The Hounds. (An Original Text-Adventure style Quest)

[Freak A Nature]

Seems like we found the intro guy.. The Hound

Think that scarf is connected to him?

 

[TripleMRed]

[X] Sombra

Click to shrink...

[X] Sombra

Click to shrink...

Sombra gripped the spear and started to tug. This one was the hardest one yet, as it went right past the man and embedded itself in the ground beneath him. Unbeknownst to her, his hands twitched as she slowly began to loosen the spear from its spot and began to remove it. Sombra pulled the last spear out just as the Wyverns burst down the door. The lead Wyvern zeroed in on the Night Dog and pounced right at her-

---

The haze that had clouded his mind for so long was finally lifted. As his eyes focused on the stone ceiling high above, his mind kicked into over drive and everything seemed to slow down. His hands twitched. He looked around. He saw some sort of canine woman of unknown species in ninja garb, her mouth covered up by a balaclava of some kind, leaving only her golden eyes exposed. And she was holding the final spear that had held him down. Something of a connection almost instantly formed between them then and there, even if she wasn't aware of it.

Continuing with his observations, he saw others in front of her: A gun toting rabbit man, a staff carrying reptilian woman, and a-was that a Griffin or a different kind of Gryphon? Questions for later. They were all in combat stances and in the middle of throwing out attacks. Finally, his eyes followed where there attacks were going and saw several robotic dragon creatures entering the room. One of them was mid-pounce, homing straight for him. His hands twitched and closed into fists. He knew what he had to do.

In a flash, he pushed the dog woman away from him while he also took the javelin in her hands into his right fist. As the machine's open maw came closer, he pulled back his left fist while jamming the spear through the bottom of its lower jaw, the motion closing its maw and jabbing the spear through to its top jaw. Before it could get any closer, he unleashed his coiled back fist directly into its nose, crumpling the alien metal and sending the several ton machine flying back.

It hit the curved portion of the wall above the doors that led into becoming the ceiling with enough force to crack the still partly enchanted stonework. As it fell to the ground with a crash, the rest of its pack stopped to observe the situation while the team of individuals around him had turned to gawk at the now very much active man as he stood to his full height. The Defender was awake.

He stared down the opposing party, seeing what they would do next. The damaged machine he had just sucker punched into the wall had a damaged and forced-shut maw, as well as a damaged neck. It and two others formed a team and were all looking straight at him while the other two broke off to go after the team of people. They'd have to handle those ones themselves while he took care of the central three.

As one, both sides leaped into action, literally in the case of the Defender. He jumped forward, focusing power into his fists as the trio of mecha-dragons surged forwards. He hit the ground first, slamming into it with his two fists with enough force cause a section of the floor to suddenly heave upwards. Two of the dragons took to the air while the damaged one slammed into the newly created wall. Before it could recover, the Defender shoulder charged through the upheaved stonework with the help of his armor's built in thruster systems. The creature tried to follow him with its head as he slammed into it, but ultimately wasn't able to do much of anything other than try and use its wings and leg claws to attack.

Both useless attempts as the Defender surrounded his hand with Ghost Fire and plunged it into its crumpled neck before letting out a stream of ethereal flame. The already damaged neck didn't take long to melt down, eventually the machine's head sloughing off its body in a shower of molten metal and some sort of purplish-pink goop.

A blast almost tagged the Defender and thus he turned his attention to the flying dragons above. One was coming after him while the other remained flying above, charging up another shot. He moved quickly, grabbing hold of the decapitated head and tossing it at the one planning to blast him before whirling around, grabbing the neck of the dead dragon's remains and twirling it around to slam the charging dragon into the ground. Not two seconds later, both the head and the body detonated. The Defender had been sent back, but he recovered quickly and slid to a stand-still on his feet.

The dragon that had been planning to shoot had had the head jammed into its open mouth. The explosion resulted in it losing its jaw and falling to the ground as it lost its aerial balance. The one that had been slammed away got off relatively lucky, only receiving dents and scorch marks onto its armored hide from the detonation of its fellow's body. It surged forwards again, its jaws snapping to try and catch the Defender. He dodged to the side before using his thrusters to immediately slam into the side of the dragon as it tried to bite at him, sending it towards its jawless fellow.

The jawless one had managed to reorient itself in time to see its ally coming its way. It jumped clear over. And right into an incoming Defender. The two met in the air, spinning once, twice, before slamming into the ground. It tried to summon up a blast towards the defender, but it never got the chance to fire as he sent a wave of Ghost Fire into its open throat, the two kinds of energy mingling in its gullet before finally detonating.

The Defender didn't even have time to take a breath as the second dragon sent a blast that hit him directly. Unprepared for the attack and not having had the time to adjust himself to face it head on, the Defender was sent flying towards the open doorway. He twirled in the air with practiced ease until he landed and slid across the ground on his feet once more. He turned to see the dragon charging at him again, another blast being prepared to fire his way. His left hand yanked back again for another punch, this time covered in bluish-white Ghost Fire.

The machine fired its beam, which the Defender sidestepped and leaned out of the way of, letting it harmlessly detonate the ground behind him. The creature let out a mechanized roar as it continue to charge his way. Seeing an opportunity, the Defender leaned forwards and propelled himself in the direction of the oncoming dragon. He ducked under its attempt to bite at him, ran under its elongated neck before finally propelling himself into its chest when he got under it.

The pair jumped into the air from the force of the impact, the Defenders burning fist buried into its chest and letting out a stream of Ghost Fire directly into its core. The machine detonated in the air, with the Defender landing on the ground safely. The Hound of the Oros Empire took a moment to see how the others were handling their fights. The Griffin and the horned, golden-haired reptilian woman launched a fire attack and a spell respectively into the open gullet of their wyrm as it tried to get off a blast before the pair worked together to close its maw and keep it shut. A second later, its neck exploded.

The rabbit and the dog both had their hands full. The dog was distracting the dragon by embedding her blades into its neck, causing it to roar in synthesized rage. The rabbit, meanwhile, took the opportunity to toss in three grenades into its mouth. Two detonated almost immediately, sealing its maw shut with some sort of foam before the third exploded within, blowing its head apart.

Foot steps caused the Defender to whip around and face the doorway. A new machine had entered the room and was walking straight towards him. It was roughly 8 feet tall, had a bipedal build with a multi-eyed head and two oversized arms that seemed meant for brawling. It stopped a few meters away from him, seemingly inspecting him. Then, it struck.

The Defender struck the oversized metal fist coming his way with his own punch. And did so with the next strike as well. The machine recoiled its arms back while the Defender did the same in mirror. And then they let each other have it. Both parties unleashed a steady stream of punches, each fist striking the others and effectively canceling out the attack with a heavy kinetic slam. The rates at which their arms were moving against one another was comparable to a machine gun firing, the collective impacts of their punches striking each other causing the rubble around them to shake and jump and jostle across the ground.

To the naked eye, one could be forgiven for thinking it was an even fight. Indeed, in terms of raw kinetic energy, they were evenly matched. What they were not matched in, however, was speed. For every punch that was connected, the Defender sneaked in two or three unto the chassis of the enemy machine, denting it little by little.

Finally, after a solid 10 seconds of exchanging punches, the Defender went in for the kill. He slammed his fists into the machine's head, disorienting it enough for him to surge forwards and charge into it. He grabbed its arms at their base and, as it fell backwards, ripped them off. By the time the machine's back had hit the ground, its arms were sailing away in the air. But the Defender wasn't done yet: The machine was literally disarmed, not dead.

Moving in to finish the job, he gripped the machines head in his hands and started to apply pressure. More and more, the metal gradually crumbling in his hands, its eyes fizzling out and bursting one by one. After he was satisfied with the crushed state of it, he tightened his grip and yanked in two directions, pulling the machines head apart in his hands. The Defender slowly stood upright once again as he ignored the machine detonating beneath him. As the smoke cleared, only he was left intact.

He stood there, as calm and as still as a tree, as though he hadn't just been in a massive battle, his hands tightened into fists as he stared forwards, towards the light of day outside across the long entrance hallway of the tomb he'd been trapped in for....however long he'd been in there. He began to take a step forwards. And ended up on his knees. Arms by his sides and hands resting against the ground as he sat in what some would call the seiza position, everything started to catch up with him as he realized just how tired he was. Slowly, he closed his eyes, and fell into a dreamless slumber. He needed to rest.

---

He heard voices talking around him. The crackling of a campfire.

"-id you see the way he took down that Brawler?" A male voice asked.

"That was really something special, let me tell you now. I haven't seen a good Pummel Duel like that in years." Said a female voice.

"When do you think he's going to wake up?" Another female voice asked.

"I don't know, but I just hope me and Cinder don't have to carry him again. He's heavy!" Yet another female voice uttered.

>Suggest something for The Defender to do.

 

[Freak A Nature]

>The team had freed him,from his slumber, so they seemed friendly. Get up and inspect the collar, see what it is..

 

[x0Nothing0x]

>welcome back to the world of the living. Might as well get up and see who has been carrying you all this time.

 

[Zaealix]

>introduce yourself, for you are the Defender, Hound of the Oros Empire, and you've been stuck in there for quite some time.

 

[TripleMRed]

(Say, I feel like I should ask this, but what did you guys think of the action in the last update? Was it any good? I'm never sure if my action scenes are any good or not. Be honest, please.)

 

[Freak A Nature]

(Say, I feel like I should ask this, but what did you guys think of the action in the last update? Was it any good? I'm never sure if my action scenes are any good or not. Be honest, please.)

Click to shrink...

Pretty decent, just don't know the full capabilities of everyone so not sure how much was Defender on,adrenaline or how tough the machines usually are

 

[x0Nothing0x]

(Say, I feel like I should ask this, but what did you guys think of the action in the last update? Was it any good? I'm never sure if my action scenes are any good or not. Be honest, please.)

Click to shrink...

I started imaging doom guy half way through. That is a good thing.

 

[TripleMRed]

I started imaging doom guy half way through. That is a good thing.

Click to shrink...

(That is a very good thing, yes. And the Defender isn't even the actual Doom Guy expy(s) of the setting! XD)

 

[TripleMRed]

"Hey, my scarf's pointing at him again." One of the females noted. "You think that means he's waking up?" So much for listening in on them in secret.

>The team had freed him,from his slumber, so they seemed friendly. Get up and inspect the collar, see what it is..

Click to shrink...

Ah, head voices. A recurring phenomenon that. Anyway, they did indeed do that, so he owed them a lot for what they did, though his mind was fuzzy on the details of how he ended up there in the first place. Something about a celebration? Then an attack? And then those javelins came out of nowhere...Thoughts for later.

>welcome back to the world of the living. Might as well get up and see who has been carrying you all this time.

Click to shrink...

The Defender decided now was as good a time as any to introduce himself. Opening his eyes, he found himself staring upwards in a forest, unfamiliar stars stretching across the sky where the treeline didn't cover them up. Light from a campfire coated the trees in a warm orange glow. With that known to him, he started to get up into a seating position.

The others around the campfire watched in silence as he did so, the Defender silently observed each of them in turn. Now that he was looking at them in peaceful terms, he was able to notice details he previously had missed. The Griffin woman was wingless and wearing a tanktop and combat shorts on her appealingly well built and stocky body, her hands covered in boxing tape. She seemed to be the oldest of them, or at the very least, the most matured individual, going by appearance alone. Her fiery red eyes were oddly calm for someone of her species as she gave him a silent and steady examinary look. If he was right from what he recalled of her standing up, she was about 6'4.

The rabbit, also the only male of the group, seemed to have a fondness for orange in his clothing. He was smiling at the Defender like a fool, a youthful zeal in his brilliant green eyes. The sort of look the Defender had seen children of the Empire get when they received their first matter manipulation and construction set to play with. Going by attitude alone, the Defender concluded he was the youngest of the bunch, or at least the least mature. Not counting his ears, he was about 5'4 and not even bothering to hid his excitement.

The reptile woman (Some form of Dragon?) was pink with golden hair, and equally golden eyes. Her horns were swept back, two larger ones closer to the front and two smaller ones protruding a bit back and closer together behind those ones. Her clothing, some form of combat dress, was red and belied a sense of wealth and status, as well as a black scarf of some kind around her neck. It stank of Aetherwork magic. Despite her apparent wealthy upbringing, (Or perhaps because of it? He wasn't sure how foreign species royalty compared to ancient Oros ones, he usually let his....partner handle that stuff...) she was almost as fit as the Griffin while being taller by three inches, though she was not as stocky. Now that he had a better look at her, it seemed despite her reptilian appearance, she was more fuzzy than scaly. It kind of reminded him of the modern day Crash-Drakes, furred repto-mammals that ran on their hind legs and who had a propensity for charging things. Even had the same twitchy kind of ears.

The final member of the team was the dog woman, though she was out of her ninja garb and wearing a far more casual mode of dress now that she was out of combat. Knee high boots, black stockings, a thigh length skirt, and a black shirt with a white webbing design. What was she, some sort of goth? As for her actual appearance, the canid was black with silver highlights, including the edges of her head hair, and had golden eyes that matched those of the dragoness(?). He estimated her to be about 5'10, give or take an inch or two. Looking at her caused him to feel slightly more....alive, for lack of a better term. If he was right, then he found himself bonded to her.

By the time he was done with his examination of the individuals before him, about two seconds had passed.

>introduce yourself, for you are the Defender, Hound of the Oros Empire, and you've been stuck in there for quite some time.

Click to shrink...

How long had he been here, actually? One moment, he'd fallen into a slumber like state, the next thing he knew he was being awoken by the group before him. Still, he had the feeling that they didn't know what any of his titles meant, so he decided to start with something simpler: His name.

"Hello." He finally stated, his voice, which was relatively light for someone of his stature, cracked with who knows how many years of disuse. "I'm Teth Aloni, The Defender and a Hound of the Oros Empire."

"Hello, Teth." The dog stated, "I'm Sombra, this is Tyco, Glimmer, and Cinder." She said as she motioned to each individual in turn. "We've got a lot of questions for you, but before that, do you have any questions for us?" The way she said that felt rehearsed, like she'd been planning what to say before he'd woken up. And indeed, he did have questions. A lot of them.

>Suggest something for Teth to do.

 

[Freak A Nature]

>Basics first. What happened after he fainted and what year is it? Inspect the armor and body for damage the machines may have done. That scarf seemed able to detect stuff around it...even simply the Defender waking up

 

[x0Nothing0x]

>how long was I out after the fight, what where those things I fought, why were they chasing you, and where am I... as in country, date, continent, and world? Yes world, it's easier then you think to get around once you know how.

 

[TripleMRed]

>Basics first. What happened after he fainted and what year is it? Inspect the armor and body for damage the machines may have done. That scarf seemed able to detect stuff around it...even simply the Defender waking up

Click to shrink...

A quick look over his armor found that it was perfectly intact. Or, rather, no new additional damage had been added to it's existing state in the fight with those machines. Moving on.

"What happened after I fainted?" He asked first.

"Well, Cinder and Glimmer carried you out of the tomb and we've been dragging you around with us since the fight, which was two days ago." Sombra explained.

"You're a big guy, but you're even heavier than you look." Cinder uttered. Teth made a mental note to shift his relative mass down in case of any events where he's going unconscious in the future.

"What about the year? What year is it?" He asked.

"Oh, it's about 1034, Machine Era." Glimmer piped up helpfully. Or rather, she was trying to be helpful, but this information meant nothing to the Defender. Well, almost nothing. He had the slightest inkling in the back of his mind that told him that the local date had been a different era before he went down the first time, but he couldn't for the life of him recall what it was.

"What about that scarf of yours." He asked towards Glimmer.

"Oh, I got it shortly before we got into the tomb," The dragoness explained, "A machine was carrying it and I ended up getting it as loot. It's cursed though, won't come off." She added with a sigh. The scarf responded by rubbing the side of her face, to which she just pushed it away with a half hearted motion of her hand.

>how long was I out after the fight, what where those things I fought, why were they chasing you, and where am I... as in country, date, continent, and world? Yes world, it's easier then you think to get around once you know how.

Click to shrink...

He had just learned the date, and how long he'd been out recently, but the other questions were still viable.

"Those machines, what were they? Why were they chasing you?" Teth inquired.

"Those were machines belonging to a cybernetic race called the Mechana," Sombra began, "They arrived on our world 1034 years ago, hence the calendar, and they've been waging a war against us ever since. As for the ones we fought specifically, those were Tech Wyverns and a Brawler leading them. The Tech Wyverns were equivalent to low tiers at Rank 9s while the Brawler was equivalent to a mid tier at 12." Ranks? That sounded familiar too. Had to do with the inhabitants with this world, somesort of measurement scale for their level of power called....'standing' he thought it was. Further details were too muddled to really recall. "They were chasing us because we stumbled on them and killed some of their scouts."

"Though, they were unusually aggressive for only losing some scouts." Glimmer noted.

"Right. Now then, where am I? What is the country, continent, and world?" He asked. When he said world, the others looked at him with slightly widened eyes. Except Tyco, who looked even more giddy now.

"Ha, I knew it! I knew he was an alien!" Tyco said before motioning to Cinder. "Cough 'em up." Cinder sighed as she reached into a pant pocket and pulled out an energy bad before handing it to the rabbit. They bet on what he was?....He liked them already, even putting aside the whole finding and saving him thing.

"W-well, we're in the country of Giles, on the continent of Threshold, and on the world of Anvil." Glimmer stated in answer. "An actual, nonhostile alien."

"I should mention that I'm not from this universe either." He added, "I was sent here alongside others from our Empire to help save your world from destruction from an Elder being."

"There are others!?" Tyco asked exitedly. "Are they awesome like you?!"

"Elder being?" Cinder questioned. "There are a lot of Elder creatures out in the world, but can't think of one that's threatened the whole world before in recent history."

"Another universe?" Glimmer inquired. "Are your physics the same as ours, are all your people like you, is pink still pink-" Cinder had to slap a hand over Glimmer's mouth to keep her from going overboard on the questions.

"I guess we're asking the questions now, huh?" Sombra chuckled, "Sooo....You guys are from an Empire? What was it like?" He still had some questions of his own, but he didn't mind asking them while also answering their own inquiries.

>Suggest something for Teth to do.

 

[Zaealix]

>explain about the empire
>maybe when possible, take a comparative view-they ask about something from the empire, you ask them about whatever equivilant they have out here. Helps both of you figure out where the other person's thoughts and ideas regarding things are.

 

[Freak A Nature]

>Keep eye out for other machines, if they were acting unusually and they were defeated..they may send in reinforcements eventually

 

[TripleMRed]

>Keep eye out for other machines, if they were acting unusually and they were defeated..they may send in reinforcements eventually

Click to shrink...

He was calm as could be at that moment, but he hadn't let his guard down. His armor's abilities were reduced due to their damage and going who knows how long without repairs, his suit's sensors, redundant given his own inante abilities, being among them. His own senses, while diminished thanks to the collar around his neck, were still alive and well and had a range of around 50 meters, more if he focused. All's good on their front, at least for now.

With that out of the way, he started to answer their questions.

"There are others like me." Teth nodded. "We are known by the Empire as the Hounds. And yes, they are awesome like I am, though each of us is different in capability."

"Sweet." Tycho hissed with a fist pump.

"I don't know how long ago I've been out of it, but the last time I was here, my friends and I were saving this world from a massive Elder creature." Teth frowned beneath his helmet. If they didn't know about that, were they simply ignorant of history, or was it something else? The possibility of said history being lost in some sort of societal collapse was likely, though he doubted it was something like that. "You said there are Elder creatures on this world?"

"Yes," The Griffin nodded, "Though they mostly keep to themselves. We don't usually have a problem with the civilized ones, just the more animal like creatures." Teth nodded. He'd have to keep that in mind if he ever got to dealing with such creatures. Know which ones to Eat and which ones to let live.

"As for my own universe, I'm not sure how much compares to each other. I didn't study this realm, I remember that much, though from what little I've seen, physics at least seems the same." He said as he picked up a rock and gave it a test toss into the air. He didn't bother to catch it more than once, letting it fall back on the ground. Glimmer's eyes were shimmering, clearly thirsting for more knowledge. He chuckled at that. She reminded him of one of his teammates, Mirrah, in that regard. He wondered where she was now, in this wide, wide world.

"On the topic of my people, I and the rest of the Hounds are...different. We are all only half Oros, the other half hailing from parentage of beings from a realm known as the Aether, called Aetherlings. The offspring of this union, beings like us, are known to those of the Aether as 'Shades'." He paused as he removed his helmet. He would have just had its segmented form open up on their own, but the battle damage it'd sustained prevented that feature from functioning. The team watched as his black furred, short muzzled face was exposed to them.

"Huh, cute." Cinder unabashedly uttered.

"Thank you." Teth said with a small smile. "I and my friends have key differences to the normal Oros. For example," He grabbed old of his left arm's armor, which delinked from the rest of his suit and slid off with ease, exposing his arms which weren't covered by his undersuit. Unlike the furred skin on his face, the flesh of his arm was smooth, almost marble like, in visual texture and had a dark purple coloration. "Our limbs look like this. Speaking of which, our feet," He motioned to his stub like armored feet, "look like this rather than the normal feet you all have."

"Interesting." Glimmer uttered, practically feeding off this information as he put his armor back on.

"As for the Empire..."

>explain about the empire
>maybe when possible, take a comparative view-they ask about something from the empire, you ask them about whatever equivilant they have out here. Helps both of you figure out where the other person's thoughts and ideas regarding things are.

Click to shrink...

"The Oros Empire, or the Median as it was officially known as, was an Empire built and founded by my mortal half's species, the Oros. It was founded, alongside the empire of the Oros's cousin race, the Oberon, as a way to unify and protect the peoples of my reality, and eventually those that neighbored us, from the horrors that lurk in the darkness. Elder beings, monsters, mad men, and much worse." He paused as he looked over everyone. "What of your world? Is there a unified form of government here?"

"The world's pretty divided into a bunch of different nations and kingdoms." Glimmer answered. "Though, we do have a unified counseling body to help keep each other safe from hostile Monsters and the Mechana."

"Monsters?" Teth asked.

"Yeah, creatures that have been corrupted and twisted by Elder powers. Usually animals....sometimes....Mon." 'Mon'. There was that word, one he remembered from before. That's what these people were. 'Mon'. He'd have to relearn the specifics later.

"So, Monsters and Mechana are assailing your world." Teth asked.

"Basically, I suppose that's right." Glimmer responded. Teth brought a hand to his armored chin and he began to wonder. How long had he been out? Why hadn't the Empire come back for them? Why was this world not being assisted by the Empire? What was going on here? He knew in his gut that he wouldn't receive answers for such questions, not any time soon, but he couldn't help but ponder them in the back of his mind. He had so many questions it hurt. So much to learn of this world now that he was clearly stuck here until he could get in touch with the Empire again.

"So....What are you going to do now?" Sombra asked. "Now that you're awake again? Why were you stuck there in the first place?"

"I don't know why I was stuck there." He uttered as he motioned to the collar around his armored neck. "But....I think that it had something to do with someone from the Aether. This thing around my neck, it's Aetherling work...As for what I'll do...."

>Suggest something for Teth to do.

(Hey, letting you guys know that I won't be posting much else in the next few days due to going out of town for a family friend throwing a Christmas party. Don't be surprised by the lack of updates for a wee bit, okay?)

 

[Zaealix]

>"Given the whole 'sealed for unknown length of time' bit I'm naturally in need of something to do, I would like to find a way to find out what happened to the Empire, and unfortunately, I don't think I can pursue that line of thought at this moment...Need a fifth member for your team?"

 

[Freak A Nature]

>Ask what the local area is like, if any towns or areas of interest are nearby, maybe someone can help with the scarf and collar..

 

[x0Nothing0x]

>should probably at least follow them to town and get a better idea on what's happening in the world before coming up with a decision.

 

[TripleMRed]

>Ask what the local area is like, if any towns or areas of interest are nearby, maybe someone can help with the scarf and collar..

Click to shrink...

Teth was certain he could help with the Scarf, but he had the feeling it would prove to be very useful for detecting things he somehow missed, though as for the collar....He subtly tried to Eat the device with his Aetherworks, but found two things wrong. The first was that his ability to use Aetherworks was....limited, somehow. The Collar, undoubtedly, given it was some form of Aetherling made Aethertech. The second was that he could still Eat, but when he tried to Eat the Collar, he found himself unable to. He did not like what that implied, but he kept it to himself as he asked the main question.

"Tell me, what's the local region like? Local towns and such?" The Defender asked.

"Well, aside from the tomb we found you in, the nearest town is only a couple of days from here, a place called Rooksvale." Sombra explained, "We actually came from there on our way to the tomb you were in. As for the local region, it's a lot of forests and hills and mountains, with rivers and lakes breaking it up. Though, the route we're taking doesn't have any major rivers flowing through our path." Teth nodded in understanding as he listened to her speak.

>should probably at least follow them to town and get a better idea on what's happening in the world before coming up with a decision.

Click to shrink...

While that is a solid idea on paper, in practice, he didn't exactly have much choice on the matter. From what he could sense, he was linked with Sombra. She was his new partner. And that meant he'd be sticking by her side from here on out.

>"Given the whole 'sealed for unknown length of time' bit I'm naturally in need of something to do, I would like to find a way to find out what happened to the Empire, and unfortunately, I don't think I can pursue that line of thought at this moment...Need a fifth member for your team?"

Click to shrink...

Teth saw where this was going and decided to go with that idea.

"So....I'm stranded here, no way to contact my people and no idea where the rest of my friends are. I don't know how long I've been trapped in that tomb, my memories are a little fuzzy regarding some crucial details, and I'll be honest, I'm not too familiar with the specifics of this world and its inhabitants." The Hound summarized. "In summary, given the whole 'sealed for unknown length of time' bit I'm naturally in need of something to do, I would like to find a way to find out what happened to the Empire, and unfortunately, I don't think I can pursue that line of thought at this moment...Need a fifth member for your team?"

"Oh thank the Maker you asked, I'd been planning on asking you to join." Sombra said with a smile. "As the Team Leader, I welcome you to the team!"

"Wait, only Mon can be part of the team." Glimmer pointed out. "There's also the fact that he might not be able to distribute the Power of those he defeats to the rest of the team, meaning that if he fights with us, it'll take a lot longer for us to grow in Standing."

"Oh, you're right." Sombra uttered, rubbing her chin. Suddenly, a yawn broke through her lips. "Let's put a pin on that until tomorrow, it's getting late."

"I'll take first watch." Cinder offered. Teth didn't need to sleep much....or any, for that matter. He could easily take up guard duty all night long if need be. Still, he still felt tired from two days ago, and a little nap couldn't hurt.

>Suggest something for Teth to do.

 

[x0Nothing0x]

>take last watch, give you some time to recover and be ready to go first thing in the morning.

 

[Freak A Nature]

>When turn for the watch comes, experiment a bit. If the collar was limiting his ability to use Aetherworks..it may have other capabilities that may cause issues down the line

 

[TripleMRed]

>take last watch, give you some time to recover and be ready to go first thing in the morning.

Click to shrink...

"If it's fine with you, I'll take last watch." Teth stated.

"Are you sure?" Glimmer asked. "We're used to pulling watch ourselves, you don't need to do that."

"I'm sure." Teth replied.

"Well alright then, Teth, you get the last watch." Sombra decided. "One of us will wake you up to take it up, okay?" The sizable hybrid nodded his head in reply. "Alright then, sweet dreams!" Sombra offered as the rest of the group save Cinder started to get settled in for the night. Teth did so as well, his eyes glued to the stars for a long while before they shut and he allowed himself to sink into unconsciousness.

---

He didn't dream much, not any more anyway. Mostly, he remembered things he heard. Battles, music, conversations.

"Why do I have to be the scary one? She's scarier than you and me combined!" Sometimes, friends.

"What are you doing in there, little fella? Come on, up, up, out of the box." Sometimes, family.

"We understand that this loss many of you have felt is massive indeed. As such, those of you that wish to not undertake this mission, simply raise your hands and you will not have to be sent out....No one?....Very well then." Sometimes, superiors.

"Trust me on this, it's a good idea!....No, seriously, it is!....What are you talking about, I'm full of good ideas!....That was just a phase, I grew out of it!" Sometimes....equals.

So many voices, so many sounds, but one that keeps replaying in his head that he couldn't make head's or tails of kept coming back. "Your services to the Empire are no longer required-" No matter how many times he heard it, he kept coming back to the same questions: Who? Why?

---

"Hey, big guy, you awake?" Sombra asked as she gently shook his arm. Teth's eyes opened beneath his helm, quickly looking to see the canine looking down at him.

"I am now." He stated.

"Okay, good." She said with a nod. "Time for you to take up your watch." Teth nodded back as he got up and cracked his neck. Time for the night shift. "Sun comes up in a few hours." She added. He nodded as he checked his surroundings and did a little walk around to get his blood pumping. Everything looks as clear as it did last night. He paused as he noticed Sombra watching him do his little walk about rather than return to sleep herself. She waved at him. A second later, he returned the wave.

"Aren't you going back to sleep?" He asked.

"Nah, us Night Dogs don't need as much sleep as most other Mon." Sombra uttered. "That means, you've got a little look out buddy!" Teth snorted. If only she knew. He'd have to talk with her about that at some point. Maybe really soon, in fact. But first...

>When turn for the watch comes, experiment a bit. If the collar was limiting his ability to use Aetherworks..it may have other capabilities that may cause issues down the line

Click to shrink...

The Defender walked a bit out of the group's circle, just enough so that his testing wouldn't accidentally wake any of the ones that were still asleep.

"I'm going to test out some of my abilities, see if everything's working alright." Teth explained to Sombra. She responded by giving him a thumbs up and eagerly awaiting what would happen next. Teth, for his part, concentrated on the Collar first. He tried to see if he could piece together what was going on with it, what other tricks it had up its sleeve, but to be perfectly blunt, he wasn't the greatest wielder of Aetherworks among the Hounds. That honor went to one of his team mates, The Mage. Where she was now, he didn't have the slightest clue, but he was confident that if he found her, maybe he'd be able to better piece together what was going on.

After a solid minute of concentrating on the Collar and coming up short, Teth gave up and focused his efforts on his powers. His defensive barrier, his signature Aetherworks ability, came up as easily as breathing, however he could sense that he wouldn't be able to use it to tank as many or as powerful of blows as it once could handle. His more offensive powers, namely the Sun Lance and the Lightning Strike, both appeared in his hands though he didn't fire them. Again, not as powerful, but so long as they functioned they were still useful.

"Woah, cool." Sombra uttered as she watched him summon at first a blue barrier, then a miniature sun in one hand and a roiling ball of electricity in the other. "Not gonna fire them off?" She asked. Teth shook his head as he desummoned them. "While I'd have loved to see them, that's probably for the best. The others need their sleep." Sombra said as she smiled towards her team. Teth felt like he had some questions to ask here. Maybe tell her about the Partner link they had going on now...

>Suggest something for Teth to do.

 

[Zaealix]

>You and I are linked. Probably something to do with you pulling that last lance out of my frozen torso.
>So, what's Standing? Some measure of the power you've got?

 

[x0Nothing0x]

>weird idea but maybe ask her to let you use more of your power? I mean we're going to have to tell her that she basically put a ring on us when she freed us so now the two of you are an item (phrasing like that should be good for a laugh) but if she's your "master" (more joking material right there as well) maybe she can let you cut lose a little bit more. Oh and since the two of you are alone right now probably a good time that you're kinda stuck with her and her group for awhile until someone can figure out how to take the collar off you.