Several creatures, people, and aliens appeared within a large meadow with a massive mountain with a carving of three men riding horses. Just behind them was an entrance that had two simple words; Stone Mountain. The smallest of the group was a yellow two tailed fox while the largest was a bipedal white dragon with a black robe.
"What's going on?!" A bipedal blue hedgehog yelled, confused by his sudden arrival.
"That's what I'd like to know." A black fox replied. She had a similar black robe to the dragon, but her eyes seemed to be closed.
"Bigger question, who are all of you?" A bipedal tiger asked. She was a little scared and hid behind a human with blue hair. She wore brown pants and a green sweater.
"It's polite to say yours first before asking others." A pink rabbit with black hair responded. She had well toned muscles that she didn't bother covering up. The females in the group had bigger assets than any other group which makes them a little insecure.
"Good evening all!" A booming female voice announced, getting the attention of every group. "I have brought you here to explain the odd behavior of a certain someone." The woman with the booming voice appeared. She wore thick white robes and a stone mask that showed only glowing yellow eyes.
"Who are you talking about?!" The white dragon yelled, confused by all the information she had to take in.
"Of course your collective human friend." She snapped her fingers and the image of a young mane with black hair appeared. Unfortunately, he had a straight jacket and gag.
"Hunter! Wait... You know him?!" Everyone but one group yelled. They could only look on with sorrow.
"You know him too... Judging by your faces, you know what happened." A brown furred creature said as he looked at an alligator.
"A week ago he had a complete mental breakdown. He became violent and killed four people." A rabbit wearing a dress explained. No one said a word, they couldn't believe it.
"No way, he's too nice to even hurt a fly." A tall fox with red hair and tail responded.
"But it is. His mental break was caused by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - more commonly known as PTSD - after his little adventure in Chernobyl." The woman in the mask explained.
"Bull shit, that area's been under lockdown for nearly seventy years. It's too irradiated for anyone to go in!" A black cat responded. She was behind the fox with red hair.
"Normally, yes. However, S.T.A.L.K.E.Rs enter it anyway." That made the Black cat's eyes widen.
"He can't be a S.T.A.L.K.E.R!"
"He's never spied on anyone!" A bipedal wolf responded. He(she, but she's trans) was next to the odd brown furred creature.
"It's an acronym. It stands for Scavenger, Trespasser, Adventurer, Loner, Killer, Explorer, and Robber. But you know that more than anyone; don't you Lupa." The masked person looked at the only one not in a group. She was a wolf with a brown jacket over a gray hoodie. Oh her back was an AK platform rifle.
"Yes. I had known him prior to the events in Chernobyl. When he was still recovering from his amnesia for the first time." She responded, she had a thick Slavic accent making it clear what her nationality was. "I wish I had known that he had lost his memories two times prior to our first meeting, but I digress."
"He lost his memory three times?!" Another wolf yelled, she was with the group with the small blue hedgehog.
"A little context, he was taken to another reality after being tricked into transferring schools when he was seventeen. He gained an ability there, but lost it after coming back."
"The most he lost was his memory of his time there. He would try college, but couldn't financially support it, so he dropped out and joined the army. Due to a few events in that new reality - known as Safe Heaven, he was much stronger, more resilient, and had a higher pain tolerance. He was picked for a combatives competition at the end of his Boot Camp and swung his opponent with so much force that he broke his own arm. Moving on, he'd learn to become a radio technician for the Army, but during his Christmas Leave, he'd be taken to a new world called Avalice."
"He'd help the heroes of that world take down an alien invader, but would ultimately sacrifice himself to protect his friends. He'd kill himself out of spite. The only reason he's alive was because he made a deal with a god to offer his friends protection. The god would grant him new life for his selfless wish, but he'd have his memories sealed. When he got back to his world, he'd forget everything; even his own name."
"Damn it." The blue haired human whispered. He couldn't believe his friend went through so much in such a short amount of time. "No wonder he didn't tell us anything, he couldn't."
"Continuing on. He's superiors would use his amnesia to create the perfect soldier. They'd keep to his contract as of the law, but when military intervention was required after Russia invaded Ukraine, he'd be forced to undergo training to become an Army Ranger. From there he'd be sent to the front lines to deal with an insurgency that was supplied with weapons and soldiers from Russia and China. In one mission, he'd lose his entire team, and then the next. His call sign went from Hero, to Black Cat; a symbol of bad luck."
"Because of this, the military would force him to carry out missions alone or execute prisoners that lost their usefulness."
"Why would they have him kill them?!" The white dragon yelled.
"Insurance. If anyone got word about what was happening to the prisoners, they could use Hunter as a scape goat." No one knew how bad his situation was back in his world, only that he had a few scares. They were wondering if his amnesia was the best possible condition he had. "He'd go on break one day and accidentally fell into a river. He'd be sent to a twisted forest of horrors known only as DarkWood. He'd learn of his ability gained through his time of hardship after Avalice." The masked person stopped and took in a shaky breath. They could guess that it hurt for her to explain it. "You'll... You'll see it soon."
That was all they needed to know that his ability wasn't good. It was clear that she had been watching him for a long time.
"In order to survive in DarkWood, you would have to throw away your morals. Kill anyone for what they have, steal from those who are on death's door, or even eat your own species if you're unable to acquire food."
"He's committed..." The blue hedgehog began.
"Cannibalism. Yes, but only as a last resort. At the end, he discovered that if anyone left and died outside the radius of the forest, another one would appear. Lupa and Hunter removed their "seeds" before leaving. They'd return to burn the forest of horrors to the ground... Along with everyone inside. To make sure what happened there could never happen again."
"Then they heard of a wish granter in Chernobyl. Lupa went to give the General who brainwashed him an earful, while Hunter left to Chernobyl to ask the wish granter to restore his memories. The wish granter acts as a monkey's paw, so it grants his wish by giving him amnesia once more and setting him down a path to reclaim his memories. In the days that follow, he'd understand why Chernobyl was such a highly visited place for S.T.A.L.K.E.Rs."
"That brings us to the point of where he's at now. This will show the horrors he faced. Be warned; this is a tale of blood, death and unfathomable horrors. However, it's equally a story of kindness, compassion and the value of helping your fellow man in the face of death. Even now he's still on the path to reclaiming his memories; even if he's been on this journey for nearly three years."
"So... Long." A Small rabbit said as she clung to the rabbit with the dress. Seeing the size difference, everyone could guess that the rabbit in the dress was the small one's Mother.
"Indeed, but he hasn't stopped. In fact, that breakdown was the sign of his memories coming back. Unfortunately, it started with the bad. He still has unfinished business on Avalice and Safe Heaven." The masked woman finished her long explanation. She seemed pleased with her self to explain the confusing events prior to the events in Chernobyl.
"He's stronger than I could've imagined." A black and red hedgehog commented.
"You know more out of everyone here, Shadow. Any ideas about how to help?" The blue hedgehog asked, unintentionally introducing the black hedgehog.
"I had a mix of the Chaos Emeralds and my friends to help me. Unfortunately, from the sounds of it, the only one who knows about his past is Lupa." The wolf shook her head.
"Sorry, but no. We met each other in DarkWood. That's about as far back as we go. And the only reason I helped him was because I'd exchange medical help for... Favors, let's go with that." No one needed to have her explain further. All the adults and teens in the room understood the underlying message.
"As much as I'd hate to ruin this for you, but he had multiple partners prior to you Lupa." That made her shoot her head to the masked woman. "That's less his fault than it is the favor of his memory loss."
"Please tell me how many. I don't know if I should be concerned." The masked woman chuckled.
"You shouldn't be. He's safe. And you'd be lucky to know that they all agreed to an open relationship. Mostly due to how close they all were prior. The only thing is that they're split into two groups. One is from Avalice and the other is from Safe Heaven. With a collective total of ten excluding you, but you're the one who's been by his side the longest."
"How does a man even have that kind of charm?" Most of not everyone wondered too. They didn't expect him to be a polygamist.
"It confused him at the time too. This may surprise most of you, but before the war in Ukraine and him losing all of his memory the first time, he had a very low opinion of himself. It was how he was so humble now. Just a little bit of that bled into his current personality." The masked figure floated over to the groups. "We should get started. Or else we'd be asking questions about him non-stop."
"He's the most mysterious person we've ever met; not for a lack on his part apparently." A pink hedgehog commented.
"Indeed, there's two more groups in different locations that I have to brief as well. Hang tight and the show will begin soon." Just like that, the masked woman vanished.
"Now that we know none of us as enemies... Well, most of us anyway." The blue hedgehog commented while looking at a giant green alien in a suit of armor and a round man in a deep red jacket. "We should get introductions out of the way." The groups would spend their time introducing themselves.
A/N: Here's everyone first group
A/N: Yeah, all the characters are in one universe.