World Tree MUSH

School has gone back in session for the sudents of Pleasant Hill. Normally this fall Mailase would just be typical annoyance at having to sit still for eight hours a day when kids would rather do anything else, except for the disappearances. Students? A few teachers even. People who have moved to Pleasant Hill within the past year have started to go missing. Worse than this is the fact long time residents seem to not only not pay this any mind, but insist on having no memory of these people.

This of course eds to interesting situations where sudents born in town will insist to teachers who newly moved in that this or that person never existed, never was in class, or new students insisting that teachers were giving differing classes when everyne else insists they never existed.

So while most of the townacted as if everything was normal, subsets of the population havestarted to whisper to eachother. Email was proving surprisingly unreliable, sometimes getting through, other times if it was about what was going on? It never arrives and doesn't show as beign sent or even existing.

Temulin's parents would have, perhaps surprisingly, humored their daughter's concerns, giving her a can of mace and a tazer along wi th a note to give to the assistaint principle and a warning that if they hard anythig about her assaulting people i nanything other than life and death situation, all of her stuff would be run over wihth a lawnmower.

Raven's mom had given her the CD she'd wanted because as it turned out Raven had friendsafter all. Granted her mom thought the whole group had over-reacted but it showed people cared about her daughter's wellbeing. Beyod that? Her mom didn't believe people were going missing, but wouldn ever say as much to her daughter. Just more of the same really. Concern that Raven wasn't getting out enough, that she worried too much on what her ever-absent father thought of her, that she was better than she gave herself credit for.

Ash simply got scolded for bringing friends over but 'if people were giving your friend trouble it's good you brought them somewhere safe.'

Miwa? Her family wa surprisingly OK with how often she was out. It isn't that they didn't care, they simply didn't think there was anything to worry about.

In contrast Olivia's dad was oncerned. If people were going missing like Olivia mantained? He had no reason to think her daughter would lie. Olivia was to kee checking in with him if she wasn't on family property.$e$eAnd yet one and all? They would have thissensation of being watched. Nothing or noone obviously trailing them. ALways something out of the corner of their eye, or just out of focus. Something or Someone there hanging about like a dark mist.

Ash grumbled. He was otnot happy at what his phone had to show him. Not only did his mass email not send. It showed as never having existed. Once he could have written off as 'the app ate it.' Five diffrent times? That was well past any credible coincidence. So he improvized by sliding notes directly into several lockers, sliding said notes through the vents, in hopes that at leasta few diffrent people could meet him behind the gym after school. 

Past that? Past his concern and feeling like something had its eye on him? He tried to behave normally. Yet friends would know something had him on edge. Something had him jumping at shadows, acting as if empty rooms he was the first to enter had someone waiting.

THe lst bell rang. 

He would wait behidn the gym in what was essentially an empty staff parking lot where one might occasionally find the oddstaff or student smoking, or at least one might have before people started vanishing.

He looked at the parking lot and frowned at where a car he had grown familirar seeing should have been. "This sucks..."

Raven had been having so many nightmares. So many awful, terrible, horrible nightmares. The four glowing red eyes. ALWAYS the glowing red eyes. Watching her. So familiar. So.... terrifying. they didn't just make her scared of them. They made her scared of herself. they made her want to curl up in a ball and pretend they didn't exist. they'd never existed.

She hadn't told her mom, of course. She'd assume she was nuts. Or making stuff up. Or worse. That all of her goth stuff was just... getting to her. But you know what?

Raven had anatomy posters. Fake weapons. 'Bloody' props. Skulls. All manner of different 'goth' items. You know what she didn't have? Demons. Not a single demonic memorabilia. She didn't do that stuff. She just like creepy things. Like spiders and stuff. But she didn't TOUCH that stuff.

And then the disappearances. Her favorite Teacher, Miss Blodwell, was gone. The woman was AWESOME! She had like, a dozen tattoos, used to be in a punk rock band. Had even given Raven a cigarrette once. She felt closer to her than she did to the school therapist.

Who she kept. Having. To see. She was being dragged in there three-four times a week now. Told how she needed to open up. That she was such a 'beautiful soul' on the inside. That acting out wouldn't make her dad clear up more. What a load of bull. Of course, being the rebellious teen she was, she'd done what any hell raiser would do in this situation.,

She wrote a blog. Most of the pieces of it kept deleting themselves. Terms of agreement her perfectly shaped legs. She made her way to the back and... "Hey, Ash. Got your note. Better not be hitting on me or I'll tell your squeeze," she said before drawing out a cigarette and quickly lighting it. "Guessing it's about the stuff you can't get through?" she asked.

And then there's Temulin. She's been fine during this period, for certain definitions of fine. She arrives and smiles broadly at Ash, "Yeah the only one who's allowed to hit on her is me." She agrees with Raven, ... sort of. "Got your note Ash." She seems to be in an okay mood.

Miwa leaves her last class for the day and heads for her locker, opening it up to stash any books she didn't need for homework inside so she didn't have to lug them home in her backpack. Not that it mattered, with it seeming like those who were vanishing were those who, like her, moved here recently, it was hard to focus on school. Pretty soon her grades would likely start to slip. As she shoves her books into the locker a note falls out of her locker, and she bends down to pick it up. She looks around a moment, feeling like someone is watching her, then takes a deep breath and opens the note to read it quickly before folding it and stuffing it inside her algebra book and putting that back in her backpack. She finally closes her locker and heads out to meet Ash behind the Gym. After a short walk she joins the gathering and waves at Ash and the others. "Hey, got your note. What's up? Please tell me we haven't lost someone else..."

Gonta's totally new to this place. It's probably even only his first week in school here. He's kind of on edge, hearing all these hushed whispers going on and rumors of people making up stories about people that don't exist. He unwittingly walks out into the area the others are meeting at, having no clue what'll happen there. He's already had his usual luck of generally spooking people away due to his size and his resting face, but he's just a normal guy like anyone else. ...he's just glad he hasn't heard people making rumors about him yet.

The day was actually quite sunny and the weather had decided to finally check a callender and become seasonally appropriate. Those teachers that hd noticed the disappearances would have encouraged students to keep together, never go anywhere alone, etc. A few would even hand otu theirpersonal numbers. Sharp eyed and observant people might noticed how the birds were moving. One would perch, stay around, then when another would perch the first wouldfly off. Almost as if they were working in shifts. Raven might see the red glint of four eyes or it might just be a trick of light combined with lack of sleep.

There were actually several packages that had arrived to diffrent students, teachers, and others. Each one indavidualized. Each one a word for word replay of differing dreams each has had. Most of these packages have not reached their destinations, but in a few minor cases...

Ash rolled his eyes at Ravens joke about hitting on her, "I'm not sure wh'd hurt me worse but I know Timulin'd enjoy it more." He laughed in spite of himsellf and waited for others to filter in before smiling to Miwa. Then his eyes would close as he reached inside his backpack. "I found this in my room."

What he pulled out was a thick hardbacked book with the vaugely insectoid ninja-thing he would doodle on the cover. Except this looked like a photograph of that armored space-ninja wielding a glowing catana. Then he would open the book showing line after line of... well... was it text or decorative? He would pass that book to Raven before adding, "Flip to the first page."

There, written in English. 'Dream...'

"I've heard people got their own books too. I never ordered this thing. IT just... showed up. I was wanting ot know if anyone else got anything like this."

Raven turned red at Temulin's comment, nodding. "Y-yeah, only her. Here, babe, want a cigarette?" she offered, holding the cartridge out for her to take one. "I swear if I have to listen to one more adult go 'Rachel, you really need to try...' with some half brained piece of steaming crud for advice I'm going to start kicking shins," she grumbled.

Those who paid ample attention might notice... Raven was wearing a hoodie today. A hoodie that, until recently... Had been on Temulin. But... Well... Go ahead. Comment on it. In front of her... maybe girlfriend. She snorted at the comment about Temulin enjoying it more. "Yeah. She'd probably break your arm," she said with a snort.

Then she took the book and... "No. I didn't get anything like this. Probably some hack trying to get in on all the scary stuff that's going on and your mom probably picked it up," she said, though didn't sound like that was buying it. "I don't get what's really going on but... I wish it'd knock it off... I just wanna relax and get through school. Not constantly have stupid dreams about the world's most severe case of red eye..." she grumbled.

Then she glanced up to gunta and... "Huh. We might have some trouble..." she whispered ONLY to temulin, moving in a bit closer.

Temulin Dotharl takes a cigarette from the pack and lights it. "Oh Ash, I don't enjoy hurting people. It's just that hurting people is the only way I can make the voices stop screaming." She says this in a tone of clear joking, "But if you're volunteering..." She puts an arm around Raven's waist and smiles. "I got something like that, but I left it at home. I haven't looked at it."

Miwa takes note of Raven's hoodie, but other than a slight grin, she doesn't say anything, she knows better. When Ash pulls out that book and shows what it has in it, she blinks, looking shocked. "I got one too!" She exclaims as she opens her backpack and pulls a book out. "I don't know how, but this book is so close to things I keep dreaming about." The book cover depicts what looks like a stylized painting of the Hawaiian Islands, and inside shows beaches with people and what the others would probably see as strange looking animals. There were also images of a strange cross between a sea lion and a mermaid on a stage with other people around her, in front of a crowd. 

 All the writing was in English letters but would still look quite strange as the alphabet they were written with has only 12 letters, 5 of which being vowels. "What the hell does this all mean?" She asks as she looks up at the others and finally notices Gonta, and blinks, moving to stand closer to Ash. "I'm not sure if that's a student, or someone coming to kill us all..."

Olivia has a feeling that can only be summed up as one thing. A once a great game warden said. 

 We're being hunted. 

 Olivia had taken to making sure she had her varmit rifle on her for all the good that might do her ans she'd been keeping with the check ins, she's also been patroling the property on a quad and generally being ready for troubkle though at this point it was time to head over and check up on a fe folks, she' made sure the rifle was packed away in the cargo wrack before she'll head out, for some reason het gut said find those students from the fair, doubly so the goth girl...

It was a nice day but Olliva couldn't shake the feeling she was bring hunted and things were worse for her too. It took her a while but she made it to the school, which was out and sometimes she did drop off things from the farm for some of the staff who would buy directly from her family, she used this delivery as cover. Once it was delived she's gone looking for Raven and hopefully some of the other people form the fair. 

 She'll come up on them at a slow rate seemingly relaexed but why is the farm girl all the way out here at the school? She takes in the small group and tilts her head. 

 "Good day to ya'll." 

 She looks them over for a moment and does catch Miwa's last comment. 

 "Like your being hunted?"

Annnd it looks like Gonta's possibly attracted trouble by existing again. He's pretty sharp at noticing things. Even when it's not that he's so good at noticing, it's that he's so used to seeing it, that he sees it even when it isn't there. Why'd he have to be born with a resting face like some sort of thug? Doesn't help that he's probably instantly assumed to be some jerk of a jock. Being good at sports aside, he's actualy just a total nerd that'd rather be reading his biology and entomology than having to explain to ANOTHER authority figure that YES, he really IS just here to pick up some things for his mom, and NO he wasn't planing to cause trouble, UGH!

The large, red eyed boy sighs and starts to say something, but pauses as he notices the books Raven and Miwa are currently holding. As much as it might be startling at first, rather than wasting time trying to explain himself to someone who might not belive him for the nth time in a week, he pulls out a book with wolves and some kind of wierd, malicious looking, two toned teddy bear on it. "I'm not here for trouble, ok?" ...he's not talking in third person! ...why would he be doing that, though?

As the students compared notes someone approache. Heavy footsteps of someone not even trying to hide would give way to a wide bodied man in a black suit. If this wasn't the guy that had talked to Raven at the fare then it was his twin who happenedto have both the same taste in clothes and went into the same line of work. One of the birds hthat had apparently been watching the crowd landed on the man's shoulder as he approached. "You are gathered here because of the most recent disappearances, yes." The man's tone did not suggest question so much as statement. "And..." His head tilted to the book Ash was passing about, "Something... that should not concern any of you." 

He would start to approach the gathered students. "You will give thatto me and then you will leave." A pause. "All of you except Miss Roth."

Raven would feel emotion from this man, except not. There would be a sense of coldness yet beneat htaht a sense of hate, loathing, rage. It almost felt like two diffrent people in the same person-shape. One this calm cold entity. the other this... thing of rage and hate.

Ash reached over to pat Gonta's shoulder. While he didn't know the big student well he had paid attention enough to know the guy was as gentle as the bugs he studied. Nevermind some of those bugs were quite dangerous. "Easy there guy it's alright." he tried reassuring everyone else. "Gonta's a-" 

Before Ash could finish Scay Suit showed up. Fear mixed with anxiety in that moment of recognition. Was this how the others had disappeared? The man held no weapons, but there was something. Some sense of commanding power caused the sort of alarm bells in the back of Ash's mind to light up.

"Sir..." Ash's oice shook as he stepped between this scary person and his friends. "I'm going to have to see some ID. Last I checked freedom of peaceful assembly is a thing, and you can't jut randomly take our things." There was fear in him as he staed down this man in the suit. "So either start giving me a reason to not call security."

Raven giggles at Temulin's little joke. But then sighed as everyone BUT her got such a book. She wondered why? well... No matter. She didn't want one. She... really, really didn't. She snorted at Miwa's. "Heh. Looks like a child's picture book. It's cute. Suits you, Miwa," she teased. She then flicked her nub of a cigarette onto the ground, stepping it out.

And then, in an almostm ocking tone. "Ya, ya'll. We all gettin' hunted? Best go out back an' get our pellet gun, load up on soma gran' pappy's moon shine," she mocked. What? She was goth. She HAD to mock the country gal. She was contractually obligated.

And then gonta had a book... and the color drained. Okay, this went from 'coincidence' to 'something was happening'. Then... "What if... People who don't have the books... disappear?" she mumbled. "Did anyone... hear about any books from any of the people who disappeared?" And her hand tightened on Temulin.

And no sooner did she say that... that the man appeared. And she tightened her grip on Temulin... And then the man CALLED HER OUT SPECIFICALLY. Oh, she had an idea of why people were disappearing, now. She moved against Temulin, trying to hide behind her instinctively. "L-like hell I will. Sorry. You're really not my type. I like them thinner, cuter and a hell of a lot younger. Maybe you should go hang out under the bridge on seventh avenue. I'm sure you can find a girl you can pay enough to spend the evening with you." Oh gosh. She swore she could FEEL his anger. His hate. But it had to be his imagination. No way she could feel something like that. that'd be silly. She hugged Ash's book to her chest. If he wanted it, well, then it was now her favorite book.

Temulin Dotharl maneuvers to stand in front of Raven, and reaches into her pockets. One hand for the mace, and one hand for a knife. She doesn't say a word, she just stares at the man with narrowed eyes and gets ready to use force if need be. Others can do the talking, this jerk is threatening Raven, that is so contemptible she doesn't have any words to spare for it.

Miwa frowns at Raven's teasing. "Hey, at least it's happy stuff. If you had one of these books it would probably be so dark and creepy that it would just make you and the rest of us even more on edge...." She trails off as she notices that Gonta has a book too, and then the man in the suit appears and she lets out a gasp, moving even closer to Ash and grabbing his hand without even realizing it at first, though when she does she still squeezes it gently and gives him a worried 'We're fucked aren't we?' kind of look.

Olivia Montag loosk at the man comes and just reaches out for a book, she picks one up there's some dinosaurs on the cover and within the book it's a mix of very old greek, English and nordic runes. She looks to the man for a moment and pulls the book. She looks to Miwa and then to every lat one. She makes a gesture that almost says run. Olivia has a plan, oh lordy she has a plan. The gesture is to /run/.

Gonta crosses his arms, moving to stand slightly in front of Ash. "He's right...if you do anything to any of us, you're in for some deep trouble," Gonta states, "You do anything to anyone here and you'll regret it one way or the other." It's more a question if he'll regret it right away, or if it'll wait until more proper authorities are involved. He doesn't seem like he's up on following this 'run' plan, as he seems to be glaring the strange man down.

"A predictable reaction." The Scary Suit steppd forward, almost casually shoving Ash aside, sending the red-headed teenager sprawling to the pavement. It seemed to either ignore or not care that Temulin was reaching for weapons as it spoke. "Your cooperation... is not nessicary..." The thing's voice shifted with each word. Growing more gravely, echoing and harmonising with itself as it reached towards the book in Raven's hand. She could see behind itsglasses two sets of red glowing eyes.

Then the bird would caww. Causing the Agent-Demon-THING to turn its attention towards it. "I do not need... backup." Raven could feel th thing's Hate, and Need, and so much more from not just the man-thing but the bird-thing as well.

Again the bird would caw causing other birds to swirl and swoop down behind the Spooky Suit before coelessing into a smokey charcoal back being that looked very much like Temulin. Except this being wore armor plate, had a sword strapped to its back, and moved like a caged animal annoyed with the thing it was sharing space with. Temulin would feel a deep dreadful sense of familiarty beyond just how thething looked. It's like she knew it was a dark reflection, a thing that had everything WRONG with her... and it was siding with the spook thing reaching for Raven.

Another figure, this one seemingly falling from the sky landing in the classic one knee superhero landing. Ash recognized it. Others who saw the cover of the book Ash carried saw the thing pictured on that cover, except it was red armor over a charcoal black body that slowly stood, its han's open but exuding a sense of predatory grace as it stepped closer.

"We only want... you to be safe." The Demon-Agent's voice hissed. "Sister."

Almost as soon as Ash hit pavement he rolled to try getting ot his feet, taking a ready stance with his fists raised. "Look here you sonova-" His words died in his throat when he saw the murder of crows. Then panic and fear screamed, each trying to grab for the proverbial controls when he saw what landed.

"....No...." His voice was small. Scared. "Void No...."

He felt small. Just the Agent... Thing looked like it was comfortable fighting, and on top of that it had this weird scary shadow clone of Temulin whispering orders at it, which was freaky all on its own.

Now this. It was like someone replaced the pit of his stomach with the cold emptiness of space.

His mind flashed to an impossible place. An impossible time where he and raven spoke. Where he was alone and people he depended on were backed in a corner unable to flee. He saw Ollie and Miwa. He saw how terrified Raven was.

The void in his stomach consumed all fear, all terror. In this moment he was the leaf.

In that moment he knew what to do.

In a single fast motion grabbed the back of the Suit's collar and kicked in the back of his knee while trying to turn the thing towards the two friends that showed up to tag along.

"RUN FOR IT!"

Raven didn't respond to Miwa's words(though she was right. So right.) The man came closer. Closer. And then... Backup? Why were the birds--

And he had those eyes. Those horrible, horrible eyes. Those eyes from her nightmare. Those eyes from her visions. Those nightmares that.... "N-no..." she whispered, backing away, hitting the wall. "No no no no. Please no. Y-you're not real. You're just... you're just a nightmare. Y-you can't be real. You can't...." she whispered.

And then those words. She.... She dropped the book. And stared up at him and then.... Screamed. She screamed and knelt down and she covered her head. "No no no no no. I'm not a monster! I'm not! I'm not a demon!" Where did these words come from? "I'm not evil! I'm NOT LIKE YOU!" she screamed, her entire body shaking. She didn't even know where all these words were coming from. She didn't know why she couldn't stop crying. He said to run, but she didn't hear it. She was so scared, all she could do was cry and scream.

"Go away! Go away! I'm Rachel Roth! I'm not your sister!" she cried. Wanting all of it to go away. To please, please, please go away....

Miwa watches the man in the suit, blinking in disbelief as he seems to talk to his bird about not needing backup, and then other birds start to swoop in behind him. This was getting to be like something out of a bad horror movie. When Ash called to run, she certainly didn't have to hear it twice, but without a second thought, she rushed over to grab Raven by the arm and pull her away. "Time to go, now!" Before attempting to make a run for it along with Raven. That is unless Raven doesn't move to come with her. If that happened Miwa would continue trying to get her to leave, even if that meant slapping the girl to get her attention.

It'/s time to run, and she's turning to get goign she has a plan she knows she's got a gun at her quad. 

 "Come on with I have an idea." 

 She's going to be the last one to run and be making for her quad if she can get to it and her gun.

The demon-agent snarled as its leg buckled. The shadow-Temulin and the armored ninja both drew swords and advanced on ash, and in unison chopped the Agent apartwith their blades. One blade cleaving its head, the other carving into it gut. 

Neither wound bled as the demon grabbed each blade asits head started to reform, with the decapitated organ dissolving in smoke. "These.... toys... won't save you."

The Shadow-Temulin only snarled hatefully at the demon and pivoted, using her bladeas counterweight to reposition to try slamming it onto the demon's legs.

The Ninja's grip shifted, choosing to hack at hte demon's face al as it seemed to exist in an emotional void.

the three entities seemd focused on eachother. No other strange birds, no black suits.

Yet within seconds of eachother phones would ring. Each being a parent calling to check on their child. Each stating they're on the way they got a call that something was going on. Raven's mom however had more to say to her child. "Racheal.... it's your dad... Run sweetie. Just... Just run."

To be perfictly blunt? Ash hadn't expecte that to actually work. So at first he hadn't noticed everyone else for once doing the sensable thing. It was his phone ringing thta snapped him out of his momentary daze. This caused him to grab Temulin by the arm and start running. He wasn't going to stop if she didn't get the immediate hint and would try dragging the delinquint by said arm.

"Mom, Ash tried to speak as he glanced back to see if they were being followed.

"Ashley Tenno." The voice on the other end grew hard. "You will listen to me and you will listen Right Now. Whatever that thing is wants Raven. You will keep her safe."

"What about the other two?" Ash was a ball of confusion. What was going on? How did his mom know what was going on? 

"I don't know, I dont' care. Run for it."

He didn't need telling twice.

Raven was dragged away, shaking, staring. Eying the creatures. What.... What were those... THINGS? And why were they so familiar? Why did they remind her of.... Of people. Of good things.

Except the demon. Not the demon... Never the demon. It scared her. It made her think of burning wastelands. Death. Destruction. Pain.

She held onto Miwa's hand, letting it be the ship in the storm she needed, following behind it, numb. She didn't know what to do. What to--

'It's your dad'.

And Raven dropped the phone. As a fear she didn't know. Didn't understand. Flooded her. "N-no..." she whimpered, trembling, gripping Miwa's hand even tighter. "Please no..." she whispered. Why did it scare her so much?! WHY?!

Miwa keeps going, not looking back as she really didn't want to know what was going on behind them. Raven's iron grip was a little painful, but she couldn't blame the girl, she'd never been this afraid before. She jumps as her phone rings, as her nerves are on a hair trigger. Reaching into her small purse she pulls out her phone and answers it, it was her mom. "Sweetie, just run, we don't really know what's going on, but it sounds pretty bad." Miwa blinks, almost dropping her phone. She shoves it back into her purse and bolts toward Olivia and her quad bike, as it appeared to be the fastest way out of here. "Got room for two more on that thing?" She asks hopefully.

Olivia Montag says "I do, can either of you shoot?" 

 she's getting on and starting up the machine. She's also getting what is clearly ar rifle case to a more accessable postion for her. "We're getting out of here." The mment that Raven an Miwa are on she's going to gun the quad's negine and take off, she's heading for the family farm, at this point it should be safe there, or at least there will be weapons.

For the moment the Demon-Agent was preoccupied by the things that at first seemed like they would be its backup. A pair of other Suits exited diffrent buildings. Each seemed to lock onto the small group of people and turned as if directed by an unseen observer as both drew pistols.

"The Anomoly." One spoke calmly as it looked to Raven.

The other's focus also turned to Raven, "Do we terminate?"

"No," THe first Agent then looked to the three way fight between Demon and Apperitions before firing on the agent that he had been talking to as a second set of red glowing eyes opened where its eyebrows should have been. "You think to hide away in this cage." It hissed as it strode toward the group, still two dozen meters away from the group as it aimed with its pistol. "Not even confining myself to this husk will bar Father's will."

Where the demons seemed to radiate Hate, and Miwa Radiated fear, Ash was this bubble of emotional stillness when he heard the gunfire. A week ago he would have been terrified, or at the very least confused at what was going on, or his mental evaluation of each of the otential threats. Now however he positioned himself between the new threat and his friends and motioning for them to go with Ollie as he raced for his motorcycle. Had the second demon shot at him? Hard to say as his bike roared to life and got in line behind Oliivia's quad. Why that thing being on the road hadn't gotten her in trouble he had no idea, but it was what it was at this point, something not worth worrying over.

Raven was shaking, holding on Miwa's hand for dear life. She wanted out. She wanted to escape. Cage? She wasn't in any cage! "G-go away!" she yelled, shaking her head. She got on the quad without objection, holding onto Miwa and closing her eyes. Probably for the best as, when they took off, holding onto the other girl with her eyes tightly closed and trying to keep herself calm. Whispering softly to herself.

"All a bad dream, a nightmare, a-a prank. Has to be. They are, they aren't, they don't even make sense... L-lets, let's go, let's get out of here, please...." she whispered shaking and clutching the other girl tightly.

If the circumstances were less life or death, Miwa would have smiled at Olivia as she agreed that they could join her on that quad, but she still was immensely thankful that they had a way of getting away from here that didn't involve running on foot. She would quickly help Raven onto the bike before scrambling up herself. At the question of if either of them could shoot, she looks at Raven, the girl was barely holding it together, certainly in no condition to be holding a gun. She looks back at Olivia with a sheepish grin. "Um, you point the barrel toward the thing you want to kill and pull the trigger?"

Olivia is just inwardly shaking her head at Raven. "Just hang on then sugar!" She'll do the shooting later if it comes to it she's going to be going off road the moment she can get away from the main part of the town, cutting out ground craft following them as she guns it. 

 "Looks real enough to hurt us and I don't intend to see either of you get hurt." She keepos going she's got to keep going as the bike is after them and she can't get off road just yet...

Where had Temulin gone? What of Gonta? Even a few of the more pro-active teachers like the affectionately known 'Eggman'? WHere were they? Why was it just these people? Where they after everyone or just Raven?

As vehcles sped away more agents stepped out of seemingly every building in ofthe campus. Some were looking at where the students had drove off, others were firing on the demonic agent.

Then more cellphones would ring. A man's voice would speak through the external speakers of each. "Keep driving." This voice held no compassion or malice. It was cold as it addressed each student. "Unknown contaminants infiltrating defensive systems, degrading simulation stability. Security protocols are being compromised."

As the speaker informed Raven and her friends of this they saw another demon-agent running after them. This... Person... shaped entity was moving fast, far faster than humans should be able to run. Its arms were bent at right angles and barely seemed to breath as it moved at dead run, eyes locked ahead at its target.

then a purple car swerved, its back end whipping into the demon, knocking it to the pavement. Thegroup would recognize Ash's mom's car, an older model sedan as it slammed on its brekas and immediate ly reversed into the demon as it tried to get back to its feet.

Meanwhile Temulin would see the 'space ninja' as Ash called the figure once when she wondered what it was he drew look at her before looking to her smokey armored clone before running off in the direction everyone else went.

Her double would look to Temulin with a snarl on her face, "You call yourself Dotharl when you stand by and watch your friends hunted like vermin? You disgust me!" The clone would then slap Temulin before its eyes bored into hers. "You know what you must do NOW DO IT!"

That engine. Ash recognized the sound of his mom's car and risked looking back in time to see her motioning for him to go. as she backed over the demon. The phone-voice made no sense to him. Simulation? Security? What was going on? He took a breath before speeding back up, trying to keep Olivia's quad from getting too far ahead. None of this made sense.... Why them? What was going on? He was no-one important. None of them were.

Raven was full on shaking, her eyes tight, buried into Miwa's shoulder/back and just... Trying to stay calm. To ignore it. But she was scared. She was so, so scared. She wanted her mom. She wanted to go home and all this to go away. Some stupiud goth prank that got out of hand.

And then someone RAN THE DEMON OVER AND IT GOT UP! She shriekd and grabbed miwa tighter. "Azarath noritos zion metrion carazon endrien!" she said, not even realizing she just... said something in a completely... DEFINITELY not english language.

Now that they were finally speeding away, Miwa finally does look back, and she soon wishes she didn't. She watches as Ash's mom runs the demon over, and backs up over it, and it still isn't dead. As Raven grips her tighter, she hugs Raven right back, blinking at the unknown language the girl is now speaking in. She looks up at Olivia again, eyes full of terror. "Maybe... maybe you should do the shooting... Or maybe we should just get the hell out of here! If a car won't kill them, not sure a gun will do much better!"

Olivia Montag is haning on tight and gunning it she isn't sure what' up with Raven when she start well helling in a strange lanauge she has no idea what it is, but she's trying to keep her eyes on the road. "I'm going for the ranch just hang on you two." She feels about as scared as Miwa yet her body almost seems to be on auto pilot as she drives for everything she's worth to get to the ranch. Just what is going on with Raven? With Miwa and eveyrone else? Why are nobodies like them being targerted.

the demon that got ran over isn't getting up. Yet it took Ash's mom totalling her car. there seemed to be no more things before they pulled into the road for Olivia's family ranch. Well. Except for the noises sounding unfamiliar. There werne't tyical cow, horse, whatever noises. 

It looked like they were pulling into a low-budget urrasic park with Raptors where horses should have been, small grazing dinosaurs where cattle had been that orning.

And Olivia's dad had a rifle out and only seemed to just now lower it when he saw Olivia's quad. Beside him the man had a pair of rifles leaned against hte house's front wall.

Ash blinked at the sounds coming from Olivia's ranch. "What?" He stared at the raptors as hsi biek slowed down. "...What?"

He took a breath as he rolled to a stop and grabbed one of the rifles. and went through the motions of checking it, not questioning how he knew how to work this weapon.

Raven stared at the rifle. "I've never touched anything like that, I'm a pacifist...." she mumbled. "My mother is too, my father is..." She trailed off. "Daddy... daddy didn't.... use guns either..." she whispered. Se didn't know why. He just didn't hunt? Ugh....

She shook her head. "Will a gun.... even hurt them? I mean.... they ran it over and.... and what if more of them come?"

Miwa squeezes Raven gently as the girl starts speaking English again. "I wondered the same thing, but I guess we have to try, we can't run forever, and I'd rather not think about the alternative... But um, Olivia, have you always had dinosaurs on your ranch? I don't think I've ever visited, but I'm pretty sure news like that would have spread through school like wildfire on a forest in a drought..." She asks as she gets off the bike and walks over to take one of the guns by the house, holding it like she's never held a gun before and is trying to figure out how to hold it properly.

No there's something else ahead, there's other things out there wandering about, several Trikes, stegos and even pair of Carnos who are currently sleeping by a pond enjoying the sun. She takes a moment to stare she looks for a moment shaking her head for a bit. Raven and Miwa might notice something strange, very /strange/ there's a chunk of metal with glowing portions implanted in her left forearm and it glows pulsing almost in time with her breathing. Does she start muttering in wait Greek? Greek via a southern accent? Which is slowly melting away. 

 "Clever...girl?" 

 One of the raptors bounds up to the fence pauses at the gate, trips the gate opening I and trots up to her bobbing its head and making chirping noises at the group.

When Olivia's father spoke he sounded calm. "They're using System Agents as sleeves. Jump from one host to the next whenever it either burns out, is too damaged to continue, or is in a bad position for hwatever their needs are," He looked to Raven as he spoke, "Which seems to be hunrting you. Our job now is to hold the fort until they can safely unplug you."

He then reached over to the GOth girl and put a hand on her shoulder, "I argued against them taking outworlders in since we had no idea if our systems could handle it. Turns out I was right..."

Then he looked to Olivia sadly. "Girl... You know i"m not your father. You know, at least at some level what all of this is. I just want you to know I'm proud to have gotten to know you. Whatever else, you've made your family proud by sticking with your friends."

Olivia's 'father' walked over to Miwa and shook his head. "You'd probably be better to just keep an eye out. Gun i nthe hands of someone that done'st know how to us e it's more a danger to us than anyone else." Thick calloused hands patted her gently. "You're Raven's anchor here. Me, and Ash will try acting asadefensive line."

He then looked to Olivia. "Unlock the raptor paddocks. Now's as good a time as any to see how well those thigns actually do on a hunt."

After double checking his rifle Ash would look to Olivia's 'father' and blink. "So you're saying...." His head shook. He wasn't dizzy so much as there was a sense of duality. He was here... and for a moment he was also elsewhere. "TO the void with whatever you intended. We'll cross that bridge after we get out of this." 

"Raven?" Ash's voice was soft. "whatever happens. We're here for you girl Just focus on that. Youv'e got friends."

Raven stared at him. "Anchor? W-what? What are you talking about? Unplug me? System agents? What in the world are you talking about? What is going on? What is causing this? Why are there dinosaurs! Why are there.... there monsters? What is CAUSING all this?!" Her panic was rising. Her fear. And for, just a moment, she felt things, things she didn't want to feel. And her head whipped towards the town as she felt... something....

Something evil. And piowerful.... and it wanted her....

Those who were paying attention might notice something strange about Miwa's eyes. They have turned ocean blue with pink pupils. She nods to Olivia's dad and offers the gun back, sitting down next to Raven and holding her close, also hoping this was just a bad dream. The way Olivia's dad was talking, he sounded pretty serious, but she too had no idea what he was talking about. Also, she suddenly felt strange and pressed a hand to her stomach. "I feel... strange..." She says before looking like she might throw up, but instead she burps out a massive water bubble the size of a beach ball. She blinks as she looks at it in disbelief.

Olivia Montag looks at the man for a moment he did look a lot like her father for a moment. 

 "This sounds like one of ... your, err his stories he told around the camp fire in Pirate's cove." 

 She thinks for a moment longer. "If this is the case and we dont' belong here we should go home..." 

 She moves to pet the Raptor for a moment. "I think we should focus on suriving."

Something evil this way comes. THey could feel it in the ground. They could hear it in the wind. Inhuman growls could be heard reverberating through the countryside. THe ranch animals both prey and predator didn't like tht noise one bit.

A voice on the wind, gentle and easily drownd out yet very real.

 '....Dream....'

the first of the demons to show got a rifle round through the forehead causing it to pitch backwards, stopping it for several long seconds, just long enough to give hope before it rose again.

"Damned." Ollie's dad cursed in several languages she might understand before sighting and firing again as more demons joined the first.

Another demon was trampled by pannicked herbivores and a third was stuck trying to fire bolts of energy at several raptors circling it.

"...Not of what we are..." Ash's voice was calm as he apparenty continued what the voice on the wind was trying to tell them. His rifle fire was methodical. Swivling from one demon to the next as he slowly backpedled. 

Ths felt disturbingly familiar. The quick-chambering of a fresh round. the crack of rifle fire against onrushing opponents. Even the dead calm he felt of setting emotion and concious thought aside felt familiar.

Something was missing though. Something important. Confusion slid across the edge of the void of Ash's mind.

Olivia Montag whisles without thinking sending the Dinosaurs into a full on attack of the demons they snawl, snap use tooth tail and claw to start fighting the demons.

Raven sat there, holding her knees to her chest. She rocked back and forth, moving as far away as she could. "No. No... They aren't stopping. Why aren't they stopping? They need to... W-why do they want us? Why do they--"

And then something reached up and grabbed her. She let out a scream. "L-let me go!" But, it didn't. A dark splotch of an empty void formedd nder her... And tendrils of it began to drag her in. Deep, deep inside. "No. Stop. P-please. H-help! Someone!" she creamed, reacing a hand out...

And then it lunged up, swallowing her like some massive beast rising from the waves, only to disappear am oment later, taking her with it...

Raven was gone.

Miwa finally breaks her stare at the water bubble, and looks back at Raven, hugging the girl close to her as they huddle in front of Olivia's home. She had no idea what was going on, but she was determined not to let anything happen to Raven. That hope was shattered though when some sort of void opened up and tendrils started dragging Raven into it. Miwa screams and grabs Raven's hand, trying to pull her back out, but the tendrils are stronger, and eventually she knows she has to let go, or she'll be pulled in too. "I'm sorry Raven..." Is all Miwa manages to say as she lets go and watches with tears streaming from her eyes as Raven is pulled into the void and out of sight. She collapses into the dirt and starts sobbing, feeling like this was it, this is how it all ends.

THe demons somehow knew Raven had vanished. THeir almost unerring course towards where she had been huddled faltered then stopped asthat current of Otherness flowed instead outward from the ranch home. Stormclouds gathered and the earth rumbled.

"The weave of this place isn't holding..." He looked about nervousely as the Demons milled about in confusion. "Whatever that girl's doing the system's pushing back something aweful."

"Raven?" Ash saw Miwa, and did not see Raven. Instead of taking the confusion of their enemies as a chance to continue firing Ash huddled near Miwa, attempting to help her to her feet. Ollie... was Gone. Not 'Run Off.' Not There anymore. Same wit hOllie's dad except Ash saw him leave. He saw the man dissolve into strings of energy leaving nothing but a faint mist behind. "...Wha'ts happening...?" His rifle fell aside as he held onto Miwa. The calm shattered. He was afraid.

Miwa turns to Ash as she hears his voice, and grabs him in a tight hug, pulling him close as she cries into his shoulder. "I'm scared Ash, I don't know what's going on, everything got crazy so fast." She says as she holds Ash until they eventually dissolve just like Olivia's father had.

Raven was dragged into the darkness, enveloped in it. Crying out for help, for someone, anyone. For Azar... And then.... She felt it.

The power... was hers. It flooded into her. Enveloping her. Enshrouding her. Guarding her. Her garments appeared on her body as memories, as thoughts, as all that she was returned, breaking through the system.

And with it, the single realization. This was all. Her. Fault.

A moment later, her dark, raven form rose from the ground, reforming into the girl. "I... see..." she said, staring at the demons. "But you're not truly here, are you? Projections. Otherwise father would just use you?" She lifted her right hand as darkness formed in it. "But... you just couldn't let me pretend... could you?" she asked softly. A lance of darkness shot out, piercing and vaporizing the creature. "You can't just let me pretend for a second, just one second, that I am normal, can you?" she asked, as tears formed in her eyes and flowed, her right hand sending a blast of dark energy out at a second, vaporizing it.

"But you know what? I'm fine. I. Am. Fine." And this time, a raven of darkness rose out from her, wiping out three of of them, sending them back where they came from.

"It's not like I WANTED THIS ANYWAY!" And then the darkness erupted off her, in waves. Knocking over anything not nailed down, shattering windows and vaporizing the abominations. The girl then lowered herself back down to the ground, crumbling to her knees and wrapped in her cloak. Panting from exertion, her entire body quivering.

"I'm sorry... I'm so... so sorry... I hurt people... I attacked people... I dragged you all into my stupid, dangerous life... I made you stop me... And then I ended the fantasy..." she whispered.

Asthe world decompiled, dissolving bit by bit Ash reached out to touch Raven's arm as he held onto Miwa. "Ra-" And then... Nothing.

Much went on that they were unaware of. Extraction from somatic pods, clensing, checking of vitals, and...

They would find themselves on an uninhabited beach near a vine. Here was unfamiliar but it was 'safe' 

Raven would find a note tucked into her cloak from her 'mother.'