Meeting Up: Into the Woods, it's Time to Go

[forcegalactic]

Who: Aang, Aoi, Barkeep, Kenshin, Midna, Sparks, Vincent
What: Two groups meet up and decide to check out the nice, cool forest. There may be someone waiting there
Where: Cursed Forest, Temple of Earth?
When: March 24
Notes: There will be multiple starters

From two separate directions, bands of Heroes traverse the wastelands in search for the others. One crossed an entire desert carrying the remains of an airship engine, wishing for water. The other climbed down the Death Mountains fearing for their lives. At last, they have more people to talk to.

Comments

The Crossing of Paths

[forcegalactic]

[21stcenturyguy]

[The other group will have to forgive Santa for responding defensively when he hears movement in the foothills between Death Mountain and the Cursed Forest. The only signs of life he's seen other than his traveling companions have been Dragons and rogue Magiteks and stuff. They've finally reached the relative safety of some tree cover, but that also means they can't see enemies sneaking up on them as easily.

Santa throws up some Copies of himself, Aang, and Kenshin, in hopes of scaring off whoever is approaching. Four Santas, ain't that just a sight for sore eyes?]

You better scram, whoever you are! [The Santas call out in unison. Stealth is for quitters.]

[forcegalactic]

[Barkeep has had a difficult few days. Traveling while scavenging for food and begging for handouts from grateful refugees has lost its appeal long ago, and now they have to lug around pieces of the former airship engine. If he had to get into one more fight--]

We got the right of way!

[He instinctively yells back at the voice. And then he sees the Heroes. The copies, that is.] Now hang on a second.

[partofthecycle]

Is that really people?? Other heroes, I mean?

[Even if the bald young man didn't look like the youth most people remembered, his tattoos were clearly visible.]

[twilighted]

( midna's eyes narrowed at the copies, being an illusionist herself, she saw right through the facade— but was more interested in seeing the intentions of the people in front of them.

other heroes. most certainly. ) So it seems you've found your way to this place as well. I don't suppose your venture yielded anything important, did it?

( you know. something useful. like an airship engine. )

[21stcenturyguy]

[The Santas shrug in unison, relaxing now that it's confirmed there isn't a threat. He's not sure what the lady thinks they were gonna find on a volcano swarming with dragons.]

The important thing we found is the friends we made on the way. [He rolls his eyes. Five years didn't make him any less of a punk. He let the copies dissipate, though, so there's that. That's almost like being friendly, right?]

[bloodypast]

[Vincent just remained quiet, glad to be away from the desert finally. Trees brought with them their own difficulties, and he was glad he'd gone into their endeavors with the jobs he had. He'd gone invisible with the voice, keeping himself quiet and stealthy until it was clear that they were 'safe'. Relatively speaking. Once it was clear, he let himself become visible, stepping out from behind a tree.]

Where did you awaken, roughly?

[Because they needed some idea of what had happened besides just 5 years passing.]

Mingle/The Journey

[forcegalactic]

The Cursed Forest

[forcegalactic]

[forcegalactic]

An hour into the woods, Mordecai had reservations. They hadn't run into the extreme heat or powerful monsters in the forest...yet. For all the time they had to recover, this moment of peace was stark difference also brought a sense of uneasiness.

"It's real quiet here. Too quiet if'n you asked me." Where were the animals? The other refugee camps? Where they the only once around for miles?

[21stcenturyguy]

Aoi rolled his eyes. "Why would you say that? Why would you ever say that?"

Sheesh, didn't the old fart know that leaving an entry line like that hanging in the air was just inviting trouble? Next, he was going to say, 'Could be worse. It could be raining...' or something dumb like that.

To be safe, Aoi drew his overlord hood over his head. "We were being chased by dragons and shit for the last few days. Don't knock the quiet. You'll jinx it."

[twilighted]

Midna did her best to keep her eyes and ears wide open as they set out into the forest. She listened for anything, the rustling of fauna, the snapping of a twig, anything that might mean someone else was out there. Someone less friendly than those they'd only finally re-grouped with.

"Ssh," she scolded, trying to listen closer for a moment.

[unalive_them]

Oh, they'd hear something alright: the unmistakeable whistling sound of something falling. A split second later, a massive form would hit the ground, sending dirt and debris flying. Once the dirt would clear, they would see...a massive rock beast in the shape of a large man.

"RRRAAGH! GOLHULK SMASH PUNY TRESSPASSERS!" the beast roared.

And climbing up on the beast is a more familiar face: Deadpool.

"Woah, easy, there! Let's see who we're... facing?" Deadpool said, blinking at who was there. "Well, I'll be a monkey's grandad! Wow, who'd thought you guys survive this mess! How have you been?!"

[red_planet_blues]

Oh, it's... that guy. Deadpool. Really, though, Sparks is pleasantly surprised to find anyone at this point.

"Hey. We're, uh. Y'know. Alive. You seem well. Nice monster."

[forcegalactic]

That guy. "Good to see you're fine as well." It was another Hero, not some sort of Calamity beast, unless that rock monster was tamed. "You been hangin' around here all by yourself?"

[21stcenturyguy]

Aoi blinks at the totallynotHulkgolem. That's pretty bad-ass. Good thing it's on their side, huh?

"Man, what job can do that?" He resists the urge to say 'it rocks,' because there's nothing worse than sparking a pun-off when there are life and death situations to deal with.

He scratches his head as he eyes Deadpool and his rock buddy. "So, dude, you've been through here already...are there any places up ahead we can rest at?" A meal would be nice, but Aoi's really got his heart set on a bath.

[partofthecycle]

"You know how it is," Aang added. "I didn't know you were an earthbender." Could that job make a golem? Maybe? The talking would be new. He could imagine Toph with that sort of power...

... and then winced because he must have been gone for years. Surely back home had also kept going. But what sort of things had been happening?

[unalive_them]

"I've had Earthbender for years. I never had the chance to use it because it didn't suit me. Not until now, that is!" Deadpool said. "As for places to stay, you certainly can't stay here! Sorry, I got explicit orders to not let you guys in." He chuckled as he added. "Because, to be quite frank, you guys just suck. Oh, sure, there are other reasons which I'll be happy to reveal, but that's numero uno."

[forcegalactic]

"Orders? From what, the sky?" His tone would roll its eyes if it had a body. Deadpool was always the weird violent one of the group, and this may just have been another outburst of his. As long as he wasn't actively murdering Heroes, he was welcome to help them out. "So, like, you got a safehouse out here?"

[red_planet_blues]

"Whaaaaaaat. What do you mean, orders to not let us in? Orders from who?"

'Because you suck' is not a good enough reason for Sparks, whose wondering what his next move should be. Deadpool was never very predictable; maybe this was just him being his weird self.

[unalive_them]

Before Deadpool could answer, another golem figure approached, adjusting the shield on his arm.

"We're under orders by Kalki herself to not allow people like you any further here. And these orders are enforced by Deadpool, the Archfiend of Earth." He said.

"Thanks, Cap, but yeaaaah, sorry, but you're in the wrong neighborhood, mama jama." Deadpool said. "Now, I know what you're thinking: 'Deadpool, how could you do such a thing?!' And the answer is simple: because I'm sick and tired of you! I mean, I know you guys are going to save the day, but, oh my god, this entire adventure has been nothing but 'don't kill this, don't kill that!' Boo-freaking-hoo! Half of the grief we had to deal with wouldn't of happened if you guys didn't worry about how Jack and Ramza and that guy who couldn't be in Smash would look at you! Look at Ramza! He's now riding shotgun in his own body! And MY GOD, that nap I was put into! It was so boring, I woke up five minutes later!"

"But! This just means I'm more powerful than you bleeding hearts!"

[partofthecycle]

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" Aang said suddenly. "You're doing this because people expected you to be... I don't know, not a bad person!? Not even because you agree with Kalki and want to save people? You don't even think you'll win?"

"That's just... people have died over the last five years, Deadpool, while we were trapped." And that had been something Aang had never wanted again. If Deadpool had been able to wake up, why had none of the others did? (Or possibly there were three others working for Kalki, if this world had the same elements as his own.) "Not even people like Garland and Palitutu who were doing awful things; ordinary people who were just living their lives. Maybe even good people who were trying to save others. Well, good job, then. You've killed people. Way to go."

[21stcenturyguy]

Santa raised an eyebrow. Deadpool's logic had never been what the rest of them would call sound, he guessed. He let Aang say his piece.

"But, um, thanks for the warning? If you wanted to get rid of us, you could've not announced your betrayal and caught us off guard." Santa pointed this out in a deadpan, but he was wondering if there was more to it than that. Maybe Deadpool wanted to scare them off rather than kill them, in spite of his gleeful love of violence?

[red_planet_blues]

"Yer workin' for Kalki? Are you kiddin' me?"

Those are fightin' words, and the only ones Sparks needed. He drew his gunsword, but held it to the side for now.

"We just dragged our butts through hell and yer gonna tell me you're gonna get in our way cuz Kalki told ya to? Is she really a better option than us?"