Log:Rift Crisis II, Scene 8

Rift Crisis II 2019/03/08 Defender Fleta Grimm Kalwara Sentinel Sinmore Union Victory

8

The crack of the large branch being snapped echoes through the forest, alerting other heroes that something major may have happened.

Union scans the trees around her to see if the humans in her charge are endangered.

The humans seems safe, though Fleta looks about alarmed at the noise. "That sounded bad."

Union says, "We can wait here while you check it out..."

The last zark looks stunned as his companion is knocked far out of sight up through the branches. It's not stupid. Well, not *that* stupid. It turns and runs for its life!

Fleta hesitates. "No - my duty is see that these giants leave the forest." She is, of course, unaware of the serious significance of the broken branch.

This close, little shrieks can be heard - and a small voice. "Put me down! I don't have any gold, I tell you!"

And the heroes can see humans (three in sight) holding and chasing some other small humanoids, dressed mostly in red and green.

Victory shouts at the people, "HEY! Put them down!" . o O (Whatever they are.)

Sinmore arrives to the party a little late and from an awkward angle. Fortunately the woodland surroundings lend themselves to Sinmore simply barrelling through obstacles with her stone-like flesh and layered Muspel Mail armor. Charging along at something a bit faster than a jog, but not quite a full sprint, Sinmore furrows her brows as she follows the shrieks and other cries until she can spy the aggressive situation. Don't mind the 13' tall woman charging recklessly onto the scene.

Kalwara runs at eye defeating speed to get in the face of one of the humans holding a small fae folk, "Release." she says having covered the intervening distance in the blink of an eye.

The guy just holds the leprechaun away from Kalwara. "Hands off! This is MY leprechaun! You go catch your own!"

Union says, "Then let's continue, we're getting closer."

"Leprechaun?"

Sinmore raises a skeptical flaming eyebrow as she barrels toward the humanoids. She plows through a holly-like bush and plants her boots in the dirt, skidding to a halt as she nears Kalwara and the apparent leprechaunapping in progress.

"I'm going to have to insist you let the Little People go."

Finally, Union and the rescued humans (and Fleta) reach the edge of the forest, a few meters from the police cordon. Union reports to the same officers the adults had conferred with earlier, telling him what she had seen and asking that the rescuees be allowed through the cordon, and back into the city.

The trio hesitate as the huge Sinmore appears on the scene. Still promise of pots of gold and the like is enough that they are not inclined to follow orders!

Victory hurries over toward the leprechaun-nappers through the brush. He turns on his shield as he gets closer, and the yellow energy of his shield causes him to stand out in the forest. "Put them down, citizen. NOW." He points at the ground. "Don't make us tell you again."

The two men hesitate. The young woman is rather more impressed. "Ohmygod -it's Victory! I'm globally your biggest fan. Can you sign my - um - er - leprechaun?" She holds out the poor green-clad figure as the only thing that comes to hand.

Victory smiles. "Tell you what...if you set him down, I'll sign anything else that you want."

"Um - ok, sure!" She sets the leprechaun down.

Fleta is wide-eyed as she emerges from the trees. "It's true! It's like a whole other world. Look at all the giant houses! And ooh, what's that - and that - and that?!" She points last at a police car with flashing lights.

The released leprechaun says, "Thanks you kindly" to Victory, and scarpers. The others are pleading with their captors. "I don't have any gold, I tell you! If I did, do you think I'd be making shoes for a living?" says one. The other is begging for mercy and listing the the members of his family dependent on him.

Union That one is warning people that there's a problem with the road - so that they don't enter your forest by mistake.

Union says, "That one is warning people that there's a problem with the road - so that they don't enter your forest by mistake."

Fleta says, "But what *is* it?"

Union says, "It's a vehicle, of a style reserved to the city's guardians."

Grimm teleports into the clearing and looks around frantically to calm down her dragon and see what's up. "What the heck is going on here?" she demands, now noting the humans and leprechauns. "Oh boy...put those people down. We need to get you all home before you're trapped here forever!" she warns the humans. "Now the question is...where'd the city go?"

Kalwara speaks in a musical tone. In the Fae tongue if anyone recognizes it, "You have been told. Now learn to listen." She starts to move, passing close by the two holding leprechauns as she attempts to free the small fae from the human's grip and put the offenders on their butts.

Gliding fluidly to the nearest she pushes at his chest overbalancing him and plucks the captive out of his flailing hand as he falls on his butt. There's no slowing as she moves on but this human jerks away just quickly enough that her sweeping fott fails to connect. She ends up where she started.

Grimm calms her dragon by scritching at his shoulder. "Okay, quiet down," she says in a soothing sweet voice. The dragon stomps stamping and making loud noises, instead lowering its head for more scritches.

The leprechaun screams, not being at all sure than being grabbed by another giant is at all a good thing.

The freed leprechauns does as its companion and scarpers into the undergrowth!

High up in the tree with the broken branch, there are a lot of little screams and a mad fluttering of wing. A burst of colour follows as some, at least, of the fairies evacuate their homes...

Sentinel 's energy senses work in every direction- and so even he winces as the Zork is struck and then the SuperSoldier senses its impact with the village-bearing branch of the large interdimensional tree. His head is already turning towards it by the time the sound waves crack out.

His leg muscles contract and then with a crack of thunder as he breaks the sound barrier, Griffin leaps attempting to catch the falling branch since he senses so many little motes of life within. They didn't come here as destroyers. They came here as Defenders and Sentinels and with a Vanguard of Peace & Goodwill- he's going to make sure that they leave that way too because he believes in leaving a place in 'like-new' condition when you leave it, secondly because... America!

Griffin moves so quickly he vanishes from sight in the middle of his flight. But he reappears a few inches beneath the large branch as it falls.

He matches its speed and safely stops its fall before lowering it to the ground gently- careful of the tiny motes of energy which he recognizes as lifeforms of some sort.

Defender is immediately on guard when he hears the loud crack from above him, looking up just in time to see that the aim of his blow was off, and rather than sending the Zark passed the thicker lower branches and into the canopy, he put the unfortunate creature right through one. And, if that weren't bad enough, the splintered branch is already beginning to fall, tiny colorful people spilling out of it. Then, in a blink, Sentinel is there, and the muscles beneath Defenders armored suit relax as the other hero guides the branch gently down to ground level. "Good save." the knight offers to his temporary partner, metal boots tromping heavily through the forest loam as he makes his way over to the two battered Zarks, attempting to check them for signs of major energy.

Griffin's voice comes over Defender's comms so he doesn't have to shout. <<"Thanks. I got your six big guy- Hell of a punch by the way." His tone over radiowaves has grown more and more life-like over the past few weeks- this time its only a little monotone.

He pairs his radio chatter with a nod and a smile.

The zarks prove to be pretty darn tough. Only the one that impacted the tree actually seems to be be injured, though they're out cold (excepting the one who fled).

"One of these two needs medical. But they'll live." Defender updates through the radio waves, his own voice coming through heavily distorted and electronic.

There more shrieking as the branch *stops* falling suddenly. But they stop - and even some cheers ensue once it's realised that strange flying human(?) has saved them!

<<"You do triage too? That's handy." Griffin replies before adding, "And- immediate medical evac?">>

Union says, "So now that you can see that your forest is now within our city, can you help us figure out how to put it back where it was?"

"Broken bones. he can wait." Defender reports. "We can deal with him after the branch is restored."

Fleta says, "Don't ask me - I'm just a wilderward! Though - I guess the Oracle might know. Let's get back to the village!"

Union says, "We should collect the others on the way."

Kalwara holds her volatile temper in check. She glares at the one human still holding a leprechaun as she grips the hilt of her Wind Sword. But leaves dealing with him to another. Just in case she over-reacts.

Fleta nods and drops down closer to Union, more friendly now the other-world story has proved true. "Ok. By the way - I'm Detective Wilderward Fleta Flitterflight."

Union says, "I'm called Union. Pleased to meet you."

Fleta says, "I never thought I'd meet anyone from another world! It's exciting! But not like I imagined at all. WHere are all the trees?"

Sinmore would roll her eyes if she could. Obsidian and fire really don't lend themselves to such an act though. Instead, Sinmore steps toward the only human still holding onto a leprechaun and reaches out with a massive hand.

"Insert a witty Lucky Charms reference here, would you? I'm really not in the mood for your ridiculous shenanigans or explaining why you're being an entitled jerk."

Union says, "Mostly outside the city, though there are some parks."

Union says, "What is a Wilderward?"

Victory steps forward to try to grab the wrist of the last remaining human leprechaun-napper. The intention is to twist his wrist to force him to drop his captive.

Fleta says, "Someone who protects fairies from outside threats and criminals - what you call a 'guardian' I think?"

Sinmore stoops and swings her hand out, swiping her fingers through the space the human used to occupy. With a dramatic sigh, Sinmore straightens up and shakes her head, sending her fiery hair swishing and flaring around behind her dangerously.

"What's sad is that I'm the easy way," comments the fire giantess as she glances toward the on-coming Victory.

Victory applies pressure to the man's wrist, forcing him to drop the leprechaun. He smiles at the female fan nearby, "Have a pen?"

She finds a pen in her purse and hands it to Victory eagerly.

Union says, "I used the term 'Guardian' to help describe their function to you, which is indeed similar to your own. Our term is actually 'Police'."

The third leprrchanun scrambles away from sight,

With the dragon's head lowered, Grimm climbs atop up on his neck to ride him. She pats him and holds on to his spines. "Okay, let's round up the other humans. Take me to them."

The dragon snorts fire and starts bounding through the brush to the next group of humans as Grimm makes over her form to fit the landscape--that of a dark and terrible queen. Her leather jacket molds into a black gown, and a black spiked crown forms about her head as her eyes grow black and cold.

The dragon skids to a halt among the human and makes a rumbling noise. "Leave this forest and go back to your homes while you can, humans!" she entones, looking unearthly as her voice booms.

The shadow dragon snorts out some purple flame to emphasize Grimm's warning.

Grimm raises a hand out towards the humans, "And take nothing with you!"

SOme of the fairies who escaped from the branch as it was falling start dancing about Sentinel. "You saved us, you saved us!" some are singing. A more serious (or less frivolous) looking one comes up to his face. "Can you put the branch back where it was? Then we can heal the tree!"

Griffin, the Colonial Bay Sentinel smiles at the happy little motes. "Sure I can." He says quietly, trying not to damage tiny ear drums or anything.

With ease the SuperSoldier ascends with the branch held above his head and then back onto place from where it came from.

Some of the fairies begin dancing around where the branch was broken and singing in some other language. Hopefully this is in aid of something. :)

While Sentinel is lifting the large branch into place, Defender takes a moment to scan his surroundings, using his enhanced heat vision to find a solid looking series of smaller branches that don't appear to be being used for anything. Transforming his giant hammer back into its spear form, he uses a blade of pure energy to slice the branches free, gathering those, as well as some nearby fibrous plants in an attempt to fashion some rough splints for the battered Zark he accidentally bounced off of the forest roof.

Victory takes the pen from his fan, "What would you like me to sign?"

A little bit of work sees the branches straightened, and the fibers of the plants braided into a couple of decently long cords. Working in metal gauntlets isn't the easiest, but Defender toils his way through, stooping over the downed Zark and taking advantage of its unconscious state to straighten out any bad breaks and lash the splints into place. There wont' be a cast, or a proper medical facility, but the brute will be better off than had he been left there.

Kalwara takes in a deep breath and slowly releases it. Then she points back at an angle to the direction we arrived from. "The place we entered the forest from lies in that direction.

The woman hunts through her bag, flustered, for something approriate.

She ends up baring a shoulder from Victory to sign.

Griffin holds the larger, village-bearing branch in place easily. Never seeming to tire from the effort at all, happy to have been able to help and backup Defender and the other local (though now transdimensional) heroes.

Griffin looks to the serious looking mote that addressed him earlier. "We hope no one was injured. We didn't know your people were even here until your homes were falling."

The remaining humans chasing after leprechauns all suddenly look and turn as the dragon rider queen crashes through the forest and issues her warning. So terrified are they that most wilt, or fall on their backsides, or fall as they stumble to run. The leprechauns do the same. There's much wailing, pleading, and incoherent screams before they do as the Night Queen bids.

As they return to the scene, Union asks Fleta, "How many different kinds of people live here?"

Fleta says, "I guess that depends what you mean by 'kinds', 'people' and 'here'!"

Victory smiles and signs the woman's shoulder. "Here you go." He hands the pen back to her.

Once leprechauns recover their feet, they run off into the forest in various direction in sheer terror. So do the humans.

Victory sighs as he sees the humans run off in random directions. "That's...going to make it hard to get them all home."

Union says, "Well, there's the pixies, they're people, right? And so are you, but you're not a pixie, you're a diffent kind of people. By 'here' I mean this forest."

Fleta says, "No, I'm a fairy! But we have a sort of arrangement with the pixies so some people count us as the same sort. And then there are leprechauns and gnomes and boggarts and norkles. And then there are giant folk like the zarks and orcs and plomps. And then there are some folk who mostly live outside the forest but live inside it a little bit, like humans, too."

Victory points the way out to the woman whose shoulder he signed. "Best get out of here. This area is another dimension. You do not want to get caught in here when it shifts back to normal."

Union says, "Our city is most humans, though we do have some visitors from other places, and an Undermoon embassy."

Fleta says, "No wonder you don't have many trees if you're mostly humans!"

Fleta gets back to the village-tree, still being healed. She looks up at the work, and back to Union, as if that rather makes her point.

Victory sighs to himself. "I suspect we might need a verbal call to recover everyone. Something like 'Free Beer here!'"

Fleta says, "I'll go and consult the oracle. Wait here!" She flies up to one of the tiny buildings high up in the branches.

Union says, "But the humans came from many lands, orginally, bringing all their different customs, building a greater city than any one group could, alone."

A bunch of pixies suddenly become visible near Wade. "Did you say 'free beer'?"

Victory chuckles. "I...did. But there isn't any." He looks at the fairies curiously. "We need to get the humans in the woods here rounded up and headed back out of the forest to our dimension. Can you help with that?"

The leader grins. "That's what we were doing when you ran into us!" And they all become invisible again.

Grimm returns to her normal self, less terrifying than before. "Hmmph. Should've tempted them with gold." She looks down to the different trails. "Between tracking the passing of their shadows and my dragon's sense of smell, we can track down any stragglers."

Kalwara says sourly, "Without shooting them with arrows." She's still got three patches of blood on her clothing.

Victory nods in agreement with Kalwara, "Yeah...no arrows."

Fleta flies back down to Union. "There's good news and bad news. The oracle says that the worlds collided so hard they should bounce off and separate all by themselves. The bad news is, that's going to happen very soon! We need to get all you folk out of the forest fast!"

Fleta flies back up to the treetops. "Everyone - split up! We've got to find all the humans and whatever and lead them back to their world - fast!"

Fairies fly hurriedly off in all directions, tiny spots of bright colour.

Union calls out, "Sentinel! Defender! We need to evacuate everyone! There's not must time!"

She starts running back the way she came, which is now fairly well marked by the passage of the large group earlier.

Victory starts to head back toward the entrance he came in, where Starguard had set up a cordon. He makes sure to herd any civilians he can see on the way out.

"Sentinel is faster than I am." Defender replies, voice raised to be heard by the fleeing girl but still calm. "I cna put up a beacon if youd rop me off at the edge of the trees." This last bit addressed up to Sentinel, Defender lifts his left arm overhead, offering the hero a place to grip him as he braces for what he assumes will be a sudden jerk.

The fairies and pixies are small, but numerous, and know the forest. Several of them find humans and lead them out. The heroes' efforts save a number more.

As Victory approaches the cordon, he sees Blok among the StarGuard contingent.

The exodus seems over maybe thirty seconds before the trees start to vanish and the houses return. Then Fleta comes into sight, leading a child out of the rapidly disappearing woods. "Here! One more of yours!"

Grimm memorizes the dimension this forest is from, so she can return to search it once the dimensions separate again. Back in her monochromatic Starguard BDUs, Grimm and her dragon fly out of the forest.

Union runs in full speed to take the child in her arms and carry it back across the line of demarcation.

Fleta turns as soon as Union has hold of the child's hand, and rushes back into the woods - but the woods aren't there any more. She stops short only just before she smack head first into a house.

Fleta says, "Uh-oh!"

Fleta flies up high and looks for any sign of the woods still remaining.

"The woman on the dragon can send you back." Defender offers up to Fleta, having been standing at the edge of the woods when they faded away. Blue light flickers behind his visor as he studdies the fairy, lance planted upright beside him, and voice calm behidn the harsh static of his helm.

Victory looks back in hte direction where the forest was. "Huh. Was that everyone?"

Fleta says, "So - I'm not stuck then? That's good!"

Fleta flies down to Victory. "I think so. Of course, there's no way to be sure...."

Grimm's dragon lands near the gathering, looking back at the ex-forest. "Whew, glad that fixed itself." She looks around and notices Fleta was left behind. "No, you're not. I should be able to get you home without a problem when you're ready."

Defender offers a shake of his head up to Fleta, and a simple, "No. Not while she's here." That done, the mechanical knight turns, adding a simple, "When you do return, tell your people I'm sorry for damaging their homes." That done, he takes a couple of steps to clear his exhaust vents from hitting anyone and launches himself into a long, flaming leap, departing the scene of the once woods to explore the deeper depths of the Upper East side, making sure nothing else got brought over in the transfer.

Fleta says, "Oh." She looks back to where the forest was. And says, suddenly grinning, "Of course they don't know that. And really - if your world can cross into ours like that - it's really my duty, I guess, to write a report on it before I go back."

Fleta giggles. "This is going to be fun! A whole new world to explore! I wonder where to start!"

Sentinel makes it over the line as well with a straggler in tow. He has no sense for who belongs and who doesn't but things look safe and Defender has already lept off. He decides to do the same before he has to speak to Gabrielle Grimm. He tries not to think about the heebie jeebies she gives him.

He leaps off into the sky as well- off to chase another emergency until his Handwarmer+ calls.