Soldiers of misfortune

Down the Rabbit Hole

"Damn," Mason muttered under his breath while sliding his boots on. As he rose, the peculiar haze he assumed was his aura vanished completely.

"These boots are surprisingly comfy," he mused to himself, securing the laces. Standing up, he noticed everyone converging toward him, roused by an electric sensation.

Kowalski, rightly figuring he might have the answers, stepped forward. "Got any idea what the hell that was?" he inquired, walking past the few tents that separated him from Fatal's location, stirring their occupants.

Fatal's smile was audible in his voice, given the dim moonlight. "Well, I've got quite the tale for all of you."

Brick, living up to his namesake, didn't budge and snoozed through the entire commotion.

Once everyone was awake, albeit with varying levels of enthusiasm, they gathered together.

"As you all remember, I'm the one the God of Light contacted when we got pulled into this mess. I found myself in what I think was a dream with his brother, the Dark God."

Whispers buzzed among the group, but they waited for him to continue.

"He let me in on our location, or at least mine."

Brick chimed in, "So where the hell are we?" Fatal turned within the semi-circle enveloping him. "We're on Remnant, the same world as the RWBY anime/cartoon. I get it, that's probably a shock, even unsettling. But now, at least we have some clue about what to expect if that guy wasn't yanking our chains."

A new voice chimed in. "How can we be sure we're really on Remnant, though? What if we're just dead and stuck in some purgatory?"

"I've seen a few seasons of RWBY, and the shattered moon above us looks identical to the one in the show," Fatal replied. He then turned to Kowalski. "You remember the monsters we ran into? Here, they're called Grimm. The ones we encountered were beowolves."

Mason took a deep breath before adding, "The Brother God also shared some insight on how we ended up here. He claimed his brother caused our plane to crash, and he yanked us into this world against our will."

Mason looked up at the moon. "He said he would give us some 'Boons,' according to him. And one of them caused me to get shocked and covered in that weird film. I'm sure you all felt it as well." He spread his hands out, motioning to the men surrounding him.

"I'm guessing it's aura, right?" one of Kowalski's men, David, spoke up.

Mason looked over to him. "You'd be correct, but it is, and I quote, 'my own flavor of aura,' according to the Dark God. Whatever the fuck that means, I guess we'll find out." Another man, this time Hawk, motioned with his hand. "So if I'm getting this right from what I remember, we have force fields now? Like we can get shot in the face and feel nothing more than a punch?"

This got everyone talking; Mason had to get the group under control. "Unless someone is willing to get shot, we must assume that it does nothing to protect us. I don't need you guys shooting each other." He looked over to Frenchie, who was currently broadcasting the entire conversation to the other groups on OP Dragoon. "Hey Frenchie, can you check to see if we can hear anything, civilian or otherwise?" He got right to work. "Roger, sir."

He had turned on the speaker as he tuned the radio. It didn't help that they were in a valley.

The other guys had started talking amongst themselves, some sitting down. And then he heard it. It was extremely faint at first. It sounded like a woman's voice amongst the static. But as Frenchie adjusted the squelch and the tuning dial, it became clearer and eventually unmistakable. It was a conversation between a woman and a man.