The Wolves Come Out At Night

[cityship]

Those left outside the city would find their experience to be far less exciting, but at least it was still relaxing for the most part.

The accommodations they were given were relatively spartan but well maintained, and the locals seemed nice enough. The food was good, and they were treated fairly well despite refusing to undergo the rituals.

But strangely, by the time night started rolling around, the locals began hurrying to finish up whatever they were doing, cutting conversations short and rushing back inside. By the time the sun fell, none of the locals were outside.

...Well. That certainly wasn't ominous.

[ooc: secondary plot is go! try to keep everything in one thread for now]

Comments

[halfa-hero.livejournal.com]

Danny couldn't sleep. It was weird, but he'd gotten used to the bed on the ship, Thinking it over, he walked outside. If nothing else, at least he wouldn't be tossing around under the covers.

[psi-flames.livejournal.com]

Jono had mostly kept to himself during the day. It wasn't that the people weren't nice enough, but there were a lot of them and he wasn't used to the way that they thought. So, slightly annoying.

Outside was nicer without so many people, so outside Jono went, sitting on the outside step and nodding to the white-haired kid as he came out.

[playsin-traffic.livejournal.com]

"...uh, maybe we should head inside...?" Tony offered, giving his surroundings an uneasy glance as he joined Jono and Danny on the steps. "Because they seem to know something we don't."

[death_adept]

From the corner of a nearby rooftop the Assassin had observed the locals as they hurried inside and thus where he sat as he watched the three who had made their ways outside. Making no attempt to hide himself from them.

"Awfully quiet out," He commented to the air, before looking to Tony, "The locals were in an awful hurry to get indoors,"

[nobel-berserker.livejournal.com]

Allenby had come out wondering how the town would be at night--in her experience, that was the best time to go to arcades and things.

This... didn't seem like it was going to be like that. She was pretty sure she could've heard a pin drop. Which was creepy. Real creepy.

"Yeah, I dunno if I like this," she said. She looked around. "Wonder what's goin' on?"

[cityship]

Suddenly, there was a sound that came from nowhere. Like the wind howling in the distance...only...

There was no wind.

Then there was a sudden rush of movement. Dark, shadowy figures, low to the ground, began to move into the settlement, slipping into the shadows.

This didn't seem like a particularly good thing.

[playsin-traffic.livejournal.com]

Well, this was familiar enough. Tony took a few steps from the porch and then his form shifted, bulged outward with the cracking and popping of bone resetting - his clothes seemed to absorb themselves into his body and in a few moments, his human form was gone, replaced by a nine-foot tall, half-wolf, half-man beast. The fur was ragged, but there was strength buried in his form. He fell to all fours for a moment, sniffing at the air and then let out a low growl, only able to make himself half understood.

"Bad."

[psi-flames.livejournal.com]

Jono had been around far too many mutants for the sudden shapeshift to take him by surprise. Instead, he pushed to his feet, reaching up and pulling the cowling away from his face. Fiery energy flowed upward, his eyes echoing the glow. Aye. Bad's pro'ly an unnerstatement, mate.

For noncombatants

[rainfell-aqua.livejournal.com]

Sometimes, being jumpy around the shadows was a good thing. Aqua's overexcited state led her to throw up a barrier spell reaching as far as she could when she saw the shadows move.

They can't be Heartless! she thought.

Re: For noncombatants

[lackofdarkwings.livejournal.com]

Matt reacted as well, looking worried. Calling up his power, he slammed his hands to the ground to protect the people.

But instead of a brilliant wall of golden energy, it was boiling and seething with darkness. Matt almost recoiled. "The hell happened to my magic?!"

[foreseen-future.livejournal.com]

Nura floated nearby, wrapped up in Querl's jacket, hair a mess. She'd just started out of bed at the sound of the commotion outside her and Querl's hut. There was a wild look in her eyes, and a roar of her heart in her chest at the prospect of action. But that wasn't the point right now. What was, as she looked past the barrier with wide, concerned eyes, was that her children were beyond and fighting...creatures of some sort.

And they seemed to be in pain.

"Matt!" she flew to the man's side. "Matt! What is going on?"

[lackofdarkwings.livejournal.com]

"I'm not too sure," said Matt, unsure of himself than anything else. "Looks like we've got some unwelcome company."

"Get back, I'll keep them off our backs."

And Matt held out his hand. Please let this work...!

Light formed around his hand and he thrust it out, forming a blade of light. For a moment he was relieved -- but then the straight blade flickered and curved into a bat-like wing as seething darkness flowed down the edge. "FFFFF," he grunted as he felt his entire arm go ice cold.

[rainfell-aqua.livejournal.com]

"Matt!" Aqua cried out in alarm, seeing the darkness beginning to overtake him.

She couldn't afford to lower her barrier, so she had to focus carefully. Taking more care than she ever had before, she kept the strength of her barrier the same as she shouted, "Heal!" and cast Esuna. With any luck, it would help relieve the damage Matt's darkness was causing him.

[foreseen-future.livejournal.com]

Nura saw the darkness and her mouth was dry and her heart beat rapidly in her chest. There was an ache inside that was familiar. The darkness...

She rushed to Matt's side, reaching out, despite the sensation of fear. I'm not afraid of Death. I'm not. Though it would hurt, she puts her arms around Matt. "Things are going to the seven hells!"

[lackofdarkwings.livejournal.com]

Matt grimaced as he tried to reel it in. Aqua's Esuna did help and he gripped the blade. "They really are," he grunted, drawing his power in deeper as he wrestled with the dark blade in his hand.

"C'mon you BUDGE!"

[stormfall-aqua.livejournal.com]

This was bad. Shadows on the outside, Matt's darkness on the inside. And Aqua wasn't going to be able to keep up this barrier forever on her own. She wasn't ready to be a Master, she...

"Enough!" she told herself. It was just the darkness.

Her Keyblade glowed as she poured more magic into it, simultaneously removing her armor plates and throwing them toward Matt.

"This should protect you from the darkness. Just put them on and activate by touching your shoulder."

[cityship]

In an instant, the battle seemed to be over.

The massive, shadowy creature, holding the raging Plays beneath a single paw, regarded the crew stoically, but took no other action.

Meanwhile, another massive shape began moving towards them from the forest. Unlike the creature currently standing before them, this one carried with it an other worldly glow.

It moved towards them, regarding them evenly, and a voice rang out, much calmer than the others.

"Enough," it spoke.

[supersonicracer.livejournal.com]

Sonic had found himself tackled by Katara in the madness. "H-Hey, what's going...?!" It was then it seemed that things were getting even weirder as the two new beasts seemingly stopped the fight.

"Okay, can someone explain what's going on? 'Cause now I'm absolutely lost."

[bears-omnitrix.livejournal.com]

Ultimate Ultiform stared for half a minute before literally facepalming. "We've been had," he said in Shadow's gruff tones. "If anything, I get the feeling we were being tested."

[kaya-waterwave.livejournal.com]

Track This
Wow. This was different. It was like...like Hei Bai, actually, to look at it. She stared, wondering what it was trying to say.

Enough?

[nobel-berserker.livejournal.com]

The paw had effectively prevented Allenby from crashing into Plays, and she'd landed in a heap on the ground. She wasted no time picking herself up, though.

"H-hey!" she said, looking around at what had been the battlefield. This thing... well she didn't trust it. But it wasn't in her head and it was lighting things up pretty well. So it was an improvement so far. "Couldja tell us what's goin' on here? Who are all of you?"

[playsin-traffic.livejournal.com]

Plays continued to snarl, clawing and biting and tearing ineffectually at the giant paw pressing down on him. The only thought running through him was to destroy; to kill and lash out and hurt and ensure that everything around him stopped moving.

[bio-boosted.livejournal.com]

Sho doesn't let his guard down as he faces the new creature.

"A test? people could have been hurt."

[chosenlightchld.livejournal.com]

Hikari stared, frowning at the newcomer Wolf thing. But she and Angewomon didn't say anything... nor did they fly down towards it. They could hear it just fine right now, and that's all that really mattered.

[cityship]

The shadowy creature bared its teeth in a wolfish grin, even as Plays thrashed violently beneath its paw.

"Hihihihihihi!" it let out a strange laugh. "They think it a test, Brother! A test! Hihi!"

The other one merely looked at the assembled crew.

"No test, mortals," it says. "We are the guardians of this land. I am Owalai, and my Brother here is Lowa."

It lets out a huff that could be interpreted as a sigh.

"This was not a test but...my Brother's interpretation of 'fun'."

One guess as to which was the elder brother.