The World Asunder

Somewhere in Vongola

"Where am I?" a young man tilt his head. He was in Erigan last time, the thinks. There was a hell of a lot of snow. Had to jump inside that yeti's stomach to survive and than kill it before it digested him. That was fun. He couldn't be in Ustuk judging from the lack of chains chafing him. Handcuffs always chaff.

Okay, so here he was in a cave. So what countries had caves? Most of them really. If you got earth, you have a cave. Alright, he was lost. Maps were made for this.

Leaning his back against the cave wall, Ulrich slid down onto his bottom as he pulled a folded up construction paper.

"So I know I was in Erigan." He place the map down and place his finger at a crude drawing of the island which look like a snow globe held up by a piece of floating land. "Then I got on a train to Avalon"

The Ouroboros train, the only train that journey across kingdoms was a flying train with it very own built in seithr engine. The train when leaving the station goes with way points which absorb seithr from down on the surface and feed the train the directions the next way point. The train car, which there are only two of, travel around Avalon through the kingdoms over and over again. It always goes this circle. It never actually stops in Avalon. That would require an zeppelin or airplane.


"Then I was in that place with all that wild life. Must've been Miriel, I guess" he pointed to a hairy fur ball, also stationed on a floating rock. Or maybe it's a bush? I can't really tell. Anyway, Ulrich was actually in Lokasen, where he witness a tree grow a jaw and a very sharp pair of teeth and gobble up a squirrel. That seemed perfectly natural to him. He saw plants exactly like that in his dad's lab as a kid.


"That's where I met that dragon dog thing and rode on its back" He pointed to a corner of the map where a stick figure was on... something.

... I- I don't really know what he's talking about right now.

"So, that leaves me" he searched, "I don't know where.

He slipped the map back into his sack, "Well no worries, I got this"

He pulled out another object, a black board with many white letters. What came with it was a white plastic triangle with a hole in the middle.

"Okay, where am I?" he place the triangle on the center of the board, "Oh great spirits, which are totally scientific things to believe in no matter what anyone says, tell me where I am"

Suddenly he switched, moving the triangle across the board "Y-O-U-A-R-E-A-F-O-."

He paused as he lifted his hands off the board and gave it a dirty look "Oh geez, thanks. That's really helpful"
 
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  • #32
Ansa was taken aback.
"15... meters? That's impossible! No one's ever documented a Splinter of that size!"
Ansa switched on her communicator, but all she got was silence.
"Nothing from mine either. You think it's the storm that knocked out the communications?"
 
"Well, it's some kind of mass interference over lower Avalon, and that storm is weirdly concentrated on this area. That's my guess. I don't know about you, but I'm not planning to stay down here. It's only a matter of time before we get trapped down here, and I don't care too much for your "protection force." Once I get to middle or upper Avalon, I can contact my pilot and get out."
Weidr got up from his seat.
"You coming?"
 
Tal approached the picketing miners. "What's the problem here?"

"What's the problem? Your lot is the problem!," shouted a miner with a red mustache.

"Yeah!," chimed in another, this one wearing a bandana around his mouth. "You filthy vermin killed two miners down at tunnel D4!"

Tal was shocked. "I'm extremely sorry to hear that. I'm sure it was a misunderstanding. The other burrowkind can be quite..." Tal paused. "Wait, what were the miners doing in D4? We made an agreement you would stop tunneling in that area as to not disturb one of our settlements."

The bandana miner laughed. "Eh, we don't honor any agreement with scummy rats like you. You're all the same. And now it's time for a little payback!"

The miners advanced toward Tal. "I'm not looking for a fight, gentlemen." Tal turned around to run from the impending brawl, but was halted by another group of miners that had snuck up from behind. "Can't we work this out with words?"

"Yeah I have a couple four-letter words for your kind," scoffed the red mustached miner. He drew an iron stake from his side satchel and pointed it toward Tal.

Tal frowned. "Well then. I suppose we'll have to do this the hard way."
 
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"Not quite yet. The Splinters seem to be coming from a few blocks from here. I have to check it out."
Ansa reloaded her pistol and stepped into the doorway.
"I could use someone watching my back, and it shouldn't take more than a moment. I understand that this isn't your job, but it is mine, and I'm responsible to help out the people of Avalon any way I can."
 
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"Very well. Meet me at the Derren's Alley Crossing as fast as you are able to, and we'll cut a path out of here. I'm giving you ten minutes."
"Got it" replied Ansa.
As she dashed off, Weidr exited the house. The street seemed quiet enough. The huge splinter was still aways off. He glanced around the corner. All clear. Moving quickly and quietly, he made his way down a block and to the other end of the street, where an arrow protruded from the wall. Grabbing it by the crystal where feathers would normally be, he carefully removed it from the building. Bits of wood fell quietly out as the arrow came free. Now he just needed a place to hide out for a few minutes. The house would probably work.

Checking around again, he still saw no sign of splinters. He walked down the first block, a little less carefully this time. However, as he came up to the side of the house, he noticed a dog-like splinter sniffing around the corner. Weidr quickly leapt around the corner and listened. If there are scavengers, it's probably not just one. He heard the padding of feet, along with a heavier footstep. Sounds like I was right. He looked around for another hideout. He saw a cellar across the way, with a small window at ground level. That should serve. Staying low, he moved over to the window and began to remove the glass with his knife, working as quietly as he could. When the job was done, he removed the glass and crawled inside.
 
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Ansa moved quickly towards the edge of the Soot District, taking care to make as little noise as possible. As she approached, it became clear that the giant, insectoid beast of a Splinter was around the same area as where Ansa surmised the Splinters were coming from. As she reached the main industrial complexes, she saw some kind of giant, pulsing rune down the block, close to the gigantic Splinter. The rune was about 5 feet in diameter, pulsing a sickly purple color. As she watched, several low-class Splinters began to crawl out of the rune.
I was right! That rune is some kind of gateway for the Splinters! This isn't a random attack-- someone planned this! Someone is controlling the Splinters!
Ansa cocked her pistol.
First thing's first: I have to stop that rune. It looks like concentrated seithrjen...
She looked down at Zeal and Apathy.
These are Legendary Familiars designed to absorb atmospheric seithr. Maybe... if they're close enough to the rune, they can absorb the seithr powering it and close it up!
She looked up quickly. The giant Splinter was turned the other way.
Only one shot at this.
Rolling from cover, Ansa hurried forward, downing the few smaller Splinters in her path with her pistol as she advanced. As she got closer, she unsheathed Zeal and held it in front of her.
Just have to get it close enough...
 
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"NOT TODAY, *****!" shouted Pumice as he swooped down in front of Ansa, shooting a small flurry of explosives at the ground in front of her. "I know you're probably just some blonde that wandered in, and I'm feeling nice today, so I'll cut you a break. You leave me and my little pet alone, and I won't blow you away. You got that, newbie?"

While he waited for her response, Pumice left Aeolus a quick phone memo. "Sir, some chick wandered into the area, just lettin' you know. I don't know what to make of her yet, but there's less than a 10% chance of her posing any threat, methinks. Pumice, out." That was a partial lie. Pumice was actually somewhat worried about the strange girl, and was already thinking of a backup plan if he was unable to stop her with brute force.
 
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Ansa leapt backward as the grenades hit the ground, but still felt the heat of the explosion. She pointed her pistol at the newcomer.
"Your... pet? You're controlling that Splinter? Who are you? Identify yourself!"
The Splinters are being controlled? What is happening here?!?
 
Avalon

It would take him running a mile just to get to that thing's face. Probably could just punch at it's legs. If he took enough of them out it might unbalance the monster. On the other hand, it had many legs and the damn thing wouldn't just sit there as he crippled it. None would it be glad to see him.

He looked for something to smash into it. A loose piece of rubble maybe. What he instead saw was a young girl, "A fae?" Lambert muttered. Wouldn't think to see one in the lower regions. They tended to be mid-up. She looked familiar though.

What was she doing? Had two knives of some sort pointing at a magic circle. Probably should stop her before she causes trouble for herself.

He paused as he a legless... flying... dwarf. This day was weird.

However his sense of duty hit him as the unusual sight decided to drop explosions down.

His eyes perked as he heard the man threaten the lady. He dropped off the building he was on landing next to the fae, "I suggest you think again."

"Come on, we need to get into a better position" he lunged forward and grabbed the armored woman, "those bombs are starting to get the big guy's attention."

He leaped to the top of the closest building. As he said before, the splinter was starting to become upset.
 
"Your... pet? You're controlling that Splinter? Who are you? Identify yourself!" said the woman

"My identification? For what? If it's for the still sorta new Splinterquest IV, my gamer title right now is Stalagnaught2001." Pumice said sarcastically while grinning to himself. "Ehehe, fine, fine. You can call me Pumice, I suppose. And who would you be? I would benefit much from knowing your name..."

His patience was coming to an end, as he could sense the woman was not going to leave any time soon. It didn't help when a random large man suddenly appeared next to her.

"I suggest you think again." said the man, who proceeded to grab the woman and dart off.

H-hey there! And who the hell do you think you are?! Ugh! snapped Pumice at the fleeing duo. Suddenly, he heard a roar from the nearby giant Splinter. Uh oh. It must have noticed the explosions, which...might have pissed it off a bit.

"Ehehehe...uh...good bug...? Could you...please beehave... said Pumice, who flew away as fast as possible from the Splinter. Although he was fast, he was not quite fast enough. The Splinter clawed a nearby building, and some of the debris hit Pumice mid-flight, causing him to spiral out of control.

Shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit-- chanted a panicked Pumice as he fell towards the city.
 
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"Who are you?! I had this under control!"
Ansa sighed.
"Listen, I need to get to that rune, it's what's causing this Splinter incursion. Sealing it up might suck the ones nearby back inside, like that thing."
Ansa tilted her head towards the monstrosity currently rampaging on the streets of Avalon.
"Think you can distract it for a minute?"
-MEANWHILE-
Aeolus responded to Pumice in an annoyed tone.
"Some chick? Who is this *****? Do we know her?"
 
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Lambert glared at Pumice as he fell. There were a question or two that needed answering later.

"Oh Ponder" He tried to at least look apologetic for what he did. Lambert let her down gently onto her feet.

As she explained to him the circle that apparently was the center of the incident, Lambert rubbed his knuckles with his thumb. He lifted his two fist and tapped them together, "Okay, play with the insect for a bit until you can take down that circle, I can do that miss."

"However...", He took a moment to steal a glance at Ansa, "There are some questions that I'm going to need you to answer afterwards, if that isn't any trouble"
 
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"No trouble at all," said Ansa grimly as she sheathed her pistol and redrew Zeal and Apathy, "But one step at a time. Let's survive this first."
Ansa leapt from the rooftop, creating an ice slope she slid down from gracefully, rolling forward and slamming down Zeal and Apathy into the rune. The swords began to glow as Ansa struggled to remain in range of the rune, which began to push her back with an invisible force.
Let's hope this works.
 
Pumice managed to break the fall by regaining control at the last possible second. It was a good thing, too, as even a smaller drop could have severely injured him, due to his physical frailty. He climbed out of some rubble he landed in. Looking around, it was apparent that he had landed outside of the Soot District, but not too far away. He felt around for his grenade launcher. It wasn't there. His bag was absent as well. He must have dropped them during his descent, leaving him weaponless.

Pumice cursed silently, and noticed that he had gotten a message from Aeolus. His phone was in his pocket at the time, luckily, so he hadn't lost that. He dialed up Aeolus.

"U-uh, yeah sir, about that chick." said Pumice. "Some big dude with a black cloth mask showed up after I messaged you and rescued her. Maybe he was her boyfriend or something, beats me. They didn't cause any damage as far as I know, but they managed to piss off Mr. Mega Mantis. That might be in our benefit, of course. Delightfully ironic, no?

Pumice tried to think up a game plan. He couldn't let those two wander around where the Rift Gate was. He had no idea where his bag and gun fell among all the crumbling buildings, and he had left his hand scythes back at his temporary base. Even if he went back for the scythes, they probably wouldn't be enough. What to do....

...if these two trespassers get a little out of hand, should I concentrate more Splinters at the Rift Gate? asked Pumice. It wasn't the most genius of plans, but he had nothing better at the moment.

Edit: OOC: Edited to include a slightly more specific physical description of the Masked Knight.
 
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