much time does it take to lift and lower the shield?

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar looked up just in time to get thrown away from Maxwell.

Toughness: [1d20](14)

[Julian84]

Gunnar11:

OOC: It can slam the shield down with incredible speed, fast enough to easily counter his blasts. It’s rectangular and eight feet tall by two and a half feet wide.

The shield-bearing knight stomps forward headlong into Seth’s attack, lowering its shield to protect the archer. The blue energy washes over the shield, harmlessly showering off to the side.

The archer steps out of its protection, notching what appears to be three smaller darts, letting them fly!

The three arrows arc out and halfway through their flight suddenly glow with bright light, their speed increasing as they home in on Seth, smashing into his energy shield!

Roll toughness!

Reverend:

The vine knocks Waldemar back, bruising him and drawing blood from his chest, but the boy retains his balance.

Maxwell rises from the fountain, water streaming off of him. With one hand, he shoots a blast of frost at the ground outside of the fountain, forming a small shelter.

“Get underneath, the vines will have a harder time hitting you!” He barks.

[gunnar11]

Seth

Toughness: 32

A full blow of arrows hit the forcefield, Seth trying hard to keep them from hitting him. He decides this time he'll wait and take out the archer when an opening is created. He prepares his blast, letting his Forcefield drop if there's no other way. Without attacking he won't get out of this situation.

He readies himself.

Concentration: 8
Blast: 15


Seth's going to prepare an action to blast as soon as the archer moves out of cover

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

"Well, I guess there is nothing to do except beat you down." Atlas leaps into the air, trying to land on the creature's shoulder. When he gets lands, he take a mighty swing at the creature's glowing eye. His swing is wildly off-target though, only rolling a 10.

[Julian84]

Gunnar11:

The shield-bearer peers anxiously from behind its barrier, then motions to the archer to attack. The archer begins to notch another three arrows, when Seth unleashes his blast. The shield-bearer reacts with lightning speed, whirling to intercept the boy’s beam of energy.

The energy washes over the shield, and Seth can see that the wear and tear is beginning to show, chips of metal flying away, a small piece shattering and allowing a thin beam to fly through and strike the shieldbearer, whose armor smokes and creaks from the strain.

The archer steps out again, releasing the same attack as before! They fly out, igniting with brilliant light, and strike down to hit-

The ground beneath Seth. The stone sparks, dust flying… And nothing actually happened.

Seth’s turn!

Cgrela:

The creature hisses and twirls, attempting to wrap Atlas in a deadly squeeze of crushing arms and flaming swords.

Roll a grapple check!

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

Atlas' blood runs hot and he feels the savage thrill of battle at he contends with monstrous thing. He tries to fend off the grasping hands with a 32 on his grapple check.

[gunnar11]

Seth

Using the light confusion that the cloud of dust created, Seth instantly moved towards the shield-bearing knight. Due to his control of the room's energy, there was almost no friction, and complete propulsion, letting Seth manage to cross the distance in a matter of milliseconds.

The knight was fast, Seth knew, and so, he had to limit his movement. He harnassed all the power he could into his hand, and touched the knight, trying to solidify the energy around him, making him immobile.

Attack: 15 (vs Touch AC)
if succeed: DC 11 Will save, or be slowed
(if the check is failed by 5 or more, the knight is paralyzed)
Letting go of the force field, and hoping the archer can't fire arrows up close

Seth tried to hide behind the shield bearer for cover against the Archer Knight.

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar ran underneath the shield that Maxwell had made. He examined the wound on his chest. "Ficken. Maxvell, I can't take much from this think. The damage I sufferet earlier is too great. But if I can land vone gut hit on its boty, I may be able to kill it. Maybe."

[Julian84]

Cgrela:

Atlas strains with all of his might, pushing the metal arms of his assailant inch by agonizing inch!

But his strength is not enough, the crushing limbs smashing into his toughened frame.

Roll toughness!

Gunnar11:

Seth darts forward with lightning speed, landing his hit upon the helm of the shield-bearer knight!

But nothing happens. It looks at him steadily and swings its shield, but he manages to dart back in the nick of time. The archer levels its bow and draws back a single shimmering white arrow, but the shot goes wide!

Seth’s turn!

Reverend:

Maxwell nods. “I’ll see what I can do to slow it down any.”

Another vine lashes across the ice shield. “See if you can grab a vine when it next attacks!” (You take a prepared action to grapple when it swings to attack)

Waldemar’s turn!

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

Atlas has never before faced a foe so easily to match his own strength! He feels even his own mighty body succumbing slowly to the overwhelming power of this colossus. He prepares himself for the pain, but rolls only a total of 18*.

*Impervious toughness 6

[gunnar11]

Seth

Okay, so his aim is quite poor. He won't be able to shoot me too easy if I'm standing that close to his buddy, so I'll just blast him away. Seth thinks. He focuses once more, bundling the energy of the site through his body into one spot.
With an incredible BANG, the ball of energy explodes onto the shield of the knight. It seemed that brute force was the only possible way.

Blast: 26
DC 18 Fortitude save

[Julian84]

Cgrela:

The beast releases Atlas, dropping him, injured, to the ground, slithering slowly back to test his reaction.

(Injured and Bruised)

Gunnar11:

Seth’s blast knocks the shield-bearer back, its shield a little bit more damaged, its armor smoking. It leans forward, seemingly defeated.

The archer strings another arrow, aiming for Seth’s heart! The bolt flies forward, striking him in the chest.

Roll toughness!

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

Atlas glares at the creature. Brute strength doesn't seem to be the solution here. There are few creatures that could overpower Atlas like this that Atlas had encountered, but this is one of them. The bruises slowly fade as Atlas comes up with an idea.

"Listen up, you! I'm trying not to hurt you! Right now, this is as weak as I get! I can get far bigger, and far meaner than this!"

Bluff: 14

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar looks out from around the shield to find the creature from which the attacks are coming from and prepares himself for the worst. If he can catch one of those vines he could do some damage and maybe lure it out into the open.

[gunnar11]

Seth
Toughness: 12

Seth smiles. He seems to have incapacitated the big shield-guy. Yeah!
Though he remembers just in time that the archer's still there. He turns around, and at that moment a bolt strikes him in the chest, a massive blow!

Seth gets launched against the wall. Trying to recover, he stands up and he's really angry now. He growls as he blasts energy from the palms of his hands.

Blast: 24

[Julian84]

Cgrela:

The beast’s twelve eyes blink at him, the visors of the helmets flitting over the reptilian orbs.

It headbutts the ground, Atlas managing to dive out of the way as it smashes through the stone floor, breaking through and falling into the room below.

Reverend:

As the two jumpers wait anxiously, a vine suddenly whips around, exploring the small shelter!

Make an attack roll!

Gunnar:

Unfortunately, Seth is unable to further his attack, as the bolt pierces his defenses and blasts him backwards, sending him skidding across the floor until he rolls against the wall.

His chest is in agony, ribs surely broken. (Disabled, staggered, stunned)

The archer draws back the string once more, but the arrow now glows an odd neon green with two bulbous pods on the tip.

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar was ready as the vine whipped around the shelter. He reached out as quickly as he could to intercept the tendril.

Attack: [d20+4](9)

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

Atlas remembers the wisdom of looking before one leaps, literally in this case. He takes a peek over the edge.

Notice: 18

[gunnar11]

Seth

The pain is excruciating. Seth's barely able to breathe. But he must go on. If you die in a Soulscape, you die in real life.
He tries to get up and take cover behind the shield of the now-defeated knight. But he isn't sure he's going to make it.
The pain...

[Julian84]

Soul Jumpers needs some love, gents. One battle to get through then we have a bit of talky time.

GRMM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmvuNH34Lrg&list=FL_eOlHRPkVaDS7atZsjaAMg)

Reverend:

Maxwell growls. “We need to end this, quickly! We don’t have much time-

With a yelp, Maxwell is suddenly entangled by a vine and dragged out of the cover, the vine tossing him high into the air over the edge of the platform.

The cobblestone beneath Waldemar’s feet breaks apart, and more vines erupt, sending him flying into the air as well, hurtling over the edge and plummeting towards the emerald sea below.

Cgrela:

Atlas peeks over the edge, and finds that the beast smashed straight through to the outside, falling away into the shimmering waters. There’s a sudden rumble, and the floor falls away under Atlas, sending him down as well.

Gunnar:

The suit of armor walks over to the broken and crippled Seth, the plates opening up to reveal a hollow interior, strands of light reaching out to pull him into its dark embrace. Plates of metal twist over his limbs like the cold petals of a flower until he is completely encased. The suit begins to move for him, the clanking filling his ears as it walks towards some unknown purpose.

After a few minutes, the armor suddenly reopens, the tendrils of light pushing him out off of a cliff edge into the waters below!

All:

The team plummets towards the waters below, Maxwell desperately summoning up an ice storm to cushion their descent. With skill aided by desperation, he entwines the vapor in the air into thin sheets of ice, creating slides for them to travel down until they crash into the water.

“Give me a second!” Maxwell shouts as he creates a platform of ice form them to stand on. “Get on!” He yells again, scrambling out of the water onto the floating island.

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

Atlas hauls his prodigious bulk up on to the ice. Noticing Seth's limp form, he grabs the child with one hand, and the conveniently nearby Waldemar with the other, and sets them down on the ice. He scans the water, looking for any sign of the monstrous entity that he had confronted. "Boss man, we aren't alone down here. I came against something that was hell of a lot stronger than me, and it is swimming around in the water, I'm guessing. We need to get a move on." The more serious injuries Atlas had received from the creature begin to fade.

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar nodded in thanks towards Atlas for pulling him from the water. He started scanning the water for life while listening for further instructions from Maxwell. He could feel his strength failing.

[gunnar11]

Seth

Seth tries mumbling a 'thank you' while being pulled out of the water. The damage he had taken was quite heavy, and he had trouble breathing. Swimming would've been out of the question.
Still lying on the ice, Seth didn't have the perspective of the others to see into the water. He did focus on what he heard, though, to be sure that he didn't miss a thing his partners said, and to watch out for monsters.
Maxwells Ice-powers were quite useful he noticed.

[Julian84]

GRMM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ow_VtpKxms)
All:

Off in the distance, they can see the multi-limbed armored beast floundering in the water, desperately trying to stay afloat despite its weight. It bobs in the water, sinking for an instant before thrashing up to save itself again.

“… I don’t think it’s a threat.” Maxwell says quietly. He moves to inspect Seth’s injuries, wisps of blue vapor rising from his wounds. “You’ve been hurt.” He growls. “Badly. You’ll need to retreat now if you want to survive this.” He moves over to Waldemar, whose injuries have begun to release the purple mist as well. “You won’t last long either.”

The three notice a light blue-white mist smoking off of Max’s ankle. Even he is injured. He notices their stares and looks down, exhaling in frustration. “It’s our essence, it leaks when our forms are injured. It’s not… Harmful, but it is a bad sign. We may need to retreat and regroup back at the-” He pauses.

“Where did the monster go?” He asks.

The group all turn towards where the creature was floundering, the water now still and smooth.

Suddenly, in a huge geyser of water, a slick black form erupts from beneath the surface, the armored beast clenched in its jaws, teeth the size of hubcaps grinding it into dust as it dissolves into its elemental essence. The creature turns to face the frozen island, it’s large wedge-shaped head covered with slimy silver scales, its yellow eyes staring at them hatefully.

GRMM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ2EoXKZNp8)


Personification of Doubt
Serpent Suicide

The giant sea-monster roars, slipping back into the waters, the mere passing of its being sending huge waves rushing towards their small island.

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

"Boss, you think that ice blast of yours can jet us out of here*? I fought with the monster that snake just ate, and it wasn't even bothered by me." Atlas draws one meaty arm back, ready to strike out at the creature if it breaks the surface in range.

*comic book logic

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar barely noticed either monster, and didn't hear much of the conversation after the words "It's our essence". He had never been hurt in a soulscape before. He had never seen his essence flow out of him like that, and for the first time in a long time he felt the fear of the child that had died all those years ago when he became who he was now. He tried to focus on the task at hand.

"Ve shoult leafe." he said, unable to completely hide the tremble in his voice. He looked up at Atlas and Maxwell. "Ve shoult leafe now."

[gunnar11]

Seth

Fck, this challenge had been a bit too much. Sure, he had been able to enter other soulscapes and wander around, destroying/evading the defences, but this was on a whole new level. How did you defeat a woman with this much anxiousness in her hart!?
Seth tried to sit upright. He didn't know if he had the power for it, but the best thing to do at this point was to protect himself and the others from more damage, and to try and keep his essence together.


Can I conjure a forcefield, or is it still not possible due to the Stunned/Staggered?

[Julian84]

All:

Maxwell glances around nervously. “Given the condition of Waldemar and Seth, I think retreat is our safest option, actually.” He gulps. “I know of someone… Who can back us up. This is a fight that we’ll need everyone for.”

He raises a hand. “Wisp!” A light blue wisp suddenly pops into the air. “Mark this area so we can jump back in when we’re healed. Send a warning if things go south too quickly.” The wisp pulses with energy, holding its position. In the distance, a huge spray of water begins to approach rapidly.

Max grabs Atlas’s shoulder “Alright, get ready to-”

“Aw, leaving already?” A voice asks from above, Agatha floating in the air. “And things were going so well too.” She waves a hand, energy coalescing in the other. “Oh well then, ta ta!”

“JUMP!” He barks.

OOC:

Stunned and staggered has worn off, but disabled means he cannot take any strenuous actions.

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

Atlas hesitates for moment, leery of jumping in the inky black water containing the monstrous serpent. Still, Maxwell seemed to know what he was doing, so Atlas pinches his nose and cannonballs in.

Swim [roll0]

Atlas calms himself for a moment, trying to get a feel for where Maxwell is aiming. He concentrates and...

Concentration 21

[gunnar11]

Seth

Too tired to stand up and fight, or to actually jump, Seth rolls over to Maxwell. If Maxwell was going to make the jump back, he just had to tag along. Seth Clamped his hand around Maxwell's ancle and waited for him to jump.

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar focused his remaining energy and closed his eyes.

Concentration: 16

[Julian84]

All:

Agatha unleashes a beam of viridian energy, disintegrating the platform in a flash of light as the soul jumpers make their retreat!

Reverend, Cgrela:

Waldemar and Trevor awaken in their bodies, feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. Their wisps bob over their heads, going in quick circles and flighty patterns.

Max and Seth however have not woken up.

Gunnar:

Seth finds himself half-buried in snow, his face pelted by stinging flurries of frost as he grimaces in discomfort. Looking around, he finds himself on a snow-covered hilltop in the middle of a vast tundra, clinging to the ankle of Max.

The leader opens his eyes, looking around in confusion. “Why are we…” He looks down. “Oh.”

In the distance, a herd of titanic bipedal creatures traverse the plains, their skin crystalline and sparkling in the dim light filtering through the clouds.

“You followed me into my body.” Max reasons. “Next time, just jump back into your own, it has the strongest connection you will ever feel.”

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar looks at Seth and Max before looking to Trevor. "I vonder vhy they hafen't jumped back?" he wondered aloud. It was almost comical seeing Trevor instead of Atlas, but Waldemar had a new respect for the boy after their first adventure. He reached his hand out to Trevor to shake his hand. "I admire your courage, ant the ferocity vith vhich you fight."

[Space Lawyer]

Trevor

Trevor slumps a bit when he jumps back, reacquainting himself with this weak body. He brushes the long hair out of his face, and tentatively reaches out to shake Waldemar's hand. "Ummm...thanks. You, ah, were impressive yourself." Trevor looks at his own almost disturbingly thin forearm and draws it back, the hair insisting on falling back over his brow. He looks at the others. "Maybe they just got lost...I felt them jump, so they're somewhere. Maybe we should just wait a bit?"

[gunnar11]

Seth

Sorry for the intrusion Seth says, ashamed of what he had done, and he concentrated once more, trying to find his way back to his body.

Concentration: 12

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

"I felt them jump too. Hopefully they are together, seeink as Seth is so injuret." He walked over to each of them and placed his hands on one and then the other, taking time to look at them each for a few seconds. "I guess ve hafe no choice but to wait."

[Julian84]

All:

Max and Seth suddenly sit up, Max glancing at Seth briefly before standing up, dusting himself off. Seth immediately feels better being back in his own body.

“Well… We made progress, but we don’t have the firepower necessary to finish the job.” He sighs. “I’m going to go bring in the cavalry. In the meantime, if there is anything you need to do to get any stronger, go do it now. Be back in the white room and ready to go in an hour.”

He rushes to the door. “Time is of the essence right now.”

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar stood immediately and went for the door. He knew exactly what he had to do, and that was head for Central Park. He had to find Angela before they jumped again, or before she lost the fight.

[Space Lawyer]

Trevor

Trevor finds a comfy chair to sit in. He draws his legs up to his chest and wraps around them.
It was a rare occurrence for Atlas to be overpowered so easily. Atlas was strong, he was powerful. If he couldn't defeat those creatures and help Angela...
Trevor draws his knees in tighter.

[Julian84]

GRMM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nb8JfMIapCo&list=PL096537D6F8BDA7B4)

Cgrela, Gunnar:

The two young soul jumpers are alone in the room, Trevor silently brooding over his frailties, Seth reflecting on the trespass he unwittingly committed. Their wisps float lazily in the air above them, trails of mist dancing in their wake as they trace paths only they know.

A soul is a fragile thing. Depending so much on what its owner chooses to believe about themselves, they shift and change, slowly growing and evolving until a point is reached, where the soulbearer can grow and evolve no more. This is a fate few soul jumpers may face, for the tragedy that shapes their lives seals their evolution forever. There is only one destiny that awaits them.

They wander forward; searching for something only they know. Hope. Happiness. Peace.

Serenity.

Reverend:

Waldemar runs through the busy streets of Manhattan, dashing forward to reach Central Park in time. It’s far… Too far, and there is too much ground to cover, but if they are to win he must find Angela.

He has already spent ten minutes running.

The boy races around a corner, the verdant lake in the heart of the island now looking dark and foreboding in the night. Small groups of city-folk wander about, either in silence or laughter, whichever their soul says would be best. They are confident in a future of tomorrow, that no harm will come to them in the dark places.

Not that Waldemar fears the dark either.

Valik Sparks:

Owen Stanton sits alone in the booth, a glass of tepid water clasped in one hand as the rhythms of the club boom and rumble around him, men and women caught in thwe wild gyrations of dance, neon lights flashing and burning away the shadows, all unheard and unheeded.

Places like these were just the worst.

What does catch his attention is a familiar face, the Hispanic man with greying hair picking his way through the crowd towards Owen, a small wisp floating over his shoulder.

“Owen.” He can barely hear over the roar. “You know why I’m here.”

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar was breathing heavily. The running was taking it's toll, and he was only, maybe, halfway there. There was no way he could get to Angela and back to the others before the hour was up.

He was going to have to jump in the park, maybe in the open. He wondered what people would think when the saw the small German boy passed out next to a random girl. He would be pissed if he ended up in a hospital.

He looked at the window of a nearby building and saw his reflection, his hair neatly smoothed back, his clothing pristine, and his eyes alight with a dim, violet glow. The Knight had not been as fulfilling as he would have hoped.

He looked down 5th avenue towards where the center of the park was. He was guessing it would be a little over a mile before he got there, and he knew that he didn't have that kind of time or that kind of energy. He pulled Angela's picture from his coat and walked over to a group of people nearby.

"Pardon me," he said, showing the group the picture, "Hafe you seen this girl? She vas last seen in Central Park, and I neet to fint her immediately. It's life or death."

Gather Information: (1d20+14)[19]

[Space Lawyer]

Trevor

Trevor unfolds himself. He looks up towards his wisp. "Do you have a name?"

[gunnar11]

Seth

How?
How could he have lost?
In soulscapes his true senses came to light, and he could show the world, that world, what his talents were. But it was impossible this time. Somehow Angela was a stronger soul-controller than he was.

He had to get stronger.

"I'm jumping" Seth declared, to the only person remaining in the room. Trevor was talking to his wisp, but he must've heard him nonethless.

Seth Jumped, into his own Soulscape, to shape it, to train. His forcefield, it had to get harder, wider, better.
His blasts had to get sharper, more accurate, faster. Train train train!

[Valik Sparks]

Owen held his glass by the top and swung it in repeated, slow circles, staring dismally into the churning liquid. Water. Just water.

He didn't understand the infatuation with alcohol these people had. And drugs. Why was it always drugs and alcohol? It was the most foolish method of escapism. It was simply idiocy, in his mind. There were plenty of ways to occupy one's mind and snuff heartache that did not include rotting the body from the inside out.

But even so, he had to show his face here, in a place he despised, because it was the latest 'hot spot', and if he wanted to remain with the 'in' crowd, he needed first-hand experience. It would be worth it in the end. He always told himself that. It'd better be worth it. Because if he had to listen to one more crappy autotuned--

"Owen. You know why I'm here."

Owen froze. The water sloshed in his glass for a few moments longer until it too went still. Was that...? He slowly lifted his gaze.

Yes. Yes it was him.

Owen looked back at his glass and snorted with mild irritation. He started to swing the glass in circles again and watch the water churn. "I already told you," He said, projecting his voice so he could clearly be heard, "I'm not interested. I don't have the desire or the time to play Superhero with you. I've got my own life and my own agendas. Find someone else."

[Julian84]

Reverend:

The group, comprised of hipsters and indie kids, their t-shirts emblazoned with the names of bands and ironic witticisms look down on the younger boy. One, a redheaded guy with a turquoise nose ring squints, leaning down to look at the picture. “… Yeah. She was walking down by the Beldevere a few hours ago, looked strung out on some X or something.” He shrugs. “Dunno where she went after that though.”

A girl with only bangs squats down next to Waldemar, cooing affectionately. “Your accent is delicious! Are you from Germany? Ooh, how do you say, ‘Only in my dreams’? I’ve always wondered!”

Cgrela:

The wisp hovers down in front of Trevor’s face, rolling in midair under his scrutiny. The glow of the wisp shifts to a lighter blue, pink, red, purple, and back to its original dark shade of blue. It begins to strobe wildly, the light assaulting Trevor’s eyes, blinding him, enrapturing him, encapsulating him-

He stands alone in a misty expanse of infinity, a vaguely feminine figure composed of dark blue mist.

“… Flee…”

The scene changes, and he stands at the foot of a concrete stairs, the door open at the very top allowing a sickly yellow light to shine through.

Drip

Black fluid begins to seep at the top of the stairs, trickling down each step and pooling at his feet. In the inky darkness, he sees a reflection, a face he hasn’t seen in so long, a face from his nightmares-

He is alone in the desert, surrounded by stinging black sand that whips and tears at his skin. In the distance, a massive hand slowly unearths itself from a dune the size of the Empire State building, a mouth opening in its palm and a flaming spider dragging itself out of the maw, screaming horrifically-

Sewer tunnels. It was floating through the sewer tunnels beneath the city, searching, finding the conclave, it was of the greatest import-

“You should run.” She whispers. “Run away with me. Into the sunsets and sunrises and into the infinite expanses of time and space, from beginning to end we will run.”

“We are forever.” He replied.

“Come here…” She replied.

He reached for her, and she reached back-

Trevor is standing alone in the room, reaching out towards where Seth’s prone body sits crumpled.

Gunnar:

Seth ran and tumbled through the forests of his soulscape, the beasts and animals that personified his being running alongside him, clashing tooth, claw, horn, and antler against his vivid azure energy.

His injuries had healed, his body rejuvenated. He was fighting fit again, and the faunae reacted accordingly. Joy and vitality sung through his soul, as he prepared for his rematch with the shades of Angela’s soul.

But as they ran, they suddenly came into a clearing, where seven stone pillars were erected in a circle. The animals paused warily, staring at it in confusion.

It was new.

Valik Sparks:

Maxwell growled. “For just once, Owen, will you maybe think of someone besides yourself? There’s a girl, she is on the brink of complete insanity, possibly even death, and we don’t have the necessary strength to save her.”

He plants his hands on the table. “We both know what you’re capable of. I wouldn’t come to anyone else besides you, and we both know there is no one else. How many other soul jumpers are there in New York? 7? 8? Not many are willing to take the risks of helping other people, but you’ve done it before, you know how to fight shades.”

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

It wasn't much information, but it was something. With any luck she would still be in the area and he could find her. And then the girl began talking to him. She was cute, he gave her that, but he really didn't have time for this. In another life maybe. He grabbed her hand affectionately, "Schöne Mädchen, jetzt ist nicht die Zeit." he said, kissing her hand afterwards. He looked at the others and thanked them, and then winked at the girl as he sped off down the street.

As he ran, Waldemar decided that when he had some time he would pay her a visit.

[Space Lawyer]

Trevor

Trevor stares at the wisp. "What the hell was that? Ok, I won't ask you anymore questions..." The boss seemed to think these things were ok, but now Trevor was a little worried. It had shown him such terrifying things, dragging images up from what must be the worst parts of his soul and others.

He notices Seth lying on the floor. He drags the boy up and into a sitting position against the wall. "Did he say he was jumping?I guess maybe that isn't such a bad idea." He turns to the wisp again. "I'm guessing you can get in and out of soulscapes with no problems. In 45 minutes or whenever anyone enters this room, come get me." Treovr takes his place in the comfy chair again, and turns his concentration inward, searching for his own soulscape.

[gunnar11]

Seth

It wasn't possible.
Seth knew his Soulscape like the back of his hand. He knew every creature in this forest, what they liked, how they behaved. He knew the waterfalls in the west, falling off of the scape, the mountains in the east, from where te music came. He knew the sound each step he took, he knew himself.

But this was new. This was something he hadn't planted here. A circular ground, 7 stones surrounding it.
Something else had changed too, he was sure of it. Was it the trees? Was it the stones? Yes and no. What was it?

Seth noticed the animals had disappeared, and walked around the circular grounds. He noticed a stream, carefully avoiding it, as if that was a place you really didn't want to go to. Seth approached the stream, and looked into it. His reflection, like always. Blue clothes, semi-rough skin, green eyes.

Green eyes? He was in a soulscape!
Seth quickly turned and looked around himself. Everything had colors! His soulscape had changed drastically from being almost completely blue to almost a normal world. Seth took a couple of steps back. It was like he was reborn, though not better than before.

He then noticed where he was standing: Right in the middle of the 7 stones.

[Valik Sparks]

Owen stiffened. Max's words biting into him like a winter chill. He slowly lowered his glass, gaze fixed down at the table. His mind raced.

He was strong. He knew it. And Max wasn't the kind to be dramatic. Whatever was going on, Max really did need him.. for someone else's sake. A girl.

Lorelai's smiling face flashed across his mind's eye, and he winced, shutting his eyes and gritting his teeth.

He wasn't a hero... He wasn't like Max. But she could die... But he didn't even know her! People died every day, what made this girl so special?

Owen curled his hand into a fist, pressing it tight against the table. He took in a long breath, letting it out slowly. "Fine." He finally said. "I'll help." He looked at Max. "But only because I'm freaking sick of sitting in this joint. And you asked nicely. Well, for you."
Owen rose to his feet, rolling his shoulders and pulling at his fingers one by one to loosen up. He started towards the exit, then paused, eyeing Max suspiciously.

"It's just us...right? You didn't actually put together some flashy superhero squad, did you?"

[Julian84]

Reverend:

“Calll meee~” She yells, making the international symbol of the telephone with her hand.

“What’s wrong with you he’s like 14-”

He presses on, running south to Beldevere Castle circumventing through the dark woods and dashing through the lamplit paths…

http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000oKlp0flC.RQ/s/900/900/Central-Park-Belvedere-Castle-12001.jpg

It didn’t look ominous… Not at all… Checking his watch, he sees he has no time before they jump back… But he can’t go back so weak.

Cgrela:

The wisp turns a slight pink color before floating up to the ceiling.

Trevor jumps, landing in the familiar and comfortable environment of his Soulscape. Soaring mountains kiss the blue sky, and Atlas gazes upon them with contentment and peace.

… But high above, hanging in the sky, is a bright green twinkling, barely able to be seen.

Gunnar:

The ground below his feet rumbles, and a spur of rock erupts beneath him, sending him flying backwards. Coughing from the dust and dirt kicked into the air, he pulls himself to his feet, staring with no small amount of concern to see that in the center of the circle now sits a cave, large rock formations settling into place around it. Wind blows from the depths of the earth, frigid and cloyingly sweet.

Valik Sparks:

Max doesn’t meet his eyes upon that last question. “Just come on.” He mutters, leading him out of the club.

Cgrela:

As Atlas gazes curiously at the green star in the sky, his wisp pops in to pull him out.

How much time had really passed in his vision?

Gunnar:

Seth’s confusion is cut short when his wisp appears, and he awakens in his body, propped against the wall.

Valik Sparks, Cgrela, Gunnar:

Maxwell leads Owen into the White Room, where two other young men stand quietly inside, stretching and watching the two intently.

“Seth, Trevor, this is Owen… An old ally.” Max says, pushing Owen into the room. “He has come to help us save Angela from the shades- Where’s Waldemar?”

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar ran to the top of the castle and began to scan the park. As he was looking he began to question himself. Why was he doing this? Why was he trying to save this girl? And why was he working with people. People's souls were no more than a means to an end for him in the past, but for some reason he knew this is what he had to be doing at this very moment in his life. Something told him that. She told him that.

He reached under his shirt and gripped hold of his locket.

Now was not the time to get emotional though, he knew that. If he could find Angela then he could unleash his full power, and neither Agatha or any of the others would be able to stop him.

Notice Check: (1d20+3)[18]

[Space Lawyer]

Trevor

Trevor looks at the ground, mumbling. "I don't know. He left soon soon after you did." He looks at the newcomer. "Hello Owen, I'm Trevor."

[Valik Sparks]

Owen stood with good, confident posture, but a slight lean to one side and dip of the shoulder, arms crossed over his chest and head tilted slightly downward in a manner that reeked of teenage angst. But at school it was known as 'swagger'. And it was cool.

But he was beginning to doubt the same rules would apply to this couple of nuts. Trevor and Seth huh? Souljumpers.. They didn't look like much. He wondered what they had to offer within a Soulscape.

When Trevor spoke, Owen took his sweet time responding, flicking his head first to knocking some stray hair from his eyes. "Yeah..." He started cooly. "Max did the introductions already." He turned to Max, then back to Trevor and Seth, then a pointed look at Max again. "How about we get to the point."

[gunnar11]

Seth

As Seth awakened, he noticed Maxwell was back. At his side, a quite emo looking boy, leaning against the wall. "How about we get to the point" he spoke, a little bit too condescending upon Trevor and himself.

"I like this boy already!" Seth proclaimed, putting on the fakest of his smiles. This boy had to watch out.

"What about Waldemar?" Seth continued to ask Maxwell, as he approached the two.

[Julian84]

Reverend:

Waldemar wanders around the castle, carefully creeping through the outside gardens, trying to find a way inside… But it is locked. On the far side, he does however find a single black purse.

Cgrela, Gunnar, Valik Sparks:

Maxwell runs a hand through his hair. “… We don’t have any time to look for him. He may have just decided to abandon the mission, I don’t know.”

He takes a seat, bidding the rest to do the same. “Back into Angela’s soul. Be warned, at the rate of decay, it might seem very different… We have no way of knowing what now awaits us there.”

“… In 3… 2… 1… Jump!”

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar ran to the purse and began scanning the immediate area for Angela. He checked his watch and saw that the hour was up, so she would be unconscious at this point. He felt a little dirty picking through a woman's purse, but he had to know if it was hers, and besides, it isn't like this would be the worst thing he'd be doing tonight.

[Space Lawyer]

Trevor

Trevor feels himself becoming Atlas, and tries to follow along with Maxwell. The rebuff from Owen had obviously bothered Trevor even more than the young man himself had realized.

Concentration 6

[Valik Sparks]

Owen

With a disdainful snort, Owen seated himself next to Max and shut his eyes. Max was making a pretty big deal out of this one little girl. Was it really that bad?

He'd missed the mission briefing, but with everyone in the room jumping to the same place, he was confident he could follow the trail. These rag-tag Hero wannabes were bound to make messy jumps. All he had to do was reach out with the sixth sense of the Souljumper...


((Concentration: d20 + 8 = ... 9 ...#*@$))

[gunnar11]

Seth

He was the last one to get seated, calling out to his little wisp: "Hey there, buddy. You'll be protecting me, right?"
he said as he closed his eyes and let his essence lift off his body to Angela's.

Concentration: 12

[Julian84]

OOC: Wow. No one made it in xD Alright, I’m waiving the concentration check this time. Next episode we’ll be working on that to make it a non-issue.

Cgrela, Gunnar, Valik Sparks:

GRMM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3irLLH2msK8&list=PL096537D6F8BDA7B4)

The four soul jumpers land in Angela’s soulscape once again… And find themselves in turbulent rush of water, everything pitch black as they are dragged further and further down, air bubbling out of their mouths, before they’re shot out of a Cliffside and out onto a massive waterfall, plummeting down into a pool of water below.

Coughing and sputtering, they drag themselves out of the lake, dripping with familiar looking emerald water. They’re in a densely wooded glen, the sun shining through an odd green shimmer in the air, a massive cliff marking the eastern border of the valley as far as the eye can see.

“Her personality must be regressing.” Maxwell says quietly after a while. “The layers and walls she has built up for herself over the years have begun to fall apart.” He looks around. “No sign of the army of doubt. I think her shades have begun devouring each other to assert dominance.”

Far off in the distance, they can see a smaller replica of the castle they originally arrived at. “That’s where we’ll find her.”

Reverend:

Waldemar ran through the streets, the bag clutched in his hand…

And he finds two scruffy-looking men standing over an unconscious woman, chuckling to themselves darkly.

It’s Angela.

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar stood for a second to feel out the situation before acting.

"Oi, Arschlöcher!" He called out to the two men. "How about you leafe das Mädchen alone and go on your vays or I vill kill you both? How does that sound to you?"

He stood with an intimidating pose, his slightly glowing eyes locked on the two men and his hands the pockets of his coat. He remained calm, a defiant smirk on his face as he waited for the men to react.

Intimidate: 20

[Valik Sparks]

Owen

Owen hadn't even the time to adjust to the dark-colored suit that now fit tightly around his figure, as green water whirled around him and sucked him haplessly along its powerful current. But it wasn't long before he was vomited from the cliff and into the shallows below.

He clambered onto the shore, the Dark Suit looking extra sleek and shiny, water dribbling from the helmet as he sputtered, voice muffled and accented with a electronic reverberation. "This place is a mess... What was wrong in this girl's head?"

He rolled his shoulders, twisted his neck, and shook the water from his arms. He flexed his fingers, stretching a hand open wide as a red blade of energy sparked to life, jutting from his wrist, glowing, and humming quietly. Satisfied, he flicked his wrist, and the blade vanished. He looked at the castle. "Well then.." was all he said.

Then Owen started forward, moving with confidence, not waiting for approval or accompaniment.

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

It felt good to be Atlas again. Atlas stretches, and the muscles beneath his hide ripple. He looks upward. A green sun...
As Owen goes off alone, Atlas feels worried. The boy may be a bit rude, but having soul destroyed the horrors lurking in here wasn't any sort of appropriate comeuppance. "Well, lets go after him." He strides forward after the boy in the Vader-esque suit.

[Julian84]

OOC: Sorry, Gunnar, but we’ve been waiting a while for you to update.

Reverend:

The two thugs look at each other, and back at Waldemar. One pulls a knife, grinning. “I don’t think so.”

The other takes a step back. “Reese… There’s something off about this kid. Maybe we should just go…”

Roll initiative! If you win, you can roll attack to do your thing and then jump.

Cgrela, Gunnar, Valik Sparks:

Much like a dream, time and distance seemingly no longer apply in the poor girl’s soulscape. After what feels like a few minutes they arrive at the castle, but it takes what feels like hours to cross over past the main threshold, yet the sun still hangs high in the sky.

They find themselves suddenly in the courtyard, Agatha floating in the air, grinning.

“I have to thank you for drawing out Serpent Suicide, he had been hiding from me. With him out of the way, I am the sole mistress of this world.” Her grin widens wickedly. “And very soon I will cross over into the waking world to bring the pain I feel to everything.”

Chains of metal scales slither out from behind her and begin to wrap around her body, creating a growing suit of armor.

"And you pathetic fools won't be able to stop me."

Roll initiative in the OOC and come back here when the winner is determined.

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

"You shoult have listenet to your frient, Reese." Waldemar said with a grin.

Initiative: 18

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

Atlas leaps into the air, hoping to get a strike in before Agatha can fully armor herself. He strikes with one hand, the other hand going for her legs. I'll drag you down and beat the mean out of you.

Attack (unarmed): 29
If successful, beginning grapple with one hand (Improved Grapple) as a free action (Improved Grab).
Begin pin, including damage from Crushing Pin feat.
If she breathes, suffocation begins from Chokehold feat.
Damage bonus: +8

[Valik Sparks]

Owen

PRMM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eVqo3gxj2I)

Owen stepped forward, grinning behind his mask as he watched Atlas take off. He took an extra moment to look over the floating woman, watching the metal plating begin to form around her. He looked her right in the eyes, twirling his hand and igniting the red, glowing energy blade.

Yah know old hag.. you remind me of myself in a way.. Only a little too evil for my tastes." He stooped into a battle-ready stance, the reflection of his blade flashing across his mask. "This might've been the point where I offer you an ultimatum.. but I'm just way too fond of 'the hard way'. I'm gonna break every part of you, until there's nothing left to keep this girl prisoner."

Darting forward in a blur of motion, Owen suddenly vanished with a shimmering, displacement effect, only to reappear high up in the air, blade poised to strike Agatha. And strike he did. Hard and fast, towards her chest (17, 10 damage, Penetrating), testing her defenses and strength. Within a split second of the attack, he was gone again, reappearing forcefully back onto the ground, blasting up dust and skidding backward, holding his sword up defensively.

"Hnn..." He grinned behind his mask. "Heheheh.. this is kinda fun.."


((Second teleport available thanks to Turnabout))

[Julian84]

Reverend:

Reese pauses for a second too long as his friend takes a step back in fear.

Gunnar, Valik Sparks, Cgrela:

Atlas leaps up, grabbing her neck and swinging around, holding her neck in his crushing arm. She gasps, clutching her throat as Owen teleports up to her, slashing her across the chest, releasing bright red energy.

Maxwell grits his teeth, creating an icicle spike in one hand and throwing it with deadly force at her, the spike sticking out of her abdomen, causing her to shriek in agony and rage.

Then she laughs, the chilling noise echoing through the courtyard, bouncing off of the walls and reverberating in their ears.

“You fools… I control this world… You think you can beat me with just your fists and swords?” Her body shakes with laughter. “Your recklessness will be your undoing.”

GRMM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Yb9aILP7PI)

With a high-pitched scream, she releases a burst of energy, sending the four flying away. She grows… And grows… Finally standing fifty feet high, a massive suit of armor (http://imagescale.tumblr.com/image/1280/m3a0y7kW2y1rtnhhno1.jpg) carrying a razor sharp sword, a tattered white cape flying from her shoulders.

“I AM UNDYING, UNCHANGING!” She shrieks as vines burst out of the ground, flowers colored iridescent orange, purple, and blue ringing around bloodshot and jaundiced eyes.

She swings around, attacking Atlas, who manages to jump out of the way in time.

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Attack: 22

Waldemar breaks into a full sprint and runs at the Reese, grabbing the wrist of his knife hand and looking into the man's eyes. As he jumped he spoke.

"Vhat do you fear, little Feigling?" And with that, Waldemar left his body behind.

Concentration: 20

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

Atlas once again stares up at giant suit of armor, having only narrowly dodged that absurdly oversized sword. This is disturbingly familiar. He takes a few steps back, taking strides over the grotesque flora, getting next to Maxwell. "Boss, if she is anything like the suit of armor I fought earlier, I'm not going to be able to overcome her with brute strength. Got any ideas?"

He thinks hard while asking, trying to determine from what he knows if Agatha is still the same being of chaos as before, or has become something more concrete and definable.

Behavioral Science: 10

[gunnar11]

Seth

As the four shot out and charged right at Agatha, Seth stood in disbelief. They seemed to be overpowering her easily.
It wasn't, though.
She increased in size, donned herself some armor and attack right back in the blink of an eye. Atlas seemed to move right next to Maxwell as he dodged Agatha's attack. That huge sword was nothing to be messed with.
Seth decided that, while Maxwell used ranged ice attacks, he better protect him, and for a little time Atlas, who was standing there too, as well.

Force Field: 21

[Valik Sparks]

Owen

With a low growl, Owen stared down Agatha, then paused, twitching. He whirled around, looking quickly between Atlas and Seth.

"REALLY? This is your big plan? Sit back and watch? Hope she falls over at your tough looks??" He spun back around, shaking his head. "Fricking hero squad.. It's not that complicated..." Owen's voice trailed off as his sword flickered away into nothingness and he bent his knees, lowering down, pulling back his shoulders, winding himself up.

"It's like anything. You hit it until it dies."

He launched into the air, leaving a mirage-like ripple as he vanished, reappearing far, far above Agatha's form, leaving a generous amount of falling space between himself and the giant armored form. Spinning around and tipping his head downward, Owen fell into a skydive, riding the wind as he gathered up momentum and plummeted towards Agatha.
He remained steady during the fall, clasping his hand near his waist, as though there were a sheath to yank his blade from. His eyes narrowed behind his mask.. and he waited. For the exact moment to strike.


((Using Standard Action to Ready an action to strike Agatha as soon as I'm within range. Owen has teleported high enough that it will take a full round to fall into melee range of Agatha. Basically attempting to set up that on his next turn, he uses his Ready, and then gets to use the new actions garnered at the start of that turn as well.))

[Julian84]

Reverend:

Waldemar finds himself on a ground of coarse red stone, on a wide plane stretching out before terminating somewhere in the distance. He can feel a vague sense of vertigo, as if he is spinning through the air. Looking up, he sees only a white infinite void.

Reese stands on the ground before him, looking around in confusion and panic. “Wh-where am I?! WHAT IS THIS?!” He shrieks.

Cgrela, Gunnar, Valik Sparks:

Maxwell’s eyes glow dark blue once more as he raises his hands. “If she dodges Owen’s attack…” He roars, crystalline ice blasting from his hands, wrapping around the armored legs, affixing them to the ground.

“Really?” She asks, laughter thundering with her query. “This is your great plan?” She pulls on her legs, mighty trunks of metal.

And doesn’t budge.

“… This means nothing!” She barks, tugging harder. “Ngh! RRGH! COME ON!” She wails.

Maxwell continues blasting layers of ice onto the snaring bonds. “Keep her from using that sword to free herself.” He instructs the other two grimly. “Buy Owen some time.”

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar looked around briefly before fixing his eyes upon Reese. He laughed at the terror emanating from the man. It had been a long time since he had been able to feel someone else's fear. He raised one arm into the air and kept his gaze on Reese.

"Ve are insite you Reese. Insite your soul. It's a pretty dull place, to be honest vith you. But that is fine. Soon this vill all be but a brief memory, after I destroy you, that is." Waldemar rushed at Reese and grabbed his head on either side.

"Goodbye, Feigling."

Attack: 19

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

Atlas shrugs, then launches himself at armor-Agatha. He can't simply grab the sword; it would chop him in half. He can make himself rather determined nuisance though. He leaps up to her eye level, and swing right into her helm.

Attack: 25
Grappling if there is any part of her small enough to grab hold of.

[gunnar11]

Seth

Seth notices Owen teleport, and ready to make a slamming attack downwards, while Atlas quickly jumps up and tries to grab her. He decides it's best to restrict the movement of that big, ugly, gnarly sword of hers by blasting at her hands. Crippled hands can't hold a sword.

Blast: 22

[Valik Sparks]

Owen

This is more like it! Owen's face spread into a wide grin as he launched towards Agatha at near-terminal velocity. His blade-arm tensed. He cackled quietly with delight as he watched the others distract and trap the armored behemoth.

"My turn."

With flash of red, Owen whipped his blade in an arc the second he came within range of Agatha's helmet. (15, 10 damage) As he continued his rapid descent, he whirled around, slicing across Agatha's back, then fluidly bringing the blade down her thigh. (17, 11, both 10 damage)
After the final hit, he vanished, reappearing on the ground, reducing his velocity enough to save his legs, but still igniting a dust explosion around his poised frame.


((First attack is the Ready. Second 2 are thanks to his AP Striking mode that swaps Penetrating for Move Action, and the teleporting is thanks to at least 1 successful hit, granting him a free port.))

[Julian84]

Reverend:

Reese dissolves into shimmering purple mist, his screams of horror echoing through the dull void as it fades away.

Waldemar is standing in front of Reese and his friend, who is shaking in fear as Reese is unmoving, his face a rictus of fear. Angela is lying quietly on the ground, peaceful and still.

“Wha- What are you?!” Screams the other man.

Cgrela, Gunnar, Valik:

Maxwell relents in his constant barrage of ice, breathing heavily, the exertion of his powers winding him.

Agatha reels under the attacks given by Owen, leaning dangerously backwards whilst her feet are still anchored to the ground.

“This… ISN’T OVER!” She roars, surging forward and bringing her massive sword down on Owen!

13 to hit :smallbiggrin:

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

Atlas lands behind the metal-covered giant, then does a pirouette, oddly graceful his size. He leaps back towards Agatha's head, his massive punch adding to her forward momentum. Ahhhrrrgg! he yells!

Attack: 20
Damage bonus: +8

[gunnar11]

Seth

Seth notices Agatha being completely focused on Owen. He sees Atlas trying to bring her off-balance, quite a good idea, actually. Seth decided to join in by blasting the inner side of her knees, trying to force them to bend.

Blast: 24

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar licked his lips, his whole body shaking. It had been quite a while since he had fed so well. It was so thrilling to feed again. He looked over at the other man, who had just witnessed the death of his friend.

"Wha- What are you?!" the man had screamed. Waldemar took a second before he responded.

"I am the face of pure evil." he said calmly, making sure his accent was as masked as possible so that the man could understand exactly what he had said. His gaze was still on the terrified man. "Now run before I get hungry again."

He didn't look to see if the man ran or not as he strode over to Angela's body and laid his hand upon her cheek. He concentrated on the spirit energy of the wisp and of the others as he jumped, hoping he would land close to them. If they had already engaged Angela he could only imagine what kind of hell they had encountered.

[Valik Sparks]

Owen

Smirking beneath his mask, Owen watched with mild amusement as the team continued their aggressive assault on Agatha. "Heh... 'Atta boys. Maybe you're not so bad after all.."

He spun his energy blade and stretched it towards Agatha. "And as for you... Big, Tall, and Ugly.. I'll have you know.. I've been holding back."

His lips peeled back, flashing a dark smile.

Then he vanished. Reappearing in mid-air, at Agatha's waistline, Owen's blade glowed a furious red, and stretched out, enlarging as he slashed in a vicious arc across the armored monster's midsection. (17, 16 damage, Penetrating)


((The Dark Suit's most powerful strike, using Power+All Out attack to reduce the base melee attack from 3 to 0, and increase the base damage from 13 to 16 -previously Owen has been adding more to his attack bonus and pulling his damage from 13 to 10. Luckily managed to roll 17 just when I needed it this time.. *very pleased*

Additionally, Owen's defense is now dropped by 3 points for 1 round.))

[Julian84]

All:

Agatha howled as Owen slashed a huge chunk out of her armor, exposing swirling red energy beneath. The armored jumper teleported back in front of the team, satisfied that he had struck a powerful blow.

…But she was not yet finished.

“You fools… I AM INVINCIBLE HERE! I AM INDOMITABLE! I AM THE RAGE! AND THE BILE! AND THE FEROCITY! I AM ETERNAL HERE! AND NOTHING CAN CHANGE THAT! NOTHING!” She shrieks, pointing her sword high into the air.

*pop*

Waldemar appears in a swirl of dust, kneeling before her. He rises slowly, taking in the scene before him.

"... The boy..." Agatha mutters, staring down at him.

"W-Waldemar?" Maxwell asks.

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar looked at the giant in front of him. He could feel the gazes of the others behind him. He smiled wide as he raised his hand high into the air. His eyes began to shine bright violet as five strands of shadow burst forth from Agatha's and connected to the fingers of his raised hand.

"Time to see how infincible you really are." he said, beginning to cackle as the shadows began to stir.

It had been a long time since he added a new nightmare to his collection,

[Julian84]

All:

GRMM (http://youtu.be/u2W1Wi2U9sQ?t=2m10s)

The shadows bend and writhe around Waldemar’s hand, coalescing into a single strand in his palm. Power radiates outwards, oppressive and dominating, and the soulscape begins to crumble away beneath them, the ground below their feet shaking and stirring. His face strains as he masters the energy in his palm, bends it to his will…

He plunges his hand into the ground, a wild grin spreading across his face as all falls away into a barren wasteland… And with a cry of supreme effort, he withdraws his hand, pulling on a metal handle, pulling harder and harder until… a line of cannons juts out of the ground, a volley firing from their barrels into the armored shade. Without pause or any outwrd change, they fire again, and again.

Waldemar frowns. More. More is necessary. He wrenches again, and the very earth moves beneath his feet, massive artillery batteries rising up beneath the feet of the soul jumpers, bombarding Agatha with hot lead, smaller cannonfire peppering her armor, tearing through it like tissue paper. With a final effort, Waldemar raises the last of her nightmare, the weapons of a future she despises, a change she cannot fight, cannot defend herself against, the massive cannons blasting holes through her, the red energy unable to repair the damage fast enough.

A single, massive barrel stands below Waldemar’s feet, metallic handles grabbing Atlas and loading him as the final shell. With a burst of fire, the red giant goes hurtling forth, punching straight through the helm of the shade, shattering it into thousands of pieces.

The armored titan disappears in a cloud of shimmering purple mist… And the nightmare fades away, the soulscape returning. The chaos is gone, leaving only a beautiful meadow, a trickling brook going through the middle. Angela lies sleeping on the grass, undisturbed, and all is well.

Cgrela:

Atlas falls to earth quite a ways away. His wisp appears to lead him back, but as he begins to walk, he sees something shining in the grass. Reaching down, he finds a ring, a serpent reaching around to bite its own tail.

Interestingly, its size is perfect for his finger.

Reverend, Valik, Gunnar:

Maxwell stares at Waldemar. “… Well. That explains where you were, I guess.”

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

Atlas turns the ring over in his hand. I should probably ask Maxwell what this thing is before putting it on. Interesting looking though. He continues to follow the wisp.

He shakes his head and laughs. Getting shot out of a cannon. That's a new one. Good going, Waldemar.

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar collapsed to his knees and then fell onto his back in the grass. He was breathing heavily. That took more effort than he thought it might, but then again, she was a big target to kill. He kept his eyes closed.

"Ja. That vas vhere I vas." he paused. "I may neet someone to come get me after I jump out." he added. "It's quite possible that someone vould hafe fount our bodies and brought us to a hospital."

He opened his eyes briefly and saw an unfamiliar figure standing with the others. He felt a strange energy coming from him, but he wasn't going to worry about it right now. Right now he just wanted to relax.

[Valik Sparks]

Owen

"..."

Owen stared, perfectly still, his energy blade flickering, then dying. His arms hung limp. He blinked.

"Frick, dude."

After another long moment of staring, he stepped forward, shaking his head, hands on his hips, chuckling quietly. "That was... impressive. Seriously impressive.."

He casually strolled across the meadow, approaching Angela and standing over her, leaning down and cocking his head curiously. He nudged her side with his armored foot. "Yo.. girly. You gonna make it?"

[Julian84]

All:

GRMM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wQn3amwSro&list=PL096537D6F8BDA7B4)

The wisp leads Atlas through the woods back to the others, the giant finding the four standing around and catching their breath in an idyllic meadow. Owen is quietly nudging Angela, trying to wake her from her slumber. Her expression is soft, peaceful, untroubled by the turmoil which once ruled over her.

Maxwell smiles at them. “Well… She looks to be alright, perhaps she’ll wake soon. Waldemar… I owe you an apology, I doubted you for a while there. It won’t happen again. You’ve really proven yourself to the team.”

He walks over and claps a hand on Owen’s shoulder. “And thank you, too. Your help was invaluable. I would ask for you to reconsider your… Choice of solitude, and join the team. You’ve done good here, Owen. You could do a lot more.”

Angela stirs, her eyes blinking tiredly, and she slowly pushes herself up, string right at the face of Atlas, who waves awkwardly back.

She blinks. “What in the hell-”

With a sharp crack, the world falls away beneath them, and the five soul jumpers are thrown into a white abyss, yelling in confusion as they’re transported.

Valik, Cgrela, Gunnar:

Four of the Soul Jumpers awaken in the White Room, groaning from sore muscles and a slight headache from the unceremonious kick from her soulscape.

Max rises, stretching his neck. “Wait. Where did Waldemar go?”

NPC/Reverend:

Cody stared down at the three bodies lying around his feet. The girl he and Reese tried to rob/feel up/… He decided he was too scared to even think about it. Reese wasn’t moving, he wasn’t even breathing, and the girl and… the evil, freakish kid looked like they were sleeping.

The boy’s eyes suddenly blinked open, and he pushed himself up with a burst of agility that caused Cody to cry out softly in fright. The boy stared up at him, his eyes shining bright purple in the dark. They were predatory, hungry.

The woman groaned, rubbing her forehead as if in pain. The boy glanced at her, and rose softly, backing away.

“I- I should just go.” Cody said, mirroring the boy’s movements.

The purple eyes glared back.

“Zat vould probably be best.”

A few hours later…

All:

The five are reunited once again, meeting atop the roof of the Goldstein building. Waldemar’s eyes still glow bright purple in the darkness, his wisp bobbing closely over his shoulder, as if whispering secrets in his ears that no one else can hear.

Maxwell clears his throat, staring out across the river at the blooming lights of Queens. “It was a tough fight… But you guys did it. You pulled it off, you saved the girl, you’re all heroes. But you’ve seen the dangers of a broken and twisted mind, you know the risks you face… So this is it. I’ll give you the chance to walk away.”

He puts his hand out in the middle of the group. “Are you in? Or are you out?”

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar doesn't even think before putting his hand in the center. After what he saw he knew there had to be ways of becoming more powerful. There had to be a way to gain more control.

"I'm in."

[Space Lawyer]

Trevor

Trevor has though he had faced some of the worst minds the world had to offer, but he knew now that he had been lucky, not strong. Atlas had only skirted the edge of those minds, only fighting off the minor manifestations and not ever dealing with the real demons. Atlas had come up against something bigger and stronger than himself, and it was only with the rest of the group that he had achieved victory...no, survived. He could turn away now, not ever having to face something like that again. The thing was though, having helped Angela like that, it was the only important thing he had ever done. It felt good to fight back against the nasty things and give someone their life back. There was no way Trevor could turn away from it. He reaches his hand in as well.

"Me too."

[Valik Sparks]

Owen

Upon beaming back into the physical realm, Owen stretched his neck on each side and rolled his shoulders, readjusting to the lightweight feeling of not having armor. Max's words still echoed softly through his mind.. And he couldn't shake the images of what took place inside that soul. The horrors before.. and the peace after. He had done that.. been part of that.. He had helped to break her demons..

It was.. good. It was right...


Owen could make no snide remarks or sarcastic jabs. He quietly stepped forward, an almost solemn look on his face. He stretched his hand to the center with the others.

"Yeah.. count me in."

[gunnar11]

Seth

Seth hesitated. They had bettered the life of Angela now. He'd seen the change. The once horribly deformed cave they went in, dominated by Agatha, destroying Angela's life from the inside, was now a colorful and cheerful landscape. The woman had a better, more comfortable life now, and it was good.

But he had faced horrors. Horrors that could not only devastate the life of the soulscape they were in, but disrupt his Soul too. He could die in there, be blasted to death, and his skills were far more useless than Owen or Waldemar; his risk of dying was greater.

Seth started to stretch out his hand, reaching for the group. Then he stopped. What to do...

[Julian84]

All:

Maxwell stare softly at the young soul jumper. "You can walk away if you choose. There's no shame in that. What awaits us in the future are only perilous journeys, and some may even die. If it's a life you wish to lead, a truly normal life... Then you can walk away, leave this behind."

[Space Lawyer]

Trevor

Trevor speaks to Seth. "If this isn't what you want, that's fine. With doubt...you can't be safe in there. Doubt is what started something like Agatha." Trevor eyes Seth sympathetically, but his trust in the other boy is broken.

[gunnar11]

Seth

"Doubt isn't a weakness - Seth said, placing his hand on top of the others' - It's knowing your fears so that you may face them" he said. All the doubt was now gone, and his resolution was clear. If it wasn't to help the people in their Soulscapes themselves, he'd do it to show Trevor wrong.

[Julian84]

All:

Maxwell nods slowly. “Alright. Then this is it. We’re going to do all we can to save the people of New York from whatever threats are coming. We’re Soul Jumpers, heroes. We can, and we will, save lives.”

He smiles, clenching his fist. “This is only just the beginning.”

Later…

GRMM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kgkPtwS5Kc&list=FL_eOlHRPkVaDS7atZsjaAMg&index=10)

“Alright, c’mon you kids!” Angela yelled over the screeching of children as she herded them into the tight daycare that she worked for. The kids ran past her, laughing, crying, calling out for help and attention and care. She smiled at some, scolded others, and ushered the others through the door. The tiny little playground behind the building was claustrophobic, but it was enclosed for the most part and out of sight for any ne’er-do-wells… Like the man she found dead next to her last night, some guy who must have been strung out on drugs.

She massaged her shoulders, trying to ease tension out. This city had been draining her for years, since she was just a kid. As jobs for a high school drop-out go, this wasn’t particularly glamorous, but she at least got to work with kids and make a little money on the side to help support her parents and raise money for a tiny college fund. Finding that freak on the ground next to her almost made her want to run away. She paused, staring ahead quietly. The night before had been… Dark. The thought that she had nearly committed suicide was terrifying, making her heart clench. She had already looked up her old counselor from school, a nice woman who seemed kind-hearted. Maybe she could help.

As the last of the rugrats poured through the door, her coworker, Maria, came alongside her. “Are you ok, Angela?” She asked, looking at the younger girl worriedly. “You’ve been pale all day.”

Angela smiled shakily in response. It wasn’t exactly a social norm to admit to suicidal thoughts. “Y-Yeah. I’m fine, just a little tired.”

Maria smiled sympathetically. “Well, let’s get these little ones to naptime and then you and I can relax with a cup of tea, how does that sound?”

Angela held herself. “That… Sounds really nice, thank you.” She responded, and Maria nodded, walking through the threshold of the door.

Angela took a step forward, but paused, the back of her neck prickling. Slowly, she turned and looked around the playground, glancing at the rooftops for a moment, before deciding it was nothing.

Chuckling at her own sudden paranoia, she stepped into the building. She was going to leave this city, eventually. She knew she could. She was strong, determined, and capable, and nothing would ever stop her again.

---

Up on the rooftops, the Soul Jumpers looked down at the girl they had saved, smiling nervously when she looked up at where they had been hiding. She was alright. She would be alright.

One by one, they turned away, going to find another soul to save.

Omake:

The door bell kept ringing, over and over, driving Natalie up and around the walls as she tried to get herself decently dressed after her shower. With a huff, she pulled on a shirt, stalking down the narrow halls of her shared apartment to answer the door. Her head was killing her from the night before, far too much drinking had been done. Her friends even told her she hit on some German kid.

“WHAT!” She demanded, swinging it open.

A short boy with a familiar smirk and dark brown hair stared back at her with shining purple eyes.

“Ah…Guten tag?”

OOC: The first episode is finally done. I’m going to take a couple days break, then I’ll begin the next one. Good job, y’all.

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar immediately determined upon seeing the girl from the night before that this was a bad idea. Not just a bad idea actually, but an absolutely terrible idea. She had to be in her twenties at least, and was severely hungover. She probably didn’t even remember him. She looked at his slightly confused for a second.

“You’re the German boy from last night, aren’t you?”

“Ja. I am.” Yeah, bat idea. “Vell, this is slightly embarrassink.”

“How did you figure out where I live?” She asked.

“You tolt me last night.” He said quickly, lying. After an awkward exchange Waldemar decided that it wasn’t worth it and they parted ways. It was funny how the child in him wanted that to be something, but he knew realistically what was going to happen before it did.

Waldemr walked the streets of New York as he had so many times before, bumping into hundreds of people that he would never see in person again. An endless supply of souls to devour. As he walked his hand raised to the locket around his neck and he held it close, remembering his lost sister. He missed her terribly. The only person that he had ever really cared about, ripped away from him and turned him into what he was now.

That is an interesting question though.

What am I? he wondered. Human, absolutely. A soul jumper, for sure. A monster? A murderer? A hero? And what was next? He knew that eating souls had been affecting him, but not to what extent. But he had to feed. He had no choice. If he didn’t feed then he would become weaker, and he had to stay strong, for her sake.

He decided to return to the Goldstein Building and rest for a bit. As he sat in one of the chairs in the white room, he decided to jump. Someone random, insignificant. He had seen so many people today and run into so many of them, he just had to pick a random one. He closed his eyes.

When he opened them again he was in a field with tall, yellow grass. The sky was clear with the exception of a random cloud or two, and the sun was shining bright. He took a deep breath and looked around for the person who’s soul he hat entered. He saw Natalie standing, looking confused, in the midst of the grass. Scheiße! Why her? He stared for a second as she reconciled that she was dreaming and began to walk away. Waldemar decided that he had come here for a reason, and he was going to carry out his original plan even though it was this girl. It was a shame though, she was pretty. He concentrated for a second as five strings of shadow shot from hers and connected to his fingertips. She turned and looked right at him, her face frozen in fear. His eyes began to shine bright purple as the shadows came together in his hand. He put his hand down to the ground and pulled as hard as he could.

From the shadows came a reptilian creature, much akin to a Tiger covered in scales and spines. Then a second. Then a third. The creatures erupted from Waldemar’s shadow one by one until there was a pack of five standing before him. The sky instantly turned dark with stormclouds and the wind began to pick up. Natalie screamed and began to ran. Waldemar climbed onto the back of one of the creatures as the other four took off after her. They caught up in no time at all and began their attack, ripping the defenseless girl to shreds before Waldemar’s eyes. She never stopped screaming.

Waldemar woke up to the still empty white room. His head hurt. A normal person would feel bad for slaughtering an innocent, he thought. He went up to the roof and looked across the city. There was so much evil in the world. So much destruction. Someone had to stop it, and who better than he? Who better than someone who had witnessed so much death? Who better than someone who had next to nothing to lose? He decided that we would go and talk to the only person who mattered to him about the matter. He went back inside and jumped.

Inside a tower in a desert made of obsidian Waldemar sat in a room decorated in pinks and yellows. A small girl sat in the room with him, her long dark brown hair kept back in pigtails. She looked at him with her grey eyes and spoke softly, as she always did, after he told her what he thought.

“Bruder Ich denke, dass das, was Sie tun möchten, ist gut, aber was ist mit Menschen, die unschuldig sind?” she asked.

“Schwester, ist niemand unschuldig.”

“Bitte seien Sie vorsichtig. Ich liebe dich Waldemar, ich kann dich nicht verlieren.”

“Ich weiß. Das wirst du nicht.”

He woke up and knew what he had to do. He didn’t have to wrestle with the question of what he was anymore. He was not a monster. He was judgment. He was the executioner. He had been given this ability to bring justice to wrong doers. He didn’t know what Natalie had done, but she must have done something wrong in her life. There are many crimes but only one punishment, and that punishment was death; death at the hand of their own nightmares. He was not a monster.

He was a god.

[Space Lawyer]

Trevor

The day finds Trevor taking a stroll around town. The experience still wasn't something he was used to. He had only been out of the institution for for 35 days, 8 hours, 25 minutes. All of the necessities of modern life were still foreign to him. Sure, Trevor knew the basics, having seen them in movies that the doctors had allowed in, but the actual execution of...pretty much anything was still a mystery to him. Maxwell had given him a bit of coaching, handed over some cash and a card, and given him a task list. Trevor reads over the list again, the blue ink crawling across the crumpled paper in Maxwell's sharp and precise handwriting.

1. Get a photo ID (Go to the DMV, remember?)
2. Buy a cellphone (use the cash)
3. Try to use the public transit system (don't do it until you have the phone!)
4. Go to the library and find some decent books.
5. Go buy some things that you want.
TRY TO NOT JUMP INTO ANYONE'S HEAD!

The wisp hovered just above Trevor's shoulder. Despite the rather odd experience he had the last time he interacted with it, Trevor still liked to have the glowing orb around. It gave him sort of comfort.

Trevor enters the DMV office. The stench of thousands of human bodies crammed in a too-tight space for far too long assails him. The lifeless eyes of the endless line of patrons would have dissuaded anyone but Trevor. For Trevor, it was simultaneously a reminder of the med-line at the institution and an affirmation of freedom. These people were choosing to stand in line, they came here to do something they wanted to do! After an hour of waiting, Trevor approaches the counter after a surly looking man with a prodigious beard yells, "NEXT!" Trevor steps up and proudly presents a copy of his birth certificate (no idea how Maxwell had gotten a hold of that), and the completed form. After much harrumphing and stamping, Trevor is eventually seated in front of a camera. Within three hours of entering the office, Trevor leaves with a shiny new ID card. It is a reminder that Trevor is as real in this world as Atlas is in the other, but it doesn't matter. It belongs to Trevor!

Buying a phone doesn't take long. Trevor simply purchases a cheap phone with a pay-as-you-go plan. He programs in Maxwell's number. I wonder if the others have phones? I'll ask later.
Time for the next test. Trevor tries to recall the subway and bus route he had worked out with Maxwell. After a bit of thought and much consulting of the maps on the wall, Trevor manages to board the absolutely incorrect train. It whisks him away from his destination. He realizes his mistake after a time though, and and hops over to the another route, this one going the correct way. Haha, I did it without having to call Boss! Take that, real world!

The next stop is the library. After signing up for a library card, Trevor wanders the shelves, just taking in the massive accumulation of knowledge. He builds a small fortress around himself at one of the tables, walls of philosophy, history, and excellent fiction, all books he hadn't read before because they had been considered "subversive" or "too exciting" at the institution. It was a lot easier to understand what the authors were saying when Trevor wasn't sedated. As the sun dips lower, Trevor realizes the time. He hadn't ever really been expected to keep track of time for himself before. He leaves the library without checking anything out, but full of new knowledge.

The last tasks is by far the hardest. What do I want? It had never been something that Trevor had had to consider. He wanders from store to store, almost overwhelmed at the sheer selection. He ends up buying some clothes, a hammock, and the most important of all, cheap netbook.

Exhausted by the strain of keeping out of people's souls, Trevor boards the bus (the right one) and returns back to the apartment with the white room. He sets up hammock, wrapping lines around the exposed piping, and drifts off to sleep.

[Julian84]

All:

September 2nd – 6:33 PM
The Null

GRMM
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1RuTd9q2xk&list=PL096537D6F8BDA7B4&index=25)
Loose dirt and gravel crunches under the feet of Waldemar, Owen, and Atlas as they stand on the arid bluff, staring out across the many miles of scrub brush and red sand that constituted what Maxwell called “The Null”. It was a neutral zone, a sort of artificial soulscape that all four could construct without infringing on the privacy of each other. It had required much training and meditation over the past day for them to master the ability to even help create the Null, but with much trial and error it had become a possibility.

This was a world of endless possibilities, where one could simply will a thing to be there, and it was. The hill they stood on was a singular feature, the flat desert surrounding them shimmering with mirages. If they looked closely, they could even see a few animals slinking through the brush, a testament to how realistic the Null could be with a little imagination.

Their attention, however, was on the many silvery humanoid objects floating in the air or just a few inches off the ground, vaguely looking like a person from a distance, but up close they were amorphous and lacked proper limbs. Dummy shades, nonliving practice targets. This was their training, learning how to be a team. After Maxwell created the last one, he strode over to the three, dusting his hands off. “I’ve programmed the dummy shades to fight back, but they’ll stop if any of you are actually seriously hurt.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, raising an eyebrow.

“Well? Have at it.”

OOC: Mechanics and rules are off. Go to town.

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

Atlas grins, then runs forward at top speed. His shoulder slams into the first dummy, sending it crashing into a second dummy floating immediately behind. He spins, launching an uppercut into a third. He leaps into the air, brings his hands together, and slams the automaton downwards. "Hey Owen! Catch!"

[Valik Sparks]

Owen

Owen stretched his armored hand forward. Sleek; black. He was quite accustomed to this.. Dark Suit. It was the one that accompanied him most often within a Soulscape. And yet.. he couldn't help but think of the other. On rare occasion, he had jumped into a Soul wearing a shining, silvery suit.. A Light Suit. What was it that changed his suit? Chance? Instinct? Perhaps mood..? Something deeper..?

Nah. Doesn't matter. He shrugged and shook his head, drawing his attention to his surroundings.

All this red sand... "Friggin' Mexicans..." He muttered, though good-naturedly, giving a glance at Maxwell.

Atlas charged on ahead, and Owen grinned at his enthusiasm, snapping his energy blade into being and taking slow, confident strides forward. "Well look at you, prancing around like The Incredible Gazelle." Watching Atlas fly into the air, Owen stopped, smirking as the hulking red giant sent the dummy flying his way. Catch?

"Please."

In a ripple of space distortion, Owen vanished, reappearing in mid-air, slicing against the target's momentum, easily bisecting it. Then he vanished again. In a blurred flurry, his body hardly having the time to come out of the teleport distortion before re-entering again, he jumped his way across the battlefield, throwing up clouds of red-orange dust, his blade arcing and slicing wildly with streaks of angry, electrical red. Five dummies, then ten, then twenty, all eviscerated, vanishing as Owen struck them down one after the other.

"Hey Atlas! Feel like playing some Catch, huh?"

Owen hung high in the air, falling, a black splotch against the giant burning sun. And along with him, a sea of limbs and pieces and parts, raining all around Atlas, starting to bounce limply as they collided with the ground.

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar watched the other two go on and destroy the dummies, turning training into a game, for a few minutes. He wasn't sure how to start in here. Maybe pull something from his own shadow? But what to pull? It wasn't often that he had to pull a nightmare that didn't belong to the person who's soul he was in. But what the hell.

He reached his hand out and the familiar shadowy strings shot out from his own shadow, and the like the strings on a marionette he pulled out a creature that he hadn't seen in a while. It had belonged to a girl in his class back in Germany, several years ago.

The creature had a scorpion's abdomen, its eight legs all thick and covered in a black armored exoskeleton. The entire body was shining and black with white war paint in intricate designs all over it. Its tail was held high above its head, ready to strike, but about halfway up the tail turned into the body of a snake and where the stinger would have been was the head of said snake. Its scales were black with more paint similar to that of the body, and glowing purple eyes. Where the head would be connected stretched the torso of a man, but its muscular arms ended at the elbow and turned into the claws of the scorpion. The skin was olive in color and was dotted with white swathes of war paint. It wore golden body armor akin to that of the ancient Egyptian Pharaohs. Finally, the head of the creature was that of an alligator, which scales a sleek black and several rows of spines, the eyes shining purple like his own. Waldemar was more than pleased.

He jumped up on the back of the creature and held on at its shoulders. "Let's see vhat you can do." He said to the creature as it took off, full pelt, towards the first set of dummies. It began to rip through the dummies, using it's teeth and claws to shred the dummies into bits. The snakes mouth opened and vomited forth a corrosive bile that disintegrated several dummies. The creature roared in triumph. Waldemar got an idea.

"Hey, you two! Vhich vone of you vould like to fight my little beastie?"

"Yesss, come and tessst yourssselvesss againssst me!" The creature called out to Atlas and Owen in a deep, raspy voice.

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

Atlas grins. "I'm not sure where you keep pulling all these nasty things from, but they sure don't seem friendly." He punches one massive fist into the ground, cracks rippling outwards. Atlas' fingers dig into the red ground, heaving up a slab of stone. He rests the massive edifice across his shoulders. "How about this!" Veins bulging, he hurls the rocks at the creature. With the slab coming into into the creature's vies, he begins hurling more and more chunks at the monster, a barrage of crimson staining the air.

[Valik Sparks]

Owen

"Hey here's a good one: What's big, red, and throws rocks?"

Owen's voice from above vanished with the rest of his body as he teleported out of the fall and into another spectacular landing onto the red, dusty ground. He whirled towards Atlas and Waldemar, swinging his blade into a threatening position in front of himself.

"A Big-Red-Rock-Thrower!" He smirked behind his mask. "Heh, bet'cha thought I was gonna say Atlas." And with that, he was gone again.
Only to reappear just ahead of Atlas, in full sprint towards the ugly Centorpion SOB that Waldemar was using as a mount. Cute.

At the last second, Owen dropped to his knees, sliding through the red dust, leaning over backwards far enough to slip right under the giant scorpion-abdomen. As he slid, he whipped his blade wildly back and forth, aiming to dismember as many legs as possible to make this bug suck a lot more at dodging Atlas' shots.

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

When Atlas began his barrage Waldemar jumped from the back of the Centorpion (OOC: Totally stealing that name XD) and rolled into the dust. He raised his hand and began calling a new monster.

The Centorpion began to scuttle around the debris, using its claws to break some of the rocks and its tail to destroy the others. It rushed toward Atlas at full speed when Owen struck, severing several of its legs. The Centorpion howled in agony and rage as it collapsed. The snake-tail sprayed acid on the ground behind it, covering it with a puddle of corrosive bile for Owen to run into. The snake waited for its moment to strike. It kept using its claws to break any more rocks being hurled at him. It called out to Owen: "Come fassse me, little man!"

Out of Waldemar's shadow came the three creatures from Natalie's nightmares, Ravagers as Waldemar liked to call them. The Ravagers all ran full speed at Atlas to try and catch him while he was concentrating on the Centorpion.

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

Atlas grins even wider at the oncoming beasties Waldemar had pulled up. It had been a long time since he had had so much fun. The shadow-creatures reached for a Atlas with clawed hands, their fanged maws opening wide. Atlas grabs the first two by the wrists, and heaves them upwards. The third is in for a much worse time though, as Atlas' mighty arms come speeding downwards, still gripping the creatures. The third is crushed down the one in Atlas' right hand, the swatted backwards by the one in the left, flying a good distance before landing with enough force to leave a trench in the red earth. Atlas then proceeds to beat the ground like a drum, using the creatures in his grasp as sticks.

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar watched Atlas crush the Ravagers with ease. No surprise, seeing as they are quite frail if not fast. As the creatures died they melted into shadows and fled back in Waldemar's. The crippled Centorpion was still focused on Owen, so Waldemar needed something new to fight Atlas. Something big. He focused his energy and pulled on the strings of his shadow.

His shadow exploded outward and what came out was truly magnificent and horrifying. This was the nightmare of a man in the German military who had fought in World War II and was stationed at a concentration camp. He had been so old. Waldemar had dome him a service by killing him. And he had done Waldemar a service by granting him with such a marvelous creature.

Out of the shadow raised a creature that stood at almost twenty feet. It was a mech that looked for combat, its legs thick and armored with four stabilizing claws at the bottom of each. Its torso took up most of its form, a head about the size of a mans poking out of the armor towards the top in a mangled heap of mutant flesh. Its eyes shown purple and its rows of razor teeth gnashed against themselves. Where its left arm would have been sat a pair of massive cannons, one on top of the other and protruding from more exposed flesh, that emitted a green gas from the vents on the side. The other arm stretched out into a five fingered gauntlet with large metal claws at the end of each finger. That arm was completely armored. The armor was adorned with bronze spikes and the armor was a midnight purple in color, fading in and out of black in a way that made it almost looks alive. Below its head the armor was broken and a mass of green tentacles, covered in spines, protruded out and flailing every which way. The Hellbrute in all its unholy glory. It looked at Atlas and screamed in a deep, frenzied voice.

The first thing it did was fire two shots of hot plasma from the cannons on its arms strait for Atlas before entering a full sprint, electricity pulsating through its clawed hand which was drawn back to strike him when it reached him.

[Valik Sparks]

Owen

"Hoh boy."

Jamming his heels into the dirt, Owen slowed down his slide to buy just enough time to teleport before he found himself swimming in acid puke. But reappearing in front of the Centorpion, an acrid smell rose with small wisps of steam from his boots. The metal around his toes bubbled, the surface scarred by acid. He kicked dirt over the affected area to stop the corrosion. "You know.. if you keep this up, I'm gonna have to stop going easy on you." He vanished, just in time to avoid any funny business from those massive pincers.

Reappearing on top the beast, Owen whirled around, stretching out his blade and attempting to slice off the creature's tail in a helicopter movement. After completing the spin, he transferred the momentum upward, raising his arms high, and then drove his searing hot energy blade down into the back of ugly bug.

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

Atlas has learned at least bit from his experience in Angela's soul, and can recognize a foe that he cannot overcome by brute force alone. He leaps into the air to avoid the barrage of attacks...and landing a few feet from Waldemar. The mechanical monstrosity is at his back.

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

The Centorpion couldn't take much more abuse as Owen tried to sever the tail. The snake jerked out of the way, but being crippled the Centorpion took Owen's blade right into its back, but not before the snake tail lashed out to strike Owen while his back was turned. Before Waldemar could see what happened the Centorpion dissolved into a shadowy mass and began its return to him. He was more focused on the red behemoth that had landed near him.

The Hellbrute stopped its charge once it realized that Atlas was behind it, skidding in the dirt and attempting to turn around. Waldemar knew he couldn't take a hit from Atlas, but being gorged on spirit energy meant that it would only take one hit of his own to down the giant. The Hellbrute screaming in anger as it began to charge back towards Atlas, but Waldemar raised his hand into the air and the creature dissolved back into the shadows. He focused his gaze on Atlas.

"Vell, ve hafe gotten ourselfes into quite the prediciment, hafen't ve?" He had touched Atlas. He had access to his nightmares. One good pull and he could rip the darkness out of him and have it fight him. Fear as a weapon. In the time it would take Trevor to overcome the shock of seeing his greatest fear materialize in front of him, he could have his hand on Atlas. One touch would be all it would take. Waldemar raised his hand into the air and readied himself, just in case.

The only problem was Owen. He didn't have time to see if the snake had hit home. If it had, he was in for a lot of pain. Nothing like acidic venom to kill a mood. Even so, he had enough energy stored that as long as he could avoid being hit too hard, he would only need to touch either of them once.

Five strings of shadow flew from Atlas to Waldemar's outstretched hand as he closed down on the reins. One good pull would be all it would take. He stared at Atlas as he tightened his grip.

"Vhat does the giant fear, hmm?" he said with a cocky smile.

[Julian84]

GRMM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S__40E4LldM&list=PL096537D6F8BDA7B4&index=19)

A wave of intense cold blasted into the three, chilling them to their very bones. Snow falls lightly on their shoulders and hair, frost creeping across their bare skin. A large storm cloud blots out the sky, the wind picking up and a rumbling sound drowning out all noise but their own breathing.

“ENOUGH!”

An ice dragon, larger than even the monsters Waldemar had summoned, landed with a crash above the two, one massive claw sliding between them and pushing them away from each other.

“The point of the exercise.” Maxwell grits out, “Was to test and show off your abilities and skills against the dummy shades, not each other!” His expression is one of forced calm, cold rage held in check only by years of experience.

The ice dragon hisses warningly, razor sharp teeth glinting in the dim light.

“So stand down, all three of you!”

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar lowered his hand and calmed himself down. Things had gotten out of hand. He decided that from now on he would only use his powers in actual combat situations.

[Valik Sparks]

Owen

Owen had thrown himself backwards, narrowly dodging the tip of the deadly tail, dripping with acid. But the rest of the tail still found itself engaging in a rather smashing appointment with his body. He was flung across the desert ground, landing with an Oof and sprawling ungracefully in the red dust.

He didn't have much time to compose himself when the cold bit into his skin, seeping even through his armor, and a dark shadow loomed over his body. He rolled slowly onto his back, staring up at the gigantic ice dragon.

Max's words cut sharply into the crisp air. Owen frowned beneath his mask.

"In our defense..." He started slowly, pointing a finger at Waldemar. "This guy did offer more of a challenge than your dummies. I think I learned a thing or two."

He started to rise, brushing the dust off his armor and reasserting his typical, confident cocky pose.

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

Atlas looks quite ashamed. Boss had told him to fight the dummies, and he had let himself get carried away. That kind of mindless violence, getting excited by fighting, by hurting things, that was the sort of mentality some of the patients at the institute had. It wasn't the sort of thing that Atlas should ever do.

That ice dragon that Maxwell had summoned up was an amazing beast. The things that Waldemar had pulled up were incredible too. Atlas would have to learn some tricks like that, or better yet, how to fight on an equal footing with those sorts of things.

He looks at the ground. "Sorry, boss."

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar looked towards Atlas and saw the look of shame on his face, and then looked at Owen in his cocky stance before looking to see how angry Maxwell was. The dragon was pretty magnificent, but Waldemar wasn't scared. He decided that now was as good a time as ever to unleash his silver tongue.

"If I may speak." he said, adressing Maxwell, "First off, this guy has a name and voult appreciate it being uset vhen referrink to him." This he said to Owen, "Secont, Maxvell, my powers cannot be imporvet on static dummies. I vas in full control of vhat my creatures vere doink and neither Oven nor Atlas vere in any mortal danger. I figuret that they both could train better on somethink that vas actually tryink to harm them, vhile my creatures coult get some practice against targets that vould hold nothink back vhile tryink to kill them. I think you are oferreactink to the whole situation. How are ve supposet to get better if we can't fight somethink that vants us dead? The monsters ve vill be fighting von't stand still vhile ve rip them apart and let us, so vhy shoult our trainink not simulate an actual combat situation. That beink sait, I hope you know I say this vith no disrespect."

He readied himself for whatever Maxwell would say or do to him in response.

[Julian84]

All:

The null void flickers, the temperature dropping even more. They see something standing above Maxwell, titanic in size as the snow begins to fall harder. He pinches the bridge of his nose, and the apparition fades.

He walks over to the three, waving his hand and dismissing the storm and the dragon. “Nevertheless, you’re liable to kill each other if you’re not careful. Like it or not, all three of you have volatile personalities. Don’t push it.”

He looks at all three of them in turn. “You’re going to practice your jumping now. You should be able to sense where I jump to without needing the aid of your wisp. Eventually, if you have a target in mind, you should be able to jump with no difficulty.”

He steps back, the null void beginning to rumble and crack beneath their feet at the loss of a core architect. “Follow me… If you can.” He falls backwards, disappearing with a pop.

Roll concentration!

[Valik Sparks]

Owen

As the ground begins to shake and rip apart, huge crevices tearing through the surface, Owen stoops into a low, readied stance to maintain his footing. "Heh.. Cake."

With a grin, he leaps backwards, into the air, twisting into a spin as he dives headfirst down a crevice.. and vanishes.


[Concentration: 1D20+8 = 26]

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

Atlas grits his teeth, and tries to feel after Maxwell. Apparently though, he does a very poor job of it though, as he dives into the crevice with an 8.

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar watches the others fade away and he concentrates on Maxwell's energy as his feels himself slip away with them.

Concentration: 18

[Julian84]

All:

GRMM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz5-ZDjoaKQ&list=PLA212A6139481A024)

As Atlas falls away, he feels a hand grab his, and suddenly he rejoins with the others, falling down towards a distant mountain range (http://odin.mobile9.com/download/media/537/scifisunse_I5Lgsebc.jpg), clouds and birds whipping past as the four plummet away. A double sunset and sunrise from the binary stars illuminates them in reds and purples, creatures flying past that look like they belong in some primordial world. “A jump will not always take you closest to the owner of the soulscape!” Maxwell shouts over the wind, his voice barely reaching their ears.

He jumps again, and they follow in the wake of his energy exploding out into a dense jungle (http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs45/f/2009/161/3/2/Darkvoid_Jungle_by_JJasso.jpg), surprising a herd of some six-legged reptilian creatures. They dash through the underbrush, Maxwell grabbing a vine and swinging up onto a tree branch, leaping from it and sliding down an ice chute. Following after him, they jump again!

“Some souls are so adventurous, so creative, the benefits are transferred to you!” He exclaims, flying past them on a jetpack. They float through the void of space (http://www.wallsave.com/wallpapers/1920x1200/sci-fi/393423/sci-fi-new-worlds-alien-fiction-selection-earth-space-planets-393423.jpg), massive gas giants and moons orbiting around them. Pieces of metal fly towards them, clamping down and integrating together, encasing them in different sorts of armor, the four flying and whizzing around each other as Maxwell leads them into the gravity well of a massive green and blue gas giant.

They dash across a bridge, the soft green light around them promising mystery and adventure, a world they could never explore the edges of (http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2013/004/7/8/forgotten_by_ellixus-d5qei3h.jpg). A small blue fairy darts past Atlas’s face, smiling briefly before disappearing into the evening light filtering through the boughs.

“Soul Jumpers are blessed with many abilities, but our greatest is our first: We can explore a multiverse of possibilities, learn to understand people better than they could ever understand themselves.” He rises on a multi-colored bubble, sitting crosslegged and teaching sage advice.

They swim, they fly, they run, and they jump, again, and again, and again until the act becomes as natural to them as breathing. Maxwell finally stops, standing atop a massive statue in the midst of a great, ancient city.

“Our curse is our blessing. Never forget that.” He says quietly.

[Valik Sparks]

Owen

Launching through soulscape after soulscape, Owen reveled at the wonder that unfolded about him. He had never seen souls so...vast...and beautiful. Everywhere he looked. Not single blemish. How could this be..? Where did all the.. purity come from? People weren't like this.. An idea that perhaps they were jumping through children's souls passed through his mind. It seemed like the only logical explanation. Unless...

At the end of it all, when they stood before Max as he towered above them, Owen looked around, and then spoke his mind, voice abnormally devoid of sarcasm and snark.

"...Are you saying that.. within every soul.. not only do we see the manifestation of the owner's present condition... But can we also find.. their potential? What they could be? Is that what you're saying? Does that also mean we can find remnants of their past..?"

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

Atlas sits cross-legged, looking up at the great grey monoliths that surrounded the group. Where had Maxwell found those soulscapes? Some were beautiful beyond reckoning, so powerful and vibrant. It was an astounding thought. His own soul seemed dull in comparison to some of those. He waits quietly for Maxwell's answer to Owen's question.

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar had been inside of hundreds of souls before, but these had to be some of the most beautiful he had ever seen. The splendor of them escaped words. When they finally stopped in the city his mind began to work. What Maxwell had said, the ability to explore possibility...learning about people. One could use that to connect to someone on a level unknown to the rest of humanity. They could also use it to destroy someone without killing them, finding their greatest weaknesses and revealing them to the world. The ability to do so much good was overshadowed by the potential to do so much evil. What path had Waldemar gone down, with killing so many people to gorge himself on the residual energy left behind by their dying souls.

But then there was the other thing that Maxwell had said.

Their curse was their blessing.

What if he didn't see it as a curse though? Waldemar's abilities had never been a source of discontent for him, and it only made him stronger in life knowing that if anyone tried to hurt him that he could fight back on an equal scale. For Waldemar, this ability was only a blessing.

It was slightly amusing to hear all of the sarcastic wit drop from Owen's voice when he spoke to Maxwell. He leaned up against the wall of a building that was slightly hidden in the shadows and waited for Maxwell to respond.

[Julian84]

Maxwell ponders the question, scratching his chin. The wind howled around him, whipping his hair about in ways that reminded him of long camping trips out west, back when Isabella was still with him…

He blinked, forcing those memories away. It was time to live in the present.

“The soulscape is the open book of a person’s mind, so… Yes, technically. You could see what they would hope to become, and possibly if you are a very great jumper perceive what they shall become… But it is information encoded, and in that code is very facet of who they are, where they have been, and what they are. Their past, their desires, their fears, their hopes.”

[Valik Sparks]

Owen

Owen gave a slow, thoughtful nod. Satisfied with the answer, and thinking on all that it could mean... What it could mean for future jumps.. and what it could mean for the contents of his own soul.. If a jumper landed in his soulscape. He thought he knew what they could and would find.. But if what Maxwell said was true... than an experienced jumper could find much more than Owen ever considered...and that..exposure...was not a comfortable thought. Even.. frightening.

After a long pause, he glanced about, eventually coming back to Max. "So.. what happens now?"

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar pondered what Maxwell had said. Being able to unravel a person's very being and find out more about them then they could even tell you. To see what they will become. You would almost be reading the future. What better way to see if someone was deserving of judgement? He had to figure out how to become that powerful of a jumper, for the greater good.

"So.. what happens now?" Waldemar snapped back to reality after hearing Owen's question.

"Isn't it obfious? Maxvell has shown us these souls and tolt us these thinks so ve can see vhat our potential is. Ve hafe somethink to strive towarts. The real question is vhen do ve go back out and fint somevone that neets our help?" he said, his glowing eyes being the only thing visible from the shadow he was standing in and staring directly at Owen.

[Julian84]

Maxwell shrugs. “Now we-”

There’s another small pop, and a pink wisp enters the soulscape, flying over to Max and rolling and bobbing in the air frantically, strobing with urgency as it bounces between the direction it came and Maxwell.

Maxwell, for his part, stares at the small spirit curiously, almost as if he can understand what it is trying to convey.

“There’s someone who needs are help… But we first need to see it…” He tilts his head to the side. “In person?”

He stands. “Back to the white room, the wisp will only lead us there if we go in our physical bodies.”

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Now they were getting somewhere. Waldemar stepped out of the shadow and popped back into reality. He awoke in the white room with the others and looked intently at the wisp, waiting for Maxwell's instructions.

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

Atlas wills himself back into being Trevor. The white room was even more depressing now after all of those amazing soulscapes.

[Valik Sparks]

Owen

Owen watched the newly-arrived wisp curiously as it -spoke?- to Max. He wanted to ask Max how he could understand it, but it didn't look like there would be time for that.

With just a thought, Owen willed himself back to his body, and his eyes flashed open in the white room. He stood, expression dull, but a hint of concern flickered in his eyes.

"In person, huh.. Lead the way."

[Julian84]

Maxwell gathers the team and follows after the Wisp, which leads them through the quiet night streets north, heading to the Bronx. Homeless and the disenfranchised glare at the four as they follow the unseen spirit, the creature drawn to suffering and pain.

What an odd thought that is. Ethereal beings, tied to powers and forces unknown, seeking out the hurt and the hurting, the poor souls lost in the warped agony that is their existence. Are the Wisps truly creatures of comfort?

Or are they instead creatures of carrion?

It leads them to a quiet little garage, passing through the door effortlessly, not stopping to see if the four humans were following along behind it. Maxwell frowns, staring at the garage. “Well, let’s see what we’ve got.”

GRMM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2OhNxwFcEw&list=PL8EE46741842485CF)

Inside are eight human bodies… Twisted and contorted into ballet poses, held in place by bolts to the floor, chains to the ceiling. Their skin is bleached pale white, their hair falling out in thick patches from the chemicals used on them. Lacerations and bruises glare starkly against the hoary color of their skin.

The air is stale, and smells strongly of blood, the floor painted almost black with the life essence of this murdered people. Maxwell steps back in shock, his shoes sticky with the dried blood. The wisp hovers in the center of the macabre scene, glowing softly and bathing them in blue light.

At the center is a man, sobbing and crouched, his head shaved and body also pale, eerily illuminated by the light of the wisp. He is clad only in a pair of jeans, his bare upper body wrinkled and lumpy. He clutches a carving knife in his right hand, and a screwdriver in his left.

“I-I-I wanted them to be b-beautiful, they never w-were tr-truly beautiful until they met me… Oh god…” He rocked back forth, holding the implements to his bald, freckled head. “Is it so wrong? Is it so wrong to want beauty?!”

[Space Lawyer]

Trevor

Trevor is motionless, petrified with fear. That is, until he starts shaking. "No, no, no, NO!" He backs out of the room, slowly, willing himself to stop seeing the horrible visage, but unable to blink.

This wasn't reality! It couldn't be! This had to be a soulscape, the soul of one of the broken and horrific people from the Institute. Nobody would make something like this in real life! They were deep in the consciousness of a murderer, a violent psychopath. It was the only possible conclusion. Trevor had seen these scenes before, and in a soulscape was the only place they existed!

All this blood, too much blood! His parents...all that blood!

Trevor rushes out the door, vomits, and curls into a ball, tying to push himself into a nearby wall. "No, no, no..."

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar stood and breathed in the the stench of the blood. He had seen things worse than this in the nightmares of people he had met, but to see it in reality was something different. He watched Trevor flee the room in disgust? Terror? He didn't know. He felt like he should be sick but was strangely okay. He definitely wasn't afraid. The man before him was a murderer.

The man before him needed judgement.

Not waiting for the others to do anything, Waldemar stepped forward, his shoes making a sickening suction like noise with each step as he approached the pale man. He didn't speak until he was close enough to the bodies to see the individual hairs on their arms, and when he did it was soft and slow and as unaccented as he could.

"Hallo, sir? Sir? Can you hear me? If you can, take my hand and let us help you." With this he extended his right hand towards the crouched figure. He readied himself for whatever was going to happen next.

[Julian84]

All:

GRMM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S__40E4LldM&list=PL096537D6F8BDA7B4)

As Waldemar extended his hand to the man, he suddenly felt a prickle on the back of his neck, that something had changed, something worse was about to occur. The air seemed to chill around them, an eerie ringing growing in the silence.

“Don’t even touch me you little whore son.” The man muttered in a harsh, guttural voice, face lifting to reveal two bloody crimson eyes. “I see you for what you truly are, Soul Jumper. I’m not so easily fooled.”

Maxwell gasped, taking a step back. “A demon… Damn… I’ve only fought one of these before.”

The demon-possessed man laughed bitterly. “AHAHAHAHAHAHA! So many Soul Jumpers in one place, what is this, a convention?!” He rose to his feet, towering over Waldemar. “A bunch of scrubs with no lives and no prospects thinking they can be some sort of do-gooders, eh?”

He steps back, though he is trapped in the little garage. “Figured one of those pesky rats would sense I’ve been feeding. These eight made a tasty meal, but I’m a big boy… And I need to eat.” He laughs again. “Didn’t think they would bring something like this to the party… I wonder if Soul Jumper souls taste any different from human ones.” He licks his lips at the thought.

Maxwell holds a hand out. “We need to jump together and make sure he can’t escape. Demons have all the same powers as us, but they’re immensely stronger and can jump within the soulscape, making them damn unpredictable. If he feels like we’re winning, he can easily escape… We may have to run him to ground.”

He smiles. “Widdle Jumpers, all grown up. Yeah, have fun with that, but I’ve got plans. Ciaooo. ” The red light fades, and the man collapses, sobbing hysterically.

“Damn!” Maxwell barks. “Everyone, follow the spiritual energy! Jump!”

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar stepped back. A demon? Had he just witnessed something that was evil in a corporeal form? He didn't have time to think so he reached back and grabbed hands with whomever was behind him and concentrated on the jump.

[Space Lawyer]

Trevor

Trevor was terrified. But Maxwell had called this thing a demon.

It wasn't a person, it was a demon.

It came from a soul!

If it came from a soul, Atlas could fight it!

Trevor didn't have to deal with this monster. This was Atlas' responsibility, and Atlas was strong. The ones with Atlas were even stronger. Waldemar could pull things even scarier than this from nowhere, and even though Owen was asinine, he was powerful!

Trevor grabs on to the spiritual energy from the departing demon, and feels himself growing into Atlas as he slips away.

[Valik Sparks]

Owen

Owen stared.. shocked...

The scene before him, the bodies, the... sick, twisted way they were strung up. The man on his knees, crying. The blood. It was like.. out of some TV drama, or a horror game... but... it was real. Real. Right there. In front of his own eyes. Those were real people.

He couldn't take his eyes off it. Couldn't move. His skin grew cold. He stared.


And what came next did nothing much to help his predicament...


A Demon?? What?! Those were.. were real??

Owen finally blinked. The dimming red, hysteric sobbing, and Max's shouting snapping him to attention. He looked quickly side to side. Waldemar's body flopped over limply. Then Trevor's. They just jumped after it... so quickly. After a freaking demon! Owen dug his fingers into his palms, gritting his teeth. He didn't want to die... Maxwell was treating this like it was just another.. another 'problem' they could fix. But this.. creature... it was like nothing Owen had ever seen or.. felt. Just its presence.. the.. darkness. It made his insides constrict. His heart pound. His skin shudder. His confidence shattered. He was a smooth-talking play-boy wanna-be who knew a thing or two about manipulating people's minds. But a Demon Slayer? No. Heck no.

The sobbing... the bodies.. the blood...

Owen slowly turned until he could see the scene again from his peripheral. The man there... he hadn't really done those things, had he? He was.. possessed. Forced by this.. monster inside him.. to murder innocent people.. and string them up like dolls..

Owen's knuckles trembled. He wasn't gaining much in the way of confidence.. but something inside him.. was infuriated. Absolutely disgusted by the vile act committed against this man's free will. It was one thing to manipulate, to bend, and even to abuse. But in the end.. people always had free will. They could always make there own choices, despite anything that happens to them. Always.

But to take away someone's free will entirely..? Force them into such hideous, sadistic depths of darkness.. Use their bodies like playthings. This.. was... wrong.


Owen's eyes snapped shut. And he jumped.

[Julian84]

All:

The jumpers appear in an forested soulscape, landing amidst dense clusters of bamboo, mist hanging heavily in the air around them. The atmosphere is humid and oppressive, and their ability to breathe is hampered by a seeming heaviness, the dense mist clogging their mouths and nose. Maxwell rests a hand on one of the stalks of bamboo, raising an eyebrow. “It’s fairly warm… And the surface is bumpy. How odd.”

He looks around. “And the demon seems to have remained here, I’m not detecting the energy fluctuations of a jump.” He extends his hands, the mist swirling around and forming a sword and shield of ice. “Atlas, Owen, you two go high, see what can be seen. Waldemar, you’re with me.”

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

The air of this soulscape was very different than what Waldemar was used to. The dry heat of his soul seemed almost inviting as he struggled to catch hi breath. This was going to be a fun time, he could already tell.

Demons though. There was something about that creature that Waldemar found interesting, if not a little bit terrifying: it ate souls. It ate souls and he ate souls. What did that make him? Was he a monster? Was she for requiring souls to stay alive? No. She was innocent. If anyone was a monster it was him. No, wait. No. He wasn't a monster. The demon was a monster. The demon was evil, and evil must be exterminated.

He looked around briefly as Maxwell gave them instructions. Waldemar's biggest concern was that he wouldn't be able to summon nightmares against this thing. He could still kill it with a simple touch if he could get close enough though. That would have to do. He turned and looked at Maxwell.

"Vhat's the plan?"

[Valik Sparks]

Owen

Owen grabbed at his throat, frantic for a moment as he struggled to take a breath. He quickly composed himself, taking a look at his surroundings. The mist. His helmet was having to filter it out, and he wasn't getting oxygen at an optimal rate. He would have to keep his breathing controlled or he could end up hyperventilating..

"High.. alright. Can do."

Owen leapt into the air, scrunching up in an awkward crouched position....and then landed clumsily back onto his feet. "Whoa! What the--! I was supposed to--" He stopped, catching a flash of silver. He held his hand up to his face. "..disappear..?"

The suit... it was.. different. A shining, silvery color. And now that he thought about it, the visor was a gold tint as well. He turned his hand over and examined himself. "Uh.. um.. this is.. unexpected.. But.. it's happened before. Long time ago. And I'm pretty sure I can..." He poised his hand towards Atlas, and then flicked his wrist upward.

The hulking red giant was flung up into the air like a softball, by an invisible force. With a smile, Owen leapt from the ground, willing his own body to be lifted by the telekinetic energy produced by his gauntlet. He flew high into the air, catching Atlas again -telekinetically- to make sure he didn't fall, and scanned the horizons..

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

Atlas preparing to jump. Then suddenly,Owen, in his new suit, moves his hand and Atlas is suddenly moving upwards unexpectedly. Then it happens again. If this wasn't a soulscape, I think I'd be vomiting again.

Atlas reaches a hand out to grab one of the stalks of 'bamboo'. "Thanks for the lift, but would you mind warning me next time before you do that?" It was a bit unnerving that the boy could simply fling Atlas around like that, but Atlas had accepted that he seemed to be outclassed by his companions.

[Julian84]

Maxwell walks ahead in the mist, carefully minding his surroundings as the younger man follows along in his wake. The atmosphere was oppressive, almost angry, and he could not help but feel as if he was being watched. Finding the demon in the twisted woods of… whoever’s mind this was… Might be a tricky task. He frowned at Waldemar’s question, realizing he was mostly just winging it in this battle.

He turned. “Well, hopefully Owen and Atlas can spot the demon before he attacks us. We’ve proven to be a capable team so far, and I know that together we can-” He pauses, looking around. “Waldemar?”

He was alone.

Reverend:

Maxwell doesn’t immediately answer his question, instead carrying forth a little while longer. As Waldemar keeps a wary eye out, he turns back to where his leader was standing… To find him gone.

He hears an odd clicking noise around him, and the mist slowly gets thicker. The odd stalks of bamboo gradually fade to an ashen-white color, swaying in a wind he cannot feel.

Hello hello hello. He hears, whispers in the mist.

Welcome, Waldemar.

Valik, Cgrela:

The two soul jumpers hover over the canopy of bamboo, keeping a wary eye out, trying to spot something in the dense mist below. As they look, they begin to feel the wind pick up… And to the north, a funnel cloud begins to form, touching down in the forest and ripping the point of its landing to shreds.

The tornado whips and whirls, pushing in their direction as it tears the forest to shreds.

[Reverend1124]

Waldemar

Waldemar turned around to try and spot the source of the voice.

Notice: (1d20+3)[12]

The mist was thick and blinding, but he remained calm. He would not let fear cripple him. He began to walk forward through the ghostly bamboo stalks, treading as lightly as he could and trying to hide away. He would have to be very careful assaulting anything, but he could still use terror as a weapon when all else failed.

Though how much fear a creature such as a demon could actually feel was of concern.

Stealth: (1d20+12)[32]

[Space Lawyer]

Atlas

Atlas simply stares for a moment at the tornado. A nice, peaceful bamboo forest...then a tornado. How quickly it all changes.

"We need to get down, and fast! We're too exposed up here!" He lets go of the bamboo stalk, grabbing and bouncing on his way down to slow his ascent. Once he hits the ground, he looks up, waiting for Owen.