The Rift

“damnit! I can’t do this…. It’s just not NATURAL!!” yelled what looked to be a black-haired young male with cat ears and a matching tail, which flicked in agitation as he stared into the maw of a giant swirling wall of what looked to be a cross between water and smoke, a rough blue glow emanating from it in a menacing manner.
There was another with him, a scantly clothed dark elf with long hair and glowing Red markings that marked her skin.
“that’s the POINT! Think of where it may lead to!” “LOOK! See, it IS magic, my markings are reacting to it, I sooooo think we should do it!” She said with excitement, Eyeing the object with great interest.
At this point the male was almost frantic, “that’s EXACTLY why we shouldn’t! the last time I followed your advice I landed in the biggest pile of shit, nearly got eaten….. twice… AND had an orc the size of a grizzly try to marry me. In other words NO FUCKING WAY AM I STEPPING INTO THAT THING!!”
The elf laughed with a broad grin on her face, clearly picturing the scene in her mind “Ah….. good times.”
A short moment passed before a third member joined the group, this individual seeming to be of elvish decent, most likely a high elf judging from his upright posture and almost high-and-mighty tone of voice “I for one… think it’s a good idea.” He said as he causually neared them, obviously being an aqquaitence of the other two as they payed little attention to his approach before he had spoken.
“WHAT?! You’re supposed to be the voice of reason ya idiot! Not fling us into more shit!” Said the cat-like male as he regarded the other and backed away slightly, suddenly feeling cornered by his two companions.
“Well, its either through the portal…. Or get torn to shreds by an angry mob….” Said the high elf as he pointed behind him, the night sky in the distance being lit up by a myriad of torches that seemed to get closer every passing second. “And your Fiancé” He said, unable to stop himself from letting out a broad and sly grin.
“FUNNY!!! HA HA FRIKIN HA LOOK HOW MUCH I’m LAUGHING!” The now frantic Nex ranted, whilst flinging his arms up into the air in frustration, mere seconds away from bolting in the opposite direction.
“Oh just shut up and get into the damn portal” The Dark elf grinned before Grabbing Nex by the wrist and flinging him into the portal with a brute force unimaginable by someone of her build.
“Wait WHAT!” was the last words Nex was able to yell out before he was thrown head first into the very thing he had been trying to avoid.
“As usual, Ladies first.” The High elf grinned as he watched his companion get thrown into the portal, the look on Nex’s face made him chuckle before he turned to the Dark Elf, “Then of course Terra, our elven maiden.” He said before initiating an exaggerated bow, extending his arm in the way of the portal.
“Such a gentleman you are Avis.” Terra said with the greatest scarcastic tone that she could muster “What’s next on the agenda, sending little children to their doom” she said with a grin before stepping into the portal. A small while later Avis looked out at the coming mob and stepped into the portal whilst shaking his head, “this should be interesting” the moment he stepped through however, the portal closed in on itself and rendered any further use of it impossible.

Situations like these have been occurring all around the universe, as well as almost every realm imaginable. Strange ,and unstable, portals have been popping everywhere, all of them however, have one destination, the ruined and post apocalyptic world of Gensu (The name of the world being of no real importance whatsoever as any inhabitants that may have known it are all long dead). No one knows why the world started spewing out portals to every dimension, but the fact remains, any who enter them will be greeted by a giant hunk of rock riddled with ruins of skyscrapers and smaller houses alike, as well as buildings erected by the newer inhabitants. The world itself has only a few habitable areas so far, the rest is covered by volcanic wastelands, radiated deserts, blackened forests and open planes subject to regular fires.
We hope you enjoy your stay… For more information merely step though the damned portal to your right and stop asking so many damned questions.

Nex was spat out from the portal at a terrifying speed, screaming all the way until he plowed face first into the dusty wasteland of the new world. "SHIT! Head, Neck, torso..." He said as he franticlly started to pat himself down, his hands moving from his head down to the rest of his body. As he was still searching Terra walked through the portal and took a look around, taking in a deep breath of the air before sneasing. "A tad dustly, but i LIKE IT!"
"WAIT! NO BODY MOVE!" Nex yelled as Avis emerged from the portal as well. Both Avis and Terra looked at him with a confused look on their faces.
"where.... the HELL IS MY TAIL!" he said, spinning round like a mad and rabid dog before getting dizzy and falling over, as he fell to his knees he leaned forward and picked up a clod of sand before dramatically letting it slip through his fingers, "All is lost! LOST i tell you!!" he said as he buried his head in the sand, a mumble emerging now and then.

Terra meanwhile eyed Avis, who was trying his best to hold on a bout of wild laughter. she rolled her eyes and instinctavely took a step to the side before he let loose a roar of laughter, doubling over from the pitiful look on Nex's face.
Nex meanwhile heard this and quickly looked up from out of the sand, "Oh you son OF A BITCH!!" he said before flying at the mage and successfully bowling him over, all the while yelling, "GIVE IT BACK! GIVE IT BACK YOU ASSHOLE OR SO HELP ME!"
Avis was still killing himself with laughter when Nex charged into him, "Bugger off" he said with a manic grinn as he pushed Nex off of him. Nex however decided he was having none of this and promptly charged at Avis again, this time attempting to sink his razor sharp teeth into the mages hand, however he missed and instead pirced the elf's ear, to which Avis responded with a yelp and scrambled to his feet, gripping the hole with his left hand, "What the hell man!!"

Terra laughed before eyeing the two, noting only one single comment, "Kinky"
Nex stared at here wide eyed before he proceeded to wash his mouth out with sand, spluttering and gaging as he tried to 'wash' out the taste of earwax as well as Terra's comment from his mouth.
"Nice piercing." Terra grinned as she glanced over at Avis who had removed his hand to examine the damage. "Oh shove off."
"Better give the cat his tail back before he goes for the other ear." Terra teased, to which the elf responded with a glare "It was never GONE!" he said after making it re-appear.
Nex quickly turned around and gripped it in his hands and holding it close to him. "Youre just jelous damnit. MY TAIL!!!"
Terra placed her hand on the bridge of her nose. "This is going to be a looooong day." she said before looking around, "We best find a town or something. Don't exactly plan on dying here yaknow."

"Doctor Soren............DOCTOR SOREN!!"
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!!?!?!?" Yelled out Rick as he was awoken from his nap.
"Please pay attention. This is very important. Gamma rays are extremely -"
"Wait? Gamma rays? And you're putting me inside the chamber with them?" He asked trying his best to understand the insanity that he was hearing. "Do you have any ideas what Gamma rays can do to you? First of all there's the radiation burns which might i add i'm still healing from the last time you decided to shove me in a room while you guys pump radiation into. Secondly, Do i look like i have health insurance? I can't afford chemotherapy for the inevitable tumors that are gonna start sprouting all over me? damn it i do not want Quado growing out of my side! That shit will fuck up your social life not to mention significantly reduce the chances of getting laid. Not that you guys have anything to worry about but i'm still good looking!"
The other scientist let out a sigh. "You will be wearing a radiation proof suit for this experiment mister Soren, I assure you that it's completely safe."
"Bullshit! There is no way in hell that you're getting me into that chamber!"


Less than fifteen minutes latter Rick was suited up and inside the chamber. Over the intercom he heard the other scientist counting down. At one the large device in the center of the chamber began to emit a bright light from the center.
"You know.. It's times like these that i remember why i became a Physicist....To show anti-matter particles WHO'S BOSS!!!! YEAH!!"
The intercom went off again. "Stage two emitters now activating."
The light became to shine even brighter. "Soren we're not sure how long the emitters will last, please work as fast as possible."
AS he started his work he overheard some slightly troubling chatter. "Overhead capacitors to ninety percent shield degradation. A bit more than we anticipated but uhh.. still within acceptable ranges. It's probably not a problem...probably. Although.... No.. It's well within our control."
Soren's mind began to wander the whole while. "Man i hope we get some good readings today, with any luck we might just disprove string theory, That would make my day. If we do i'm not gonna be gracious about it either. I'm gonna rub people's faces in it!" He said to himself with a large grin. "So what's the deal guys? You ready up there?" He yelled out. The intercom buzzed.
"Standard insertion for a nonstandard specimen. Go ahead Soren, Slot the the carrier into the analyses port."
"I hate when he talks like that. Next he gonna start smacking his lips." Growled Rick.
Another voice came over the intercom. "What is he doing in there?"
Rick looked up at the panel of glass where the other scientist were watching over. "What the heck's going on up there?" Yelled Rick.
"Nothing you need to worry about Soren. Please continue."
Rick scoffed. "Yeah wouldn't wanna take the blinders off the horse now would ya?" He said sarcastically.
the moment the carrier met the beam all hell broke loose, the light from the machine started to burn even bright and the chamber began to shake.
Rick backed up to the wall. "Whoa whoa whoa!!! What the hell us going on?"
Over the intercom the other scientist began to panic, All manner of yelling and screaming came through it.
Rick started to panic as well. "No no no NOO!!" He ran to the door and started pounding on it. "Let me out!!! OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!!" The temperature of the chamber began to rise to the point where it felt like he was being burned in his suit. The scientist behind the glass panel were even unluckier. A beam of light fired from the machine into the room and large chunks of bloodied meat exploded through the glass.
Rick looked back at the machine which was now bathed in a green light while the chamber began to be torn apart. "This was a bad experiment! WE ARE BAD PEOPLE!!!! WHY DID WE USHER FORTH THE GREEN APOCALYPSES?!?!?!!" Then a beam of light hit Rick square in the chest and darkness surrounded him.

"What the hell is this? Am i dead?..I don't feel dead.... But how would i know?... If this is like what it is to be dead then being dead sucks!!" He yelled out.
Images of strange places and even stranger creatures appeared in front of him as the lights flashed off and on. "No.. No... I don't wanna be a schizophrenic!!" The images soon becoming too much for Rick he blacked out, his body finally appearing in a desert wasteland, with Rick still unconscious.

Avis streightned the collar of his robes before nodding, "A valid point i guess. Come on Cat, we're leaving" he said as he passed by Nex, 'accidentally' kicking some sand in his face as he walked by.
"I'm BLIIINDDDDD!!!!!" Nex shouted as he thrashed around in the sand before jumping to his feet Gasping for breath, "shiiit, IM GONNA DIE!!! OF SUFFOCATION!!!"
Terra stopped to look back, "Last time i checked, you don't breathe from youre eyeballs dumbass. Damnit i swear one of these days you'll make us deaf." she said before turning away and catching up to Avis
Nex stopped in his tracks and lowered his hands to his sides sharply before chuckling, "Oh.... heh eh.... yea... right." he said with an embarrased grin before lifting his fist to his mouth and clearing his throat seriously, "I uuh... knew that.... i was just testing you"
"Pft, yeah right." Terra said as she rolled her eyes, not really paying any attention to him.

They diddnt get very far before Terra stopped and looked at her arm which, like before at the portal, started to emit a red glow. "Uhhhh Avis..."
Avis paused, not even bothering to glance back. "What?" he said in an annoyingly superior and arrogent tone that most of the high elf populace had adpoted.
Terra, very accustomed to the tone, payed it no heed and continued, "Are you possibly using any of your magic to locate the town or some such thing?"
This made Avis look back with a raised eyebrow, "Uhh no.. whyy?"
"ITS THE END OF THE WORLD!!!!"
"oh for the love of... SHUT IT NEX!" Terra said before smacking him over the head with her bow.
"owie!" he siad rubbing his head where she had hit him
Avis shook his head and looked around, seeing and sencing nothing he looked back at Terra, "no clu-" he said before picking up on something, his eyes distant for a moment before turning back to Terra and Nex, "Ter, you may want to move a smidge forward and then to the left."
Terra raised an eyebrow but diddnt question the mage and did as he instructed. Not a moment later yet another portal formed and spewed out yet another unfortunate victem. this one looking to be unconsious as it flew through the air and pulverised Poor Nex who was still standing in the same place.
After a moment Nex clambered out from under the person and hopped back, crouching down on his haunches he looked up at the sky, "WHY!! why do you HATE me!?"
"Maybe because youre a whiny, ignorent little bitch thats why." Terra said placing her hands on her hips.
"Not my exact choice of words but i agree.. So, what do we have here." Avis said, moving forward towards the person who lay face flat in the sand.
Nex edged closer before his nose twitched, "Smells human."
"Nice observation captain obvious." terra said before taking the bow off her back again and using it to prod at the human, turning him over so he lay on his back, "A rather cute human at that"
Avis shook his head, "Your facination with humans amaze me Ter. that brings teh question, what are we going to do with it? we coul-" "Leave it out here to die? Incinerate it? ... or wait wait wait BURY IT! thats always a good idea!"
"NEX!" Terra shouted "Whaaaaat? it was a good idea... right?"
"We're taking him with us, and thats final" With that Terra promptly hefted the human onto her shoulder after giving Avis her bow to look after.
"Heed my words! you have decided to bring with us an evil that will most likely destroy the very EARTH WE WALK ON!"
"Seriously Nex SHUT UP! the hell have you been smoking anyway?"
At this comment Nex raised his finger in the air, "i have NO idea whatseoever... i think that orc slipped something in my ale"
"With all due respect... ok scratch that, you should not even BE drinking ale.... e-ver" Avis added before he let out a sigh and started walking to where he thought he senced a water source, and most likely civilisation, "Lets try this again shall we?"

Rick's eyes slowly opened up, His head pounding away. "Oh my God.... This is almost like that time back in college when i got completely wasted and ended up being carried back home by an even drunker chick that lost all of her clothes, heheh. It was fun listening to her explain to her parents the situation. Boy.. Her dad sure waaas OH GOD!" He yelled out of his daze and fell from Tera's shoulder. "WHAT THE HELL?!?!?" He yelled out, looking at the three. After a moment a sigh of relief washed across his face. "Ohhh.. Okay. I get it.. I'm having a lucid dream.. Awesome. Although." He said as he looked around. "This is starting to feel more like a video game... Desolate wasteland, hot elf chick wearing next to nothing. Another elf.. And a cat thing. Awesome. But wait.. what kind of video game? I'm really hoping it's like one of those Japaneses eroges. Now would be even more awesome. The mindless sex would really brighten the mood what with the wasteland look going on. buuut then those two would actually be chicks then wouldn't they?" He asked no one in particular while looking back and forth between Avis and Nex. "Oh shit.... Unless this is one of those gay ones...or ones for chicks.. In which case i'm probably the strange traveler who's running from his past or some bullshit like that. damn it.. That's mean that i'm gonna end up with more than a few homoerotic moments with the other two. Fuck. Orrrrrr it That that this is actually more of a western RPG kinda deal in which you only get one girl, and you either never get to actually bang her, or you only get one go and afterwords she never speaks to you again due to disappointment.... Ah shit. Ah maaaan.. that's gonna suck like hell." He said, not really caring what the others around him thought of his eccentric behavior. After all, they weren't real people so why should he?

"ITS AN ALIEN!!!" Nex shouted frantically as he sprung from the ground and latched onto Avis who was, incidentally, the closest of his two companions.
Avis glared at Nex who had attatched himself to him much like a monkey. "Nex..... i'm only going to say this once before i blow youre bloody head off. Get...the hell... Of... me."
Nex recognised the subtle, yet murderous tone in Avis' voice. Making a quck decision between the two, Nex decided he would rather have to deal with the strange person who was mumbling to himself rather than Avis, who could quite easily tear him apart with his magic. "Uhhhhhh sure..... no problem...." he said as he carefully clambered down before getting thwacked over the head with Avis' dragon staff.
"OWWWW!!!" he screamed before he lay down and thrashed about on the floor, kicking up sand as he went.
Terra ignored the usual banter that went on behind her and listned to what the human was saying before letting out a chuckle, "First thing's first human, let me lay it out for you, one, youre not dreaming, second, i diddn't understand, nor do i give a shit about half of what you just said, third, i know it's hard to believe but Avis isn't gay." "Oi!" Avis growled as he caught wind of what she said. "Fourthly.... ok wait, nex isn't gay either i think." she cleared her throat, "Fourthly, you, like us have been shat out into this shithole of a dimention, aaand Fithly, my name is Terra." she said before retrieving her bow back from Avis and promptly smacking Rick lightly on the head with it.
"Really clears out the sinuses don't it." Nex said sarcastically as he got to his feet, still rubbing his head where Avis thwacked him.
"With his behaviour it would seem that he would fit right in with our little band of misfits." Avis said, to the others however it was hard to dicern weather he was sarcastic or not

Rick listened to Tera and eventually let out a sigh. "Well shit.... Yep. Western style RPG." He said rubbing his head. "Hot elf archer chick wearing next to nothing. Stuck up elf mage what with the robes and staff, Annnd annoying mascot slash rouge i'm guessing. "He said pointing to each one in turn. "Damnit. That makes me the burly/moronic warrior of the group, well fuck that! I'm not one to fall into stereotypes. I HAVE A COLLEGE DEGREE!! I'M A QUANTUM PHYSICISTS!!!! I bet you fantasy world brained simpletons wouldn't even begin to compromise what it is i do even if i explained it to you. Your greatest sages would shit themselves if they knew even an ounce of what i know! I open Pandora's box every day and could end the world with the wrong press of a button, while your smartest minds barely understand the laws of gravity!" He yelled out in frustration.

Avis' eye twitched, "Niiiice catch ya got there Terra, real intelligent." He placed his staff on the ground and rested his hands on the dragon's head and soon after let his head rest on his hands. "Look I don't know who the hell you are, nor do i care. Hell i don't care if you stay here and dehyrdrate, rotm burn, fall off a cliff, get eaten by some gigantic monster... the list goes on. And one other thing, youre wrong i'm not just a mage, simpleton. I am skilled in both the use of a blade as well as all the schools of magic. So don't worry your little head about having to swing a blade around like an utter moron and getting us all killed."
"Yeah, cause that's your job isn't it Av?" Nex interjected innocently, not reaaaly meaning what the others would have heard.
Avis let out a sigh and streightned himself, removing his head from his hands and slipping them to their usual position on the neck of the staff, "No, getting everyone killed is your job Nex." he said calmly before walking on towards where he percieved a small ounce of civilisation would gather.
Terra shook her head and looked at Avis then back to Rick. "Great, and i was getting my hopes up..." she said before turning and walking on after Avis, "Why is it," she paused in her speech long enough for Avis to glance back at her while he walked, "That every time i come across a cute one they've always got something wrong with them?" The question was retorical, however Avis decided to answer it with a sarcastic comment just for kicks, "Cause youre cursed with bad luck Terra that's why."
Nex stayed in his place the whole time Rick and the others had been talking. "Yeeaaaaah I'm getting bored. Later human." he said before springing to his feet and dusting himself off and thrusting his hands in his pockets as he followed the other two who had made quite a bit of progress, "Cya, try not to get eaten now ya'hear?" he said as he caried on walking, speeding up his pace a little so he could catch up with the other two sometime.

"On a different topic of interest." Terra said whilst she walked, trying to keep herself from getting bored, the next question was Dirrected at Avis who seemed to be paying little attention to his comraids behind him. A long pause passed before she continued, "You never did tell us why your hair is cut so short for a high elf. We'rent you supposed to be of nobility or something?" She said whilst folding her arms behind her back and looking up at the sky which now had a grayish tinge because of all the dust.
"Guess the topic never came up" he said absent mindedly, his concentration fixed on the distant water source, plus in all honesty he diddn't feel like answering the question.
Terra waited for an answer, when nothing came she decided to persist, "Uhhh Av.... that was a question yaknow."
"I suppose it was." He said, continuing to be illusive as long as possible
Terra started to get annoyed by his reluctance to answer the question, this only proved that it was an important detail otherwise he wouldn't be so illusive about it. "Avis, answer the damn question!"
Avis thought for a moment, "Hmmmmn not properly, no."
Terra let out a sigh, "Fine then, how about being as vague as possible so that i can come to my own conclusions?"
"Hmmmmmn alright. I did some things, accidentally, i might add and mayhaps killed a few people along the way. Long story short i was deemed too dangerous for the family of stuck ups. Happy now."
Terra grinned, "I thought you might have been too pompus for them to handle and thats why."
This made Avis chuckle, "Compared to them i am very mild. They have their heads shoved so far up their own asses i'm surprised they can cast anything"
Terra laughed, "Hard to imagine... so how far are we from this place?"
"Not too far now. we should get there within the hour if there arn't any more delays"

Rick watched as they walked away and smirked. "Simpletons. Just as i thought, barely able to grasp the significance of my genius." He said as he watched them walk away. "I suppose i should follow, what with there being safety in numbers and all that. But then again, i don't wanna be tied down to one group just in case a better option comes around. Hmm.. I suppose i could travel with them for a small while anyways, so long as they don't start asking about where i'm from. Maan that's gonna suck trying to explain cars and the internet and shit to them." He said putting his hands in his pockets and starting to walk after them.

Avis's eye's scanned the bottom of the deep pit as he stood on the precipace of a rock cliff that formed one of its sides. The 'pit' in fact was actually a giant creater, deep enough for the very center to house a pool of water that bubbled up from beneath the surface. He stood there for quite some time, frozen in place by what he could see at the bottom.
"Whats the hold up old man?!" Terra shouted as she pulled herself up the steep incline so she could see exactly what had perplexed Avis so. When she got up top she streightned herself out and peered over the edge, "What the....?" she said as her eyes scanned over the missmatch of delapidated buildings that litteded the floor of the pit. The Creater was home to what seemed to be a cityscape of decaying ,what used to be, modern skyscrapers, who's only purpose now were to crumble under their own weight and reduce all what stood around them to rubble.
"What we lookin at?" Nex said, oblivious as he pulled himself up, albeit more nimbly than the others. Without a second thought he sat on the edge and flung his feet over the sides, letting them hang off the precipace, sending loose clumps of rock falling down to the bottom. Nex whistled, "What a dump, nice find there smarty." he said, saying the last as he glanced up at Avis who was stil piecing together the landscape.
Avis ignored Nex's remark and crouched, getting a better look at the scene below him. As he watched a building on the furthest side from them creaked and slowly began to tip to the side, the sickening sound of bucking metal ecchoed across the creater as the top half of the building free-falled to the ground before hitting it with a loud, yet dull thud that mildly shook the earth. Its steal frame buckling to nothing as it struck the ground, kicking up dirt and a cloud of rubble that quickly surrounded and choked the other buildings around it.
Terra watched quietly before glancing at Avis. "So? what do we have here?"
Avis got to his feet, "It would seem that my deductions were correct, the portal diddn't lead us to a different place on the same plane. But to a different plane entirely." he glanced at Terra before looking back at the cityscape, "From what i can gather, there is a slight similarity with these buildings to the typical construct pattern of humans, my guess is that the people who lived here were humans, but in a much later era."
"Interesting grandpa, and what does this have to do with the current stage in events."
Avis shot a quick glare at terra, "Its interesting and might, or might not help us get back, or commune with the locals."
"I don't think we'll have a problem with that." Nex said, clearly snapping out if his previous bout of insanity.
Avis and Terra glanced at him in turn
"It would seem that there are some people down there, uuuhhhh can't really tell from this distance, but there might be like... an elf? or something? down there, the rest look more or less human i think. Some are wearing really weird clothing though, looks like some are having an argument." All the while he spoke, his ears pitched in different directions, tail twitching tentitavly, his eyes hoewever, fixed on a small portion of the creater down by the bubling pool.
"Good ol hawk'eyes, see Nex you can be useful sometimes." Terra teased
"Gee thanks. Well, might as well go down there, no use sitting up here and vegitating. Come to think of it..." he said as he looked back at Rick who was approaching, "He seems to have a similar feel to those bloaks."
Avis raised an eyebrow and glanced back at Rick as well before turning his attention back to the city. "Only one way to find out." he said before starting down a ledge that zig zagged its way down to the bottom.

As Rick followed the group he became lost in his own thoughts. "I really wish i had a tail. Damn my Genes. I have no tail.. And i must swing. Oh look people! Okay guys." He said walking by the group. "You just leave this to me. I'm a master linguist." He said as he casually walked towards the group. When he got close enough he started to speak. "Ciao a tutti! Voi ragazzi non capita di essere venduto tutte le droghe si? Preferibilmente cocaina, forse po 'di velocità? Se si desidera che ho potuto pagare con questa ragazza elfo caldo ho avuto nel mio gruppo. Si poteva passare in giro se si voleva." He said hoping that it actually made enough sense for them to understand. After all he never really took classes, just typed certain phrases into a translator and memorized them in case of an emergency.




In between the groups of people lay a young man with miss-matched colored eyes, beaten and bruised almost to the point of unconsciousness. Though when he heard the strange dialect he raised his head up to get a glimpse of the strange man hoping that this moron would actually be able to help him unlike the last few people he's encountered in this place.

The group of three casually followed Rick, stopping a hort way away as he started speaking. Both terra and Nex watched in confusion as Rick started speaking. "The hell is he saying?" Terra noted before looking up at Avis who merely shrugged, "Don't look at me, i am not a ..." he lifted his fingers to exagerate quotation marks, "Master Linguist."
At theis point Nex chuckled before getting a closer look at the group of humans and others in front of them "uhhhh... guys...." he said nerviously, starting to back up slightly. Terra glanced over at nex with a raised eyebrow, "What?"
"They... don't look very friendly yaknow...."
Avis seemed to notice the same thing as he observed the reaction the small group of people seemed to give rick. The leader of the group a giant of a man, rugged in almost every way, weilded a club about half the size of Rick and playfully smacked the palm of his hands with it. "Oi!" he yelled out behind him with a barberic voice, "Wet noodle! ya gots any clue what pinkey here is mumblin?!" growled the leader in a gravely voice. Seconds later a scrawny weasly man popped out from behind and huddled over to the giant. From the looks of it he had been put through a food processor by the multitude of injuries he had. "parla strano" it said as it chuckled and hopped on the spot. "He... heheheh... he say boss," it said in a a voice just as greasy and weasily as he was, "he say, he want our stuffff. hehehehehe he say he pay with curvy girl." it said before it pointed a long sceletal finger at Terra.
The giant of a man chortled before smacking the translator back behind him with a giant hand, to which it responded by thanking and running off to stand behind the group again. "So, you want some 'o the good stuff and in return i'll get that lil broad of your's over there," he pointed with the club all the while staring down at Rick.

Terra could feel the heat on her face as her rage welled up inside. "You... are so fucking dead...." was all she was able to say as she glared intencely at Rick.
"Weel too bad. We'll be killin the lot 'o ya and taking all ya own." he said with a toothy grin before letting out a fake sorrowful sigh, "Pitty in wastes like these we have to resort to brutish and bloody methods." he said sarcastically before the group behind him began to brandish a manner of blunt weapons, all designed for pounding their enemy rather than hacking them to pieces. "Get em boys." the leader spoke before the group of bandits charged forward.
Avis shook his head before grabbing for his staff, instead of using it as such however, he gripped the dragons neck and all below his grip turned into a steel sword.
Terra growled before smacking aside the first within her grasp with a powerful blow from the side of her bow before jumping back behind Avis, who in turn charged forward, weilding the blade as if it were another limb, 'an extention of himself' as his tutor used to say.
"YeOWCH!" Nex yelped as he sidestepped a thug before they carelessly stood on his tail.
"Damnit Nex! make yourself useful!" he said as he remobed one of hands from his blade, placing it on the closest thugs face before incinerating it with a blast of superheated fire. After he did this he swung the blade into anothers chest before conjuring up a set of claw like gauntlets that materialised themselves on Nex's hands.
"Ohhhh Sweet!!" he glanced at his newly aquired weapons before having to use them to deflect what would of been a crushing blow to the head. The blow instead just bowled him to the ground, making him skid all the way over to terra who had unleashed a small hail of arrows over Avis's head.
The battle diddn't last long before the small number of bandits and misfits were eather dead or had retreated. The leader stood dumbfounded, seeing as most of his crew had been lost he made a quick decision to retreat,carelessly throwing his club out behind him as he bolted.

"ANYONE ELSE WANT SOME??!!!" Terra yelled at the top of her voice before glaring at Rick, "And YOU! you bastard!"
"Now now Terra, lets calm down a moment here..." Avis spoke calmly as he fixed his re-shaped staff back into its usual place.
"Calm down? calm down! how the hell am i supposed to calm down?! this idot tried to sell me!"
While Terra continued to rant at Avis and Rick, Nex had decided to move away from the argument and instead decided to investigate a bit more. He hadn't gotten all that far before he happned across another who seemed to have fallen prey to the group a small time before they had arrived. Nex looked at him then back at the other three before letting out a loud whistle that abruptly ended their arguing.
"The hell nex!"
Nex cleared his throat before guesturing at the other on the floor, "It would seem this one needs assistance."
"Huh??.... oh." Terra said before noticing what Nex had been looking at. She casually walked over to the person on the floor, sidestepping a body here and there on the way, her argument with Avis and Rick being forgotten for the moment. Avis decided to follow a moment later.
"Another human it seems." Avis noted as he approached.
"Awwwww, well. that settles it... this one obviously has a severe mental disorder." she said whilst folding her arms in protest and looking away sharply.
Nex raised an eyebrow "Sorry.... what??"
Avis, catching onto the joke chuckled slightly, "She thinks its cute." he said glancing at Nex then back to the human.
"So? what's the damage?" Terra said after giving up her rouse and crouching down nexto him.
Avis shook his head, "I am an expert on blowing the flesh off of people and making wounds Terra, not fixing them."
She raised an eyebrow, "Soooo?"
He let out a curt sigh, "Fine, i'll give it a shot. Turn him over" he said as he pushed up his sleaves.
Terra grinned, "Awesome, thanks Avi." she said before easing the human onto his back before pulling him up slightly so he rested easily in her arms.
Avis shook his head as he brought his hands forward to rest in the air just above the human's chest. A small moment passed before his hands began to emit a light bluish glow, his face riddled with concentration as he forced himself into using one of the more 'constructive' magics and trying his best not to accidentally blow his head off by mistake.
While this happned Nex had moved back to rick before he nudged him with his elbow, "So how much ya think you would of gotten for her?" he said in a hushed tone

Cale let out a groan as he was flipped over on his back. Looking at the group he let out a slight chuckle. "I'm seen some weird stuff the past few years but you four take the cake. Now if you could just cut me loose then i'll um... i i'll..." He began to stutter as he got a better view of Tera's form. His face turning a bright red as she pulled him up into her arms. "Okay well umm. Uhh Miss i'm fine to walk it's just. wait.. What's with the glowy??" He asked before suddenly jumping out of Tera's arms and began to worm his way away. "No no NO NO!! No glowy! You don't spend years out in the waste before learning THAT lesson!!! I don't wanna wake up with any extra toes alright! You keep that shit away from me!" He said with a slight note of panic in his voice.

Avis watched as Cale sprung up and moved away before letting out a sharp sigh and glaring back at Nex. "For the Record, Youre a dumbass!" he glared back at terra for a second in turn, "And youre a dumbass too." he said before ubruptly cutting the flow of magic and getting to his feet before striding over to the pool of water, obviously just a little ticked off. "Next time they better either be dead or dying ya got me?!" he growled back as he walked, kicking up small whisps of dust as he walked by.
Terra shook her head as she surpressed a chuckle before she loked back at the panicked Cale. she let loose a slight grin, "Its all right yaknow, we were just trying to help is all." she said before getting to her feet and fetching an arrow from the quiver on her back. She played the arrow around in her hands before jotting over to Cale and using the sharp end of the arrow to cut the bindings before placing it back into the quiver. "Well, seeing as avis did most of the job before you freaked out, don't you at least feel a little better." she said before playfully flicking his arm. "Not the greatest of first impressions, never knew you would have such an," she cleared her throat, "Aversion... to magic." quite proud of herself for using a 'bigger' word she continued, "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Terra, the bloke sulking over there by the water is Avis and.... wait.... where is nex??" she said before looking around, not noticing her companion had snuck up on them and had been crouched down nexto Cale for some time.
"Yaknow friend, you have a reaaaly odd scent." He said as he looked up from where he sat on his haunches a small while away from where Cale stood. His ears pricked tentitavely forward and the tip of his tail lifted slightly off the ground, quivering ever so slightly every now and then.
Terra chuckled, "And that one there is Nex." she said before probably anticipating his reaction, "Don't mind him, he's just a little..." she said before pointing to the side of her head with her index finger before tracing a circle in the air with it.
"Oh yeah." she said, her tone deminishing into one of resentment or anger, "That asshole over there is.... hell if i know, he just talks to himself the whole time." she added with a shrug. she clasped her hands together, "Well now that that's sorted, who might you be?" she said with a friendly tone and smile

Cale's gaze kept shifting back and forth between Avis an Tera and Tera's cleavage. "Right... Magic? And you're calling me a dumbass?" He started to say something else when Nex hopped down beside him. Cale jumped back into a fighting stance as he reached for his combat knife. "Just what the hell are you people??!?!" He yelled out now realizing that he wasn't in Kansas anymore. He quickly spotted Rick and flashed a smile of relief. "Finally someone normal. Just what the fuck is going on around here?"

Rick looked down at Cale and sighed. "OH WELL LOOK WHO IT IS! The dwarf of the group! Guess that means I'm NOT the burly warrior then, PERFECT! MY LIFE HAS NO MEANING NOW! THANK YOU YOU FUCKING ROLE STEALING MIDGET!!! Just what am i supposed to be now? The healer? Not sure if any of you haven't noticed but THESE AREN'T ROBES I'M WEARING!!!! I HAVE NO FUCKING PURPOSE NOW! Unless.... Yep.. That makes me the diplomat. Awesome, I could talk my way out of anything." He said with a smug grin.


Cale was now back over with Tera obviously agitated. His face had turned a deep shade of red and a vain was visibly popping out from his forehead. "Just where the fuck am i and how do i get out of here?" He growled through his teeth.

Nex raised an eyebrow as Cale freaked out, "Whaaaat??? i was just curious is all?" completely confused as to why the human had reacted so. He looked up at Terra "Did i say something... yknow.... wrong or something?" he asked before Terra chuckled, "Different plane of existance... remember???"
Nex tilted his head to the side before slowly turning it back up to Cale "Oh riiiiiiight. Almost forgot bout that. Gotcha."
Avis in the mean time had blocked out the goings on from behind him, well.... not realy.... in all honesty he was still evesdropping but managed to make it look like he wasn't listening. Noting the current surroundings he noted that a good idea would be to gather a good ammount of water as the surrounding area seemed to be devoid of it. Without thinking he jammed his staff in the ground beside him and cracked his knuckles before streatching his arms out in front of the water before beginning to recite a spell in the ancient toung. As he did so whisps of pale blue began to wrap themselves around his arm before sinking into his skin, etching in what seemed to be blue runes where the rested. As he stood the water began to bubble and soon enough a large orb of water raised from the pool and hovered into the air. Avis let out a sigh as he seemed to inspect the water, innterupting his chant, "The water seems tainted" he said aloud before changing the positioning of his hands, instead of having them drawn out in front of him he moved them closer and left the one to hover above the other, as if he was holding a giant orb in his hands. the runes shifted color, from a blue to a firey red. in that instant the watery orb hovering in the air began to boil, the bubble of water getting smaller and smaller until Avis regarded the rest pure enough to drink. With that he ended the spell and resorted to simple manipulation, splitting the water into five pieces and encasing them in a hard crystal before setting the smaller flask like water crystals on the ground nexto him. He turned round to watch the situation as the runes faded from view.

Terra watched and chuckled as he walked back over to her, she couldn't help but smile. without warning she just upped and gripped him in one of her bear huggs, "Aw damnit youre just so damn cute!!!" She said, not even bothering to answer his question or get deterred by his obviuos anger, im fact the look on his face probably prompted the reaction.
Nex however Sat there for a moment before he gave in and let out a wave of laughter, quite literally rolling on the floor from the sight.
Avis meanwhile shook his head and decided it was finally time to step in. He gripped the Crystal flasks before moving forward and setting them on the ground in front of the group, claming one for himself he placed it at his side before folding his arms and looking over at Terra who had ensnared the human. "Since Terra seems too pre-occupied with squeasing the life out of you i'll answer the question." he cleared his throat as Nex made the comment, "Oh this is going to be good."
"We have no utter clue where we are or how to get back. Seeing as you are most likely from a different place yourself i'll try keep this simple. You, like us are no longer in the same place you came from and for some reason or another it would seem that creating a 'rift' to get people back to their homeworld is quite impossible. Now i don't know why that is and i know most of this probably just flew over your head. Long story short we are looking for a probable way back." He thought back a bit before remembering his confusion about their races, "And for an added bit of information, Terra and I are elves while Nex is.... well" "A cat thing" Nex himself decided to add in for a change.
"Uh, yes well, a cat thing. and on a more obvious side, you and the madman over there are both humans... or at least as much as we could gather."

Cale let out a yelp as he was pulled into the hug. "Okay.. Please stop.. You're choking me." He eventually maned to pull himself out of the hug."Anyways.. You can call me Cale if you want. And as for Rifts and magic and all that... Waaay over my head." He said as he walked over and picked up his pack that held all of his equipment. "Guess only thing to do now is to find some other people that speak English. Maybe find a way of this rock." He said as he began to walk north.

Terra glanced at Cale before having him slip from her grasp "Aw." she said as she let her hands hang there before letting them hang to her sides. Nex chuckled before getting to her feet, "Oh yeah, i'm gooing to reaaaaly enjoy this." Terra shot him a quick glare before Nex grinned back up at her with a cat-like grin, fangs and all. "Consider it payback.
Avis rubbed the back of his head before watching the younger human move off, considering they had just come from that direction he shook his head before voicing his thoughts, "We just came from that direction Cale. There isn't really anything around here aside from this area or what i could gather for the moment." He thought a moment "Right that will be rather hard to explain how i know..... uuh..." he said as he closed his eyes and placed his hand on his forehead for a moment before continuing "Lets just say that using my methods i am able to locate certain resources, and so i am able to calculate where a probable settlement would be. This being the closest for quite a distance." He said removing his hand from his face after brushing aside a strey hair that had been bothering him ahwile.
Meanwhile nex had gotten to his feet before walking up to the two, leaving Terra to stand there by herself, "Besides," he looked up at the sky which was already starting to darken "Its nearly nightfall. it would be unwise to move about now aye? We still would need to get well, supplies! Crystal caskets of water arn't going to keep us from starving yaknow... no offence." he said as he glanced up at Avis who shrugged, "None taken."
At this point Terra decided to finally bring herself back into the picture "It would seem that out of all of us here Cale would be more accustomed to areas and situations such as these... i think." she said as she had taken her time to get a good look over at Cale whom, she thought, to be carrying the same air about him as the place around them.
"Weeeelll i dunno about you guys. but i think its a good idea to stay here and set out before it gets too hot no?" he said, further milking the fact that he had suggested to stay in the firstplace. Catching on to this Terra let out a sigh, "If only we were all filled with your wisdom oh intelligent one." she said whilst rolling her oddly-colored eyes.
Avis looked around, "I guess this is as good a spot as any" he said before cracking his knuckles and quickly reducing what was left of the bodies to ash with a quick spell, whipping the ashes far out of sight with another.
"Hmmn. no wood" Nex said whilst glancing about, noting only the steel structures around them.
Terra chuckled and glanced at Avis for a moment, "Who needs wood when you have a mage?"
Avis chuckled before noting sarcastically, "Oh joy, i have been promoted, from tourguide to nursemaid to campfire..... brillient." He said before letting out a sigh and sitting down on the ground. With his hands he lined out a small circle in the dust before scooping out the top layer of soil and dumping it nexto him. he placed one hand in the circle and the other he held up so the wrist was in line with his jaw. He again spoke in the ancient toung and small whisps of flame sprouted up from his upturned hand. After a moment he abruptly closed his hand before lowering it to the ground to be rejoined with the other. He lifted the left hand up and then the right, before quickly flicking the hand open, forcing the flame onto the ground. oddly enough it took root on the ground and flared up, filling the circle but dying as it ventured out of it. He looked up at the group with a sigh, "Any more requests before my 'generosity' fades hmmmmnnn?"
Nex grinned at the statement, thinking a moment on how to best make use of the offer.

Noticing the sire Cale walked back over to the group. "I got one." He said as he walked up to the fire. "Put it out." He said as he started to stomp it out. "Bad move resting out here in the open. Specially not in a city. Too many places for raiders and the like to get up and take potshots at us. We need to find a place inside one of the buildings here. Give us more cover. that and i wouldn't mind sleeping with a roof over my head." He said as he started towards the closets building with the intent of exploring it for a place they could rest comfortably for the night.


Rick watched Cale enter the building and grinned. "Okay i take it back. He's not the new warrior. He's clearly the Ranger of the group, That i can handle. Those guys are cool. If he keeps leveling he'll eventually get a animal companion like a tiger or a bear or wolf. That'd be sweet. I'd want mine to be like a Kamodo dragon or something. While not as limber there's definitely something to be said about having a kamodo dragon obeying your every command." He said in an absent minded daze.

Avis watched cale carefully before hearing his intention of killing the fire. To stop him from catching fire the moment he entered the circle Avis ended the spell and allowed it to be stomped out. He watched with a slightly dissappointed look on his face before getting to his feet. "Why do I even bother anymore?" He said to himself as he watched cale move towards the building. "Uuuhhhhmmmm.... I know you prooobably know what you're doing there skippey buut." Nex said, jogging up beside him and entering the building when he did. " The places round here arn't exactly all that stable." .eanwhile unbeknownst to Nex terra had followed them and promptly responded to this by smacking nex lightly alongside the head. "Owie! Whyyyyyy do you feel you HAVE to hit me?!" Nex yelped as he was caught off guard. Terra shrugged, "mainly cause its fun. But I'm sure someone of his intallect," she said, clearly meaning cale, "wouldn't just walk into an increasingly unstable building." Nex glared at her for a moment, "uhuh, sure" he said before quickly recoiling and jumping back out of terra's reach. When she missed smacking him yet again he pulled out his tong playfully before he fealt a sharp sting at the back of his head "what the? AVIS YOU BASTARD! The hell is wrong with you!?" Nex yelled as he looked behind him to see Avis who had just rapped him on his head as well.
Avis responded with a chuckle and a shrug, "cause, yaknow its rather fun. Good stress relief too." He said jokingly before breaking off from the group to have a look around. In all honesty he never left the room, merely spread his mind to search the complex. When he wasn't able to sence anything other than the members of their group he caught up with Cale and the rest. "Seems ok. Question though," he said whilst raising his index finger "what is the probability of undead?" It was a valid question as for some or other reason Avis had never been able to properly sence undead. A fact he had always regretted as he always seemed to run into them.
At the mention of undead Nex felt a shivver go down his spine. "Now why do you have to just go ahead like that and jinx us huh?" He said, shooting avis a glare from where he stood, hoping to hell that Cales responce was little to none as he believed they had seen enough for one day. Terra meanwhile followed cale much like a puppy, barely taking her eyes off him for too long, this resulted in her tripping slightly over rubble every now and then as she followed.

Cale couldn't help but smirk at the conversations going on behind him as he checked out the building. "What's the matter? Never had a building fall down on top of you in your sleep?" He asked jokingly. "Real nice way to get the blood pumping." He said in a sarcastic tone. Noting the amount of furniture in the rooms Cale figured that it must have been an apartment of sorts. Noting a few couches and even a bed or two Cale decided that this would be a good place to spend the night. Tossing his pack on one of the ruined couches he made hi sway back to the group. "Alright. Looks like a nice enough place if you don't mind a little dust. Wouldn't advise using any of the blankets around here though, Don't think you'll be the only one using them if you do. Enough mites to carry the thing right off of you." He said with a chuckle.

Terra patted Cale playfully on the back, "Buddy, some of the Inns i've stayed in arn't much better." she chuckled before picking a spot for herself, perticularly one of the more cosure looking beds before throwing herself down on it lightly.
Avis let out a disgusted sigh at Terra's comment, "And believe me she means it." he said before he paced around the room, skirting himself around the walls, "And as for having the building collapse on us, i'd rather not let that happen, the thought of being buried alive dosn't sound like fu to me." As he said that he visibly shuddered, probably at a past memory. Avis stopped his pacing and went to where he started before placing his hand on the wall where he percieved there to be a structural weakpoint before placing a small re-inforcement ward wherever he found one. Re-inforcement was never his speciality, however he knew enough of it to keep himself safe in certain situations. He only wished he had known enough about it back then.
While Avis was ensuring the room was safe Nex had decided to investigate a room two floors above. As he did so he crossed over to the window, thinking that he'd seen something in the distance at the rim of the creater. As he stood close to the window and leant forward he couldn't help but feel he was being watched. That was right before the very floor he had been standing on gave way. He yelped before spinning around in mid-fall before latching his hand in the edge. "WHAT THE HELL!!!" He said before glancing a look down not one to keep his wits about him for too long Nex had wandered further up than he had anticipated. Due to his light frame he was able to swing himself to the side before latching his other hand on the ledge. "this is NOT supposed to happen!" he yelled as he began to truly panic. His panic and dismay only intencified as the part of the building he was hanging off gave off a creak. "No..... noooonononono don't you dare!" he shouted at the ledge before it creaked again. "Shit shit shit shitshitshitshit..... Think Nexy think!" he looked back down before letting out a sigh, the way the floor had broken before had somehow left him hanging on the outside of the building. He let out a sharp breath. "Okay... uuh," the beam gave another creak, "DON't PRESSURE ME!!!" he shouted above before looking down again. "This..... is a BAD IDEAAAAAAA!!!!" he said as he kicked himself off from the building as hard as he could before quickly letting go, catapulting him away from the building. Again he twisted as he fell and positioned himself in a dive just before he hit the water of the pool below. Hert still pounding he got out from the water and shook himself off violently. "Well, i aint ever doing THAT again!" he said before he reluctantly walked back into the building.
As avis walked throuygh the door of the room the others had been staying Avis had just finished his wards as he looked over at the soaked Nex who flashed him a look which simply stated, "Don't ask" With that he promptly flopped down on a comfortable looking couch and curled up in his usual manner. Avis on the other hand sat down with his back up against the wall and propped his staff up against it as well. Not all too tired enough to sleep just yet.

While the others were getting situated Cale grabbed his pack and headed upstairs. He found himself a place near a window and sat up against it. Emptying out his pack he started to reassemble his guns, particularly his sniper rifle and 9mm handgun. Not wanting to be left weaponless through the night. Switching to a thermo view he scanned out the window for any sources of heat. He never did feel safe staying in cities.



Rick on the other hand was making a royal nuisance of himself as he sat on one of the couches. "This place kinda reminds me of my old apartment. Only there's a lot less dust. Though i do remember this one time me and my pal Jerry set up a cocaine lab in my living room. That was fun. The cops eventually found us but were too stoned to really want to arrest us. So they just came over and snorted all the coke. There was a layer of coke over every piece of furniture we had. Had to tell the cleaning lady that it was baby powder. I don't think she bought the story though. Stupid Mexican." He rambled on.

Avis glared at rick for some time, "Question, don't you ever shut up or is this a constant thing with you?" he said half sarcastically as he watched his antics.
Nex meanwhile had simply clasped his hands over his cat-like ears and had curled up into a neat little ball in an attempt to drown out the voices and fall asleep. Nex being Nex however managed to do that quite simply and within an unnatural ammount of time had fallen sound alseep. The fact being quite noticeable as he had begun lettin out a peculiar noise that half resembled snoring, yet purring at the same time.
Terra glanced over at Nex before a sinister smile crossed her face. A moment passed before she glanced over at Rick then Avis, who by the looks of things was close to launching over and throttling Rick. "Eh... i'll do it later." she said to herself before quietly and silently getting up from her spot to investigate where Cale had sneaked off to.

It diddnt take her long to find him on a floor above. Whilst his attention was directed elsewhere she quickly slipped in and without a single sound or indicator of her presence sat down right nexto him. she had gotten quite good at neaking around when she had to, watching Nex on occasion had helped her too. As Cale turned back so she would of been in her field of view she leant over from where she sat and leant her head on his shoulder, "Whatcha doin?" she said in a curious tone before eyeing the weapons he had on the floor, "Oohh what kind of thingamajiggers are these she said before picking up the 9mm with curiosity and started to examine it.

Rick shrugged off Avis's comment. "Of course it's a constant thing. You still have no idea what i am do you? If i stopped talking and retained an ounce of all this my brain could burst in on itself. I'm just THAT smart!" He said before falling back onto the couch and falling right to sleep.



Cale lurched forward when Tera snuck up on him. "Jeez. trying to give me a heart attack or something?" He said as his face turned a shade of red when caught a peek of cleavage. He cleared his throat and looked back out the window. "Don't you have any other clothes to wear besides that? I mean they don't seem like they're good for protection." He said trying to keep his mind off her body. However when she picked up the gun he quickly spun around and took it from her. "Haven't you seen a gun before? Everyone back where i'm from carries at least two of these" He said shoving it into his holster attached to pant leg.