Mobius - Ice Mountain Zone
A mountain in the middle of a frozen lake, this zone is always cold, wrapped in a blanket of snow and ice year-round. The animals here are well-adapted to the environment, as are the minions of Robotnik, who tunnel through the area in search of rings and minerals. It's easy to freeze to death here, the temperature mild enough to trick people into not dressing warmly, and falling in the water is often a fatal mistake, though fissures in the rocks provide plenty of air bubbles to draw breath from.
Contents:
Espio the Chameleon
Ryu Hayabusa
Doom Island
Obvious exits:
East leads to Mobius - Green Hill Zone.
Espio the Chameleon landed with a small **thump** from a swift twirl. As Ryu descended, he merely walked normally down the relatively vertical cliff face. "The only place he's ever taken any item he's stolen, that I know of, is his base, which is never too hard to find if you look for it." He didn't seem at all bothered by the cold. His body would probably work it out by itself somehow, seeing as how he was a reptile and therefore cold blooded, but the not freeze up here all together he had to have felt the chill at least a little. He crossed his arms while walking, keeping a glancing eye on Ryu. How far did he want to trust this person? He didn't really know anything about him, or what he spoke of... "What were you saying about interconnected worlds?"
Crouched atop one of the peaks of the Ice Mountain, braced against the wind: Lady A, adventurer, Gamemaster, and lone zone traveler, scans across the horizon, taking in the sight of the island above. Looking down through the wind, she spots color far below, and begins, to clambor down, to investigate.
Ryu Hayabusa scratched the back of his head...it was a complicated matter. "Well, let's take Mobius for example, it's conncted to a place called...dreamland, I think, and also to the Mushroom Kingdom." Yeah, he's been going around and studying the maps. "And all the worlds are connected thru things we call warps, think of it as a door that takes you near instantly to a place far far away. Does it make sense or should I try explaining differen-wait." He says, as he hears the sound of falling ice, something dislodged a block of ice from above. He turned to face the mountain with a trio of shurikens in hand but sighed in relief and put them back in his tunic, not saying a word but also no longer walking down, instead waiting for this person to make her way down to them.
Espio the Chameleon caught the movement, but if Ryu wasn't doing anything then he would refrain from any active counter as well. "I'm following fine." he stated bluntly. Dreamland? Mushroom Kingdom? What kinds of names were those? "So there's a teleport system between alternate worlds?" No wonder it wasn't widely known. "Do you actually mean worlds or do you reffer to alternate demensions of sorts?" It was actually kind of... nice having a conversation with someone again. He'd been out on his own for too long, apparently. Even as he reflected on how much he'd gotten into the conversation though, he kept an eye out for the person higher up on the crags.
Ryu Hayabusa thought of it for a second, he did bring a good point up. "Dimensions would be more accurate, or there's many worlds called "earth" and beside of the warpzones or perhaps warp capable vehicles there's no way to go between them." He nods politely to Lady A. "Good to see you ma'am, I assume you come to see the disturbance brought by this floating island? Commander Station and myself have already visited and seen what it holds...it's not good news but I'm sure you already knew that." He says, rubbing his arms a bit...chill was starting to bite him. "Do you intend to go see for yourself? I would advise against it...there's a being of great power in there, and we would be best to not engage him in his territory." He had the bruises to prove how bad an idea that was, and he didn't plan to try again just yet.
The ones below Doom Island might notice a red ball of light streaking off from the island into the distance. Daos has left the building.
Espio the Chameleon arched what form of a brow he had for a moment, but it quickly snuck away to an indifferent expression. He did, however, give a nod to the Lady A. Earth... never heard of it. He disregarded the red streak; if it wasn't actively blowing them up, them it wouldn't do much good to speculate about it at the moment. He didn't know who this newcomer was, or precisely all that Ryu was mulling over, so he just stood back, still firmly planted casually on the wall with crossed arms.
Lady A looks up again at the floating island, the red streak reflecting in her eyes. "I don't fear beings of great power. Tell me what you learned from entering here. I'll judge for myself whether it's safe to continue."
Ryu Hayabusa nodded "Very well, the domain is inhabited by a being called Daos, who calls himself a Sinistral of Terror...can't say it means anything to me, he wants to consume the world by terror...so that's not too great. He controls magic of enough power to stop myself and Station with mere wind, and we could not proceed while he taunted us from who knows where. Apparently since we don't have a...dual blade as Station said, we can't defeat him. That would be all I know from our rather short encounter ma'am." He then turns toward Espio, remembering his presence. "Ah, where are my manners? Espio, this is Lady A, a Gamemaster, Ma'am, this is Espio, a resident of Mobius."
He then turns toward Espio, remembering his presence. "Ah, where are my manners? This is Lady A, a Gamemaster, Ma'am, this is...err...a resident of Mobius. I do not know his name though" (replacement for my oopsie)
Espio the Chameleon looked to her as he had since her arrival. This was a Gamemaster? Well, he didn't even know what a Gamemaster was, so he supposed he couldn't make any judgements. He narrowed his eyes tersely, closeing them with a frown and hopping down off the wall to face them on the same plain. "Espio." he sighed with a gestuculation as if to pass it off. He didn't make have more to say, as if he wanted to speak in the first place, but he suppsoed he should atleast mention a name for himself if he were to go on an outting with them.
"A pleasure," Lady A says to Espio. A pause. "A dual blade? I will have to ask him what he means by that." In her head, she's trying to picture the battle in two dimensions, the view from the side as the wind blows the heroes back. "His fortress, what is it like?"
Ryu Hayabusa shrugged "It's a castle in the middle of the island, can't miss it...but he blocked us at the entrance by a whirlwind of incredible power that prevented us from going further. Station ordered a retreat, and I wasn't feeling like disobeying orders. He also mentionned something about a Maxim bloodline but that didn't make any sense to me" he says, as he casted a flamewheel on himself, making a trio of small burning flames spin around him "Much better...won't last long but it'll keep warm."
Espio the Chameleon looked side longly at Ryu. Well that was certainly a trick he'd never seen before. It probably wasn't generated by any magic source he could identify with. He didn't have anything to comment about the castle either, it wasn't his place for one, and he hadn't even seen the entire conflict. Looking off down the way, he wondered exactly where Robotnik had located his strong hold. It seemed to keep moving around, and he hadn't ventured to find in a good while. It wouldn't be that hard though, or at least it usually wasn't.
Lady A replies, "Sounds complicated." She's now trying to picture the fight from above. "That red flash...did you see it just now?" She walks toward the edge of the current cliff, still peering up at the island.
Ryu Hayabusa looks around "Nope, didn't notice it...and a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Espio." He says, as his flamewheel begins to dissipate "But the fight wasn't too complicated, we didn't stand a chance...simple as that. I think attacking on his hometurf was a generally bad idea."
Espio the Chameleon made a facr at the 'Mr. Espio' address. Only the humans of Mobius used tags like 'Mr.' in general, and as such he didn't like it. This was certainly not how he'd imagined his day. Stumbling across a massive body of floating land other than the one that is supposed to be in the sky, and running into a group of interdemensional travelers that knew about his aquantances. Sonic hadn't bothered to mention this... why? It was his own fault for being out of the loop and he knew it. No point in bashing himself over the head now though.
Lady A says, "Maybe. Any idea what would motivate such a creature to leave the confines of his fortress?" Though she's quite suspicous that he already did, at that.
Ryu Hayabusa did, but he didn't quite want to think of it. "Well, perhaps...find more of his kind, or worse, consult with the head honcho of the evil forces. That or he discovered the foodstore was empty." He looked at Lady A for a moment, she knew who he meant when it came to evil head honcho. "Erm...Ma'am? Could we either move up or down, but I'm freezing my buttlocks here on this blasted mountain. No disrespect meant, of course."
Espio the Chameleon squinted and started off, walking to the end of the next overhang, stepping off, walking down... So there was much, much more to this, as he'd figured. Well atleast it seemed like things weren't an utter loss as it stood. This world was still fine... or rather, intact, at least. He uncrossed his arms and glanced back out of the corner of his eye to see where the others were. He was a chameleon, he had a knack for looking around without moving his head. ^_^
Lady A pulls her hood back over her head. "We'll go down then." She immediately hops right off the edge, a slight 'sproing'ing sound preappending the motion. She doesn't bother to check to see if the other two catch up: confident they can do so on their own.
Ryu Hayabusa nodded, quite glad to get off his peak. He began jumping down, from rock to wall to ledge, climbing down only when it's too flat to simply leap his way about.
Espio the Chameleon shrugged and easily spin and kicked his way down after Lady A, having no trouble if for any reasons other than he could stick to the walls and knew the terrain fairly well. What was he really getting himself into here? Oh well, too late to just duck out now without being rude he supposed.
Ryu Hayabusa heads towards Mobius - Green Hill Zone.
Ryu Hayabusa has left.
You head for Mobius - Green Hill Zone.
Mobius - Green Hill Zone
A rolling plain of hills, ramps, loops, and ocean, the Green Hill Zone is the largest area in Mobius, and one of the most heavily traveled. It seems to lead to everywhere, and is a common battleground for the robotic minions of Dr. Robotnik. Most of this place is natural, though there's some worked land... most residents don't believe the loops and spirals in the land got there naturally, at the very least. Runners in this zone are at their fastest, as the land doesn't have many natural obstacles to hinder their movement.
Contents:
Ryu Hayabusa
Obvious exits:
West leads to Mobius - Ice Mountain Zone.
South leads to Mobius - Mystic Ruin Zone.
East leads to Mobius - Secret Base Zone.
North leads to Mobius - Mission Street.
Espio the Chameleon arrives from Mobius - Ice Mountain Zone.
Espio the Chameleon has arrived.
Lady A reaches the ground quickly, and removes her gloves, then her coat, shaking the ice off the latter.
Ryu Hayabusa has nothing to remove, but he does shake quite a bit of snow, frost, ice and other things off his shoes or whatever he wears is called. "Fiew, am I glad to be off that mountain." He says, as he turns to see who made it to the bottom.
Espio the Chameleon stood rather off set from them to the side. He didn't bother kicking the ice off his shoes, and still hadn't seemed at all bothered by the climate in the first place. not giving notice to Ryu's comment, he would have wondered how Lady A was going to store an extra coat and gloves as they ran around, but then again he didn't really care.
Lady A nods slightly to Ryu, and raises her right hand. A warp zone opens there, only about half the size of her body, and she simply tosses the now unneeded coat directly in to it. Problem solved. "Are you going back to the palace, or staying in this zone?"
"I'm going back if I am not needed elsewhere, I need to rest my weary feet and muscles, I've had a rather filled day." The Ninja says. "Ma'am, would you have heard a word about the operation to retrieve the relic from Castle Shadowgate? I've heard a few things on a recon mission but wasn't aware of anything put in motion just yet."
Espio the Chameleon tried not to blink at the portal, and he wasn't too sure how successful he was. So they could just sort of... DO that? All right... Looking off over the landscape, he frowned to himself. Hadn't Ryu just prior said he was going off to find Robotnik? Maybe it was just a matter of circustance, having to change plans so as to not cross a superior. After all, he had said the Gamemasters were generals or sorts.
"Another thing to ask Station about. He attempted to breach the castle, but was not successful..." She shakes her head. "No one can win, fighting the Warlock on his own terms."
Ryu Hayabusa frowned, bad news indeed, if it was anything like the castle of Daos. "We can't give up that easily though...we'll find a way, I discussed it with Sonic and I might have an alternative to get it back. I'll get back to you on that after I verify the plausibility." He then nods to Lady A and Espio "A pleasure meeting you Espio, perhaps our paths shall cross again, if you have further questions the Lady Gamemaster is quite more knowledgable on the worlds than I would be." he says, as he draws his blade. Making a quick vertical slash a warpgate opened and widened large enough for him to pass...oh sure, he could have simply used the warp device he was given when he joined arms with the people at the Palace, but where's the style in that?
Espio the Chameleon wasn't even going be taken off gaurd by the portal ploy again as he merely looked after Ryu standing beside his portal. He gave a nod as a send off, but refrained from anything else. Did he really want to bother the Lady A with questioning? At least he'd thought Ryu was leading somewhere for a purpose; idle meandering really didn't fit his style too well.
Lady A inclines her head toward Ryu as he departs. A silence. "So, this is your home zone, Espio?" she asks, looking toward the Chameleon.
Ryu Hayabusa sheaths his blade and departs
Ryu Hayabusa escapes into a warp zone.
Ryu Hayabusa has left.
Espio the Chameleon looked back to her silently for a time before nodding. "I can't quite say I know what's going on though. Ryu mentioned something about alternate demensions. I've already seen a method of yours concerning travelling between them, obviously."
"Warp zone," Lady A explains. "After a while, you grow used to them." She points to a random spot in the air, and another portal, shimmering blue, opens there, its final destination clearly uncertain. "Would you like to try it?"
Espio the Chameleon quirked a brow, glaring at the portal in what might be concieved as contempt. "Not at the moment..." he stated trailingly. "So you're a Gamemaster?" It was still an intense curiousity of his to find out just what that title entailed. Ryu hadn't said much, so he supposed he'd have to ask one directly.
Lady A stands next to the open portal, not closing it. Perhaps Espio will grow more used to this idea. "Yes. I am. Probably the first, though I didn't invent the title."
Espio the Chameleon uncrossed his arms and faced her in a more proper way for conversation. "That doesn't mean much to me, seeing as I have no idea what on even is." He inwardly flinched. Man, he hated admitting ignorance... He would run off in a blink if he couldn't stand pestering for information, which he couldn't rate how much longer he felt like keeping up. Today hadn't been a good day, not at all.
Lady A explains, "Well, it might be easier if you came back with me, but I understand if you aren't accustomed to the portals. The best way I know of to explain is that a Gamemaster comes from a warp zone like this one...that doesn't lead back to our original world. So, we become citizens of Videoland."
Espio the Chameleon looked evenly at her as he had been. "And this Videoland would be...?" he urged. He wished Ryu had stayed, at least Ryu hadn't tried to get him to do something. How small was his own little world? These people quite obviously kept over stepping it's bounds without even realizing he might not have a clue about what they meant.
Lady A blinks, still standing next to the open portal back to the palace. "Videoland is..." A pause. "Tough question. Videoland is all of the zones that warp zones can access. Other realms, places, and people, outside of Mobius. When you learn the warp zones, you can traverse them."
Espio the Chameleon nodded. "An inter demensional hub?" It was a stab in the dark, but wasn't it simpler than what she'd said if he understood correctly? It kept getting more and more interesting... maybe he could manage to stick around for a little while longer.
Lady A nods. "That's right. It's safe," she also adds.
Espio the Chameleon sighed inwardly to himself, not allowing himself to be that trusting. "I;m making the assumption that the term 'Gamemaster' somehow relates to 'Videoland' and the other 'demensions' as it's all..." He wanted to say games, but that was... a bit hard to swallow. He wasn't going to let the implications of his own assumptions blow his mind just yet.
Lady A nods. "That's right. And each Gamemaster has a set of realms where he...or she...is most comfortable. This doesn't happen to be mine," she adds, with a slight smile. "But I've traveled to many of the zones."
Espio the Chameleon closed his eyes. Okay, so they were going to skirt around certain things. He could go for that. "How many zones are there?" This was... a freaking... cross examination... Gawd he hated this, but he wasn't leaping through a protal just yet.
You say, "I would assume an infinite amount. New zones happen all the time, more than I can possibly explore, and probably more than you could ever traverse in a life time."
Espio the Chameleon replied with a, "..." An infinite? That wasn't even comprehendable, though he had no reason to disbelieve it. And the zones were caused by... he didn't want to go back to assuming anything. He hated doing that. Assumptions lead to the worse fark ups in his experience. Especially when made about another person, which he certainly wasn't going to make any concerning Lady A.
Lady A waits for the silence to be filled with another question. But it is not. "It's hard for people to comprehend. I guess I have to explain it a lot."
Espio the Chameleon was really waiting for her to go off on what she thought was an important subject, but if she wasn't then he guessed he'd have to bring himself to asking more, which he felt he'd have to bring himself to the level of doing quite a lot for a while by this rate. "Warp gates open because of...?"
Lady A is starting to feel like a tutorial. This is a lot of talking for her. "Warp zones that lead back to the palace are easy to open...because it is a hub for them. Those that lead outward are much harder, and warps between other realms are entirely random."
Espio the Chameleon shook his head, seeing that she was getting to be just as sick of this as him. "I meant what unlocks a world. It seems that Videoland was the original...?"
Lady A sits down in the grass. The portal shuts, and she looks up at the sky. "Not really sure. I guess that a new world would become part of Videoland every time a new game is made to accompany that world." No more dodging the main issue here.
Espio the Chameleon nodded. It was making more sense now. "Though by that count it sounds like it's not even proven that a world indeed exists before... a game is made about it?" It seemed he might have just toyed with alternate reality theories on his own time and it might not be difficult to launch a discussion on shocking probabilities.
"Or, it's always existed, and portals don't reach it." Lady A looks up at the sky. "You'd be just as well to ask me if there is a God. To which I would answer, there are a few, and I've met them. Many are not pleasant."
Espio the Chameleon blinked. Well that was unexpected. He waved it off immediately. "I'm not the religous type, I'd just as soon not meet them." If there was a God, then whoopie. As long as they didn't kill him, he didn't care much. "And how do the Gamemasters fit into this?"
A pause. Clouds roll. "We just do. You don't need to feel compelled to take orders from me. I am not 'in charge' of Videoland."
Espio the Chameleon dropped his shoulders lamely. "I gather that you visit multiple worlds and basically try to keep the piece. That's about all though." He certainly wasn't insisting she tell him to do something. If he wasn't jumping at an invite to leap through a portal yet.
Lady A puts her hands behind her head, pong paddle sticking out on one side, just so. "It's a task we were all born for."
Espio the Chameleon tilted his head to the side, looking off over the fields around them in an almost vacant, yet serious way. So they were peace keepers. Of sorts. "Peace keepers against what?" That massive 'Doom Island' certainly hadn't got up there all by itself.
"I don't explain myself very well, do I?" Lady A sighs. "Not as if I've not had the practice, especially lately. It is our duty, as Gamemasters for good, to stop evil when it invades. Wherever, and in any zone. And evil Gamemasters exist, to battle us back."
Espio the Chameleon says, "Good and evil aren't nesseccarily the only black and white to work with." If the evil Gamemasters were like Lady A, then that definately wasn't what had been up in the castle. Whatever, he would drop it for now. She was obviously getting some what perturbed; he'd learned quite a bit to think about as it was. What else to do though? "What do you want to do?" She added onto that as an after thought, "I mean not nesseccarily concering Videoland." ...He'd been out in the sun too long.... Why was he trying to strike up some sort of casual conversation? He knew he wouldn't even give a straight answer to that one."
Lady A blinks, rolling over to look at Espio slightly. "To do...now? Or in general?"
Espio the Chameleon shifted uneasily. Argh, why had he even gone off on a tangent like that!? "..." Now he was concously looking off in another direction out across the plains. Well at least he wasn't having to ask questions anymore. "Forget it." came the slow reply.
Lady A rolls back onto her back again. "I'll do what I always do," she says. Without explaining what that is, exactly.
Espio the Chameleon didn't mind it, he probably would have ignored a question like that all together. She'd given a good answer though, he thought. So Sonic had known this? Maybe even Knuckles? If that was the case... "I should go." he stated abruptly, starting to head off.