It was shortly after West arrived that the adults left. Rjinder just... Wanted out. His skin, it was... Impatient, far more so than usual. It'd do something unpleasant if he was still there. He could tell. After two attempts (He was about three feet taller than he was used to, and nowhere near used to it.) But, when he'd left, the others followed him- Lulensky, Maugras, and... Wait was that Ned?
It was Ned. He had Wilbur (the arm) on, and both of them looked angry. "Either of you two want to explain what's going on?" He said, looking dead at Director Maugras and Lulenski. It was Lulenski that spoke first. "Uhm. Take a look at Rjinder and that'll tell you how weird things are right now?" It was almost a question. "Yeah, well I- Sweet baby Jesus what the HELL happened to you?! You look like something outta some horror web show!" Keep calm. The last thing he needs is his skin lashing out, and with everything that's happened that's getting harder to prevent.
"Yes. I am. Aware of this. It is very unpleasant. My entire body hurts, especially my face for some reason." Ned didn't back away, though. "That was for a damn good reason. You were going to kill someone- You got back up after and damn near DID kill half the people in the lab. You were going to hurt those kids." Maugras spoke up. "Ned- There's, bigger things to worry about- Okay, no. That was a bad way to put it." By Neds expression, and Wilburs clenching, it was in fact extremely bad of a way to put it. "I've spoken to Wanda and Michael about it."
"They, they messed up, so incredibly badly, and I would fire them and throw the to the police, but- As far as I can tell, at minimum all of us were kidnapped, and most of us experimented on by another, entirely unrelated research organization, or, the worst case scenario, we are literally in another dimension. I came out here to go to whatever the nearest town is, try and get the lay of the land, figure out just how screwed we are, not to argue, because the children with monsters were also brought here. If you want to help actually figure out what's going on, how to get home, then you're welcome to- The offer extends to you and Lulenski as well, Rjinder. If nothing else, we can get some food for ourselves and the children, some clothes to fit in, and figure out what nightmare scenario we are actually in."
"I think Ned's good on the clothes department, I don't remember him having that coat before all this." Jacket? Ned looked down at himself. He... Was wearing a coat over his shirt. It looked like some sort of... Sealskin thing? Like stories he'd heard as a kid. Less properly sewn and more like a single sheet or pelt folded and shaped until you could sorta wear it like a coat, or cloak. It was weird, he didn't feel it, and he hadn't even noticed he was wearing it at all. But when the touched it, it felt like it was just a part of him. "... Alright just to clear things up. Crazy whack-o dimension. Is this a crazy whack-o dimension with magic in it?" Maugras just silently nodded. "Seems that way." Ned sighed. "Nobody touch the jacket, I think it's a part of me." Wanda took a second to stew in that before replying. "Whaaat led you to that conclusion?"
"I can feel it when I touch it like I'm touching my own skin, and given how weird today has been, 'Ned gets turned into a selkie like the stories of yore' is honestly not that surprising." He sighed. "Right. I'm taller and have a magic cloak, Rjinder is the slenderman-" "I am NOT-" "And you two are...?" Maugras sighed. "Myself and Wanda appear to be regular humans. It seems that only those with monsters had their 'Origins', as the two indoors called it, changed. Look- It is a lot to explain, everyone in there spent a good half hour discussing it with Rolander, the owner of this house. We can explain on the way to the village." Ned nodded. "Alright, good conversation topic on the way."
Billigan Village, as it turned out, was actually quite nearby. Nearby enough that it was in walking distance for three confused kids. Right now, Bina was wandering around the village with Abel and West. Ayo had stayed behind, but Guuzy kind of had to come with- Whatever West was turned into, he and Guuzy needed a lot of food, and they had to find it. Still, there were... Concerns. "What exactly is our... Cover story?" Abel said, holding Rixis near his sleeve, ready for them to dart in. Bina looked at him. "Cover story?"
"If this actually is some alternate dimension or something then whatever West has, or whatever he's turned into? Either way it could be really really common here and us asking questions could make it... Weird." Bina sighed. "Well... We don't know anything. We could just say we're amnesiac? And that Fadir found us." Abel nodded. "It's a start, at least. It'd be a good excuse for why we don't know what all we can eat." Plan settled, they headed to what looked like a farmers market of sorts. It took a second to read the signs given the new alphabet, but the more Bina did it, the faster it'd become second nature. Most stalls didn't seem to have... Bulk supplies, like they'd need (like they'd seen Guuzy eating, somehow), but eventually, they happened upon 'Rodrics Basic Provisions'.
It was unique in the market, seeming to be more of a shack of sorts than a building- Sort of like a general store out of a western movie or something. People were occasionally going in, and coming back out with bags of groceries, but that's all even Rixis could tell without heading inside. "That place seems like it'd have... I dunno, something that could feed a... Taoed-of-tie? Why are they called that?" Abel shrugged. "New worlds, new names? But still, it's not some market stall like the rest of the place, we'd have to go inside for that. Might not be... Safe." Bina sighed. "You have Rixis. Have them absorb plenty of light before we go in."
It took a minute or two for Rixis to get charged (though it was a bit... Something, that nobody seemed to take note of the winged snake) and once Abel nodded, they headed in. It was the same wood inside as it was outside, weirdly cozy. It actually did feel like something of a convenience store, but with way less stuff on display, more just in weird... Treasure chests. And honestly if Bina wasn't seeing things then the chests were bigger on the inside. The shopkeeper, some sort of pig-person over by a not-quite-cash-register, eyed them as they came in. He was a pale pink color, flesh ever so slightly worringly droopy. "Howdy." He said, rather deadpan. "Whaddyou two need?"
Bina did a slight double take. She was expecting for this to be an utter chore of translating everything, but this made things easier. "Uh. We need, food. For a friend." The pig-person raised an eyebrow. "Which origin?" Right. Those. "..." The shopkeeper just stared, a bit deadpan. "... You do know which origin they are, right? That's not exactly the sorta thing that just fails to come up." Abel coughed into his elbow. Things weren't turning violent, but also neither of them were expecting this many questions.. "Well. The person we talked to about it said he was 'Taoed-of-tie'?" Rodric just stared. And sighed. "Consarnin' orphan magnet... Alright, how bad is the Taotie you're talking about?"
Bina sighed. "We aren't sure. West- The Taotie- He used to be human, he just ran in saying he was too hungry to think and we ran here." Rodric nodded. "Right. Bring 'im in. I have a few questions-" Having heard 'Bring 'im in', Guuzy then just barged in with West, who was having to lean against the wall. "Okay- A LOT of questions- What in the six cores is that?!" Bina did not want to have to explain this, she was struggling to think of how. "Ah- well- you see- It's his... Stomach?" Rodric just stared, one eyebrow raised. "... It happened a while before we was a Taotie. West can't eat for himself, Guuzy has to do it." "Sounds nightmarish, but... 'Guuzy', can mangle up anything in the bulk supplies area. And- For the record, since by... Everything since you two came in, I'm assuming you don't know what taoties are, they can eat literally anything they can fit in their mouths. Stone, wood, small freonds, machines, anything."
Guuzy (who up until now was just shaking and vibrating waiting for the door to bulk supplies to open), just opened the door and rushed in just as soon as West fell over, and Bina and Abel caught him. "G-great! But why am I so hungry?!" Rodric sighed. "Firstly, I'm a bit curious about why you turned into a taotie without knowing what it was-" "We are not saying the why of this without at least, Fadir and- I think his name was Rolander? Them in the room." Abel didn't exactly... Trust them, yet, nowhere near fully, but he didn't think they were an active danger. "Secondly, 'West', Taoties have an unholy hunger. Upside, any particularly irascible god shows up, you- Or, I suppose, Guuzy, can maul 'em damn well. Downside, you can probably eat an entire house or something and still not quite get full."
"Thirdly- How in sam hell did West get some weird... Stomach Freond thing? Sounds more like a Feond to me, but you all seem fond of 'em." "It is a... Long story, which we shall tell later-" Guuzy finally returned, and Bina, Able, and a now able-to-stand West all just hopped on to get riding the amplified stomach monster. "Hey- wait! Ah consarnit. I'll just call Fadir." But, they didn't hear that part, as they just fled.
As it stands, the adults had divided their work well. Rjinder was tasked with getting clothes and more technical information (which was greatly helped by his ability to put on an air of 'This question may look stupid but oh trust me will you be stupid for not answering it'), Lulenski and Ned were sent to ask around what sorts of different shops and services there were, and how money worked around here (As it turns out, this place is very mutual aid based, so the fact that they were so worried about money made them stand out just a bit), and Maugras was very quietly asking around to learn what sorta places are big on research, and what educational requirements existed in this dimension. Just, in case it turned out that everyone from Earth was woefully unprepared for this world.
As it turns out, they were in fact horrifically unprepared. Zombies roamed around at night, and had been doing so for so long that they were a part of the ecosystem, strange ceramic bugs wandered around like living frag grenades, just waiting to explode and kill you, there were a plethora of dangerous spirits, and a great many exceedingly common uses of friendly spirits, that they did not know of. The sheer number of dangers here... It was a very good thing that they had so many monsters here of their own.
But eventually, things were interrupted. By midday, close to sundown, Rjinder and Maugras were discussing their findings over some soup shared by Ned (because for some reason, mushroom stew is inherently universally edible if you add dandelions to it, and also pretty filling), when there was some yelling, easing into outright screaming. The three scientists quietly stood just in case they needed to go, when- "WEST, YOU'RE NOT STEERING RIGHT!" "SHUT UP LULENSKI YOU ARE IN NO PLACE TO- OH GOD-" Ned got a full view of how that stomach monster had grown in the apparent transformation, when he had Wilbur reach out and catch the stomach monster, alondside the Scientist, three kids, and another monster that were riding it. "What the HELL is going on here?!"
"Someone was asking questions about Guuzy, we had to get out." Ned sighed. "You three are just- You-" He sighed, and put his non-monstrous hand over his face. "God, we really did mess you up- Okay, so. We've got some food, and some clothes for you all, tried to figure out what's going on. Apparently we need to prepare for nightfall." He looked at... The fair number of people in the market now staring. "Ah- Strange sorts of freonds, personal story, gotta go people- Rjinder, Maugras, either pack your soup and leave it and let's go." They nodded, Wanda following along. Guuzy and the kids were very hesitant to actually follow, but they'd know if they were being led away from the shack, and that place was at least sort-of-safe. The town was in walking distance to the shack, albeit a somewhat lengthy walk. Ned, Maugras, Michael, all of them are looking more and more nervous.
As the sun went down more and more, they sped up, until eventually Lulenski and the kids were at a full jog. Bina was the first to ask- "Why are we running?" And Ned just, groaned. "Oh god- You wouldn't know, you probably weren't asking about this- This world just has zombies in it for some reason." A few seconds, and then- "WHAT?!" "DUDE ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" ZOMBIES?!", and though it was not a word, Guuzy did in fact make an alarmed stomach noise at the prospect. "Yes, Zombies, hurry, if we get back to the shack then mr 'Possibly a literal god' and that Reggie guy can hold 'em off."
Soon, though, they heard something. A clacking, rattling noise, by a tree. Then, something whizzes through the air- Two somethings. One bounces right off of Binas carapace, and the other, sticks into Neds coat. "Sonova beeswax-" Ned and Wilbur grab a rock, a sizeable one, and chuck it straight at the- Skeletons? "Why are the zombies able to use bows and arrows?!" Abel asked, returning fire with Rixis as the group tried to keep hurrying back to the shack. "I dunno, just, zap 'em! Guuzy, if any of the zombies try to get at any of us, hit them with the sticky spit!" Guuzy nodded, but Rjinder looked at him. "Are you certain it's a good idea to try and merely restrain these things? From what I know they will be showing up in large numbers." His skin was already writhing, ready to lash out and bisect any undead that came near.
And, the skin got just such an opportunity, as more undead closed in. One zombie was just cut in half by a blade of sharpened skin, three more bound in sticky gel. "How many of these things are there?" Bina asked, holding the arrow that bounced off of her like a dagger, greatly wishing they had Ayo here, or Kera, or- Any of the more mobile monsters at all! Rjinder, Rixis, Guuzy and Wilbur were able to fight off most of the zombies- Smashing them, cutting them, binding them. But they were getting overwhelmed. Eventually- "Gah- It's on me- Get it off!" He was tackled by a particularly aggressive undead, skin stabbing at it to free him.
Without Rjinder available for clearing a path, soon they were hunkered in place just trying to survive the horde. They could all see something going on at the edge, but soon they HEARD it. It sounded like... A bell? Fadir was coming, soaring in the air, one hand holding a golden, jewel encrusted fan, the other swinging a bell-laden cane as fast as it could, each tone letting off a tiny spark of glowing from the contents of Fadirs other hand. "WHY ARE YOU WITH SO MANY ZOMBIES?! ITS NOT SAFE LE!"
The light, helped. It seemed to soften the blows from the undead, push back the darkness, they even felt faster with it. Rjinder finally cut up the tackling zombie, and him and Wilbur got to work forcing a path through the undead. The whole group just ran as soon as there was room to do it, until they were out of the gigantic horde. Soon, they were outside the cabin, catching their breath. Fadir looked over them all, worry on its face. "Why were you with so many zombies?! You could have died!" West was first to speak. "We didn't- Nightfall came and they just showed up! We didn't go looking for them!" Fadir sighed. "We should head inside. Zombies still coming le, even if they are slow." The kids, the adults, they all just nodded, before Fadir opened up the door and they went inside.
"So skeletons and zombies and all that are the same thing- Does that mean I can eat bones even though I'm a skeleton?" Reggie nodded. "Basically yeah. You're taking this well, most of the adults that came here were freaking out and the other kids seem honestly shellshocked, could barely even understand me." The former-human-now-skeleton sighed, and took a bite from the bones on the table. "I watch a lot of british TV and I was... In a funk, I think this might just be escapism."
The door flew open, and the afforementioned kids, adults, and a bonus prize of one Fadir rushed through. "I think we're safe from the- ZOMBIE!" And Nancy had to just back up. "NONONO IT'S STILL ME I'M STILL NANCY-" But it was too late, and she was stuck to the wall with sticky glue from Guuzy. "Ghack- Come on, what if I'd been like, Kera, then this'd never come out!" Reggie sighed. "Not a clue who Kera is, lass."
Kera, and equally so Julie, were in the Nether. Luckily, extremely luckily for her, they were in inhabited space within it. They were near some Royal town of Lampades (what Julie is, now. Apparently. They all, all, say that's what she is now.), watching some locals. The town was actually pretty, dense- She was near the building with the most traffic she could find, some big hotel. Eventually, she walked up to some smaller looking kid (she hoped, she had no idea what kid versions of the aliens here looked like), and just asked a question. "If I do a favor for you, can you do one for me?" The strange, fuzzy, leggy child looked at her. "I guess? I'm on my mail route right now, what's the favor?" Julie tried to make it sound like as normal a request as possible. "Well- There's- I need to get to the... Overworld..? And don't know where a Portal is. And I don't think there's one in town, but if you know where one is, I'd help you on your mail route if you tell me where it is!"
"Hmmmm... It's a long walk, both my mail and your portal. But, deal. Shake on it?" Julie was hesitant, but nodded. "Ah- Mind the fire." "I know, I know. I don't even have your name. Mine's Caleb." "Julie, Julie Greathouse." And they shook on it, firey hand to weirdly small hand. Julie got a list of addresses, a bundle of mail, and a 'Deputized mailbringer' badge. "We'll meet up at three, and we can head to the portal." Julie nodded, saluting. "Sir, yes sir!"
First up was room 202. There was the sounds of some sort of game on the other side, the breaking and placing of blocks, and gentle piano music. When Julie knocked on the door, it took a minute for it to open. There was shuffling, things being put away, and then the door opened to a tired looking lampade. "... You're not Caleb." "I, am helping him with his mail." The Lampade nods. "Alrighty, well, pass it over." Julie took the... Gaming magazine, from her bag, and passed it to the other person. "Hey wait the new last dream 29 remake is coming out? Dude you've gotta see this-" "Ah, no, that's fine-" And she just sped off. Kera wriggled a bit under her hoodie... It was comforting.
It took a fair few minutes and plenty of stairs to reach room 106. She knocked, and then a few times more, holding the (already kinda steaming) buckets of water. It took a concerningly long amount of time for the door to open, revealing some sort of... Plant person in the door, glaring at her. "Please give me the water I think I might be dying." Julie just meeped, handing the water over. "Ahhhhh sweet liquids!" She didn't leave until she was sure the Glare was, adequately hydrated.
The third room was, evidently, for the owner of the hotel, one "Billigan Bossman." That sure was a name! Julie thought, as she went to the ominous room 001. She knocked, and the door opened just a crack. "Slip in the mail, y'see, safer that way, y'see? you've gotta see, y'see?" He sounded just a bit frantic, just a bit alarming. Julie just, handed the mail over, and the door, only barely open, seemed to slam shut, sending her startling back a bit. Kera wriggled out of the hoodie entirely now, acting as a sort of scarf. It felt nice, secure. "Thanks Kera, a whole lot. At least we don't gotta worry about fire now, huh?"
The final mailing, the last package, went to room 018. The door opened swiftly, revealing the Draconis resident. "Ah! My disenflubbulator, that must be what you have?" The scarred draconis said. "Ah, yeah! That's, what it says on the box." The draconis nodded. "Much appreciated." His gaze passed over Julie, but saw the living, firey scarf she was wearing. "... Hey, wait, just what is that? Some sort of freond, or..." He was muttering strange, magical, scientific things to himself now, which Julie took as a cue to leave.
"Alright! All the mail delivered. Overworld, and outta this... Thing, here I come!" She nodded. It was TIME! To go home.
