The Backup Plan (Raynar's Awakening)

Posts : 6498 Join date : 2013-07-06 Age : 30

Raynar Camelot would have an interesting sleep this night. He could hear things in his head as he slept. Various phrases seemed to sound in and out along with his body shaking as his mind was lost in his own dreams. “He’s it..?” “He looks the part…” “He’s cute…” Phrases came across his mind along with a strange sensation that his body was suddenly adjusting. He would have no idea how this happened; more than likely it happened in his sleep, but if he decided to wake up after the jostling had stopped, he would find himself on the cold hard ground, smelling a very faint smell of smoke in the air, and around him, the scenery of a ruined house that apparently used to be the bottom floor of a two-story apartment. In fact, it looked like a lobby…or it WOULD have if the place did not look completely destroyed by unknown means, and a large hole where one wall used to be, exposing the cool air rushing in and out of the ruined building. Something else would be easily noticed by Raynar; namely the fact that he was clearly not alone. In the apartment stood four figures, three males, and one girl.

Two of the guys were on either side of the hole in the wall, looking fairly average, one with brown hair and a slim body, while the other had gray (obviously dyed) hair and a fairly muscular build. They both seemed to be monitoring outside of the apartment while taking few short glances at Raynar in curious suspicion. The girl near the scorched desk of the ruined lobby would have frizzy blonde hair, with fair hips and keeping her green eyes on Raynar, curling fingers of one of her hands in her hair, and would look away if Raynar ever took a glance at her. “Hey Shinen, he’s awake,” the muscular guy would immediately say if Raynar woke up. The last male in the room would be in a fairly intact chair, looking through another window, and turn to him.

The Backup Plan (Raynar's Awakening) Cross

This man looked like he was in his late twenties, or early thirties. He had long red hair, glasses, and smoking a cigarette. He looked lean, and wearing rather fancy clothing compared to the two men who were wearing camouflage, and the woman who was wearing fairly modest pants and a coat. He took off his hat; revealing red eyes and set it down and got off his chair to look at the boy, and walk over to Raynar, and sit on the ground next to him. He would reach into his upper coat and pull out a single cigarette and hold it out to the young man. “Want one? I figure you’ll need one after what I have to tell you. Oh, and sorry for kidnapping you, before you panic. Trust me this will all make as much sense as it can after I explain. I will happily send you back after you hear what I have to say. This plan wasn’t my best plan, but it did seem to work in the end,” he said, the last sentence being mostly him thinking aloud. He was trying to be calm at least cause the kid was probably going to panic or at least be wary of the admitted kidnappers. He would simply sit there and wait for his reaction. How would the kid react to waking up in a completely alien environment?

Posts : 118 Join date : 2014-04-09

'Hmm, what...' Ray was definitely having unusual dreams tonight. Random voices, along with feeling totally unlike during a normal sleep classified it as out of norm by deafult. He had vaguely caught the word cute being refered to himself in midst of the random talk that faded in and out which made him tick a little. Come on, cute was more for girls that guys, wasn't it? And he, for one disliked being compared to a girl at any cost. Which was the most prominent reason why he opened his eyes after feeling well enough to do it...Only to find himself in a totally unfamilliar setting. This place looked like it just survived a war, or some bombing, sheesh. 'Wait...so why the hell am I here?...I'm sure I went to sleep in a bed...' Ray was decidedly confused as to what was happening, and the smell of smoke wasn't helping any, aside from making him cough lightly.

Almost belatedly, he would realize he wasn't the only person there, and that someone has spoken up as well. He would look around spotting three different males and a female nearby, which only served to confuse him more. ''Wha-'', he was about to ask, as he didn't like being left out in such a situation, but went quiet as the redheaded older man approached him. This guy looked strange, having red eyes...and was he offering him a smoke? ''I...would rather not. The smell is starting to make me sick...'', he would mutter. Maybe it was just the uneasy feeling about this whole thing. And he greatly disliked the sound of kiddnapping. ''Since when is....'kidnapping' the way to go about telling someone things?'' Ray was feeling rather uncomfortable in this setting. Then again, the sooner this was over, the sooner he could get...out, right? Because he was pretty sure he didn't want to stay long with strangers in a place like this. But, who was he to know if the man was saying the truth in the first place...This was probably not...good. He would keep looking around warily, silver eyes flicking back and forth, although keeping watch mostly on the redhead that spoke to him.

Posts : 6498 Join date : 2013-07-06 Age : 30

“Hm, suit yourself. No big deal though. At least you aren’t freaking out. Good for a man of your look,” he said, putting the cigarette away, and taking one last puff of his own before squishing it with his fingers, eliminating the smoke coming from it before setting the remains on the chair he just sat on. “I figured we’d at least be honest with you, so that way you have….a little more reason to trust us. Granted, I guess this is not a great way to do it anyway, hehe…” he said giving a bit of a jokish smile, as if this situation was not really as outrageously weird as it obviously was. His smile soon faded into a neutral look as he looked to the boy. “I think it’s worth telling you who I am at least. I’m Mercer Shinen. And my friends who helped get you here say you’re….Raynar. I don’t know your last name, I didn’t ask them to look that deep into you to preserve your privacy. Interesting name, like you came from medieval times or whatever. But..!” he paused. “Enough of that. I brought you here because honestly? I need your help. If you did not know at this point, other worlds exist. For some reason, a bunch of portals seemed to open up leading to your world. And…well…this is hard to explain, but you are in another world.” He held his silence for a moment to make sure Raynar could let it sink in. But maybe if the kid was this calm, he’d be calm about this.

“I can understand if you are worried. But don’t. Your family is fine, your world is fine. Our world isn’t, as you can tell,” he said gesturing to the open area outside the apartment, which opened to a view of a very large ruined city. It probably was something proud before, but now a husk of what it used to be. “I imagine that this may not be the only world you will see, since I found you on another island along with these buddies. Apparently portals in your world are leading to different worlds. What was that colorful island that lead to this one? It was ugh...” he said, snapping his fingers before turning to the girl for some answer, who grew a slightly darker shade of pink. “Penecia you ditz,” the slim man said to the woman, who looked down. Turning back to Raynar, he would sigh. “At least you know. Granted, there is more I have to tell you, but for now, do you have any questions?” Man he was really itching for a ciggy at the moment. If only this kid wasn’t….a kid about it.

Posts : 118 Join date : 2014-04-09

So being honest was the way to earn trust? Understandable in certain contexts, but Ray found himself a bit skeptical about this. Because naturally, one would have a hard time believing this was truth. 'My help, huh?' He was still a little confused of the way this man operated. First kidnap someone, then talk weird stuff, and top it off saying this was all to get them to help? Wasn't that a bit farfetched? And he wasn't even going to get started on this other world business. He would give the man a look, but didn't say anything, for he didn't even know what at that moment.

...So, apparently one could get here from Penecia by some sort of portals which were recently appearing...that sounded kind of ridiculous, but Ray would be rather amazed if the man was doing all this just for amusement. However, it was still hard to believe such a concept. ''...not sure whether I really understand what this all is about, but what I'd like to know is what does it have to do with me? You said you brought me here becasue you needed help, but how could I do that if I don't even have knowledge about...these worlds of yours? Much less anything else....Why not go with someone who knows?'' Because that totally did not make sense to him. Let's say this all was reality, Ray did not get why was this a problem of his in any way.

Posts : 6498 Join date : 2013-07-06 Age : 30

This kid doesn’t particularly think ahead does he? “Trust me when I tell you this kid. This may not truly be your problem, but who the hell knows what’s going on in your world if I am right about what I said before. At least here it’s more simple. Here’s the deal: There is a war going on in this other world. It’s between two gods, Nyarlathotep and Philemon. Philemon is lawful, Nyarlathotep is free and chaotic. We are with Nyarlathotep cause we want to be free. We don’t want Philemon’s troops to enslave us and install law onto this world. It’s already ruined,” he said. The bullet points may help this kid learn about it all. “Between the two sides, they give powers to each other, and naturally we don’t get along with those who are with Philemon. These powers are called Personas. Here. Hey Darla, show him yours,” he said turning to the girl who suddenly got confused before regaining her composure and nodded. Darla, would then suddenly clutch her head in very sharp pain before pulling her head back, and a red mist appearing in front of her. When she regained her composure, her eyes were now golden and a female figure wearing a hat and cape could be seen floating, yet sitting in place in front of her.

The Backup Plan (Raynar's Awakening) Scatha10

“Getting better summoning it ditz?” the slim guy asked. “Shut up! I’m learning,” she said, holding the Persona for a few seconds before it would vanish. Regardless of Raynar’s reaction, Mercer would look to him. “It’s usually best to hit people with truth hard, so they can get used to it quicker. This power was given to her by Nyarlathotep. People from Philemon have their own powers. But us fighting is what caused this world to look so destroyed. This interesting you at all so far? I know I gotta answer your questions, but one thing at a time you know?” he said to the boy. He seemed to act a bit difficult, but his words sounded very patient. He wished he could help this kid a bit more, but he had no idea if he was going to go off the deep end or not. If he got frustrated, fine. He will just have to wait and be patient about this. Worst case scenario, he will have to find someone else. But it looked like so far, it wasn’t going to be the case.

Posts : 118 Join date : 2014-04-09

Gods now? 'So weird...' Well, Ray couldn't say he was religious or anything, so he never gave a damn about such thing as Gods before. Neither had he ever heard the names Nyarlathotep and Philemon. This was rather complicated to take in. So, there were two Gods that wereat a dispute with each other and waged a war in their own world. Was he getting that right? He would ask about this Persona power Mercer mentioned, ut didn't get the chance as the man already commanded one of his companions to show off. And to be absolutely honest, that wasn't what he had been expecting. Well, not that he had actually known what to even consider expecting in the first place. But this...'What the hell is going on here?!' This was becoming rather concerning. At the moment, Ray wondered if it wouldn't be better to just try to get the hell outta there, but scratched that idea immediately, as he didn't think he'd simply be allowed to do that. Therefore, he would stay there, eyeing the strange creature nervously until it vanished. Good grief..it was making him feel rather unsettled.

The older man spoke up again and Ray would listen, before taking a deep breath. Okay, it wasn't as if this could get any weirder now...right? "You know...many people would run when faced with truth of this kind...", he would mutter lightly. Not that he would admit to considering that himself. "But, yes it is rather interesting, why wouldn't it? I assume you somehow want me to help out your side?", he would ask after a moment, trying to sound confident enough, even though he was rather unsure about this developement. Was he really going to have to take part in this somehow? The idea of powers was interesting, but weren't there any drawbacks to this? Well, the woman seemed to be in pain back then..so maybe...

Posts : 6498 Join date : 2013-07-06 Age : 30

Mercer would give a bit of a twisted grin, practically giddy with excitement. This kid was the real deal after all. Good that he turned out not to be a coward. Maybe he really will be a nice backup plan. At the very least it’ll help him survive whatever the hell was going on in his world. He coughed lightly. “I’m impressed Ray. You sure can take initiative better than some. I guess I was right to pick you. But as for why I need your help….yeah, it is basically to join my side. The side of freedom and chaos. I can give you a power like ours easy. I only ask in return is that when you return home, live, and if possible, recruit as many on your side as you can. Bring them to me. I can grant them power as well. Feel free to also come by this world every so often and help out with the war effort. Neither side is going to give way if we just keep hitting each other with the same amount of force I wager. Naturally I intend to reward you for each recruit you bring to your side, our side. We can take back this world together. We can show the fools of Philemon that order and law are worthless in a broken world. All we need is freedom. I am sure you will grow much stronger outside this world anyway,” he said. He gave a sly smile that looked just as eager as before, and held out his hand to the boy. "Though one thing, if you join and plan to help with war effort, do not get me killed. The Gods picked a particular person to handle a strong power from them, like a champion in gladiator battles," he said, pointing a finger from his other hand to him, pointing out just who the "champion" was. "If I die, everyone that got their power from me loses it. You could wait and see if Nyarlathotep will give it to you of his own accord. It is up to you. But who knows what'll happen if you wait. In your world or mine," he said. The choice was now up to Raynar. He could take his hand and agree, or he could deny it and choose to return home to a possible normal, mundane life. What was it going to be?

Posts : 118 Join date : 2014-04-09

Ray had been right then. This man wanted help in this strange sounding war, in exchange for the kind of power the woman had shown off before. An interesting offer, although Ray still thought the kidnapping was a lame way to go about with something like that. But if that's the way they operated, who was he to give objections to their choices. Maybe it was supposed to be some kind of test for all he knew. "I guess that is a fair deal.", he would respond, eyeing the offered hand as the man explained about himself. Was he afraid to get targeted? Because, it would make sense that if he was as strong as he implied, it shouldn't be easy to kill him. Well, either way, Ray wasn't planning to go against these guys. He didn't have a reason for it, nor did he think he'd even stand a chance if he tried anything.

''I have no reason to try to do that.'', he would shrug a little. Besides, it wouldn't even mean much to him. ''Alright, might as well.'' He was a bit skeptical about this scenario, but you never know until you try. He had already been taken somwhere he wasn't familiar with, and had been told all this stuff. What would be the point of going back on it now anyway? He would take the offered hand, not sure what to expect the man to do.

Posts : 6498 Join date : 2013-07-06 Age : 30

Mercer nodded silently, using his free hand to run through his hair, revealing bandages over his right eye. Possibly some war wound? “Good man. Alright guys, get outside and keep watch. Never gotten ambushed before, but it never hurts,” he said. The three on order would walk outside the apartment and keep a look out on who knows what, presumably the forces of Philemon. Mercer would stand up and walk several feet away from Raynar. “You may want to plug your ears for a moment,” he said. At that moment, Mercer’s eyes became golden. Holding his open hand up, a small orb of black seemed to form in his hand out of thin air, moving like something was inside ready to burst. He then crushed the ball in his hands, unleashing a high-pitched screech, like a bomb just went off, though it would do no harm to Raynar aside from being high pitched enough to warrant covering one’s ears. It would be a few moments before something happened, giving Raynar time to recover from the blast.

When Raynar regained his composure, he’d be able to see in between him and Mercer, a black splatter on the ground that looked tarlike, even when it started to shift and move around. At once, it would shoot up a few feet, and move around, until it would transform into a humanoid creature. It grew grey and blue colors, a bust, and oddly, feathers on its arms and talons where the hands should be. When the transformation was finished, it would look like something out of folklore.

The Backup Plan (Raynar's Awakening) Harpym10

“I am Harpy. I am the beauty of humanity, and the talent of an avian. Together, you and I will take what is ours and damn the consequences,” Harpy would say, a noticeable hiss in her voice. After a brief moment of pause, the Harpy would vanish, a red glow bathing Raynar for a brief moment. The power of the Harpy was now his. Mercer would give a carefree grin. “I didn’t know Harpy would be the one to join you. What you just saw before, with that black tar, was a Shadow. They are basically the same thing as Personas, though people control Personas. Shadows run wild and try to consume other people. You will recognize the difference almost immediately, trust me,” he finished. He would wait for a bit to see how the kid would react to his newfound power. He also was curious as to what he planned to do with it in his own world if not here? Mercer went through so many possibilities, each more exciting than the last.

Skill Used:

Posts : 118 Join date : 2014-04-09

The three others walked away, to watch out for whatever. Ray would keep his eyes on the man, as he walked away. 'What..?' Plugging one's ears was a strange request, but maybe it was warranted somehow? He would eye the black ball curiously, wondering what it was for, until it got crushed. 'Ouch...so that's why...' Now that made his ears ring. For a moment he cursed himself for having good hearing, but thankfully the sound hadn't been loud enough to make him go deaf. Shaking his head a few times to get rid of that annoying feeling in his ears, he would take a closer look to what was happening in front.

At first it looked like some black stuff that was molding around, until it gained colors. 'Eh?' He did not expect it to change to a half woman, half bird. Not from the black goo it had been before. ''....'' And the thing spoke as well. Harpy, was it? He had heard that somewhere before. Some kind of beast from mythology, or whatever. ''I see....'', he would mutter, when Mercer explained the difference between Shadows and Personas. ''So, in the end, humans actually use the creatures that are trying to kill them for their own benefit. Rather amusing.'', he would say, sticking his hands into the pockets of his uniform. People always found a way to screw it around, eh? It made him wonder how many of those that wielded such power were there, and what was their agenda. He figured that they fought against each other, as a war was mentioned, and perhaps against Shadows as well. At least he wouldn't let one attack him like that if he could avoid it. But, was that all there was to it? Either way, he'd have to find out, now that he got himself involved in this mess. It was a bit boggling that he was stuck with a half woman, but guess he'd have to deal with it. ''Anyway, what happens now? Are you going to go and kidnap more people for this?'', he would ask, not really expecting an answer, though it would be nice to know if people with strange powers are going to keep popping up.

Posts : 6498 Join date : 2013-07-06 Age : 30

Mercer gave half a smirk and smiled at the guy. He was easy to please. “Nah. If you turn out the way I think, I won’t need to. Even if you don’t I am sure this will get interesting. For all I know, the champion on Philemon’s end might be doing something like this. I'm sure you’ll be entertaining, maybe even kick some ass,” he said. He would take a few paces to him, and open his hand out, his palm glowing red. Another flash of light would glow on Ray, and he would gain the Mark of Chaos, which could be a change in his appearance, a mark on his body, or an item. He did not know how the Marks formed. “That’s a sign you’re one of us. It may give you an edge in combat if you need it. You’ll last long-“ he was interrupted by the muscular guy coming in with a panicked expression. “Mercer! The portals back at base…!” Mercer turned to him confused. “What?” “They’re gone! I can’t see them. None of us can…” he said. He seemed so annoyed and worried about what was going on. Mercer raised an eyebrow, but sighed and looked to Raynar. “Regardless, I can probably get you back, don’t worry. Follow me,” he’d say before walking out the hole. If Raynar were to follow, he’d be able to see that in a few moments, they’d walk into the outskirts of the ruined city, where many people seemed to be living from many different ages. Many saluted or bowed to Mercer in respect, including a woman who had just ran up to him in an oddly pink set of armor.

“Commander Shinen. The portals are-“ “Don’t worry Lee. I know. Gotta get this kid out of here. Just let the others take it easy, and I’ll see if I can still get him out,” he said. Lee nodded and passed them to see to the two boys and girl. Mercer would wave his hand to Raynar for him to continue following. What was suspicious was that Raynar could very well see a few oval-shaped openings around the area that gave off a red glow and showing images of Penecia Island, an island Raynar could easily recognize assuming he was a native of Azores. Why could the others not? Should Raynar continue to follow, about a half hour’s worth of time would be ahead of him as they walked through broken streets of the city, passing people who eyed Raynar suspiciously.

Raynar Recieves:

Posts : 118 Join date : 2014-04-09

This man was pretty sure of himself, but Ray didn't truly care. If he thought this was enough, then so be it. It wasn't like it'd be Ray's fault if it backfired on him in any way. He would only shrug at the words Mercer gave. It was his choice after all. What was he to care? 'Hm?' He would look at the man thoughtfully as he came closer, eyeing the red color again. Hm, he wasn't sure what the man meant by sign, but he was forced to let that be as they had an interruption. And even if not, he most likely wouldn't have noticed. Not unless he had a mirror with him which he obviously did not. The mark would only give a slight change in appearance to the tattoo on the left side of his face, making it a much darker red, and the curves more jagged than before.

''Allright.'', he would nod when he was requested to follow. What else was he to do anyway. Staying here would do him no good, if what the other man was saying was true. Though it was strange. How could portals just dissapear all of a sudden? That aside, he was rather surprised to see so many people around this place. Not what he'd have expected out of a ruined place like this. 'Weird...' People were so worried about this disappearance of portals, but...What did it mean if he could see something that at least resembled them? Not that he knew how were those portals supposed to look, but he figured that being able to see the normal looking Penecia through some holes did qualify. ''This is rather strage....'', he would mutter, but would follow anyway. He was curious as to what this meant, and it wasn't like he was in any hurry anymore. Sure, people stared at him, but it didn't seem like anyone was planning on doing anything to him. So, maybe it was more beneficial to see what this was about...

Posts : 6498 Join date : 2013-07-06 Age : 30

“I bet. It’s weird how only us two can see them right? I wonder if something happened in your world…” he asked, answering his question with another question, and at the same time, demonstrating his abnormally keen sense of sound. Mercer must have a lot of power to spare. The walk would eventually take the two to a particular two-story building in the middle of the ruined city. It looked like it used to be a small antique store, both outside and in when inside was a few broken pots, and on the first floor, a large hole in the ground with a rope ladder leading down hanging from the side. Mercer would simply walk towards the edge and jump down nonchalantly. If Raynar looked, he could see that the hole lead around ten feet down, to a basement that held a simple futon, and a small pile of notebooks, with some papers scattered around them. In the basement, there’d be one portal glowing red, that Raynar could notice right away, which also showed images of Penecia Island.

“This can get you back. You can use the portal to here or around the area. Best you don’t come in if you see people around the portal, or you’ll scare them out of their asses,” he said, making a light snicker. “One more thing. I imagine this goes without saying, but I did some digging around that island. But that wasn’t what I meant.” He began. “I only seemed to see portals leading to our side of this world. You probably can’t see the portals to Philemon’s side either. Just keep that in mind. But in all seriousness kid, you got it made. I am sure you’ll go far in life, either with my help or not. You kick around in your world, see what you can accomplish before coming back. I want to see you as a stronger man when you return. I’ll happily help you around with learning more about the politics of it all; and even more fun, the fighting,” he said with a childish grin. “Well Ray, good luck.” Raynar was left to his own devices. He could leave through the portal if he wanted as he now had access to it. And now he had his new power. Mercer would be grabbing a notepad and pen and open it to read through whatever was written on it. He would still be there to answer any questions Raynar had. Though Mercer enjoyed thinking about the ultimate question he had. He could resist no longer. He set the notepad to the side of his futon just as quickly as he picked it up. "Actually Ray, I have to ask before you go. What do you intend to do with your new power?"

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'Eh? So he can see them too?' Ray hadn't expected Mercer to hear his mutter but, this at least explained some things. Like why did the man not seem as panicked as the rest of the people. Of course he wouldn't if he knew it was fine. ''Maybe...it is possible...'' Anything was, at this point, or at least Ray thought so. He would keep on following the man, until they came to the building with a strange hole on the first floor. Seeing Mercer simply jump in, he would walk over, bending over to take a look downwards first. He contemplated it for a moment, but would decide to use the ladder in the end. Free falling ten feet didn't sound appealing to him.

''Would that be a bad thing?'', he would ask, not really expecting an answer, when Mercer said to look for people on the other side first. What? The idea of people jumping out of their skin was rather amusing to imagine. That aside, he would observe the red portal thoughtfully as the man spoke about seeing only ones from their side. Logically it made sense, though that meant it wasn't easy to get to the other side of the field then. But, the rest couldn't bother them either, if that was the case. Hm, who knew whether it was a good or bad thing. ''Well, I can try. Just don't die until I come back. That would completely kill the point.'', he was actually starting to find this situation less unsettling as the time passed. Funny. But it would be lame if he was scared even now. ''Good luck to you too then.'', he would return the polite exchange, turning towards the portal. Before he could go though, the man asked one last question. ''What indeed. That's a secret...Or maybe not really, but I'll have to see what is going on first, then I'll decide in more detail. For now, I might as well just practice to get stronger. As it goes, you never know what you come across.'', he would respond after a moment of thought. He did have some more elaborate ideas as well, but he wouldn't say those yet. Spoilers were damn boring after all. With that said, he would bide the man farewell, and go back to the normal world. Once there, he would sigh, realizing that being in Penecia, he would still haveto make his way home. 'Great...'

~Exit~

Posts : 6498 Join date : 2013-07-06 Age : 30

Mercer Shinen of the Fool and Raynar of the Moon have formed a social link...

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