Event: Welcome Barbecue

[Megara Argyris]

Meg was strongly starting to believe that this place wasn't some kind of vacation away from Hell. Sure, Hades still hadn't brought her back and she was trying to enjoy as much as her pessimistic self would let her, but these staff flunkies were suspiciously helpful. They kept contacting her ever since she'd been here, trying to offer assistance and making sure she was comportable. No one was kind without a good reason, they were getting something out of it. Either they were getting paid a lot of money or Meg's happiness meant something to them. Whatever, Meg was ready to let it go run another delightful shower when a woman from the staff showed up at her door and kindly requested she attend the Welcome BBQ or something stupid. Naturally, Meg didn't want to and then, to her utter shock and irritation two large men showed up out of nowhere a literally forced her out the door and toward the event.

Meg was silently horrified. She'd been manhandled before, obviously, but she hated more and more each time that it happened. She thought about resisting, but she was a clever woman. These men were twice her size and working her womanly charms on two men at the same time was not only difficult, but tended to go south really fast. She could still try, yet there woman was still there two and she had a solid chance of talking them out of it since Meg had no idea how they knew each other. Plus, she might do her job too well and end up somewhere dark and not at all where she wanted to be. Better to just suck it up and go to the stupid barbecue. Either they knew she wasn't big on friends and were insistent on helping her out, or this event was more than it seemed. Meg guessed the latter. If she'd thought things were slightly suspicious before, she'd raised her cautionary meter ten fold by now. This place couldn't be just what they were telling her. Still, Meg was no hero. If things went wrong, she was likely to just walk away of she could. She couldn't die and even if she could here, all of her possible journeys ended in the same place.

With an expression that looked something like she was sucking on something sour, she was released upon reaching their destination and left to mingle or something. Meg choose to remain where she was which happened to be near a girl with wildly colored hair and a sign about unwanted shifting or something. That further confirmed Meg's thoughts, but she still wasn't convinced she wanted to do anything about it just yet. The most evil thing they'd done so far was force her to come out in public and possibly give her a break from Hades. So only half awful.

[Rapunzel Corona]

On her way to the grill, she had taken notice of some of the others enjoying the food. A redhead seemingly enjoying it the most. She couldnt help but stare for a moment before giggling at the sight of her. She just seemed so happy about the food.

Rapunzel's stomach growled again, and her eyes moved back to the burgers and hot dogs that were cooking. They smelled divine, and she couldnt wait to eat. She quickly grabbed a plate, and bun, and with tongs picked up a burger. She smiled and turned to go to a table that had more food on it and headed over that way. However, she was stopped, but a rather small girl. Well, actually she wasnt much smaller than her self. But she was wavily a hand a her, and what? She knew her name? But...but how? She had no idea who this girl was, but somehow she knew her.

She looked around, to see if maybe, but some odd chance someone else had the same name, but no one was responding, and by now, this girl, had stumbled her way over to Punzie. She glanced at the shoes the girl wore, then down at her own bare feet. Shoes seemed foreign to her, even if most people did wear them, she would never understand why, she loved feeling the ground beneath her feet. She returned her gaze to meet the girl's.

Ho..how do you know my name? Suddenly she had completely forgotten about the burger on her plate. This girl was much more curious to her. Do I know you?

[Deleted]

Unlike some of the other residents of Tenebrea, you didn't have to ask Luffy twice to arrive at this welcome event. He read the word barbecue and dropped everything and started running. Turns out thats not the most efficient way to get where you where you were going if you had no idea which direction to head in. Luffy just took off without thinking, one hand firmly pressing his hat to his head at the other attempting to stretch and sling shot him along the way. A few times he managed to launch himself an extra few feet, but mostly he missed and fell on various parts of his rubber body. Without hesitation or acknowledgement of any pain he was enduring the hyper pirate scrambled up each time and kept going for almost an entire hour. Finally and after slowing down a bit due to exhaustion, Luffy caught the sent of delicious meant being cooked on grills.

With a new burst of adrenaline, he bolted in the direction of the alluring scent. Once he could make the event out in the distance, he hooked his arms onto and tree and attempted some makeshift version of a Gum Gum Bazooka. Being that he body wasn't fully corroborating, things didn't go quite as planned and he ended up soaring directly toward some poor part goer. As he hurled toward a crash landing all he thought to do was hold his straw hat on his head, smile violently, and shout at the top of his lungs.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!!

He had hardly made it to the ground longer than three seconds before he rushed towards the grill and grabbed several hotdogs right off the thing. It was only after he swallowed that he realized that his nose was bleeding and his hands were burned.

AAACK He shouted, sticking out his injured tongue and dumping a whole pitcher of water down his throat and all over his face. Much better. He then proceeded to grin and go after the meat a second time.

[Deleted]

Zoro had been off meditating when he had been informed of the barbecue early that morning. When the large, burly men had approached him, he'd cracked one eye open and stared, hardly listening as they rambled on about the event. He'd heard the words "free food", and immediately knew that Luffy would be going. Which probably meant he should go to keep the kid out of trouble. He had a funny feeling about this, so he grudgingly pushed himself to his feet and set off.

In the wrong direction.

Several hours later, the disgruntled swordsman finally found himself at the barbecue, and surprisingly on time. One arm resting on the hilts of his precious swords - really, he wasn't going anywhere without them - he squinted, glancing over the crowd and trying to notice people he knew. He saw Twilight sitting at a booth - something about "shifting"? - and the woman from before standing nearby. Wrinkling his nose, Zoro very nearly stomped off in the other direction when he heard a distinctly familiar shout.

"MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!!"

Oh lord. Zoro rolled his eyes and turned toward the shout, crossing his arms over his chest and waiting for the inevitable crash. Sure enough, a few moments later he saw the bouncy kid literally bounce off some poor schmuck, before making a beeline for the food. It took a moment for Zoro to register that he was trying to grab the food straight off the grill, and he found himself rolling his eyes again as he trudged over through the crowd, snagging a plate from one of the stacks.

Nevertheless, he couldn't help but laugh as Luffy freaked out, dumping a pitcher of water on himself in an attempt to cool his tongue and hands. "Way to go, genius," he chortled, clapping the teen on the back before grabbing the tongs and scooping a plentiful helping of meat onto his plate. "You'll have better luck with these," he commented as he waved the tongs in front of Luffy's face.

[Tino Väinämöinen]

Tino looked round, surprised, when he heard his name being called. It took him a few moments to locate the source of the shout given how unexpected it was, and when he saw the young girl frantically waving at him he just stared at her for a second, trying to figure out who she was and why she knew his name.

"...Liechtenstein?" he figured it out finally, once he stopped thinking about the people he knew were here and started just considering the people he knew in general. He made his way over to the young girl with a friendly smile.

"How are you? I didn't know you were here as well! Is your brother here?" he asked without thinking, it was so rare to see her not trailing along after Switzerland that he almost forgot the lack of control people had over their Shifting, and expected to see him here too.

[Deleted]

"Hiro it is then," Robin nodded with a grin "I'm Robin by the way. Figured I'd say hey since we're going to be roommates and all."

He guessed that Ichiro wasn't entirely sure who he was, so he thought he'd drop it in, nice and casual, just to remind the other boy. Well, either that or he was just awkward, but that was ok too, Robin could talk enough for two when he got going.

"Yea it's pretty crazy, but something tells me it's only going to get worse," he glanced around at some of the antics already going on, feeling slightly relieved that he hadn't gone to say hello to Kori, since she seemed to be attacking some poor girl with barbecue ribs. "seems like a lot of the people here are... kind of weird."

That was an understatement, and although Robin almost felt like he'd seen people who were just as strange, he couldn't remember them, so didn't exactly have any frame of reference.

[Ichiro Yoshi]

"Robin! Right! The roommate Robin! They totally introduced us and everything," said Hiro. He had to resist the urge to palm his face. This was mostly due to the barbecue he still balanced precariously in his hands. He shifted his grip on it as best he could, nodding and meeting Robin's gaze directly. Something just told Hiro that was what you did when you wanted to show someone respect, and there was something about Robin that pulled Hiro in that direction.

Though he did let his gaze drift as Robin addressed the larger crowd. From the purple-haired girl with the booth to the redhead with the ribs to the strangely high amounting of shouting, it all looked very, very crazy. "Yeah, definitely," agreed Hiro, nodding. "It's weird though: it kind of reminds me of home. Not that I remember much of that," he laughed nervously, drumming his fingers on the plate again. He glanced to Robin, trying to recall. Wasn't his roommate also unaware of his origins pre-Shift? Hiro seemed to recall something like that. They just hadn't really been able to sit down and talk...

[Kori Ander]

Kori continued to grin, even as she nearly began wielding the ribs like a weapon of food destruction. Thankfully, Jasmine caught the gist, taking the ribs. Kori then proceeded to stare, her eyes going as wide as humanly possibly (some would argue even slightly wider, for that matter) as she fervently watched her friend experiencing the ribs. You would almost think that it was Kori's first time experiencing such a thing, as opposed to something she used to sample fairly regularly (Cyborg loved barbecuing, and would quite regularly offer to cook for the team).

"You are most welcome friend!" exclaimed Kori, nearly clapping. She looked like she wanted to aggressively hug Jasmine again, but thought better of it. Mostly because of the food; Kori knew that hugging someone whilst she was eating wasn't a good idea. Kori had been sprayed by food too often not to have learned that lesson. The energetic girl continued to stare while Jasmine swallowed and then looked about nervously. Kori soon followed, casting her eyes through the strange crowd.

"Is there someone for whom you are looking?" she asked, not stopping in her own search. "Do you have another friend with whom you wish to meet and converse and share the meats? I have a bo---friend. His name is Robin, but I have not seen him yet..."

Kori sounded a strange mix of hopeful and remorseful, as if she'd been told that Santa would be making an appearance but she still wasn't sure he actually existed. She tried to shift to a beaming smile. "I have the more food as well! There is much to enjoy! They took the mustard from me when I tried to drink of it..."

[Deleted]

Oh my, well I... Minnie chirped then trailed off. The smile remained on her face, but the light shifted in her eyes as she tried to come up with the proper words to say. She was at a loss for a moment as she attempted to cope with her joy at seeing a princess she had yet to meet. She should have introduced herself right away, that was silly of her. She couldn't help, but feel a bit guilty about assuming she might be recognized like this. She may be a pretty well known mouse around the animated universe, but she was...was some kind of human at the moment and looking nothing like herself. Not to mention it would be a bit presumptuous to think someone as new as Rapunzel would have heard of her. Better just start with her name an minimize the little squeaks of excitement.

I'm afraid not. Minnie decided with an easy giggle, figuring it might be best to answer the second question. Some animations took a while to realize the world outside that watched their pictures. Actually, some never figured it out at all. Minnie often wondered if life might have been easier that way.

My name is Minnie, Minnie Mouse. She continued, holding out a hand to shake. I am very pleased to meet you! she cheered.

Something caught Minnie's attention that drew her gaze for just a moment or two. A woman who reminded her dangerously of Megara had just been hustled to the party with help of two large men. Minnie narrowed her eyes slightly. That wasn't right. Where was Hercules? Something was wrong. Meg had something missing. She looked like...like she did in the beginning of her picture, before Hercules found her. Minnie parted her lip's slightly as she wondered if she'd found herself here without him. In fact...where was Eugene? Her eyes settled back on Rapunzel with a gentle sort of concerned smile on her face.

How are you? She decided to ask kindly. It seemed the easiest way to get a handle on her situation. That uneasy feeling Minnie had in her stomach was growing into a full blown stomach ache.

[Deleted]

Jasmine finished up her ribs and gave Kori a smile, her teeth covered in barbeque sauce. There hadn't been anyone watching, so she was fine with letting herself finish the wonderful meal. "I've never had something quite so delicious, or odd. Is this something you normally eat?" she asked. There hadn't been anything remotely like this in Agrabah. The sauce was new, as was the type of meat. Or, at least, she was pretty sure she'd never had whatever kind of meat it was. And the way of preparing it was completely different from the way the royal chefs would prepare food.

"No, I'm not looking for anyone. I was just feeling a little self conscious. I might go see if Twilight needs any help soon, though," Jasmine said. She had just observed Twilight at her booth. There were buttons there, she could see them. The least she could do was wear one to help the people that didn't see the booth know about the C.A.U.S.

Jasmine giggled. "I'm pretty sure the mustard is for putting on the meat, Kori," she said. She plucked a few napkins off a nearby table and wiped her face. Her self consciousness had come back. Best she look presentable and not like the slob she had been when eating the ribs.

[Eva Vogel]

Eva took a deep breath and stopped waving. She was acting rather improperly, but she was very excited. It was best to act like a proper country. "It is very great to see you, Finland. I was worried that I was the only country that shifted here," she said. Her excitement was still apparent in her voice, but that's where it should stay.

At Finland's question, tears started to appear in her eyes. Eva wiped them away quickly. "He-he is still in our world," she said with a little sniffle. It was hard not to miss her brother. He had been there for her for so long, but now she would have to get by on her own. Suddenly, she flung her arms around Finland's stomach. She needed the comfort of contact, even if it wasn't proper. She preferred to be happy and improper than proper and unhappy.

[Helena Bertinelli]

Helena had not been particularly interested in attending a barbecue, but she was interested in seeing who else was in this place. So far she had met only a few people, only one of whom was a hero she knew, and even he had forgotten almost everything about himself. If only someone useful were around...

She took a somewhat roundabout path toward the stated location, trying to get a feel for the layout. This place gave her the creeps, and she wasn't willing to rule out some sort of ambush as the real cause for this meeting. After checking the surrounding area, though, she eventually made her way to the actual barbecue.

From the outskirts she saw the current layout of the situation. She sounded them off to herself in her head, noting how many people stood where doing what. Thinking of it in terms of battle strategy helped her to focus her own energy and determine where she wanted to go. Eventually she decided to start with people she knew and work from there. She wandered over toward Robin, passing Megara on the way and giving her a look to encourage her to follow.

"Hello, Robin," she said, smiling at the young man. If that was the name he wanted to use, fine. She wasn't one to beat him up over it. More than once, anyway. "How have you been doing? Making a lot of friends?" She glanced around again, scanning the crowd to check for suspicious behavior. Then she looked back with a smile to Robin and the boy he was standing with. "I'm afraid we haven't met," she said to the boy, extending her hand for a shake. "I'm Ms. Bertinelli, one of the teachers here."

[Rainbow Dash]

Rainbow Dash had actually arrived early for the barbecue. Okay, well, that was not exactly true. She'd happened to be in the park, and it had been such a nice day that she'd climbed up into one of the trees and taken a quick nap. Even though she wasn't flying around anymore, it was still exhausting trying to get around. And it took so much longer. How did anyone survive without wings? Or being Pinkie Pie. Who even Rainbow Dash didn't understand.

She was perfectly content in her tree until the sounds of voices and the smell of cooking food brought her to wakefulness. She lazily opened her eyes and glanced around, then started up and crawled forward on her tree limb to look down at all the people around her. It was at about this moment that she realized that she hadn't exactly planned out her descent from the tree. It hadn't been an issue before, so she tended not to think about it.

"Uh oh," she said, looking back at the branch behind her. "Well, here goes nothing." She grabbed onto the bar with both hands, grateful that they were much better at grabbing things than hooves, and twisted so she was hanging from just her hands, her feet dangling another four feet from the ground. "Watch out!" she called to those below her. Then she dropped to the ground and rolled, coming to a stop at the feet of a young man and a small girl. She looked up at them, still lying flat on the ground, and gave a big smile.

"Hi. Mind helping me up?" she asked, unaware that she might be interrupting a conversation. "And maybe you can tell me if there's a better way to get out of trees?"

[Laharl Krichevskoy]

So far, so good. Most of the pathetic beings were busily engaged in conversation with one another, blissfully unaware that terror stalked the edges of their gathering. He noticed them all, oh, how he did. Some of them were even quite noisy, almost to the point of being usable distractions. The loud redhead and her dark friend, for example, were hardly stealthy. Or that strange loud guy with the makeup; he was definitely a sight to behold. Even better, the path was more or less clear to edge in the most stealthy (read: obvious) manner possible toward the intended target.

Then, in what Laharl would swear was the act of Fate or some other cruel deity, the rainbow-haired girl he'd argued with the other day literally fell right next to Laharl's target. The Overlord froze, remembering all too well what had happened last time he'd encountered her. Something told him that she wouldn't be quite as keen to encounter him yet again. "Curses!" he spat, remembering just barely that he was supposed to be sneaking. He paused, dove behind a bush, and started muttering to himself. Just how was he supposed to enact his brilliant plan when one of his mortal enemies was standing right next to the target? Okay, so the rainbow-haired freak might not be a mortal enemy per say, but that was how Laharl would refer to her.

He turned to peak through the bushes, parting them with his fingers to peer at the various crowd of people. He just needed to wait... yes, be... patient. He'd slept for years before; he could totally do this...

[Tino Väinämöinen]

"Well I'm very glad to see you as well, and I don't think we're the only ones, though I haven't yet met whoever else is here," he explained. He had been meaning to do that, but he just hadn't had the chance, he'd agreed to teach at the school and he'd gotten so caught up making sure that the history in this world matched up with the history in his own.

He winced when she started crying, feeling absolutely terrible for having upset her, so when she suddenly hugged him he was only too willing to wrap his arms around her and hug her back.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you sad miss Liechtenstein, don't worry, perhaps he'll come here as well, or you'll get to home really soon. Don't cry, please."

As he was consoling her, there was a shout from somewhere above them and suddenly a young girl with brightly coloured hair dropped out of the sky (ok, out of a tree, but close enough) and rolled to a stop beside them.

"Um... are you ok miss?" he asked, leaning over and holding out a hand (the other still tucked around Liechtenstein) to help her up. "Perhaps you could try climbing down?"