Cut off from Command

The fog was thicker then he had ever seen, and now... in mid-sentence his two compainions just... stopped... talk... What was that? The mental thought process of a young ROTC cadet raced as a shape moved in the fog, only it was not something human, and the voices were gone, the wind was gone, and now... wait, was the fog lifting? Was he finally able to see?

He had stopped and looked around, as everyone stopped talking he stopped walking and froze in place, listening, looking, was there a danger? The Empty M4 he was to keep on him at all times was still on his back, a compass in his hand as he moved, he looked down and saw the compass was spinning widely as if trying to decide which way to point, it was making no sense at all.

It was then a strong gust blew from... where he didn't know it was confusing, oh so confusing, but he steadied his stance and buffered against the wind, the fog which was suddenly noticeable thinner blew away, leaving him in an unfamiliar meadow, he saw trees in front and to his sides, the wind had abated, so he could risk turning around and looking behind him... which caused hi9m to bound forward with a rather hasty amount of movement.

As his heart returned to a normal heart rate he inched forward a little, yeah... there was a cliff, leading into the mist, no way he would try going down there without the proper equipment of ropes, and other such needed items.

So the cadet, dressed in ACU uniform began to move forward, a bulky backpack and rifle on his back, in his hand, a compass that was still not behaving.

The mist had been bugging him for a while now. No ordinary mist was this thick, surely. He couldn't even see the floor - there was a white haze floating around up to calf-level, and Marvin had a bad idea about trying to run from it - if he couldn't see what was ahead, what if he ran into something, or worse - off a cliff?
Marvin chewed on his lip nervously and kept moving forwards, both arms tensed to block if anything suddenly loomed out of the mist.

...Which it did, less than a minute after he absent-mindedly relaxed. He let out a frightened yelp and staggered backwards as the mist lifted, stumbling over a tuft of grass and landing in a heap on the floor. His face was probably the picture of horror right about now, hair curled by the moisture in the air and plastered over his eyes as he scrabbled to find a foothold and stand up-

Good grief, is that a gun? Well, maybe it would be better to just stay on the floor then, yes, that sounded like an awfully good idea all of a sudden... Marvin hoped that if he stayed completely and utterly still, maybe this strange man wouldn't turn around and shoot him.

Brave? No. Sensible? ...Maybe. Marvin wasn't in any position to assess his muddled stream of thought right now.

The man with the gun, wearing what screamed to anyone was a uniform of some sort, turned around at the startled yelp.

"Anyone there?" HE called out, before seeing the terrified person on the ground without thinking he moved forward, which was surprisingly fast with the bulky pack and M4 on his back. "Are you okay sir?" He asked as he moved to his knees. "Anything hurt?" He was confused by the terror on the person's face. "What happened? Is there some.... thing?" He had paused before saying the word thing like it could mean anything, "Out there in the mist?" He was hammering out questions, the person looked human, he was finding that the air was no thinner at the moment then back home. He however paused to let the other person speak. His face showing Ginuine concern for the man on the ground.

Marvin stared up in shock at the strange looming over him, and it took him several more seconds to realise that he did not, in fact, look angry. Neither was the man aiming a gun at his face. He took a moment to try and compose himself and let out a shaky sigh. "Sorry. Yes. No, I'm... I'm fine."

Relief plastered itself over his mind, but Marvin attempted to look indifferent as he rearranged himself into a position from which he could stand up more easily. "Th-the mist? Sorry, I... I just got lost. Are you looking for something out there?" He pointed his thumb back over his shoulder, then stood up and turned to look - and realised with some degree of surprise that the fog had retreated a great distance. He turned around to see better, glanced down, and froze.

That gaping cliff a few inches away... wasn't it right where he'd been walking, just a few minutes before? "...Erk... That's... Kind of d-disorienting..." he stammered, still finding himself locked in place.

I only nodded my head. "That is good to hear."

I then laughed at the question of looking for something. "Good heavens no, the only thing I would hope to find is a way home. I seem to be lost now. Completely cut off from my command..." He stopped himself, he rather not tell anyone he had no ammo.... at least not now.

I also nodded my head towards the cliff. "I know, I walked on that as well, seems this is some... other world, The only thing I can think that allowed us to walk on air was that we were on solid ground. Our home ground.... but now... now we are someplace else. Inter dimensional travel maybe? Or portals? Or a Star Gate? I don't know... but I am MIA at the moment."

I suddenly shook my head. "Sorry," I held out a hand to both shake and help him up. "Names Jones." Which was also Stitched on a Velcro strap only it was in all caps was over his right breast, over his left was the words US ARMY in capital letters.

"what's your name sir?"

A sudden breeze gusted through and a young, musical sounding female voice echoed around the pair "Hello there! My name is Ansrana Kethian, mage of the elven city of Liadon. If you know anything about this place, I would appreciate it if you would come to the forest and tell me. And don't worry...this spell is set to avoid hostilities. If you know anything, anything at all, please contact me in some way. Ta!"

Marvin stared out at the abyss for a few more brief seconds and then noticed there was a hand being offered. He visibly flinched away, but recovered and shakily held out a hand to allow himself to be pulled to his feet.
"Well, I'm lost too. As for magic, well..." He hesitated. No, he still wasn't quite sure if he was fine with discussing his interest in such impossibilities just yet. "...Well. I find it surprising that you'd believe in portals and Star Gates, or other dimensions. Where I come from... it's not something that... W-well I'm not calling you weird. I just, ah... Never mind." He glanced away and began dusting himself off.

"My name..."
And, suddenly, a silvery voice interrupted him. He ran a hand through his messy hair as he glanced around in shock, trying to find the source of the voice and failing. It ended almost sas soon as it began, and Marvin wondered briefly if he'd just had a stress-induced hallucination.
"My n-name is... Wesley... No, I'm sorry, did you hear that just now?" He'd tried to ignore it in case it was a hallucination, but his curiosity had gotten the better of him.

Jones took the hand pulled the young man to his feet. Ignoring the flinching from the offered hand, either on purpose or he didn't notice, hard to say really.

"Well if you are lost as well, might stick together." he laughed a little, "Same here, my world has those in science fiction, but seeing how I wasn't training on some plateau meadow place." He didn't know he was on a floating island at the moment. "Nor was it devoid of other military people training, logic would dictate that I have indeed fallen into something.... beyond science, from some Wormhole to a scientific experiment gone wrong, I don't know."

Jones paused and nodded. "I did hear something but it wasn't anything I sure could understand, could you understand what the words were?" I asked as I looked around the meadow, which was just peaceful and calm at the moment, the sunlight filtering through the mist wall. "What gets me," Jones added after a short time. "Is this mist, no clue where or who or what is going on or such, but this mist is not acting like normal mist at all."

Marvin's right arm shifted to lock a hand on his left as he chewed his lip and stared around at the meadow, still absently searching for whatever could have made that little speech.

"Well... I really don't want to be a burden... I-I'm not exactly going to be helpful, I don't think..." He cleared his throat and forced himself to look straight at Jones for the first time without wavering. "O-on the other hand, e-er, maybe sticking together would be for the best," he added quickly, hoping he was on the right path to being allowed to follow this man around. Marvin was sure he'd feel safer if he had someone with a gun on his side. Luckily he seemed blissfully unaware of his new companion's lack of ammunition.

"It, er, I think it said something about elves. And it told us-" here he briefly worried over whether the term 'us' was okay to use just yet, but it was too late to correct himself "-that we should go to the forest." He leant to the side and peered off towards the shade of the tree line. "Which I think is... that way."

"well Wesley, I think you won't be a burden, as you were able to deduce and glean from those sounds where it was coming from, and that it is wishing friendly contact." The Cadet blinked as he looked at the forest. "You are now in charge of linguistics, as you have understood something I have not. You can still say you don't know in the future, but I will be trusting you if we meet whoever spoke those mystic words, understood?" His tone of voice showing he was not harsh or demanding, nor were these orders, but rather, observations and ideas that hopefully will help put the other human at ease.

"If you don't mind... I think we should head to the forest now, might be good to see this speaker, maybe they know something and is gathering people together."

Marvin panicked immediately. Had the concept of being trusted with such a task been suggested to him, rather than commanded by a man with a gun, he probably would have refused point-blank.

"Y-you can't be serious!" he spluttered, mortified. "I-I mean... you... I didn't exactly do anything clever, really..."

And yet, somehow, it was encouraging. "...Well... if you're sure, I mean... I-I'll do my best!" He was aware he'd backpedalled just then, and it probably made him look horribly indecisive, but somehow, he felt better for agreeing to this. "I-I don't know, though. What if it was a trick?" He decided to avoid the subject of the 'how' and 'why' concerning magic right now. That could be saved for another, less pressing time. Right now, he was worrying about the implications of such a voice. "N-not everyone is trustworthy. We might do better to avoid it altogether..."

That was the coward speaking, of course. But he couldn't help but feel there was a little logic in there too. It was all up to this Jones person.

Jones looked at Wesley with a look that said he was not judging him at all. "Well, that is true we may be facing a unfriendly contact, but we can't really go around the forest can we?" To Jones the forest appeared to be unending, and so he would have to focus on going through it without any mishap.

"Look, you could understand what that voice was, all I heard was some kind of speaking chime like noise, so you can understand what I couldn't." The cadet sighed and looked at the forest again. "What do you suggest? I rather not get into trouble, but at the same time, I have no clue where I am... only that i seems really high up, and there is a wall of mist around us unlike any I have seen before."

Jones was patient and his tone of voice was one that belayed calmness and confidence in other people's skills. "What is your suggestion course of action, you seem more in tune with the surroundsings."

Marvin's eyes widened slightly as he stared back at the forest, realising that this was true. A faint breeze ruffled his hair and he consciously took a few steps away from the edge of the cliff, still gazing around critically at the surrounding environment.

"In tune with...? No! No, I'm..." He trailed off. "...Really?"

Well, that did it. Marvin felt an unfamiliar smile cross his face, and realised with vague surprise that he was feeling confident. "I won't let you down - Sir." he added quickly. "And... I think... we should go through the edge of the forest. I think forests are normally more sparse when they're close to cliffs." Not a single stutter. He couldn't help but feel a little proud of himself at this point.

A blue blob suddenly appeared in the fog, slowly approaching. The pair could hear a bit of singing "one thing you can be sure of, its Charlie's beer they sell
so all ye lads a lasses at eleven O'clock ye stop
for five short seconds, remember Charlie Mops
1
2
3
4
5" a brilliant blue hot air balloon appeared in the fog, slightly below the cliff, and the pair could see what looked like a human with orange hair "Ho, Fellow travelers! A barrel of malt, a bushel of hops, you stir it around with a stick,
the kind of lubrication to make your engine tick!" he then hit the fire, drowning out the song. The fire looked...odd. Like how a fire would look if a five year old got his hands on red, orange, and yellow paint. There was no blending...it looked like a simple painted fire, clearly unnatural.



**OOC**Sorry! With these guys, I just thought a demon coming in would be perfect XD**/OOC**

**OOC**Right, and for those of you under 21...Charlie Mopps is the mythical inventor of beer.**/OOC**

Jones looked at Wesley, "Then it is decided, we shall move through the edge of the forest and skirt around it, we may find something to eat too, I rather not break out the MREs unless I absolutely have to.

it was then that he heard noises behind him and in confusion and shock he turned around and saw, and looked at the... brilliant blue balloon. Along with singing of a song he had never heard before, sounded like it came from an English drinking song, though. Which made his first real type of song he ever heard.

Moments later the fire lit up, and Jones looked back at Wesley. "Uh.... you are seeing this as well? This... painted flame right?" I asked as I tried to understand what it was I was seeing. It seemed... well, unreal, "I think I know what I will call this land unless it has a name already, Wonderland." His tone of voice was showing that he was not fully sure himself if this was real, a hallucination from something, or if he was in a coma and everything around him was his mind trying to keep him from going bored out of his mind.

Wesley stared, mouth slightly agape, at the colourful method of air travel that had suddenly appeared from the mist. He quickly clamped his mouth shut as he realised this might provoke the inhabitant, and retreated further from the edge - though, considering the thing could probably land beside him if it wanted to, this was most likely a fruitless endeavour.

"Y-yes... s-sir..." he said shakily, confirming his new ally's suspicions. "...What is that?" He was referring to the odd fire, though the entire situation could be addressed in much the same way.

"W-wonderland is a... fitting name, sir."

Jones only nodded his head. "Indeed it is, and call me Jones, I am not a sir yet, just a cadet in training." He laughed a little, "As we have named the land Wonderland, I will like to throw out there that we are seeing some... other dimension... animation perhaps? Or maybe an anime?" The cadet laughed a little and shook his head.

"I think a few steps back would be enough to give the balloon ample time to land... and if needed a closer retreat to the trees to hide if needed." The way he spoke, it showed that he was thinking tactically, in that if needed, they could make a withdrawal to gather wits, and plan for future encounters. "So... should we shout a greetings to this odd sight? Or let it pass on by?"

The balloon floated up to the edge of the island, much faster than it appeared to be going, and the humanoid hopped out...clearly revealing his tail and fluffy tail bob. He then whipped his tail around the balloon, which promptly...sucked into the bob, the colors blending with the orange and disappearing. The humanoid turned around "Lord bless Charlie Mopps, the man who invented beer beer beer, tiddly beer!" this was shouted rather than sung. He nodded at them and his hair flopped a bit, flashing...something. Two somethings actually, but they could not be seen clearly "Salutations good men! I am Tahnilo Bira, artist extraordinare! Know thee of this plane? I seem to have been sucked into this strange mist whilst on my travels!"

"I- yes, si- yes, Jones." Marvin retreated another foot backwards as the balloon traveller alighted on the terrain, mouth slightly agape as he watched the humanoid turn and 'erase' the balloon with its tail.
"Ah! G-good... afternoon? I don't know what time it is..." he admitted quietly. "Sorry. I-I just got here myself. We're lost, too." Marvin seemed to be trying to pass off the sudden appearance of a magical creature as an everyday occurrence, but judging by the shock in his eyes this was only working outwardly.

Tahnilo smiled "It's quite alright, good man. And if you feel like it, you may simply call me Tah!" he rushed up and vigorously shook Marvin's hand, his tail twitching excitedly "Well, if we're going to speak with one another, we might as well sit down! I'm absolutely famished!" as he was talking, his tail whipped around behind him...painting what appeared to be a generous picnic. Unlike the balloon, this was very detailed. There were all sorts of fruits, steaming bread, even what appeared to be maple candy. He turned around, and sat at the opposite edge of a red and white checkered blanket "Don't worry, don't worry, it's all edible!" he took an apple and bit into it, showing it to be crisp and...well...indeed edible. "How, pray tell, did you come to be here? From which plane do you originate?" he turned to Jones "And what, may I ask, is that strange staff you have?" he chuckled "It's certainly not long enough to aid in walking!"

Jones looked on in shock, this was... this being, this man had a tail with a... puff ball at the end... he was just blinking and blinking and blinking more at a rapid pace as all the images and everything vanished and then the picnic was spread out in front of them...

Yeah the food might be edible, but what about those from other dimensions... however the apples were looking tasty and he rather save his MREs for complete emergencies, he only had three.

"Plane? he asked in bafflement. "Uh.... I do not know... reality I guess.... but I do come from the United States of America." Jones quickly added. Then came the other question about.... a staff.


The puzzled look on the cadet showed until he realized that the... well he did say to call him Tah. "Uh... this is not a staff." Jones respond pulling it off his shoulder. "It is a weapon."

He was speaking in a manner that showed that he was trying to answer, but not answer with too detailed of an answer.

He changed the topic... "Uh.... could I have an apple please?" He was also trying to determine the style dress that is person had at the same time.

Marvin folded his arms thoughtfully at the 'plane' question. "I don't... think we're from the same place, if that's what you're asking." He would have to give this some thought before he could give a remotely educated answer, and right now, he had too much else on his mind.

The food did seem to be edible... but... he was just too wary of other people (and this strange land) to consider eating anything until another human had eaten it and not died after an hour. Marvin left the food alone and tried not to think about it too much.

"Anyway, I'm f-from a place called Undra... it's... I don't really know where that is, either..." He felt so strange saying that out loud. But no one from Undra ever really questioned it... Marvin sighed hopelessly and moved onto something he did know. "A-and you can call me Wesley, if you want."

Tah paused, and stared at Jones "Really? You call your plane reality? United Statesians must be very arrogant people." he shook his head "Unless, of course, your people are unaware of the reality that is assembled planar wheels. I mean...do you come from an etherial plane? Material plane? Plane of shadow? Plane of light? One of the elemental planes?" his tail wrapped around a particularly delicious looking apple. He then flicked his tail, tossing the apple to Jones "Feel free to partake in any of the food, I can create plenty more. And that's a weapon? Kind of an oddly shaped one. A sword would be better. Then you have blades to work with, clubbing people is so...primitive." he turned to Wesley "Wesley? What a descriptive name. Must be easy meeting people with a friendly name like that!" he took another bite of the apple, then cut off a hunk of bread, some of what appeared to be salami, and cheese, eating happily.

Jones looked at Tah with a totally blank expression. "Uh... I only know of one plane, and that is what I live in, it is reality." He blinked before laughing, "We are also called Americans." Jones spoke again to her comment about United Stateians.

With a deft catch he caught the apple with his free hand and took a bit into the apple. It was indeed crisp and delicious. He continued to eat it as he listened to more chatter from Tah.

Jones was really wishing he had a real bullet at the moment, so he could show her, He just closed his eyes. "Okay, It is not a club, it is a projectile weapon, a cross between a bow and sling, but it requires special kinds of ammunition to function." He was realizing it was dangerous territory, if they found out he was without bullets, then it would indeed be a fancy club.

"Well, as for a sword, I am not trained in such skills, this is what I am comfortable with using." Jones responded honestly.

Marvin didn't like interjecting his own thoughts on anything if he could help it - he'd rather stay as unnoticeable as possible - but he felt the need to say something at this point.

"E-er, humans are... generally only aware of the material plane. I think," he added quickly, worried that he was wrong. "And the others are c-considered to be unreachable. That's just how our species works. I think." Again with the uncertainty... Marvin sighed again and lowered himself to sit cross-legged on the ground nearby.

"A-and guns... are... They usually involve a release of energy to expel streamlined ammunition in order to hit or puncture targets from a distance- I-I mean, I, er..." He trailed off, the realisation setting in that he'd just spoken an entire sentence without stuttering. This normally happened when he was thinking about science and not about people. His folded arms slid to turn into a kind of defensive clutch at his upper arms in case someone was about to correct him.