Witchers of Nifelheim

Rain rubs her back, her arms wrapped around her waist, "shhhh... your alright... some of us are mad but I understand, I know Fire does as well." She sighs, gently raking her hand through kaylees hair, "Do we know any way back inside through those pillars?"

Fire nods at tom, "Just tell me when your ready, they arent going anywhere. You even have a few extra choices down there if you want to change something up and a few paldenian specials..."

"You sacrificed everyone to save one village?" Dunemere's voice shakes. "One child you knew for barely a few days and she was worth the risk in your mind. But you didn't save them! The few people you wanted to help are the only reason you went! Would you have ignored the call if Zoy hadn't have been there? But it's not you I'm angry at Kaylee.

I get why you did what you did. Even though she wasn't your child some inherent motherly instinct took over."

Her voice turns to venom as she turns her gave to Twilight on the bed "It's Twilight and Equestria. Twilight called me away from my family and Equestria attacked the pillar! History may call her the Princess of Friendship but all I see is just someone who's greedy and self-entitled. The only difference between her and the admiral is that Twilight is manipulative and charismatic.

Why would your so-called closest friend get mad at you for something her country did? "



With a heavy sigh, Radiance stands up. "Kaylee, you gave Zoy a small amount of comfort before she vanished. I'm sorry we had to meet again under such pain." He walks towards the door and stops on the edge. "I'll be back in an hour. I have something important to take care of."

He steps through the door.

Kaylee Brown wrote:Kaylee weakly leaned closer and let her head fall onto Rains shoulder, quietly sobbing:

"...I never got the intel about the pillars. Its gone. My infiltration team died, all of them. This was the price of my decision." She hugged Rain, crying into her shoulder:

"There was no right choice... Both choices were wrong... what was I supposed to do?...
How do you choose something like this?... I didn't want to hurt anyone" she was quietly crying, suffocating on her tears:


".........in the end, I couldn't even save Zoy...





By the time we reached the village, half of it was already on fire. Landing would've taken too long, my men and I jumped out of the moving plane, glided and dived toward the surface below.
Once we hit the ground, we were enveloped in chaos.

Everyone was screaming, running.. blood and fire covered every inch of the square, where we landed. At first, we couldn't make out the victims from the assailants. It was chaos.

Our plane began circling around, trying to make an approach for a landing, while we tried to gather the survivors close to the shore, erect a defensible position.
I remember fighting desperately, with every fiber of my being. When my sword was knocked out of my hand, I drew my knife. When my knife went dull, I grabbed a burning stick. At some point, I charged at the assailants barehanded.


It didn't make much difference, in the end" she quietly looked at her bandaged hands, riddled with sword wounds:
"...people were dying all around us... we didn't have enough men to be effective... no matter how hard we fought, how much we bled, we couldn't save everyone.


Zoy's father was cut down, right in front of her. She watched him die. I couldn't stop it.


Our position was overwhelmed, the number of the mental breakdown victims seemed grow with each passing minute. The moment the plane landed, close to the shore, I just grabbed Zoy and ran inside.  My men held off the attackers, as Johan and the survivors boarded.


When we took off, a crowd of assailants remained on the shore. They continued chasing our plane, even after we took off. They ran into the water and drowned themselves, trying to reach us... while the village burned behind them.

I've never seen something so horrifying.



In the end, out of the 150 people who lived in the village, we only managed to save 20" Kaylee stiffly said, starring off into space:

"...our plane was making its way to Equestria. I was holding Zoy tight in my arms, when the thunder storm from the pillar, hit our plane"

Kaylee shook her head, closing her eyes:

"...Zoy vanished right out of my arms. I couldn't save her, in the end"


Kaylee looked away, tightly hugging Rain.

"The lightning only zapped away Zoy, even though you were holding her tightly? It feels like at that close range, you both should have..." Rogue begins to ask before trailing off, coming up with an idea "Who else was zapped away from the plane, did some of your men go to, or was it just villagers? And can we get a full list of everyone in Equestria who was zapped away, more specifically how they came to be in Equestria in the first place, were they all refugees?"

Kaylee quietly sat, hugging Rain and didn't say anything. She just emptily stared into space.

After several moments, Councilor Mercer slowly moved the drapes out of the way and entered the room:
"...compiling a full list of those missing, proved to be difficult. The mental breakdowns began to appear in Equestria and with them, a level of chaos.
A rough estimate, at this time, is over 200 people, vanished completely at random. We couldn't find any notable similarities between them. That number is inaccurate however and is expected to climb, as we gather more information" Mercer said with a sigh:



"...the 9th pillar did manifest, in the end. It became transparent, untouchable and produced the same effects as the others, but it didn't manifest correctly.
Following the damage it took, the pillar seems to grow unstable. A violent lightning storm continues to rage over it, in a 500 meter diameter.
Some sort of energy spikes are shooting out of its broken peak, lashing over the shore.


And those energy spikes are growing in intensity, chipping away at the pillar, sending chunks of it flying off" Mercer frowned:



"At this rate, we believe the pillar will tear itself apart within the next 24 hours.

As for those lightning strikes... we still don't know if they send objects to the other side or... just destroy... we have no way of knowing..."

Mercer collected her hands and looked down in grief:


"...I'm sorry"

Kaylee Brown wrote:Kaylee quietly sat, hugging Rain and didn't say anything. She just emptily stared into space.

After several moments, Councilor Mercer slowly moved the drapes out of the way and entered the room:
"...compiling a full list of those missing, proved to be difficult. The mental breakdowns began to appear in Equestria and with them, a level of chaos.
A rough estimate, at this time, is over 200 people, vanished completely at random. We couldn't find any notable similarities between them. That number is inaccurate however and is expected to climb, as we gather more information" Mercer said with a sigh:



"...the 9th pillar did manifest, in the end. It became transparent, untouchable and produced the same effects as the others, but it didn't manifest correctly.
Following the damage it took, the pillar seems to grow unstable. A violent lightning storm continues to rage over it, in a 500 meter diameter.
Some sort of energy spikes are shooting out of its broken peak, lashing over the shore.


And those energy spikes are growing in intensity, chipping away at the pillar, sending chunks of it flying off" Mercer frowned:



"At this rate, we believe the pillar will tear itself apart within the next 24 hours.

As for those lightning strikes... we still don't know if they send objects to the other side or... just destroy... we have no way of knowing..."

Mercer collected her hands and looked down in grief:


"...I'm sorry"

"What about on the plane though?" Rogue re-asks "Was it just Zoy and other villagers that got zapped, or did some of the soldiers go to?"

"...one of the soldiers vanished.. along with two villagers.." Kaylee quietly said:

"..Johan didn't. He's in one of the rooms here, tending to the wounded"

Angelo looks at Twilight, with worry on his face. He cleans her face, as tears have stained it.

"I was right there, when our childeren were taken from us." He lets out a sigh. "When I searched the scene, I couldn't find anything. Taken without a trace I could find. I hope... That I'm correct in saying that they dissapeared rather then that they were destroyed."

He looks at the group. "I know she'll hate it, and I doubt all of you would like it, but please... If you plan to go to the other side, take Twilight with you. I know her, she'll drive herself insane if she sits here waiting for results."

He looks at her. "She's just a human, she makes mistakes and has her limits. And that news was probably more then she could handle with all the shit going around in this world. I know she didn't even want anyone involved in this. Yet here we are..."

He looks at the group again. "She's going there, with you. Otherwise, she'll destroy everything anyone holds dear in her own grief."

Fire chuckles, "Im not going in there! Thats a deathtrap and I have a city to run. Then again I can just copy my consious... nahh too many risks. Too much data and I know how consious copying works..." she shivers, "You think you become something else but you stay in one body while another you stays at home... completely unaware... no. No no i refuse, nope not going! Fuck. That!"

Rain slowly lets go of Kaylee, "If we do go in there who IS all going... we have twilight, me, radiance..." her eyes flick to kaylee, "...you're going because you turned it into a personal problem." She places a finger on Kaylees nose, "..Kaylees going also. Who else?"

"I am" a quiet voice called. Turning in its direction, you saw Johan quietly standing in the doorway, slightly leaning on its frame.
He looked different somehow, older. His gray hair tied in a knot behind his head. A pair of glasses sat on his nose and the little pony plush still hung from his shirts pocket.

He looked at Kaylee and she looked at him. An unspoken dialogue seemed to have briefly transpired between them, as they just quietly looked at each other, before Kaylee turned away and nodded.


"Forgive me" Tom quietly said, looking down: "...I've.. been made blind again.. with my hand gone.. like this, I will be a hindrance to you. I'm sorry I failed you.."


"Rain" Harlequin called. Her wound and the bandages over it, looked very severe. Her coming was clearly out of the question. She seemed to understand it, yet still looked at you with fire in her eyes:
".......be careful" she finally said after a moment: "...find Ursula. Bring our daughter back"






Mercer grimaced a bit, looking at everyone with regret:

"...I understand how you feel. I have a daughter too. Believe me.
I have no right to ask you to stop, but please, listen to me"

She looks at you with a pained expression:


"Assuming the pillars lightning strike won't kill you on impact, assuming it will even take you to the other world, there is a good chance you'll die immediately upon arrival.

Did you see that report, about some fish sneaking to Earth from the other side? Most of those fish, died. Our atmosphere, or flora, the chemical composition of our water, did not suit them. It killed them, do you understand?


Upon reaching the other world, you are likely to die in seconds upon arrival. Their atmosphere may be fatally hostile. So much as breathing their air or consuming their water or food, may send you into a catastrophic allergic reaction, which may result in your death.

Not to mention, their local flora, fauna, their own viruses and bacteria, something our immune system isn't accustomed to and can be devastated by unknown pathogens. Some horrific, fatal sickness that we have no cure for.

Forget about simply dying on the other side, you won't be able to return to earth, simply out of fear of unleashing an alien pandemic upon our world.

That is of course, if you'll even find a way back" Mercer covered her face with her hand:



"...the Equestrian pillar is currently the only one 'active'. The only possible gateway to the other world. Its expected to tear itself apart within the next 24 hours and once that happens, its possible there will be no way back.

You'll end up stuck on the other side, for the rest of your lives"


Mercer looked at you with a pained expression: "Knowing all of these dangers, knowing you will more than likely die, seconds after reaching the other side, are you still prepared to go through with this?"

Fire frowns, "I can set up a delivery of gas mask internals delivered to the transfer zone as well as skin tight suits to wear under your clothes and or armor to prevent infections... i suggest wearing armor over it to prevent breaching. I can send them over from our virology lab. They are exeptionally stylish and suprisingly comfortable, if in the case you DO return..." she looks to mercer, "Mercer dear... we are going to request that because of this newfound universe we set in place a Xenobiology lab for future engagments into this universe. I also suggest a xenogeology lab, if that pillar falls apart we may be able to build a whole new rift between worlds." She clears her throat, "Its a little far fetched but..." She pauses her eyes lighting up.

"THAT CANT BE POSSIBLE!" she says pointing at mercer, "Them dying cant be possible because we have living proof! The witcher that was captured back at the city! Therefor their water may be diffrent from ours but not the air!" She smirks, "Though... however... as i was saying... The portal plan is a little far fetched but I think its at least something we can try to work towards."

"Also hi Johan! Good to see your still alive you cutie" she puts her fingers up to the side of her head like shes holding a phone and mouths out 'Call me'

Johan awkwardly smiled and waved a little.

Mercer shook her head: "I'm afraid the Witchers surviving here is little proof. You saw it yourself, they can regenerate fatal injuries.
For all we know, our atmosphere was slowly killing them, keeping them in a cycle of constant pain and continuous regeneration.

Perhaps every moment spent on our planet, was accompanied by physical agony. The only reason they stayed alive, was because they slowly regenerated.
It would explain the Beusoleil Witcher's attitude."


She sighed, looking down: "...while the prospect of exploring a new world would be a field day for academics, for now, we must focus on the life threatening issues.
Our world is dying. Magic has completely faded and the number of mental breakdowns in rapidly rising. This cannot continue much longer.

If you're serious about going to the other side, look into the source of these troubles as well.


I agree, wearing a full environmental suit would be ideal. A suit, completely isolated from the outside environment, with its own oxygen tank. Some food rations, sealed in air tight packages. It should keep you alive, at least for a few days" Mercer said with a sigh.



"...our children didn't have environment suits.." Kaylee quietly said, staring off at a wall.


Mercer grimly looked at her: "...you can't save them if you're dead"

Fire frowns, "I think setting up academic facilitys is just as important Mercer, if not its the most important. With research we can figure out what is driving these pillars, what their make up is and get closer to solving the problem and capitalizing on its utilitys." Fire places her hands behind her back, "Even if that is true mercer the witcher still takes damage and reacts to it accordingly. Stab wounds bring him down arrows harm him, even if in constant agony it wouldn't make any sense what so ever. He would be in a constant state of suffocation in which case his body would continue to regenerate until he is effectively caught in a death loop." She raises her brow, "He is still capable of death darling and toxic air would in fact logically kill him, bring him back, kill him, and bring him back again. Just because he is almost as grumpy as my sister doesn't mean his body is in constant agony." She huffs.

"Even so I still request gas masks." Rain raises her hand, "do you have any other options then your virology suits?"

"In fact we do dear sister and im glad you asked! We are working on armored hardsuits for high stress and high danger situations. Deployable helmets located onthe back lock around the head pnumatically to create an airtight seal around its user, "I highly reccomend you take the hardsuits instead you have days of air capacity stored in a single storage unit but also refills can be achieved while on tje run, i'll have transfered to the sight."

A Sinner wrote:

Rain slowly lets go of Kaylee, "If we do go in there who IS all going... we have twilight, me, radiance..." her eyes flick to kaylee, "...you're going because you turned it into a personal problem." She places a finger on Kaylees nose, "..Kaylees going also. Who else?"

"I hope you're not forgetting the sorry ol' mucker who came up with the dum plan in the first place" Rogue pipes up "I've got to go, even if none of you do."

A Sinner wrote:Fire frowns, "I think setting up academic facilitys is just as important Mercer, if not its the most important. With research we can figure out what is driving these pillars, what their make up is and get closer to solving the problem and capitalizing on its utilitys." Fire places her hands behind her back, "Even if that is true mercer the witcher still takes damage and reacts to it accordingly. Stab wounds bring him down arrows harm him, even if in constant agony it wouldn't make any sense what so ever. He would be in a constant state of suffocation in which case his body would continue to regenerate until he is effectively caught in a death loop." She raises her brow, "He is still capable of death darling and toxic air would in fact logically kill him, bring him back, kill him, and bring him back again. Just because he is almost as grumpy as my sister doesn't mean his body is in constant agony." She huffs.

"Even so I still request gas masks." Rain raises her hand, "do you have any other options then your virology suits?"

"In fact we do dear sister and im glad you asked! We are working on armored hardsuits for high stress and high danger situations. Deployable helmets located onthe back lock around the head pnumatically to create an airtight seal around its user, "I highly reccomend you take the hardsuits instead you have days of air capacity stored in a single storage unit but also refills can be achieved while on tje run, i'll have transfered to the sight."

"How reliable are those helmets? Will they hold up to continuous use over prolonged time periods?" Rogue asks Fire "From past experience with experimental tech, it doesn't tend to be the most reliable of gear..."

"The facilities are important, but before you do that, we need to get the space, time and materials there to test all that." Angelo said. "While important in the long run, it's best to let them adept to this world first. Or at least stock up on vitamin pills."

A cough came from the bed. "There's another infiltrator from that world. One that never got weakened. It that proof enough?"

Twilight looked at the conversation from her bed. Weakly, annoyed, but much more rational now.

"On top of that, fish have to be in the right kind of water to survive. That's why there's the distinction between salt water fish and fresh water fish. Perhaps those didn't die because this world can't sustain them, but because there was no food or even the right concentration of saltiness for their cells."

Angelo looked at her, then at the group. "There's more people from there here?"

Disgruntled purple wrote:"The facilities are important, but before you do that, we need to get the space, time and materials there to test all that." Angelo said. "While important in the long run, it's best to let them adept to this world first. Or at least stock up on vitamin pills."

A cough came from the bed. "There's another infiltrator from that world. One that never got weakened. It that proof enough?"

Twilight looked at the conversation from her bed. Weakly, annoyed, but much more rational now.

"On top of that, fish have to be in the right kind of water to survive. That's why there's the distinction between salt water fish and fresh water fish. Perhaps those didn't die because this world can't sustain them, but because there was no food or even the right concentration of saltiness for their cells."

Angelo looked at her, then at the group. "There's more people from there here?"

"Yeah, a Glystaria, called herself Axis. She's a kind of werewolf of some kind, as far as the Witchers said" Rogue nods "Although we never saw her get hurt at all, so we weren't able to confirm if she also possesses the enhanced regeneration the Witchers have, or if it was just one of their perks..."

Amy shook her head: "I believe Axis was suffering from something. Her blood pressure and temperature were slowly dropping, becoming abnormally low. She was pale as a sheet and only got paler as time went on.
Its true that we don't know her anatomy so its hard to say what her normal base line was, but she didn't look healthy. It seemed like she was getting worse, the longer she was here."


Amy looked down in thought: "I don't know about regeneration, but she did use magic, just like the Witcher. She zapped me with that same paralysis spell"



Mercer shuffled her feet:
"The alien viruses and bacteria will be your biggest problem I fear. Our immune systems are designed to combat pathogens that exist only on earth. But if you travel to another world altogether... there's no telling what might happen.
Not to mention.. if you stay there too long, you'll have to rely on their food and water. An allergic reaction will likely occur, followed by an anaphylactic shock, then death."


Mercer covered her eyes with her palm:

"...this plan isn't reckless... its suicidal."


She grimly looked at you: "...knowing all this... are you still planning to go?"

Kaylee Brown wrote:Amy shook her head: "I believe Axis was suffering from something. Her blood pressure and temperature were slowly dropping, becoming abnormally low. She was pale as a sheet and only got paler as time went on.
Its true that we don't know her anatomy so its hard to say what her normal base line was, but she didn't look healthy. It seemed like she was getting worse, the longer she was here."


Amy looked down in thought: "I don't know about regeneration, but she did use magic, just like the Witcher. She zapped me with that same paralysis spell"



Mercer shuffled her feet:
"The alien viruses and bacteria will be your biggest problem I fear. Our immune systems are designed to combat pathogens that exist only on earth. But if you travel to another world altogether... there's no telling what might happen.
Not to mention.. if you stay there too long, you'll have to rely on their food and water. An allergic reaction will likely occur, followed by an anaphylactic shock, then death."


Mercer covered her eyes with her palm:

"...this plan isn't reckless... its suicidal."


She grimly looked at you: "...knowing all this... are you still planning to go?"

"You said we had 24 hours, how reliable is that estimate?" Rogue asks "Because if it is, we could hold off our mish for, maybe, ten to twenty hours, and send in a drone ahead of us to collect samples to bring back and analyse. It'd give us a better idea of what we're likely to find there, and we could fit a camera to it too."

"So far they are pretty reliable. We have tested them in firefights which slight scorching occured but the inside was relitively untouched apart from mabye a couple blisters, then again its metal. We tested it in toxic enviroments, a cave under the city full of methane was left unexplored because of its depth pressure and lack of oxigen. Sent a hardsuit down there with internals set for three hours, it lasted 8 because of its own filtration system." Fire clears her throat, "We would supply you with a few extra emergancy oxigen canisters the hardsuits themselves are enclosed around the body so sickness cannot get in. Built in radio, shoulder mounted flaslight, spiked boots, health analizer, along with a HUD displaying your friends identity, how much oxigen you have left, your friends and your current health situation. compass, automap, and time are all optional additions should you desire them.

Rain chuckles, "As if a mission being suicidal stopped us before." She looks at mercer, "you know what a "Suicidal" missiom stands for to me? 'Yet another world ending senerio that we have to solve' which is exactly what we are doing."

"Unfortunately the 24 hour estimate is unreliable" Mercer said with a grimace: "The truth is, we don't know. It may happen much sooner than that"

She shuffled her feet again: "We had the same idea about the drones, truth be told. Sent ten of them toward the pillar. Unfortunately, as soon as they were hit by the lightning, their video feeds broke off into static and we lost all signal from them.

Its unclear what became of the drones but, none of them have returned."


Mercer sighed: "Going in with a hard suit is the optimal choice.. however you will have a limited oxygen and food supply. At some point, you'll have to come in contact with their local flora.

I still believe this plan is suicidal... we can't even imagine whats out there, on the other side"

Kaylee Brown wrote:"Unfortunately the 24 hour estimate is unreliable" Mercer said with a grimace: "The truth is, we don't know. It may happen much sooner than that"

She shuffled her feet again: "We had the same idea about the drones, truth be told. Sent ten of them toward the pillar. Unfortunately, as soon as they were hit by the lightning, their video feeds broke off into static and we lost all signal from them.

Its unclear what became of the drones but, none of them have returned."


Mercer sighed: "Going in with a hard suit is the optimal choice.. however you will have a limited oxygen and food supply. At some point, you'll have to come in contact with their local flora.

I still believe this plan is suicidal... we can't even imagine whats out there, on the other side"

"Maybe it is suicide, but what other option do we have?" Rogue says "Either we do this now and risk dying, or we sit back and the whole world falls out from underneath us."

Twilight lets out a weak chuckle. "Maybe you haven't noticed... But there is something this group is fantastic as, as much as I hate to admit it..."

"And that is to do acts that look like mass suicide and somehow come out not only alive, but with a bad situation resolved."

Angelo sighs. "That's not something to be proud of, darling."

Twilight sits up again. "I know, but it is true we've done some ridicilously reckless acts together and somehow lived to tell the tale. This is no different. We have no choice but to try to get in there."

Angelo looks surprised. "You want to go? I mean, I agree you should, but-"

Twilight holds her hand up. "I know, we don't exactly get along swimmingly. At all. Especially with my choices on certain matters. But it's as Rogue said... It's either watching this world die, or go in there to do something productive."

She looks down. "If that dream was correct, we'd be heading there one way or another."

From behind the doorway came a series of loud shouts, perhaps an argument occurring between two very familiar voices. One was unmistakably the voice of Mist, absolutely furious, the other of Moon, just without her usual drunken slur.

"I DON'T GIVE A SHIT MOON! I'M GONNA FIND OUT WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO MY DAUGHTER! AND I WILL KILL EVERYONE IN MY PATH IF I HAVE TO! UNDERSTAND??!"

"Mist! Hang on a bit. You can't just to charging-"

Mist charged into the room. Her eyes were filled with fury and her cybernetic hands clenched into fists. She looked far healthier than most, apart from her dishevelled hair and bloodshot eyes. Moon stumbled in after her, looking completely exhausted.

"ALRIGHT YOU FUCKERS!" Mist yelled at the top of her lungs. "YOU HAVE FIVE SECONDS TO TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED TO MY DAUGHTER BEFORE PONIES START DYING!!!"

Fire glares at mist, stepping up to the challange, the mechanical woman much larger then her, her mechanical hands moving in tandom, "I can give you about 5 reasons why that would be a mistake, one of which you wont get very far."

Rain raises her brow, "Mist calm down we lost our kids too. No need to slaughter doctors." She huffs.

Disgruntled purple wrote:Twilight lets out a weak chuckle. "Maybe you haven't noticed... But there is something this group is fantastic as, as much as I hate to admit it..."

"And that is to do acts that look like mass suicide and somehow come out not only alive, but with a bad situation resolved."

Angelo sighs. "That's not something to be proud of, darling."

Twilight sits up again. "I know, but it is true we've done some ridicilously reckless acts together and somehow lived to tell the tale. This is no different. We have no choice but to try to get in there."

Angelo looks surprised. "You want to go? I mean, I agree you should, but-"

Twilight holds her hand up. "I know, we don't exactly get along swimmingly. At all. Especially with my choices on certain matters. But it's as Rogue said... It's either watching this world die, or go in there to do something productive."

She looks down. "If that dream was correct, we'd be heading there one way or another."

"Wait..." Rogue doubletakes "... Was that group dream where we all met Lucretia legit? Did we all have that, it wasn't just me being real imaginative?"