Allen laughed at this, "Trust me, I've met so many beings that have considered themselves the one true GOD that I don't even remember them all. And no, the Side's fine. If it weren't, your whole planet would be dead - and I mean dead. Not even bacteria left."
He stopped when he saw XANV approach with someone new.
[ QUOTE ]
"...So...Who is everyone?" he said, scratching his horned head. "Like she said, I'm Toshio."
[/ QUOTE ]
"Allen." he introduced himself, shaking the...man's?...demon's?...whatever's hand, and noticed the guy was definetely beyond drunk - and not just by the intense smell of alcohol he emitted.
"And I suppose this is," Allen pointed at the mage with a thumb, "Weir Diddigo or something like that."
"Nice to meet ya." he added to Toshio, then turned back to the rest of the group and the Head Honcho, "Alright, I'll lend you my troops, as I'm going to need to perform a little investigation. Yes, that means I'll be heading to the Side."
After a moment of silence, he continued, "Make no mistake, I'm leaving it entirely up to you if you come with me. In fact, I'll ask that you don't. The Side's a dangerous place, especially for good people. Nothing is what it seems and there's death around every corner - and more often than not, worse..."
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
A puff of mist came from the mage.
"We have to go..." Sae said, finally regaining consciousness, "If Zanael manages to reach it...like you said, our world would be gone."
"Besides, we face death everyday," Ryuji added, "We're no strangers to it."
Toshio shook Allen's hand with a grin, and nodded to the rest offhandishly.
"...If you're wondering about my appearance, I can promise you I was a human until about twenty minutes ago. Jus' got bit by a demon."
Letting his flask swing by his side, he grinned a little. "Used to play the Tsoo game, but...circumstances being what they were, I'm what they like to call a 'drunken master.' The sauce keeps me goin', if you know what I mean."
Glancing up at the Circle of Thorns mage that suddenly appeared, they saw the demonic man start.
Natsuki's soul...Maybe this guy could....
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
"Looks like it's settled then." Allen smiled, "Alright. Is the subway station still traversable?"
Before anyone could say something, he held up his hands, "Yes, we are going by subway. Please don't question why - or ask for the reasons why anything is the way it is in the Side. It will drive you nuts if you think about it too much. Literally..."
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
"Well," Sae explained, "Most of the subways literally became worm food, there's only one servicable train line in or out of Tokyo, and it's in Shinjuku."
"We can get there quickly."
"Stand still, do NOT move." The mage barked, suddenly turning into a wisp of smoke.
---
A few moments later, a crackling energy mass appeared in the middle of the group.
"Come!" Was roared from somewhere.
Sae was wary at first. She was worried about stepping through the portal.
"Where does this lead, mage?" she asked.
"Wherever it is, I'm goin'." Toshio answered Sae's question with a shrug, although it wasn't directed at him. "If it's better than here, great. If it's worse then here, then we'd have to clean it up anyways. So let's get moving."
With that, he sauntered into the portal.
The man figured if there were any demons on the other side, he'd get a head start on them so the rest weren't ambushed. Seeing all the demons made Toshio's fists twitch with anticipation...and with this high mage in the group, there might be some hope after all.
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
"Agreed." Allen walked toward the portal, "We've got precious little time to waste, so I'm going to go ahead an trust Mr. Diddigo. Oh, but one more thing first..."
He shouted to a trooper over by the Crawler, who quickly popped inside and returned to him with another rifle.
"Thanks." Allen returned, inspected the weapon, and stepped through the gateway...
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
The portal led to right outside the Shinjuku train station. Those coming through would see the mage holding a shrieker by the chest, causing it to spontaneously combust.
((I'm not sure he has a powerset....He's just an Archmagi I guess. So far he's been necro/fire assault....potion...thing...))
Toshio quirked an eyebrow at the sight. Quickly moving into a defensive position, he began clearing an area of demons.
"Warukune-, zo." he commented to the mage. ((Sub: Not bad.))
Fists suddenly crackling with electricity, the drunken master got to work. Starting with a powerful blow to a nearby Shrieker's head, he swung around to clothesline two more who had moved in to attack. Headbutting another, he grinned, channeling electricity into his every blow.
The stack of stunned and/or deceased demons began to grow.
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
((Just do what I do with Vern, then. Have the mage do stuff that compares well to in-game powers. Makes it a lot easier for other people to undertstand what they're doing.
On a side note, I thought Shinjuku had been secured?
And I'd LOVE a dark/ primary in the dominator set 
))
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
(OOC: Yes Shinjuku is very much secured. And if a demon DID make it through, it'd definately be just a weeee bit more powerful than a shrieker. And by wee bit more powerful I mean more powerful than the priest-demons we encountered earlier.)
Chihaya informed Sae that she felt the portal end at Shinjuku station. In response, she ordered her brother and his band to step through and report for housing. With much groaning and a few cracks to the head, they finally agreed.
Sae was, as usual, the last one through the portal.
Watching her brother and his friends walk off, she approached Allen.
"Unfortunately there's a bit of a snag. We have to specifically request the trains be sent here from Nagoya, which requires filling out a lot of forms. And signing them. And stamping them. We're just lucky I have clearance..." Sae said.
"Don't worry." Allen replied with a smile, "I know the train we're taking personally."
They descended into the subway station. It still looked rather respectable, though not in general 'operationg condition'. It was also bereft of any people. They had chosen to meander to more solid and protected areas.
Without a word, Allen walked up to a door labeled EMPLOYEES ONLY in both English and Japanese, and laid his hand on the opaque class that formed the window with the writing on it.
He stopped back again, and with much clicking and clacking, the door opened, freeing the way to a closet-sized room. Its only contents were a mop and a fire extinguiser box with no extinguisher. On box it read: IN CASE OF SCHEDULE CHANGE, TAP GLASS.
Allen did, knocking on the glass three times. A human face appeared in the clear glass, and its eyes immediately grew wide.
"Dear me, not you again!" it gasped, "You stay away from me! I heard what you did to my cousin!"
"I'll tell you later." Allen whispered back th the group, the spoke to the spell again, "I'm informed that the line trains aren't running here anymore. We need one."
"Oh, and I suppose you want first class too?" the face rolled its glass eyes, "Why do you think the line trains aren't coming here? Nobody stops here and they're fed up not carrying anyone. And don't get me started on..."
"Would you just shut up and call us a train?!"
"Oh, fine, fine. Be that way. Just because I'm a spell doesn't mean I don't have feelings, you know..."
With a grumble, the face sank back into the extinguisher box and the glass plate was just a glass plate again. The door slammed shut by itself, and much clicking and clacking was heard as it locked and re-armed its defenses.
A few seconds later, the familiar triple-tone of a train horn roared out from the subway rail and a train came shooting into the station.
But what a train it was! It looked like something taken straight from a Sicence-Fiction novel, a simple silver bullet chain that hovered about an inch off the track. None of the cars had any windows, and only the outlines of the doors could be seen in the seamless silver of the rounded walls.
The doors hissed open, allowing passage inside...
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
The mage turned to mist once more, his robes and helm floating into the car by themselves.
Toshio needed another drink after seeing that.
Shrugging and taking a swig, the man sauntered onto the train.
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
"First Class? Pfft, here we call them 'Green Cars'," Chihaya said, walking towards the train.
"\Eichiro, I need you to stay here and report on everything to the superiors\," Sae ordered.
"\Yes, Ukyo-taichou\," Eichiro said, and moved back towards the exit.
The inside of the train was as spotless as the outside. The trains didn;t like being drity. They had enough junk to put up with.
Din-dun.
"Welcome aboard. My name is Baarthos and I'll be your local train tonight making stops in Death's Door, Crimson Nails, the Side, and Shadows Fall. Please watch for the closing doors."
Din-dun.
With only a slight jerk, the train accelerated away again, but the passengers no longer noticed.
Indeed, there was only one other passenger - a demon looking much like the current form of Toshio, lazily flipping through yesterday's edition of the Night Times, the Side's most-read newspaper - probably because the man who ran it only printed true stories.
ALL BEWARE! SAUNDRA SORROW ON THE LOOSE AGAIN!, read the title page, along with COLLECTOR ANNOUNCES 5000th FIND. IS IT THE REAL MALTESE FALCON THIS TIME?
"Don't worry about him." Allen bade the others not to stare at the demon, "The Side draws all kids of visitors. I'm going to say right now, most of the time you're not going to like what you see if you don't keep an open mind."
The demon grutned and turned the page. A few seconds later, chattering could be heard outside by a million tiny, shrieking, and simply horrid little voices.
"Let us in! Let us in!"
A million screams of pain later and they were gone. Allen smiled. Some just didn't learn. The trains were powerful creatures, protected by even more powerful beings and their defenses. According to an agreement thousands of years old, the trains were inviolate - and whoever thought could break that agreement had always had hell to pay.
Still, that didn't stop some from trying. Somethig large chrashed into the train from the outside, putting a large dent in the metal that was clearly visible as a bulge from the inside. A roar of pain echoed, and the dent began to shrink again, until it was finally gone.
Allen was glad the trains didn't have windows. He really didn't feel like seeing all the worlds they crossed and the creatures that thrived within them.
Din-dun.
"Next stop: the Side. Repeat, next stop: the Side."
Din-dun.
as the train stopped again and the doors slid open, the group stepped into a subway station that looked practically no different from the one they had just left - except for the crows of people milling within it.
The place was alive, this was easy to tell. The crowds contained humans, half-humans, and things that weren't even remotely human. All manner of creatures scampered about their business, not botheing to talk to anyone around them except maybe business partners. Privacy was strictly valued in the Side - you either went about your business quietly, or you didn't go about it at all.
"I'm gonna give you a moment to take this in." Allen said to the others, his eyes seeming to watch all directions at once, "If you need it, anyway. The street's a good bit worse, too, so be prepared..."
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
"...."
Toshio looked around, his eyes lazily suspicious.
"You ain't kidding when you say it brings all kinds." he mentioned to Allen with a stretch. "I've seen some crazy things...but nothing like this." With that, he waited for the others before looking to Allen to lead the way forward.
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
The robes and bone helm floated out of the car, the mist filling them and bringing the Mage back to a solid state. A passing Centaur bumped into him and the mage casually immolated it.
"Reminds me of the time I went to Paragon City to receive my Rikti War Hero medal..." Sae said, glancing all around.
"Reminds me of the time my teacher sneezed and we ended up...actually I'm pretty sure we were stuck here for a week," Chihaya said.
"\So THAT'S where you went!\" Sae said to her.
The crowds suddenly gave the mage a little more space. A few words were heard, but never anything more than a single sentence.
"Glad to see you're already getting along with the place." Allen commented, leading them up the ridiculously big escalator, which was built in proportions for anything but humans.
They arrived on the street, to a starry sky and a moon at least ten time the size it was back on Earth. Nobody knew if it was the same moon and just closer or an entirely differnt one. As far as anyone could remember, it had always been part of the Side just the way it was today.
"We're in Uptown right now." Allen explained, pointing down the street flanked by both modern skyscrapers with bright neon signs - mosty in Japanese or Mandarin here - as well as small, Meiji-era constructs of wood and canvas. This was Chinatown, to put it simply, one of the more upscale parts of the Side. Even the demons and beings of darkness and evil preferred ornately decorated pagodas here instead of the run-down and rotten mausoleums that their western cousins used.
Shops and all other manner of estabilishmnets advertised their presence with bright, blazing, and gaudy neon, covering the street in a plethora of rainbows. They advertised every kind of pleasure known and unknown, and the price was often your soul. Souls weren't lost in the Side - they were sold, bought, traded, and bartered for. Just one of the many elemets of the local economy.
The traffic on the street was just as varied as the crowds on the wide sidewalks, and Allen warned everyone to stay away from it. Not only could people in the Side not drive - well, they could, they just didn't care - but only about half of the things that looked like cars actually were. And many of the impostors were always hungry.
"That's why it's a good idea to stay clear." Allen continued, "And if you do get hurt, never wait for the ambulance. They run on distilled suffering. Very fuel efficent and environmentally friendly, but it's not a good incentive to get your patient to the hospital alive."
All clocks to be seen were steadfastly stuck on precisely 3 AM, not even the second hands flinching any. Three in the morning, the darkest hour, just before dawn - and dawn never came in the Side.
The ground shuddered as a large, 3-legged walker that looked like something taken straight from War of the Worlds stalked over a nearby row of buildings. It stepped on the road, and something that looked like a car screamed pitifully as the tentacle-leg snatched it up and the walker carried the creature away, probably as a snack for under way.
On a nearby corner, an Oni yelled into the crowds loudly, advertising what he had to sell - several suitcases full of all manner of gadgets from alternate timetracks and futures. At the moment, his associate, some sort of snake, was haggling with a customer over a sleek, silver jetpack (fuel not included).
Allen only chuckled. It was likely defective in some manner, otherwise it wouldn't be selling on the street. It was Buyer Beware in the Side, one of the only laws which was never broken.
"Hm, looks prety normal." Allen commented, "I guess we won't find out how Tommy got out just by asking around on the street. You guys wouldn't happen to know the names of any beings from Japanese folklore that could be associated with Zanny, hm?"
If they did, the mentioned beings would likely soon know that they had arrived. Allen Fang had a bad reputation in the Side, and gossip spread faster than the speed of light here. Not only that, but Allen had no doubt that Zanael already had agents lurking in the crowds, watching them, perhaps even assassins waiting for just the right time to strike...
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
"First of all..." Toshio asked, turning to Allen, "Who's Tommy and Zanny? Second..."
He glanced around with a critical eye at everything around him.
"...if I were looking for a specific soul... Would there be a way to find it here?"
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
The Mage erupted next to them in a plume of fire, saying nothing.