Side Story RAD!

"I thought Sam said the KFC was towards town?" Steelheart remarked as she looked over the creek. "It seems like we should be able to pass with out incident, but stay close." Scrappy felt the cold water on his feet as he stepped forward half of his body under the water while it barely reached up above Steelhearts ankles.

Even if there wasn't much water the stream had some pulled to it as the waded through it. Suddenly however as they walked Scrappy heard a surprised yelp as Steelheart suddenly vanished into the water.

@Lucky




The man hadn't heard what Link had said but when he turned towards the duo he let out a yelp and fell flat on his butt. "Oh my goodness!" Giving the two a look from his spot the man quickly got up and dusted himself off. "Sorry fellas! You gave me quite a scare. It's usually just me out here in the woods!"

@Takumi @Minerva

@Ver @Capri @Gummi Bunnies @Minerva @Lucky @Crow @Sark @Atomic Knight @Yun Lee @Jackythejack @Takumi @Space_Candy

So he usually just sat and made bird calls? Even in this silence? The blacksmith apprentice wondered if the man was even bothered by the lack of noise out here.

"What are you doing?" Link repeated a little louder, blinking at the odd man for a moment. The man himself didn't seem like a threat, but the silence of the forest still bugged the Hylian.

@Jeremi @Minerva
 
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Scrappy Doo

"Oh yeah, he did. Sorry, I'm a really forgetful puppy when it comes to this short of thing. Do you think if we gave Animal Man a piece of meat and called it something else, he wouldn't notice?" He asked, wondering if she had jinxed them when he noticed how cold the water was as the other woman seemed to have an easier time.

He would make a move to see if he could see where she vanished from and would dive in, looking in to see if he noticed her. She shouldn't be hard to find and the puppy was stronger than he looked.

@Jeremi
 
"I thought Sam said the KFC was towards town?" Steelheart remarked as she looked over the creek. "It seems like we should be able to pass with out incident, but stay close." Scrappy felt the cold water on his feet as he stepped forward half of his body under the water while it barely reached up above Steelhearts ankles.

Even if there wasn't much water the stream had some pulled to it as the waded through it. Suddenly however as they walked Scrappy heard a surprised yelp as Steelheart suddenly vanished into the water.

@Lucky




The man hadn't heard what Link had said but when he turned towards the duo he let out a yelp and fell flat on his butt. "Oh my goodness!" Giving the two a look from his spot the man quickly got up and dusted himself off. "Sorry fellas! You gave me quite a scare. It's usually just me out here in the woods!"

@Takumi @Minerva

@Ver @Capri @Gummi Bunnies @Minerva @Lucky @Crow @Sark @Atomic Knight @Yun Lee @Jackythejack @Takumi @Space_Candy
So he usually just sat and made bird calls? Even in this silence? The blacksmith apprentice wondered if the man was even bothered by the lack of noise out here.

"What are you doing?" Link repeated a little louder, blinking at the odd man for a moment. The man himself didn't seem like a threat, but the silence of the forest still bugged the Hylian.

@Jeremi @Minerva

Ireena stepped forward, and removed her hand from her sword. She offered a small but warm smile towards the man to show they weren’t a threat.

Quite sorry to startle you.” She said, giving a gracious bow that only a Noblewoman could give. “We didn’t expect to find anyone else out here.” She looked up at the tree and tilted her head. Perhaps hoping some kind of noise would come out, and restore the natural rhythm of the forest. “Are you a Hunter of some kind?” She asked.​
 
"In a matter of speaking!" The man remarked towards Ireena. "I am a hunter, a hunter of visual, of sound." He held up his binoculars triumphantly. "I am an ornithologist! Rufus Charles Fellbottom the Third! Pleasure to meet you two." He lowered his binoculars and gave the two a proper look over. "Hmm, you're out of towners aren't you? I don't think I have seen you before, and by golly, I know everyone!"

His loud words echoed through the forest, which made Rufus think back to what Link had asked him. "And well, sir, I am investigating. May I ask, have you seen any wildlife during your trek through the forest?"

@Minerva @Takumi

To his surprise when Scrappy dropped under the water to look for Steelheart, he noticed that he could easily still see the bottom of the creek from where he was standing. Coming back to the surface he could some rustling from the other side of the stream. It sounded like a struggle.

@Lucky

@Ver @Capri @Gummi Bunnies @Minerva @Lucky @Crow @Sark @Atomic Knight @Yun Lee @Jackythejack @Takumi @Space_Candy
 
Scrappy Doo

Scrappy was indeed surprised that he saw the bottom of the creek from where he was standing and even more that he could see with some googles on it. He was sad when he didn't find her, but he heard some rustling from the other side and rushed over to help whoever it was. "Dunnn-DUnn- Puppy power," he exclaimed as he ran to help.

@Jeremi
 
"In a matter of speaking!" The man remarked towards Ireena. "I am a hunter, a hunter of visual, of sound." He held up his binoculars triumphantly. "I am an ornithologist! Rufus Charles Fellbottom the Third! Pleasure to meet you two." He lowered his binoculars and gave the two a proper look over. "Hmm, you're out of towners aren't you? I don't think I have seen you before, and by golly, I know everyone!"

His loud words echoed through the forest, which made Rufus think back to what Link had asked him. "And well, sir, I am investigating. May I ask, have you seen any wildlife during your trek through the forest?"

@Minerva @Takumi

To his surprise when Scrappy dropped under the water to look for Steelheart, he noticed that he could easily still see the bottom of the creek from where he was standing. Coming back to the surface he could some rustling from the other side of the stream. It sounded like a struggle.

@Lucky

@Ver @Capri @Gummi Bunnies @Minerva @Lucky @Crow @Sark @Atomic Knight @Yun Lee @Jackythejack @Takumi @Space_Candy

If Rufus knew everyone, then the town must be a little smaller than Link thought. Either way, Rufus didn't seem too bothered currently.

"Yeah, we're stopping by town for a short while, but right now we're more or less getting to know the area. I'm Link, and this is Ireena." Link answered. When asked about the wildlife, the green wearing young man frowned.

"No, haven't heard any either." Link answered with a shake of his head as he put away his bow and arrow for the time being.

"I guess you're investigating the lack of wildlife, or what might've caused it?" He asked then. It'd make sense, in a way.

@Jeremi @Minerva
 
View attachment 10443

"Brighton, huh? That's like... what, twenty miles from Detroit? That's where all the weird stuff happens. Don't go to Detroit if you can help it,"
Buddy said in response to Sophie, before idly turning around and sinking to one knee, looking around in the hideout. Not for anything in particular, but hey, if he was gonna be cooped up in here for the night, he may as well take a look around, get himself familiar with his new temporary abode.

Sam wouldn't mind, would he? After all, some kids would kill to get an autograph. Well, from the bigger heroes, but hey, Buddy worked enough with them to be seen as cool by association, right? Then again, he couldn't even command that kind of respect from his own kids, so... damn, this got depressing fast.

@Jeremi @Capri @Hideout
 
Scrappy probably didn't find what he was expecting to. As he came through the bushes he'd find Steelheart laying on the ground motionless. His nose didn't pick up anyone else and the forest was as quiet as it had been.

@Lucky

Rufus tipped his safari hat towards both of them. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance! And you're quite right, that's exactly why I am here. For you see, I'd say that the animal situation around our fair town has always been quite irregular but nothing too strange. We do live in Maine after all," He held out waiting for chuckles that never came. Instead Rufus let out an awkward cough before continuing. "Anyway the population has been in a steep decline since last year around this time and now...POOF! Gone! Not as much as a snail under a rock, and I have no clue to why..."

@Takumi @Minerva

After some quick cleaning past the comics Buddy finally managed to see the floor underneath it all. As before there wasn't anything that really jumped up at him, until he noticed a discolored part of the floor compared to the others. It seemed to be a hatch of some sort and underneath a metallic box hidden in the sand and dirt.

If Buddy opened it he'd find a random assortment of items inside. A ticket slip for what seemed to be a movie called 'Aliens'. A broken light blue yo-yo with a star on either side. Random assortment of change that seemed to count up to about 2 dollars. The thing that probably caught his attention the most though was a photo depicting Sam and two unknown kids. One boy and one girl. Flipping it over he found something written on the back.

Sam, Kevin and Lilly

Summer '86


And bellow that written in red marker in bold letters

RUINED

@Ver @Capri @Gummi Bunnies @Crow @Sark @Atomic Knight @Yun Lee @Jackythejack

@Space_Candy
 
Scrappy Doo

Scrappy raised a confused eyebrow. " It certainly sounded like you were having a struggle with someone, Miss Steelheart. Can you get up?" He asked, before deciding that she probably couldn't and picking her up. He was a very strong puppy.

@Jeremi
 
Scrappy probably didn't find what he was expecting to. As he came through the bushes he'd find Steelheart laying on the ground motionless. His nose didn't pick up anyone else and the forest was as quiet as it had been.

@Lucky

Rufus tipped his safari hat towards both of them. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance! And you're quite right, that's exactly why I am here. For you see, I'd say that the animal situation around our fair town has always been quite irregular but nothing too strange. We do live in Maine after all," He held out waiting for chuckles that never came. Instead Rufus let out an awkward cough before continuing. "Anyway the population has been in a steep decline since last year around this time and now...POOF! Gone! Not as much as a snail under a rock, and I have no clue to why..."

@Takumi @Minerva

After some quick cleaning past the comics Buddy finally managed to see the floor underneath it all. As before there wasn't anything that really jumped up at him, until he noticed a discolored part of the floor compared to the others. It seemed to be a hatch of some sort and underneath a metallic box hidden in the sand and dirt.

If Buddy opened it he'd find a random assortment of items inside. A ticket slip for what seemed to be a movie called 'Aliens'. A broken light blue yo-yo with a star on either side. Random assortment of change that seemed to count up to about 2 dollars. The thing that probably caught his attention the most though was a photo depicting Sam and two unknown kids. One boy and one girl. Flipping it over he found something written on the back.

Sam, Kevin and Lilly

Summer '86


And bellow that written in red marker in bold letters

RUINED

@Ver @Capri @Gummi Bunnies @Crow @Sark @Atomic Knight @Yun Lee @Jackythejack

@Space_Candy

The attempt at a joke didn't land, but it wasn't important at the moment. The longer Rufus talked, the more he frowned in slight confusion. It explained why there were no animals making any noise at least.

"Had any of the animals been acting strange in any way beforehand?" Link asked. Maybe something spooked them off? He wouldn't voice that suggestion just yet, though.

@Jeremi @Minerva
 
SOPHIE WALTEN
@Jeremi @Ver @AnyoneElse

Sophie saw Buddy open the safe and looked in alongside the man.

She took the photo and stared at the date on the back. Summer ‘86.

“This shouldn’t… it’s 1982,” she stammered, “This doesn’t make sense to me,”

Sophie would check the Aliens ticket to see if there were any dates on it.​
 
"Damn, Aliens..." Buddy murmured as he looked at the ticket slip, resting a hand on his hip. "I remember just barely being able to catch this with Ellen. Wasn't as good as the first one, but the sequel's never as good as the original," he breathed. Then again, The Empire Strikes Back was literally right there, but he wasn't gonna get into that right now.

To Sophie, he gave a brief sidelong glance. "You think it's '82? Try '88, kiddo. Or... is it '89? I can't even remember anymore," Buddy breathed, before looking back down at the box again. "Well, whatever. Time isn't real, famously," he said, briefly gesturing toward Sam's leftover comics on the ground.

...

Wait, why did he say that?

Shaking his head briefly, seeing that Sophie was trying to get a better look at the ticket, Buddy handed it to her, and in its place, he took the picture of the three kids, furrowing his brow as he looked at the strange red writing behind. "Well, that's not ominous at all," he muttered sarcastically. What could it mean though? Of course, Buddy felt a bit awkward going through a kid's belongings like this, but he could definitely feel that kid had a few secrets of his own, to say nothing of this even stranger town. He'd been in enough scraps to know when something was amiss. Call it a sixth sense.

A spider's sense, if you would.

@Jeremi @Capri @Hideout
 
"I am al-!" Before Steelheart could say anything more she was picked up by the small puppy. "I-I am alright," She quickly got to her feet and brushed herself off realizing that despite having been pulled into the water she wasn't even wet. "I don't know what happened. I vanished into the water and then I came too I was falling from the sky. I didn't have any time to activate my flight systems..." She looked around with a concerned look on her face. "I am starting to believe that there is something very strange going on."

@Lucky

"Well I didn't investigate until it became apparent," Rufus remarked. "My interest lies in birds, but the plight of animals big and small as well. Oh if only my colleague was here, we could have worked on it together."

@Takumi @Minerva

Sophie managed to find a date on the ticket. October 31st 1986. Buddy would probably recognize it as the original release date of the movie. Curious how possibly three children had managed to get in to watch a movie like that. Something else might have caught Sophie's attention that Buddy wouldn't have cared for, and that was a coupon for a place called Bon's Burgers.

Buddy meanwhile staring at the photo couldn't help but feel that...someone was watching him.

@Ver @Capri @Gummi Bunnies @Crow @Sark @Atomic Knight @Yun Lee @Jackythejack

@Space_Candy
 
SOPHIE WALTEN
@Jeremi @Ver

1986… yeah… it should be 1982. But this is weird.

Sophie’s starting to suspect something’s up. So she turned to Buddy, trying to tell him her suspicions.

“This… this movie ticket, just seems so…”

Bon’s Burgers

“…wrong…”

She dropped the ticket.

There, buried in the pile of change, coupons, and other memorabilia, stood out one particular coupon.

Bon’s Burgers. She recognized the place. Her memories are hazy, yet she was certain she knew the place.

She reached in and grabbed the coupon. To hell with her suspicions. She knew that place. It was so familiar. It was so… so familiar.

Yet… it didn’t roll of her tongue why she knew it.

She analyzed the coupon, trying to find anything notable about it, like a date or an address.

To Buddy, he would definitely notice something was wrong with Sophie. Her breath was labored, her face was pale, and she was scouring the coupon like her life depended on it. To him, and anyone else, whatever this dumb children’s burger joint is where the food almost definitely sucks yet it has a very popular arcade means something to Sophie.​
 
Jerrica stifled a giggle at the boy's struggle, lifting herself to lessen her weight on the bike.

"Are you alright there?" She smiled, tugging on her earring.

"Also, I've got the impression that I'm popular here- maybe I should disguise myself," she firmly held her earring.

"Showtime Synergy!" Jerrica had a pink light go over her body as it shifted her appearance.

View attachment 10451

"How's this?"

@Jeremi
 
"Well I didn't investigate until it became apparent," Rufus remarked. "My interest lies in birds, but the plight of animals big and small as well. Oh if only my colleague was here, we could have worked on it together."

@Takumi @Minerva
"Did your colleague go missing, sir?" Ireena said, stepping forward. She looked up at the trees for any birds nearby. It was weird that there were no birds as even in Barovia, she could see crows and ravens gathering. No birds was completely out of the question.

@Takumi
 
Sophie could only tell that the coupon had expired months ago. Seemed to have been 2 bucks for a value meal, but it had clearly never been used. Looking at the ugly logo with a bunny might have explained why it had never been used.

@Ver @Capri @Gummi Bunnies @Crow @Sark @Atomic Knight @Yun Lee @Jackythejack

"J-just fine!" Sam huffed again. It hadn't taken long for them to get inside the city from where they had started and it all looked quite...quaint. The first thing they passed was the KFC that Sam had mentioned as well as a few mom and pop shops along the road. There was still cars and people walking around. If there was some terror stalking in the night then the people living here didn't act like it.

"Oh...I guess you might yeah," Sam remarked. "Well I mean it's not like you look like a cartoon so you just look like a random girl...no offense." At her change Sam gave her look in his bike mirror. "That works, you know you somehow look familiar like that too..."

The shopping area made way to a suburban area as Sam went down another road. "That's us," Sam replied pointing to a red house up ahead. "Let me do the talking and I think we'll get through this alive." He stopped by the drive way to let Jerrica get off, but before they could get far they'd hear someone call from the porch. "Samuel Yoshida!" Looking up Jerrica spotted an African American woman standing by the open door. She had braided hair that she had put in a bun and was wearing a nurses scrub. "Where have you been? Do you know what time it is?" She folded her arms waiting on her son to explain himself.

As much as Sam had promised that he could talk this over he seemed to be frozen in place trying to say something but just stumbling on his words.

@Space_Candy

"Disappeared?" Rufus' eyes went wide for a moment before he just chuckled. "Oh no miss, he's just away on a business trip. Oh what I wouldn't do for his expertise right about now!"

@Takumi @Minerva
 
"I am al-!" Before Steelheart could say anything more she was picked up by the small puppy. "I-I am alright," She quickly got to her feet and brushed herself off realizing that despite having been pulled into the water she wasn't even wet. "I don't know what happened. I vanished into the water and then I came too I was falling from the sky. I didn't have any time to activate my flight systems..." She looked around with a concerned look on her face. "I am starting to believe that there is something very strange going on."

@Lucky

"Well I didn't investigate until it became apparent," Rufus remarked. "My interest lies in birds, but the plight of animals big and small as well. Oh if only my colleague was here, we could have worked on it together."

@Takumi @Minerva

Sophie managed to find a date on the ticket. October 31st 1986. Buddy would probably recognize it as the original release date of the movie. Curious how possibly three children had managed to get in to watch a movie like that. Something else might have caught Sophie's attention that Buddy wouldn't have cared for, and that was a coupon for a place called Bon's Burgers.

Buddy meanwhile staring at the photo couldn't help but feel that...someone was watching him.

@Ver @Capri @Gummi Bunnies @Crow @Sark @Atomic Knight @Yun Lee @Jackythejack

@Space_Candy


"Did your colleague go missing, sir?" Ireena said, stepping forward. She looked up at the trees for any birds nearby. It was weird that there were no birds as even in Barovia, she could see crows and ravens gathering. No birds was completely out of the question.

@Takumi

Sophie could only tell that the coupon had expired months ago. Seemed to have been 2 bucks for a value meal, but it had clearly never been used. Looking at the ugly logo with a bunny might have explained why it had never been used.

@Ver @Capri @Gummi Bunnies @Crow @Sark @Atomic Knight @Yun Lee @Jackythejack

"J-just fine!" Sam huffed again. It hadn't taken long for them to get inside the city from where they had started and it all looked quite...quaint. The first thing they passed was the KFC that Sam had mentioned as well as a few mom and pop shops along the road. There was still cars and people walking around. If there was some terror stalking in the night then the people living here didn't act like it.

"Oh...I guess you might yeah," Sam remarked. "Well I mean it's not like you look like a cartoon so you just look like a random girl...no offense." At her change Sam gave her look in his bike mirror. "That works, you know you somehow look familiar like that too..."

The shopping area made way to a suburban area as Sam went down another road. "That's us," Sam replied pointing to a red house up ahead. "Let me do the talking and I think we'll get through this alive." He stopped by the drive way to let Jerrica get off, but before they could get far they'd hear someone call from the porch. "Samuel Yoshida!" Looking up Jerrica spotted an African American woman standing by the open door. She had braided hair that she had put in a bun and was wearing a nurses scrub. "Where have you been? Do you know what time it is?" She folded her arms waiting on her son to explain himself.

As much as Sam had promised that he could talk this over he seemed to be frozen in place trying to say something but just stumbling on his words.

@Space_Candy

"Disappeared?" Rufus' eyes went wide for a moment before he just chuckled. "Oh no miss, he's just away on a business trip. Oh what I wouldn't do for his expertise right about now!"

@Takumi @Minerva

Given what Sam had told them earlier and the current situation regarding the animals in the area, it seemed rather...convenient.

"Oh, what sort of business trip is he on? Don't you have a way to contact him and let him know what's been going on with the wildlife?" Link asked.

@Jeremi @Minerva
 
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Scrappy Doo


If there was one thing Scrappy Doo was not it was patient. He would manage to put her down when she told him that she was alright. " It does seem like something very strange had happened. When I went to go and look in the water- you were just gone and then I heard a struggle and now you are fine. It looks like Sam was right that strange things were happening in these woods and I have to wonder if this has to do with the disappearances. Also, weird, you're not wet. We should try to head over to the food place before something else happens."

@Jeremi
 
Jerrica watched as they entered the neighborhood, trying not to let her mind dwell on the 'cartoon' comment the child had said. She hopped off the bike as the woman yelled Max's name, despite his confident tone on getting himself out of trouble.

She moved past him and waved to the woman.

View attachment 10467

"Hello," she greeted, she had to think fast.

"I was hurt and Sam here said you could help!" Jerrica tapped her earring, whispering the command to have Synergy put the illusion of a large wound on her leg.

"I told him it wasn't serious, but he insisted. He's a good kid."

@Jeremi
 
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