Chronicles of Gaia (RP)

Seyr after a few hours had finally returned to the building she'd left from, upon entering, she noticed firstly that someone was sitting there in the foyer, vague recollection of a second person similar flickered in her mind, but she ignored them entirely, moving instead to what was the 'living room' of the place, "Make yourself comfortable here, no doubt someone will show up an ask questions, got some curious folk among our bunch." she left the beast behind, going up into her room to decompress and go over the data she'd collected from both the fight, and the crafted magic she'd made a mental vow not to use unless the last of last resorts, the door to her bedroom was simple, a plain birch door with no extravagances or extras, it closed silently behind her. The Kitsune tossed the Lab coat onto a chair nearby, then looked over to the extended portion of the space... blank, nothing but dead space, sure there was a small area for her to do research and maintenance, and she typically fell asleep in her chair but... something about there just being a large dead area set her mind off in ways she didn't like, as if it was trying to tell her something about herself, just looking at it raised multiple questions, one being 'I am me, so why is my genetic code entirely human?', then there was the question of that one specific deity who seemed to have such a vested interest in her continued existence... "Somethings off, about me, about the fact I even remotely exist... Guh, why is this messing with my head like this?" a long, exasperated sigh escaped the Kitsune, she had downtime sure, but could she bring herself to dredge up what made her truly... 'her', no, she couldn't, she'd tried in her younger years and found some sort of existential block that forced her to stop trying, "But here... here I'm not bound by the laws of my home world..." her flesh fist slammed the desk she was by, she'd had an opportunity to try and force answers out of the two deities that were there and she'd let her anger control her in that moment, the mechanical hand went to her eyes, closing them as she breathed in deeply, "Fine... fine, if I don't figure this out it's just going to weigh on me until I do, better now than never."

Celere finally noticed the door to the child's room open just a crack, then the small individual slip out through said crack as if avoiding anything and everything, "Ah, good, you've changed into actual clothes." the half-saiyan dropped to one knee, shrinking her size as much as feasibly possible, though she still dwarfed them, "You'll have to let me know what colours you prefer later, for now, we have things to do, now then," slowly getting off her knee and standing at full height, "come along now." and so she walked, slowly so as to allow them to keep up, looking over the banister to see who was there and who wasn't, she spotted Aislin and remembered she needed to return the thing, discreetly in a manner which didn't show what it was, by the time she got down the stairs she'd formulated how and wrapped the tablet in cloth, as she walked past, she slipped it into view of Aislin with a "Finished the thing, thanks." it took a while to get to the front door, and at that point, Celere offered the child her hand, which was hesitantly taken, they were swiftly pulled up, at which point they swiveled around and sat in the crook of her inner arm, eyes wide and a slight quivering noticable by the elder, *fear rules them, gonna have to fix that somehow, perhaps by finding her interests?* "So, first things first, how bout we get you something to eat first hrm? I know you havn't had a chance to eat yet."

It had been a while, Toré knew that much as he tackled the blue bird over the edge of the pit, between the toxins ravaging his system, the weight on his back and the strength he had to exert keeping the DT-boosted monster from escaping his grasp, he was not having a good time with this, there was the sound of something shattering, then the sound it being reversed... he remembered back, trying to keep his memories of recent events intact since his memories before coming to this world had been proven unreliable at best, time slowed to all but a crawl for him... First had been the homestead, he'd gotten Iliya down to this Frau person, then gotten an urgent message from this worlds Ebott, he'd picked it up, immediately realised what was going on over there as his head pounded with deja vu over the whole thing, he'd delegated Kenda and Lorica to stall for time with the newcomer, as he still had the tower in mind. Second was the tower itself, they'd brought this Frau person with, Iliya could use a face she was on good terms with to keep her company, upon going through the mirror, he'd dropped them off at his ancestors part of the underground, somewhere that would be unaffected by the resets that'd probably be going on, they knew who he was, which had at first unsettled him a bit before he'd rushed off to deal with 'the issue'. Third... oh god third, he'd dealt with the last fallen human by absolute brute force, slowly but surely pushing them back through each and every save until he was eventually there when they fell down, then purification of their soul and the infection took place, shortly after, he'd been sent back further through time, split from where he'd come from, the infection, the same thing that'd caused the second war in his own time, the one which had utterly decimated the worlds population, the one he'd fought back on Gaia... was going further back, making a point of infecting whatever fallen human they could get to, he'd had to repeat the process over and over, learning more about the history of his world along the way than would ever have been taught, it was disturbing down to his core just what was ignored or glossed over. One of the human souls, the Blue one, integrity he believed it was referred to, had been skipped over by the infection entirely, they needed no help going on a killing spree and quite frankly, it'd been the easiest fix for him to achieve, he simply took them out without them noticing him, waited for them to fall, and then made a point of showing them how humans and monsters weren't at all different when it came to the basics, just appearances, they'd gone off pure after that one, but when it came to the origin, shortly after the one known as Chara had fell... that had been the trickiest part, he couldn't directly intervene due to how close they were with Asgore and Toriel, he'd managed it though, being disguised as one of the royal guard had helped immensely in going undetected, after he'd finished correcting his timeline and getting rid of the infection... he'd had to go through to the current time the normal way, the long way. He'd eventually returned looking no different from when he'd first gone backwards through time, his aging just... hadn't happened, no doubt a trait of this version of the world and his Boss Monster status, oh was he so much the wiser for it though, all those years of interactions, studying the various technologies and peoples that came and went, just existing in that space had been such a boon, hell he even learned why his memories were odd, some had been altered, but there was an entire three year gap that had been deliberately obliterated by another person entirely, they could be recovered, but it'd need someone from that obliterated period to come into contact with him, he had no doubt he'd eventually come across a person like that back on Gaia, that world had a funny habit of doing things like that. And now, fourth, was back on Gaia, he recognised the Blue Bird, he recognised from the obliteration route that the Yellow Soul, Clover as they were known was forced to take part in, they'd injected themselves with pure human DT, the result was extreme power with the cost of eventually melting down into an Almalgamate... if they survived the process, having work on a stabilisation serum was what he'd tasked some of the smarter monsters with doing, figuring out if this world had an Abyss Link was next, Lorica had been oh so kind as to provide a positive to that question, he didn't know if Frau was coming with for this but Iliya had to, he couldn't leave her alone for too long or she'd start hearing things again, and given what Seth had been like... he wasn't trusting that voice she was hearing in the slightest. Time resumed, and the fall became quite apparent, he grabbed onto Martlet's currently struggling soul and threw them as far he could into a random direction, right before he landed with a slight splash into this Abyss, his species version of a physical afterlife, as Judge, he could come down here with whoever the hell he wanted and suffer no ill-effects, but for some reason, he recognised it, he'd been here before, the scream of pain that came as he clutched at his head, previously obliterated memories, two full years of it came slowly and agonisingly reforming back, he just had to hope he'd thrown them far enough to get his head together before they attacked, because they would, being absolutely maddened by both the DT currently ripping them apart and still thinking they were attacking some murderous human, blinded and unable to see their new surroundings, Toré just had to absolutely hope they stayed away long enough.

*Before nightfall, previous day* "Ah, so it's that time of year here now." Lambda had said after seeing Lina place some boxes beneath the tree. He picked up an empty box, looking at it fondly. While he never partook in holiday festivities that much himself back at home, he found it endearing how people tended to light up when the time came around. The decorations, the generosity, the presents... Should he try and get presents? Now that they were all under the same roof, keeping everyone at arm's length wasn't going to work forever, so he might as well try and get in some good favor. He set the box back down and took a seat. 'I'll see what I can find tomorrow.' *Lambda's over-analytical way of thinking's going to come back to bite him eventually...* Once the group began to filter out into their new rooms, he scaled the stairs to select his own, settling on one near the left end of the hall, with a door and frame made of dark oak. After a moment of hesitation, he turned the knob, revealing a empty room with hardwood floors and desaturated dark purple walls. As he stepped inside, pieces of furniture started to pop into existence. A rather plush-looking bed appeared in the far corner of the room, a tall, dark brown bookcase settling within the wall to the left of it, a matching nightstand appearing to the bed's right. Honestly unsure what would happen if he interrupted the decorating process, Lambda leaned against the open door with a look of intrigue, watching the rest of the room take shape. A few books familiar to him soon populated the shelf, the most notable ones being a brightly-colored book on breadmaking, and a huge world atlas. A small desk with a drawer appeared opposite the bed, with an open notebook and a pen conveniently atop it. A vaulted window took up most of the wall between the bed and desk, which was concave towards the middle, with a sill wide enough to sit on. Lastly, a grandfather clock appeared to the right of the door, an assortment of hollow crystals stood up around it. Lambda's heart skipped a beat upon seeing said crystals, and seemingly in response to his panic, they vanished as quickly as they appeared. 'Was I seeing things? Were those really soul crystals? This room seems to have based itself on my previous home, or perhaps my life, but... I don't do... that anymore.'
*After nightfall* As the sun set, Lambda tried to settle into his new room, looking for something to occupy his mind. Taking the notebook from his desk, he sat on the vaulted windowsill, tracing the outlines of the surrounding buildings onto an empty page using the fading sun as a lightbox. He wasn't entirely sure why he did this. He just felt compelled to document the city while he had the chance. Eventually he dozed off while doing so, his mind shutting down and drifting into a comfortable darkness...

---

Meanwhile, somewhere outside, near the center of the city, a rather fashionable-looking young man had somehow fallen atop a tree. His vest having gotten caught on its branches, the brunet was now stuck, disoriented, and honestly a little miffed. "H'llo? Anybody out here? Can someone get me down from here, please?!" He flailed his arms in frustration, before lowering his head in defeat. "...It's getting cold."

If there was something Lina hadn't expected today, it was to fall out of a tree as she practiced her aim, earlier she'd gone outside the walls, and even to her, it was getting cold out there, Ice was her element, she thrived in it, and for her to be getting cold, it was mildly concerning, especially considering how she could feel it dropping as she came back into the warmth of this marvel of a construct, she'd been here often enough in her old team and had stuck around with this new group but... the more she explored the more she found herself in awe at the place. She groaned slightly as she rolled off her back, the sharp gasp and wince that came as her splayed wings snapped violently back into the furled position was enough to arch her back and cause her claws to point out, once that subsided she looked around, trying to find the source of the voice that had startled her, she did not however find it, despite her eyes passing right over said source, so as she stood up, shrugging, she made to leave, "Must've been the wind, I gotta stop being on edge over the smallest things." Toré was sweating profusely, hands still clutching at his head drawing blood, he could feel his very soul bleed from this interaction he was having with the place, how connected to it he was suddenly feeling, and now he could the rushing of wind, he brought his head up, the motion worsening the pain and weakly summoned a spear to himself, right as Martlet would've struck, a bone wall erupted forth, the noise of the skeleton's teleportation popping dully in his ears, 'I must insist that you give the young master some time to breathe, he will be with you when he is ready.' a small smile creeped up one side of Toré's face, he'd forgotten just how Kenda's speech patterns were, he was the previous judge yes, but at some indeterminate point he'd started the prince in the role, acting as a butler to keep up appearances. "Kenda, give me five minutes, after that, I believe it's long past due I had my final exam don't you?" a chuckle came from the skeleton, 'Yes I did end up being brought here before you could do take it, I suspect your father likely had designs on not allowing it, very well young master, five minutes.' and off he went, along with the blue bird while the goat got his head in order, these memories would take more than five minute to reform and settle, but he'd manage, after all this wasn't a fight to kill, this was a mercy mission stalling for time until the stabilisation serum could be both completed... and delivered.

Lux turned his head at the sound of something hitting the ground, and saw a draconic creature lying flat on their back nearby. 'Whoa, that's one tough-looking dragon.' He thought. He watched as they gave a hiss of apparent pain, looked around, then picked themself up with a shrug and started to walk away. Lux started to panic. Who knows when someone else would pass by this tree? "H-Hey! Wait! I could use some help up here! Hello?!" He waved his arms again, trying to get their attention, not caring how desperate or obnoxious he might have looked. While he could just shake himself free, he didn't want to fall from such a height. Or potentially tear his favorite vest.

---

Lambda, meanwhile, was deep within the realm of sleep, which wasn't the norm for him at all, and as such, was dreaming vividly. He found himself standing in a dark room, surrounded by unlit torches. One by one, as he stood there practically paralyzed, they lit up, casting shadows on the walls. Slowly at first, then picking up speed, the shadows circled him, shouting in deep, distorted voices in a language he could scarcely understand. One he hadn't heard in quite some time. Through all of this din, he could make out one word: traitor. In the real world, as he fought to wake up, Lambda began to run a fever.

Lina paused mid-step, between the voice very clearly calling out to her and some sort of primal instinct going off, her body wanted her to look up but in the moment as she started to lose that battle, she turned on her heel, spotting the person in the tree instead of the chromatic dragon passing by over the city, her head cocked to one side in mild confusion at the sight then her sight passed down to her hands, "How did I not see you before... just uh... hol- han-... just wait a few moments I'll go get someone more capable of getting you down from there!" with the way her claws were extended she wasn't going to risk getting them down, chances are they'd end up with at least eight puncture wounds if she did, and it really didn't take long for her to find someone with a ladder willing to assist in the endeavor either. Celere had finished getting her students back from some sort of tournament she'd briefly gone away to attend, the girl was still with her, though they were clearly more comfortable being attached to Saiyan's arm at this point, for her it'd been highly amusing seeing her efforts bear fruit, the 'worst' of her students, of whom had confidence issues and nothing else had broken out of their shell a bit and absolutely swept the competition, this in turn had caused a bit of outrage from some of the more longstanding establishments showcasing students there, but a quick bet and showcase of her own abilities had silenced them on the spot, it was also a good practical of showing her own students how her lessons could be applied, since the adults could take the punishment she dished out, as restrained as it was, most of them would likely die if she cut loose properly, "Three days meet back up at the usual square! We'll take it easy for a week or so, no point destroying yourselves seeking strength, rest is as important as improving yourselves!"

Gabriel slowly started to become of aware of his surroundings again. He discovered himself to be laying in a sort of alleyway, the area felt surpisingly comfortable in tempature as slowly sat up, trying to get a bearing on where he was. Gabriel was quickly unnnerved by the sudden change of scenery. It wasn't at all what he was use to. This place seemed rather.. futurestic, Judging from the sleek appearance and the odd machinery that he could spot from the alleyway. Gabriel swiftly got up from the ground and looked around the alley that he had waken up in. Scenarios started to race through his mind. Was he dead? No, he wasn't doing anything dangrous before he ended up in this situation, the last thing he could remember was laying snuggly in his bed back at home. Maybe he was kidnnaped? it was unlikely, extremely unlikely. Considering the place he came from had nothing that even resembled the loomming city he now found himself in. There was no logical explantion for how he arrived here, expect for one that he refused to consider. These thoughts started to cause some panic to rise up in his chest. Gabriel took a long breath to try and calm himself, but it wasn't helping him. He silently approached the exit of the alleyway and left it, he just had looked as pale as a ghost once he walked into the open. The pure unfamiliarity of the new city he was in was enough to make him consider going back in the alleyway. He couldn't even fathom a place that looked like this in his wildest dreams, or nightmares really. He just stood in place, looking lost and frankly terrifed.

Ruby woke up. Where the heck was she? She looked around. Then she looked down at her hands. She was in human form...and as much as she tried to push her wings out of her back, they would not come out. Okay. Morphing shouldn't have been this hard. Usually limbs appeared at the wrong end and stuff, but defintely didn't just...well...not appear at all. She held her breath and tried to breathe fire and ooh, nope, no fire came out. Where was Ione and Summer? She glanced around. God, she hated this place already. No dragon form, no firing-breathing, and worst of all... She kicked a tree. It didn't splinter in half like she expected it to. No superstrength. "Is anybody there?" she yelled. "Is there even anybody in this awful place?" ~~~ Liela was awake. She didn't remember anything. She looked behind her. Nine black, ashy tails. A kitsune. She was a kitsune? She looked around again. "Anybody there?" she asked softly.

"Wait-" Lux wanted to call after the dragon as they up and left, but held his tongue. He didn't want to provoke them more than he already might have. He waited in the tree, silently watching with awe as a much larger dragon passed overhead. '...That big fella didn't scare the other one off, did it?' He thought with a bit of dread. He sighed in relief when the humanoid dragon returned with a ladder in a few minutes' time. "Oh, thank goodness. You have no idea how long I've been stuck up here." Although frankly, he didn't either.

---

In his dream, Lambda finally willed his body to move, snatching up one of the torches on the wall and trying to bat the shadows back. Each desperate swing merely caused them to disperse, then reform elsewhere. Eventually, one managed to slip past him, placing a hand to his forehead, and at once it was as if time had stopped. It whispered in a voice he recognized clear as day. "You can't run forever, Eirasmos." The torch slipped from Lambda's hand as his eyes widened, and his vision was soon engulfed by flames. He awoke in a cold sweat, lying where he was for a few moments to slow his racing heart. He glanced out the window beside him, seeing that the sun was out, but hadn't fully risen. 'Looks like I didn't have a full sleep cycle, as usual. That dream almost felt worse than the last one... Awfully forboding, too.' He got up and stretched his aching back, reminding himself to add pillows to the windowsill when he got back. 'Hopefully I won't need more sleep for a good while anyways.' Shaking off the last remnants of his dream and his exhaustion, he opened the door to his room, noting a faint scent, like that of cake batter, in the air as he descended the stairs. "Good morning." He said openly in case anyone else was awake.