Participants:
| Scene Title | The Dark Hour |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | The beginning of a new storyarc! |
All the news channels have been reporting it. People are saying it's a portent of the end of the world. Others are saying it's one of the most blasphemous acts that they have ever accomplished. In the end, it's getting major attention from people across the world.
There's three unside down crosses in a triangular shape. They're suspended from the large billboards in Times Square, one on each shape. What's worse is that there's a person hanging upside down completely crucified. Instead of nails through the palms and feet, there's just rope, though each of them has been stabbed in the side. Blood drips down each of their sides. All in all, there's a young teenager at the center. She can't be older than seventeen years old and there's a look of shock on her face. On the other, there's a young woman looking to be in her thirties. And finally, there's an elderly grandmother that just seems..calm.
With those three crucified, all of Times Square has been closed off. Yellow tape blocks off the past couple of blocks and as it's late in the night, there is the occasional policeman patrolling the borders. Evidence has been collected, and for the most part, the three women just appeared overnight. They were found in the morning and it's quite the news now.
Thump. Whoever's watching on TV just saw a man in a bright yellow raincoat and a bright yellow hat land on a billboard, near one of the crosses. Ah, David, always making a grand entrance. "Hey," the Monkey Prince calls up to the seventeen year old, "Clotho, what's hanging?"
Anne heard the news reports, but had to see this for herself. Not that it is pleasant to view, but she half believed it was some hoax. She found the idea of people being crucified in a public place, even in New York City, truly bizarre. Now she is here, though, she sees it is very true. As much as she wants to, she can't seem to take her eyes from the horrific scene. Surely someone should take them down. She looks around at the police present, to see if any of them looks to be preparing to do that. As the yellow clad figure appears, she looks up at him. Perhaps he has come to do the task.
There is only quiet. No response. Instead blood continues to drip down from the girl's side and onto the ground below…
And it was such a good day too. Haldor was having corned beef and yellow American on rye bread for lunch, when he spit the mouthful of sandwich out as he caught the news. The Viking spent nearly two hours trying to wring whatever information he could from the television, intermittently casting his attention toward the door. He might not have work… Or school… But Maia certainly had classes.
When she finally got home, he pointed her to the news and the duo planned for their inevitable investigation that night. By and large this probably consisted of Maia attempting to plan out her approach route in her white shikifuku, which she was insistent upon wearing. For his part, Haldor put on his freshest set of black clothing and even traded in his normal rivet-studded boots for a pair of pure black leather ones.
Haldor emerges from the shadows on a rooftop on the edge of Times Square just in time to see David's yellow-tinged silhouette sail past. The Viking peers over the edge of the roof at the Monkey Prince and the billboards a few stories below and about 30 degrees away. Quietly he grumbles to himself, flipping up the hood on his black hoody to try to keep his face covered… If only by a little bit. He glances over his shoulder, waiting for Maia to quit fussing.
"Kong-O is here, just so you know."
"That's okay..he came by the apartment earlier. Wanted to look up my skirt or something like that.."
And there's Maia, piggyback on Haldor as she looks down towards the mess as she shivers a little at the scene. She shudders softly at the violence before chewing her bottom lip a bit. she looks around and she takes a deep breath, running her fingers through her hair.
"Fox News says it's a portent for the end of the world, considering their fundie outlook, I can see why they think that. And if David is here well then let him be here."
After a few moments, the young onmyoudo looks out towards the crosses and motions towards the one with the old lady as that's the closest. "Think we can get over there? I'd like to talk to the crucifix..or the deadbody..whichever still has a kami over it.."
Jolie is next to the scene, running up at mundane speed. "I don't think it's their time yet, Daddy," she mutters, scanning the area. She looks up and sees a certain Monkey Prince. "Oh good, I shoulda known he'd be takin care of business." She notices Anne in the crowd. "Get ready for the spaghetti to hit the fan. Did you know that Saint Peter was crucified upside down? He requested it because he didn't feel worthy enough to die like Jesus did, so he asked to get flipped."
The Ripper has also made an appearance, stalking through the crowd, wreathed in a cloud of cigarette smoke. "Bleeding hell," he mutters, staring at the sight through his impenentrable sunglasses as he leaps the police line.
Calmly, nimbly, David scales the cross, fingers gripping the wood as he ascends up to where the woman is tied. "So how'd you get this gig? Ritual sacrifice? Some sort of fucked up ascension rite? Oracular trials gone terribly, horribly mixed-pantheon and overboard, what with the bleeding out?" Ropes are found, and fingers with the strength to tear sheet metal like it's cardboard go about breaking bonds. "I gotta say, it seems like a shitty gig, and I'm the one who has to live up to a dad who is literally the biggest badass in the universe." Wrinkling his nose, he adds, "And you know, lindwurm skin? It fucking -sucks- to chew. But it just might help me to keep you from dying, so. That's nice. What's your name, Lady Bleeds-a-Lot?"
Zeke is hanging around on the ground level at the edge of the barricade, dressed in his usual jeans and white muscle shirt combo. At this moment, he's lighting up a cigarette, the flame casting an orange glow over his features as he ignites it. He raises it up to his lips and puffs quietly as he peers up at the billboards where the three people are hanging and shakes his head. It may well not be the most brutal thing he's ever seen, but it's certainly the most public. "Christ. This is probably the worst Cinco de Mayo ever."
As David touches the cross, something happens. Slowly he can feel his own legend flow into the crucifix, drawing his own inner strength into it before it simply disappears. Oh..that must not be a good feeling..
It should be interesting to note, that as any beings of legend come towards the yellow tape, the police act as if..they're not even there…
Haldor casts a weird glance at Maia, though his hood hides the expression. The Viking backs up a step or two before putting his speed and strength behind him. Literally stepping off of the ledge, Haldor kicks off with his trailing foot. Masonry all but explodes under the tremendous force and he sails in an almost practiced arc toward the old lady's cross.
At about the midpoint of the arc, Haldor reaches back to lace his fingers together and hold Maia steady on his back as he somersaults through the air. The Viking kills his velocity as much as he can with a few flips before landing atop the billboard itself. For a moment, just a moment, Haldor sways. He quickly gains his balance though, releasing his linked fingers behind Maia.
"Viking Air welcomes you to Times Square and hopes you both had a pleasant flight and have a pleasant evening of investigation. Don't forget to tip your stewardesses."
Rupert glances at the policemen studiously ignoring his presence, and shrugs. He puffs his cigarette and looks around for something to do. "Monkey-boy!" he shouts at David. "What's the deal with the stooges?"
As he begins to feel the legend sapping, David drops down and away from the crucifix and to the billboard's walkway, hissing out anger and frustration. He glances over his shoulder at the other crosses, then quickly bounds away from this billboard. Whether or not he can make it in one jump easily, he'll use other buildings, balconies, window ledges - anything to quickly make his way over, checking first the Lacheisis stand-in, then the Atropos wanna-be. They're probabyl dead, but he's gotta check anyway. He arrives a few seconds after Haldor at the old lady's crucifix, he says, "Don't touch the cross. They're all dead." Leaning over the railing, he shouts down to Rupert, "Looks like giant fucking life-sucking devices! I'd say we're looking at some kinda bigass power generator! Don't let anyone touch 'em, we'll just feed into the capacitor!"
She hates this part. She always hates this part. Must he really do the acrobatics? Maia holds back and covers her mouth as she gags a little bit from the disorientation of flipping through the air before she lands with Haldor on the railing of the billboard.
After a few moments, she regains her equilibrium and hops off his back, her cheeks flushed just a bit. Immediately after she hops off, she steals a quick peck on the cheek. "There's your tip."
Once again she's dressed in her ceremonial shikifuku garb. Fortunately, she has more than one, and so she's immaculately dressed in white once more. She swallows a bit as she looks towards the old woman and heads on over to look towards the crucifix. She's about to touch it when she hears David's warning and stops.
"Thanks.." she says with appreciation before she pulls out a few ofuda, focusing her own abilities through it. "Mother, bring out the spirit of the cross so that I may speak with it.." she whispers softly, muttering a soft prayer for a few moments.
Jolie waves wildly at David. "Gimme a boost up there, man! I wanna take a look at it!" She slips underneath the POLICE LINE: DO NOT CROSS barrier and walks over towards the billboard area.
"Well, shit," Rupert comments. He looks around and pulls out his bagh-nakh, just in case. "Need to learn that jumping trick. Guard duty's not my bag."
Anne decides she should do something. Even if it is just to try and clean those poor women up. The question is how she is to get up there. She walks over to the yellow tape, walking straight past the cops, without any of them trying to stop her. Okay, so they don't even seem to notice she is there. She wonders if the same would be true of her coatl friend. She looks around the crowd gathered. Perhaps it wouldn't be wise. It is then she notices Zeke in the crowd. She keeps her eyes on him, trying to catch his attention.
With a look over at Haldor, David murmurs, "Cut 'em down. Completely aside from, y'know, the fact that they're crucified upside down, this thing might still be sucking energy out of them, stripping some ghost somewhere of its juice. I'll be right back." With a quick hop, David sails downward, his yellow raincoat flapping in the wind. One hand holds the yellow hat on his head as he descends, thumping into a crouch beside Jolie. "Hey, Saturday. You feel like taking a look at some corpse-batteries?"
Zeke shifts his eyes between a couple of the cops who're standing along the line in front of him. "So, any word what the fucks up with this shit? I mean, really, who picks a party day to go makin' sacrilegious displays of graphic violence in the middla Times? I mean, wouldn't April Fools Day be a bit more poetic?" It seems that the two officers aren't paying him much attention, which causes Zeke to furrow his brow. Then, across the crowd, he spots the Scion of Tlazoteotl. His eyebrows go up a little, and he looks back at the cops. "Hey, listen, guys, you've been really helpful and all, but I think I left my gas stove on. I'll catch ya later." Then he starts to edge his way through the crowd, moving in Anne's direction.
Technically no, the acrobatics are not entirely necessary. There is, however, a little thing called physics that might try to kill Maia if Haldor didn't cut his air speed a little bit before landing. Acceleration, deceleration, distribution of impact energy, they're all potential means of hurting a rider not equipped for those sorts of shocks to the system.
Haldor arches a brow at David's command. The Viking draws his drumsticks from his pockets, flicking his wrists as the drumsticks do their transformation mojo, which never seems to happen when people's attention is well-focused on the drumsticks/weapons. A pair of katana rest in Haldor's hands as he watches the Monkey Prince leap down toward Jolie.
"If I cut these folks down, am I or my sticks gonna get soul-sucked?"
Jolie nods to David. "Damn straight, man. They're all dead, then? That's my daddy's gig."
And as the spirit of the crucifix wakes up from Maia's little ritual, she looks back towards Haldor. "Lemme ask.." she says softly before starting to speak with the spirit. It's a spry and rather energetic thing as it tries to leap towards her, but the girl steps back just in time before the awoken spirit makes contact.
"Um..I'll take that.." she says, pointing towards the angry little gremlin looking thing on the crucifix, "As a yes." Maia continues looking at it just a bit starting to make conversation with it. "What did this? Who did this? What are you?"
And there's a bit of sniveling before a bit of growly scratchy laughter. "A big man. A fiery man. A white woman. A man in black. A girl in brown. A woman in a cloak. And a giant."
Anne spots Zeke , making his way through the crowd to join her and feels instantly relieved. Maybe he will know what to do. As he gets closer, she offers a half smile. She doesn't want to smile at him too brightly, it seems kinda wrong in the circumstances. Her eyes are no longer looking at the scene up above, so she has no idea of what is going on up there.
He snakes one arm around Jolie's waist. Physics? David learned long ago that physics don't matter - about the same time he learned that he only made craters in the sidewalk when it was dramatically appropriate and that he could pick up a motorcycle by the exhaust pipe and swing it without hurting the motorcycle, unless he thought about how awesome it would be for the motorcycle to explode. Once, he saw a giant pick up a car by the bumper and hit a Scion with it, and the bumper didn't just wrench off. That's when David stopped worrying about physics and just did shit that was awesome. Like taking Jolie by the waist and leaping up into the air to land nimbly on the billboard by the middle-aged woman. "Just don't raise her from the dead," he says with a sigh as he looks up at the upside-down female. "This looks like a horrible way to go, and it'd be a shame to put them back in their bodies after this." His spear grows, and he begins to -carefully- take its leaf-blade to the ropes - he's going to try to do this without touching the wood of the cross, sawing through until the weight of the corpse breaks the bonds rather than just hacking it open in one swipe.
As the leaf-blade nears the ropes it looks like it's about to rust just a bit. Hopefully David moves it back before it becomes..you know..rust.
Haldor has his reasons for selecting a katana for cutting people down from upside-down crucifix soul-sucking batteries. Elegance, grace, precision, raw cutting potential. All qualities long associated with and attributable to the unique properties of the katana. Sure, it would be more fitting for him to be wielding great swords or even the ridiculous Germanic overcompensation that is the zweihander, but right now? Right now this calls for a katana.
"Ain't safe to cut, Kong. Your gear's just gonna get fucked."
Haldor takes a step back, leaning against the railing along the billboard catwalk. The Viking quietly considers the situation, hoping that somewhere in his head a brilliant idea is forming.
"Guuuuuuys! I think it's pretty obvious who did all this!" Maia calls out from the billboard. "A big man! A fiery man! A woman in white!" and she repeats what she found out from the spirit of the crucifix. "And the spirit of the crucifix is hungry! It tried to bite me! I think it actively wants legend..that can explain why the cops don't seem to be doing jack shit about us!" she yells, putting her hands to her lips before she looks back towards Haldor with a soft sigh under her breath.
"Any ideas? I think David's right..it's a giant power source meant to take in legend. If it's on the news around the world and people know of this..that's a MASSIVE SOURCE OF LEGEND.." she emphasizes in the end.
Zeke steps up to Anne with a completely inappropriate smile on his face. It fades a little when he realises that it's there, though, and he clears his throat and tries his best to look dour. "Hey, Anne, right? How's it goin'?" He looks over toward the police, then back at the girl. "I think the cops are on somethin' or other tonight. Maybe celebratin' Cinco de Mayo Colombian style. You wanna see if we can get up there with the rest of them?" He nods his head toward the billboards. "I can get us up there, if we can get past the boys in blue."
Jolie steps lightly as David lets her go. "Thanks for the ride." And then she looks grimly at the the tableau, pulling out the bag that hangs from the cord around her neck. She pulls out a little dust and blows it into the air. "Papa Legba, open the way. Daddy, give me the sight to see over the veil…" She peers, and sighs. "Poor girl…there's a ghost near the girl's body. She's crying. Tell me, girl, who did this to you? Why?"
"Anyone got a fuckin' plan?" Rupert calls out loudly from the ground. "I didn't bring my chainsaw, and I don't know shite about this magic crock."
Anne notices the smile, but doesn't seem too bothered by it. She is just glad she has company, in the midst of the madness. "Could be" she replies, in reponse to his comment about the cops. "Or maybe they are in shock. I can't imagine they have witnessed many worse sights than this." Her eyes look back up at the bodies and she nods. "Okay, lets go up there." She then hears Rupert shouting and looks over at him, pointing towards him, "There is that Ripper guy, Zeke."
The ghost of the girl sniffles a little, though she blinks blankly towards Jolie for a few moments. She can be seen. She stands up and beams brightly as she hugs Jolie just wanting to feel something again. "People..they took me…and brought me close to starvation. It was only after a while did I get brought..and they did.." and she cries softly, pointing to her body on the crucifix. "Henri… Mordred… Helena..those are the names I remember. The others they tried to stop it but..the big one..Henri..he.."
And suddenly she becomes even paler (if that's possible for the ghost). she cries out as she stares up at the sky, the earth starts to quake. "We are the lambs for the Dark Hour. Our sacrifice, there is no hope, no future."
"Not sure, yet, man," calls Haldor to Rupert. The Viking mutters to himself as he glances around the billboards, "Frigg. Could this get much creepier?"
Haldor looks toward Jolie and Maia, an expectant expression on his face. They can talk to dead people. Surely they must be gathering information and formulating a plan. At least, Haldor hopes they're formulating a plan. He sure as hell doesn't have any bright ideas.
Over where Maia and Haldor are, the ghost of the woman appears before them. Yes, she can be seen by both, as does the third. All three ghosts can be seen now, and they just chant. "The Dark Hour, it comes. We are the lambs brought to the slaughter. Our sacrifice, no hope, no future.." they all say in unison.
Considering the old woman's ghost just appeared before her, Maia yelps as she screams in fright and starts running towards Haldor peering behind him. "Holy crap!!!" she cries as she starts to hold onto him for dear life as the entire Times Square area starts to quake..hard..
Jolie gives the ghost what comfort she can. "We'll make sure you find peace." She looks to the others, her expression grim. "Henri, Mordred, Helena…they did it. And she just said, "The Dark Hour, it comes." And something about lambs to the slaughter - oh, crap." The earth quakes.
Zeke looks over in Rupert's direction when Anne points at him, then nods back at her. "Yeah, maybe we should go see if he's got any news. I mean, myself, I don't got the first clue what - Jesus Mary!" He's supernaturally deft enough to keep his balance, but he does nearly topple into Anne in doing so. "What the hell's going on now?"
With one hand, David heaves on the railing of the billboard walkway, tearing away a twisted, jagged piece of metal. This, totally uninfused with legend, should do the trick…if he's right about what's going on. He hauls back and takes a big swing at the ropes, aiming the jagged bits of metal at them, determined, more than ever, to get the body off the cross. "Saturday," he growls, "Get them out of here. Can you send them where they're supposed to go? They're being -used-."
Oh look. Ghost women. Wait. Ghost women? Haldor jerks backward a half-step in mild surprise, eyes widening a bit as the ghostly ladies start chanting and circling. The Viking looks at Maia, then back at the ghosts.
"… I can see dead people. This is neither normal nor good is it?"
And then the earth starts quakin'. Presumably the walls will start shakin' any time now… And then several someones will not be fakin'. For this reason, Haldor's katanas have changed into a pair of executioner's axes. You know the kind, with the two axe heads on one haft. Haldor does not like this.
And the metal easily cuts through the ropes. David was right that it wasnt suffused with legend and hence didnt get destroyed. However, even with the rope free, the body is still there…
Anne holds on tightly to Zeke, as the earth moves around them. She is terrified and the thought of going up there, scares her even more. "What the hell is going on? I was hoping you would know." she says, her voice sounding shaken. "Sure though, if we can make it over there in one piece, let's see if he has any ideas. She looks over at Rupert, then back at Zeke "Hm, after you."
Rupert easily keeps his feet when the ground starts shaking. "Soon would be good," he calls out. "I've got a feeling there's a time limit!"
"Seeing dead people is never normal. Seeing dead people talk about a dark hour is even worse. Seeing dead people all chant in creepy voices about a dark hour is possibly the worst.."
And that's Maia as she clings onto Haldor's arm this time, not wanting to fall off the billboard rails for that would just be an anticlimactic death for a young Scion.
And yes, the walls quake. Everything shakes. Anyone who looks outside would see that things are changing. Where cops once stood, now only coffins stand with an upsidedown crucifix on it. The electricity starts to fizzle before soon there is just blackness. Pitch blackness outside. There's no sound, nothing. Just darkness.
From the inky void, Maia cries out. If there's anything she didnt like, it's the darkness. She's cries out and holds her ring into the air. "Mother! I invoke your protection! Bring us your divine radiance!" she cries out and soon, her body is the only thing that shimmers, but at least it provides light for the entire area. Unfortunately, everything is still quaking and shaking.
Jolie slips and lands on her butt. "Ow. Okay. Touching the crosses is right out, but I'm betting that breaking them might stop this. We gotta reverse the power suck on them or destroy them. Why are there coffins down there?"
The Monkey Prince shoves the twisted metal bar between body and cross, trying to form a crowbar from his imrpovised weapon, and -shoves. "Guys! Get the fucking -bodies- down! They wouldn't have gone so far to keep 'em attached if they didn't -need- to be! I don't care how, get them -down-! Break the crosses…wait! Everyone down off the billboards!" Reaching down, David moves to take Jolie by the hand. "That means you too, Goth Princess. I've got an idea." A look over his shoulder, "Hey, Chibi Viking! Gonna need your help over here! Get Lite Brite on the ground and get your ass to the base of my billboard!"
Rupert groans as he looks around wildly. Despite the sunglasses on his face, his visions clearly pierces the murk. "Fuckin' hell," he whispers, then shouts, "LISTEN! Every single mortal that I can fucking see has been turned into a goddamn coffin! This is too big for us!" He stares up at the sky. "Kali, mother of darkness, queen of revolution, I beg for your interferance!"
Zeke slips his arms around Anne to keep her from falling. His eyes shift around the area, taking note of the police-officers-turned-coffins. "Damn. I think those cops just went up a notch in terms of liveliness. What the hell is this, a Judas Priest concert?" He squints, then turns his eyes over toward where he last saw Rupert, about to call over to him until he hears the Scion of Kali calling out.
And a loud booming voice can be heard in the sky. It seems someone's plea for divine intervention has been answered. Of course Rupert would know his mother's voice. "My son, the loom of fate has been changed. Strands have been broken that should not have been. The Gods..all the Gods are trying to restore our own realms from this effect..good luck my son…I shall be watching over you.."
Jolie looks to David. "I can get the bodies down, but I'd have to zombify them and command them to move. What's your plan, Monkey Man?"
And in the center of Times Square the ground starts to split open. What appears from it? Black twisted spires go off in all sorts of direction. The ground and concrete continue to split in the middle as something is coming forth. And it's fucking huge. From the looks of it..as it pops out slowly..it's…a building of some sort?
Haldor stands his ground on the catwalk. It is very dark and then very bright and his retinas are screaming bloody murder. The Viking jerks his head in the direction of David's screaming, then feels his own arm to make sure that Maia is securely clung to him.
Promptly Haldor leaps over the side of the billboard and sails toward the ground with Maia in tow. Somewhere in midair he gets her flipped into his arms, swords held blades to the ground. He crashes to the ground, backflipping after a moment's consideration. In air he plants Maia on the ground and starts making his way over toward David, who he can just sort of make out with Maia's light.
"What's the plan?"
"Fuck them," David yells at Rupert, "They never help! We gotta do this shit ourselves!" Taking Jolie by the waist again, David nimbly hops downward, hitting the ground with a crunch near the base of the billboard. "We don't take down the crosses and the bodies. We take down the whole fucking -board-. Haldor and I together should be enough. I hope. Maybe we can domino them, Atropos into Lacheisis into Clotho, take 'em all down in one swoop, if we aim right. I need you and Rupe to keep your eyes open…" A look over his shoulder, and David growls, "And hold off whatever the fuck that is while Haldor and I break the battery that's fueling it. Keep Maia safe, she's the only light that's going to work for awhile. If we don't get this done -fast-, I think we're all in some deep shit."
Anne holds on to Zeke, appreciative of his support. "Maybe we should take a closer look at those coffins" she says. It is then, that she hears the booming voice fill the sky. All the Gods? That means her mother, too. It gives her some comfort to feel her mother may be working to stop this. She finds her inner courage and is about to go over to take a closer look at the coffins when, the ground splits. She starts to pray, under her breath.
And yet the building continues to grow. Black inky spires continue to raise up in the air. The sounds of something screeching can be heard. Awful sounds can be heard inside. The building keeps on getting bigger and bigger. It's easily the tallest thing within Times Square now. And it's still growing.
Maia lets out a yelp as she's brought down to the ground. She is the only illumination for a while, but she remains quiet. Her jaw is agape as she just stares at the continually growing building that's just coming out of the ground. "Um…this is not good." Understatement of the millenia!
"Bitch!" Rupert shouts affectionately at the sky, before turning his gaze back at the building. With semi-divine grace, he makes his way quickly across the square, avoiding the rising spikes. "What ever you do," He calls to David. "Do it fucking quick!"
Jolie smiles wolfishly. "I like the plan. We've got your back. And…" She leans up and kisses David on the cheek. "A kiss for luck. You get more when we get outta this mess." And Goth Girl eyes the growing tower warily. "Paging Dr. Freud…"
"Sounds like a plan. I can split the supports for the billboards, can you support the weight for a second or two 'til I can help you?"
Haldor likes this plan. Haldor is excited about this plan. Haldor is excited to be a part of this insane, potentially suicidal plan. The Viking sheathes his drumsticks in his hoody pockets again, moving around inky black spikes toward David and Jolie. It shouldn't take but a moment, really.
Maia quickly follows, letting out a quick yelp every now and then as she follow Haldor. Fortunately for her she isnt impaled by any of the growing spikes from the ground and she's there just in time to see Jolie kiss David on the cheek. She gives the girl a thumb's up before she takes a deep breath, huffing and puffing as she continues to do her glowy goodness.
"You guys better hurry..whatever it is you're going to do..just do it!" she squeals before hopping up to do Jolie one better. She kisses Haldor on the lips! "Don't die." she says firmly and resolutely.
At Jolie's kiss, David shoots her a wolfish grin. "I always liked my luck charms better with tongue, but hey. -After- we save the world."
"Viking! There! Get your shoulder into it, and push like you're trying to make it into your first epic poem, you gloriously muscled bastard! And in a hundred years, they'll sing of Brave Haldor, squire to the greatest warrior who ever lived, David Kong Bao, the God of Combat and Competition and Com…uh…Company Picnics. You!" David points at Zeke, "You look like a strapping young godling, get your fucking ass over here and help, and maybe I'll remember your name in the morning! You, there, you, here, me…uh, I'll find a spot, just fucking -push-! Uh…fuck it, Rupert, get over here and motivate these bastards before the Evil Dead rise and I have to replace my hand with a fucking chainsaw and come up with more cheesey one-liners!" Giving up on coordinating (because, really, David's a great idea man, but Rupe's the one who does well at getting people working together, and David's better at…well, following orders after he's given the advice.
Meanwhile, as all this is happening? The building continues to grow. More and more twisted spires rise from the ground as the groaning and moaning of whatever is inside can be heard. Oh, that cannot be good.
Anne doesn't think she can help much herself, but she know something that may be able to. She takes her feather out of her jacket and rolls up her sleeves, before drawing it across her arm, causing it to bleed. She looks at the emerging building, whilst she does this, then looks at Zeke "I hope it can help."
And the three ghosts continue to repeat themselves in a chant: "Our sacrifice, no hope, no future..Our sacrifice, no hope, no future.."
Rupert dashes easily across the square to where the strong people are gather. "You heard the man," he says as he stops a good distance back "David stop for a second. Freddy, Zeke, get in your bleeding positions." He waits until everyone has found a good spot. "On my mark, you bastard push for all you are worth!" He pauses to light a cigarette with his Zippo. Taking a deep drag, he looks back up at the three guys over the top of his sunglasses. "The hell are you blokes waiting for? PUSH!"
Zeke's eyes wander over to David, then to Haldor as they both become subjected to good luck kisses by their respective females. Then he looks up at David when he starts shouting out orders, taking note of them, tilting his head a little, and then blinking as he suddenly realises that the giant snake from the coffee shop is making its reappearance. Turning to Anne, he makes a pouty face, "Oh, come on! The other guys all get a good luck kiss and all I get is a giant snake? I really am a damn martyr." He grins at her slightly before turning back to Rupert, nodding at his instructions and running quickly over toward one of the billboards indicated, hopping and sidestepping debris from the quaking and rising spires as he moves. "Let's do this shit!"
Jolie looks up as the men put their all into the task. "Daddy, please help them out. Get Ogoun to give them strength."
Freddy… Err… I mean Haldor. HALDOR launches himself into the air, ricocheting off of one building and up onto the billboard of another. The Viking drops to the roof top, getting into position. Once there, he grits his teeth and takes in a deep breath.
"This is going to get into ridiculous terrain, I can tell already."
Rupert dashes easily across the square to where the strong people are gather. "You heard the man," he says as he stops a good distance back "David stop for a second. Freddy, Zeke, get in your bleeding positions." He waits until everyone has found a good spot. "On my mark, you bastards push for all you are worth!" He pauses to light a cigarette with his Zippo. Taking a deep drag, he looks back up at the three guys over the top of his sunglasses. It may be a trick of the light, or lack thereof, but his eyes appear to be pure black.. "The hell are you blokes waiting for? PUSH!"
There isn't any acrobatics for David. There's no flipping around. There's no leaping into the air. He simply stands, near the base, and draws himself into a low, squared stance. His hands draw down slowly in front of him, every movement precisely controlled, every muscle under his complete command. His sense of where everyone is heightens to nearly preternatural awareness. Zeke's short annoucnement, Haldor's sky-riding preparation for a cometary collision, Rupert's shouts filling all three with adrenaline and the confidence of a strong commander - all of it crystalizes into one moment, until he can very nearly feel the others tension within his own muscles. And so, he knows precisely when to strike. The moment is delayed until the exact fraction of a second when it will do the most good - just after Haldor has connected with the base of the billboard, just before Zeke's shoulder starts to strain its hardest. His entire body blinks into motion with such speed that it's as if he -teleported- into position, and the sound of his single palm cracking into the metal of the billboard's base is like a thunderclap. Asphalt gouges out of the street beneath his bare feet, toes digging into the very ground as if it were sand, looking for purchase as his every muscle works to continue the momentum of that one strike, focusing the strength of his entire body, mortal muscle and divine ichor alike, into that one, tiny point, the place put under the most strain by the assaults of the other scions. Somewhere, deep in his back, he feels the first strain of muscle beginning to tear, but pushes on. In his arms, a blood vessel bursts. His toes dig into asphalt until the more tender flesh tears away, leaving his feet bloody and ragged, but still he pushes. It -will- break. He can see it, outlined in his mind, the result,r ather than the deed - the falling of the board, the crucifix dashed against its partner, the disruption of magical energies. It is so vivid in his mind's eye that he sees nothing else, not where one of his fingers cracks, the bone unable to stand under the pressure of his strength and determination.
It's hard not to notice a kiss from the daughter of a sun goddess while said daughter is currently outputting sufficient lumens to light up Times Square. Haldor has a burn on his cheek in the shape of Maia's lips that he is pretty sure isn't going anywhere before the end of this particular bit of insanity.
The Viking hears the go sign, drawing in another deep breath as he channels his strength and will into the coming strikes. With a terrible, rebel yell, Haldor surges forward at top speed, driving his even more terrible Viking Fist through support pylon after support pylon. Haldor whirls as his fist crashes through the last support and he heaves himself upward. In midair, the Viking whirls around, attempting to complete his Holy Rampage with a flying roundhouse kick to hurl the billboard into the perfect position for the other two Scions.
The impact is tremendous, something not unlike a sonic boom issuing out from where his foot meets toppling billboard. Haldor can feel several of his toes breaking under the terrific, awesome strength of the impact. Spasms ravage his thighs and blood seeps from his nose as the Viking channels every ounce of the might he has inherited from Thor into this single act. Ichor seeps from the knuckles of his VIKING FIST, sizzling over Haldor's flesh as time seems almost to standstill, the Viking becoming increasingly aware of his body's condition in those milliseconds before, during, and after impact.
And then the moment passes and Haldor whirls about parallel to the ground below for but a moment before he crashes into it on his side. Blood and ichor seep from his wounds, the Viking momentarily stunned by the release of his strength, determination, and, perhaps more importantly, the strain that it put upon his body.
It's a tense moment. Do our heroes succeed? Even with the good luck kisses on their cheeks, our heroes strain. David looks like he's constipated. Haldor's muscles look like they're about to burst. Zeke pushes as hard as he can. The sheen of sweat on their foreheads drip to the ground and soon the creaking of metal against concrete can be heard. Soon, the domino effect starts.
One after another, the bill boards crash with the heavy weight of the crucifix. The woman hung upside down on the Kodak billboard starts to drive towards the Virgin records store where the teenager is hung. From there, more of the bill board crashes down with a loud creek of metal falling onto more metal. There's a kerthunk after another as the domino effect starts to spread throughout Times Square.
Raw destruction is the order of the day. Buildings fall along with the billboards from the strain and the cracks in the foundation caused by the earthquake of the spires rising up from the ground. The dust rises from the rubble that continues to be formed, and eventually even with billboard with the third woman, the old crone comes crashing down. It looks like there wont be anymore Dick Clark specials for our heroic band has destroyed Times Square.
In the end, the dust clears from the destruction of the buildings and the breaking of the mystical circuit of legend due to the sacrifice. Fortunately, this has stopped the spires from the ground. Unfortunately, most of the building is above ground and the screeches and roars and other sounds from the dark spires can be heard by our Scions.
But all is not lost! For those not doing the epic feat of strength would notice that..the black inky darkness surrounding them has..well stopped. The coffins that were people are now people again making their merry way. However, they're oblivious. Something about the ritual seemed to take Times Square out of reality..for the dark spires and the eventual castle like structure is still standing.
And that's when Maia chirps in. "Yatta! You guys did it!" she beams happily as she starts rushing towards the three men looking them over. She wrinkles her nose and beams brightly looking them over before she places a big smooch on Haldor's lips, letting it linger just a bit. Yeah, she's rubbing it in David's face before she let's go. It's only then does she realize that everything else outside Times Square is normal. "Woah..I dont think it's over..not yet anyway.."
"No. It's not over. But it's paused, for now." David, for his part, isn't looking at Haldor and Maia's celebratory smoochin's. Instead, he moves through the rubble, digging with his broken fingers, leaving behind bloody footprints. Looking for the bodies. There are three women in that pile who deserve a better burial than this ill-gotten cairn.
"Bugger all," Rupert snarks, staring at the total destruction of one of the most famous landmarks in New York. He shakes it off quickly enough, though. "If that didn't do the job, I've got no bleeding clue."
On the ground, Haldor feels like death warmed over; he did just break several toes and split the skin on the knuckles of one hand before his muscles started throbbing and aching with terrible pain. The Viking's eyes widen from their half-closed, trying to rest state as Maia grabs him and pulls him into a big ol' kiss.
When all is said and done, Haldor is left sprawled on the ground. Speechless and dumbfounded. He blinks a few times and looks around the ruined Square, looking very vaguely dazed.
"… I… Buh?"
Maia looks outside of the square and she hrmms for a few moments, her brows furrowed. "Um..how come they arent reacting to ya know..Times Square just getting destroyed with a huge black scary building of doom in the middle? Shouldnt..mortals be fleeing and pissing their pants if not shitting themselves?" she asks before she looks towards Haldor with a wink. Yes, she totally took advantage of him.
She looks towards the others and chews on her bottom lip as she wrinkles her nose a bit as the spirits of the three women appear before our merry band of heroes. "Guuuuuys…"
"I'd say we're in a Terra Incognita. Some magic has been worked over this place to make it not entirely of the World. Gods of my Pantheon can rework huge tracts of the World, remake them to our whims, by rearranging the Qi — it's usually temporary, and we had better hope this one is, too, or someone has majorly upset the balance, and that's not a good thing—" A pause as David tosses aside a huge stone, and sees the spirits of the three women appearing. "Where's Saturday when you need her…"
"The balance has been changed. The Dark Mirrors have affected this world more than you know. You were correct in assuming who we were. In order to enact their ritual they needed to spiral legend from the world here to a localized point. It's a working that…well.." and that would be Atropos speaking at this point.
"We were taken by the ritual that changed the loom of fate." And that's Clotho speaking at this point. "The strands have been broken connecting the fate of this place."
"There will be a Dark Hour, but you have stopped it from affecting the rest of the world and from being permanent. That.." Lachesis says, pointing to a structure, "Is a gateway to one of the Titan's realms. It gives them an opening with which they can affect the world. Be wary, young godlings for you will undergo many tests. Inside that building is…it is hidden even from our mystical sight. We cannot help you. But all we can tell you is.."
"You must fix the loom of fate to prevent the Dark Hour from destroying the balance." and that's all three of them together.
Rupert shrugs. "Anyone got any bright ideas? I'm about as out of my league as it gets."
"Terra Incognita?"
Haldor rolls the term around a few times more, possibly a little too stunned to focus terribly well on much else. That was his first true Feat of Strength… And he's still kind of green as far as Scion-ing goes. Then the ghosts start appearing and talking quite coherently. That snaps Haldor out of his funk, the Viking squinting at the trio of ghosts quite intently.
"… Norns?"
"Terra Incognita..the Titanrealms.."
And that's Maia speaking this time as she listens and looks into the spiral structure. she looks worried and chews on her bottom lip as she continues to look at the three spirits.
"You arent suggesting we actually go in there..are you?"
"So," David says, peering at the floating spectres, "Let me guess. Here I am, bloodying my fingers, and those bodies were just avatars, and not real people, dead. Fuck, I -hate- when Gods go slumming. The World is supposed to be -ours-. You're supposed to keep shit like this in the Overworld!" Now the Monkey Prince is stalking toward the three, anger flaring in his eyes. "We -do- our job! We fight the spawn, we oppose the corrupted! This shit is out of our fucking league! This is -your- jobs! This shit is the mother-fucking business that keeps you pieces of shit locked away in the Overworld instead of helping us! That's your end of the deal! You fight the big shit, keep the Titans out of the World, and we fucking fight -here-, keeping their minions in check! And we've -done- our job, goddamnit! That big fucker, he's not on our level. He's closer to one of you, and we fought him -anyway-, and this shit still happens! What the fuck do you want from us?!"
"That is not all that the ritual did. You misunderstand us..your parents all still fight the Titans and their most powerful spawn. But this has opened up a rift..your enmies can now find Scions to be. They now have our ability to see who will become a godling to help in their aid. They will go and try to bring them to their side. What we ask of you, my young brash godling, is to prevent this from happening. And as such, we bestow you our gift.."
And that's when something comes out from the three. It's a large beautifully decorated mirror. And Maia would recognize it immediately.
"The Yata no kagami! That's my mothers!" she cries out.
"Your mother is lending it to you all, to find the Scions before the corrupted ones do. This will change the balance. This is what we ask of you..to keep the balance. They are trying to change the balance of power between your parents and the Titans..you must prevent them from doing so.."
"That's nice," Rupert scoffs. "You drop the ball, and we get a mirror to pick it up with. Starting to think I picked the wrong bloody side."
"Great. A bloody mirror from heaven. There's a -demigod- down here on their side, lady!" David's addressing the three as one, looking at whichever is in the middle and ignoring the other two. "You all -knew- what was coming and you gave us -shit- for intel and no backup!" Glancing at Rupert, David nods once, hard, "Yeah,t aht's the line we'll pitch to them. Join us! You get to be cannon fodder thrown against a fucking unstoppable juggernaut, and the ones in charge won't tell you -shit- until it's too late, but at least they'll make it up for you by giving you a mirror in which you can see the giant fucking Em-Eye-En-Eye-Oh-En tattooed on your fucking forehead! Go ahead, bitch, spout one more cryptic fucking riddle after I gave of my own Legend and sacrificed my blood and body to save your -worthless- fucking avatars, thinking they were real people who were actually dead. Real blood. Blood that -means- something because I'm still made of flesh and bone and when i die, I'm just fucking -gone-."
Haldor staggers to his feet, ichor-soaked hand rubbing his face and nose before he tries to staunch the nose bleed. The Viking hobbles toward David and the ghosts, piercing blue eyes fixed on the space beyond the ghosts.
"They crucified Norns?"
And the fates go quiet for a bit as they look towards all those present. The ones who exerted the energy the most are the first look, then the rest. "We shall reverse the fate of your body as it is now.." one whispers softly, waving her hand over them as soon Haldor, Zeke and David find themselves completely healed.
The crone looks towards David, her brows furrowing a bit. "They worked in concert to capture us three. We are equal amongst gods yet young godlings such as yourself working together were able to capture our mortal avatars and drain the legend to enact the ritual to bring about the Dark Hour. Do not underestimate your own capabilities. Work with your friends and you will accomplish great things.."
"Your parents have decided to bestow you with gifts.." An egg suddenly appears before Rupert. It's pretty large, about the size of a human head. In front of David appears a stylized obsidian pendant. Haldor's arm is suddenly lifted up and another rune soon appears on his bracer, one standing for darkness. Finally, Maia's ring is lifted up and soon an icy blue magatama forms a second tomoe on her ring before it goes on her finger. And for Jolie..that is to be decided when she logs in.
"Farewell young godlings..do take care…" And soon, the three fates disappear.
Rupert stares at the egg as it's handed to him. "Hold the phone. I know breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but I think you are vastly overrating things here." He turns to look at where the Fates disappeared. "Well, this is supremely useless. What'd you lot get?"
"It doesn't matter," David mutters, shoving the amulet into a pocket without looking at it. "It's bribery to make us forget we're being used, shuffled around like pawns on a chessboard. And I didn't even get to kill anything." Dropping hat and coat, David walks away, leaving more bloody footprints through the rubble as he heads for the sidewalk.
Haldor starts to say something else, but is cut off as his body suddenly mends itself. The Viking blinks a few times, lifting his left hand to start making a point but is again stymied as he is jerked upward about an inch from the ground by his bracer.
"… You know what? Fare thee well, Fates."
Promptly Haldor is dropped unceremoniously from the sky. He lands on his feet, though he takes a step backward to stabilize himself while inspecting the new rune on his bracer. Curiously he quirks an eyebrow.
Rupert shrugs. "Right then. No help. Useless gifts. And a big bloody tower in the middle of New York." He lights a cigarette. "Sounds like business as usual, then. What the fuck are we doing about the new skyscraper?"
And Maia just watches astounded by the gifts as she looks towards the egg. "Um, I hope you dont have any intentions of eating what's inside there. If Kali gave it to you..then..I bet it could eat you.." she says matter of factly, wrinkling her nose as she looks down at her ring and the new shiny blue magatama.
She looks over towards the emo monkey and shakes her head as she looks over Haldor. "You okay? I mean, did they really fix you?" she asks curiously, raising her brows as she looks up towards the new skyscraper. "Um..have no idea."
Hersnd then that's when the young woman cries out in pain. There's a shuriken sticking out of her back shoulder. She looks around, getting on the defensive. There are six shadowy forms coming out of the tower and they all look towards our group. "What the fuck..I knew it wasnt done yet.." she grumps.
"…goddamned mother-fucking piece of shit cunt-faced inconvenient cock-sucking -ninjas-!" All of the sudden, David is in the air, flying toward the nearest figure with his spear out. "I HATE NINJAS!" Stab! "You are based on a fucking historical inaccuracy!" Stab! "Your legend was blown entirely out of proportion with your actual effectiveness, even if you did exist!" Stab! Somehow, David doesn't actually land until all three attacks are made and his diatribe is ended.
David lands, panting. Three ninjas are skewered. "Okay," he muttes. "I feel better."
Considering three of their compatriots were destroyed by the angry monkey, the last remaining three ninjas make attacks towards David, but alas, monkey boy is too fast.
Haldor flexes his formerly injured fist a few times and tests his weight on his ex-mangled foot. The Viking nods a bit, apparently pleased with the performance. Slowly he turns toward Maia, offering one of his usual subdued smiles.
"Yeah. I'm back in black…" Dramatic Pause. "MAIA?!"
The Viking shifts his attention from the onmyoudo toward the approaching ninja. It takes him a moment or two to fully digest what just happened and draw his drumsticks once again. Digestion time gives David a chance to kill a trio of ninjas and badass dodge another three, presumably angry, ninjas. It also gives Haldor a chance to start charging toward the ninjas.
Trailing in his wake are a pair of zweihanders, sparks flying up from the ground as the enormous swords skip and skid across the ruined pavement. Haldor lets out a roar of fury and leaps toward one of the ninjas, swinging both of the enormous swords as if they weighed nothing. This may get crazy very quickly… Blender crazy.
There's the ninjas. Haldor is wicked fast, David is even faster and there she is with the black shuriken in her back. SHe pulls it out of her shoulder and winces her nose a little as she chews on her bottom lips as the ninjas start to close in. "Damnit..this is what people think of when they see Japanese people. Stupid Naruto.." she grumps as she goes back and throws the shuriken back towards the offending nin..
And Maia misses..this is why she should not do combat and should just stick to being a giant lamp.
"Go Chibi!" David calls out. He's in a much better mood, now - nothing like stabbing things to get him in the mood for laughter and merriment. His spear darts at one of the foes, then reverses, grows, and from ten feet away stabs at the other as he pivots on one heel.
A gruff growl escapes the Viking at David's call. Haldor spins his entire body, one ninja still caught up on a zweihander. The Viking whirls around, twitching his wrist subtly as he draws upon the slowly developing bonds of friendship amongst the group.
Haldor notices the ninja stunned, if not unconscious, by David's spear and acrobatics. The Viking takes a single step in that direction, suddenly stopping his rotation and sending that first ninja sailing across the landscape toward what amounts to a pike of steel emerging from the rubble of the fallen billboards.
This doesn't stop Haldor in the least though. The Viking swings his other sword around, trying to scoop up the second ninja on the edge of the tremendous blade amidst a spray of sparks from the growing rut in the pavement. Haldor screams his fury, swinging both of his enormous blades in rapid succession as he juggles the ninja atop his terrible blades.
Of the two ninja, the one Haldor initially attacked is probably the luckier. That one was sent hurtling at nearly neck-snapping speeds across Times Square before becoming inextricably impaled upon an enormous black spike. The terrible, foreign spike rams through its midsection, splitting its spine in twain followed by several other vital organs. Blood glistens dimly upon the spike's tip long after the initial "explosion" and spray of crimson mist from the penetration.
The second ninja, brought low by David, suffers the Viking's wrath. Time and time again Haldor's zweihanders carve deep trenches through the pavement of Times Square before slinging the gravel through a ruptured store front as the blade arcs up and through the air to carve another three inches off of the ninja's body. Blood and some form of ichor sprays in several directions, inexplicably deflected from raining down on Haldor or Maia by Haldor's own whirling blades of death.
Haldor whirls one final time, bringing both blades around to carve the ninja's skull in twain. The Viking throws his head and shoulders back, facing the "new skyscraper" as he roars, zweihanders buried in newspaper boxes on opposite sides of the street from Haldor.
… You might want to give him a moment or two to cool down.
Rupert takes a long drag off his cigarette. "We done yet?"
"…."
Maia blinks for a few moments at the sight of the gore and the berserker rage of the viking as she hrmms for a few moments. She wrinkles her nose as she starts running around collecting the various shuriken that are the leftover remains of the various Titanspawn shinobi. Mmm, thrown weapons, always a fun and nice thing to have.
After she collects all six that were sprinkled around the area, she tentatively heads towards Haldor, wrinkling her nose a bit as she looks over towards Rupert and David. "Um..should we try to get out of this Terra Incognita now?"
"You guys go," David says, quietly. "I think one of us, at least, should keep an eye on it. I'll take first watch." Moving to perch on a nearby hunk of rubble, he adds, "Someone should bring me some beer. And pizza."
Haldor doesn't move for several moments after he's stopped roaring. Somewhere between glances, his zweihanders have returned to their "normal" dumstick form. The Viking draws in a deep, deep breath as he straightens up, twitching his head and part of his upper body from one side to the other in a fast, hard jerk. Multiple cricks and cracks come from him as he pops the kinks out and he slowly turns toward the other Scions.
"I'll take the second shift."
"Right, then," Rupert says. "Now that Violent Thing One and Violent Thing Two have got their kicks, I'm going to go figure out what to put in my omlette." He turns to head out of the square muttering, "Think I'll skip the next party."
"Okay, I'll take the third.."
For the girl who doesnt really fight, that might prove to be a challenge, but who knows, she could just flash everything to submission. That's her main tactic for now anyway. She wrinkles her nose as she starts heading towards the police tape. "I'm sure Jolie will get you food, David.." Hey, look, she's talking to him now!
"Maia, Rupert - you two take a shift together. Bring Jolie with you. And call one of us if you need help." David plants the butt of his spear at the ground between his feet. "An ambush like that won't be easy for the three of you, but together you'll be able to handle it."
Haldor exhales slowly, some sweat obvious on his face as he shoves his hands and drumsticks into the pockets of his hoody. The Viking glances from Maia to Rupert and back toward David. Somehow this seems entirely too much like a feasible plan.
Rupert turns and looks at David with a raised eyebrow. "Look, mate. I know all this fighting is about all you live for, but I've got other things to do. Yeah, I like a good tussle. But I'm bloody well tired of hitting things that don't get hurt and I don't really need to be here when you lot come along and kill it before I can get a good drag off my smoke. Catch my meaning? I've got a band to run, two concerts to perform this week, a stage manager to fire, and a giant pig's head to check on at the taxerdermist. Oh, and I have a big bloody egg and I have to keep it in my room and make sure it doesn't end up in someone skillet."
"Fine," the Monkey Prince says, fixing his gaze on Rupert. "Go sing songs. I'll take your shift." His words are quiet, cold.
"I'll be fine! I'm not completely useless in combat. Worse comes to worse.." and she hrmms for a few moments chewing on her bottom lip. "Just check in on me when it's my shift.." Yeah, that sounds like a good plan, she says, looking over towards Rupert for a few moments. She sighs and looks over towards Haldor. "So..um..I kinda need a ride back home.." Maia says with a soft chuckle under her breath.
"I know it sounds kind of hilarious coming from me, but could we just chill out for a sec here?"
Haldor arches one red eyebrow, looking from one Scion the next. The Viking keeps his hands in his pockets, considering each Scion thoughtfully.
"Just… Relax for a sec. We kind of seem to all be in this together. Whether some of us like it or not. And we all have real life stuff to worry about, man, but I'm pretty sure if we don't deal with crazy world inside of the world stuff there isn't going to be life stuff to worry about. Real or otherwise."
"Yeah, I get that part," Rupert replies. "I'm all for saving the world. Go team. But, look. I've got a life. Part of that life is doing mum's dirty work. Part of that life is making lots of money, having sex, doing drugs, and rocking out on stage. I'm good at that one, yeah? All this fighting every single sodding night? Not my bag. Not accomplishing anything that you couldn't do by yourself, and if you want an adoring audience, there's a few hundred mortals out there." He points outside the square. "I've got my own."
"Then go. Do your mortal work, while the Titans bore a hole into our world. We'll see what a popular musician you are when relaity is unmade into an abyss of chaos without form and void." David doesn't so much as spare a glance for Rupert, but instead fixes his eyes on the spire.
"Nah..we can chill. It's been a long night.."
Maia nods as she meanders on over to where Haldor is resting and she flops down onto her butt sighing softly as she lays back on the concrete looking up towards the spires for a few moments. In some strange way, the architecture is actually quite beautiful, if not a tad bit art noveau. She puts her hands behind her back, wincing a little from the deep cut in her shoulder as she hisses just a bit.
"Let Rupert be..he is more concerned with the here and now. He has every right.."
"Man. Sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll," mutters Haldor. The Viking takes another deep breath, pulling his left hand from his pocket to rub his face a little bit. He pauses after several moments to inspect his bracer, quizzically drawing his right hand to trace over the new rune on its surface. "That sounds like a good deal 'bout now. If only for the stability."
"Mum save me from fanatics," Rupert mutters under his breath. "I'm just as concerned as you lot, yeah? I just think there's got to be other ways I can contribute, because in case you didn't notice, I'm not fucking doing anything out here. My job is to show up for the big group number, stand around making snarky comments for a bit, accomplish one mildly useful task that may or may not have made any difference at all during the whole she-bang, and then leave. I've done my bit, I'm leaving, and I'm letting you know that I'm gonna work a different route, because I'm tired of working outside my element. You want to go fight hordes of titanspawn with yoru bare hands, that's dandy. Just leave me out of it, because I'm like to get killed before I do anything useful. Yeah, mum's a war goddess, and I can kick the ass out of any mortal on the planet, but this shit is out of my league. Don't go copping an attitude just because I realize it."
"He has -no- right. His mortal life is a -priviledge, and his divine task a duty. If he forsakes that duty, others will have to pick up his task for their own - and it shall be you, me, Haldor here, who bleed the blood that should have been his." The Monkey Prince looks up at Rupert, for just a moment. "You are a -coward-. Maia at least has the spirit to -try-. To learn. To do battle."
"I was raised to be a Shrine Maiden of Ise. I am a priestess of my mother. It is my duty to preserve the harmony and balance of our world, the overworld and that of the underworld. It means that I will do what I must to keep the Titans at bay."
And that's Maia still laying back on the concrete as she continues looking up towards the spiral towers that are sharp and jagged, shuddering at the thought of what's actually inside.
"Besides, I have my freshman jury soon..I can always practice the violin here.." she admits ruefully. "He doesnt have that luxury."
"There's no cowardice in accepting your limitations. Not everyone is a front line warrior. If Ripper wants to try to pursue another path to the same end, more power to him. More than one way to skin a cat and more than one way to solving a problem, so far as I've ever heard."
Haldor looks to Rupert and offers a smile, nodding a bit.
"We'll be around if you do need help. I, for one, would be fuckin' stoked to try solving this shit some way other than hacking the crap out of stuff."
Rupert snorts and shakes his head. "Monkey's got one eye. Daddy would be so disappointed." He glares at David. "If you think there's only one way to fight, you're dumber than I took you for. I'm not giving up. I'm just going to work to my strengths. And wading headfirst into battle isn't my strength. It's yours, so your bloody well right that you're going to bleed. Me? I'm not, because I'm going to use my great and prodigious talents, that do not lie in battle, to fight on another front. So, keep your haughty comments and your fucking narrow-minded stupidity to yourself, because I'm not impressed by you, monkey boy."
"I don't think this can be solved by just hacking away through stuff, Haldor.."
Maia points up towards the spires once more. She wrinkles her nose as she cants her head to the side, still looking towards it for a few moments as she chews on her bottom lip while running her fingers through her hair.
"We're going to have to go inside there. That's my feeling. The Fates seemed to hint at it. And I think the only way to fix the damage to the loom of fate is to go inside.."
"To fight is -everyone's- responsibility. Especially those of us who descend from the gods of war, battle, death, and destruction. You -can- contribute - and it would not take so much time that you could not fight in other ways. As I will. It simply means that you taking your leave of guarding the Spire will force others of us to spend -more- time here, slowly wearing ourselves thinner and thinner. Your cowardice does not mean you will be useless, but being useful does not make you less a coward." David shakes his head, slowly. "I cannot leave, but you are annoying me. I would appreciate it if you did it instead."
"Yeah. I get that feeling too, Maia," remarks the Viking, "But I think we're going to have to have someone with brains. Place looks like it's loaded with traps and mazes."
Haldor glances at David and Rupert again. He shakes his head and sighs a bit. The Viking reaches toward Maia to offer a hand up, still considering Rupert and David's apparent at odds situation.
Rupert just sighs and turns to leave. "I'm not workin' with zealots who don't believe anyone can contribute unless they're hitting something in the face. If you've got something that needs -my- talents, you know where to fucking find me. If you need something kicked in the throat, monkey-body and Freddy can take care of it."
"You don't listen, coward. I did not say that you could not contribute. I said that your contribution did not mend your cowardice. Perhaps, with a skull so thick and ears so full that you cannot hear, you -cannot- contribute." Ah, David. When he gets in a mood like this, he's a real fucking prick.
Maia takes Haldor's hand, letting her fingers entwine with his own before she wrinkles her nose as she eases on up. She hops up and steals another quick kiss on his lips before she looks over towards the others.
"Yeah, I think that's what it'll require, but we have my mother's mirror now. Surely we can find a scion with brains.." she says with a bright smile, seeming quite optimistic as she stretches her arms into the air before she looks towards David and Rupert bicker. "You think he's moved on from picking fights with me to Rupee?" she stagewhispers to the viking.
Rupert simply flips David the bird and stalks off in a cloud of cigarette smoke. "I'll be around," he tells Maia and Haldor. "Might wanna get him a leash."
"I think he's moved on from picking fights with me and you to picking fights with Ripper. They seemed like best of buds on the beach," is Haldor's stage-whispered reply to Maia.
His entire face is bright beet red by this point from the kiss on the lips. The Viking clears his throat as quietly as he can, starting to lead Maia toward the edge of the Terra Incognita. Interestingly, he is headed in the direction of a pizza place.
"Good to know, Ripper. Hopefully we can use that noggin of yours to crack whatever secrets are kicking around in that place."
8 XP awarded, plus 1 dot relics to everyone.
