Fungeon! Team 1 (Ace, Siku, Khrom, Gus, Shinjiro)

He smiled as they obtained the treasure, and Shinji followed the demon.
He remembered how when he was young, some of the first beings other than his family that he had met were all demons.
He was always more interested in them than humans. Humans, he knew about.
Aliens? Sure.

Demons, though.
Those he just seemed to not get enough of.
For a moment, he pondered going back to get a bachelor's in demonology.
He decided against it.

Movement::

A joyous shout crests over the crowd as the countdown begins. It was planned that the fungeon would be over well before the Jump began, however it seemed that would not be the case. Instinctively the citizens of Junction knew when the jump was coming, as though it had been hard wired into them. As the fated moment approached a countdown rose above the chatter of the crowd.



And then the screaming started.


Inside the fungeon, the speakers crackled into life. A brief tapping sound could be heard, as if someone was testing their microphone.

”This is the only free one you’ll get… The following is a verbal recounting of a book one of you just found… Enjoy.” As the voice died out, a sound not to dissimilar from the sound of a tape player engaging could be heard through the system...


“If you are reading this, it is too late to stop what is coming. I hope no one ever sees these words, yet I must catalog them in case the worst comes to pass. I have seen worlds be born, and worlds die. I have watched the last light fade away from starry skies across all of existence. My world is dead, so many worlds are dead. This world your cancer of a city stands on… is dead. It died the moment you touched it, doomed to suffer a slow painful demise… However I feel I am getting ahead of myself. Allow me to explain…


This is not a new occurrence... I have come across many cities in my travels, from many civilizations and many cultures. I have seen cities built around grand cathedrals devoted to gods of order and chaos. I have seen cities that denounce all gods, where worship is punishable by death. I have seen the sites of great technological advancements and I have seen locations seemingly locked in time...

However, the only thing I have not seen in my journey across the dimensions is the same city twice, until now....

At first I was unsure, I felt that I had to have been mistaken, that there was no way this city was exactly the same as one I had previously entered in another plane. However, after many months here in, far longer than any stay I have ever previously entertained, I have learned many things about this city and am now convinced it is the exact same city that I visited shortly after this journey began. Not a copy, not a parallel version, the exact same city.

It is a traveler, as much so as I am. The citizens of this city are cursed to jump between dimensions seemingly randomly. The only indication of the next jump is the small display that seems to have appeared in the corner of my vision… It seems this is a common occurrence in this city.

When the date on the timer has arrived, the next jump has begun... I have witnessed three jumps. Each time the city and all it's inhabitants  move to a new plane of existence.

For the people of this city, this is life... they have festivals for jumps, they journey out into whatever new world they find themselves in, some stay behind and some join the city. It is a melting pot of the multiverse, and they call it Junction…

And I have doomed it. I brought him here… He followed me, he always follows me. No matter where I go or what I do he is there… And now that Junction is jumping with me on it, I’m only spreading the infection… I would leave and end my pestilence on the whole of existence but I fear it is not that easy anymore. He is a virus, and he has taken this city as his breeding bitch. Thus, I must stay and ensure that I undo the damage that I have done. No matter how long it takes.

Heed my words those of you who have been chosen, you are now a Seeker. One charged with finding my journals and putting a stop to what has already begun. Surely at this point you can hear them outside, their groans of pain and torment… That is his doing… His first Aspect has twisted them. Don’t bother reasoning or trying to save them, they’re too far gone.

Listen now Seekers… My journals are the only way any of you will survive. Even if you were to leave Junction now and never look back, you are connected to the unconscious… and to him… The worlds he has touched are doomed, your homes are doomed, any world you call home after this is doomed, and each world Junction flees to only spreads the plague. Your only choice is to end this.

Though first, you have to survive the night… Use those powers I just got for you, they’re more than enough to take care of a few corrupted husks. Don’t worry about getting used to them, it will come naturally to you. They were not made for you, you were made for them.

Know now that each face you see, each soul you meet is slowly fading, slowing becoming his, slowly losing what it means to exist, slowly being corrupted. Know now that you to are slowly fading and that time is short. Know now that in you lays the only hope for all of existence…

But more than anything… Know that you are real. You exist. You are here. You have free will. You are not just a puppet…


I’m so sorry…

The Traveler.”


The screaming started almost immediately after the jump. Normally there’s a short period of mild disorientation post Jump as people readjust themselves to their new world… however this was different. Something was very very wrong… One man in particular in the midway felt a strong nausea overtake him. He was a basic Human, one of the several thousand that called Junction home. Of all the species in the multiverse it seemed slight variations on human were of the most common. This man was no different.

At the moment of the Jump he felt a sudden shift… probably that hot dog he had coming back up. He turned to a woman beside him to ask if she had anything in her purse to help with his sudden bout of stomach pains. Though, curiously enough when he asked her only response was a sort of shocked silence, followed by a sudden shriek that only served to worsen his stomach pains. For a moment he wondered what had frightened her so, and in his confusion he hadn’t noticed that he had begun to drag his limp body towards her. She screamed for him to stay back, to which he stopped but only for a moment, before he felt his arm move… Funny, he hadn’t wanted his arm to move.

He could only watch as what he knew must have been his arm wrap around her neck like a slick tendril. She could only choke out a feeble cry for mercy as he unwillingly lifted her off the ground, and effortlessly snapped her neck. His eyes, or what was left of them welled with tears as he heard screams fill the air. He was unable to look away as his body lurched forward towards a fleeing family. He wanted to scream as others like him joined in the massacre, yet he had no mouth left to do so.




His desperate crys for help was drowned out by the screams of the man whose lower intestine he was currently pulling out. As were the cries of the hundreds, maybe thousands of others who had suffered the same corruption as he did.

…





The Man with a television for a head’s voice was undeniably excited… However the woman who sat on the console behind him seemed anything but enthused about the current situation. Lazily, she scratched at her screen with one of her six hands before, begrudgingly, saying, “Hello…”

“We are broadcasting to you with a very important message. You are now the property of the one true god above all Nyarlathot-t-t-t-t-t-t…..” The man, apparently named Crowned 3D, seemed to stammer for a moment before freezing up entirely, his screen going blank. Both he and his assistant seemed to seize up and go blank, even the dim red glow of the room died for a brief instant before switching back on and bathing those here in their combined light. “Forgive me, it seems we have a viewer calling in… Oh… Hm, Dynasty? Where are we broadcasting to?”

“Mm… Looks like Junction to me…” Dynasty fiddled with one of the nobs under her hands as she refused to acknowledge anyone else in the room.

“Junction… My my that changes things… Huhu, Yes that changes things a good deal.” Crowned 3D’s screen flashed several colors before settling on displaying a single word. Him.Crowned 3D chuckled slightly and lifted a single finger to point to the group that had been brought here “As I was saying, you are now the possessions of the My Lord. I do not know why you have chosen to come to Permanence, but I choose not to question such fortunate events. You will take Junction for our lord, you will use it to take all lands in his name… But that comes later, first you must rid us of an unfortunate entity that calls it his home… Both ‘He’ and ‘the Traveler’ must be removed from Junction before we can begin broadcasting. The show will begin shortly, children. I expect great things from you all…. Please, come back any time.”

“What he said...” Dynasty would mutter indifferently afterwards.

Slowly the man and his assistant would fade from view, his distorted laugh echoing as naught but red took over the visions of those who came here… In the distance you hear the glorious screams…




“Hello. My name is Steven. If you are seeing this then that means you have just awakened to a Coordinator. My time is short so I will explain quickly.” Steven smiled a small reassuring smile… Far, Far off in the distance, a large mushroom cloud rises over the mountains followed shortly by a deafening explosion. “I must explain before the shock wave reaches us… One of your personal effects has just become a COMP… Or as I’m told you will come to refer to them as a Vessel. This, along with your Coordinator will allow you to tame those touched by his corruption should they not have will of their own… I wish we could speak further but we will meet again.” Over the horizon a large wall of dust and debris was fast approaching.

“When you come to my world, do not interfere…”

You awaken back in Junction just as the cloud overtakes him…



(Junction has jumped into a new world, and with that jump, comes the Mass Awakening. You are now connected to the collective unconscious, and as a result you may choose to awaken now if you so please regardless of how many threads you have completed. Those in the Fungeon must Awaken in the Fungeon if they choose to awaken at all. Characters outside of the Fungeon should choose a Festival thread they are a part of to awaken in. If you so Choose you may awaken elsewhere. All of Junction is now infested with corrupted beings, please PM a Plot Runner with details of your awakening if it is taking place outside the Fungeon.)

Thank goddess that was over. Jeez. He was wondering if something was wrong him when he missed for a second time, but became even more suspicious if that move the pumpkin had tried on him had actually been a trick and its true purpose was to just make everyone miss because of distractions. It was quite strange to be sure and made him wonder why he could not aim a toy as well as a real bow..or how three people missed like that. Hmm. Very peculiar, but nothing the demon stressed about as he watched the others engage in the treasure? The demon would frown under his mask as Gus picked up the first one. A...dog toy….A squeaky dog toy. He kind of didn’t like those things for various reasons, but he would quietly watch the shenanigans occur as Gus played with the item and then the microphone that they also found. Hmm. These items were getting odder and odder. He wondered what they were for though. Hmm…

Well that aside, it seemed that the taller demon was in a hurry and before he could stop the guy, the taller demon had hiked up his robes like a woman with a dress too long and ran to the next room with mic in hand. On top of that, it seemed their silent knight guy went with him leaving the demon with Ace and the one with the noisy staff. He wasn’t sure what either was going to do as he tilted his head towards the open door Gus had gone through. He could hear a battle going on in there meaning another team was probably there. He wondered if that meant Gus would ended up fighting them for whatever treasure may be there. A part of him wanted to follow not to help, but to see what happened, but a bigger chunk wanted to see what other goodies one could find and it was this part that of him that kept the demon from following, his eyes drifting to the healer and then to Ace.

His ears caught the faint sounds from outside of the dungeon. It seemed the countdown was about to begin. Too bad he wouldn’t get to see what the jump looked like. Maybe the next time if he stayed here that long. That aside, the demon would open his mouth to speak, but quickly closed it as things became rather strange….and not in a good way either.

It started with a strange announcement floating over the intercom. Speaking about some book and giving some form of information the demon didn’t quite understand. They were tasked with finding out more, but before the demon could swallow that the scene became even more bizarre. There were screams and the sounds of battle from outside. What….why was that happe--?

“Tch!” the demon let out a sharp hiss as pain assaulted his head. The headache was unlike any other as his vision blurred and he swayed in his spot. He could hear it all and saw the strange TV headed people, but he did not understand what they were talking about or what this all meant. The images only threw him into more confusion as the pain only increased until it was spreading into his body and bringing him to his knees. He felt queasy and like he wanted to pass out. The heavy scent of blood didn’t help matters and only sought to drive him over the edge as his hands went to his head and he shook it trying to gain composure to no avail. The madness would reach a peak and then --

The world snapped back into focus again.

As the world came back into view, the demon would stay down for a bit as his senses took in the twisted nature of the area and the heavy stench of blood. Where were they and what was with his body? It felt different somehow. The demon would blink and move to push himself to his feet, but froze as he saw his hand or rather what was once his hand. He had fingers, but they were more of claws than fingers and they was armored too. That wasn’t all either. No the strangeness continued onward as he discovered more armor and even dark fur! What the hell had he been turned into a wolf man or something?

The demon would ponder that for a few seconds before his eyes snapped upward as he heard something move and then speak; however, what he saw and heard was not what he expected. This thing was not an actor. No it was way too real and that voice...it was human, but also not. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but that was not normal. Not at all. Pushing himself to his feet, he would take note that Ace now had some form power at his disposal, this time around actual flames coming from his fingers as the guy attempted to attack the creature. Now that was curious. He wondered….

Raising a claw, the air around him would become frigid as a fog of cold air wrapped around his hand before he flicked it off towards the strange creature.


It was actually kind of hot with all this stuff you know?

Information:

Stats:

Items:

“I hear ya and that is easier said than done,” the demon would growl as he picked himself up from the ground after that lovely first start. He was steaming alright, but couldn’t exactly hate the thing before him. It hurt him yes, but it seemed to be hurting even more. Ace’s words somewhat lined up with his thoughts; however, the demon was far from gentle with his words. “Instead of pitying the guy, let’s end this quickly.” He would say as he cast a spell to get himself back up first. Can’t be fighting if you’re dying can ya?

Information:

Stats:

Items: