The Elder Invasion: CHAPTER 4 - Insanity

Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

Myrnodyn grimly watched the procedures, and crossed his arms as his once close friend Porg and the new girl they had picked up on their travels got cornered in diplomatic talks with the count. The first mistake that had been made was thinking that the thing was human and prone to the full spectrum of human feelings, the second mistake they had made was to adopt a servile attitude while they were in a position of strength.

Of course the Count would take full advantage of the current situation. He had them by the proverbial balls, whatever they said now would just be twisted and thrown in their faces until the mean bastard got what they wanted. The Shapeshifter Regent sighed and looked the other way for a moment. It was likely that if he interfered now that he would make matters worse. However, it was certainty that if these two were left alone in the room with these vampires it would end badly for them. Instead he chose to take a personal risk.

He stretched and yawned, drawing attention to himself by drawing out the gesture ridiculously long. Before blinking at the vampires with seemingly surprised eyes, as if he wanted to ask if they had never seen anyway stretch before.

"Well guys, I've heard enough. The Count over there seems to think he can hide his little fiefdom forever from the bastards outside, and that the Shapeshifter regent himself would put himself at risk in a room full of vampires just to insult him. I suppose he also thinks that the noobs outside are both tastier and easier to catch than Iwakuans, because we are obviously winning the war. Lastly, and I find this particularly funny, he thinks that just because he MIGHT be able to kill us all that he has the upper hand, no doubt unconcerned with the unlives the other vampires would need to risk for it."

Myrnodyn looked around at the shocked faces of the vampires around him, bar maybe the count and countess. One was not THAT rude against the Count and lived. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I'm getting out of here. If we won't receive the help we need from the count for less than our blood, I'd rather risk the noobs outside, and should I get caught it will give me a grim satisfaction knowing that I have just the information I need to screw over the ROYAL bastard that wouldn't help us to save his own damned hide."

The scientist could feel the vampires recovering, chuckling and giggling no more as they prepared to rip this man to shreds at the word of their leader. The thought of teleportation was at the forefront of his mind, and he would be gone in the blink of an eye should he have to run, yet his quick mind knew that behind all the posturing of the count there was an equally quick and experienced mind. A quick mind that had just been given pause and food for thought.

Myrnodyn just prayed that he had not pushed TOO far, and doomed them to a fight in the process.


(Summary: Myrn realizes that diplomacy is more than placating your mental opponent, and in an act that draws most of the attention to himself he reveals that he does not intend to play by the counts rules. He is shockingly rude and realizes the danger he puts himself and others in, and as such is prepared to teleport as soon as possible and ready for a possibly ensuing battle.)
 
Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

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Setting the head down on the ground next to the grave that it had protruded from, Jumi turned, and began walking out of Soldier's Grave towards the Mirror giving the being's words no mind once more.

"You're walking into your own demise you fool! Even if you're not the man from before, you're going to still wind up busted, and broken if you go back in there! Look at yourself as you are!" The head screamed as it rolled around on the ground, but his words fell on deaf ears.

~Return to the madness, let it embrace me, and nurture me... Paorou... the beacon of Insanity... he must know... he must know...~ Jumi thought to himself hypnotically, and continued placing one foot before the other, and eventually found himself inches from the Mirror. It's ghostly fog clung heavily to the air, and he could feel the effects of Insanity screaming outwards from it. The sensations he could feel... were addicting.

Reaching his hand out, he felt the fog grip tightly onto his wrist, and then he felt the earth beneath his feet leaving, as the ghostly words "Return home to us, Jumi... it is so good to feel you once more..." filled his ears, and he was immersed in a whirlwind of broken images, illogical emotions, and the cold chill of uncertainty...

Jumi had returned to Insanity.

Summary: Ignoring the warnings of the dead, Jumi approached that section of the Mirror, and allowed himself to be drawn into the realm of Insanity.
 
Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

Tegan's hair leapt upwards and resettled across her face. And then the Count was no longer in front of her.

Myrnodyn stopped in the doorway as a face constructed itself an inch from his. The tension in the chamber reached a high note, each vampire tightening their muscles and ready to pounce.

The Count looked into Myrnodyn's eyes, not breathing him in like the others, but simply watching, as one mortal might watch another. They were only a foot apart and the Count's voice was far too soft for the insults they held for each other.

"So you are him. The Lycan's successor." He took Myrnodyn in with a single sweep of his gaze. "And now we are both leaders without a tribe. Now we both posture on the wasteland." He looked away, another gaze dispelling the alarm in his denizens, before he smirked a little and stepped even closer to Myrnodyn. "I always thought your kind and mine would die with our hands around each other's throats. But in these strange, strange times, Shifter, tell me... what price did you come here to pay?"

They were now barely inches apart, facing each other down. And again the Count's eyes slipped towards the still-kneeling Porg and Tegan. "Just a vial of their blood," he whispered. "No more. You can even watch if you want..."


At the back of the chamber, near the Vault of Coatlbara, a vampire crawled down the wall towards Q, grinning at the man from above as he dropped the M40 onto his lap.
 
Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

As Bornes watched the other players, he was beginning to piece together things. This sounded like some sort of political debate. Better to not get involved, there.
Not like he had wanted to in the first place...

Then the count disappeared and reappeared near the door.
Now was his chance.
He lifted up the gun again and looked through the scope, trying to see the lady in white's expression once more. His arms still wavered a bit, but it should've been easier this time.
He had no idea why he was still interested. It just felt like something he had to do.
He was in a sea of red and dark colors. A bright white woman stood out. It must be symbolism for something.

Just then he heard something. Or he thought he heard something. He didn't know what he heard, but it made him shudder, pulling his forest green iris from his gun and looking up. After a split hesitation, he turned around, suddenly paranoid.

There was a guy on the wall staring at him.
There was a guy on the wall staring at him.


There was a vampire on the wall staring at him.

He instinctively squeezed the trigger to defend himself. Nothing happened.
Pushed the safety off, not even a split second before the first squeeze of the trigger was a second and the gun went off, a large bang consequently silencing the entire room.

Bornes had aimed for the thing's head, but his eye wasn't even in the scope so there was no telling where the hell the actual shot went.

Q grit his teeth, eyes wide as he brought the gun down quickly and ejected the still smoking casing out, replaced his hands where they needed to be, but held the gun downward as he stood, backing away from the thing on the wall and panting through his mouth.

He was too tired to keep the gun up at the ready, he only hoped he'd killed the thing, but what the fuck?

SUMMARY:
Q thinks Tegan symbolizes something important, tries to see her face through his scope again, turns around and shoots stalking vampire and is freaked the fuck out afterward.
 
Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

Jack watched the count move around the room, he found himself a little uneasy as the creature moved himself through the aether to Myrn. This creature was indeed strong, perhaps stronger than he could ever have thought. He was a little worried about Obskeree, she'd said she'd hated vampires, and now she was stuck in a room full of them.

The Countess's caresses snapped him back to his own predicament, it seemed that he should be worried about himself more than anyone else, though perhaps Tegan should be getting a portion of his concern.

As the count spoke about the blood he desired Jack spoke up, though he did not move from his kneeling position. "Just out of curiosity.." He began" What would you be wanting that blood for? And also.. I.. why me and Tegan? Why of all the people here do you pick-"

A gunshot rang through the room at that point. Before the sound had finished reverberating around the chamber however Porg had dived to the floor, making sure he pulled both Tegan and the Countess down to the floor protectively too.

[Jack responds to the Count, asking questions about the blood. As Q's gunshot sounds he dives to the floor, pulling Tegan and the Countess with him.]
 
Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

Acqua had stayed with GMK while Tegan and the others went ahead. I'm too afraid to go over there, Acqua thought as she turned to GMK. I should probably apologize, afterall, I'm responsible for dragging him into this whole entire mess, Acqua thought as she paused for a moment to look at him nervously before speaking.

"I'm really sorry for dragging you all the way here!" Acqua said. "I really shouldn't've just taken you into the forest like that, and I'm sorry if you regret coming along with me," Acqua apologized nervously as she went on. "However, I'm happy that you came along, because without you I would've been a goner in that forest," Acqua slowly started, the volume of her voice growing towards the end.
 
Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

Archy stayed quiet as they talked with the vampires. How powerful were they, exactly? There were an awful lot of vampires around, and they seemed content to just let everyone in fully armed.

She let everyone else talk. If she spoke up it'd be hard for her to not just outright insult them, and right now that did not look like the best outcome. They represented just about everything that she was growing to hate;stagnation, decay, the abuse of the weak by the strong...

But she had a duty to fulfill, to the fallen Megane and her missing daughter. And vampires were not how it would end.

So she stayed quiet. Dealing with the Markovs more permanently would have to come some other time, when the parasitic nature of the family was one of the more pressing evils in the world.

Archy let her eyes wander the room, noting the vampires lounging about, their prisoners in hand, and-

Wait, that one had a gun! Did they really not care if he carried a weapon on him? Would his firearm actually do anything against one of them, or were the vampires simply overconfident?

The Head Vampire did some sudden teleportation. Great, they did seem to be some of the more old-timey powerful vampires. And several of them, too.

The man from earlier raised his weapon at a vampire on the wall, and nobody seemed to move to stop him. Well, having one of their hosts shot wouldn't do well for negotiations, so she intervened.

Arachnion bolted across the room, jumped onto a clear spot in the middle of the table, then jumped again to land right in front of the dude with the gun. And not a moment to soon, either- As she created shields around her hand and moved it into the line of fire, the gun went off, and she caught the bullet in the palm of her hand.

The only thing to break the immediately ensuing silence was the sound of Archy letting the flattened bullet drop to the floor.

Archy stops the bullet from getting anywhere.
 
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Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

Tegan had been holding the count's gaze, despite her human body's reaction to his cold, dead touch; his caress sent frozen shards of despair straight to her heart. His breath was graveyards; carrion pecking out the eyes of the dead; battlefields. His eyes were burning with the kind of starvation only a child can feel.


Then, suddenly, he was no longer before her, and Tegan released the breath she did not know she had held. The vampire had turned his attentions to Myrn. With the count no longer holding her undivided attention, Tegan was allowed a chance to look about, to collect herself. And there he was, regarding her through the scope of a rifle. It was so strange that the thought of him shooting her never even occurred. It was his expression that held her, made her heart quiver.

He was searching her for something she did not know if she possessed.



And that's when all hell broke loose.


The sudden bang from the rifle sent a jolt through her, the sudden shock locking her legs in place. If Porg had not been there to pull her down, she would have remained rooted the spot.

With her body pressed against the cold stone, Tegan shut her eyes and tried to drown out the world around her. Tegan remembered.



M. . Mother.


*
*



*

"They believe you to be the Goddess. Can you make this true, illusionist?"

"So long as one believes, so will they all."



​





Her eyes opened once more, no longer grey but indigo, and she turned her head from where it lay to glance at Porg lying next to her. They locked eyes for a moment, before she nodded to him.

I'll make it right.

Tegan closed her eyes once more, and let the illusion form itself from her fragmented memories. It would require more of her than she had given in a long time. In order to convincingly conjure it, she would have to let her celestial light run unchecked. She would certainly be drained from it; these things always had heavy consequences.

The illusion would not work unless both parties believed it. The vampire's senses were sharpened by the horrors of immortality; they would not be convinced unless she let her light run rampant, and she deceive her own companions. She had told them nothing about herself, or her abilities, so, maybe. . .


Please, believe. . .

What little light that was left in the chamber suddenly snuffed out, and those inside were suddenly plunged into total darkness. They were held in that dark void until a single star burst to life-sending cosmic shrapnel into the blackness, where they hanged. As the night sky formed all around them, the star began to pulsate and take shape.

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The humanoid star slowly rose, details slowly starting to fill in. Shimmering bones clothed by ivory flesh clothed by dark robes and skeletal armor. The woman formed was bathed in a celestial light that burned so bright it chilled. What stood before them was the image of the Goddess.

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The being stood over them all, regarding each and every one in silence, before finally resting on Myrnodyn and the Count Markov.

It spoke to them in a thousand echoes.


Those here who do not die by the other's hand will be wiped clean from this realm by the Elders. This is the way the story ends, not with a bang but a whimper.

There is no more time for pride. There is no more time. The wolf is at the door and we must all keep going, or face our undoing: total amnesia. Even you count, can imagine in your deathless brain; a fate worse than mortal death: to vanish without even a name to place on a tombstone.

She will keep her word to you, count. You will have your vial of blood, but from her alone. She did not speak for the boy. You will not take of him, unless he wills it.

Have it, then allow them safe passage through your realm. The story must continue, before it is unwrote.

There was a great sigh, and the Goddess' eyes slowly shut, her presence flowing away down some invisible river. Soon the night sky faded, and they were in the Markov's chambers once more.

Tegan lay next to Porg, her body limp and weak, struggling to stay conscious.





Tegan uses memory fragments of her true nature, along with strange images of herself with an angelic figure (*cough*) to conjure an illusion of the Goddess. She hopes to inspire belief in her companions, in order to sway Count Markov into allowing them to leave without bloodshed. T.S. Eliot also spins in his grave.
 
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Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

The Grandmaster smiled within his helmet before he removed it, "Acqua, believe me when I say I've suffered far worse and prevailed," he couldn't tell her what however, for he was sword to secrecy on such matters. Very few minds were capable of suffering the horrors of the warp unprepared and even survived long enough for it to corrupt their souls, most were mutated until death by it's foul powers.

He noticed the lights snuff out in the chamber above, and then brilliant white light shone from the doorway. "Whatever they are doing, I pray to The Emperor it works. I wouldn't doubt that if we were to come into conflict with these creatures....that our numbers would be lesser from it."
 
Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

THE VALLEY OF MARKOV​

No stopping these people, it seems.

The others have stormed off into the Castle, intent on holding court with the creatures inside. I don't trust myself not to say something out of turn, however, so I stand alongside the armour-clad figure of Karsikan, the pistol taken from the chamber back at the ruins of the Mature Tower held in my hands. It's got stopping power, alright, but the more I look at the wolf creatures circling us the more I start to whether it's got enough stopping power to drop one of these bastards before it mauls me.

"Whatever they are doing, I pray to The Emperor it works. I wouldn't doubt that if we were to come into conflict with these creatures....that our numbers would be lesser from it."

I look up at the castle to see light eminating from the narrow windows. Something's going down, that's for sure. I probably should have gone with them all; I'm here to protect them, after all.
"Oh, I don't doubt that, big man," I say to the huge figure beside me, "But I think we ourselves also have pressing issues to deal with. I don't fancy my chances against the guardians of this here Castle." I motion with my head towards the wolves. "I mean, fuck me, look at those teeth."

Grant is outside with GMK and Acqua. He notices the light spilling from the castle, but his immediate concern are the wolves looming nearby.
 
Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

"These days Death seems a poor teacher indeed, though you would know best I suppose," Drake murmured at the angel's back. Sliding to his feet, the wererat stretched his muscles and frowned as the exhaustion did not slip from him. Turning took far more energy then he had originally expected. That or Insanity had a draining effect on him. Knowing, or rather guessing, at the mechanics of Insanity, Drake assumed the last. Soulless still clutched his picture, eyes dark and mouth drawn down. Drake paused by him first, looking down at the child grimly. "I've seen magic do far more, and with as much effort as flicking a fly. So long as this world revolves around such a sacrificial narrative, there will always be bodies to stand upon. That is the Iwaku Asmodeus loves and Paorou is." Hanging in the doorway his eyes followed the angel's back, glancing down at Sakura almost guiltily. Attended by children and tyrants, a stranger company was never kept.

"Come then Miss…Sakura was it? It seems our Prince has a house call to make." Tilting his head back toward Soulless, Drake beckoned with a black claw, "Bring along your picture, perhaps it will comfort the feathered fool." Forcing a thin smile, Drake passed into the hallway after the angel. "And I do not believe we've been formerly introduced, have you a name child?" Hoping the two would follow him, Drake jogged to catch the back of the angel.

They went to sit in council with a mad God…how fitting a quest for an angel who fought mundane and divine without reservations. The hours passed like rice falling through a sieve, all jumbled and disordered. Drake's natural concept of time was askew here and the tonight of the hero could be in moments or days.

Only one fact was certain in the wererat's mind.

If the hero came, it would not herald a new time of peace.

Only death.



Summary: Drake is still doubtful of the Cycle and thinks the hero's arrival will only herald death...as with a hero there must be a Shadow. He asks Soulless and Sakura to follow Asmo and for Soulless to bring his picture.
 
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Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

Bornes had fired and looked down briefly as he ejected the shell, and when he looked up again to backpedal, there was an androgynous catperson there.

WHAT.

They had caught the bullet in their hand.

WHAT.
WHAT THE HELL WAS GOING ON.

This had to be a dream, but he didn't even care anymore. He rose his gun to shoot at the person in front of him, finger ready to pull the trigger, but that was when the entire room went black.

Bornes gave a noticeable, guttural growl of agitation and waited for his eyes to readjust -- he could see in this just fine, he just needed a second -- but the second was followed with a huge billowing light that encapsulated the entire room.

He dropped his gun, calling out in pain as he shoved his arms over his eyes, tightly shutting them and doubling over in an attempt to get away from the light.

His eyes were sensitive to light -- that's why he had those sunglasses Lady markov took -- but to add even more pain into the puzzle of whatever was going on here, the light had burst out from almost complete darkness. His arms didn't seem to be enough to stop the light and the man was in pure agony.

To add even more insult to injury, a woman's booming voice was heard and Q's eardrums assaulted. He couldn't figure out which was worse - the light or the sound - his ears throbbed and his eyes burned. His head spun and his legs were getting weak.

What God had he royally fucked over to get such treatment?
He had only been trying to protect himself!

The voice and the light brought him to his knees in a partial fetal position. He had been holding his breath since this started, and to him it seemed like it had started hours a go. He just wanted it to stop. His eyes were wet with tears as they tried to defend themselves against the light and while they weren't actually bleeding, Q felt like his brain was melting through his ears.

The words the woman spoke reverberated off the walls and resonated within his mind, embedding themselves for likely eternity. Although there was no way to prove it, he was certain this voice was coming from the woman in white. Only a light like this would come from a person in white. But had he known she was the enemy to him he would've shot her before she tortured him to death. And that's what this felt like.

When it was all over, the world went black and quiet again and the breath Q had been holding stormed from his mouth. He sucked in more air, audibly choking from the still dissipating pain.

Why hadn't he passed out? This was such a shock to his system, why hadn't he just died then? Why was he cursed? It would suit him to die bathed in light like that.

He put his arms around his torso and touched his forehead to the floor, still choking back breaths and trying to recover from the torment his senses had just felt. He shook, and there was nothing more he wanted then to pass out again.

But of course, when he wanted it, it would not happen.

Q was done. He was done. After that display and the words that had been said, he was afraid that sort of tumult would happen again. The woman in white's words were right: There was no time for pride and he had to keep trekking on. There was a wolf at the door scratching and clawing and it wanted no more than to eat Q and devour his heart.

Even if Q had wanted to stand now and try to re-assemble some sort of self-respect there was no way he could now. Not after this display. It was easy to forget the scared words of someone losing consciousness but it would be hard to recover from being seen on the floor in a partial fetal position instinctively crying his eyes out.

Briefly he wondered if the vampires had as hard a time as him with the light and sound, or if he was the only one here who had suffered so heartily.

SUMMARY:
Q intends to shoot archy but then Tegan does her thing and her celestial mirage basically kills Q's senses and now he's on the floor crying.
 
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Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

"Oh, I don't doubt that, big man, But I think we ourselves also have pressing issues to deal with. I don't fancy my chances against the guardians of this here Castle. I mean, fuck me, look at those teeth."

The Grandmaster's face seemed wracked with guilt. "Aye they would definitely delay us..." He chooses not to mention the vow he made, to not use his accursed powers under any circumstances. Then a thought popped into his head, maybe those powers weren't some foul mutation that cursed his body, perhaps they were a gift from the emperor and only his foolish pride stopped him from using them. Whatever the case, for fifty years he managed to get by with out their use, and unless it all hit the fan he wouldn't here. "For everyone's sake, they had better, I don't think I could accept the consequences of their failure"

Summary: GMK borderline regrets vowing to never use his psychic powers, before foolish pride kicks back in.
 
Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

It is perhaps the most fundamental rule of the universe that one thing will seek to become two, and two things will seek to become one. Upon this flux are based the countless laws and endeavours that govern existence.

The Goddess reminds us of this fundament. In myth, in story, in religion, She is the Blessed Other. While the Shadow is the worst of what the Hero could be, the Goddess is eveyrthing that He is not - everything that He must look upon and be vexed by.

For such is love itself. Illusive yet apparent; simple yet labyrinthine. And in this contradiciton - in this irrational and inconceivable flux - we find Her. She inspires us all both in our pursuit of law and our indulgence of chaos.

She is the Muse, and by Her infuriating and twisted beauty She sounds the rhythm of ages.

All we must do is look upon Her and believe, and She will make us mad.​
​
​
​
​




In the darkness that swallowed the great chamber, few would have noticed the sound. Only those truly attuned to the Cycle would have heard it... or more accurately felt it - the sound of Q's tears falling on the stone. For they sounded not with a splash, but with a creeping and insidious thunder. And fewer still would have known what that sound was herald of...

The gears of the Cycle, turning.

It was only glimpsed in the slight sharpening of Tegan's light - a fractional but all-empowering increase beyond her own abilities.

All in that room had reeled from it... and when at last the moonlight returned and the world restored itself, the vampires were no longer on the sofas. Instead, the Dynasty was standing in silent procession, two lines of two, the hunger in their features replaced by reverence.

And they waited.

Porg came around and looked up, his gaze tracing the leg of the Count. The vampire was straightening up from a crouch, one hand releasing Tegan's wrist, the other holding a syringe, the needle glinting in the twilight.

He cast an eye over Porg, then to Myrnodyn, then once again at the unconscious Tegan. Turning, he started towards his family, the two lines parting to receive him. There was another rush of air as Lady Markov appeared by his side, placing her hand in his once more.

Husband and wife moved through the gauntlet and the other vampires fell into step behind them. As one the family moved away from the Iwakuans, the Count still holding the syringe of Tegan's blood.

"It is done." His voice dwindled, like a whisper fading in the wind. "You are granted safe passage to the Mirror. We shall retire to our coffins and there we shall sleep till the Age of Elders has passed. Till we meet again, Iwakuans."

The procession moved past Arachnion and the half-conscious forms of Noise and Q. And then the great doors of the Coatlbara Vault opened, massive stone slabs parting to admit the dynasty. Into darkness the vampires slipped, and as they did so a few shafts of moonlight made it into the vault to illuminate the stairways to the crypts....

...and the row upon row of shelves lined with vials.

Blood. Thousands of samples, like Tegan's, each one sealed and labelled.

The last of the vampires entered the vault and the stone doors rolled shut behind them, sealing the Marovians in their long and freezing sleep.


All that was left was a chorus of howls from the valley outside. With a last call to the moon, the Werewolves turned away from Grant, Acqua and the Grandmaster. The beasts departed into the forest, to den and darkness, leaving Castle Markov to the ruin of ages.


It was over.






[SUMMARY: Tegan's illusion succeeds, thanks to a little nudge from the Cycle itself. Taking a vial of Tegan's blood, the Count leads his family to their coffins to sleep until the war is over. But as they depart, there is a glimpse of the Vampires's longterm plans. They seem to be collecting blood... lots of it... in the Vault of Coatlbara.]
 
Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

Torsty had remained calm while in awe at what had just happened.

After the vampires had granted them pass and departed to their coffins, he moved swiftly to wards Tegan who was lying still on the floor. He knelt down, looking into her eyes, it was clear to him she wouldn't be able to walk on her own or do much at all for some time.

He slid his right arm underneath her shoulders while resting her head in his hand. He slid his left arm at the back of her knees, then he lifted her up and rested her body against his hips. She was light, very light, so it wouldn't slow him down.

"What do we do with the prisoners? Do we send them to Vetmimir? Could we contact the Teknikans and hope for them to help us out again? Or do we bring them along?"

He paused and came to think that the prisoners might want to have a say in it themselves.

"Leaving them here might actually be the safest for their own health, maybe we could have the doctor do some checks?" He looked at them, some were crawling in no particular direction while others seemed to already be dead.

Did they really have time for this? Was it really safe to leave them be here? These were the thoughts that ran through his head.

He looked back down at Tegan, who he was not sure if was dazed or not. His look inspected her while adjusting his hold of her to what seemed the most comfortable for her.

'This one is truely amazing, maybe she is a valkyrie come to watch over us and pick who to bring to the Holy Land? Or maybe this one is possesed with Freya's spirit?' His mind was turning into that of a madman, he was ready to face the Mirror.

[SUMMARY:
Torsty picks up Tegan and asks what they should do with the prisoners that the vampire's have been playing with.]
 
Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

A long sigh of relief left Obskeree's tightly pursed lips. She had almost forgotten to breathe.

The vampires were gone and she was moderately safer. She backed off from where she had been hiding behind someone's legs - she wasn't sure who it was, they hadn't been introduced - as he moved forward to help Tegan.

She rather wished she hadn't snuck in to watch the negotiations. They hadn't helped her any, and had nearly given her a heart attack between the vampires and the breathtaking displays of living goddesses. The only divine entity she had ever seen before was the Neake, and even he wasn't particularly divine, so she was understandably stunned by the image. That had been the Goddess.

And then the man began to speak - "What do we do with the prisoners? Do we send them to Vetmimir? Could we contact the Teknikans and hope for them to help us out again? Or do we bring them along?" A pause. "Leaving them here might actually be the safest for their own health, maybe we could have the doctor do some checks?"

She shook herself back to reality and lit up her wings, glancing with concerned eyes at Tegan. It was at this moment she realised she wasn't good at serious situations and very nearly started to laugh. The mood wasn't going to lighten on its own but it needed something.

"I guess it depends where you stand on the moral axis about that sort of thing," she said to him jovially.

[With the vampires gone, Obskeree snaps out of her fear. Tegan's illusion has made her a bit giddy.]
 
Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

Jack pushed himself to his feet, giving a nod and a smile to Archy as he did so. He watched the stone doors close and sighed, he'd been so useless in that negotiation and he was annoyed that Tegan had had to sacrifice herself, both in blood and energy to pull them out of a situation they shouldn't have been in.

He pulled himself up, turning to look at the Viking, forcing himself to smile. "I think you might be right Torsty. Leaving them here might just be the best idea. We don't have the time to take them back, and any journey is gonna be treacherous in the current situation." He looked around at the multitude of people sprawled across the floor, most of them unconscious, and most of those that weren't writhing listlessly.

"Regardless I think we can all agree that taking these guys to Insanity would not be particularly kind of us." He paced a little, walking over to the big stone door. "I don't think the Markov's will be waking up all too soon, though.." He trailed off, he was quite worried about what he'd seen behind the door, what were the implications?

He couldn't help but think about the vision of the goddess, he couldn't help but be a little sceptical, for a start he felt a twinge of awe at the whole thing, he felt like he'd had a sense of wonder impressed upon him something he'd assumed from Coffee's teachings he shouldn't have felt. He wasn't part of the cycle, so why did he feel as though the Goddess had touched him?

That, and this Markov's plan hardly seemed like something the Goddess would have endorsed. Then again, he could hardly claim to know much about the mysterious entity.

Jack turned around looking back to the room and addressing the group. Anyone focussing on his eyes could have picked up the self doubt, but he was trying very hard to give off an aura of strength. "Ok guys, I think there's only one plan we can reasonably follow! We need to make sure these people here are comfortable, and that they will be secure here. Then we ill move to the Mirror."

"We will move on to Insanity."

[Jack muses a few things, feeling useless to the group, though he decides he needs to show strength and tell everyone they will leave the people safe in the castle and move on to Insanity.]
 
Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

Thanks to the commotion caused by Q's actions, Noise was nudged from his unconcious state around the time the vampires were leaving. He looked around a moment or two before asking Arachnion, the closest person to him. "'Ey," He said, still a little groggy. "What's goin' on here? Where're the Count and company headed?" But before Arachnion could answer, he heard Jack telling the others that he and Q were to be left behind. In an instant he shoved himself into a standing postion, his back against the wall for balance. "HEY!" he yelled across the room. "Don't you dare think about leaving me here with those demons! Just gimme a minute to clear the fog from my head, and help me find my gear, and I'll be ready to storm the depths of Hell." At this, in order to prove that he wasn't completely useless, Noise started towards the group, determined to do so under his own power, though he had to use the couches to help keep himself steady at times. A short distance from the couches, he stumbled, nearly falling on his face, before he regained his balance, and gave a bit of a sheepish smile. "Alright, I might need two minutes to clear my head. BUT STILL! I ain't stayin' here with them! So, who's gonna help me look for my gear?" He asked the group, which he had just realized was strangely dressed in the extreme. After finally finding his legs again after a few steps, he stood in the middle of the room, arms crossed and a look of sheer determination on his face, and waited for a volunteer. Truth was, he could have probably found his gear on his own. He simply didn't want to risk running into the Count or one of his ilk along the way without some form of backup.


[[SUMMARY]]
Noise finally wakes up, and notices the counts leaving. He speech still rougher than normal due to his cloudy head asks what's going on but quickly changes to trying to prove himself worthy of not being left behind, more out of fear of the Count than fear of being alone.
 
Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

The being of Insanity snarled lightly as he felt more than saw the angel's presence by him, deaf to his words as he shirked away from the fatherly touch at his shoulder, something that he would have once nuzzled into had he been in the right mentality. Saneless let out a loud hiss as the voice of his precious other spoke, soft and nervous, a child searching for guidance in a world that offered so little. Maybe he is right... maybe there will be no Hero... maybe we're all doomed... The whisper was soft, but the force of the words seemed to shatter something within the soldier for the moment. He froze and Soulless began to whisper again. I'm scared, I think we're all going to d-

NO! The Hero WILL COME! Just have faith. Do you want to be an adult? Do you want to end up like that angel? Or the red idiot?Saneless's thoughts hissed back, venomous and powerful but with something else laced in his fierce words. Desperation danced across his thoughts as he began to feel that something very very wrong was happening. As he hissed back he reached out to a place inside of himself where he kept his most precious moments.. only to find a few choice seconds were missing... His silver eyes widened in sudden, horrifying realization.

What? I don't remember saying anything like that to you...The curious and somewhat suspicious voice of the child broke out once more, small and sleepy amongst the panic around him. He lay down in the sweer sugar-grass of his imagination as he chewed on a flower. ...I don't think we've ever talked like that...

Saneless paused, then whipped around and took out his dagger, stabbing it into his arm without a care in the world for his pain. His eyes were wide, a panic taking over his senses as obvious as anything else. His face wrinkled in a sudden ferocity seen only way back before the world has been destroyed, back when he was defending his precious companion from certain death. Except now, the present was changing his relationship with his friend and he would not tolerate anything taking Soulless away from him, especially something he couldn't simply kill. He ran to the angel and easily jumped in front of Asmodeus, blocking his way.


"You have confluence, don't you?!" His voice rang out, echoing in the little house they rested in. "You can fix this, can't you?!" He snarled loudly, blood surging out in alarming amounts, circling the both of them with a speed and ferocity that made him a thing to respect. "Soulless... he can't remember a few things. Fix it. Use that confluence pulse of whatever the fuck it's called, just USE IT, you bastard angel or I will kill you in the most painful ways imaginable!" His voice was laced with a kind of anger that came from a parent threatened with suffering to his child, or perhaps an older brother defending his younger one with an animalistic instinct that ran through his veins with both fear and desperation.

Could the boy fight an angel so powerful as Asmodeus? Probably not. However, Saneless was willing to try. Before he would do so, he was trying to do something that did not come easy to the reclusive personality. He was trying to negotiate, with nothing to offer but the threat of death and suffering, to save the one thing he had left to care for.

[Soulless seems to have lost precious memories of his time with Saneless, prompting Saneless to go to Asmodeus and threaten him to try and bring the memories back with confluence]
 
Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

Acqua had watched as the light had emanated from the Markovs' castle. She had been quite amazed, and had been staring in awe for most of the time until the light went away. Completely unaware that the conflict had somehow been resolved, she suddenly looked all around her as a chorus of howls began. After the initial scare, Acqua calmed herself down as it came to a stop and the werewolves retreated. Wait, why did they go away? Acqua wondered as she eyed the castle with a curious look.

Maybe a minute or two afterwards, Torsty opened the door to the castle as he carried Tegan. Wait, why is she unconscious? Acqua began to become confused. They didn't kill her, did they? Acqua nervously thought. Wait, she's probably fine, but it wouldn't hurt to ask, would it? Acqua reassured herself as she nervously walked up to the viking.

"Is she going to be okay?" Acqua asked.

The viking kept his eyes on Acqua as he stepped aside so that she, Grant and GMK could walk in. "I think so. The Count only took a sample of her blood. Still, it seems her strength was heavily drained, it will take some time before she can walk on her own, I believe. They have granted us access to Insanity. You can come in now."

"She'll be okay," Acqua responded to Torsty, feeling her optismistic views coming back to her.

Acqua walked into the castle, noting the smell of blood. It was a very foreign and scary smell to her that made her kind of scared. The prisoners who were dead made her distressed and reminded her of her inability to help those back in Anirune. I couldn't help anybody then, but I must now. I may not be able to do some of the stuff these people can do, but I must what do what I can! And so with a renewed hope, Acqua tried to calm herself as she saw two that were still somehow alive.


One was on the floor crying, probably more distressed than she was. It wouldn't do him any good to make him think of this place more, Acqua looked with pity upon Q, knowing that thinking about this place would only make her more stressed. Let's go to a different place for a moment, shall we? Heal this crying prisoner, Acqua commanded herself as she pictured one of many peaceful sunsets she had seen back home while on the water. Picturing the stars beginning to appear in a peaceful evening sky, she smiled and closed her eyes as she began to sing.



Vesperruĝo, fluas en ondetoj.
Ĝi estas kiel la kanto, bela kanto de feliĉo.
Ĉu vi rimarkis birdojn, portanta afableco?
Super la maro flugas, ili flugas kun amo.
Oranĝa ĉielo emocias mian spiriton.
Stelo de espero, stelo lumis eterne,
Lumis Eterne​

Translation: The redness of the evening flows in waves.
It is like a song, a beautiful song of happiness.
Do you notice the birds carrying kindness?
Above the sea they fly, they fly with love.
An orange sky moves my soul.
A star of hope, a star lit eternally,
Lit Eternally​


Acqua sang in a soft voice that comforted the distressed Q. A faint ray of light shined down on him as instruments seemed to be faintly accompanying her voice in the distance. Acqua continued to keep her eyes closed, remembering the sky and the water's vibrant colors. The vibrant memories of a peaceful world comforted her, to the point where the others could sense it in her voice. Eventually, Acqua stopped singing as the faint light and music faded gently. While Q was not entirely recovered, he was finally stable enough to stop crying and get up on his feet. Acqua felt her voice's power was beginning to grow weaker as they were now out of Anirune, as if her emotions were being interfered with by her surroundings.​

[Summary: Torsty lets GMK and company in and Acqua, feeling the need to be of use, heals Q to the point where he can stop crying and stand with Voce. Also, the song is "Lumis Eterne" originally sung by Hirohashi Ryo ( 広橋涼).]​
 
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