Potemking

Persona - Soldiers of Fortune

Dakota Rhett

_{November 29th? - ???}

---

Dakota's naive view became shattered faster than he could've imagined.

Eyes widening as a figure crossed in the corner of his eye, the commotion didn't escape him. He watched as Vincent made a run for it, something either a really brave or really stupid person would do. That being said, the boy recalled the tall man's comments about the cops from when they were in the gazebo. Whatever his case was, this hellscape sounded like a better option to them than complying over a huge misunderstanding.

In that sense, Dakota pitied him. Though he easily learned his place as the captain's baton essentially shattered the part of the heavy-duty dock it came into contact with. If his eyes widened any further, they would've potentially popped out of his skull. A drop of sweat slowly made it's way down his forehead, causing his eyes to squint to keep the liquid out of his eye without making movements to anger the guard behind him. They couldn't do anything about that guy, they just had to resolve this peacefully. All that commotion and he didn't move a muscle unless shoved: That was clear enough sign of his intent, right?

Wrong.

At the captain's words, Dakota felt himself go pale. "What?" was all he managed, an odd sense of betrayal coursing through him as he felt the baton of the guard behind him jab into his back. Audible pain escaped him through gritted teeth, though that wasn't even the worst of it. Feeling an odd tug, his eyes shot upward and quickly realized that his large head of hair came back to haunt him: His sheer difference in height with the menacing guards had him practically hoisted by it, a second hand gripping the back of his neck. His legs momentarily kicked as they left the ground, but that was quickly silenced by a crack of the baton against his torso. He almost vomited from the blow, a large stinging feeling overcoming the rest of the pain as his feet planted back on the ground. "Wh-What the hell? None of us tried anything--" As it wasn't a sign that he wasn't going to, Dakota earned himself a second swing directly into his scrawny center-mase, which did cause him to vomit.

Burning in his throat, he gasped out what words he could muster. "Okay! I'm not running, just stop!" His begging was enough to finally feel a release on his hair, but it unfortunately lead to him watching the others receive the same treatment as he tried to breathe. The awful taste in his mouth only made it worse, but the idea that they struck everybody, even that girl that looked like nothing more than a child, caused him to visibly shake. The guardsman could feel his anger, surely, and pressed a familiar baton in his back yet again, a slow spinning motion against his skin causing pain that was minor in comparison to everything else, but made him realize his place.

'Maybe that guy had the right idea.' Dakota thought to himself, coughing and spitting to try and get the vomit taste out of his mouth as he was forced to march onwards. He felt weak, but at the same time, that anger he felt kept burning inside him. He glared forward, eyes narrow but focused. Whatever peace he felt could be found in this situation was now shattered, and what he'd just gone through and witnessed made him want nothing more than to make these guards pay for the unnecessary cruelty. But with how he was now, there wasn't a way to do anything. If he tried, everyone would probably just get beat again. He didn't want to even risk that.

So he kept walking. Feet carrying him to the prison. The sight inside was somehow worse than outside, though with him being out of it after the strikes he'd taken, he only gave the situation as a whole a few glances. But that was enough to see people being funneled to desks, and seeming to have... Something injected into them, with money being sucked out of them. Dakota simply added to the discomforting silence, at an utter loss for words. The idea crossed his mind that it must've taken a lot to keep people quiet in a situation like this. Though with how he had just been manhandled he figured the actual prisoners probably received much worse on the regular. Was this really acceptable to them, in one way or another? This seemed to cross boundaries Dakota hadn't even thought about existing until now. There was an extent to cruelty in his mind, and this far crossed it.

The inside of the Courthouse didn't calm Dakota at all. The amazing condition of the place compared to the dark and ruined hell outside was notable, but the piling problems in his mind kept him from even finding a moment of peace. He would've keeled over, if a guard didn't grip him and force him to stand back up. A part of him wanted to understand why, and how, this was all happening. And another part wanted it all to disappear. His gaze shot around to everyone else, frowning as he tried to think of anything he could possibly say. His previous concerns were flipped now, everyone had gotten hurt. He was starting to feel as hollow inside as these guards' looked with their grotesque faces.

The appearance of 'his honor' was a sight, for sure. His face felt a bit familiar, but his whole attire was a bit over the top. And that was coming from the guy with orange highlights. Listening to the conversation yielded a bit of information: Vincent got caught. Not a surprise, but the idea of all that pain being for nothing was frustrating. Still, he was probably hurting worse for it. Which, especially for him, was unfortunate. Add onto that the prisoners outside being called 'stock' and this situation was slowly deteriorating more and more.

At least this man sounded more reasonable than his guards. Dakota weakly took a step forward, still shaking, but trying his best anyways. What more was there to do, then try to explain that this wasn't an intentional act? "Your honor," He found it slightly difficult to carry his words with the sickly taste in his mouth. He had no choice but to swallow it now, as he couldn't imagine the beating he'd get for spitting on these floors. "It's absurd, but... We kind of fell. From the sky." The void sky from before filled his mind, and while it sounded stupid, that naive part of Dakota still wanted to just be honest so he continued: "We were just gathered in a spot, following after these weird cracks in the ground. And before we knew it, they split open wide and we fell in." He used two fingers atop of his other hand like legs, splitting his fingers to show the legs plummeting. "We landed on that dock. A few of us ere injured, and really, all we want to do is get home. Sir." He brightened for a moment, noting he still had his phone. Of course! He wasn't a lawyer, or anything, but trials needed evidence, right? He had a huge piece of it!

"I-I even have proof it happened!" He said, raising his phone like a desperate offering after opening the video again. His eyes, clearly distressed from pain but also determined to attempt to get through this, kept focused on the man in front of them. They slightly twitched as he tried to contain any noise regarding his pain, but he stood as straight and readied as he could. God, there might've been a chance to get out of this yet! But after the reality check he'd received earlier, he was terrified that he was just about to be hurt again.

Pokémon: New Horizons

𝕀𝕤𝕝𝕒 𝔾𝕒𝕧𝕚𝕟𝕤

𝕃𝕠𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟: Panmia Island Camp

---

---

An eyebrow was raised at Arlo casually brushing off the situation with the paperwork, but there wasn't much to be done. If her name was there, and that was all they cared about, there wasn't much else she could do unless a problem came up later. Besides, here she was being a worrywart when they were supposed to be going out and having a fun time! She forced away the concerned look and replaced it with her pearly smile, calmly placing her palms together, fingers entangling as she took a moment to take in Ferris' words.

"You're able to track Pokemon?" She repeated with astonishment, the prospect sounding amazing to her. "Why, that sounds incredibly useful! I hadn't an intent to catch any Pokemon, but to study them out in the wild instead. Imagine the information that could be gathered, findin' their homes after they scuttle off..." She swooned a little at the idea, before managing to recover in a quick manner. She'd definitely have to watch him once he was on a trail, to try and learn a little. A skill like that was something she absolutely wanted under her belt. Though before she could think further, Botan was speaking up.

She seemed prepared, which was good! And she wasn't lying about Jarvis, either. Just one look at him was enough to tell you he was strong, and she was sure he'd be an overwhelming help during the trip. Though, as Botan spoke of herself, it was sort of clear why such a Pokemon was around. She didn't have much experience on her own, but a Pokemon like that would surely keep her safe. "Suppose if we wander back here we may be able to peddle for some supplies," She spoke positively to Botan's generous offer. Though Isla felt prepped for a decent period, and could refresh her own supplies, a little help never hurt. Even if she lacked outdoor experience, it potentially gave Isla a chance to teach, which was a prospect she kept to herself for the moment despite the excitement it brought her.

Instead, she followed Felix's words and Botan's excitement. "Oh, you'll love it!" She hadn't considered some of these folks might not even have a Pokedex. She'd had hers so long, it felt attached to her as much as just about any identification. Quickly she joined in the line and took out her Pokedex before reaching the front, for the sake of convenience. She was plenty excited once she arrived, the slightly banged up and scratched device getting her a look, but an upgrade in the end.

Seeing the stickers upon exiting the tent, she had similar excitement to Arlo's: She loved adding small stuff like that to her devices and bags, to show where she'd been! Memories were important, and though Arlo was in front of her she curved an arm past him to pluck two stickers out between her fingers. She hadn't really looked at what she got until she stepped out of the way of the rest of the folks coming out, staring at the stickers while making an audible "Hmm." in thought.

It didn't take long for her to decide what went where. She had a Piplup sticker and a Rockruff sticker. The cutesy blue penguin went on her dex, and the adventurous rocky doggo went on her bag. She let out a small pleased giggle as she finished, feeling positive about this venture. Ferris' advice echoed that of the supervisor, and Isla couldn't exactly refuse. What if one of them got into a bit of an issue? With an easy way to contact her, she'd be able to stomp over like the angriest mama Usaring you'd ever seen.

"Och, good idea!" She responded, one hand clapping against her Pokedex. Despite her lack of interest in catching any Pokemon, it'd still be nice to be getting out into the wild. There were so many questions to answer about these islands! And she planned to dig into every nook and cranny until she had answers to them all.

Persona - Soldiers of Fortune

Dakota Rhett

_{November 29th? - ???}

---

Caelum's response wasn't exactly an unexpected one, to an extent Dakota knew he was going to receive such an answer. But if they were going to get out of here, physical assessment seemed like a good idea. But, even if everyone was okay, where were they really supposed to go? That prison in the horizon was menacing, and seemed like the only real option, but just the sight of the place sent a shiver down the boy's spine. His hands curled into fists, nails lightly digging into his palms as he thought on it.

"Well, that's a start." He responded, not questioning Caelum's physical condition further. "Can't expect anything past that, considering..." One of his fists loosened, palm lightly pressing against his forehead as he took in the area again in a slow scan. The landing hadn't been pretty, he figured there was some pain amongst the group even if they were overall physically fine. But even then, physical condition was only a part of a bigger whole. There was a good example of that going on right now.

Nick's breakdown caught his full attention, the ambulance request being one he knew couldn't be met, even as Barney checked to see if there was a signal himself. The situation was, admittedly, a bit overwhelming for Dakota, but he wasn't sure if he could wander about and put it aside like the stockier man had. He had some empathy, but it wasn't like he was probably any more prepared to try and deal with it than anyone else. Possibly less so, but that didn't stop him from making a frontal approach on the man who was now on the ground, practically whimpering to himself about issues that surely went way deeper than Dakota could possibly understand.

Knees bending, he squatted down beside the man, lightly putting a hand on his back. Although he knew they were far from the same, he used to use words to try and bring people joy through good vocals. So maybe he could do something here with his words, too. "Hey, man. Nobody's putting ya anywhere." He tried to assure, though a lack of knowing Nick made him uncertain if he had experiences that'd make him assume he'd be put into such a situation. Probably, was the assumption on Dakota's part. Regardless, nobody was putting him away today.

A thought came to mind, perhaps not a great one, but it would help him grasp onto reality a bit, himself. Pulling his phone out, signal or no, he could still look at that recording he made! "Don't have any signal, but..." He lowered the phone in front of them, playing the video. It's audio played out, first with Barney and Dakota's short interaction, and carrying on from there. Though there were no full views, really, there were enough identifiers for the folks who approached the gazebo. "I don't know what the hell this place is, but I don't think you're going crazy, man. I don't think any of us are." What was worse? Thinking you were crazy, and that none of this was real and just a hellish nightmare you couldn't escape? Or that it was real, and you were trapped in some horror-world lookin' place? Probably varied, but Dakota wished he could just wake up. Even this video was questionable in his own mind, but maybe that was him rejecting whatever this was.

His own phone recording made him feel like waking up wouldn't happen anytime soon. He bit his lower lip, perhaps damaging himself a little in the process of trying to help Nick in the slightest. 'If this is real, then I'll really have to go over to the prison to try and figure things out, huh...' Thoughts bringing his gaze back up to the building in question, his hands shook at the idea of approaching the nightmare. Or, confronting the reality of the situation. But that wasn't stopping Barney, who seemed to already be ready to head out. He seemed to realize they weren't exactly drowning in options here, either.

Not that he'd have time to do so. The bright spotlight caused Dakota to squint, falling back onto his arse and causing another one of those pink splashes. He figured they were going to have to confront the prison anyways, so maybe getting spotted out here was for the best. With how dangerous it looked, Dakota had been a bit worried about being attacked for existing anywhere near it, so perhaps having people come out to them was a better outcome.

He pushed himself to his feet as the figures approached. His head tilted at the sight of them, human in shape but in appearance they were much more eerie than he could describe while being partially blinded. Not having a reason to particularly want to resist, mixed with the fact their aggressiveness startled him, his hands went up in a clearly visible manner. He was far from the type to be an inmate! He'd never even had a police officer question him before, let alone go to prison!

Now that they were closer, he could get some details on those faces. If the strange colors across the 'human' limbs of the individual wasn't weird enough, then the hollow looking faces sealed the deal. However, ugly to look at or not, they didn't particularly seem to be individuals that were beyond comprehension personality-wise. Their rough demeanors seemed to mentally match what he'd imagine people working at a prison would be like, however the threat towards their legs if they didn't get walking was alarming.

A baton pressed into his back, which while painful, wasn't at least being swung at him. "I'm goin'!" He exclaimed, though that only got him shoved forward a bit more. He didn't want to press his luck, so he didn't start asking questions to these guards who seemed eager to put harm on them at the slightest notice. He'd save the questions for 'His Honor', whoever that was. They at least were identified as not being prisoners, right? Dakota's more naive side told him maybe they'd get to talk this out and go home! This place was obviously high security, so the aggressiveness made a bit of sense, maybe. Wouldn't you be on edge if a bunch of unidentified individuals ended up on a dock, with no clear sign of how they arrived?

This was all just a huge misunderstanding. He silently kept trying to convince himself it'd all end soon.

Planet Mobius - A Sonic Universe Open World

TEAM CHAOTIX

Split at Green Hill

---

A disgruntled Vector had slowed to a halt beneath the tree, not exactly due to a form of exhaustion but because Charmy and Espio had left him so far in the dust that he might as well just let them scout ahead. They'd call back if they found anything, after all. Had to keep up some professionalism and make this look at least a little purposeful, like his boys weren't dysfunctional and instead dedicated to the cause. Maybe telling them about the passes was a bad idea, considering how they darted off, they weren't exactly being precise, which Amy pointed out to them prior.

If he could've turned anymore green from them making a joke of themselves in their excitement, he would've. Instead a sigh of uncertainty escaped him, scratching the top of his head as he considered getting back on the move. The girls seemed to finish their conversation, which while time was supposedly of the essence he wasn't doing any better so there was no place to comment.

As he began to stomp forward a voice caught the croc off guard: A turn of his head allowed him to see Tails, a welcomed result given their current search, though as great as it was Sonic was nowhere in sight, which was unfortunate. the Fox was somewhat fresh in his mind as Charmy used him in arguments for why they could have 'All sorts of cool gadgets', as he'd put it. What Charmy didn't realize was Vector saved potential favors for dire situations (Not that Tails owed him anything,) And their budget didn't exactly scream 'grappling hooks'. Why did he need one, anyways? He could fly. "Hey there! This anniversary is starting to feel like a reunion," He noted as he responded with his greeting. Mina was on the case about their task at hand, ahead of Vector in that regard, which Tails was able to provide ample answers about.

He could only imagine that Sonic wouldn't be in one place for long, so Tails' initiative made sense to him. Tails taking to the sky wasn't as much of an issue for Vector, navigating east wasn't difficult. Green Hill wasn't exactly a regular locale he visited, but it was much less exotic to him than most places he'd been. A waterfall for sure wasn't about to be the most difficult thing to spot.

Mina's offer upon lowering from the tree wasn't bad, per say, but given the circumstances they were just a little awkward for the crocodile. "Just shows how eager my boys are to get a job done." Yeah, that'd save a little face. If anyone bought it. Not wanting thoughts to linger on that, he instead pulled out his trusty Sling Rings. Given Vector's own size, especially his massive fists, it only made sense in his mind to use the rings to carry on Mina's offer of a speed boost instead. "That'd be appreciated though! Jus' take one of these, and the speed'll carry over with ease!" Sounded like some sort of marketing jingle, which the Sling Rings definitely weren't for sale. But their uniqueness made Vector wonder how valuable they were. If anything were to go under with the Agency...

---

Meanwhile, Charmy and Espio had slowed down somewhat. Or, moreso, switched roles. Now in the air, Espio was dangling by a Sling Ring with an annoyed expression as Charmy flew, scanning the area for any sign of Hedgehog movement. Growing a little tired, or perhaps just cramping from his recent meal, the Bee parked on top of a loop for a moment to scout over the area below, hand above his eyes to block the sun as he squinted. "He's bright blue! Oughta stick out in this terrain!" A snicker escaped him at the idea of getting those passes. Oh, it sounded like fun. Unfortunately in his excitement he'd driven himself forward without much regard, and with a peeved Espio in tow.

"You made an assumption about trash and brought us out here." The ninja chimed in, still dealing with Charmy's sting.

Charmy didn't lower his hand or even widen his eyes as he turned to look at Espio. "Eheheh, just means we're out in the field fastest! Not much to track him by out here, so this is the best we've got!" Charmy turned to resume his scouting, managing to catch a yellow individual within his view. Wings buzzing with excitement, he exclaimed: "Y'see? Look at that! Tails is over there!" Without a moment's hesitation, the Bee Mobian buzzed off after the fox, eager to find his mark so he sped forward through the air with a few twists and audible Vroom!'s.

A moment of silence passed, until Espio noticed that Charmy was, in fact, leaving him behind. He called out the boy's name, but it was already too late. He was long gone. Part frustrated and part speechless from what just happened to him, he crossed his arms and lowered his head in a moment of silent judgement against the Bee's actions, now utterly alone and stranded atop a Green Hill loop.

"Seeing a live Mina Mongoose performance is worth it," He quietly spoke to himself, smallest of smiles on his face. With ease his feet traverses the steep angle of the loop's outer layer, rushing downward until he was met with flat ground, rushing along an old but sturdy enough wooden bridge while keeping an eye in the sky to track Charmy. There wasn't any sense in standing about, especially with those backstage passes on the line. And he wasn't about to let Charmy take all the credit for this, either. Though beyond his knowledge, Tails was already leading everyone else to where they needed to go, anyways.

---

Back in the sky, Charmy's eccentric self buzzed up to Tails in a very audible manner. 'Scuse me!" The bee's words were loud, and he wasn't looking down below, either: A tad oblivious in his excitement, most could assume. "Boss has me lookin' for Sonic, ya seen him around here?" Charmy's childish method of assuming he'd be remembered struck true with his age, though was mostly a spawn of his excitement to follow a trail quick, not realizing his boss and the others were probably within ear shot anyways.

Dracula Modern Day Horror

Kinda liked the younger 'goonies' crew vibe we had going on, but eh. I'll probably pass on this, sorry

World of Light

LOCATION:Al Mamoon Northeast - Rocket Inc.
WORD COUNT: 722 (+1 EXP)
MENTIONS: Gunnar The Dragonborn

---

The first reaction Mao had to using the power of the Friend Heart was causing his cheeks to puff up. His evil stomach soured from such an action, turning from the Dragonborn for a moment in order to vomit to correct this mess: A sparkling, rainbow substance flowing out into the sand, a violent hurling sound emitting from him before being followed by a few coughs as he kicked sand over the disgusting colorful mess. He'd rather never do that again as long as he lived.

But as the Dragonborn-- No, Gunnar, as he claimed himself to be, made it obvious they weren't enemies, it brought a small sense of relief. He could tally one curse removed on his end, and there were surely more to go. Mao's hand graced the handle of his longsword, glaring off in the direction of the 'blue wench'. "Trust me, I'd like nothing more." A tad ominous in tone, but it wasn't like the goody-two shoes were around to hear him, Midna specifically.

However, after a moment of letting that linger, his hand lowered from his blade. "... But we're looking to get people out alive." Thinking a split moment of conversation made for a good break, and the fact he didn't want Gunnar getting gunned down by trying to fistfight Jesse or something, he wanted to take Midna's teachings and pass them on so he could actually help. "Even she's under some sort of control. You see that glow in her eyes?" He gestured towards a few others in the battle, larger examples like Reinhardt being especially helpful. "We can cure them, but they have to be beaten down first. You don't have that glow now, so that's how our idiots will know not to come at you. Gives ya an idea of who to not swing at, too."

The battle ongoing, Mao noted he probably needed to get back into it before one of this other chumps killed someone. He planned to depart without much else, but that was before he witnessed Ciella take action. Oh, great. He was being told to keep folks alive, and here this lady was with not only a kill under her belt from before, but now she was spouting nonsense? He didn't give a damn about what she had to say, the ice meteor and surrounding water being enough to make Mao realize there was a huge lack of friend or foe targeting.

"Alright, scratch that, she wants us all dead." It didn't take much to figure out who he was talking about, but Necronomicon's notes on the matter were helpful. If they fought outside the safe zone, they'd all end up dead. Mao had full intent to fight back if confronted, but a momentary truce for survival felt fine. Maybe if he could manage to actually regroup with Midna, they could figure out what to do about Ciella. If he was in better condition, he'd try and run right up that stupid meteor and strike her at the source. But with water beginning it's trek to smash him and Gunnar into oblivion, he'd disregard that for now and flee.

Mao looked back to Gunnar, unsure if he heard Necronomicon's warnings but decided to repeat it regardless. "I'm gettin' to the other side of that ice, that wave's too much for me to handle!" Mao's mechanical limbs retracted, he didn't have time to wait around so with the speed boost he was given he took off towards the safe side of the meteor. Though, with his injuries, he wasn't moving as fast as he could be. Thankfully with how the fight had played out, he wasn't in a terrible spot to be rushing back. But he kept on guard, just in case some idiot from the opposing side decided to try and smack him back into the wave. Mao was trying to play by Midna's rules, but any attempt to get him killed like that and he was taking lives.

Thankfully he at least had someone with him, Gunnar's strength and resourcefulness being a huge addition to their side of the battle. Not that he particularly cared about the Dragonborn's well-being, but he was a sign of words being kept. He was needed, in Mao's case, more as a witness than a fighter. But he'd definitely be welcomed as both.

World of Light

LOCATION:The Maw - The Depths
WORD COUNT:1,181(+2 EXP)
MENTIONS: Sakura, Nadia, Blazermate

---

Mirage's (unadmittedly) scrawny arms shook somewhat as he held the magnet out, his head turning to look at Sakura as she came up beside him. A raised eyebrow marked his confusion with her course of action, but as she took aim, he could understand her course of action. On one hand, that had NOT been what he said, but she didn't exactly take orders from him, and it wasn't like she was doing nothing. She had the same idea he did: Nobody left behind, even if things took extra time.

It brought a moment of remembrance for him, as she struggled to properly place the darts. He was born a masterpiece, but not a master marksman. His brothers had gone to war, but Mirage never did such a thing. For a long time, he was just a tinkerer and a prankster. It took awhile for him to learn, and there'd been plenty of mishaps along the way. Rather than be judging on the current situation, he tried to comment on her frustration with a small tidbit of advice. "Take a breath." He noted towards her constant use of a word he didn't know, but she assured it wasn't a swear. He'd buy it, for the moment. Not like he knew many languages. A few, or at least a few words of a few languages. ... He at least pretended to know what some words meant.

While Sakura found success in her marksmanship, Mirage's attention kept back on the situation with Nadia. The struggle was frustrating, wishing he had more to offer to help her. Moreau was lucky the only gun around was the Dart Gun or else he'd be getting blasted in that disgusting looking torso of his that occasionally spewed out. However, seeing Nadia in possession of the magnet was a good start. He wasn't sure how much pull these things might have, but with a dire situation came desperate plays. Her words in response to the half-joke, half-suggestion he made was an honest one. But that was just how he operated!

"Hey, so am I-- Or, uh, we're making sure nobody gets left behind!" His words were followed by a squint of his eyes, the magnet getting bright. The red arcs coursed along the magnet, making him wonder just what these things were capable of. Did they just turn them on, or something? On accident? He didn't recall seeing the magnets glowing like this before. But, regardless, it was an opportunity. An opportunity that came at a damn good time, too.

Nadia's panic as Moreau shook about brought him concern. He could see the magnet pointing up towards him, perhaps the pull was actually there. Was it not strong enough? The struggle with Moreau came to a head as Bowser leapt onto the scene, that hammerhead in tow. The fact that Geralt's nail was hammered into Moreau like that was squick at it's finest, the Legend wincing from the blow that he could almost feel. Or maybe that was just the sharpness from the hunger pains. That couldn't hide Mirage's enthusiasm at the King's daring strike, though. And Sakura's platforms... She'd gave him an excellent route back up!

He'd of complimented that, if not for the fact that the magnet began to work and became a main focus. The sudden need to catch Nadia sent Mirage off his feet, tumbling backwards with an audible "Oof!" as he landed. Fine, but tired out of his mind and wishing he could just go back to eating his gathered banana horde. Even if they got out, though, Shippy was long gone. He'd probably bite the first food source he saw, regardless.

Cat pun reaching his ears, he let out a sigh of relief. "I know I am," he commented, it being a joke or stroking of his own ego one would have to decide on their own. Bowser would surely be back up soon, which meant everyone would pretty much be gathered. And an audible ding that's cheerfulness was almost poison to the ears caused Mirage to turn his head, looking at the elevator. "Oh yeah! Our ride's here!" He spouted enthusiastically, giving Moreau information even if the ding hadn't.

Moreau, speaking of, was very eager for them to not leave. Mirage's first instinct was to try and pull himself up with Nadia in tow, but the sudden spew of disgusting rain caused enough hesitation to not leave him time for that, even if the strength was there. Instead, he kept ahold of Nadia and rolled to the side: He figured it was just some disgusting puke he could block at first, but that quickly changed as Mirage felt the caustic drops hit his flesh. His eyes shot open at the burning feeling now crawling along his back and legs, a cry of intense pain not being something he tried to hold back. The question of how the hell he'd survive this was one he didn't have an answer to for a moment, eyes scanning Nadia for a moment to make sure she was okay, but also noting that she wasn't able to move on her own. "D-Don't panic," He gasped, trying to keep himself from doing the same. He had tricks, he had bamboozles. But a solution for this? Not on his own, not at all.

But, out of the corner of his eye, he saw his answer. Blazermate, seeing the situation, was rapidly approaching. With the pain building, Mirage used what strength he had left to pull them back up into a sitting position, gripping Nadia tightly. Allowing for both of them to be scooped up in the metallic arms of their big, mostly unchanged robotic friend aside from having a lot less zombies. "At this point I owe you my other arc star," Mirage managed to comment, before being dropped off to the elevator daycare by the group's robo-nanny. Unfortunately, while there were still people to help and it was understandable, Mirage barely managed to stumble a few steps after being put down. He was inside, but fell against one of the walls of the elevator, feeling a strong pain in his back from the impact that caused another sound of pain to emerge. But he slid down still alive, and with Nadia in tow as he sat against the wall, breathing heavily as the burning sensation crawled along the skin on his back and legs, body squirming as it tried to find some sort of peace but it just wasn't happening. Moreau left him with a hell of a parting gift, that was for sure. Stupid gurgling bastard didn't finish him off, though!

Shaking, he still managed to put on a grin, at least. Everyone was on their way, things would be alright for the moment. Mission accomplished, yeah? At least he hoped.

"We can just call this even for me screwing up the whole tire thing, yeah?" A small laugh escaped him, trying to make light of his own situation. Though he had a feeling things were past the point of worry, that didn't mean he couldn't try and negate it a little bit.

Persona - Soldiers of Fortune

Dakota Rhett

_{November 29th - Late Afternoon}

---

For a moment, Dakota simply picked at the cracked wood out of curiosity. Black nails brought small wooden chips up, figuring with all the cracks it'd have to be repaired anyways, so a little prodding wasn't exactly going to cause enough harm to be more devastating. His mind wandered on multiple questions, regarding the warm from below to the fact that the cracks went from solid ground to the dock above the water somehow. He wasn't the sharpest knife in the crayon box, but even he knew there was a lack of sense to that!

It was a similar warmth he'd felt in the bathroom, at the sinks. Which at least put his mind at ease that he hadn't done any damage before, but it really made him think about the damage he'd seen around the place. The cafeteria had some damages, too. Wasn't Jin in there doing repairs? Maybe those cracks were unrelated, as it didn't seem the stocky man looming on one of the benches was taking much note of the damage. Maybe a more sane person would be running off the dock before the cracks got worse, or something. Yet here Dakota was, picking at them like a child.

His dismissal of that man soon came to correct him, the man's voice catching the younger boy's ears. He perked up, phone almost slipping from his hand from being startled, but it was kept in place with a firmer grip. He didn't exactly think to stop filming, instead his phone tilted slightly, not catching much more than Barney's feet, but it made the source of the voice obvious nonetheless. A meek "Eh?" escaped him as an initial reaction, but soon turned to him noting what Barney said, and joining in the enthusiastic reaction to possibly not being insane. "Yeah, man!" His view trailed back towards land, as he pointed with his free hand he'd been using to pick at the wood. "One sec I'm just on the phone, next the ground starts cracking! And instead of just going forward, it's turning like a path down walkways an' crap for me to follow all the way down here!"

His momentary explanation was cut there, as he fell quiet. His hand fell to his side as he noticed other figures showing up, first of all being a girl he couldn't identify by any means. A momentary awkward stare in her direction lead to him looking back at Barney, then the cracks below him. Not sure if he should make assumptions about why she was there, just in case him and Barney were both just crazy, so he left her distanced and quiet self to stare at the odd sight of the other two sitting in the gazebo's odd warmth.

That silence didn't last long. Probably from him trying to look away from the gatherers, he failed to notice Caelum's approach. But the quiet question caused his head to turn, both surprised he was being asked about the cracks again, and kind of relieved. Once again, Dakota's phone camera tilted it's view and caught Caelum's lower half, and Mila slightly for simply being in the same direction. "Think it's a weird enough sight, yeah?" His hand drifted over the cracks, camera pointing down as he noted; "That warm air coming out of them is so weird. Shouldn't be anything below this spot but water, right...?" Of course, if there was, how did that explain everywhere else? It'd be just his luck if there was an actual answer and he looked dumb. But he felt confident about this.

Might've said something else, but a voice caught his attention. Strained breathes and a meek greeting. If not purely out of curiosity, Dakota's eyes fell on the source for a moment. She looked like a kid, and his eyes darted up to Caelum, being the only other one near him he could suspect of knowing the girl. He wasn't sure if he should voice concern in case something happened to the gazebo or not, but things seemed stable and safe. Just... Weird. So there probably wasn't any issue with her being here. Of course, a shifting Dakota meant a shifting camera, which yet again caught a new individual. Along with a second one approaching from behind, who's form was much, much larger. In comparison to the little girl, this guy was a legitimate giant.

Dakota, being on the shorter side, felt like he might've visibly compressed at the man's arrival. His clothes not quite looking correctly sized and seeming hurt, this popped him out of his fear a bit and into concern. However, this concern shifted a bit from being about the man to the wellbeing of everyone in the general vicinity at the man's threat. With a conflicted "Uh," He pondered how to respond to Vincent's words, but as the giant collapsed, Dakota decided to just leave it at Barney's empathy. That man wasn't one he wanted a problem with, for sure.

After such a barrage of weirdness, Dakota finally found a little relief. Jin's arrival, though perhaps unnoteworthy to those around, was the only familiar face for him. "Oh!" Pushing himself out of his sitting position, he didn't pick up on their mumblings but did approach with plenty of energy. "Jin! It was Jin, right? Yeah?" Dakota didn't give a chance to answer, instead his free hand landed on Jin's shoulder and the phone swayed as he gestured back towards all the cracks. "You can see all those cracks too, right? Ain't it weird?" Maybe it was sudden and a little awkward, but Dakota found it better than being enclosed slowly by total strangers. Not that they were much better than strangers, but still!

A swear catching Dakota's ear caused his and his camera's view to turn a final time, catching the last few unsuspecting gazebo dwellers as some dude was really glad to not be going nuts with this. But really, with all of them gathered here like this, it was possibly weirder than hallucinating the whole thing that brought them here. Well, that meant it probably wasn't as special as he thought. Or his own mind playing tricks on him. So the excitement could die down a little, and maybe he'd hear about the cause on the news later. Nothin' to worry about--

Dakota's eyes widened as he heard a snap.

His generally calm demeanor began to drift as the cracks split open, the light drawing the boy's view and putting a bit of fear into his heart. Instinctively, he recoiled as far as he could, hand slipping off Jin's shoulder to instead press against the wall. "What the hell is that?!" He knew there wasn't an answer, but he couldn't help but let it out in a yelp as things quickly escalated. Perhaps idiotically, he pointed his phone towards the light in an attempt to get a recording of it, not having a much safer space to evacuate to. The view from the camera was already shaking because Dakota was growing more and more worried, but as a dizziness began to overtake him, the camera's view quickly took a dive towards the ground as it's owner slumped forward into the opening abyss.

Dakota Rhett

_{November 29th? - ???}

---

Having fell forward, Dakota had a stomach-down landing with his forehead smacking against the ground, a hiss and exclaim of the curse "Shit!" being about all he could manage as he rolled onto his back and clutched his forehead, accidentally smacking himself in the face with his own phone, causing him to roll on his side instead as he tried to cope with his own stupidity. It took a minute for him to realize the extent of what was going on, sitting up while rubbing his forehead (Without the phone contact this time).

Barney's confusion caused Dakota to take a good look around. It wasn't difficult to realize that they weren't in Texas anymore, and though he peeked over the dock at the color-filled black mass below, he was quick to scuttle away, not wanting anything to do with it. Deep breathes marking fear, he slowly pulled himself to his feet, staggering for a moment as the dizziness faded away. The cracks were weird, the warmth and light were weird, but this was horrible. And it only got worse as his gaze followed Barney's, looking at the horrifying but also immensely huge prison that replaced the visage of the university he'd seen only minutes ago, when people started walking up to the gazebo.

Speaking of walking, his steps were cautious as he observed the odd bubble-gum colored substance that splashed every time he took a step. Nervously he looked at his phone, attempting to make use of it, but like some sort of damned movie, of course there was no service. "Of course." He muttered, slipping the phone into his pocket due to it's uselessness. He instead gazed at the sight beyond the prison, momentarily trying to bask in that orange light which felt familiar yet so immensely foreign.

"Man, I'll just be glad to be out of this at all." He responded, not trying to make light of Barney's way to cope, but more so just speaking the honest truth of how he felt. He lifted his leg to try and avoid the stocky man's splashes but once he realized they weren't making a mess he chose to ignore it. Instead, he looked up. Trying to find any source of where they came from, to no avail. It was just a messy sky with no answers. "There's nothing even up there, where the heck did we fall from?" He squinted his eyes, hand over his brow as he tried to see anything up there.

Unfortunately, the squinting just made his headache build a little faster. He held back a groan of annoyance and pain, looking forward at the prison. It wasn't the most welcoming place, but it was also where the only path lead. A nervous laugh escaped him at the thought of getting closer, instead trying to avoid that by turning and looking at everyone else. There wasn't a person unaccounted for, at least from what he could tell. "Everyone's okay, right?" He voiced, glancing about to see what answers he'd get. He felt like smacking himself. What exactly counted as 'okay' in a situation like this? The best he could do is display concern. If someone needed help, he was in decent enough condition. Being the only familiar things left in this place, he'd like to stick together.

Can't take it no more~

Dakota's head turned to the sprawling buildings again. What was that?

I'm goin' crazy~

His foot tapped, wondering if he was actually going insane. He swore he could hear a familiar tune, it was comforting and almost drew him in. He simply looked nervous to the others, the sound only reaching his ears, unknowing to him. But he turned back to the group as a whole, focusing on the task at hand. Maybe it was just his mind playing tricks on him? Regardless of it being his imagination or not, his foot kept tapping to that beat. It was helping him a little bit, but he couldn't shake a chill. This place was beyond a nightmare, people didn't just share nightmares. But could he really claim it was real, either? With how outrageous it was?

Nightmares. Dreams.

Glancing out into the horizon, this sky almost felt familiar. Unable to pinpoint it, however, he simply shook his head weakly as he couldn't piece anything together.

Dracula Modern Day Horror

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Video Games: The General Discussion & Community Thread Number Two

About 10 hours into Monster Hunter: WORLD so far and it's been a really fun experience. Enjoying just rummaging around and smacking the hell out of giant monsters, though I am a bit pissed that one of my trap/tranq bomb combos ended up not working and I failed a capture due to lack of supplies afterwards. More my own fault for not being prepared, or I might've just straight up missed my bombs somehow, lmao.

Overall it's super pretty game, and comfy to just stare at sometimes. Definitely interested in looking at future titles, maybe Rise if I decide to ever actually use my switch.