Into Thin Air (SSoDI)

[enigmamystere]

The pegasus looks up from where he'd grabbed some rice in a gauntlet's electric tendrils. "Oh, uh, I'm Enigma. You can just call me E." He pops the food into his mouth, humming satisfactorily, glad to have something to keep his energy up.

[DanteMGalileo]

On top of the car, there was... Nothing. Although judging by the newly-created dent on the roof, whatever it was, it was big, and heavy.

Inside the car, the riders suddenly felt their vehicle lean far to the side. "Oh, dear," Percy said, trying to keep his balance on the now-sloped terrain. "I really hope this car can survive the last couple meters..." He took a moment to secure his own oxygen mask in preparation for disembarking.

---

"Eat quick. Nothin' remains got up here for long. Yeah, I'm used to it, but I'm sure you lowlanders prefer somethin' a bit... toastier."

I paused and scanned the surrounding area. Sniffing, I cringed. "Something smells rotten in the state of Palne."

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Nice to meet you guys," Paul murmured with a half-hearted smile. "Sorry if I seem a little distant. I'm just kinda worried about the girl I was with. We had this whole plan figured out before I ended up-"

He quieted down when Lark apparently sensed something, tensely scanning the area for himself. He had already dealt with his fair share of weirdness that night; he wasn't exactly in the mood for more.

---------------------------

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me..." Kelsey grumbled, her voice somewhat hollow-sounding on account of the mask.

"'Fraid not, sister," Tri chuckled. "My advice would be to bust those wings out and start lighting some fires. Not sure what that would accomplish, but it would definitely be funny to see the reactions you get."

[ColArana]

Ranuen frowned, both in disappointment and concern when he found nothing on the roof of the car. "Nothing up here!" He called out to the group still inside, trying to shout above the howling winds. The swordsman lowered himself into a kneeling position, both for stability on top of the rocking car, and to examine the deny. Big, and heavy. Yeah. That was for sure. But he wondered if he could gather any information from the dent itself. Perhaps figure out which direction it had come from? Had someone leaped up from below, and used their car as a springboard? Or had they fallen from above, and hit it on the way down? To be sure, Ranuen carefully moved around the roof of the car, checking over the sides to make certain that nobody had simply slipped off and was hugging the sides of the car to avoid notice. He'd check the bottom too, but he wasn't certain he was dextrous enough to pull it off.


----

Alaric, in accordance with Lark's suggestion, scarfed down the rest of his meal, shook out his shoulders and rubbed his hands together, as an instinctive reaction, to the cold he knew was present, even though he wasn't affected by it thanks to Lark. Hearing Lark's declaration, he focused to see if he could hear anything over the winds on the mountain top.

[enigmamystere]

"...I'm a little confused." Enigma gestures to the area around them. "What is there to smell aside from snow and each other?" He raises an eyebrow. "Did someone let one rip?"

He may be asking simple questions, but he is tense, body prepared to tackle or avoid anything that might come his way.

[DanteMGalileo]

"C'mon, c'mon, we just need these last few feet..." Percy mumbled under his breath. The car had stopped rattling, although a weight still hung onto it. After a few nail-biting seconds, the car came to a halt on the mountain, the door swinging open.

"Welcome to Old Camp Four. Please be careful in exiting the vehicle, and remember to take call bags, supplies, and annoying children with you. Jump gate to Summit is close by. On behalf of the Old Everest Mountaineering Company, we wish you a safe and memorable climb."

"Memorable is one thing..." He mumbled, exiting the car... and immediately wincing, barely holding back a yelp when his bare feet made contact with the freezing snow. "Dammit, I forgot to get boots... Move! The sooner we can get to the jump gate, the quicker you'll be able to get off the mountain! Just look out for the green gear with what looks like an upwards-pointing arrow on it! And do avoid the red gear with a down arrow..."

If you bothered to look into the sky, you would see what appeared to be two figures floating up towards the summit...

---

With a swish of my cloak, I tossed the empty plate and pot, and my utensils into the unknown. "That hit the spot. Not bad, eh? Oh, yeah, I oughta get you home before it goes-"

There was a crashing sound behind me. I turned, and, well, I'm glad I'm already so pasty. "So THAT'S what's rotten in the state of Palne."

Seeker seemed to be hauling something behind themselves as they approached Lark. "Not bad... Not quite on the level of the time you almost dropped me into a volcano, but still above the pit of rabid scorpions."

"Yeah, that was a blast. Hey, how'd you get outta that pit, anyway?" If Lark was afraid right now, he sure was doing a good job of hiding it.

"I have my methods... And some friends with potent antivenoms. You don't happen to have many friends, do you?"

"Rude." Lark made a funny pouting face. "I happen to have plenty of friends, even if they only exist in my mind. There's George, Francys, Hannelore, Tsewang, Marko, David, Shriya... There was also Green Boots, but he's gone now."

"I may have found 'Green Boots', as you so originally named him." If Lark was paying any attention, he'd notice the something Seeker was carrying.

"Oh! Can I have him back?!"

THWACK!!!

"Ouchie." Lark's eyes swirled, and he fell to the ground, eyes now swirling the opposite direction, and now seeing undead unicorns around his head. For you see, Seeker had just whacked Lark with what appeared to be... a human cadaver with neon green boots. "Hahaha...! That's original!"

---

"No, that's a rest gear. It's used by people who are doing the long climb to excess a pocket dimension to rest. Rest gears are always yellow with a circle," Percy said, passing the yellow gear, trying desperately to find the green one before frostbite set in.

thwack.

"The hell was that?"

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Oh geez..." Paul's stomach tied itself in a knot upon Seeker's return. Because this was EXACTLY WHAT HE NEEDED after enduring the chaos this freak had started and being whisked away to a mountaintop. Already he was preparing himself for the worst and trying to figure out what he should do about it.

He only paused to grimace at the corpse, confused as to why Seeker would have it, why they would use it of all things to hit someone, and why Lark was referring to it affectionately.

"G**... DAMN IT ALL!!!"

If that wasn't a big enough sign that Paul needed out of this insanity, he wasn't sure what was.

---------------------------

Kelsey sighed. She was probably wrong, considering she didn't know her way around here, but it felt like they were going in circles to her. Her anxiety brought on by whatever the heck had hitched a ride on their car didn't exactly help. But still she pressed on for Paul's sake. What else could she do at that point.

She looked at Percy. The poor guy's bare feet were probably well past numb by that point...

Without hesitation, Kelsey took off her gloves and offered them to him. "Here. It may look dumb, but maybe you can squeeze these over your feet." With a snap, she engulfed her free hand in flames. "I can live without 'em."

"Heheheh..." Tri smirked at the mountain peak. "Sounds like Ord is getting cranky up there..."

[ColArana]

So, Seeker had returned. Alaric stood up quickly as the man approached and began to attack Lark, but did not immediately intervene, taken aback by Seeker's choice of weapon. "Impressive." He noted. "An average human can weigh between 60 and 80 kilograms. Swung with appropriate force our bodies make surprisingly effective, if not particularly durable, bludgeoning weapons." He exposited, watching the scene before him. It occurred to him he should probably intervene, but was undecided on which side he should intervene on.

----------------

The car seemed to have stopped, before Ranuen could make a thorough examination of the top of it. He steadied himself as the cart screeched to a halt, and then hopped off. He'd used up some of his precious time at normal height just to check this, and now he knew the group had a bit of a trek ahead of them. "We should probably hurry. Even if they came here, there's no telling how long they're going to stick around, right?" He overheard Kelsey, and turned back, to notice that she was also a pyromancer. Interesting. That was good though, it meant the group didn't have to worry about freezing even if they were somewhat ill prepared. Paul was explaining the rest gear, but Ranuen seemed to lose some interest as he did. "Is that really necessary? Why not just a good fire and a tent?" He asked.

[enigmamystere]

Enigma heard enough and jumped between the two of them, hooves held placatingly as he looks from one to the other, hoping this Seeker wasn't still angry about earlier. "Okay, let's not get into a fight, here. Surely there's a way to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, right?" A moment of silence passes. "...right?"

[DanteMGalileo]

"How much 'unnecessary' violence will occur depending on how much this thing-" Thwack. A second hit with the dead body to Lark. "Decides to cooperate. Are you going to come quietly this time, or do I need to deliver round three?"

"Ow!" This time, Lark actually seemed to have a normal reaction, a stream of blood coming from his nose, prompting the white-haired man to cover the pained body part. "Sheesh, you don't know when to quit, do ya? Or are you in loooooooove with me? Get in line, I've got a whole line of younger -not to mention better-lookin'- men and women who want me first."

That earned him a third hit from Seeker with the corpse. "Don't sass me."

Now turning his attention to the crowd, Seeker addressed them. "I should apologize for my... uncouth behaviour earlier, but I doubt you will accept it. Freak, open your cloak up." Groaning, Lark pulled himself to his feet and removed the strange cloak, holding it up. At this, Seeker's attention returned to the others. Lark seemed to be whispering something under his breath... "Go through there to go back to whence you came. And do it quickly, or I will shut off your air supply. Well, what are you waiting f-"

"Turbulent Gust!"

A blast of air slammed into Seeker, followed by a punch to the gut, delivered by... What appeared to be Lark, his lower body shifted into clouds. As the eyepatched individual stumbled to regain their footing, they found themselves...

"Oh, dear."

Falling through the cloak into somewhere else. Lark chuckled as his lower body returned to normal, although he seemed much more tired now as he regained his cloak.

"Haha... Cloud Stream plus wind spell... Always works the first time... Oooh, aah, I'm so dizzy now..." Thud. The cloak flickered for a moment, before taking on the same feel that it had when Seeker fell.

---

"Oh, uh, thanks." Percy accepted Kelsey's gloves, noting that she had no need for them, really. "We're almost there, the jump gear's right..." A moment's digging revealed a green gear with a upwards-pointing arrow. "Here."

Once their entire group had gathered, the brunette explained how it worked.

"Just touch it, and it'll send you flying up to the summit. Once we're up there, we can either persuade Lark or use the red jump gear to-" A moment's pause, as he saw... Seeker fall down, seemingly from the summit, not really reacting to anything, apparently knocked out. Percy blinked at this very odd sight. "Uh... That's not normal... Whatever, I'm glad he's out for now. Oh, right. We can either persuade Lark, or use the red jump gear on the summit to get back."

[ParamountKeymaster]

"...........................Ugh." Paul covered his face with his hand. Sure, that issue had resolved itself rather quickly and cleanly, but the longer this went on, the more he considered going back to the club and getting absolutely wasted the moment he was returned home. Anything to return to something resembling normalcy.

For now, though, he knelt down next to Lark and gently rustled his hair, keeping his hand as far from that damn cloak as possible. "Hey... you okay there, buddy? What happened?"

---------------------------

Kelsey could only stare at Seeker in free-fall, baffled as to what could've happened and unnerved by what potentially could happen. To them, to her, to Paul, to pretty much everyone involved.

As he floated there next to her, his line of sight matching Kelsey's, Tri just smiled blissfully at the sight of the descending body. "This is fun."

With a deep sigh, Kelsey turned back around and stomped up to the green gear. "Well, ladies first, I guess. Let's get this over with."

[ColArana]

Alaric glared at Lark now. "What exactly is that man's issue with you. This isn't just some spat or argument. There's no way he would follow you all the way up here just for that. What happened between you two?" He asked, approaching him.

-----

Down below, Ranuen listened to Percy's explanation, interrupted by Seeker's fall. "....Well. I imagine that explains the thud on the top of our carriage before." He said, walking over to where Seeker seemed to be falling, so he could check the man as he hit the ground. "....Should someone stay behind to keep an eye on crazy gun man?" He asked. "He could complicate things. A lot." He noticed Kelsey already heading for the green arrow. "Besides, if he's falling it probably means that the guys on the summit won't be there for long. Does mean that they're definitely here though." He noted. "So we should probably get going as fast as possible."

[enigmamystere]

Enigma nods, pointing at Alaric as he withdraws rope from somewhere on his body to offer Lark. "What he said."

[DanteMGalileo]

"I'm handsome and they're a man slash woman scorned... No, I'm just dizzy, Daisy, give me your answer, I'm half crazy..." Lark seemed to be out of it, not really noticing Paul ruffling his hair, or doing his usual spiel of text-altering.

"Where am I? And who are you? Do you live here? No, probably not, going by that outfit... What was I doing?"

"Whoa!"

With a light thud, Percy landed on the summit with not a hint of grace. "I always hated these damn things. Would it be that hard to think with portals?"

"Hey, pointy ears!" Talk about a change in attitude, as Lark waved at the new arrival, dropping... whatever he was doing at the moment. "I didn't think you were the mountain type, kiddo! I mean, really, those ears of yours and the lack of shoes..."

"Shut up. I had to bring these people up here in hopes that you'll decide to help them get back. I prefer the lowlands and the coast anyway and you damn well know that..."

"Bring them back?" A pause. "Oh, yeah! I promised I'd do that!" The white-haired man jumped to his feet, flourishing his cloak. The garment shimmered, before settling back to normal. "One way ticket back to Nexus Island or bust! Probably Nexus Island. But I dunno, sometimes black holes show up, they kinda mess with the teleportation process when they do, and they-"

"That's. Enough." Icicles were now dangling from Percy's hair.

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Yeah, you lost me..." Paul muttered before letting out a deep breath and covering his face with his hand. "Why did I have to get involved in this madness? Just... Just why...?"

And then there she was...

Right out of nowhere, Kelsey gracefully landed on her feet next to Percy, looking around wide-eyed and confused at the gathered company until her gaze finally landed on the blue dragon man. "Paul!"

"Kelsey!" Worried yet somewhat relieved, Paul dashed over to the young woman, meeting and embracing her halfway. "The heck are you doing here?!"

"Percy offered to bring a group to find you guys," Kelsey responded, her heavy breathing quite audible through the mask. "I had to make sure you were okay. That you could get back."

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine... Just... really confused and nervous about what I've gotten myself into."

"Yeah. Same."

It took a good long while for the two to notice that they were still hugging each other, but when they did, they came to that realization simultaneously, pulling away from each other in shock before bashfully looking in opposite directions and awkwardly rubbing their arms, hair, necks, etc. Geez, so much emotion, so much going on, and it was only the first date. "A-Anyway..." Paul spoke up. "That would be greatly appreciated, Lark..."

"Black holes?" Kelsey mumbled skeptically, complete with a raised eyebrow. She might not have been an expert on teleportation, but that statement seemed half implausible (i.e. "I don't think that's how black holes work") and half dangerous.

She flinched when she felt Tri prop an elbow up on her shoulder. "Hey, if you don't want this guy to give you a ride, you could always give ME a call!"

Kelsey took a deep, stiff breath through her nose and, without turning to face him, pointed a finger at the invisible demon, pausing to come up with a biting, witty comeback. After giving it a lot of thought, she settled on a blunt "Maybe."