OiM - How it All Began

[Elesariin]

Gwen looked at him and smiled gratefully. "Right." Assuming we don't die in this raid thing, she added mentally. She still wasn't sure why Smith thought she would be useful. She was okay with strategy-- chess was one of her favorite things in the world-- but even so, she was just a kid; the policemen (and woman) knew more about thinking strategically in combat situations.  

[SirBayer]

((Well, Smith can't do nothing until Foreigner doesn't come back.

TRIPLE NEGATIVE biggrin ))

"I wonder..." Juliet suddenly spoke from where she stood. "I wonder if your brother and my father ended up in the same place. It would make sense, he came here and he's gone. Unless..." she shuddered and stopped speaking, unwilling to consider that possibility. "Either way, it looks like our large friend here is the clearest way." She was thinking much the same as Gwen - why had he asked her to come with them on the raid? She wasn't a soldier, she was a cop. She was good at enforcing the law and shooting at things, she wasn't SWAT, even if she'd done a tiny bit of training alongside them. Nothing substantial, and nothing more than to see how they did it, in a very vague and third-person way. He already had trained soldiers, so was he looking for cheap casualties?  

[NativeForeigner]

(( gonk I had a post written up...then the screen closed on me...I'll be posting after school, I know just what to write and I even have a little diagram I'll be puting up in the Locations area.
Expect a post sometime between 3 or 4 PST. 5 at the latest.))  

[SirBayer]

((SHOOP DA WHOOP!))  

[NativeForeigner]

((POSTING NOW.
MORE LATER.))

Alastair put a hand on Juliet's shoulder in an attempt to calm her.

"What is this place called? This world? I know it's not ol' Corona any more." Alastair asked Smith.

"Empyrea." Smith answered simply, coming to the far right of the hallway and opening the door to a roomy, square room with a couch, end table, and a small, strange-looking TV. The television was made of browned iron and had gears and valves along the bottom. Copper pipes ran out from it and into the wall.
There was a door on the right wall.

***

Behind the short, just-barely-taller-than-Jingles door was what appeared to be a large, drafty room. It was dark, so no details could be made out.

Jingles clapped his hands and a web of lighting lit up above, illuminating the large factory, filled with conveyer belts, extravagant candy cane style piping and funnels, large, box-like machines, and short, wooden stools placed all along the conveyer belts. Everything was colored... vibrantly and Christmas-y, having many shades of red, green, white, and gold all over the place.

"What is this?" Ro asked as he ducked under the door.

"A toy factory." Jingles answered hurriedly and he sped-walked inside the factory.

Gregory just realized that Jingles was an elf. He didn't find that very welcoming.  

[Jokerman-EXE]

Henry ducked through the door and took a step into the factory...

...and Shepard delivered a flying kick to his head!  

[SirBayer]

((!?!

Are you joking or not?!))  

[Jokerman-EXE]

((Haha. Jacob said I could bring Shepard back. It was my idea in the first place anyways.
And it's anime-style! Henry's fine!))  

[SirBayer]

Arthur stared at Shepard as he passed by. "What the?!"  

[Venom3001]

"What the s**t!?" Andreas yelled, jumping backwards.

((I AM NOT CONFUSING CHARACTERS AT ALL EVAR I DON'T KNOW WHAT U R TALKIN BOUT DUUDZ))  

[Elesariin]

Gwen stepped hesitantly into the room, looking around with her slim shoulders hunched and her arms crossed over her chest. Something about the room's attempt at normalcy through living room furniture made the whole room much odder than the rest of the building had been. She studied the t.v. for a moment, and then looked away, repressing the urge to shiver. "Empyrea, huh?"  

[Jokerman-EXE]

((Devin? I thought you were Andreas...?))  

[NativeForeigner]

((...Joe...I said you could bring Shepard back later))

"Sorry." Shepard apologized, "I though you might have been someone else."
With that, he left.

Jingles pulled out a golden whistle and blew into it, emitting a high-pitched, musical sound.
Very soon, a group of ten elves emerged from various doors and to various wooden stools along the main conveyor belt.

***

"Yup." Smith confirmed, "C'mon, keep goin', the Meeting Room is close, this is the break room."  

[Elesariin]

Gwen blinked; she hadn't actually been expecting a response. Quickly, she turned away from the room and hurried to catch up. "So," she began, looking curiously up at the enormous man, "Empyrea is physically connected to the Snow Realm. If we walked in the right direction for a certain period of time, we would get there, right? Are all of the places behind the doors connected like that?"