Drifting Pollen

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

Anne Mayer

??? — Razed Town

"Um- Well, that's not exactly-"

How to properly explain things to this old man? No, I got banged up on a completely different planet before I was suddenly warped across the galaxy through unknown means. My entire body from the neck down, excepting the right arm, has been regenerated with cutting-edge biotechnology that threatens to fall apart every time I push it too hard. I don't need herbs and gauze, I need emergency nanomachine injections and a warp gate straight back to Aegis before my remaining organs completely break down and I die in horrible agony.

...Somehow, she didn't think that would be very helpful in this situation. It was easier just to stumble along behind the villager and follow him into the lodge, then muddle her way through from there. Heedless of the armed bowmen who watched over the entrance, she hurried through the door and sought out the closest flat and reasonably sanitary surface where she could lay little Millie down on her side.

The mingled scents of blood and sweat, the groans of the wounded; these were all too familiar to Anne. This could have been any of a thousand field hospitals she'd visited, though few had ever been so bereft of proper medical equipment. She squared her shoulders, glancing around the room to get a rough headcount and pick out anyone who seemed to be in charge.

"Is Millie's family here?" Officer voice, loud and clear enough to cut through the general hubbub. "I have an unconscious child, possibly concussed. I need someone trusted to watch over her; I can assist with first aid for the wounded in the meantime." Dark bruises still bloomed across her skin, and she could taste blood somewhere at the back of her throat, a symptom of the havoc playing out inside her on a cellular level. However, the state of the village outside had her far more worried about the townspeople. If supplies were stretched so thin that herbs were being raised as a possible option for treatment, then they couldn't afford to waste any of what was left on a hopeless case like her.

@EchoWolff@PKMNB0Y

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

Anne Mayer

??? — Cave Entrance

The child's tears were like a shard of broken glass, stabbing her through the heart. Anne lurched to her feet, heedless of the pain and sickness that still echoed through her nerves, ready to do whatever she could to help fix this, protect him, and wipe out the injustices that had led them all to this sorry state of affairs.

Except Joker was already there. A few gentle words, a warm embrace, a reassurance for a small soul in terrible pain. His simple act of kindness stopped Anne dead in her tracks, and the tension seeped out of her all at once, replaced with a soft smile that stayed with her as she watched over them for however long they needed.

Even in the midst of war, kids like them would strive to take care of each other, protect one another, and live on in hopes of reaching a brighter tomorrow. Just like her and Pray, so long ago...

It filled her with a different kind of resolve, just as fierce as before, but rooted in faith and optimism this time. So long as people were still willing to reach out and hold each other in times of need, so long as there was even a chance the children could grow up without fear and hatred in their hearts, then this planet could still be saved.

...I won't let any of them die.

After a few minutes, once she'd recovered and Alvin had a chance to calm down, Anne walked to the edge of the cave and peered out into the woods. A peaceful forest greeted her, leaves rustling in the wind, with nary a sign of the roving shadows from before. "I think it's safe," she told the others, and once again lifted Millie into her arms. "We can go back now, Alvin. I don't know what kind of state the village is in, but I'm certain the others will have protected all they could."

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

Anne Mayer

??? — Cave Entrance

Anne managed to stand firm just long enough for the Herald to disappear from sight. As soon as the woman was gone, she stumbled over to the nearest wall and slumped against it, her breaths deep and haggard. A thin sheen of sweat covered her skin, as though she'd been running laps around the cavern for the last few minutes. Somehow, without knowing any of the context around this situation, she'd stumbled her way through to a nonviolent ending... And on top of being stressed from that, she'd had to maintain a state of battle-readiness for the whole conversation. Broken as she was, even this much effort took its toll on her.

"That's all," she said, her head leaned back and her eyes closed. "I'm beat. If any more Heralds show up, tell them we're not here." Joker was young, and seemed perfectly capable; he could handle the kids for a minute. She needed some time to gather her thoughts, without acting as a human shield for endangered children.

Without being fully conscious of it, she kept on turning the little box over and over in her hand. Intuition told her it was a clue, perhaps the key to unlocking this entire mystery, but the contents had only left her with even more questions than before. Without any recourse, she let out a deep sigh, and cracked open her eyes to look blearily at the others.

"How's Millie? Any sign she might wake up soon?" She phrased it hopefully, for Alvin's sake, but her words concealed the true depths of her worry for the girl. If that Herald woman had really gone and called off her subordinates, then the next step had to be getting the children some proper medical attention.

@PKMNB0Y@EchoWolff

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

Anne Mayer

??? — Cave Entrance

Anne caught the box one-handed, and peered at it with a frown. It could technically be a trap, some kind of oddly-shaped hand grenade, but the circumstances told her that wasn't the case. Millie was still close at hand, within the potential blast radius, and the Herald woman had specifically mentioned wanting to retrieve the girl rather than eliminate her. That all but confirmed Anne's suspicions that the enemy wanted Millie alive, or at the very least intact.

...And that gives us a bargaining chip.

That white sigil may have been unknown to her, but she could tell its purpose. The tide must have finally turned back in the village, and someone up the chain of command was getting antsy, demanding results before the Heralds took any further losses. Time was on Anne's side now, and she very deliberately paused for a long few seconds before she responded.

"You'd have me trade an innocent young girl... For a gift box?" She popped it open with her thumb, just long enough to take a quick peek inside before she snapped the top closed again. "You people don't understand the value of human lives. Maybe if you did, you'd be a little less careless with your own."

The tone of her voice had changed. She let her anger show, her stubbornness, one hand clenched so tight into a fist that the Herald would be able to hear it squeeze. "You're not sure you can win, are you? Not without risking your prize in the thick of the fight. Maybe you really are stronger, but my allies could be here any minute—and if those idiots under Varst arrive first, they'll only screw things up for you even more." Everything she'd learned about the woman, her goals and her fears, Anne threw back at her now. If it didn't make her back down, then it might at least create an opening, a critical moment of hesitation.

"...So leave while you can. We'll keep Millie safe for now, and you can come back next time with more competent lackeys. At least this time, we can both walk away without losing anything."

@EchoWolff@PKMNB0Y

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

Anne Mayer

??? — Cave Entrance

"Focus on protecting the kids first. They're what's most important here." Anne kept her voice low and her steps light, ready to leap into action at a moment's notice as they cautiously crept through the woods. She didn't doubt that Joker's support would be useful if they had to engage, but she didn't want him putting himself in harm's way for her sake. The adults protect the children... At least, that's the way it should be.

Fortunately, she didn't have to put that ideal to the test right away. The forest was crawling with Heralds, but Alvin clearly knew the terrain, and his quiet guidance helped them slip through in the end. When they reached the cave entrance Anne even allowed herself a small sigh of relief, which lasted all of half a second before she suddenly stepped out in front of the group.

Even out here on this unknown, far-flung planet, it seemed her luck was as bad as ever.

The enemy slipped out of the shadows with the calm stride of one wholly confident in her ability, a different breed entirely from the common soldiers who'd attacked the church. Anne glared back at her, and stood protectively before the others like a human shield. It was dark here, and her vision in her right eyes was still a little blurred, but even so she focused as best she could and zeroed in on the important details. Posture, footing, the way she laid her hand on one sword and seemingly let her guard down by glancing back for a moment. Every living creature had a pattern to how they moved, and reading that, predicting their intent, was a cornerstone of martial arts.

In the same vein, Anne deliberately played into the woman's assumptions and let herself appear more hurt than she really was. Heavy breaths, a small slouch, an uneven distribution of weight. Her hands didn't move towards her two swords, both sheathed at her left side.

"...From a tactical standpoint, it doesn't make any sense." She'd been wondering about this for a while, now. "Sending that many soldiers to search for a single child, even while your main force is under attack. If she was of high birth then maybe it'd be worth all that effort, but that clearly isn't the case here." Her eyes narrowed. "What's your angle? What are you even planning to do with her if we hand her over?"

@EchoWolff@PKMNB0Y

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

Anne Mayer

??? — Town Outskirts

Back at the church, Anne had immediately pegged Joker as a fellow Knight. He had the same style of dress as her: the long, showy coat that in her world had been emblematic of humanity's front-line defenders. It was only now, looking closer, that she realized just how young he was, a teenage boy without so much as a blade to fight with. Older than Alvin, but still not a veteran warrior—just another child plucked from his home and thrust into the middle of a petty conflict on some unknown backwater planet.

Her teeth clenched. When she found out who was behind all this, they'd be getting a good solid wallop for everyone's sake.

"You can call me Anne, but let's put the pleasantries aside. We're on a battlefield." The gentleness in her voice melted away, and she was all business again, an officer in command. "The cave will offer us the best cover, so we'll head that way for now. I'll go in front—"

Her voice cut off at the sounds of movement in the trees. More allies, or potential enemies? She had no way to tell for sure, but it was probably best to assume the worst. Moreover, there were enough of them that her group would surely be found if they tried to hide in their immediate area.

"...We move for the cave, quietly," she amended, now at a whisper. "If they see us, you two make a break for it while I give you cover. Joker, I need you to carry Millie if you can; I'll be better in a fight if I have my hands free." Perhaps he could play the role of the protector, but he didn't seem any more confident in his strength than she was, and her combat experience likely gave her better odds. If it came to it, it'd be better for the young to flee and live—and besides, she could tell from his movements and posture alone that this boy was a natural talent at sneaking.

Assuming he didn't outright refuse, she carefully passed Millie over to Joker before beckoning and leading the way off towards the cave. Her goal was to try and stealthily avoid the distant silhouettes if possible, but there seemed to be a lot of them, and it was possible they already had the area surrounded. She let out a quiet breath and focused on her aching body, on the vast and fearsome energy that lay dormant in her bones and muscles and worn-out veins and arteries. It flowed inward and pooled in her stomach, resonating and building upon itself, waiting patiently for the dreaded moment when she had no choice but to unleash it once again.

@EchoWolff@PKMNB0Y

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

Anne Mayer

??? — Forest Outside the Village

"You're super strong too, right?"

Innocent words, so expectant and full of hope. They settled upon Anne's shoulders like a leaden weight, and she had to take a long breath, averting her eyes, so as not to fall to her knees there and then. It wasn't just her physical injuries, but psychological wounds as well, bad memories bubbling to the surface after what Alvin had said.

"I... Used to be." Even looking away, she couldn't quite hide the hurt in her expression. "If it were ten years ago, then maybe I could have solved this all on my own. But right now, the best a tired Knight like me can do is protect you while the others fight." She wished she could have given a better answer, but anything more hopeful would have been a lie. The current her was little more than a washed-up ruin of the hero from her glory days.

And still, time and time again, people chose to put their faith in her.

Not wanting to bring the kid's mood down, Anne tried her best to look optimistic. "They're all powerful warriors, so I'm sure they'll be able to win. And if you're out of harm's way, then they can fight to their fullest without harboring any worries." She made a show of glancing about, at the gnarled tree trunks and bristling shrubs, shadows that might provide her group with cover or conceal an enemy ambush. "In the meantime, we can search for a good place to hide. Your eyes are probably better than mine, so can you guide us from here?"

A safe place, somewhere they could sit down and rest for a bit. Hopefully just until the other 'heroes' finished mopping up the remaining invaders.

If they failed, however... Anne didn't intend to break the promise she'd made to Alvin earlier. If it's just one fight, then I should be able to at least clear the village before my body gives out for good.

@PKMNB0Y

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

Anne Mayer

??? — Ruined Church

For all the obvious differences in this ragtag group, they'd all clearly experienced conflict before. It took only moments for them to put their ideological differences aside and move with a speed and urgency befitting the deadly situation, their assault as coordinated as anything a gathering of strangers could muster. There were still so many unanswered questions, and probably many more obstacles waiting beyond this fight, but for the first time Anne felt a spark of hope in her chest—a sense that together, they might just be able to find a way through this mess.

...Also, none of her allies had tried to kill her yet. That was definitely a relief.

She looked over to the civilian boy, and tried to meet his eyes with her own. Sanae's warning about the smoke probably hadn't done anything to calm his nerves, but Anne could at least let him know someone was looking out for him, and give him something to focus on besides the blood and carnage all around.

"What's your name, young man?" With a tilt of her head, she invited him to follow along with her. "You did well to protect Millie up until now. If you'll come with me, I can keep you both safe while the others take care of rescuing your home." Assuming he showed no objection, she'd move out the door and into the woods with Millie in her arms and the young man in tow, carefully skirting around the bodies as they went. On the way out, she glanced towards the masked boy as well, her expression curious but not unkind. "You can come as well. If you'd rather not fight, then we can at least assuage your doubts in the meantime."

Her main goal was to put some distance between them and the church in case of a second attack. For now she followed roughly the same path as the others, only at a much slower pace, one that would keep her and the kids well away from the fighting up ahead. Once they were into the trees, hidden from view by trunks on either side and the rustling cover of the leaves up above, she'd seek out a place they could hide and lie low until the sounds of conflict died down.

She kept the conversation going as they went. The young man was her main concern, both as a civilian victim and a vital source of information. "Can you tell me anything more about the church here?" she asked him, her voice soft. "Or about the Heralds?" She couldn't think of them as Ravens anymore; these were clearly something different from what she knew. Less dangerous in the physical sense, maybe, but she had no idea what their goals or allegiance might be.

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

Anne Mayer

Unidentified Planet — Ruined Church

Once the sounds of battle finally died down outside, Anne let out a quiet sigh of relief. She wasn't naive enough to believe that the conflict would end with only this, but for at least a moment she could let herself relax again, and even take a few breaths to try and analyze the wider situation.

Besides the two children, everyone here had experienced the same thing as her. Instantaneous teleportation from entirely different planets, something that shouldn't be possible even with Aegis's cutting-edge technology. The only culprit she could think of would be Ruin... And this didn't match their motives at all.

Her green eyes lingered on the young man, his features frozen in fear. He seemed to know more than anyone here, but he was just a kid, too terrified by the violence around him to offer any coherent account. Her heart had already fixed itself on the idea of defending the village, and for once her cynical side agreed: if they could reach a populated area and rescue some of the civilians there, she'd have far more sources to gather information from, not to mention possible long-range communications and means of transport.

"Let's save the arguments and questions for later." She kept up a light smile, meant to look more reassuring than she felt, but at the same time her voice projected itself with the steely certainty of an experienced commander. "We've repelled the first wave, but we don't know the full extent of the aggressors' forces. Now that they know our location, they'll most likely return with reinforcements, or attempt a long-range strike at this position. We should at least move somewhere safer while we have time."

With calm, steady strides, she moved towards the doorway, still carrying the injured girl in her arms. Notably, she kept well clear of Saria, a flicker of suspicion crossing her features as she glanced over the horned woman. "...I'm in favor of pursuing the Ravens and seeking out the village. I can follow behind at a slower pace, and protect the children in the meantime. If possible, I'd like one other to stay with me as a guard." She paused then, close to the entrance, waiting for their answer even as a fresh wave of confusion swept over her at the sight outside.

The dead bodies didn't faze her, but their equipment... Those didn't resemble any Raven suits she'd ever seen before. Who were these soldiers?

A heavy, sinking feeling mingled with the pain in Anne's stomach, a growing sense of despair at the impossibility of it all. Never mind a different planet, she might not be anywhere in known space anymore.

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

Anne Mayer

Unidentified Planet — Ruined Church

If not for the young man's plea, Anne would have been happy to remain where she was, to take even a minute to recover and catch her breath. As always, though, it took only a moment for the situation to turn critical. This mystery planet was yet another warzone, and the people here were in dire need of help.

And what kind of hero could leave the cries of a child unanswered?

Even with her right eye still half-blinded, even with her body howling at her to lie down and rest, she forced herself to stand up and step forward. To hold herself up straight, shoulders squared, like the kind of knight people spoke about in stories. These kids had been forced into the depths of despair, and just as much as they needed protection, they needed some kind of hope to cling onto, something to keep their souls intact through the bloody battle that followed. Anne knew better than anyone how war could tear a person apart, and she would not let these innocents fall the way she once had.

Her gait steadied as she approached the young man and his sister, and she spoke to them with the firm confidence of a woman used to command. "Your goddess is right. We're going to save your home, and bring you and your sister back to everyone there. So right now, we need to keep both of you out of harm's way." She knelt down to gently lift the injured girl in her arms, before ushering the two civilians back towards the far end of the chapel as the powersuit stranger had advised. Her back faced the doorway, the open windows, and the dark span of her coat formed a protective barrier between her charges and anything that might assail them. Never mind infantry weapons: her clothing was built to fend off tank rounds and particle beams if necessary. So long as she was here, nothing would get through.

...That may be all I can do for now, though. If the enemy was a Raven unit, then they could be affiliated with the AL, and it would cause a political storm if Anne were to be seen engaging them directly. Even leaving that aside, with the state of her body... She'd have to count on the others to fight. With their numbers and their Paranormal Powers, they could probably win without any casualties on their side.

Any of these strangers might still turn out to be her enemy. Yet when the young man had asked for someone to save him, each of them had heeded the call in their own way. At least for the moment, this fact was reason enough for Anne to place her trust in them.