Chronicles of The Omniverse Archived Westeria City: Plaza

Dammit.

Well, it wasn't a great chance that'd Dusk would get away with sneaking about, being so large and all. According to the stranger, he had also made a noise.

I'm getting sloppy. Now what do I do...?

Dusk thought for a few moments on his next course of action. The stranger didn't look too threatening, but looks could be deceiving. He obviously had to have some kind of method of self-defense. The place was in ruins, what kind of sap wouldn't be armed?

After a few moments of hesitation. Dusk slowly rose from his position, making his appearance clear.

"Alright, you got me," Dusk crossed his tentacles, "but if scavenging from my own ship is a crime, then I've got nothing more to say."

He kept his focus on the man, his eye-slits narrowing, ready to raise his shield if this stranger should strike.
 
"Well, ain't that something new," mumbled the stranger to himself, leering at the creature before him for a good long moment before speaking again. "Never said anything about a crime. Just curious why a, um... a..." He gestured toward Dusk's general self, raising the corner of his lip in confusion. "Why a... you... would be sneaking behind me. What exact are you?"
 
Maybe Dusk was a bit rash with assuming this man's nature. Now it looked like he himself was the one regarded with suspicion.

"What I am? That's a long story... but I wasn't sneaking around to stalk you in particular. This place just doesn't seem like where friendly people roam," he gestured around.

Then again, this wasn't exactly the place where someone like Dusk would be either.

"I thought you could've been some kind of soldier," which he could still be, for all Dusk knew.

Dusk sighed, thinking for a bit, "I'm sorry we got off on the wrong foot," he looked off to the side, "I can start answering your question with my name. I'm Dusk."
 
The man before Dusk seemed mildly impressed by his friendly bearing, despite his alien appearance.

"Fintan," the stranger replied. "No soldier. Just a man. Looks like I've appeared here by way of unfortunate circumstance," he said, observing the ship behind Dusk. "Not unlike yourself. Tell me, is there a person inside there? Or is that- all of that- you?"
 
Dusk was a bit confused on the question. Was Fintan referring to the ship or him? Or both? Maybe Dusk hadn't quite gotten over people questioning his appearance. It still caught him off guard from time to time, but it always stung no matter what.

"I uh..." Dusk started, "There was nobody on the ship besides me and a few broken drones. I'm only one person," Dusk paused for a second on the last word, before hesitantly correcting himself "... one being. Did I... answer your question?"

He probably mixed-up the message. Dusk mentally slapped himself. He was already presenting himself as some kind of marshmallow push-over who couldn't even answer a single question straight! This was going oh so well.
 
"Ah," mused Fintan. "I see. So you're the... person." A smile lit up on his face briefly in a laugh. "Ahh, even gone to shit you never change, Westeria," he mumbled to himself. He approached Dusk carefully, hands relaxed in his pockets. "You crashed here, huh? Where are you from and how'd you end up in this shitshow?"
 
Dusk paused for a bit, relaxing his guard, "You know... I don't really know. I'm not sure where I am, or if we even share the same star-charts. All I know is that I was avoiding some asshole pirates in a nebula, and then... well... the ship is disintegrating in the atmosphere of a planet I've never seen."

Dusk sighed, "It'd help if I had a star-chart. The one in the ship is, well, busted."

"I... assume you've been here before," Dusk asked, in response to Fintan's comment about Westeria. Maybe Dusk could figure out where he was with his response.
 
"Many times," replied Fintan. "You're in the Onyx Galaxy. Maybe you know it by the Milky Way. The planet is Valore. Does that ring any bells?" he asked the alien.
 
"The Milky Way? Well I guess I'm not too far off then. At least I seem to have a chance at getting home," Dusk didn't really have a permanent place of stay, well, other than his currently destroyed ship, but it was best to keep things simple.

"I haven't heard of any planet named Valore though," Dusk thought for a moment, "Well, I guess my first objective is to find a way off this planet. Erm... there doesn't happen to be spaceships on this planet, are there?"
 
"Plenty," replied Fintan. "But none that are going to get anywhere with this crap above us-" He pointed to the massive portal overhead, face wrinkling in a grimace. "Your best bet is to try and escape this city, maybe find a friendly enough face that'll take you elsewhere, but if I remember correctly... everything up there isn't going well, either. You're very stuck."
 
"Hm... I can't say I like that answer," Dusk remarked, "Ergh... well... I guess the only solution then is to close that portal. Obviously, I have no idea what I'm talking about, but if it's in my way, I'm going to get rid of it, one way or another," It wasn't in Dusk's nature to just sit around, much less settle down. Perhaps that was because he was always forced to move, but it never felt safe to stick around in any place for too long.

"Do you know of anyone else trying to work on that? The portal I mean? Or am I the only crazy person who wants to try?"
 
Looking up at the portal that covered the entire sky above the city, Fintan pondered. "I'm sure attempts have been made. Though, you're a-" He turned his head to stare at Dusk, pondering once more, "- you look as though you might have some additional input on this problem. So maybe you'll be the deciding factor in all of this madness."

Fintan stuck his fingers in the breast pocket of his jacket and procured a cigarette. With a snap, a tiny flame ignited at the tip of his thumb, which he used to light the cigarette. "I dunno, though. Could be dangerous. You willing to take that risk?"
 
"It'll be a calculated risk," Dusk said, "I won't charge in without some kind of plan. That, and information. I... don't know much about portals, rifts, whatever you may call them. I do know some... friends... who do," Dusk rubbed his head, looking up at the sky for the moment, "from what I've heard, there's two main ways to deal with a portal. One, is to stabilize it. We'd need a destination and some sort of device that can do it. It's probably the safest but most difficult of the two options. The other..."

Dusk took a moment before continuing, "The other is to destabilize the portal further until it disperses. It's easier to wreck a portal than to fix it, but I have no idea what will happen if we do it. All I've heard it's bad. Smaller versions end up having the entire facility evacuated, at least, back at where I've been. I'm not sure what will happen with a portal this large, he paused, "I'm not so knowledgeable in portals, or what-have-you. I have no idea where to begin, or what tools I'll need. Something had to create this portal though, right? If I can find that source then maybe..."
 
"Anomalies are rich in this area," Fintan informed Dusk. "You could be looking at a powerful mage, a corrupt God, maybe even the nature of this area is to be imbalanced." He narrowed his eyes upward, taking a deep breath. "There's trouble stirring beyond this sky. More trouble is coming. More anomalies will happen. What a shitfest."
 
"That wasn't the answer I was hoping for," Dusk said flatly, "I guess if it was that easy, then it wouldn't be a problem. Figures."

Dusk paused for a moment, before his eye-slits widened, "You said it was getting worse? If that's the case, then I hope I'm wrong about portal destabilization. It might be already on its way out, and not in the good way. Ugh... of course I get redirected to a planet that's already fucked. All I can think of now is to hide in some kind of bunker - wait it out," bunkers and the like were Dusk's specialty. He had held up in a lot of them. Naturally he rigged the place with all kinds of security measures. That's what a bunker was for right?
 
"Good luck with that, too. I know it might be hard to wrap your-" He squinted at Dusk, frowning for a moment, "-mind around this whole situation, but I don't think you were warped here without a reason. Even if the anomalies seem random and unstable, there's a purpose to every single one. Locking yourself up in a bunker would defeat that purpose. You're not the least bit curious as to why? What else might be here?"
 
"I don't believe in fate," Dusk said flatly, "but... you do have a point. Hiding in a bunker may not be the most interesting course, although I still maintain that it is probably the safest," Dusk paused, "there has to be something going on, now that I think of it. Being teleported in the middle of space is one thing, but one specific planet in all the infinite possibilities? Puzzling."

Dusk paused again, thinking through various courses of action, "Well, since you're interested in me not trying to hide, would you mind showing me around?"
 
Back
Top