Dark Clouds Looming

Engel sighs as the wolf says they didn't hear what was said, and debated simply not bothering and letting them go on. 
However, he was still interested in them and why they seemed so anti-social, feeling the need to hide like that, and figured there was no harm in letting him in on their antics. 
"Ah, well, I might need all the help I can get, so I'll leave it up to you if you want to get involved. I'm a cryptozoologist and I need help studying a very strong monster that's also currently threatening the frogs of this region. Would you be willing to... fight them off for me while I watch and take notes on how they act?" 

After that mouthful he takes note of Clash's spirits, looking at them and nodding a little. He could definitely see them, he just... didn't seem to care. Might be too focused on other things.

Clash waited until Terry's vision was clear before continuing, this happened a lot.
Once it was clear, he let the spirits introduce themselves, ignoring Akari entirely.

"Indeed we are, I am Carter, and this is Kane."
The young and translucent hedgehog gestured to the older spirit.

"Yo."
Kane was too busy glaring at Akari to say much of anything.

"Sorry about the blurriness there, Terry, that's just what I gotta do to let you see ghosts." "But yeah, these guys chitter chatter in my head all the time, if anything, I know your deal times two."

Clash gave a wave to the newcomer, making note of what he said, but was more interested in what Engel said.

He never said anything about what he'd be doing until now, nor directly stated that they'd be fighting a very strong monster, of course, Clash knew that, but not the others...
Hm.

Terry looked down and away from clash, pulling his hood over his face a bit.

“Sorry. I-I just… Didn’t assume anyone else could have the sort of problem I do.” He then asked Kane and Carter,

“Why do you guys follow this kid anyway?”

When he heard Engel say stuff about fighting monsters, that got Terry’s attention.
“Fight monsters? Sounds like it could be fun. Why not? Got a bit of steam I need to blow off now anyway.”

“If you’re fighting monsters, perhaps you could use my help?” Ravage whispered to Terry.

“Absolutely not!” Terry snapped at Ravage. “Only if my life is in danger. And I’m sure I can handle a few measly swamp monsters.”

The wolf glances back towards the horned rabbit as he begins to explain the situation. The wolf frowns slightly as the details are laid out. Once he was done doing so, the wolf shakes his head.

"No, no thank you." he says, waving one paw back in forth in front of him, "I didn't come out here to fight something dangerous. Perhaps it would be better if you would observe these... creatures from a safe distance instead without any fighting taking place."

He didn't elaborate any further on his thoughts, but he did think it was an unnecessary risk to go and fight something that could be a threat to the giant frogs in this region so someone else could watch and record what happened. There were enough hazards in the world to deal with without willingly seeking out additional ones.

He then looks towards the feline, who seemed eager to fight whatever was out here, and the hedgehog, who just appeared to be observing the others in this grouping.


( OOC: Apologies for taking so long to reply. I wasn't aware that it was my turn to post and didn't see the PM indicating such until yesterday. )

Engel didn't fully acknowledge when Akari's ears perked up, and suddenly took off. 

Odd.

He was glad Terry seemed fully on-board with fighting some Nightmares for him. "Good, good, thank you." He says, before looking to the wolf. 
A loud hissing noise is heard in the distance, likely familiar to Clash?

"Though disappointing, I completely understand. If you're planning on leaving, I'd urge you to be careful. It's best not being caught by these things alone." 
He looks off in the distance, then immediately jumps into a tree. 
Clearly, he could tell they were coming closer. His movement could be explained by him being a rabbit, even if a rabbit with antlers... but he looked so uncanny. It looked less like a jump and more like... he pulled himself up? 
Shortly after, he looks down at the three, and smirks while pulling out a notepad and pen. 
The show was about to start. 

No frogs were croaking...
But the sky was getting darker...

Kane watched as the woman ran off, gaining a smug smirk.
"Yeah, know your place, B&#$%h."

Meanwhile, Clash smiles softly at Terry, he could definitely understand his situation, perhaps they could swap stories sometime.
Upon hearing Terry's question, Kane gave a hearty chuckle before answering.

"Follow him? We're stuck with him!"
Carter follows up.

"Indeed, we're bound to Clash, so we're stuck with each other."

It also seemed like Terry was willing to fight, which was awesome, he's going to need the help, and it'll be interesting to see this interaction of darkness... or uh, Negative Hyper-Go-On vs physical nightmares, or whatever.

The Wolf on the other hand, did not seem as willing to fight, which was totally understandable.

And then... That hissing sound... He knew exactly what that was, he could feel it.
Clash starts taking off the red anklets as his spirits disappear.

"It's here, get ready, be ready to close your eyes and attack whatever isn't shrouded in darkness."

Terry turned and watched Akari leave.

‘Hmph. Good riddance.’ he thought as he then watched Engel jump into the tree. Terry then noticed the darkness rolling in, and the sounds of frogs coming abruptly to a halt. When he then heard the hissing noise, Terry lowered his hood off his head and readied his stance. He swung his hands out to his sides, his claws at the ready.

“Alright. Let’s do this.” Terry said as her surveyed the area for movement, his ears picking up any minute sounds as they twitched from side to side.

The wolf watches as the rabbit accepts his declining to get involved and then promptly jumps away into a nearby tree. Apparently the rabbit was going to sit back and observe whatever was about to happen. The wolf then turns to look in the direction that the hissing sound had apparently come from and everyone else was also reacting to.

The hedgehog offered some directions on what to do while removing the bands from his ankles. The feline just drops into a fighting stances.

"Wait, do you know what is coming this way?" the wolf asks, clearly confused about what they were about to be confronted by as he didn't seem to be making any preparations like the others were.

Engel watches from above, seeming to write down intensely.
...what could he be writing down? The Nightmares werent even here yet...?
And did he just glance at Clash?

Odd...

As Clash and Terry square up for a fight, with the wolf seemingly confused, surely enough, the monsters arrive.
Though difficult to see through the shaded foliage, these dark, shadowy figures were unmistakable.
There were two massive feline-looking shadows, but they looked to have about 8 legs and their tails were scorpion-like. As they got closer, they began circling the three just past the nearby trees...
Behind them, a tall willowy figure with a bulbous head and a single, slender eye. It looked somewhat like an upside down tear drop.
The tall, willowy figure leans down toward Clash as it directly approaches the three...

Empty. Like a
dark
void.
All someone might be able to tell looking into the Black was void.

What do you do...?

When Clash takes off the anklets, his body starts generating a blue aura, and his eyes turn blue. Crackles of light emit from his right hand as he starts charging something.

These nightmares looked a little different than the last one, a little more like chimeras this time, doesn't mean he should be any less careful.

In fact, feeling a presence behind him, Good Clash quickly turns around and throws a dagger of light at the tall figure!

"Be careful, mister! You might want to hide!"

Terry watched the two shadowy beings circle them, trying to keep an eye on both of them as much as he could, and using his ears to listen to the other when he couldn’t see them. After Clash attacked the teardrop nightmare, Terry turned towards it, wondering how it crept up so silently.

‘What are these things? They don’t even look like they belong to this world.’

He then rushed over towards the slender one and went for a double claw slash near it’s lower body.

The wolf waits for a reply to his query from the hedgehog or feline, but he doesn't get an answer from them. He considers repeating his question, when two dark shadowy figures emerge from the forest itself, first approaching and then circling the three of them. The wolf's eyes widen as he regards their oddly shaped forms.

When the hedgehog and feline react to something else, the wolf glances towards them and sees a third figure, tall and thin with a large head and one eye, approaching as well. He sees the hedgehog and feline attack that figure, so he looks back at the other two figures that had been circling.

The wolf still wasn't looking to fight here and as such he starts moving towards the biggest gap in the circle the two creatures were following. At the very least, if he was going to be forced to fight, it wasn't going to be while penned in.

Though the strange figure was hit by Good Clash's "dagger of light", likely clearing off a little of the black and purple smog and maybe even doing some damage to the oily matter, Terry could not have known where the dagger would hit as he simply rushed in. As a result, his attacks honestly... seemed to do nothing. It was as if the smog was like a portal allowing his hand to go straight through. He was somehow missing entirely at point blank!
In response, the creature seemed to gasp and screech, before bringing its eye down to Terry...
And a bright, flashing light coming from it like a strobe light...

As the wolf tried to get away so it wasn't cornered, the two bestial nightmares honed in on his position and gave chase from both angles! They wanted to keep him cornered...

The dagger didn't seem to dissipate or explode upon impact however, it just kind of stuck, not necessarily causing further harm besides glowing, but it's there!

Of course, Good Clash also saw that Terry missed, and was about to remind him. However, the creature was about to do something with its eye... That flash!

"Terry, your eyes!"
Good Clash tries to warn, but would he be too late? Either way, he starts charging the attack once more, looking away from the creature.

Terry was confused. He was certain he hit the creature, but he never felt his hands come in contact with solid flesh.

“What the heck are these things made of?!” He shouted as he looked down at his hands for any trace of contact with the Nightmare. He then heard Clash shout to him about his eyes.

“Huh? What about my eyes, Pointy?!” He says as he turns back to the creature, but now face to eye with the creature. The strobe light emitted from the Nightmare shot right in Terry’s eyes. He suddenly had a growing feeling that he hadn’t felt since he was a child. Terry stumbled backwards, now shaking as a look of fear grew across his face. His breathing was growing more irregular and uncontrolled every second.

Ravage was hiding underneath Terry’s cloak, up until now when he saw his chance to have some fun. He flew out of the cloak, and into Terry’s chest. Terry suddenly started growing less fearful, and more in anguish. He held both hands to his head as he dropped to his knees. He screamed as he fused with the frenzy wisp. He then suddenly stopped as he stood up with his head lowered. He then raised his head, his eyes now a glowing yellow, and glowing deep purple stripes across his face and down his arms. He was panting heavily, as he faced the Nightmare once again.

Terry roared as he rushed at the Nightmare again, his body suddenly surrounded by a glowing purple aura that was brightest and most concentrated around his arms. This time he wasn’t going for a single strike though, he went for multiple attacks all around the Nightmare, circling the beast as he did so so they would have a harder time reacting to the strikes.

The wolf pivots as he continues to move away from the others, doing his best to keep the two creatures closest to him on either side, where he could keep tabs on them in his peripheral vision but not give either of them his back. It wasn't remotely ideal, but it was the best he could hope for at the moment as he considers his options.

The shouted warning from the hedgehog draws his attention, and the content of it made him look in the direction of the feline afterwards. He catches a brief glimpse of the strobe effect, but not all of it and not directly either. Instead, he focuses on the reaction of the feline, as he first stumbles away from the creature, and continues to watch when the strange purple... thing or animal that he spotted around him earlier appears from hiding and goes into the feline.

The wolf was surprised by that and became even moreso as the feline then transforms some sort of more feral-like creature that began attacking the willowly creature quite aggressively.

The wolf can only stare at the spectacle unfolding there and just wonders to himself.

*What have I gotten myself into here?*

Engel seemed quite surprised at Terry's reaction, and for a second thought the transformation was a result of the Fear Flash.
But then he remembered - the wisp companion.
Hm...
Engel continues aggressively writing down notes, even flipping the page as he seems to have filled one.

The teardrop Nightmare screeches as the bright glow from Terry tears away at its smog, leaving it vulnerable to attack. It wasn't long before it'd try to slam its massive head down on Terry with intent to crush him, to stop the onslaught.

Meanwhile, the feline creatures chasing after our wolf friend takes the chance to lunge at him when he turns to look back at Terry...

Good Clash hears an anguished Terry as he transformed, becoming unsettled as a result. This was a Nega-Wisp fusion...

That aside, the large amount of light the transformation produced seemed to harm the creature, which Good Clash found odd at first, but realized, if this was the case, then maybe he could try a different attack, that would have to come later, however.

For now, he'll have to do with his current attack, as Good Clash threw four more light daggers at the teardrop nightmare.

Terry was still in an enraged frenzy, but when the Nightmare went to slam down on top of him, he reached his hands out and caught himself. Almost.

He dropped down to one knee under the weight of the monster. Then with a loud growl, he shoved back at the monster as he then went to an all fours position and leapt away from the Nightmare. He then made a 180 degree turn midair and faced the Nightmare once again, his shoes and claws dragging through the mud as he slid backwards from the jump. 

Terry remained on all fours, but now playing defense, was now waiting for the Nightmare to make a move.

When one was witnessing a strange occurence happening for the first time, it was very easy to get distracted.

Getting distracted in a hostile situation was a very good way to be blindsided.

The wolf had apparently forgotten this very important rule of survival and as a result, he was slow to notice the two creatures that had focused on him were now approaching. He only had one in his field of vision and when it started to move, the wolf brought his attention back to the matter of immediate importance. When it moves in and lunges at him, the wolf is able to partially sidestep, taking a glancing blow and making him stumble.

He then remembered that there was a second creature there as well. He found out exactly where it was the moment it made contact. The impact throws him to the ground and he tumbles awkwardly end over end once, coming to a rest face down, mostly hidden under his cloak. The hunchback bulge under his cloak was more pronounced now that he was prone like this.

After a few moments, the wolf lifts his head to look around and see where the two creatures were, hopefully before they attacked in earnest.

Though only two of the daggers seemed to land, most of the smog was burned away by now as the creature growled and hissed.
It was now mostly concerned with Clash, who keeps throwing daggers at it, sticking out of the tar flesh of the nearly naked creature. Terry was too dangerous to attack while glowing - the little smog left would be gone.
It lunges at Clash, looking like a ghost flying through the wind, pointing its eye straight at him. Was it threatening to flash?

The wolf still didn't seem to learn from Terry's mistakes. Both feline creatures stared down at the wolf laying there.
It wasn't long before their eyes and mouths started flashing too, more supernatural strobe lights.
Gladly the effects don't stack, but if they didn't react quick it was gonna really suck.

Seeing as some of the daggers failed to land, Good Clash had to improvise, holding out his hand to fire a pulse at the incoming nightmare, aiming to smack it into something.

"If you're still there Mr. Terry, now's your chance to attack!"

The other beasts must have still been chasing the wolf, but as much as Good Clash would have liked to go and help, he needed more firepower, so he prepares to return to normal.

Terry didn’t hear Clash, though he still was going to attack the Nightmare nonetheless. The Nightmare changing it’s focus towards Clash made him even more enraged. He rushed towards the Nightmare and attempted to jump onto it. Assisted by the negative Hyper-Go-On energy coursing through his body, Terry used his claws to slash and tear at anything he could reach on the Nightmare.

The wolf is staring right towards the two creatures and they do the same in return.

There were a few moments where nothing happens, then the two creatures started to emit light from their eyes and mouths. The hedgehog's warnings about being ready to close your eyes and the reaction the feline had to the other creature doing something similar to what these ones were now all clicked in the wolf's head.

*Incomplete warnings do no good. You have no idea what you're trying to avoid.* he thinks irritably as he closes his eyes quickly and turns his head away.

At the same time, he thrusts his right paw out towards the two creatures. As he does this, his paw begins to glow and in about a second, a sphere of light appears in his grasp. Within a couple of moments, a flash of light is emitted from the sphere, illuminating the entire area for several seconds afterwards and likely blinding anyone who'd happened to be looking towards him at that moment.

No one was focused on Engel, who gritted his teeth as he stopped writing.
So many light-based abilities on display here...

What a disappointment this was turning out to be.

The large teardrop monster was intercepted from hitting Clash and promptly torn apart by the feral, wisp-powered Terry. It screeched and roared as Terry tore into it...
There was no blood. Only smoke and black dust, which then faded to nothing...

The wolf had caught the chimera nightmares off guard and they hissed as well, stopping their own flash in reaction.
Once the bright light would hopefully stop, it'd be clear that the protective smoke on their bodies excluding some small patches around its hindquarters and lower abdomen was completely gone, they were completely open for attack...

Engel narrowed his right eye, annoyed by the outcome yet... he had an idea. Maybe one worth entertaining?