YWS: The Gathering

"Infra? Vee-ery well then." Elyn nodded, and pulled his pack off his back and started rummaging through it.
"What are you doing...?"
"We-ell, it seems there's some pre'y strange stuff goin' on in there, righ'?
"State the obvious, why don't you."
"So 'm gettin' prepared!" Elyn pulled a small, deadly-looking compact crossbow.
"'ere, 'old this wouldya?" He passed it to Infra, who studied it with contempt.
"A bow? How is a bow going to help against that??" Infra pointed to the barn.
"Hmm? Ah, well, even tha' boy we saw can't survive an arrow in the brain, now can 'e?"
Elyn pulled out something else from his bag. Infra leaned closer, to see.
Elyn whisked the object out of sight behind his back. "Hey now, jus' wait a minute!"
Elyn shifted slightly, grinning at Infra. Infra didn't grin back. "Show me, monkey-boy."
"Okay, bu' you gotta know, it ain' to be trifled wit'."
"Ive seen more items of power then you have seen snot, short-arse."
"Nothin' like...this!" Elyn produced the item and held it as if he was presenting the king with his royal sword.
"A...small statue....of an elephant?"
"Yeah, bu' tha's no' the poin'."
"Then what is the point?"
"This."
Elyn twisted the trunk.
The tree next to them exploded into millions of matchstick sized pieces.
Infra pulled himself up off the ground, and glared at Elyn, busy pulling splinters out of his arm.
"Why did you do it so close for??"
"Well... I don' know how t' use it, exactly."
".....Great."

Colin brushed the dust from his white robe. The hem was torn where he had crashed into the roof.

"Urr, Hi."

"Umm, How did you survive that?" asked the partially plump girl before him.

"I managed to start levitating after I hit the roof. Not enough to stop me, just enough to keep me alive." He twisted his aching sholder around a bit before extending his had, "I'm Colin."

"Amelia," She took his hadn carefully and gave a little shake.

"Would you mind telling me where exactly I am?" There was a sudden explosion a few yards away, Amelia turned so fast she fell to the ground. Colin erected a barrier at once. Splintered wood collided with the nearly transparent shell, but couldn't cause Harm to Colin or Amelia.

Grif stood in the middle of a field of daisies.

"Where should we go from here?" Adelaide asked.

"Every storybook has people meeting at a tavern. We'll start looking for them there," Grif said.

"This is going to go great," Adelaide said sarcastically.

"I think I see a town," Grif said, before trotting towards it.

****

The angry mob marched through the streets.

"Burn the witch!" they cried. The mob reached their destination quickly and began to tie her to a post. Even then, firewood was being put around her. She screamed and thrashed around but her efforts were in vain.

Finally, she was finally tied up and the mob fell silent. The leader of the mob spoke.

"Any last words witch?"

"Yes!" she said. "My knight in shining armor will be here soon and when he comes you'll be sorry! I'm a princess not a witch!"

"That's what the last few dozen said," the leader said scornfully.

"Look!" one of the villagers said.

***

Grif had just rounded a corner to find a mob. One of them shouted and pointed at him and the rest of the mob turned around to stare at him.

"I got a bad feeling about this," Adelaide said.

"We'll be fine."

Someone began speaking in a foreign tongue.

***

"See! My knight has come! Release me before you feel his wrath!"

"Seize him!" the leader yelled.

***

Grif didn't need a translator to understand what was happening and with the help of Adelaide he reacted instantly. In a flash his personal defense armament was out and he fired it, not at the crowd, but at their feet.

The effect was immediate. The crowd scattered, frightened by the loud noise and the stranger.

Within a few seconds, the streets were deserted, leaving a tied up girl and Grif alone.

"I suppose we should take her with us," Adelaide said.

"Any idea what they're saying?" Grif asked as he began undoing the knots.

"No, there was too much shouting and gunfire."

The girl began talking rapidly.

"Oh I see," Adelaide said.

"What is she saying?" Grif asked. Adelaide turned on the translation.

"... and I thought I was totally dead then you came along and I knew I would be okay and then they said to seize you and then I knew I was dead, but then you scared them off with your magic and you saved me!"

"Who are you?" Grif asked.

Colin peered into the remaing tree, wondering what could have casued an explosion like that. Then, with a thud, a small creature fell to the ground.

"Wha ya do tha for!?" it yelled and shook it's fist upward at the tree.

"What in blazes is that?" Colin asked, helpling Amelia to her feet, "Let's investigate."

As quickly as he'd fallen, Elyn scampered back up the tree and hid in the branches.

"Oh, brilliant!" Infra growled. "You've just given us away!"
"I've given us away?" Elyn shot back. "Who's the one what shoved me off th' branch?"
"Who's the one," Infra muttered, "that blew up a tree with an elephant statue?"
"... ok, poin' taken."

They watched the humans intently. All they seemed to be doing was checking out what remained of the tree and looking around to see what had caused it.

"Whatever that thing was, I think it's gone now," Infra heard the girl say. "Shall we go back to the barn? We probably owe the farmer enough to repair the roof at - Yaaagh!"

The girl began twitching. Next thing, Elyn appeared from around her back holding a golden chain. He ran toward the forest, but immediately hit an invisible wall... the boy seemed to be a magic user. He grabbed the monkey-boy and carried him back to the girl, who grabbed her necklace back. Infra sat on the branch in thought.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," he concluded as he dropped to the ground to rescue the thief.

Amelia

I grabbed my necklace back and checked it for damage. Fortunately, the clasp had been loose so he hadn't needed to break the chain. Fastening it around my neck again, I turned to face Colin.

"Thanks Colin,"

"No problem. What..." Suddenly, a demonic creature leapt from the nearest tree and strode towards us.

"No! Don't do that!" The creature exclaimed, staring at the boy with wide eyes. I turned to see that he was holding a small statue of an elephant and there was a mischevious glint in his eye. I'd read too mnay stories to know that that meant trouble. Reaching over, I snatched hold of the object by the head and attempted to take it away from him.

(Hey Grif. In your first post when your character was talking to Nate, you could have made things easier and said that all the characters in one place would create a paradox that destroys this storybook and the stories that they're all from... the again, that's probably what you said but in a different way.)

(Sorry for the delay. I was camping with my family this weekend. In my first post Zephyrus will be fighting against his brother Kujimaru, who's first appearance is in chapter 7 of The Dragon Knight Legacy. My characters will also be using magic that requires incantations, I'll define their meanings at the end of each post.)

(One more thing. I think it would be easier to post our character's appearances in their profile instead of making everyone read the actual story they're from. It'll make things less confusing and not everyone has the time to read all those stories.)


One day earlier...

The sound of swords clashing and magic blasting filled the silence of the mountainside as the two brothers fought each other in the dead of the night. They fought on the top of a large waterfall, using the rocks in the rapid stream as platforms after each clash.

As they landed after their previous clash, Zephyrus called out to his full-demon brother. "Why do you keep fighting me, Kujimaru?"

Kujimaru's eyes were cold as he stared at his half-demon brother. "My father died because of you and that human woman."

"You can't blame this on me! I wasn't even born yet! And he was my father, too!"

"I do not blame you for his death. I hate you because you are his child. I will not accept that his blood runs in a half-breed like you." He held out his hand and yelled, "Raiakk!" Bolts of electricity shot out of his hand and tore through the rushing water.

"Zuu Kkumnuss!" A blue dome of energy appeared and shielded Zephyrus from the attack. The electricity bounced off the barrier in all directions. As soon as he lifted the barrier Kujimaru was already leaping to attack.

Zephyrus parried the attack with his sword as Kujimaru came down. Kujimaru pulled back and thrust his sword at his brother's chest.

Zephyrus jumped back and landed on another rock. He held out his hand and shouted, "Oraza!" A ball of fire shot out of his hand.

Kujimaru jumped out of the way. As he flew through the air he said, "Kkumoss." In a moment the entire top of the falls were shrouded in a thick fog. Zephyrus couldn't see Kujimaru anywhere.

"Raiassou Amnotekkaro." Before he could turn around Kujimaru's katana pierced Zephyrus' shoulder, sending electricity throughout his body.

Zephyrus fell faint. Kujimaru pulled the sword out of his body and let him fall into the water and down the falls...

-------------
Raiakk: Thunder
Zuu: Magic
Kkumnuss: Shield
Oraza: Fire
Kkumoss: Fog/Mist
Raiassou: Electrify
Amnotekkaro: Object of War (Anything that is considered a weapon)

Colin did a fast sweep of the monkeyish creatures mind and saw the tree explode after he touched the elephant. There was a unified felling of fear as Amelia struggled with boy.

"You idiot!" cried the demon, "Put that thing away!"

Colin made a split second decission, he focused on the elephant, allowing anger to fod his senses.

"OW," squeked the monkey, releasing the elephant. Amelia did as well, with a simaler response. It hit the soft dirt ground with a thunk. Colin held his breath, wondering if it was going to go off.

Elyn wriggled down and grabbed the elephant, shoving it in his pocket quickly.
"Gawd, if you guys wanna blow somethin' up, you could hav' asked rather then throw ma elephant roun'!
Elyn glared up at the humans challengingly. "And, donchaknow, ya don' steal from a thief, eh?"
The male glared at Elyn. "Don't steal from us, either Monkey-boy."
Elyn threw his hands up in mock anger. "Why does everyone call me tha'? M'name's Elyn, at ye service." Elyn bowed to the girl, grinning wickedly. "And I apologise for my bad manners, ae? It's reflex. See somfin shiny, must have it, eh?"
The male human wasn't satisfied. "Doesn't excuse what you did, thief."
"Eh? Excuses never stick t' me, anyway."

Pikara's Guild, Tower of Lunarsence, Pikara's Room

“Lets see, magic potion, check. Jar of candies, check. Elixir of jelly, check.”

A knock sounded in the room, disrupting the chorus of the birds singing away on the balcony.

“Come in,” said Pikara while packing the remaining potions for the mission.

The white door slid open and Waverly stepped in.

“Good morning Pikara, lovely day isn’t it?”

Her voice breezed through the room, more soothing than the flowers that were on the window sill.

“Morning Waverly, what’s the good word?”

Gently, Waverly closed the door behind her and her smile soon faded. As her eyes met with those of her friend, she shook her head.

“They are still to be captured.”

Pikara closed her eyes and drew a breath.

“The Three Bells of Wavend are more elusive than they appear to be,” said Pikara jokingly.

Waverly beamed a smile. She helped Pikara packed in the last items into her case. When they’ve finished, they collapsed onto the couch.

“Looks like they’ve given you yet another assignment.”

“Yes,” replied Pikara, “A rather strange one in fact.”

“Who’s the lucky person this time?”

“Oh, some noob by the name of Grif.”

“Grif? He doesn’t sound that scary to me.”

“Yea he isn’t. But the guild master seems worried. Apparently, Grif is making godlike armour based on a game called Halo.”

“Isn’t Halo the golden ring above an angel’s head?” said Waverly, squelching her eyes with uncertainty.

“No no. Halo’s this game that people from another dimension play. It’s like a total rip off of this game…oooo, what is it called again…ah yes! Haloid.”

“Really?”

“You bet. I mean, the game is played using controllers. I mean, what the… Where’s the game play in that?” mocked Pikara gesturing her hand, “Oh yeah, not to mention the graphics looks smelly... oh yeah! You can't even get hurt in Halo!"

Waverly covered her mouth, holding the urge to laugh out loud. She chuckled the built up of laughter away and calmed herself.

"Whoa, that Halo game really does smell bad."

"Hahaha indeed. Anyways, I should be heading for Crystrafree now. I just hope the moogles have finished making repairs to my ship, or I'm going to rip their pom poms off."

(If somebody could help me introduce my character by finding him washed up on a river bank that'd be just swell.)

*Lol, ok. I'll try and get us on the right track.*

Elyn stood grinning at the humans. Neither grinned back. Infra watched the proceedings with mild interest.

"So, like I said," Elyn continued, "Elyn's me name, thievin's me game, and Mister Chuckles here goes by the name Infra."
Infra sighed. "Thanks a lot, monkey-features. I'm not even supposed to be seen by mortals like you..."
"Ah well, I 'pologise fer bein' such a skilled rogue like I am," Elyn grinned. "Anyways, I truly 'pologise to you, pretty young lady, fer bein' such a brute and tryin' to mug ye. I'd like ta make it up to ya... I know a bit abou' pannin' fer gold. What say you to findin' a river and seein' what we can fish out? My treat."

The humans turned to each other and pondered this turn of events. Infra growled at Elyn.
"I hope you're happy! I can't touch water, it's like touching pure pain in liquid form!"
"Relax, fella," Elyn muttered. "That's jus' a cover. By the end of t'day, we'll have all them humans' valuables and whatnot in our own pockets!"

Amelia

"I don't trust them," Colin hissed.

"And neither do I but I wouldn't mind a wade through the river and at least we know to keep our distance."

"I suppose so. Alright then, let's go." This latter part was addressed to the demon and his friend who both nodded. At first, Elyn swung through the trees, leading the way while the rest of us walked behind but then the trees thinned out. I stopped walking and switched my jetter to hover before placing it in the air.

"Wha' might tha' be?" Elyn asked curiously, raking his eyes across the glowing, azule board.

"A jetter," I replied, climbing on and hitting the first of four buttons with my back foot. The jetter sprang to life and began to move forward at a steady pace. Directing it upwards, I waited until I was above the leafy canopy before hitting the second button for that extra burst of speed.

"There's a river just ahead!" I called back. "I'll meet you there."

Colin watched her speed away, feeling a little uncomfortalbe being left with the thief and the demon. He tryed to check the monkey's truthfulness but was being blocked, no doubt by the demon.

"So, what kind of things do you guys do, besides steal and stuff?" Colin asked nervously.

"I dont need to steal," grunted Infra.

"Sorry..."

"Guys! Come quick!" came Amelia's voice, yelling as loud as her vocal chords would allow.

The others made a run for the river, Elyn was pretty fast; Infra, godlike and Colin levitated to keep up.

Amelia was sitting on the mucky sand, overlooking a soaden form, a human like form.

The first things Colin noticed were the man's fuzzy wolf ears and his furry tail. "Another demon?" he asked.

Elyn got close and started to sniff the washed up man. "Sure smells like i'."

"Is he dead?" Infra asked.

Elyn began pocking the man with a nearby stick. He moaned as his silver eyes slowly opened. His gaze was unfocused as he tried to push his body up from the ground. He failed and fell back into the mud.

That's when Amelia noticed a large amount of blood dripping through his shirt at his shoulder. She gasped as she saw the wound. "He's hurt!"

Colin made a small inward hiss noise when he saw the wound. "Look's pretty bad."

"We need to get him out of the water and mud and patch up his wound before he dies of blood loss." Amelia told them.

Colin and Infra lifted the man from the ground and carried him with an arm over each of their shoulders. He was very limp as they carried him away from the river.