Reality Crisis

Weeks after the last tremor, there was yet another violent earthquake across the planet and then just as suddenly as it had appeared, the ever-shifting object in the sky disappeared. Those who might have been watching the night sky at that moment would see no signs of it, nor any signs of anything but the usual stars and moon. The rock that had been in orbit around the planet seemed to have disappeared. And just as if it had never happened, those it had taken reappeared all across die Festung, Sanctuary, New Troy, and the Wilds.

They might not have ended up exactly where they started, but they were back in the world that needed them. Whether they liked it or not.

As if by magic, food and clothing and various other necessities appeared in the basement of the apartments for the chosen, in the cave that had become home to the Batman, within the walls of Sanctuary, and in Eric Northman's home in New Troy. It would seem that the City had provided for the Chosen. How long the supplies would last and how they might change the power within the world was yet to be seen.

Roughly two weeks had passed since the influx of new citizens to the damaged world. The object in the sky remained a constant, if ever-changing, sight. Over the past few days, it had begun to move more quickly. The movements were frantic, almost angry, as it darted to and fro in the sky. Those watching might have been even more concerned about it impacting with the world.

Their concerns would be misplaced.

Late in the evening, there was another large tremor that ripped through the cities and the wilds. And just as quickly as they had come, the people who didn't belong were ripped away. In addition to those who didn't belong, some of those who did were also taken.

After the tremor and the disappearances, everything went back to normal. The earth remained still and those who might not have realized just how many people were now missing went back to their lives, their minds easing a little bit as the object in the sky slowed its movements down to a lazier if still unpredictable pace.

Tired, sore, dirty, thirsty, and hungry, Beauty finally stopped walking and set herself down on the curb of the broken street. die Festung was an unforgiving place. No one -- no one -- wanted to speak to her. Some threatened, but fortunately didn't have the energy to chase her when she ran. And no one took her seriously when she asked to speak to the woman in charge of this city. No one believed her when she told them what was happening, and why she was here. She'd seen so many horrible things while she was here. Things she'd never seen before. And no one but she herself seemed bothered by them.

"Thomas," she said as she set her face in her hands. "Where are you?" She didn't expect an answer. The City hadn't spoken with her since the day before she ended up here. There was no more room for tears; she'd never thought they were ever very reasonable or helpful, and the few she'd shed since arriving here had made her feel even worse, not better.

"Thomas," she said again, a quiet prayer. But she realized with a start that it was a prayer -- and the realization shamed her Catholic heart to its core. Immediately, she started praying, then, praying to God. He had to hear her, even here.

Piotr was out in the wilds, searching again. This time he had no particular goal in mind, but he did want to see what was out there. The last time he'd found a lake, after all. The lake had been a signal to his brain that not everything here was bad. While a good bit of it might have been sour notes, Piotr refused to dwell on those kinds of things, he didn't like feeling like that.

Once again, he was traveling in metal. Though he'd not met any zombies or wild dog packs on previous visits, it would have been unlike him to be prepared for whatever might come. While coated with metal, he could at least fend off any surprise attacks.

He only encountered one dead spot, thankfully. Even better was that there didn't seem to be anyone around for miles when he walked right into it. He stood in the center for a moment, seeing what it felt like, trying to imagine how panicked Kitty would be. He couldn't transform at all. It didn't even feel to him as if he had a power. After living most of his life with his abilities, this made Piotr very uncomfortable.

The second he moved out of it's borders, he was able to do everything again. Carefully, using very large stones that he had found nearby, Piotr marked the edges of the area. He didn't know if it would still be there the next time somebody came by, or if these things moved, but the least he could do was try.

Going on his way, Piotr thought he heard something nearby. What sounded like dogs growling. Fighting, maybe. He might have left them to it, but for a moment there he thought he'd also heard a voice. A living male voice. Briefly.

Piotr turned in that direction and sprinted forward.

(Warning: The vampires do get a little *ahem* rambunctious and/or randy. They start getting to know each other rather well.)

Pam had been exploring again, and after meeting a stranger and checking on a few of her maker's subjects, she decided to come home again. She always came home. Or returned to her maker. She always came back, and she supposed that was how things were supposed to be at first.

She was smiling when she entered the Eric's home, but she didn't smile for long. The staff seemed a little bothered by her appearance. One even looked as if he was about to be hit for something. The petite vampire looked him over a little confused; she didn't intend on hitting anyone, not yet anyway.

"What?" She waited for some answer, and for the human, it meant that she would just stare. There was no expression than the one she'd given to begin with when she asked the question.

The human pointed in the direction of what she supposed was her bedroom, blinking. She stared a few more moments, checking to see that her maker was indeed in the house, and then turned to check on her bedroom. She moved quickly and came to a dead stop as she smelled something odd on the other side of the door. It wasn't right.

Hank had been out walking in the City, for the first time in a good long while looking human once more. He'd finished his image inducer and was now taking it for a test stroll. It was a bit odd, not being noticed at all. He'd even rigged it so that his feet seemed a normal size. For once in his life, according to everybody else's vision, he was a perfectly average, if slightly geeky, young man.

He could have any face he wanted, too, but he'd elected to use the original. He'd never lamented his own lack of classic, rugged good looks, after all. Ok, maybe he'd neglected to leave in some old acne scarring, but that was the extent of the self correction beyond his feet. He walked down the street, thinking about things, then paused and looked up as the air suddenly changed.

He was someplace new.

The young mutant stopped and turned around, looking. He saw nothing around him that was familiar. There was no hint of the City he had started to become accustomed to, just run down buildings, sad looking people, and a stench in the air that was unlike anything Hank had ever smelled before.

He looked around, frowning, then looked up in the sky. He froze, staring at the alien looking mass hanging above the world he was on, then let out a shaky breath. "Honestly.... again?"

Sam had been through many a weird situation. This, however, pretty much took the cake. He couldn't help but stare at himself. Or, the other version of himself.

They'd been looking for this world's version of Dean and had found him. They'd also run into this world's version of Fred and the Sam from the City apparently. While Sam was relieved to have found his girlfriend, it was just slightly odd to have two Freds excusing themselves, leaving... two Sams and two Deans.

He rubbed at his forehead and gave the three a half-smile.

"I'm pretty sure this beats out time travel and the neverending Tuesdays at the Mystery Spot for the weirdest thing we've been through."

There were a lot of things that could be added to that list, but the result was still the same. This topped the list. Hands down.

After the visit with the girl, Eric found himself wondering about what was going on in this new world of his. Things hadn't exactly been perfect before, but it seemed like they were becoming less and less so as time went on. He had hoped for the opposite. He had been working for the opposite. New Troy was in better condition than had been before he'd taken over. The people were looking healthier - despite some of the regular donations they made. They seemed to be happier as well, with only the odd comment now and then about how they missed the arena fights. To Eric's ears, they seemed to be more on the side of entertainment loss than the bloodthirsty need they'd expressed before.

But this was proving different. Events seemed to be conspiring against his every move.

He hadn't stayed inside long this evening after waking up. He wanted to be out, he wanted the fresh air, he wanted to not be around his staff. Or humans at all, for that matter.

So he headed to the very spot that he hated the most - that arena. Now seemed like the perfect time to look at it. In his frustration, he might be moved toward an idea of how to bring it down.

A band of ragged men and women escorted her from New Troy to the gates of die Festung. The journey had not been without incident -- but to the ones who took her, they seemed wholly unaffected by the battles. It was, as one of the weary men told her, "just the way it is."

She'd wrapped her feet with strips of her skirt before heading out. The sandals she wore weren't designed for long hikes through uneven wooded areas, but they were all she had. The wrapping had helped, but her feet were still sore and aching by the time she said goodbye to her escorts.

Looking worse the wear from the trip, she pushed her hair out of her eyes and headed into die Festung proper. Eric had been right; the place was even worse than his city. She hadn't thought it was possible.

Baba Yaga was in a new place. She could feel the Viking was somewhere relatively close, and she could also feel the City. She was connected to that damn thing no matter how either felt about it. She'd been using its power too much to think otherwise, and if she were asked by someone she trusted, she'd probably admit she felt the loss of that power, too. Of course, the one someone she trusted enough with that information was here, somewhere, not there in the City she could just barely feel.

She left the strange English vampire's place. He was young, brash, and full of himself; she'd say he was covering for something, but it'd take too long to find out what. She needed to find those who belonged to the City, to her.

It took her some time to find what she was looking for, one of this city's women who was about her size. She worked a little magic, used some personal charm, and got the clothes she needed. She suggested the woman go see Spike with the clothes. The woman was rather attractive, and she was more than eager to have a reason to approach the strange pale blond.

The crone slipped through the gates with little effort. There was magic on it, but she didn't think she was whatever they were trying to ward off. She wasn't there to harm anyone, not yet anyway. It took her a moment to decide what direction to go in, but once she found it, she started moving at a decent pace.

"So, let me get this straight. You met a hot chick, blonde, great legs, named 'Dinah'? Sounds like you met...wait, no. D's got dark hair now." Dean gave Aidan a look, but he had to laugh, shaking his head. "Not that 'Dinah' is such a unique name, but that's messed up." He took a few steps.

"Did she have a killer set of lungs?" He stopped, putting his hand up. He might not be with the woman, but he was a little protective. Maybe. "I mean could she really scream." He winced as that didn't seem to make it better. His mind was going to the gutter quickly.

"Fuck it. Doesn't matter." He waved it away. He wasn't over whatever had happened, but he wasn't going to hold a grudge. "So, mystery meat, mystery booze, then we can find my brother. I bet he has a few theories about that thing up there." He motioned to the whatever it was looming in the sky. He'd noticed it; who hadn't? "Ever seen something like that?"

It wasn't that he didn't want to hang out with is brother, but sometimes Dean needed friends of his own. It was an odd feeling still, yet he was digging it. Having a bro that was just his. He'd never admit to it, certainly not that way.

Something wasn't right. Well, many things weren't right, but in this particular case, the lack of connection to her tablet wasn't right. The City hadn't taken it away, but it wasn't letting her do anything. Now and then she thought she was picking up something, but...

Then there was the way everything looked, and she hadn't just walked out of the agency office. She'd walked out of a building that looked like it was being repaired for visitors. It was a slow repair, but a repair all the same. She wasn't sure what was going on, and this bit of unknown was a little off putting. She didn't know if the bit of math she'd been working on had created a problem, or if the City had given her a wormhole of her own...Though why it would send her to a world that didn't feel at all familiar was beyond her.

The brainy female kept pushing the screen on the table, trying to make something work, anything. She wasn't looking where she was going, so she didn't notice that there were people looking at her. One or two even waved at her. In her slightly absent minded state, she just waved back and continued.

"It has to work. It just has to."

Sam had been doing his own thing for a while now. Supposedly, The City had it's reasons, and needed each and every individual for a specific purpose. Sam hadn't felt much sense purpose lately. He'd drifted. He'd considered and subsequently rejected the idea of going back to law school. After all these years, it wasn't really where he was at. He just wasn't sure where he was at.

In fact, he wasn't sure where he was, at all. He'd awoke in a motel, as usual, but it wasn't his usual motel. It wasn't the usual City. So there was only one thing that followed. Investigate.

But first, he wanted breakfast. He wasn't sure why his first thought in a new city was waffles, except that the last time he'd found himself in a new city, he had met a girl who was obsessed with them. But breakfast seemed like a good enough place to start.

It didn't take him much longer than stepping outside to realize that breakfast might be very different in this new world.

The buildings were worn down in a way that reminded Errol of the aftermath of the Third World War. He'd been too young to remember first-hand, but the recordings were required viewing for all citizens of Libria, a reminder of the price of emotion running wild.

He walked through them slowly, taking in as much detail as he could. He didn't know how he'd come to be here--he'd been sitting at his breakfast table, and then in between one breath and the next he was here, in this ruin--but concentrating on the current situation was of more importance than pondering what had happened. He could spend time on that once he had a better grasp of what was currently going on.

Errol found himself missing his black Cleric's coat. Its dark color would hide the incongruously bright and neat blue shirt he wore, as well as his khaki trousers.

Dinah was in pain. A lot of pain. It was possible that her ankle was sprained. She didn't think it was broken, but it sure as hell hurt. One minute, she'd been in her apartment on the couch, ready to greet Dean as he'd come home. The next, she'd been at the top of a tree in a strange forest. It would appear that the branches couldn't hold her weight, so she hadn't stayed on top of the tree for long. They'd cracked and given way before she'd had time to figure out what the hell had happened.

She knew that she needed to get moving, but she couldn't quite get herself to stand on her ankle. Not just yet. In fact, she passed out from the pain for at least a brief time.

When she came to, it was pitch black in the forest and she heard footsteps somewhere nearby. Dinah struggled to sit up. Somehow she didn't think that whatever was out there would be friendly.

He didn't know what happened. It wasn't like when he'd been transferred to the City, either. He'd just woken up there, not knowing. Lost. Angry. Very angry. With the club in hand and nothing else. Of course, it hadn't taken him long to adapt to his new home, and even find ways to enjoy it. This time, though, this time didn't look like it was going to be much like that at all.

At one moment, he was on the path to finding Baba's cabin. The next, he was in some forest. At first he'd thought the City had changed around him, and that he'd be able to find his way back out easily, if not with a little frustration. But after a few minutes of running - which had actually taken him a lot further than it would have for any human, Eric discovered that this forest didn't have an end. A brief jolt upwards to see, and he was more than sure of it.

Thinking over what had happened, how he'd come to be here, Eric recalled the brief few moments when he had felt neither Pam nor Baba. And yet, he could feel them now. They were not with him, of course, but they were here. Wherever here was. He would have to find them both.

From above the treeline, Eric had seen something that looked like a ramshackle camp. Thrown together with parts of other places. He headed in that direction now, on foot. He wanted to get a feel of this situation before showing his hand. There was a small chance that in this place there were others like him, and they didn't need to know that he could walk in the sun. That was dangerous for everybody involved.

When he came upon the section of woods that held what he'd seen from above, Eric slowed. He smelled the signs of human life, but didn't see anybody right away. Of course, that meant nothing. People hid all the time.

The crone stretched slowly, groaning a little as she felt the twinges of soreness from a very good night. She made a soft moan as she curled up tighter to the body beside her. She bit softly into the skin near her lips, nails lightly raked at the skin beneath her fingers. Her legs wrapped about the body beside her. She did always like waking up to wonderful bodies beside her. Wonderful and useful bodies.

"Wake up, love." She might have run the ring over the skin, just a little painful tease. She did like the idea that he would let her hurt him, even a small pain, so easily. She bit softly again. "So, did the boy make it through?"

The crone didn't remember her Viking returning to their bed, and there was a strange feeling inside. She sat up quickly to look at the body beside her.

"Who the fuck are you and what the fuck are you doing in my bed?" The power was already growing for an attack.

Ted wasn’t sure what happened. One minute he was on his way to give Jo the flowers he’d gotten her, and the next thing he knew, he was in some... well, he could only really call it a wasteland. He knew in his gut that he wasn’t in the City anymore, but he still turned around to look for the sidewalk he’d just been on, or the street lamp he’d just passed. When he didn’t see them, he kept turning until he was right back to the direction that he’d started in.

His head drooped and he covered his eyes with his hand.

This couldn’t be happening. Really, it couldn’t. He’d already been taken from his own world once, it just wasn’t fair for it to happen again. He’d gotten so comfortable with the way things had been in the City. He’d actually been happy there. He had his best friend. The horse. A woman he liked. A really good job. Now where was he?

Silently, he kept hoping that when he took his hand away, he’d be on the couch in the house, waking up from a nap with the worst nightmare he’d ever had. Because of that, he didn’t want to move at all.

( Flowers and Nightmares... )

It wasn't often that Beauty was so graceless as to trip, but that's what happened on her way to work that morning. Something came up out of the ground in front of her, or so it seemed, and she stumbled --

-- hands and knees landed, not on the City's park grass, but on broken pavement. The light had changed; the shadows had changed; and the location had definitely changed. This wasn't any part of the City she'd ever been in before. Gingerly picking herself up, she gently dusted off the dirt from her thin white skirt, then tapped each toe of her open-toed sandals against the pavement to free dirt and small stones from under her feet. As set to rights as she was going to be, she lifted her palms one after the other and blew on the lacerations.

Her walking became slower, more meandering than purposeful.... she had no idea where she'd been put, or why... "Thomas?" she asked below her breath, reverting to the name she always called the City when she was feeling a little uncertain. But unlike most times, she didn't get a reply. Perhaps it was busy, the City. She swallowed, then wandered some more. Every so often, she thought she saw movement in alleyways she passed or in windows she walked under... but when she turned to look, there was no one.

It finally happened. All those warnings about the City and its shifting streets, and her worrying about not teleporting too far now that everything was back to its normal moving way of things, and Megan finally 'ported somewhere completely unfamiliar.

From the trees, she would have said she was in the park, except she'd been all around the park and it had never looked quite as wild as this. Even in the rougher parts of the park, it still looked somewhat... parklike. This was all forest, like nobody had ever even touched it before. She flew up, hoping she'd be able to get a sense of where she was.

She fought through the branches, messing up her hair and scratching her face and arms as she fought through the branches, but she got through just enough to get a peek. Nowhere familiar, except she thought she saw something in one direction. She flew down and rested against a tree trunk, tired from fighting for the view. She could try to 'port somewhere familiar, she supposed, to her flat or Rufio's fort or Fixit, but if she'd gotten this lost just trying to go shopping...

( A noise made her jump. )