It's a Loverly Spring, Charlie Brown! [Open]

[Gaeva Winged Unicorn]

Jahran just stared at Nei as she stammered through her introduction. He had no idea what to make of her; she'd seemed pretty rational before, what had happened? Realizing she was more or less done, he hoped, he quickly cleared his throat and got out a "Thank you, Nei," before she continued on...about pollen? What? Slightly alarmed -about Nei, not pollen- Jahran looked around. A small unicorn had called for Nei's attention, he thought she looked familiar, but couldn't recall having seen a unicorn like that before. Nei claimed to be fine.

Stretching up to his full height he tested out each of his legs, but felt nothing weird. Meanwhile Nei was talking about water and acid, but Jahran didn't know whether he could trust her. Besides, there was no water here, was there? Maybe she was hallucinating. It would explain the pollen.

"Uh, thanks, he said once more, this time for the unhelpful explanation. Was she accusing the tree of spitting acid now? Not following at all he decided to just go along with her and already found himself nodding and smiling, "Yeah, sure, let's move away from the uh, acid tree..." Smiling at her the black stallion did as he said and turned to walk towards some of the others, when suddenly his gaze fell on Geaven's transparent form standing next to Naira, and he froze.

"Father?!

Geaven had not responded to Entropy and Isala's conversation, had not seemed to be listening even, and just passively looked around himself. When Naira however repeated the forest's name again and attempted to explain, he looked down at her, as if seeing her for the first time. The blue stallion frowned at her for a few moments, then finally shook his head, "No, I don't live in a forest, never have. You're probably confusing me with someone else."

At that moment Jahran approached him, "Father, are you alright?"

Again Geaven frowned, but this time at the black unicorn staring back at him, "No, I only have a daughter, she's only a couple of months old...I'm not sure where she is..." He started to look around himself, slightly worried now, then finally said, "She's probably with her mother." and seemed calm again.

"No, she...Meali, she's right there!" Jahran said, raising his voice, and pointed towards the tree with an outstretched wing.

Geaven looked over, but his face showed no change when he looked back, "No, my daughter is only a little foal. I should go look for her..." And with that the large blue stallion turned around and walked off.

"No, wait! She's right...wait! ...oh" Jahran ran after him and attempted to block his father physically, but the transparant unicorn walked straight through him and kept on walking.

Jahran looked back at the others, "I have no idea what to do now, why can't he remember us?" Then he noticed one of their number was missing, the small unicorn he had noticed earlier, "Where did the unicorn go to?"

[Windra]

Gaevan seemed puzzled over Jahran's appearance before him. Which was odd. And wrong. Because Jahran was his son and it should have been obvious ... Yet the stallion remained stoic and unbothered. If anything clicked within the equine's mind, it sure as hell didn't show. Even when the younger black foal attempted to halt his straying, only to be passed right through.

A strange realization dawned, mingled with utter surprise and total confusion. There would be none of this! Muttering something about historical inconsistencies and pesky timelines, Naira pushed forward. She power-walked past Jahran, gently easing a hand on his massive shoulder in comfort and reassurance as she drifted by. Soon her stride matched Gaeven's, and she was determined to keep it that way.

"Right, I have no idea how this happened ... ," Naira spoke while walking, spurts of breath bursting through her teeth with each motion, "But somehow or another ... you're from the past. Or you only have memories of the past. Either way, from your stance what's happening now hasn't happened yet. This is Deep Forest. Your home. You've been here for years with your sister Gaeva, and your daughter Meali. Meali's all grown up now. Jahran? That black foal back there? He's your son. Not from the same mother though. Long story. I don't know all of it."

Running out of ideas on how to explain this all to Gaeven, she flurried with what she could think of on a whim.

"I don't know what happened, really. But your entire family is floating around that tree back there, asleep. Don't you see Gaeva? She's comatose. And we really need your assistance because this place is your home, our ... and that is your family." Slight exasperation settling in, she called back over her shoulder with anxiety building. "Jahran! Is there anything you might have or know that would convince him? Something ... I don't know, about where he lived before? Meali's mom?"

[JunoZXV]

Pages back, the Neko had been blased skywards, for tickling a tree of all things.

"Fou-"

Where upon he hit one of the misty portals, and seemingly vanished from the passage of time.

"-l?"

[Juno has left the thread.]

[Sky Lily]

Simi waited for as long as she could stand to wait there, alone in a very gloomy and silent woods. Her ears went back against her head as disappointment fought with relief. Maybe all she had heard was a trick of the wind. Or perhaps, whatever had been here was already long gone right now... and not worth meeting.

Nickering to herself in a soft self-scolding, the unicorn made her way back into the area of the "prison". "I'm... sorry. I-I just thought I heard something."


OOC:
Sorry Viz. I was just kind of eager to get Simi back into the main interaction.

[Luxon Cobrat]

Feeling acutely awkward, and pretty sure her lapse of composure hadn't gone unnoticed, Nei followed Jahran back to the rest of the group in silence. As much as she didn't like having the unicorn think she was a nutcase, she really couldn't think of anything to do about it that wouldn't dig her into a deeper hole.

[Gaeva Winged Unicorn]

Jahran felt grateful for Naira's interference, though simultaneously feeling a rush of inadequacy wash over him. He couldn't even get his own father to listen to him, let alone make him see reason, explain the situation. Not that the black stallion really understood what the situation really was, but it would have been nice to be the one with the answers for once, to save the day, have others look up to him. Maybe have his father look at him with respect? Or something other than rejection anyway. Where had he come from anyway, as far as Jahran and his aunt and sister had known, Geaven mysteriously died years ago when the barrier around the Meadow of Peace disappeared. Suddenly aware of Nei standing next to him Jahran tried to stand up straighter.

Getting his mind back to the present he listened to Naira's words, right as she mentioned his aunt Gaeva. His father stopped walking. Suddenly hopeful Jahran flicked his ears forwards. Smart move, he should at least remember his sister as an adult! Just as quickly his hope fled. As Naira turned back to face Jahran he saw his father's transparent form turn his head towards her, and something in the dark blue stallion's eyes made his skin crawl. Jahran didn't even hear her question, "Watch out!!" he shouted at her, just as Geaven somehow whirled about while rearing up at the same time, his hooves aimed at Naira.

"STOP TALKING ABOUT MY FAMILY!" Geaven roared as he lashed out his front hooves at Naira.

Like Jahran before however, he couldn't touch her physical form at all. That didn't mean Geaven immediately gave up however, and to Jahran's horror he saw his father put in some effort into somehow trying to hurt her or anyone else close enough, with hooves and even horn. Jahran himself, though logically aware he was safe and of equal size to the other, only felt fear, and backed up.

[Windra]

Naira wheeled around only upon Jahran's warning, realizing too little too late that Gaeven was suddenly raging, lunging ... She backed away while missing a step, her reflexes less than pinpoint courtesy of recent events. In either way she had missed the initial blows. And then she remembered that the stallion was a ghost and, with confidence, stepped back to her former spot, allowing the angry horse's horn to tear through her body even though nothing was harmed. It passed through, dissipating into nothing when surreal flesh contacted (somewhat) living flesh.

"You ... realize that isn't doing anything, right," she blurted out before thinking about her words. Antagonizing Gaeven was probably a mistake. But that thin veil of patience was wearing very thin. It was still disturbing that Gaeva's brother could lash out like this. Then ... she had never known the father. Never even met him before. His temper was a mystery to her.

But obviously, something she had said had stung him. Naira had an inkling that it had to do with the mother.

"What in the world," she started, quietly, "happened back then?" It was awhisper, more like a musing thought. Not really a question. But Gaeven may as well have perceived it as such. A shake of her head waved angry yellow bangs before her eyes. She brushed them aside. "I don't know what's going on ... but stick around, we need you here. For the safety of your family."

Now she turned (dismissing the spectral horn passing through her chest, head, and neck as a minor irritation) to look at Entropy. Worry caused her brow to furrow.

"Feel like giving the water another try?"

[Sky Lily]

As it turned out, Simi had returned just in the nick of time, because a giant blue unicorn was about to squash Naira underneath his massive, heavy hooves.

The Shifter was immediately thrown into panic. She rushed at the pegacorn with a screaming neigh of her own, half from her own alarm, half from the faint hope that she might at least scare him into hesitating. It was a rather funny sight watching such a small unicorn charge another, much larger one, but as it turned out...

Oh. Right. He was a ghost.

Simi stole a moment to sigh in relief as Gaeven's harmless form tried in vain to harm Naira, and to no avail. All the same, however, the smaller unicorn was dismayed. Jahran and Naira had been getting through to Gaeven, hadn't they? So what had gone wrong...? Poor Jahran, his own son, looked utterly terrified..

"Feel like giving the water another try?"

Simi was very concerned over this suggestion, and her worry showed. "W-wait! Naira, you should probably move out of the way first," she said as her eyes shifted to Gaeven again. This whole scene was very unsettling.

[Luxon Cobrat]

Entropy, Nei, Isala, and Zom all stood by patiently while Naira tried to question Gaeven, but by the time he threw his tantrum, they were all starting to doubt that it was going to do any good. Entropy and Nei both tensed with concern when the unicorn began striking at Naira, but realized quickly that the spectral unicorn wasn't able to make actual contact.

By now it didn't seem like he would know much about what was going on anyway.

Once Naira suggested trying more water, Entropy glanced at Zom, half expecting her to object again. Zom just gave a resentfully-defeated grunt accompanied by a resentfully-defeated look that wasn't quite a glare but might have been one if Zom hadn't been trying to keep her interactions peaceful.

Expecting another attack by whatever it was that didn't want that tree getting any water, Entropy acted quickly to gather another water ball, this time rising into the air a ways in case she ended up needing to maneuver quickly. As soon as the sphere was formed, Entropy tossed it at the tree.

[Voice of Deep Forest]

The moment the sphere left Entropy, the closest white portal to the group started to increase it's rotation. White tendrils of energy wildly flailed about, reaching out and retracting in a steady rhythm, the longer ones in the direction of the ones gathered. The portal was too far away to actually come into contact with anyone however, but it didn't stop.

The tree stood still as the earth around its roots soaked up the water thrown at it, leaving a wet trail on the bark. No other action was taken, though an observant eye looking at just the right time might catch the light blue unicorn's purple tail moving in a non-existent breeze.

[Gaeva Winged Unicorn]

Geaven's lack of impact on Naira infuriated the stallion into kicking even more. There was no rational thought in his head, he didn't even remember why he had started in the first place. All there was, was anger, and pain, especially pain, a lot of pain he could not pinpoint, did not want to pinpoint. But Naira was here, she was convenient, and logic did not matter. Now if only he could touch her! Nothing of what she said, or anyone else for that matter, reached him. The world had gone silent to his ears.

Then something inside of him snapped, and he reared up while screaming an unholy neigh, just as Entropy took action. But instead of responding to either her or the portal, the large unicorn took off at a gallop towards the green forest.

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

Jahran just stood there for most of it, staring at his father miserably. This was not how he remembered him at all, he used to grumpy, yes, but not irrational. Also, didn't he used to be bigger? Jahran knew he himself had grown, but was he actually bigger that his huge father? That was somehow disturbing.

The younger stallion tried to deal with it, and took a deep breath. At least Naira was making sense, something about the water had made them all excited before after all, so maybe this could lead to some success. He lanced at the one being addressed, and was relieved to see Entropy agree. Though judging by her looks, she wasn't happy about it. What was that about? He looked at the tree hopefully, but as the water innocently splashed all over it, nothing happened to his relatives. They still remained where they were.

But then his eye caught the suddenly flashes of white energy and his ears perked right up. "What is that? What's it doing?" Then he remembered, "Wait, is that what you guys talked about earlier? About the portal? What did you do next??" He hadn't been there for that part, but whatever it was, it obviously had helped, or he wouldn't be literally standing here right now!

[Sky Lily]

Simi waited, breath-held, as the water slowly seeped beneath the tree roots. She waited for lava to spurt from the earth again, or for another unicorn to be released from the clutches of whatever spell kept them there. But for some strange reason...

... Nothing happened. Disappointment made her head lower with a frown.

She was, however, startled by the scream that Gaeven made, and the unicorn whirled around just in time to see one of Deep Forest's ruler's ghosts running away from them. O-oh dear, that wasn't supposed to happen!

"W-what do we do now," she asked out loud to no one in particular, just as Jahran made his own discoveries.

"What is that? What's it doing?... Wait, is that what you guys talked about earlier? About the portal? What did you do next??"

"Wait," Simi turned to follow Jahran's gaze and was surprised to see that there was indeed another 'portal' reaching out again, long tendrils stretching as it searched for someone to take in. "There is? You're right... it's back..."

The Shifter took a deep breath as she closed her eyes. Everyone here had been taking such great risks, but she? She hadn't done a thing yet for her companions or the ruling unicorns or the tree that ensnared them, and she wanted to amend that.

"... I-I'm thinking... M-maybe I should go next. Maybe I can find a way to speak to the tree."

She took a hesitant step forward and quickly realized that slowly walking to her destination wasn't going to get her anywhere, nor would she still have her nerve by the time she came to the portal. So she broke into a gallop and leaped in with her eyes closed, unsure of what she would see or if this would even work.

She would feel very foolish if she simply ended up toppling over into nothing.

[Windra]

In the meantime, Attor slumbered peacefully ... sort of. He threw brief tantrums while snoozing, leaving many to question just how quelling his visions were or weren't. But the dragon was of no interest at the moment. His prone, stark yellow form lay listless in the middle of a barren and ruptured battleground - totally undisturbed. There were far more pressing matters to attend to.

For instance, the way Gaeven suddenly bolted off to the Forest. Naira found herself mildly disturbed by the lack of the ethereal horn's passing through her body. She turned in time to see the action taken and could do little but raise her hand in protest and call something after the equine: a warning, a plea? It didn't matter. Surely it would have fallen on deaf ears anyway.

He'll be fine, Naira reassured herself with a haggard sigh, trying to remain calm despite the lines of worry creasing her young face. I mean, how the hell can we stop a ghost horse? Cross the streams? Yeah ... like the Ghostbusters were going to pop up any second now.

Judging from the calls and utterings from behind, Entropy had indeed thrown her ball of water at the tree. The Reaver pitched and walked over to witness the event. Water had been the key to unlocking some answers ... But the suspended four-legged beasts remained motionless in mid-air. Naira halted in her tracks, tail flicking with annoyance. Okaaaaay ... It worked before. Why not now? Thankfully Jahran was onto something, having caught sight of a nearby portal that flailed like the other ones had before. No sooner had he spoken his conclusion did Simi charge right for it.

Naira cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, "Pay close attention to whatever happens!" before the shifter unicorn made contact with blissful tendrils of white ...

--

Through the dimmed haze of pain, Attor awoke. His eyes opened with remarkable slowness. They seemed held shut by lead.

The first thing he was awae of was agony. Strained muscles. Aching skin. Every breath he took hurt ... Every move came with soreness. But it wasn't impossible. Especially when he would have expected to be with the great dragons in the sky by now ... long gone from the realm of the living. Had death not claimed him? Was he ... was he still alive?

It came with surprise when he pushed into an upright position. Gradually he stood all the way. Attor teetered this way and that. Confused orbs glanced back and forth. The smoke had cleared. The others had moved. What happened? He last remembered things falling from the sky, hitting, hurting ... How was it that he still lived?

Then his eyes caught something large and metal and shiny, despite its wear and broken edges. The remaining parts of Norad's outer shell ... The sight of it caused Attor's insides to flare with magma. Anger pushed him to extend his wings. Frustration forced him into the sky. Spilling a hiss of aggravation, the dragon disappeared beyond the forest's edge, leaving everybody behind.

OoC
Attor has left this thread.

[Luxon Cobrat]

Entropy looked around for a minute after she threw the water, trying to see if that had made a difference. As it turned out, the reaction was... less spectacular than the last time, aside from Gaeven running off into the woods. And nothing tried to stop her, either. But... maybe that meant Gaeva was winning now? Thanks to the water, Gaeva must have been getting too powerful for whatever was trying to escape to attack like it had.

Entropy also noticed the portal at about the same time that Jahran mentioned it. Simi was the first to move for it, though. Entropy didn't contest her for it, nor did anyone else seem to.

The next thing Entropy noticed was the movement of one of the unicorn's tails. As soon as she registered that, her attention fell firmly on it, and she started creeping towards it, mesmerized. There was... only one thing to do, really. The purple tail, moving as if blown by a breeze...

Calling to her...

Drawing her in...

Suddenly, Entropy broke into a mad dash straight for the unicorn, hoping the barrier wouldn't push her back again. She had to grab that tail and give it a pull! It was the only way!

[Voice of Deep Forest]

(OOC: Sorry for this!)

The rough terrain didn't change or react or do anything to stop, or aid, Simi as she bolted towards the erratic white portal. The only response was an even bigger frenzy of moving energy as it reached out towards the galloping unicorn. And as she took her leap of faith through the portal...nothing happened. She went straight through it, the tendrils made of pure white energy reaching for her, but never actually touching her.

Meanwhile Entropy's action had quite the opposite reaction. The succubus managed to get really close, probably already feeling she'd succeed without interference, when the barrier sprang back to live. Except this time there was no gentle push to keep her away; this time the invisible shield exploded outwards, at first shoving and then launching Entropy away from the tree. It did not stop at the same distance it had before either, instead it extended further and further, even claiming the rest of the group in it's circular path around the tree and quickly and forcefully shoving them along without mercy.

Then it suddenly stopped and was gone, leaving everybody to come to their own natural stop.

Except for Entropy.

The shield's force and speed had launched Entropy towards Simi, who had only just remained out of the forceful barrier's reach herself. And regardless of the succubus' reaction to this situation, her momentum could not be stopped, as the barrier had effectively launched her straight into the flailing portal, where she disappeared. And just as she was sucked inside, the white tendrils shot out towards Simi, enveloped her entirely, and made the small unicorn disappear as well. Slowly the portal returned to normal as if nothing had happened.

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

For Simi and Entropy:
Both females stay together as they tumble from the bright white lighted portal, to complete darkness. The surface beneath them feels smooth as solid water, but as warm as a living body. There is no detectable ceiling or any walls, and while everything around them is completely covered in black darkness, they can see each other perfectly fine no matter where they are.

Out of nowhere a single, little, purple flame appeared, floating in mid-air in front of them. It flickered as if there was a draft around it, but it could not be felt. A soft voice emanated from the flame, but too soft to make out the words.

Nothing else happened and everything else remained quiet and still.

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

The white portal through which Simi and Entropy had disappeared suddenly turned bright red. From it's center a bunch of creatures leaped out, around 5 feet tall, all covered thick, grey scales like an alligator's back. These grey creatures each had one eye on the front of their face, and one more on either side of their head.

Blinking their three eyes, these beings growled at the ones who had remained behind, revealing needle thin teeth. Without too much of a pause the first 5 through flung themselves forwards, raising their five fingered hands, and from each thick finger came a sharp claw as long as the finger itself. One flung itself at Naira, claws reaching for her face; another went for Zom, keeping low to the ground and going for her legs in an attempted tackle; the remaining three jumped Jahran, clearly seeing him as the largest threat due to his size and using their teeth to subdue him.

Five more emerged from the red portal then, and after a moment of surveying the situation, went as a group for Isala and Nei, trying to approach them from both sides and literally jump them to latch on with their claws and teeth.

Behind them five more appeared from the portal.

[Gaeva Winged Unicorn]

Simi said maybe she should go next, what did she mean by that? Go inside? And Naira told her to pay attention...pay attention to what? "What exactly happens inside the portal?" Jahran asked Naira softly, lowering his head apprehensively as he wide eyed watched the small unicorn take off. That looked incredibly brave...! And so intent he was on watching her, that he did not notice Entropy at all. When he was suddenly slammed into by something invisible that easily flung his large form ahead he let out a shout in surprise, trying to see who was pushing him, with what, where?! Wait, that actually felt familiar... but he had no time to think it through, he had to keep from falling! But no matter how deeply he tried to sink in his golden hooves, the scorched earth might as well be water for all it did to stop him.

Quickly he stopped trying when he felt sharp edges cut at this skin above his hooves. Instead he focused on not falling over as he rapidly shoved on, but quickly lost that battle as well as balance just wasn't one of his strong points. He tumbled over several times, fearful of his vulnerable wings under his weight, not to mention his long legs. He'd already broken them once today, he felt no desire to get a repeat so soon after again! Desperately he tried to keep all limbs together to keep them safe, and was so focused on this, he did not even notice the invisible barrier was gone until he came to a complete stop.

Quickly he looked up, just in time to see both Entropy and Simi disappear into the portal which was now a whole lot close to them all. As he gasped at that, he then remembered himself. And the others! "Is...is.." he coughed up some dust, "Is everybody alright?" he croaked. Checking his legs and wings himself he came to the conclusion that nothing had been broken, success! Getting back onto his hooves went easier than expected as well, but as he used his wings to rid himself of dust, earth, mud and other dirt, he realized he was covered in small cuts and scrapes, a few showing a little red beneath. That wasn't so great, but at least it barely hurt. He could deal with them for now, no problem.

Jahran was about to ask if this had happened before, and what would happen next, when the portal went red. Then the scaly monsters came out. Jahran gasped, flicked back his ears and took a few steps back. What were those?! Before that thought could go very far they leaped at them, and then all he could concentrate on was not getting bitten or clawed at! They might be a whole lot smaller than him, but they had no trouble at all climbing up using their sharp claws. For a moment he thought they smelled like dirt, then all he could think of was to buck and rear, fling his head up and down and his wings outwards. He did not think of the others as he tried to rid these painful things from off his back and chest, as they clamped down on him. Only one he managed to more or less accidentally dislodge from his side with a wing, and flung it away towards Naira.

[Windra]

Between Simi leaping through the portal and Entropy making a mad dash towards the tree for whatever reason, Naira crossed her fingers and silently hoped that something - something - would happen for a change. Let there be good news, let there be good news, let there be good news ... She was practically chanting it under her breath, and crossed her fingers under her chin without realizing the action was taken. But then Simi went flying through the portal to land unceremoniously on the other side. It was certainly a pretty sight, no doubt ... the way the white disc flared up behind her like a torched loop ready to blow. But ...

The half-dragon sighed in disappointment. Back to the drawing booOOAARDDD?!

She'd seen the push at the very last moment. Naira wheeled around, preparing to bolt - but the barrier caught her from behind and shoved her roughly along the twisted gravel. The rough landscape chewed angrily at the heels of her draconic feet. Her eyes widened, suddenly noticing the pool of acid bubbling directly ahead. There was no stopping the harsh push against her backside. Dodging to either side would do nothing at all - she would still be right in the barrier's path!

So Naira dug her claw sin and hoped beyond hope that this thing would stop! But it wasn't looking like it would ... Already the bubbling lake of skin-eatery loomed dangerously close. She pushed backwards, praying that it would stop! Getting closer ... no no NO NO! The Reaver didn't want to get melted down to simple skin and bones, forever locked away in an abyss of searing agony! Okay, so that wasn't necessarily true .. she'd be knocked into the Spirit Dimension. but getting back?!

Drawing in a hissing breath, Naira braced for an impact that never came. The barrier quite suddenly receded, leaving Naira teetering on the edge of acid pit. Her toe claws dangled slghtly off the edge. Shaking off te anxiety tensing her nerves and muscles with rough contractions, Naira gave a deep exhaled and turned around ... catching just out of sight the glimpse of something red and something moving ...

It was Jahran's gasp that forced her head to jerk up - and she almost reeled backwards into the pit of acid because something was lobbing itself at her face! Something with claws and teeth and way too many eyes! "Whathell?!" Naira blurted, buckling backwards with a move straight out of the Matrix. The monstrous scaled figure whizzed above her face, mere centimeters from her nose, screaming and flailing as it went careening into the boiling pool behind her. It struck with a splash.

A very miffed Reaver watched with confusion as the reptilian thing sunk deeper and deeper into the battery acid lava. Its screams of horrifying, rending pain were enough to make her cringe. What was worse was the cooking flesh stink. Naira stuck out her tongue in disgust.

"What the hell was that?" she questioned nobody in particular.

There were more noises: hisses; growls; screams; shouts. Claws were whizzing through the air. Hooves were stomping. Naira swung with a hand on the scimitar's hilt and witnessed hordes of these beasts blasting out of a portal that had gone red like blood. They were splitting into different directions, obviously intent on ripping every being limb from limb. Several converged on Jahran, and the helpless unisus thrashed to get them off. He dislodged one with a wing and it was flung in her direction. Naira brought out the sword, positioned it just right ... and let the lizard impale himself with his own momentum.

Sliding the limp body from the bloodied blade, Naira uttered a, "Well, I finally get to use this!" before charging forward to the horse's aid. She may have been too fatigued to use any real magick ... but that didn't keep her from striking with physical prowess! "Geroff him!" She was able to pluck one unaware from Jahran's back by its throat. Before it knew what was going on, Naira ran it clean through the chest. It thrashed wildly, clipping her cheek and shoulder, but with a rough shove and a hefty blow, Naira cleaved its head clean off.

Still more! And aware of her presence now. The Reaver leapt into the fray with steel flashing and fists punching.

[Sky Lily]

She would feel very foolish if she simply ended up toppling over into nothing.

"Eeep!"

Well, Simi did end up toppling over into nothing.

And as she lay there with her legs entangled and a few dead leaves snagged on her horn, the unicorn felt very foolish indeed. Foolish enough to pull her foreleg over her eyes in a moment of silent mortification, groaning loudly. I must look so stupid to them, she thought as her ears went back. To everyone. I don't understand-- the portal was calling for someone, wasn't it?

Is it just me it doesn't want?

Sighing to herself, Simi stood slowly to her feet again as she turned for a second time to the portal, staring forlornly at the tendrils that still tried so hard to reach her. As if taunting her or...

The unicorn blinked.

Wait... it was still reaching out.

If... if it was still doing that, then, perhaps... perhaps the portal did want her? But it wasn't strong enough yet? Was that it? "What must I do?" she asked quietly as she prodded the portal's eerie light with a hoof.

Perhaps she should--

Shouts of alarm made Simi raise her head with a start, heart racing. "W-what what is it what?!" she whickered as she danced a step back, ready to flinch, duck, dash, whatever it was the situation would demand of her. In the vividness of her terrors she expected something horrible like the fiery tidal wave from earlier, or an onslaught of rocks again, or an onslaught of rocks on fire or perhaps something far, far worse!

...But the unicorn instead found herself furrowing her brow with confusion when she saw everyone being pushed far away from the tree. She was about to call out to them, but Simi didn't have so much as a moment to breathe in and flinch before Entropy was launched toward her and she was enveloped by light ... and then...

Darkness.

...

Darkness was all she could see.

Simi let out one terrified squeak as she backed away, only to realize with a shudder that the darkness was everywhere. "N-no! Where am I? Where is this?" She looked about herself frantically, but settled her hooves when she realized that her full body was still visible, even in this strange blackness. Okay. Okay. So she could see herself, still. Her heart was still pounding in her throat, but she could still see. This was good. Right?

And there was a ground beneath her, smooth and warm, to keep her from falling forever into said darkness. This was also good.

... Right?

The unicorn turned to the side, and was surprised to see Entropy, the succubus from earlier, here with her as company. "Entropy?" Guilty relief washed over the Shifter when she realized she wasn't alone, for although she was no longer condemned to the darkness by herself, that also meant that another had been stuck in the same predicament as she. And whatever this predicament was, it may not be a good thing that another was here with her.

".. Entropy! Oh, thank g--" No. No, she couldn't thank goodness that Entropy was here when this might be very, very bad. "... I-I'm glad to see you," she finished as she laid her ears back with a wince. However, another being here was doing wonders for the unicorn's nerves, and she could already feel her heart begin to slow as her thoughts started to clear.

"Do you... think we're in the same place that Naira was? And Zom? But... they'd seen Gaeva, hadn't they?" She glanced around again. "If so then... w-where's Gaeva now?"

As if on cue, a tiny little flame of violets and purples appeared in front of the two forest-dwellers, flickering as if there was a breeze, although Simi could not feel such a movement of air. Fire was a thing to fear, and this the unicorn knew, but all the same... she was feeling oddly calmed as she stared into the movements of the flames. Perhaps it was the tinyness of the candle-fire, its seeming contentment. Or perhaps it was Simi's own gifts that dissipated her worry. Or perhaps it was the simple miracle of a flicker of light in all this darkness. Either way, Simi was calmed enough to be intrigued, and intrigue made her take a step forward.

The fire began to whisper.

The Shifter paused for a moment before flicking one ear back to Entropy. "... Did you hear that?" she said quietly as she began to take very small steps toward the flames. "I think it's... speaking..." Something about the tiny flame made Simi feel anxious, as if it was a helpless mouse lost in a field. Her steps took her closer and closer to the flame, and if it allowed her to do so, she would have been only half a foot away from the fire by the time she stopped.

"... Are you speaking? What are you trying to say?" she asked gently. She was afraid to touch it, for the fear of possibly putting the tiny flame out.

[Luxon Cobrat]

It was starting to look like Entropy would make it to her destination. The tail was almost in reach. Just a little further...

And out sprang the barrier. Not gently this time, either. As she felt herself being carried back, she clawed at the wave of force in desperate protest, and maybe in hopes of tunneling through. Neither purpose found any luck. Against all of her will, Entropy was shoved mercilessly away from the unicorn.

Before she even knew where she was going, she was surrounded by the flailing tendrils of the portal. And then the world went black.

--

Nei, Isala, and Zom all found themselves caught in the barrier's push as well. Zom was able to lift her feet off the ground and engage levitation quickly enough to spare herself any fears about getting dropped in the acid, but the other two both found themselves sharing Naira's predicament, except with the added fear of actually dieing. Nei's own barrier instinctively flickered into existence around her, though she wasn't sure if it would really keep the hazardous fluid at bay for long. Isala, on the other hand, was completely at fate's mercy.

Fortunately for the snow queen, fate decided to be merciful. Or Zom did, at least, maneuvering her way between the Isala and Nei and lifting them both up from the ground with one arm each. Once the barrier stopped and sent them all flying, Zom flew them over the acid bath before them and dumped them on the ground solid on the other side. The vampiress then flew on a ways further until she could get her own momentum under control and land.

As Nei and Isala made their way back up to their feet and dispensed a small bit of healing energy into themselves to counteract the battering from the rough landing, Zom surveyed the scene around the tree. Simi and Entropy were both missing, apparently swallowed by the portal. And the portal was back to normal.

On second thought, no it wasn't. It turned red. And then out came the bad guys.

One went for Naira, three went for Jahran, and one came for Zom. And then five more came out and went for Nei and Isala.

Zom made no attempt at finesse, taking off in a barreling charge straight for the creature that had selected her as its target. As she closed in, she raised her arms up to bash the thing, but the creature dove in to tackle her. The monster's momentum succeeded in knocking her down, but Zom slammed her fists down onto the creature's back all the same, shattering both of its shoulder blades. Landing on the ground with the creature on top of her, she grabbed it by the throat, pulled it up, and slammed it back down onto the ground with herself now above it. She then brutally pounded its face with her other fist several times until it was left staring lifelessly into the sky.


Nei and Isala, seeing a group of five advancing and fanning out to surround them, immediately squared up to face the group.

Neizaia's half of Nei's mind took charge immediately, though it was one of Neithird's abilities she chose to employ - holding out a hand, a fiery beam shot from the palm and struck one enemy, engulfing it in a halo of flame for a moment, then leaving its blackened form to drop onto the ground screeching in pain. Nei sucked in a short breath at that sound, immediately struck by guilt, but forced herself to stay focused on the fight. Luckily, the creature fell still and silent within moments.

Isala, meanwhile, raised a hand and began gathering vapor from the air and freezing it into the form of a javelin. At about the same time that Nei engulfed her target, Isala threw the javelin at another creature, guiding it to the mark as much by direct control over the icy weapon as by the aim of her throw, impaling it through the chest with enough force to knock it down.

As the three remaining enemies continued their advance, still moving to surround the two females, Nei's psionic blade appeared on her arm while Isala conjured an icy longsword. The two glanced at each other for a moment.

"Back to back," Nei suggested.

"Indeed," Isala agreed.

Taking up position to guard each other's rears, the two stood ready.

--

Entropy spilled onto the black ground. Everything was black. Warm, but black. She tried opening her eyes, but they were already open. But then she realized her nose was still making that doorknob shape in her vision. Pushing herself up and looking herself over, she found that she could still see herself perfectly well. That was weird, seeing how there wasn't any other light here.

Then she heard Simi's voice. Jumping to her feet, Entropy turned around to regard the unicorn-who-hadn't-been-a-unicorn-earlier.

"Um... hi," Entropy awkwardly responded to Simi's awkward greeting.

And next came the question of Gaeva.

"Hard to say..." Entropy answered thoughtfully. "This isn't any normal realm, that's for sure."

Then the flame appeared. Appeared and started to whisper. Simi asked Entropy if she heard it, and Entropy nodded.

"Yeah..." the succubus added aloud, just in case Simi hadn't seen the nod.

Following the unicorn's lead, Entropy crept in closer to the flame, trying to move in as close as she could in hopes of making out what it was saying.

[Voice of Deep Forest]

The three remaining creatures targetting Nei and Isala learned from their fallen comrades' mistakes, and eyed the weapons brought into sudden existance warily, but did not halt their steps. While growling and hissing, no apparent communication had happened, yet all three leaped forwards at the same time, all three going for Isala and ignoring Nei. One threw himself at her right leg, mouth wide open and aiming for her knee, the second went for her left arm, while the third went for a death grip on her right arm, both also with their mouths wide open, ready to chomp down.

The newest wave of five scaly creatures fresh from the portal returned Naira's interest, and spread out to pounce on her from a semi circle formation, not bothering to wait for each's turn as they went for any limb they could get their claws or teeth into. One went specifically for her tail, the base of her tail, in an attempt to rip or chew it off.

It didn't end there though as a new group of five emerged from the red portal, still looking identical to the previous fifteen, emitting grunts and growls and they zeroed in on their prey, almost immediately followed by yet another wave of five. Four sprinted towards the black stallion, jumping up onto his back to tear into his skin and wings.

The other six went straight for Zom. The two at the front of this charge leaped at her, tucking in their arms and legs while in mid leap, turning their scaly bodies into ramming rods. The other four copied the semi-circle
attack, not hesitating to followup with their claws and teeth, nor bothering to wait for each other to take their turn.

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

For Simi and Entropy:
The little flame kept whispering, but as they came closer, words in the feminine voice could be made out.

"...only way to reach you. If I try more often then the balance could be tipped in his favor. But if you can push the forest to back you up, show you have no ill intentions, and not harm or kill anything he may tempt you with, then....-"

Suddenly the little flame gave a single violent flicker, then continued, but the voice a little louder now, "...Wait, why are you both here?" Another flicker, making it seem like the little flame was about to go out, but it quickly recovered, "Oh no, he tricked me! You have to get out, you have to get out right now! GET OUT!"

While the voice was urging and commanding, neither Simi nor Entropy had an actual choice in the matter, as the very blackness beneath them suddenly gave way, letting them both fall down into darkness, until they found themselves ejected from the -now red- portal into the daylight. Gravity suddenly switched locations, and they went from falling "down", to "sideways", towards the very nearby ground.

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

Simi and Entropy didn't appear alone however, along with them another group of ten scaly creatures appeared, though they did not come charging out of the portal, instead they appeared to come tumbling out, creating a momentary chaotic dumping zone. The portal turned white again then, it's white energy softly whirling around.

Picking themselves up from the heap, the newest five-foot grey creatures quickly turned on Simi and Entropy, their intentions not hard guess for the unicorn and the succubus as the scaly things lashed out with their long claws. These last ten had no intention of letting them go rejoin the others easily.