The Challenge From Beyond - Regroup

[cityship]

You're the ones who are good enough (or lucky) enough to be close to Escherville. You've had the good fortune to be scooped up and now you need to regroup and get ready to take on the Nightmare King himself. Time to reorganize and gear up as best you can with what you've got. The Nightmare King isn't going to wait for you.

Get moving.

_{((OOC: This is for the various groups/peoples who will be fighting the Nightmare King directly or assisting in that endeavor. If your character was in one of the Challenge from Beyond Groups, tag them in here! Feel free to do some tagging back and forth and enjoy yourselves. Please get tagged in by Tuesday night, March 2nd though, so we can get the Final Fight properly organized. ))}

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[bears-omnitrix.livejournal.com]

"I'm getting tired of this," grumbled Eon as he stalked towards the meeting place, his leather-covered hands clenching in a way that could be mistook as a manner to make with the strangling. Whatever shields the Chronian had was enough to make him edgy as all hell.

He was also one of the first ones there, by sheer luck of following the Captain through the nightmares.

[static-shock68.livejournal.com]

"You and me both, man." Static limped after him, wobbly as all hell; the drugs still hadn't worn off completely, and his charge was the only thing keeping him upright, but even that didn't seem to be to good.

"At least we had the Captain to help us out, right? I mean, now it's up to all of us to return the favor for everyone else..."

[lackofdarkwings.livejournal.com]

Nursing an arm was all right for Matt. It didn't slow him down any for the point of being hit there previously. But there was a mission and the young warrior was ready to kick some serious ass.

His shield glowed softly and he smirked. This was going to be fun.

[halfa-hero.livejournal.com]

Danny? Had just fought his way out of his nightmare, currently wasn't able to go ghost thanks to the Nightmare King, and pretty much looked like shit.

"Hey Matt."

[pocketloli.livejournal.com]

Rein was dusty, dirty and naked. But she was definitely flushed from the battle. Her weapon slung over her shoulder, she was trying to get into the mindset to conjure up her usual battle gear. "Is it too much to ask for a plantsuit?" she asked the air.

But there was no answer and Rein grumbled as she stabbed the weapon into the ground, awaiting the rest of her team.

[notsaintkaiser.livejournal.com]

"Rein-chan!" A voice called out. The device would soon see a familiar face - Vivio. Having finally escaped her little dream world, the child and her Device gladly rejoined her friend.

"Rein-chan, are you okay? Have you seen Nanoha-mama and Fate-mama yet?"

[governmentninja]

Along approaches a man holding a certain star-spangled shield that may be familiar to a few people there. Unfortunately, the hero who usually wields that shield isn't the one who is holding it.

Leon S. Kennedy, the Chief of Security, has it. For now, anyway.

He noticed that he and the people he met up with along the way weren't the first to arrive. And likely wouldn't be the last. At the least, everyone could take a brief moment to rest, regroup, and forge ahead for the final confrontation to the Nightmare King.

[hexyeah]

For the walk there, Wanda had been silent, although from time to time she glanced at the shield Leon carried.

"It suits you." She said, finally. "The shield."

[redeyes_andblue]

Not quite joined up with the others yet, Sheik lurks in a side corridor, watching the growing crowds warily. He knows full well that it's time, that they're off to face the Nightmare King - and he knows that for that time, he won't be able to protect Zelda.

[And you're sure? If something goes wrong...]

[If something goes wrong, we all die anyway. Sheik, we have to do this.]

[...Okay. If you're certain. ...And be careful.]

There's a blindingly bright flash of light, shielded from the rest by a wall of shadow, and when it fades it's Zelda standing there. She takes a steadying breath, murmurs something to herself (or, perhaps, to Sheik), and steps out into the crowd.

She has people to find. Especially one in particular...

[demon-alessa.livejournal.com]

Not surprisingly, there is one member of the group here who is free of feeling as tired as the rest of her human cohorts. Alessa, after all, had been preparing weeks for this. As far as she was concerned. people just needed to stay out of her way once they reached Escherville, and that went double for giving her orders: chances were, they had been surprised by his advancing attack, and she needed competence, not some wannabe leader grasping for straws in the dark.

She knew a few of the people here: Leon, obviously, with that ridiculous looking weapon that took down the "god", Reinforce, who was, well, nude for reasons unexplained, the ghost boy she'd heard by reputation who was no longer that at the moment, and a few others she was unfamiliar with. They all looked worse for wear, and no wonder: they had broken free of the first assault of the Nightmare King, who was already starting to break free.

Not going to happen.

The growl in her throat was low, but there was no mistaking what she was doing: all of the power she'd been hoarding for the fight was gathering to her, and her home base in the city gave her more strength: she could hear the moaning cries of some of the beasts in the factory, and it brought a smile to her lips. Anyone who still had the ability to sense magic would either feel or see the dark aura gathering around the demon girl.

[is-the-ultimate.livejournal.com]

(http://s79.photobucket.com/albums/j138/SoaringHeadache/Cape%20and%20Cowl/Shadow%20The%20Hedgehog/?action=view&current=thShadow051.png)

"It's time."

Approaching Alessa would be a familiar face - Shadow. A bit scuffed up from his alien brawl, he was more or less prepared for the fight. The sound of cracking knuckles can be heard.

"I see you're ready..."

[on_errantry]

Rhiow, it seemed, was one of the only people who had managed this far without being too worse for wear - at least physically. She was keeping very careful tabs on her energy and had rationed her spells strictly in order to save herself for now, when it counted.

She kept the doors to Escherville in sight, eyeing them warily as she approached the half-circle arc of Speech that lay on the ground, barely visible and inert. Rhiow trotted to the power configuration in the array, sniffing at it, examining the power parameters. She wasn't sure how much oomph she would have to put into this, but she hoped she had enough. It would stop anything short of a guided missile, but if they had to deal with those they were in more trouble than Rhiow had thought.

She sank her claws into the power array and felt the tingle of the hyperstrings go up her spine. Once the threat began, she would raise the barrier. She didn't want to leave anyone trapped on the other side.

[proffesorcrisis.livejournal.com]

"You sure about this?" Isaac said, looking down at the cat, brush, paint, and thaumaturgical battery array in hand. He crouched and put a hand out, containing one of those batteries. It resembled a miniature lantern filled with glowing green gel.

[enter-aeneas.livejournal.com]

There was a mission in his head and a glare in his eyes. Aeneas was prepared—apparently in more ways than one.

”Oh, quaint spit bubble, dribbling down from Stacy’s high ceiling. Where are you destined? The floor in front of my face? This unfortunate human’s shoulder standing several feet ahead? Why don’t I guide you someplace else in your descent, hmm? Wouldn’t you rather stay away from this mess that we crewmembers are about to throw ourselves into?...”

He is indeed mentally serenading a glob of intestinal mucus. It was something he’d learned how to do while holed up in med bay that helped him harness his newfound water magic, to better connect him with his target substance. It was like Aeneas’s version of a mantra, only…more personal. Better directed, in his opinion.

Reliably, as it fell, the fluid abruptly swerved and spattered against the stone of ruined buildings. Aeneas cracked open an eye, raising his brow curiously.

”…So then you are as vengeful as we are…”

[worm-dancer.livejournal.com]

The worm reared back and roared from the other side of the alley. It was a sound somewhere between orca, lion and screeching tire. The spatters hissed and burned it and she frantically calmed it, shushing it and stroking the great hide.

Who'd caused that? Oh, it was Aeneas, the alien who had helped her out of the trap the other day. "Careful!" She called.

[captain-jtk.livejournal.com]

Kirk was moving through the crowd, pausing here and there to say a word or ensure that everyone was in good health. Finally, he tried to get the attention of the rather large crowd that they'd manage to put together.

"I need your attention, please. Now, it's obvious that the Nightmare King is making his move, his bid for freedom. We're going to have to stop him. I'm afraid we don't have time to ask after the rest of the crew - we need to go immediately and we need to get organized. Nanoha? Everyone? Let's get organized. Fast."

[birthmural]

Daimon saw Kirk's attempts to get attention. Pointing his trident in the air, he shot off a blast of soulfire in the air. "Calm yourselves. The Captain has need of you."

[grayaura.livejournal.com]

Mai was searching through the assembled crowd. Zuko had to be hear somewhere. She knew him. He wouldn't just sit around or give in to depression (well, maybe he would), but he'd be here. She wasn't calling his name (yet). That wasn't the way she worked. Instead, she simply brushed through the crowd, looking for his familiar face.

[wearsagun.livejournal.com]

Beckett had come through relatively unscathed, with the exception of a few minor wounds that the plantsuit had taken care of. Now she was standing on the outskirts of the crowd that had gathered, checking everyone over to assess their conditions and the like. Not that she was in any position of power here, but it was an instinctive action.

Other than that, she kept mostly to herself while waiting for something to happen.

[notadamnangel.livejournal.com]

Dean had been staying on alert. Right now, they had a little lull in the nightmares but it wasn't going to last. Not by a long shot. This place really gave him the heebies jeebies with whatever it was putting out. Didn't matter though, wasn't mean he wasn't going to charge in with the others to shut it down for good. He checked his ammo for possible restocking, though he had brought extra.

[chosenfamily]

Sam's shoulders hurt. His arms hurt. His legs hurt and, most of all, his back burned like hellfire. Which, given his dream, sort of made sense. At least the plantsuit was still there when he'd remembered the ship and sealed over the wounds. As long as they could be kept clean, he figured he'd be fine until this was over.

He kept moving, not willing to stop. Not until he found Dean, made certain he was okay. The nightmare came back to his mind's eye and he banished it with a shake of his head that made him groan. No, none of that.

"Dean." Finally spotted his brother. And tried not to look too obvious with the glance to make sure his eyes were normal.

[worm-dancer.livejournal.com]

Phantom burns pained Sheeana at her shoulders and thighs, raised pink lines on her dark skin, cutlines like what you would use to mark cattle for chopping. They severed the plantsuit there, giving hers a provocative cut which she normally would have paid attention to. Now was not the time though.


The worm was agitated, rubbing itself against the side of a building like an itchy dog. She reached up to stroke the great scales of the creature that had rapidly grown to as tall as she was. "Shush, shai-hulud. Shush, shaitan. We will have need of you soon."

[proffesorcrisis.livejournal.com]

Isaac was painting as many of the walls as he could manage in a short time with wards and alarms, linking them to the messenger bag full of thaumaturgical batteries he carried by long wires. When each drawing was finished, he would set a battery on the ground. It would be a small barrier, the thaumaturgical equivalent of a chain-link fence, but it might at least buy them time.

[venominsilicon.livejournal.com]

Actually being pleased to see that someone isn't dead yet is a very rare emotion for Gauron - but then, he's also in a much more forgiving mood than usual. "As many weapons as I had you modify for me, I hope you thought to keep one for yourself."

[not-prncss-tldr.livejournal.com]

Lafiel felt completely helpless. She'd assigned herself to guard duty carrying the strange pistol the magical department had graciously given out to her and that's where she was, at the edge of the group, finger halfheartedly twitching on the trigger guard. Even that, she suspected, had been a kind of pity, a way for the magical team to keep security from feeling too useless.

This was not her kind of conflict. She was built for grand battles between fleets, not psychospiritual warfare.

[birthmural]

As always, Daimon Hellstrom stood apart. He had searched the crowd for one face and, not finding her, frowned and grasped his trident tighter.

[sniff-my-dust.livejournal.com]

"Hiya teach!" Pixie darted around Daimon, surprisingly chirpy despite the ordeal she's been there. "Wanna turn that frown upside down?"

[trenchcoatange1.livejournal.com]

Daimon wasn't the only one standing apart from the rest of the crowd. The quiet, yet fervent, man in the brown trench coat stood just off the steps of Escherville, staring blankly up at the edifice that contained the source of their current troubles. His arms hung limply at his side, one hand clutched firmly around the hilt of an ancient, silver dagger. There was an other-worldly calm about him. If he felt any fear, he gave no sign. On the contrary, Castiel seemed to be projecting an aura of confidence and resolve unmatched by any of those gathered.

[theregularguy.livejournal.com]

Sokka sat amongst the crowd, quietly sharpening his blade. It was important to keep your mind focused at a time like this, and part of that was, of course, keeping your gear in top condition. He had already gone over his firearms. His boomerang was ready. And his sword was honed to a razor edge (or as close as he could get it). He looked down the blade one last time before returning it to the scabbard on his back. Time to get moving.

[halfa-hero.livejournal.com]

Danny, while Captain Oblivious most of the time, had noticed that Katara wasn't present, and Sokka was.

"Sokka, you doing alright?" Said the artificially aged halfa.

[static-shock68.livejournal.com]

Virgil sat on a rock, not far away from where everyone had gathered, hoping to see more people arrive, altering between desperately holding off a panic attack and getting angry about the whole situation. The reason? Right now, his count was five.

Out of the 19 members of the Outsiders, only five had made it here. 26%. And most importantly... Rose wasn't one of them. He hadn't even gotten his team together before things were falling apart, and that meant people may be dying. She may be dying.

He was a lousy leader and he knew it; this had just hammered the point home. And with his powers on the fritz, there wasn't much he could do about it, either. But he was going to try.. he was prepared to die himself to save them, because that's what a leader should do. He wouldn't let them down next time.

He just hoped there was a next time.

[theregularguy.livejournal.com]

"Hey." Sokka stood off to one side, shotgun in hand. His sister wasn't here. That was his biggest worry. She could be anywhere. And he couldn't go find her to help her because wandering off on his own was likely a death sentence, besides the fact that Aang needed their help.

"You okay?"

[i-died-twice.livejournal.com]

Buffy Summers crossed her arms and looked out over the crowd. She'd been here for awhile but...she still hadn't seen Xander.

Was he alright? Was he still here somewhere?

...did the nightmare get to him?

Buffy hoped not. She held on tightly to her scythe and surveyed the crowd.

[dancewithdice.livejournal.com]

Things could never bloody well stay quiet could they? And whenever things went wrong, it always turned back to Mat Cauthon. The pattern always had to drag him into it. He wasn't the Dragon Reborn, he wasn't even a Lord--no matter what the Band might say behind his back--with important lands that might decide the fate of the world.

All he had were the memories he hadn't asked for, and the dice. He'd have been happy just to live his life and mind his own business. Adventure wasn't like the stories, and it only ever got people killed.

Yet, here he was again. In the middle of the chaos, and this time he didn't even fully understand just what that chaos was.

[itsmynamenow.livejournal.com]

Terry's neck hurt from being strangled by... whatever the hell that thing was, but other then that he was fine. He felt calm - his heart was pounding, but his head was clear. He recognized the feeling. He felt this was when he'd fought the Justice League. When he fought the Joker. It was that strange level of calm that came when he got down to business, when he was ready to fight.

[starlightace]

Finally. There were people: they could mount a defense. Nanoha put any strain she was feeling firmly in the back of her mind - there would be time to feel pain or exhaustion later, once they were all finished.

Her eyes scanned the crowd, looking for people on her team; people who knew the plan. They'd specifically overbooked the rosters just for this eventuality - some people wouldn't make it out of their nightmares in time.

But secretly (and perhaps a little selfishly) Nanoha was also scanning the crowd for two heads of blonde hair. She had a job to do, but the mage couldn't help but worrying about her family.

[governmentninja]

Well, this wasn't one of the blondes she was looking for, but he was glad she made it.

"Nanoha!," he shouted, waving a large red, white, and blue shield to get her attention.

[bluerose-knight.livejournal.com]

Sparhawk's black armour is looking the worse for wear, dented, scraped and covered in slowly drying ooze. The remains of his silver surcoat are ripped and thrust into his sword belt, to be used as needed.

He holds one of these remnants in his hand as he methodically cleans off his sword blade, eyes narrowed in concentration. Vanion would be proud.

[magetrouble.livejournal.com]

Kala was nursing her side, which was not as patched up as she might have liked, and leaned hard against the nearest wall. At least, she thought it was a wall. She'd ignored the hell out of the pain for as long as she could, and her plantsuit was doing the best it could to help stem the wound.

Rising Phoenix did all she could, but each time the minor healing failed.

And she was dead tired.

[static-shock68.livejournal.com]

And lo, a 27 year old black man radiating electricity descends before ye.

"You don't look so good. Need a hand?"