MADNESS: Project Nexus 2

@Nexus

Still on his quest to understand this world, Doc had set out a couple of days ago to go wherever his feet took him. The sun was finishing its descent below the horizon, the last of its rays painting the sky dark indigo and violet. The stars had come out to play, but they were scarcely visible in the dense forest. It seemed he'd be spending the night here under the dense canopy, where the spores of bioluminescent fungi took on the role of the stars in providing faint, flickering lights to guide those through the night. He'd never seen anything like it. Fascinating... Mused the scientist, never stopping in his pace.

However, fatigue persisted despite his intrigue, and he turned his focus towards finding a suitable place to rest his head for the night.

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mind if I forward-date this a bit? <3

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 Having split off from Caligo, Nexus found herself travelling more towards the plains. She'd ended up stumbling across a remarkably unremarkable forest with dense leaves and mushrooms that clung to the pale trees, as if they were afraid to fall.
 The call of birds made the woman's ears twitch, and the scent of fox was stale and still.

 As she walked, the sound of paw-steps nearby put her on extreme alert, tail flicking in a slight twinge of discomfort; would this stranger end up being a friend, or a foe?

 The scent didn't remind her of Bourbon, Gala or Caligo, so it had to be someone she wasn't familiar with. Making her way forward, the woman remained low to the ground, eyes trained on the area where the sound was most prominent.
 She was ready to pounce at a moments notice.

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go for it! i can edit the date in the first post to w/e you want. ♥

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Doc paused, narrowing his eyes when he swore he saw a figure briefly illuminated by the spores. They held themselves low to the ground, gawking at him with wide eyes. He stiffened his stance, ready for a fight but preferring to de-escalate the situation so it wouldn't come to that.

Pointedly relaxing his posture, he said, “Hello there, stranger. I didn't mean to scare you, I was just looking for someplace to rest for the night.” Hopefully, that would coax them to come out. But if he had to, he would defend himself; he vaguely remembered being quite good at it, in fact, though he wasn't sure why.

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ah nah don't worry abt it <3

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 Well, good, it seemed this stranger wasn't looking for a fight. As he relaxed, so did Nexus, and she stood from her previous crouched position, neck arching to her full height, though it wasn't very intimidating. The woman squinted her eyes, gazing over the mans figure;
 he was more muscular than her, taller, honestly bigger in total.

"No problem,' She began with a shrug, 'Better to be careful, y'know? Vulpus, Nexus Vulpus, your name?- If you mind me asking?"

 Nexus tilted her head curiously, sitting with a brief sigh. Flicking her tail, the woman perked her ears as the stranger – who'd soon have a name to the grey-scale face – spoke, listening intently. The storm-blue wolf couldn't help but still feel.. lost.. about her memories that she'd rediscovered while she was with Caligo.
 She'd have to return to him, and soon..

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Like a firearm, the stranger's safety flicked on, and she relaxed, moving to stand at her full height— he still had to look down to meet her crystalline stare, but what mattered was her comfort. “Better to be careful, y'know?” She said. Doc nodded.

“That's wise; there are many people out there looking to cause harm.” He knew this personally... apparently. There were a lot of apparent things he knew, but they were all frustratingly vague and blurry like a distant dream. The woman introduced herself as Vuples— Nexus Vulpes. Time stopped, and Doc went moon-eyed upon hearing that name.

Nexus. Project Nexus.

It all came back to him at once, slamming into his mind like a stampede. Madness, Higher Powers, clones, war, betrayal... Hank. If he was here, others from their world probably were, too. He needed to find Hank. Who knew what kind of trouble he was getting himself into?

After coming to this decision, the world came back into focus. Shaking himself, he looked back to Nexus, who was likely staring at him wondering what the hell happened. “I'm sorry, your name... it reminded me of something; something very important from my past that I'd forgotten. Thank you for that.” More like, it reminded him of everything, of which his little brain couldn't possibly process in one sitting. He would need to take time to sit and mull it over.

“Please, call me Doc,” He said, feeling satisfyingly confident in this being him.

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So sorry for how late this was!! Life has been… very hectic lately, lolz

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 There are many people out there looking to cause harm, the stranger attempted, though Nexus couldn’t feel comforted.
  That sounded more like a threat, and the woman felt her neck fur stand slightly, though at his moony-eyed expression as she introduced himself, the anxiety was overrun by curiosity.

 What was that? Blinking her sky-blue eyes a few too many times, the woman flicked her tail as it took a few moments for the man in front of him to zone back into reality, and she cleared her throat in a summoning-fashion.
  What kind of world had he gone off too, hm?

 As he shook out his fur an returned to his senses, he apologised, stating how her name had reminded him of something. That.. was strange to hear, to say the least.
 It’s not everyday that someone completely goes wide-eyed at you introducing yourself, but nonetheless, Nexus dipped her head politely.

”Don’t worry about it at all,” She smiled, tilting her head as he introduced himself. Doc, ey? An unusual name, at least, to her. “Nice to meet you, Doc. Would you perhaps be interested in telling me whatever that was about?”

 With a light chuckle, Nexus flicked her tail across Doc’s entire stature, quirking a single brow and perking her ears.

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same, tbh. but more mentally than anything.

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Nexus wanted privy to his mind. And that was fair. Besides, laying it out to her would help him re-wrap his mind around it. Doc took a seat and a breath. “You may think me insane, but humor me: I am not from this world, nor is this sort of... body plan familiar to me,” He began.

“The place I came from was very different, with technology and structures beyond belief. There was a project called 'Project Nexus', and it was something I opposed. They were... mass producing soldiers. Clones, for their own personal gain. And later, they created monstrosities. The leader running the show, Phobos,” He growled out the name, “Was a narcissistic man who wanted nothing more but to have unspeakable power. He sought to become a god, even after being sent to The Other Place in death. The madman wanted to use one of Nexus Core's most powerful creations called 'Gestalt' as a catalyst for this goal, but my people managed to stop him.”

Pausing, he looked to Nexus and tried to gauge just how lost and/or incredulous she was after hearing this otherworldly story. That was only one chapter of his life, but that was everything pertaining to 'Project Nexus' in a nutshell. Wild, wasn't it? Especially compared to this world, which seemed unnaturally calm, in comparison.

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 Uh, okay..?

 As Doc explained all this ‘project Nexus’ and ‘Phobos’ and ‘technology’ and ‘soldiers’,
 and all Nexus could do was stare.

 It made no sense whatsoever, yet…

 Whatever the man was on about, it was quite intriguing.
“Alright, then..” Nexus started with a murmur. “I’ll believe you. But, not because whatever this… ‘Project Nexus’ stuff is believable, but because I want to.”

 The woman took a seat, flicking her tail around her paws and perked her ears.
 Though she was confused, she’d still listen…

 It seemed this man had a lot to talk about.

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Nexus voiced her skepticism, and he chuckled. “I don't expect you to. It's still unbelievable, even to me,” Doc admitted. “Though it does make for a good story, doesn't it?” She sat down, further indicating her desire for him to continue.

“Do these do anything to convince you?” He asked, gesturing to the goggles on his face. “Granted, my headwear once looked quite different. For some reason, they've changed upon coming into this world with me, just as I have changed.” Smirking, he asked another question: “Would you believe I once walked on two legs and had opposable thumbs?”

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 Nexus twitched her ears, listening.
 The woman nodded, yeah, it did make for a 'good story', though it was quite confusing. “I suppose,” She murmured.

 When Doc gestured to the... weird.. things on his face, she tilted her head.
 What were they? She voiced her thoughts exactly; “What are they?” He said something about 'headwear', and that they looked different than before, but otherwise, Nexus was completely lost.

 'Would you believe I once walked on two legs and had opposable thumbs?' Well, “It seems that I may as well believe the sky is green,” She hummed. With a tilt of her head, she asked; “Anything else I should know about? Magic powers? A curse that makes everyone around you confused? I must say, it's working very well right now.”

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“They're called 'goggles'. Previously, I would use them to protect my eyes while working. But they do me little good now,” He answered, always eager to sate another's curiosity just as he would his own.

Doc found himself appreciating Nexus' jovial nature. To be fair, the bit about him walking on two legs probably sounded like he was messing with her. The funniest part was that he was being completely serious.

Laughing, he said, “Having that effect on people isn't anything new. I specialized in that which most didn't understand or even think to question: the nature of reality itself. Death, and what happens afterwards. I'd love to do so here, but my ability to is... criminally stunted.” A shame.

“But, I suppose that's alright. Maybe I should take it as a sign to take it easy. Whether I heed that sign is something else entirely...” The last part was a mumble half to himself.

Focusing his attention back on her, he said, “Anyway, that's enough about me. What brings you here, Nexus?”

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“'Goggles,'” The woman tested out the word, slowly, letting it sit on her tongue for a few moments. “Weird.”
 Indeed, there was something weird about this man, but it wasn't a dangerous weird, more like... A fascinating weird..?

 Nexus hummed at his laughter, blinking slowly as he continued. 'Having that effect on people isn't anything new' Doc said, and the storm-blue woman squinted her eyes.
 He'd been this confusing in his past life, too? She couldn't help but chuckle.

“Seems after death a few people come here..” Nexus sighed wearily. “Or, at least, a semi-death, anyway.”
 She was glad to hear that Doc would plan to take it easy for a bit;
 The woman really didn't need to hear news of him trying to continue whatever 'Project Nexus' was and put lives at risk.

 Then, he asked about her..
“It's quite simple, really.” Compared to his..extravaganza of stuff that had happened to him. “I was washed ashore with withering memory of my past life. There, I met @Bourbon and @Gala – they're both really nice.”

 She stopped for a moment, a smile tugging at the woman's features before continuing.
“Then, Gala lead us to Stone Mountain where we stayed for a bit.. The rest is a little blurry right now, but while in the Temperate I met @Caligo and, well, you.”

 See? Pretty simple, if you asked Nexus.

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“Seems after death a few people come here...” She said. He nodded. Though her story was-- as Nexus said herself-- far simpler than his, it was comforting to speak to someone who'd also just awoken in a new world. His mind strayed briefly to wonder if The Other Place was somehow connected to other universes, like this one. But he came back down to earth... for the moment.

“I envy your story's simplicity. I'm not sure if regaining my memory is for better or worse,” Doc half-joked. “But, it gives me purpose. Something I think I needed. Now, I wonder if anyone else from my past is here as well. Not that I'd know where to begin looking... and some of them I'd rather not meet again.”

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 ”I envy your story’s simplicity,” Nexus gave a smile to the man. “I’m not sure if regaining my memory is for better, or worse.” She hummed for a moment, internally making a decision over this statement..

 “I’d say for better,” The woman added her two cents before Doc continued. “You think other people from your project nexus are here?” Nexus asked, tilting her head. “I… can see it..?” 

 The storm-blue woman wasn’t sure, but she supposed it could be possible; if one person magically transported here, couldn’t someone who knew them transport here, as well? Nexus felt the tiniest glimmer of hope turn in her stomach.

 Maybe someone she knew was here…

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He nodded. “Both my allies and enemies may be here. Clearly, the two worlds are connected somehow. Though, it's possible they were sent somewhere else entirely...” Unfocused, his warm eyes were trained on nothing in particular.

He hoped some of his comrades were here... Hank, Sanford, Deimos. Feeling so powerless was frustrating. In Nevada, Doc meddled with life and death itself. Whenever someone died (usually Hank), he had the power to pluck instances of them straight from The Other Place, effectively bringing them back to the living world. He would most likely not be able to do anything of that caliber here, so if it turned out he was the only one sent here...

A pained expression overcame his face as if struck.

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Apologies for the wait! Nexus muse has been down a ton lmao

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 Nexus listened in, a single brow quirking as he said something about 'enemies'; “Both my allies and enemies may be here. Clearly, the two worlds are connected somehow. Though, it's possible they were sent somewhere else entirely...”

 “It'd be silly to just . . . Sit around and wait, I suppose.” She began, “If you so-called enemies are here, who's stopping them from finding you and tracking you down? I don't mean to be a worry-wart, but I can't help but think . . . it's something i do often, sorry.” She apologised with a friendly shrug, a chuckle escaping her maw, though she quickly silenced herself and shook her head.

 The storm-hued woman hummed for a second. If Doc was in danger, than there was no time to be silly and funny, now, was there? “Do you have any clue what these people may look like in wolf form?” She hesitated for a second; “Or . . . Creature form?” There was no doubt that they could've very easily been turned into non-wolves instead.

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wow same hat. lolll ur fine. tysm for humoring me tho, haha. ♥ i care nexus. maybe they can check in sometime in the future.

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“No no, you have a point. I'm still getting my bearings here, but I'll have to be on the lookout for both friend and foe.” To her question of whether he'd be able to recognize them here, he chuckled. “Oh yes. And even if I couldn't, they're quite the characters. Impossible to miss,” Doc assured.

Feeling their conversation coming to a close, he was reminded of his original goal in coming to these woods. “But for now, I'm beat. It's getting late, yes? I should find some place to settle down for the night.” He got to his feet and smiled. “It's been a pleasure, Nexus. Maybe we'll cross paths again sometime. Take care.”

Assuming she would go her own way, he'd wander off into the depths of this mysterious place, eventually settling into the hollow of an old tree to drift into a dreamless slumber.

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