A confident looking man with a dopey smile seemingly glued to his face would be wearing a set of gym clothes as he began to warm up along the trail just outside the forest. After his stretches, he'd look to the forest before beginning to talk to himself in a loud tone. "So, this is the forest with all those rumours behind it? This seems like the perfect opportunity to train my endurance while also investigating! A hero has to stay in peak condition, after all!" With that Akio would begin jogging down the trail with the intent to enter the crowded forest.

A woman would be slowly walking towards the worn off trail. Hearing rumors of the change and hoping it may render some type of clue to returning to her other self she came here. A raven, like her name, would be resting on her shoulder, strange in appearances as it seemed to have a starlit cosmos swirling within its body. "Kat. I will find you." she muttered to as if to reassure herself

The pair begin walking along the path, Akio running in front with Sachya following behind. Before long, Akio would come across a young girl standing by a branch in the path. Their hair is long, white and braided, going down much of their legs. She has pink highlights forming a streak through her hair, and wears a jacket colored similarly to her hair. The girl is looking down both paths, blowing a bubble with some gum she's been chewing before asking a simple question. Girl: "Which way do you think?" off to the left the forest seems to start clearing up a little, allowing sunlight to filter through the branches easily as the ground begins to slope upwards. As for the right, the trees only seem to grow thicker and thicker, with the path fading the further ahead one goes. Sachya would arrive at the same location a bit later than Akio, and the girl wouldn't seem to notice Sachya, instead staring off down the two paths

Akio would look towards the girl before thinking on her question. The answer was already obvious to him though just based on a brief observation of the paths and where they led. "Well, young girl! I'd prefer to go the path of most strife! I must put myself through the hardest of conditions for when people need me most! Besides, I'm used to hardship already so this should be a breeze! But first, what are you doing here in the middle of the woods? Isn't it dangerous for a young girl to be in the woods by herself?"

Raven would catch up to the two at the split. She wouldn't say anything as she looked down both paths before deciding to go down the more clear one. Though the thought crossed her mind that she could just fly over all of this nonsense but if she did she might miss something. She would continue on whether the other two kids followed or not.

In the distance a few screams could be heard that quickly died down. A few minutes later Alex would emerge on the scene, slightly bloody, while taking off a hockey mask with one hand and holding a red machete behind his back in the other "Sup."

Star poofs onto the scene with her new gear and heads down the left path. ...oh boy, another adventure? Neat.

Girl: Come on then. The girl completely ignores Akio's question to start walking down the wooded path, whether or not Akio follows her. If he does, the forest would continue growing darker and darker until all trace of a path is gone. Still, the girl simply moves forwards, as though aiming to pierce the dark heart of the forest itself. Of course, the woods would begin thinning out in all other directions, almost as if giving incentive to go anywhere else Raven goes down the left path, with the forest clearing up and being replaced by a hillside sparsely populated with trees. The ground in front of her slopes upwards and upwards until it is eventually replaced by a harsh cliff face. Naturally, the path ends a short time before the cliff, which spreads out for a great distance to either side of her. Nomad would also need to look at the last post and choose a path

Alex followed Star down the left path determined to have a less godmodish entrance "Wait for me!"

Akio would choose to follow the girl, keeping a pace behind her. He was still curious what a young girl was doing here but despite his questions, he also knew it would be irresponsible to leave the girl to wander deeper into the woods on her own. "The path seems to be growing less consistent. Hey, young girl who never said her name, you know your way through this forest? I'm not the best with directions and it'd be trouble if we ended up lost in these woods."

Raven would look at the cliff side before sighing. She would then lift of of the ground as she begins to fly back to the fork in the road. She takes note of the fact she didn't see the two walking down the path she took. When she landed back at the fork she would begin to walk down the right path this time. Hopefully her bad sense of direction while wandering on the ground won't lead her to another dead end. Xi, the raven on her shoulder would fly up into the sky and rush ahead as if surveying the area.

...fuck it. Star starts climbing the cliff using her gauntlet and gravity boots, trying to get a nice view at the top.

Alex, who did not have such things, held on to Star's leg for dear life with his arms as she climbed up, trying not to look down

for those who are unaware, this is actually part of an ongoing plot I started a bit back, so I don't really appreciate people randomly popping out of nowhere rather than at least having the courtesy to start at the beginning. So, if you are interested in joining the overall plot, PM me, its not binding or anything, more so I can give it out somewhat selectively. If not its probably best to just not show up The girl flips the end of her hair a little as she continues deeper into the forest. She grins a bit, glancing back at Akio as she continues Girl: "You said it yourself right? The easy way is never worth as much in the end. Not knowing where you're going's part of the fun." it wouldn't be too long for the trees to almost block out the sun, leading to a hard, bramble-filled path. The way forward slopes downwards a little, leading to a small valley of sorts filled with bushes while a slightly easier path slopes over and around the area, close enough to keep the middle area in sight. As for Raven, heading back to the fork in the road, she'd find the second path seemingly gone. Less vanished, more like erased. There's been some effort to wipe out any foot prints and cover any trace of a path with grass and leaves, but there's no real denying a somewhat sparser spread of vegetation. Xi wouldn't be able to tell much from above the treetops, as the forest only seems to grow denser the farther it goes. For what distance it can see the path has received similar treatment to the beginning

Raven would be baffled at this as she looks at the path. She either went the wrong way or something was seriously wrong about all of this. Was space time warping? If so she really might be able to return to Kat if she kept looking around. She would float off of the ground once more as she flew back to the cliffs from before. She felt more comfortable in the skies besides. She would fly back to the cliffs base and look around from the sky first. Trying to make sure she didn't see anything abnormal or out of place. If she didn't find anything then she would begin her ascent up the cliff face to the top.

Akio would continue following along with extra vigour. Despite his present confusion over what was happening the girl's logic made sense to him. "Yes, I understand! Finding my way back even if I get lost is also part of my training!" Akio would continue moving through the path the best he could with how messy it had become. The path downward would almost cause him to slip a few times but he managed to maintain his balance enough to reach the valley-like opening. He'd look around unsure of what to make of the area. "Didn't expect this kind of place to exist in the forest. So far, everything seems pretty normal though. I guess those rumours really were just rumours."

the path Raven previously went on would remain entirely unchanged. The trees grow sparser and sparser until she reaches the cliff face once more, looking around she can't really see much of anything aside from trees and mountainside, the trees growing thicker the further away from the mountains one would get. After checking to be sure, Raven continues up to the top of a cliff, where she finds an older man looking out at the forest below, casually tossing a pebble up and down with a sigh. Man: "You know, not one person has actually gone to the trouble of climbing this thing. Everyone usually just turns back, or walks around. Or cheats. Almost like they're scared of getting their hands dirty." After an initial struggle, the underbrush would clear out a bit, making it much easier for Akio and the girl to continue in this little valley. Of course, it would be easy to see the edges of the ridge, which wouldn't rise much higher than their arms could reach. The girl seems somewhat satisfied with her choice, continuing onwards as she responds Girl: "Depends on how you think of it. We're all changed by experience. In that sense the person who leaves home is never the same as the one who comes back." Before too long, the pair would find a bit of a clearing in the wilderness, the girl smiling as she looks up into the relatively thin treetops for a hint of the sun. Here the tree branches have started bearing fruit, most of them are still fairly small and green, not quite ripe yet, but there one would find a few solid, red apples among the branches. The girl taps her foot on the ground, before starting to climb one of these trees. She'd proceed up it pretty quickly, getting nearly ten feet off the ground before finding her first satisfying apple and plucking it from the branches

Akio would think on that. He hadn't thought about how much he might've changed over the course of his life. It all felt a little fast to him so he never really paid it much mind but his mind now wandered back to when he decided to try and become a hero. He remembered how sad he was at first as reality had harshly hit him but it was those thoughts that brought him back to reality. He didn't want to focus on the sad times, his mind was already made up to be positive. "Yeah! I want to keep changing to be a better person if that's the case!" It was then that he'd noticed the girl had climbed up a nearby tree. Akio would begin to panic a little seeing the girl climb up so high. "Ack! Hey, wait! You should be careful! That's kind of high, what if you fall?!?"

Raven would land atop the cliff and look around, at first ignoring the old man as she looked around. As if not even noticing him she just walked around while carefully observing her surroundings for any anomalies. After a few minutes searching Xi landed back on her shoulder as she turned to the old man. "Old man, have you seen anything strange around here." She asked while putting her hand on her hip

The girl grins, sitting down on a tree branch as she tosses a second apple down towards Akio before taking a bite of her own. "What if this branch breaks? What if you trip trying to leave the forest, hit your head on a rock and get a concussion? How much do you really think all these questions are worth?" the girl would go ahead and take a bite into her apple. perfectly satisfied to remain in the tree for the time being As for Raven, walking around she'd find a fairly clean plateau, the path continuing onwards well past the man, who sits on a conveniently flat rock, apparently used to the trek. The old man sighs, shaking his head Man: "Nothing of interest really. You seem to be a little on edge. But what for? Every day I see people running around aimlessly." The man looks back up at Raven, his expression somber and calculating, almost as though he's trying to look through her Man: "Is that the kind of person you are?"

Raven raises a brow at his question. "I am Raven. Simply Raven. Nothing else matters but returning home. If you haven't seen anything strange then I'll continue on." she responded before Xi flew from her shoulder into the air once more. She would look up at Xi as it flew around in a circle. Usually she would just ignore others if they got in her way or couldn't help her but thinking about it, helping this old man would be something Kat would do. At least something she would be dragged reluctantly into just to complain about later. She let out a small smile at the thought before turning her attention back to the old man. "Or is there something I you need?" despite her rude way of speaking she wasn't completely indifferent to others

Akio not expecting the apple would have it lightly hit him in the face before landing in his hands. He'd take a moment to recover from his staggered state before looking down at the apple. "I guess not too much, I just don't want someone to get hurt on my watch. I guess I should relax a little right now but I do always try to stay vigilant. Never know when people might need help!" Akio would simply stare at the apple for the moment. He'd wait a moment before finally taking a bite out of it as well. He was reminded of how long it had been since he had fresh fruit. He'd been focusing all his time establishing himself as a hero in this world rather than enjoying it.

The older man breathes out a sigh, solemnly shaking his head. He glances back up at Raven, seeming a little sad more than anything, for some reason or another Man: "Isn't that what I should be asking you? You're lost and alone in an unfamiliar place. I've seen it plenty of times before. Crying shame really." The man glances at Xi for a moment, probably her pet bird or something. Before continuing with a serene smile Man: "I can help you learn about and accept this new place, if you're interested. Or you could go on struggling blindly in the dark. I can't really force your hand." The girl takes a bite of her own apple, staying up in the tree for the moment as she glances from side to side, hair hanging down over the branch's edge. After a few bites, she picks the conversation back up girl: "You wanted to know what I was doing here right? I actually used to live in a village nearby a while back. Came to this place all the time. It was actually a bit of a rite of passage. Whenever you turned 15 you were supposed to spend a night out here. Whenever you come back you'd be considered an adult." The girl chuckles, smiling at the thought as she finishes her apple girl: "Not legally of course, but to the people around you'd be considered reliable. Wasn't really dangerous either, there weren't any bears or monsters or anything back then." Finally, the girl looks back down at Akio, throwing her apple core off to the side with a sigh girl: "notice anything weird?"

Raven wouldn't care about accepting this place. As long as Kat was there that was all she needed but returning to Kat, returning to her other half would require her to know more about this place. "Then tell me old man. What is this place? Do you know how I can return home?" she would ask, keeping a little distance from the man

Akio would seem to smile as the girl explains herself but he could tell that she was avoiding mentioning something. "A village near a forest? I used to live in a town near a forest too. Our parents never would have let us stay out after dark though." Akio wouldn't be eating the apple much more. His mind was far too focused on the girl's story but something itched at the back of his mind throughout it all. Finally, with her strange mention of monsters, he decided to ask. "Monsters? You said back then but does that mean there's monsters now? Also, that doesn't really answer what you're doing here, guess it answers why you would be here rather than any other forest but why aren't you home in your village then? The way you talk makes it sound kind of like..." [i]Akio would hesitate for a moment, he wasn't sure if he should finish his thought though he also realized it was the only way to get any real answers. "D-did something happens in your village?"

The old man sighs and closes his eyes as he shakes his head grimly man: "Well, those who are in the know like to call this place a Nexus. Doesn't really mean much of anything though. What matters is that poor people like you end up here from their own worlds. As far as I know only two have ever made it back. Obviously they can't really tell their secrets now, can they?" The man raises an eyebrow, looking back up at Raven with a sigh Man: "I run an orphanage for people like you, who end up here without a trace of their parents. Its not much, but I do what I can to ease their suffering. Are you sure you don't want any help?" The white-haired girl jumps, almost falling out of the tree branch, only to catch onto another one to steady herself. That moment over, she chuckles a little as she shakes her head Girl: "Geeze, you always such a downer old guy? The problem's what I said earlier. I lived around here for years, spent days in this forest." The girl raises one finger, pointing up at the sky Girl: "And yet I don't know a thing about it. This clearing was never here, nor was this tree. I've only been gone about a year, there's no way all this grew up while I was away. Which meeeeans...." Finally, the girl points down at Akio, a smile on her face Girl: "For some reason, something's screwing with it. But why?"

Raven would look at the man with curiosity. An orphanage? The Nexus? She already understood this to be a different world but was it really so natural for people to be brought here so often? Raven didn't like thinking too deeply about such things but the fact two people had returned home gave her hope. It meant that it was indeed possible. She could feel her stomach begin to rumble. She hadn't eaten anything as of yet today. "If you have food then I would appreciate it" She replied as Xii continued to circle from above.

Akio felt a little embarrassed in his lapse of logic but quickly would begin focusing once more on the girl's words. "Oh, I see. I've never been here so I guess I wouldn't have noticed." Akio would begin looking around once more. If the girl said so then there must be something wrong but he wasn't too sure what would be out of place. "I can't say I'm too sure. It must have something to do with those rumours though. I wonder if there's something around here to give us a better idea."

The old man breathes out a sigh, looking back out over the forest as he shakes his head Man: "I don't have anything on me I'm afraid. I mostly just came here to watch...." The man closes his eyes, waving for Raven to continue on the winding path behind him Man: "You're not going to stop are you? Go on then, but be careful, even when you're dreaming. Hoping for something that'll never come is a lot more painful than anything else." The girl grins, keeping one hand on the tree branch as she swings down, getting a fair bit closer to the ground before finally dropping down to one knee. Girl: "Oh yeah, the rumor. It actually started thanks to our little tradition." The girl gets back to her feet, flicking her long, braided hair behind her head as she gets back to her feet Girl: "You'd enter the forest a child and come out as an adult. Was perfectly safe of course, but interesting if you think of it that way." The girl begins stretching her arms with a smile before finally ooking back across the clearing, deeper into the forest. As previously mentioned, the area around is a fairly small clearing of trees in a dip in the forest, two ridges popping up on either side, the edges of which would be just out of arms reach, forming a bit of a funnel. Naturally, that leaves the way back, and the way forward

Raven would nod her head as she slowly lifted off the ground. "Then take care old man." she would say as she flew down the path, Xii following further above her She would fly a little slower, trying not miss anything on the path below. No reason to waste energy walking like before. She was hoping she could finish this before nightfall. Still, what he said bothered her. Be careful even in her dreams? And for what reason does this Nexus exist and why did she end up here? She was hoping these questions would be answered as she forged ahead.

Akio would look up ahead with a confident gaze as if ready to plunge into whatever danger may lie ahead. "Alright, I'm going to go on ahead then to investigate! You can come if you want to but if you do then let me know. No telling what's up ahead and I'd rather not leave someone on their own in case it gets dangerous." With that Akio would begin energetically sprinting straight ahead without much concern for the surrounding area. He believed the only way to get to the bottom of this strange place was to dive directly into the situation.

Raven's path would be largely empty, a fairly thin layer of grass growing down the hillside. Along the path she might notice a small town, if one can even call it that, its a collection of only three or four smallish buildings, all doors shut of course. If one continued past the houses, the path would wind down the side of the hill and loop around, eventually coming back to the edge of the forest The white-haired girl would follow after Akio with a grin, waving after him as she slowly falls behind Girl: "Hey, I didn't come all this way for nothing. Pretty sure I've got more of a... Slow down already." plunging deeper into the forest, the trees would begin closing back in once more, Akio would have to struggle through a few bushes as the ridges around the pair grow taller and taller, their path starting to lead down into a fairly large forest basin, with no clear end or goal in sight.

Raven would land in the small village. Walking towards the middle as she looked around for any life. Xii would land atop one of the houses and begin crowing. Raven looked around in search of a well or maybe a general store but the same four smallish buildings remained shut. She would walk up to the nearest one that Xii was perched atop and knock on the door.

Upon hearing the girl behind him Akio would slow down a little. He didn't want to leave her behind as that would be counter-productive in some ways. "Sorry! I just get excited over this kind of stuff!" Though despite his excitement he could tell this wasn't a normal place in the least bit. The path seemed to only grow darker and harder to navigate with the bushes and ridges forming around them but he wasn't about to turn back just on that. He was determined to find out what was going on in these woods.

Raven goes ahead and knocks on the nearest door.... Only for her knocking to nudge the door open. Inside all of the lights are off, almost like no one has been there for a very long time. The first room is a living room of sorts, a few cushy chairs situated in an arc around a broken television set and a small table. On the table sits an empty pictureframe, similarly coated in dust. Beyond the living room of course is another doorway leading deeper into the house. As Akio and the girl continue forward, they would finally begin noticing shadows moving between the trees, though they don't seem to be willing to approach just yet. From what brief flashes they can see as the things begin to hem off the area behind them, the creatures seem to be humanoid in appearance, with a faint blue glow emanating from somewhere around their head. The girl catches up to Akio, looking around carefully and saying between breaths Girl: "So.... How much do you know.... About shades?... If this is your.... First time..... Its about to get pretty weird."

Raven would walk into the house, cautious that there might be someone else there. As she walks she rests her hand on the table only to quickly pull it back after feeling the layer of dust on her fingertips. "No ones been here in ages." She mumbled to herself as she looked at the empty picture frame. Not paying much more attention to it, she would continue to walk towards the door at the doorway at the back of the room. Motioning to knock at first before stopping at the last minute, instead wrapping her slender fingers around the door knob to open it and if unlocked, travel into its depths. Xii would still be outside, sitting on the roof of the house as if he was simply looking at all things in the village.

"Shades? Are those like shadows? I don't know too much about those either, though! Guess this is going to be pretty weird then!" Akio would let out a confident smile as he looked around at the shadows. He began to bring one of his wrists up and place the other hand cautiously over it, specifically over a watch-like device attached to his wrist. He'd keep moving at a slightly slower pace, waiting for one the creatures to approach.

The door would be unlocked, though the door knob is faintly rusted, it turns with only a small amount of scraping and creaking. After carefully opening the door, she walks into a fairly cramped dining room, there's a light fixture hanging over a single, tall, table set, four chairs spread almost evenly around it, each angled somewhat away from the table as though moved in a rush. Off to their right, would be an archway leading to a fairly typical kitchen, with an oven, stove, microwave, a counter, and a few old, rusty kitchen knives, beyond which lies yet another door. As for Raven's left, just past the dining set, a tall figure stands near a series of four windows. A faint, white moonlight streams through the windows, faintly illuminate their features. They're a tall, brown-haired man wearing a casual set of blue jeans and a work shirt, simply standing there, looking out the window and muttering ???: "abandoned.... Nowhere to go...." As for Xii, he would remain outside the building for now, looking around the sunnlit group of buildings with no notable changes. With the pair slowing down, the girl would start taking deeper, more regular breaths, motioning for Akio to slow further Girl: "No time for a full crash-course then. This is what you need to know. Shades are formed from lingering regrets, suffering, that kinda thing. Naturally, a Shade would simply lash out at anything nearby, however...." The girl brings her finger to point at a group of shadows as they finish moving behind the pair Girl: "They're moving to cut us off, which means that someone's controlling them. That makes this pretty easy." The girl finally comes to a stop, glancing around as she bends her legs to remain close to the ground as the shadows finally begin to emerge from the woods around them Girl: "Find the controller, and its as good as over." The first wave to approach would be fairly small, a total of four, human-sized shades. Their body is a solid black, much like a silhouette of a human, save for the pair of bright, blue orbs glowering where their eyes should be. The four spread out, and converge on the pair, claws raised to begin their assault

Raven would look at the dining table as she took note of their arrangements. As she took a step towards them she would notice the shadow cast by the man and immediately summon one of her signature blue jays (a blue flame she creates and controls) as she went into a battle stance. She remained alert but as the seconds passed and turned into minutes she would realize the man had no intention of harming her. At the very least, for whatever reason, he hadn't even acknowledged her existence. The single blue jay would flicker as it slowly moved to him to show more of his features. The house was covered in dust, the door knobs rusted, with empty pictures. It was obvious without even thinking that this place was supposed to be unoccupied. The fact a strange man was just staring out the window was anything but normal. Regardless, Raven would speak. "Who are you?" she asked bluntly, her words tinged with a little edge

Akio would face off against the shade directly in front of him. He brought one hand over the watch-like device on his and quickly swiped it over the watch as he began to pose with bringing the hand with the watch up front in a fist and the other off to his side. The watch-like device would begin glowing brightly with a blue light before Akio would begin shouting. "Momotaro! Let's show them what a true hero is really like!" His body would begin glowing as a heroic costume began to form over him, replacing his casual exercise clothes. Two gauntlets would form over his arms, on his right arm a blade would form out of the gauntlet and on his left hand would seem to be a closed compartment. Behind him, Momotaros would appear in a flash of holy light wielding a two-handed blade as usual. Akio would hold out his left hand towards the shade before shouting once more. "Take this! First Star of the Divines: Blazing Glory!" A firework with its fuse already lit would pop out of the compartment at the top of his gauntlet. The firework would immediately fly forward towards the Shade and burst upon impact regardless of whether it hit it or not, exploding into a flurry of lights and fire. Momotaro would seem to simply hang back and look around at the other Shades, watching their movements as if to make up for Akio's lack of attention.

The light improvement doesn't seem to change much about the man, he seems solid enough, not quite like a ghost at least. As soon as he hears Raven, the man would turn around, which shows his againg face and, perhaps of more interest, a faint blue light emanating from somewhere behind his eyes. The man keeps muttering to himself as he aproaches Raven ???:"Useless.... Nowhere to return to.... Trapped forever...." the man would walk slowly, making him easy to avoid if Raven so desired, and would try to reach out to put a hand on Raven's shoulder The firework bursts into the shade, causing the creature to recoil, a rather sizable hole blown into the creature's struck chest. The shade remains silent as it collapses, slowly dissapating into shadow. A few moments later the girl would lunge towards the shade on Akio's right, sure to keep low to the ground. The creature lunges towards her, claws out, only for the girl to ram her shoulder into its lower chest, grab its outstretched arm, and flip it over her back towards the center with Momotaro, back on the ground Girl: "The target will probably have the greatest number of shades around to protect themselves, just be careful. Vessels themselves aren't defenseless either." The shade to Akio's left would continue moving forwards, soon coming to the area where the group initially were and completely ignoring Momotaro. instead trying to rush past it to the girl. The shade that started behind Akio would change its course, giving Momotaro a wide berth, respecting the length of Momotaro's blade as it tries to get around Momotaro and to Akio's right. not giving them much time for a break, another set of shades would dash forward, this time in two groups. Three advancing directly towards Akio from in front, while a pair emerge from the forest to Akio's left, completely ignoring him in favor of going towards Momotaro and the girl

Raven would deftly avoid his attempt to grab her as she moved around him and positioned herself near the window. She simply stared at the man in indifference, his sluggish movements wouldn't allow him to be able to catch her. She wanted to ask what he meant by trapped forever but instead decided to remain quiet for now, observing his strange movements. He didn't seem as though he was all there in the head. Maybe drunk? Maybe drugs? None of that even mattered. Another blue jay appeared next to her and floated between the two, hopefully to deter him.

"Of course, caution is a hero's greatest ally in the face of danger!" Momotaro, of course, would notice the shade rushing past it and attempt to slice through it vertically with its blade coated in holy light. The blade would aim right for its chest to try and cleave through it directly. Akio would begin to notice the increasing number of shades and his smile would begin fading for a moment. "There's quite a few of them...Alright, cover your eyes for a moment!" Out of Akio's left gauntlet a small round object with a lit fuse would pop out. He'd take the object and throw it to the ground. In the span of a second or two, a large flash of light would shine throughout the area, as bright as the sun. Akio's visor seemed to protect his eyes from the flash but anyone else might be blinded by the flash.

The man drops silent for a few moments, simply watching the blue hay, eyes seemingly glazed over, before he decides to simply ignore it, lunging straight at Raven, his right hand extended towards the girl once again trying to grab her right arm ???: "Abandoned... Trapped forever..." Outside the building Xii would notice the old man from earlier walking towards the collection of buildings, he trods along at his own pace, that much is for certain, briefly glancing up at the sky every now and then as though to be sure of his position. The first shade makes no attempt to avoid Momotaro's slash, allowing itself to be easily cleaved in twain. The creature's lower half would attempt to keep going as its upper body is left behind, only to disintegrate moments later. The shade that moved around Momotaro would make its advance on the girl. She takes a few steps away from the creature, shaking her head as she does so before breathing out a sigh Girl: "These things are formed from suffering, so unless you'd like to run around solving all the world's problems they're as good as infinite. Best to... Wait cover my eyes for...." The girl is slow to cover her eyes, resulting in her being affected by the flash, forcing her to rub her eyes in spite of having been facing away from Akio Girl: "Gah.... The hell was the idea there?" And something it did alright. All current shades would writhe for a moment, clearly discomforted by the bright light, they'd freeze in place trying to shield their own eyes from the flash, it would take the creatures a few moments to recover, but none of the currently remaining 6 would be destroyed. However, Akio may notice another person standing a short distance behind the three shades approaching him. They seem to be a fairly young girl, somewhere in their teens, with long, red, hair wearing green camouflage hunting gear, including a long hunting rifle. The person rubs their eyes and mutters something inaudible, before seeming to notice their openness. The person takes a few steps back, before snapping their fingers. In a moment, their shadow would raise up around the person, almost seeming to consume them before it morphs into a simple, deciduous tree, indistinguishable from the rest of the forest.

Raven wouldn't even try to move as the man foolishly walked towards him and directly into her blue jay, setting his on arms on fire. She would then kick him in his gut as she stood over him. The flames burning his arm but not much else, leaving the house alone. She simply stared at the man, wondering what it was that could have caused him to be like this. Either way she didn't seem to have found any clues on returning yet. "What happened to you?" she would ask. If he still didn't reply with any kind of answer she could understand then she would simply ignore him and walk towards the other door in the back. There wasn't any reason to waste her time on incoherent people. The first blue jay she summoned floating right above her head to give her more light.

Momotaro, unaffected by the light, would rush towards the shade moving towards the girl and attempt a horizontal slash of light right down the creature's body. Starting at the top of its head and attempting to cleave all the way downwards. Akio would be more distracted by the strange girl in the distance. "Someone else, that has to be the Vessel, right!" Akio's blade would begin glowing with a holy light as he jumped into the air. "Second Star of the Divines: Light Speed!" With their right arm pointed directly towards the strange tree girl, a burst of light seemed to surround Akio's whole body from the tip of his blade. He would shoot forward like a soaring comet in an attempt to soar right over the distracted shades and fly right into the tree. If his attempt was successful, the blade would stop just short of hitting the tree directly. Instead, it was the funnel of light trailing behind the blade that would burst forth all at once in a small explosion of light right in front of Akio. Momotaro's image would begin to fade before appearing next to Akio shortly after, wherever he ended up.

As soon as the "man"'s arm touches Raven's fire, rather than burning, it begins to twist, reshaping the arm into a thicker, black, sinewy tendril, which extends to completely surround, and then snuff out the small firey light. The rest of the "man"'s shape remains mostly consistent, though it takes on a darker hue and seems to grow to take up more space in the small room ???: "Useless... Nowhere to go...." From his perch outside the house, Xii would notice the older man coming rather close to the town, he walks with purpose, aiming directly for the house Raven had entered, upon which Xii was currently perched As the first shade once again makes no motion to defend itself, the creature is bisected easily, leaving it to dissipate as the white-haired girl finishes rubbing her eyes Girl: "Yeah probably... Give me a minute." One of the shades would recover enough to reach for Akio's leg as he passes over them, narrowly missing his ankle as the man makes it to his target. The "tree" stumbles backwards initially, before its illusion is completely blown away by the light, which in turn knocks the individual on their back. The tree branches drop back, reshaping themselves into the girl's shadow, which looms against the forest behind her... She looks up from a few feet away, trying to scramble both away from the pair and back on her feet Vessel: "H... Hey... Not so close.. Do something you useless clods" As one, the three shades Akio flew over turn around, chasing after him and Momotaro, meanwhile, the Vessel's shadow would move to take up the air between her and Akio, mostly to give her a better chance to get up and ready themselves, while buying time for the shades of course.

Raven would watch as the mans arm changes shape as it reminded her of the nevi back home. Gravity in the room changed as the man was picked up and slammed into the wall behind him along with the table and chairs that were near them. Afterwards four blue jays formed around her and slammed into the mans body. Raven herself would keep her guard up as she watched to see what happened next. If this man was anything like the nevi back home, no amount of damage could really harm him unless hitting him directly in its core.

Akio would turn around as the vessel shouted to the shades. It became clear that the remaining shades would pose a problem until dealt with but he felt as though he now had an advantage he didn't before. "Momotaro, buy me some time!" Akio would turn towards the vessel and point his left hand towards the shadow forming between them. "Last one for now! First Star of the Divines: Blazing Glory!" A firecracker would launch out from Akio's left gauntlet aimed at the ground underneath the shadow rather than aimed directly at it. His goal was to try and attack it at its source directly. In the meantime, as the firework was going off he'd attempt to move around to the vessel's right if nothing impeded his path. Momotaro would move towards the shade and simply try to slash at one of them to take it out. The Persona would have trouble handling more than one enemy at a time but would attempt to remain in the other two's paths to try and at least slow them down.

There's little the man can do to avoid being thrown against the wall, his chest gets struck directly by the table, which cleaves straight through him, showing their true form. The man's skin and clothing all melt away into a black, sludge-like substance, speckled with faint points of light. In the place of the creatures eyes are two large, blue orbs within the humanoid being's head. The creature hisses as the Blue Jays approach him. Its left arm begins growing once more, forming into a shield that the creature uses to block the fires, before extending over and around the fire as a series of tendrils in order to snuff them out again. Xii would see the older man finally reaching the series of buildings, and walking up to the house Raven had entered earlier. Akio launches a firework at the base of the shadow, near the girl's feet. The flash of heat and light causes the darkness to recoil behind its vessel, who had managed to get almost a foot backwards and back on her feet. The Vessel winces, taking a deep breath as they glare at Akio Vessel: Y.. You should have just left. The shadow once again attempts to reach around to form a buffer between the pair, however, before long it stops moving altogether, returning back to where one would expect a shadow to be cast. Desperate, the vessel points their gun at Akio Vessel: Not a step closer... I.. I mean it. Finally, Momotaro's slice goes clean through the middle shade, though the pain isn't enough to stop it from making one final attempt to grab Momotaro's arm as the blade passes through the shade itself, and restrict his movement The other two, however, take their eyes off of Akio to focus on the more immediate threat, Momotaro. The two would take to Momotaro's flanks, one on each side, before simply charging straight at him, they would seem to swell in size, stretching themselves thin in an attempt to engulf the persona. A fair distance off, the white-haired girl would begin running towards Akio and the vessel, waving as she shouts to get their attention White-hair: Try not to kill them, the Vessel's still human.. Well, mostly anyways

Raven would watch this transformation in shock. The shock wouldn't last long as she watched it's movements and the way it react to her blue jays. Did it not like fire or not like light. "What are you and what do you want." she said to the creature as she kicked the ground and caused parts of the floor to break off, sending them at the creature as projectiles If her blue jays won't work then she's use everything else around her until she can find it's weakness.

Momotaro would be unable to resist the shade's grasp though the reduction to its movement would be minimal at best. However, the distraction of the injured shade before it would be enough to allow the other two to begin surrounding Momotaro. The Persona would be unable to do anything with its movement completely restricted, at least it seemed that way. Momotaro's body would begin glowing gently at first as sparks seemed to bounce off it. Its body would erupt with a holy light that surrounded it like a suit of armour. The Persona would be incapable of moving in this state but it would attempt to burn the shade's grabbing onto it with the light. Akio would keep a distance from the vessel. He'd keep his eyes on her, watching for any sudden movements she made while also attempting to call out to her. "I don't want to fight you, it's as the girl also is saying. You're still a human and I don't want to hurt you. So, won't you please tell me why you're doing this? Hurting other people isn't an easy task so you must have a reason for this. Even if we're fighting, I want to save you too!"

The creature would simply ignore the floor pieces, its semi-solid body forming around the projectiles that came its way as it began climbing, extending its tendril-like limbs first to go over and cover the projectiles, then the table that bisected it, and finally beginning to extend through the space between it and Raven. Just then, Raven would hear a knock on the door, followed by the slow *creak* of the front door being opened Momotaro's light begins to eat through the creatures covering it, though they don't seem to react to the pain in any significant way, instead the Shades attempt to come closer together, further restricting and attempting to crush the persona. However, the light slowly eats through their skin, making their grip weaker and weaker... The Vessel takes a few rapid steps back, visibly trembling with their finger lightly placed on the trigger, after a brief moment, she lowers her gun Vessel: "I... I'm not hurting anyone, its that girl over there, with the white-hair. She's the one causing trouble." The girl in question steps around to Momotaro's side, taking cover behind one of the trees as the vessel raises their gun back at Akio Vessel: "And you're helping her, don't you want a world where everyone can live in peace? No more fighting, no more monsters, just us?"

Raven would turn her attention to the door as it creaked open and curse under her breath. She would then quickly lift off the ground and the air around her began to vibrate. She brought her hands together and as she slowly brought them apart an orb of black and purple energy began to form. The orb shot towards the creature and once it made contact the creature would disappear or at least that's what it would look like. The creature would only be brought outside a few meters away from the building. Four blue jays would appear around her as she looked at the door opening. Xii would be atop the house crowing as he saw the creature suddenly appear outside. It's body dropping down onto the ground only a few meters from the window of the house.

"A world where everyone can live in peace?" Akio's expression was suddenly more intense, he seemed more serious than before and the pain in his eyes was obvious. "Is such a world really something you can call peaceful? Fighting isn't something people just do by nature, there are plenty of reasons for it. Some people fight over greedy things like money or power but that's only one reason why people would fight. There are some who fight so others don't have to and those who fight because they have something they want to protect. I don't think fighting is necessarily a bad thing. It's because people fight that a thing like peace exists. A world that's just peaceful without fighting for that peace though? I don't know if I could be happy with just that, no, it's less that and more that I think such a thing is impossible without removing people's free-will. As long as people believe in something they'll always find a reason to fight. I believe in justice, punishment for the wicked and protection for the innocent. Can you really tell me that such a world would be just while also allowing people the freedom to believe?" Momotaros would continue coating itself with holy light but as the shadows attempted to suppress it the glow would seem to grow fainter. Momotaros would be completely incapable of moving still, only trying to battle keep the shades at bay with it light magic.

Moments later the door to the kitchen opens, showing the old man from earlier, who looks around the destroyed room with a sigh and shakes his head Old man: You saw the creature, didn’t you? Bit of a sad story that one. Still, I hope you are alright. Oh, but don’t just stand there, we should go as we talk. the man waves for Raven to follow him as he turns to hear back out the door. As for the creature, it initially hits the ground outside with a *thump* before scurrying back to what passes for it’s feet at this point. It looks upwards, towards the sun asthe creature’s flesh begins steaming, before it simply dissolves into the ground, leaving no trace The Vessel steps off to Akio’s side, keeping their gun pointed at him as they stammer out an answer Vessel: “Ummm... I mean... Just because you believe in something doesn’t mean you have to.....” The Vessel is distracted long enough for the white-haired girl to make her move, they emerge from behind a tree and immediately run at the Vessel, who panics, firing off a shot that goes well wide of its mark before the white-haired girl kicks the rifle out of their hand, following it by tackling the Vessel to the ground White-haired girl: “There’s no point arguing with them, they’ll believe whatever that thing in their head says. It’s not like you’ll convince her.” The Shades continue to constrict, regardless of the damage they received, however, as soon as the white-haired girl touched the Vessel, the creatures freeze, then drop their hold entirely as they begin to dissolve, their slimelike substance rolling and dripping off of Momotaro’s armor as they do so

"You?" she said in confusion as she expected another one of those creatures to be entering the room. Taking on one of them already seemed like a huge problem but two of them without even knowing what they were or there weakness was a tall order. "You need to escape. I only moved that 'thing' outside." She said as she was getting ready to jump out of the window but paused as she saw the creature dissolve under the light of the sun. Surprise coated her usually stoic expression only for a moment as she connected the dots in her head. "You have a lot of explaining to do." She turned from the window, trailing behind the man when he beckoned her.

Akio's break in character would begin to be mended with him trying to return to his more goofy demeanor but his smile didn't return along with it. He'd be thinking over the situation as a whole. The vessel was saying something to him but it didn't quite seem to make a lot of sense to him. "Thing in their head? Why are they like this? Is there something controlling them and more importantly is there a way to save them?" It would take him a moment to realize this was no time to be asking questions and instead that he should be helping. "Oh, right! What should we do with her now then? Those monsters from before seem to be gone but I think they are through a lot of Momotaro's power." The light armor around Momotaro would begin to crack and break before falling away. The Persona would in fact look exhausted from having used so much power to keep the shades at bay. It would fade away once more turning into a series of numbers and letters before seeming to be sucked back into Akio's watch.

The old man sighs as he continues on out the door, to the living room, and takes a seat in one of the chairs, not caring to dust it off as he takes a second to rest Older Man: "I suppose I do. Let start with that 'thing'. Its what's known as a Shade, creatures formed from the negative emotions of others. Most of them are easily identified by their black bodies and blue eyes, but a rare few are formed from the distilled pain of a single being. In these cases, they often take on that being's form, and can only be differentiated by their glowing blue eyes. Now, let me guess the next one, why do I know this?" white-haired girl: I can explain everything when we're clear again, but... The girl briefly pauses, remaining on top of the vessel as she thinks for a moment white-haired girl: I... Honestly didn't think I'd get this far. Not entirely sure... Vessel: This is the part where you let me go? white-haired girl: Not quite. I have a few questions. So I guess that's where we start. There's a brief pause between the two as the white-haired girl looks back to Akio for a secon, before holding the Vessel's arm straight behind her back and staring them down white-hair: "So, where's your leader, the Primary." Vessel: "who?" white-hair: "that attitude's not getting you anywhere" The white-haired girl begins to bend the vessel's arm back in a direction its certainly not supposed to go, and continues pushing even when it refuses to go further, threatening to break it

"Speak." she demanded, getting straight to the point while keeping her guard up. She wouldn't remove her gaze from the man, analyzing every movement he made and keeping enough distance where she react if he tried anything. The story about looking after orphans only seemed to be more and more far-fetched the longer the facade played out. Xii would take to the sky and begin circling the building, as if he too were waiting for something to happen.

Akio would seem panicked for a moment seeing the girl try to break the Vessel's arm. He'd try to speak up almost immediately. "Wait! Isn't that method a little excessive? I'll try talking to her. I'm sure we can come to some kind of compromise without using methods of torture." Akio would try to approach the restricted Vessel directly on the ground. "Uh, I know you probably dont want to talk. I was kinda surprised when you just said I didn't have to believe but...I'm not sure I could stop even if I wanted to. Maybe its selfish but I just want to find out what's going on here. These aren't exactly the kind of problems I thought I'd face again here. So, if you know where this primary person is, could you please tell me? I dont want to see you be hurt anymore either."

The old man coughs to clear his throat, tugging at the collar of his shirt for a moment before he continues Older Man: "Whatever you may think I don't mean you any harm. I used to live in this area with my family. But well.. Back to the story at hand. It was about a year ago these things first appeared, my son had recently built his home out here, the very house we're sitting in in fact. It started when The Morning Star, a peculiar formation of lights, appeared in the sky. Its from there that the first Shades came, servants of the Dream Keeper. But the keeper is another story. More to the point, I was around when these creatures first appeared, surging across the land and bringing ruin. Once their master was defeated, the Shades didn't stop existing, they simply became... Less organized. Tools from the start, without a hand to wield them, the creatures were as good as lost. the white-haired girl pauses, briefly looking up before she lets go of the vessel's arm White-hair: That's not... The white-haired girl stands up, keeping one foot on the vessel's back just in case while still letting them talk. As for the Vessel, they seem to be shaking a little, taking a deep breath with their eyes closed and facing the forest floor Vessel: "I... Have no idea what that even means.... Katsuke's the person who sent me here.... All I was told was to capture the girl, white hair, probably coming in alone.... Or there would be.... Problems.. C.. Can I go now?" The girl in question flips her hair, taking a deep breath as she waits, she doesn't seem too inclined to say anything on the subject, if anything she seems a bit nervous

She would keep her attention on the man as he talked, raising a brow at the mention of a dream eater. She waited until he was done talking though with the tapping of her foot her impatience was apparent. She crossed her arms as she thought on what he said. "If what you say is true....then what about them speaking. Tools have no need for words." though she couldn't say that with certainty, at the very least every evil mastermind she had ever dealt with used pawns who couldn't speak for themselves. "You said the master of those things was defeated. By who and how?"

Akio would not before getting back up and addressing the girl with white hair. "I'm not sure if shes being honest or not but I don't think we'll get anything else anyway. I trust what she says though, she seems pretty scared. She really doesn't seem to know much but I bet this Katsuke person does!" Akio would look down to the Vessel with his smile seeming to return. "Do you know where we could find this Katsuke? Your goal was to bring her to them, right? Then we'll save you the trouble by finding them ourselves!"

Older man: “Perhaps it’s better to think of them as a pack of hunting dogs, so long as they are guided they’ll do whatever their master wishes, but on their own they’ll revert to their natural behavior. Those rare few who can take human shape typically give insight into what troubled their real counterpart.” The old man breathes out a sigh, stroking his chin as he thinks for a moment Old man: “Supposedly a group of those who were trapped in her dream were able to overcome their desires and face the master head-on. But that’s another story entirely. I’d like you to focus. Now, back to the shades. Like a dog, they return to their wild and destructive behavior without a hand to guide them. However, once one master is gone, they can easily be replaced. Had to in order to avoid the worst of it.” The white-haired girl breathes out a sigh, getting off the Vessel to let them breathe a bit more easily as for the Vessel, they pause for a moment to steady themselves, before they finish Vessel: you’re not seriously planning anything are you?... Don’t answer that. Katsuke and his father Otake Katsumoto. They run a successful company and live in a countryside manor. They’re not really hiding, you could probably find them easily. With the information given, the White-haired girl bends towards the ground to pick up the vessel’s discarded gun before getting off of them White-haired girl: I hope you’re satisfied with that.

"Replaced? By who and what do you mean worst case?" She raised an eye brow at what he said as her stomach began to grumble again. Right, she hadn't eaten yet. She try to figure out as much as possible before deciding to leave again.

Akio would smile widely and give a thumbs up. "The best plans are the ones we come up with on the spot!" He'd finally turn back to the White-haired Girl with the same goofy smile. "Of course! If she doesn't know anything then Katsuke and his father probably do! It's better if we interrogate people who are more likely to know about this Primary thing you were talking about! Though...admittingly I still don't know what's going on..."

The old man pauses for a moment, letting out one last sigh as he slowly gets to his feet Old Man: Let us hope to never learn the worst-case. That seems a much more practical way to live. As for the replacement.... Well The man scratches his chin, grinning as he begins to walk Old Man: Those replacements are known as Vessels, people who are able to sense and manipulate the despair which forms these creatures to keep them under control, though admittedly not every one of them sees it that way. The old man, stops by the door, looking back at Raven as he does so Older Man: So, that leaves one question, would you seek to aid us in this duty, to keep a portion of this world's darkness under control, or would you rather move on with your life. I don't blame you either way. With that, the man begins to walk away, out the house and down the road, travelling at his own, leisurely pace The White-haired Girl shrugs, keeping the gun in her hand as she finally gets off the Vessel, and begins walking back the way the pair came, the vessel remains on the ground, resting for a bit as the White-haired girl waves for Akio to follow her, to talk as they walk White-hair : I guess I do owe you that much. Long story short, those monsters we saw earlier, Shades, are creatures made of despair. Lesser Vessels like the girl back there are able to act as a sort of relay point, bringing them into existence and controlling the Shades. They all get their power from one source, the "primary" Vessel. So obviously, following the chain of command should bring us to the primary eventually. I know pretty much everything there is to know about these things, so go ahead, if you need any more clarification, this walk is the best time

Raven would only stare at him at first. Vessels controlling despair. No matter how she thought about it, it had nothing to do with her. It wouldn't bring her any closer to returning to her side. She walked out of the house and as she decided to leave the man alone to fight his own battles Xii flew down and began to circle around the man from the air. "Xii? Are you telling me to help him?" she would mumble to herself Returning her gaze to the receding back of the man she simply sighed and began to follow him. This was something that Xii seemed to be personally interested in and Xii has never taken interest in others beyond her before. Whatever this was, it may lead her to some interesting discovery. "Fine then. I will help....for now." she said as Xii flew down and landed on her shoulder.

Akio would follow the girl, trying to listen as carefully as he could. The part about despair made some sense to him, that seemed to be the reason he could talk things out with the vessel before. "So these Vessels, what made them like that, you said they were still technically human so did they chose to accept the primary's power?"

The old man smiles silently as the pair continue on for some time the man walks along the path, towards the forest, only to take a left turn shortly before reaching it, continuing along the treeline, until finally they arrive at another small village, completely abandoned like the last one, there's a collection of some 12 houses or so, many of them wooden, probably from the forest around them.. The buildings look like they haven't been used in months, but there's an unsteady air about them Old man: And we're finally here, consider it my new home. There's another boy, should be around here somewhere, that you'll need to meet, but I hope we can work together for some time.

The white haired girl shrugs, glancing back at Akio casually, walking with both arms behind her head White-haired girl: "Sorta. They have to allow it to work with them, but well, just because they chose doesn't mean they were willing. Best not to think about what happens to those who reject it. That's part of why I'm here, to stop the Despair from spreading." The girl turns around as the pair finally reach the initial fork in the road, smiling at Akio as she points a finger gun at the air Setsuna: "Name's Setsuna Tamaki, looking forward to working with you. Next stop, Katsuke's creepy old mansion."

Xii once again took off to the sky as it flew around the village's air space. Raven would watch as first before her feet too lifted from the ground and she floated into the air to get a better look at the surroundings. 12 houses that seemed to be abandoned for just as long as the other. This was his new home? It already seemed inconvenient to live so far from the bigger cities but this place seemed completely out of he way and away from the things that humans gather for. There was no warmth here and even more so her stomach was still empty from not eating. Would this place even have any food. She would fly around a little, hoping to see another human being around somewhere that wouldn't turn into some weird kind of monster that wants her dead.