Issue 1 Downtime

Wayne found himself being swallowed by the... ground. It was kind of a wild ride, really. Once you were in, you couldn't really tell how you were moving. The next thing he knew, though, he was getting spit out again about ten yards away from the group, tossed back onto the ground. Meanwhile, if anyone was standing still, they'd find that the grass they were standing in was growing vines... vines that were trying to coil up around their legs and pull them down into the ground.

"Keep moving! I don't care if you're running in circles! DO NOT STAND STILL!" Theresa, to her credit, was practicing what she preached, moving in no particular pattern, backpedaling and advancing at times, looking to see if Wayne had figured a way out.

"When I get my hands on the fucking assjockey that designed this...!" he was saying.

Alex, for his part, was doing just that, moving solely to keep his feet free. "Which way are we supposed to be going?" He called over the rumbling of the ground.

"OMFG," Riot says, vines starting to wrap around her, "Rooted! Need help or a seifuku naow plz!"

As they ran around, the ground swelled up into the shape of a creature's upper torso, arms, and head (the total being about as big as a bus with arms). It seemed to grin a rocky grin as it pounced on them, smooshing them down into the ground with all the impact of (oddly) falling into a pool.

A few moments later, after some rather dirty sifting through the ground, they were alll spit back up out of the ground in various places like Wayne had been.

Theresa pulled herself up to her hands and knees, spitting dirt out of her mouth. "Get into the woods! We've got to find that beacon!" The frustration was evident in her voice as the clouds gathered and by drips and drops, it started to rain.

Steve barely heard Theresa as he shook the dirt from his ears, but he did. He dashed for the woods, zigging and zagging as if through opposing players. There was no sense making himself easy to catch.

As Steve, Theresa, and the others ran, big clods of dirt started leaping up into their path. Oddly, Steve would get a sense of utter happiness all around him. Something more or less like the feeling when a favorite relative came to visit and brought presents.

That was when more trees started popping up in front of them. At one point, so thickly that they formed a wall to completely impede forward motion.

"I'm lodging a complaint when we get back," Theresa mumbled as she glared at the trees.

The kitty was thrown from Haley's shoulder when Cal protectively pushed her aside. Lillian landed on all fours, though slightly disoriented, and shifted back into her human form.
"Bloody hell!"

Rooting vines, classmates running around aimlessly shouting profanities, and the ground trying to grab, smash and swallow everyone whole?!? Choas.

She was thrown on the ground again when it spit them all out. Between that and the oncoming rain Lillian was now thoroughly pissed. Rain. She hated rain. And now the trees were moving?!

"Screw this!" She snarled, the snarl turning into a growl as she quickly shifted into a pissed off snow leopard.

"Okay, I hate the exams here," Alex grunted as he pushed ahead of the group. The flying dirt didn't really phase his metal form (although it was harder to peel himself off the ground after being thrown around, granted), so he tried to beat off the bulk of the globs of earth flying at the group to give everyone some thinking space, trying to take advantage of his increased mass.

"All right, I've got a satelite image here," Cal said as he wiped off his eyes. "I... don't know what I'm looking at here, the landscape's just going crazy. But... the trees are shifting away from that direction," he managed, pointing to the right side of the forest.

Haley and Steve would feel a surprised glee as torrents of dirt, then boulders, started flying at Alex.

Apparently, the ground liked having something hit back at it.

"Sounds like a trap to me, but we don't have a whole lot of options right now. Molly! I need more eyes in the sky! Haley, you too if you can. Cal, can you lead us towards that area?"

Haley, thanks to her boyfriend's shove managed to avoid getting swallowed with the rest of the group, instead almost getting pulled up into a tree by a vine. A few sharp cracks of TK managed to free her just as the others were spit up.

"...so...the ground...likes getting hit? It's like...got feelings. This is weir--"

Haley was splattered by a glob of mud right in the chest.

"MotherFUCKER THAT HURT," she growled, a faint nimbus of psychokinetic energy starting to form around her.

"I'm not that good in the sky but if we really need me up there. I'd rather just smash the hell out of these fucking trees or something."

Haley was good at breaking trees, as several classmates would remember.

The snow leopard ran over to Haley and gently nudged the back of her legs. She made a "gruff" sound that mentally translated to "get on". She lowered herself to the ground and looked at Haley expectantly.

...wha...oh HELL yes, this is an awesome idea she mind spoke to Lillian, climbing onto the large cat's back.

we'll stick with the group, see what they do

Meanwhile, Haley brought up a shield around most of the group not actively blocking the mud themselves.

Molly took to the air, trying to see what she could find out for the group.

Aisha stood directly behind Haley, invisible and silent, trying to figure out what was going on, and what, if anything, she could do about it.

Mariuset, meanwhile, looked around in fear and confusion "I do not believe that this is part of the planned lesson."

"Even if it isn't, we're going to finish the damn thing," Theresa said. The clouds overhead flickered with inner turmoil, responding to Theresa. "Now let's find that beacon!"

Lillian's paws would suddenly find themselves sinking into the mud. This, of course, was right before the ground beneath her feet deformed into a big-ass hand springing up to grab her and Haley.

Apparently Alex wasn't getting all the fun tonight.

Haley was knocked from the back of her feline steed and splattered into the mud hand. "SONOFABITCH!" she spat, pulling herself up with her TK and lashing out violently at the fingers of the giant hand, the air around her rippling with energy.

There was a feeling of glee all around them, and then a splattering stream of soppy mud sprayed at Haley in return.

Haley couldn't bring her shield up in time! She was absolutely *covered* in mud for several seconds before she used her TK to scrape it away frantically--the effect looked not unlike a wet dog shaking itself dry.

Much to the dismay of anyone close to her and not already targeted by the mud creature.

Haley getting covered with mud was apparently the last straw, because Steve was angry now.

"STOP IT! NOW!" he psychically shouted at the whatever it was, with a far more commanding tone than a fifteen year old had any right to have.

And oddly, everything froze.

Then, Steve and Haley would feel a sort of pouty, hurt feeling around them as the landscape settled back down into its normal state.

Aside from the mound that rose up like the top of a really big head, giant red eyes seeming to give them kind of a sad-puppy look as it didn't try to stop them anymore.

Alex wiped mud off of himself as he looked around. "Wait, seriously?"

"Gift horse, mouth, let's make with the not looking," Theresa said, heading in the direction that Cal had indicated earlier.

I didn't actually expect that to work.

"Uhh... that's a good living earth creature," he said to it, unsure.

"Fucking hell -- let's get out of here before Steve makes out with it."

A mound of dirt bumped up to shove Wayne over.

Maybe it's because she's a little bit shell-shocked by the whole situation and the tension suddenly seems to be gone but regardless of why, Kay bursts out laughing at that.

Recovering for a moment she looks at Wayne again and starts laughing again.

Encouraged, the ground started shoving Wayne around.

Meanwhile, the route through the forest was now clear to where they'd been told the beacon was.

Haley, filthy with remnants of the mud that almost seemed dried, started moving with the group, confused by the ground which...had feelings?

hey, mud guy? Play with Wayne, but keep him moving with us. she tried to think at it.

The 'mud guy' seemed more than happy to swallow Wayne up again and spit him out a few yards ahead of the group.

Up ahead, with the trees back in a normal position, they could see the flashing of the beacon.

Not wasting any time, Aisha ran for the beacon.

"Oh thank god," Cal groaned, running after her. Hate. This. Test...

Haley sprinted towards the beacon as well, looking determined.