Bay 12 Games Forum

((Exactly as planned.))
Maria decided to settle at an area relatively undamaged by the storm last night. Alistair looked around disappointedly.
"Sis, why is everything all wet and burnt?"
"There was a storm around here, bud. Didn't think it'd be this bad."
"Awww...are we still staying though, sis?"
"Might as well, we spent the effort of getting up to go here!"
Alistair smiled and ran around the area. Maria took that as an opportunity to go talk to the girl she'd noticed in the area. She looked...lonely, and Maria was a sucker for lonely people. Besides, with Alistair being a kid, he'd be probably running around until he got bored and decided to play Scrabble.

Maria shrugged and went up to the girl who was drawing.
"Nice day for landscape drawing, this is."

Maria woke up in her room, her magical staff in her hand, with a start. She had been dreaming about a world where she fought masked monsters alongside others at night, called.....something-she couldn't remember; it was a psychological term (sound familiar?).

So. Basically her night life, only with more tech and psychology.

The teenager pulled herself groggily out of bed and looked out of her window, carefully putting her staff under her bed. It was a sunny day. She'd had a long night; the masked creatures had kept her up on her toes all night and she was worn out.
"Maria, are you awake yet?"
This was her little brother, Alistair. He'd peeped in her room and wanted to play Scrabble with her, as evidenced by the box he was carrying under his arm.
"Not now, Ali. I'm tired."
"Oh why?" Alistair looked slightly miffed.
Maria flashed a sheepish, tired smile. "Long night, buddy. Why don't you play with Mom?"
"She's out again. Needed to buy more milk."
"Dad?"
"Still asleep."
"Hmm. Listen, just let me get some more sleep and I'll play with you later, okay?"
Her brother's expression cheered up. "Ok, um, I'll let you get some sleep!" He closed the door.

Maria sighed and slumped onto her desk chair, exhausted.
"I really have to find a way to stop those things for good. I want a good night's sleep for once. I haven't had one in days...."
Maria tried to remember the last night where she'd gotten a full night's sleep without being disturbed by monsters. Almost....ten days ago, now - thank God it was summer break - and she didn't think it would be over soon. The monsters were getting stronger lately. More bold too.
The teenager's thoughts on this matter were immediately stopped by a searing pain overcoming her head.
"Aaaaagh!"

---

A long road. Nighttime. Inner city.

A brown-haired teen, wearing a white glove with a keypad on it, with a vest, jeans and checkered polo shirt,  leads a black-haired, laidback boy in a vest, jeans and a shirt, and a brown-haired girl in a white blouse, black skirt and shoes, all wearing the same glove.

"Right. Simon, you go that way. Maria, check that way. I'll go ahead. Maria, keep Chiron ready, I'll have Ixion equipped and Simon, get Gaea ready."
"Gotcha, Richie."

The girl looked up, nodding. She was....

Wait, what? Was that......her? What was Gaea? Did they have her powers?

What was she doing?  What was this? Why was....

---

"Sis, you ok? Sis?!"
Alistair was shaking Maria violently. He'd heard her cry out in pain and immediately rushed to her side.
The teenager's mind quickly swapped away from the strange vision and back to reality.
"Yes...just had a bad dream. Just...just get me a glass of water, kay?"
Alistair rushed outside, while Maria clutched her head and groaned.
"What...what did I just see?

Zoroark planned with his own team.
"Right. So, we have to face five psychopathic furballs, a nice-looking gunslinging woman, and a pointy-eared guy in green."
"I can handle the furballs. I have tricks of my own."
"Heh. Weapons are for the weak."
"Right, Necromancer, you'll go up against the Meepos, since from what the employer told me, you can summon the dead. Udyr, you take care of little miss there, you have a shield and the manoeuvrability. I'll take on the elf."
"Wouldn't it make more sense for us to take the elf and you to take on the gunner? We've had experience with guns before. We doubt that our skills will help. And we're assured that you probably have some sort of ranged attack; we have no way of taking someone out from range without them escaping."
"Right then, so Necromancer, you take on Meepo, I'll take the gunner. And Udyr, you take the elf."
"This'll be fun. Those fur-covered loons better come prepared, as I bring painful death."
"Nice boast there, buddy. Little old-fashioned though."
"Wait. That man."
"What about him?"
"He's staring at the man in green. Was it.."
"That's Luigi. That's the bloke we've been told to protect!"
"I'm going to assume that whoever the gunman is, he's the one we're going to protect him from. I'll end this now."
The Necromancer moved to raise his wand, but Udyr's hand held his arm down, hopefully keeping them away from Ocelot's attention.
"Not now, death mage. We don't know if he's the one. It could be Urgot."
"Who?"
"The spider-like robotic zombie. I know him. He's sold himself to Zaun and Noxus in an attempt to finally die. At least, not without killing his archenemy first."
"Right. So the old military man or the undead mechanical monstrosity."
"Shh! Pipe down. If one of them hears us, they'll think we're onto them. We don't know who or why they want him, but all I know is that someone here is going after Luigi, and our employer wants us to stop that."
Udyr sighed. The Spirit Walker had had enough talk about conspiracy.
"We will stop talking about this NOW. We have no information about our enemies, and we cannot make assumptions. For all we know, he is simply scanning his opponents, like Zoroark has done and like we should be. As illogical as it sounds, we should leave him be unless we know that he's complicit, or Urgot is."
"But-"
A withering glare from the Freijordian wildman silenced the Necromancer.

I think it's inevitable what my magical girl will use.

Udyr scanned the room, immediately sighting Urgot.
"Oh hell."
He recognised the Huntsman's Pride. He was going to be an absolute menace, especially with his abilities....Udyr actually winced at the thought of going up against Urgot's Corrosive Charge.
"Something wrong, Spirit Walker?"
"None of your business, Necromancer."
Udyr then looked to his left, and spotted Luigi. Having not been informed himself as to the nature of Luigi from his paymaster, he didn't recognise him.
"Hmph. That tall one. He looks scrawny and weak."
"Which tall one, the one with the sword?"

On the other side of the room....
A janitor surveyed Team Sain, then the Underdogs. He smirked.
"Hehe. This'll be fun."
His eye flashed for a moment, revealing a light blue canine eye. Zoroark had entered the room. He shifted disguises into a robed, old man, and stayed close to the Underdogs, keeping an eye on his own team.

Udyr pointed at Luigi.
"That tall one."
"I do agree on that one....but he might be more than meets the eye."
Udyr then realized that the Necromancer had a point. In his own world, yordles, like that Veigar, that little Kinkou assassin- he'd forgotten what his name was, probably Kenneth or something, or, gods forbid, TEEMO, dominated the Fields of Justice. Yordles were small, furry creatures, barely the height of Udyr's knee. And yet they were still capable of screwing up someone's day.
This Luigi person looked weak and scrawny. But he might well be the strongest of the lot.
"Noted, Necromancer. Wait...is that one of the Kinkou?"
Udyr had noticed Ayane.
"A what? I apologise, I'm not familiar with your terms."

I hope it's fine I decided to be the spanner in the works for you, Nerjin.

Oh, you saw the dust bunny.

What dust bunny?