The Dark Mirror Envy

Participants:

haldor_icon.jpg maia_icon.jpg rupert_icon.jpg

Scene Title The Dark Mirror - Envy
Synopsis The Dark Hour is present in Japan as well?

The Isle of Hashima


Haldor folds his arms across his chest as he stands outside of Rupert's hotel. Pets aren't allowed and Haldor isn't letting Drake out of his sight. Maia can collect the rockstar while Haldor tries to house-train the puppy outside. Surely this cannot backfire.

Well, there is no way that Rupert could stay at the monastary afterall. It's very spartan and whatnot. So Maia's inside dressed in a pair of snug fitting jeans and a Hello Kitty shirt as she waits outside the door, wrapping her knuckles on it.
You paged Haldor with 'Bring out the Gibblets'

"What?" Rupert's voice can be heard through the door, followed by a muffled thump. After a minute, the door opens and reveals a half-dressed Rupert. "Oh, it's you. Come on in." He finishes tugging on his black shirt. "How's it hanging, Sailor Sunshine?"

"Haldor's outside your window. You're going to have to let him in that way since he wants Drake with us at all times.." Maia explains wrinkling her nose as she idly runs her fingers through her hair as she steps into the hotel room looking around as she sighs softly. "At least this isnt a pig sty like your place at the Diamond.."

By the time Rupert has a chance to turn around, Haldor is standing in the air outside of Rupert's window. There is, notably, a puppy head peeking out of his hoody. Haldor waves, smiling faintly as he waits on the exterior window sill. Super-human balance is a marvellously useful thing.

Rupert rolls his eyes and goes to open the window. "Fired the band," he says casually to Maia, then to Haldor: "Get in here, you soppy lunk."

Maia lets out a tee-hee as she closes the door behind her and hrmms for a few moments, waiting for Haldor to get in before she starts filling them in on things. "So here's the sitch..I spoke with Gene and Scott on the phone not too long ago..there's something going on in Santorini, but they'll catch up with us soon. Til then, I think us three can go visit Hashima and investigate what's going on.."

Haldor steps inside of the suite(?) once Rupert has "invited" him inside. The Viking takes just a moment to peer out the window at something on the ground below. Promptly he ducks his head back into the room, presumably to let Rupert close the window again.

"You think you'll be alright at Hashima this time?"

Rupert closes the window behind Haldor. "Before we get started on plans, I'm still not sure this is a good idea in the first place. Freddy, you got your second visit from Daddy?"

"I think I'll be okay. I think I was just overwhelmed by everything.." she still sounds unsure of herself as she chews on her bottom lip and runs her fingers through her hair as she flops down in one of the couches of the suite, letting Haldor answer that.

"… Well I've talked with Pop since last we met… I, ah, I'm not a demigod or nothin' like Maia seems to be though."

At which point Drake barks at Rupert. Moments later, the puppy springs free of Haldor's hoody and attempts to pounce the rockstar while Haldor tries to catch the pup in mid-air.

PUPPY JUGGLING! START!

"Fair warning," Rupert says, nimbly moving backwards and making no attempt to catch the puppy. "I will kick your dog."

It's a good thing Maia's a demigoddess now. She moves quickly as she intercepts the puppy and wrinkles her nose as she ruffles Drake's fur. She looks towards Haldor with a soft chuckle of amusement under her breath while cuddling the puppy close.

"He met Drake last night when he arrived. He didnt exactly like him..not even the gandaberunda liked him.." she says pouting a little.

Haldor skids across the floor on his belly as Maia intercepts Air Puppy. The Viking comes to a stop more or less beside Rupert, save on the floor instead of standing up. Slowly he rolls over and kips up to his feet, casting a speculative glance at Rupert.

"Man. You're just not an animal person, are you, Ripper?"

"Not especially," Rupert replies. "I got saddled with a bird, but that's it. I draw the line at dealing with any others. Can't imagine why anyone would look at me and go, ooh! He likes puppies!" He rolls his eyes.

"I guess puppies really are an American thing then," remarks Haldor. The Viking shrugs a little bit as he brushes himself off, cracking a few cricks out of his neck and back. Casually Haldor leans against the wall beside the window, regarding the other two Scions… And Drake. "So where were we?"

"I believe we were discussing going to Hashima.."

And there's Maia flopped down on the couch with a hyperactive puppy in her lap trying to squirm out of it. She keeps drake close though, not wanting to see him get kicked, for that would be really, really sad.

Rupert nods. "Right. To find out about bloody Atlantis because Maia wants to. With just the three of us, and Haldor's not even a demigod yet."

"Actually, ah, I believe that's a different island, Rip. Hashima seems to be where some Amatsukami ran off to with a Valkyrie. They haven't been heard from since the Dark Hour appeared."

Haldor keeps himself leaned against the wall, watching the others thoughtfully. Idly he stuffs his hands into the pockets of his hoody just as he finishes his explanation. The Viking shrugs a little bit afterward.

"I seem to be keeping up fine enough so far. 'sides. What do you really expect to be different about me if I get bumped up to a demigod?"

"No..they're both the same. Hashima was an entrance to the underworld of the Amatsukami, Yomi, but instead it's a Terra Incognita..with black spires as well.." she says, shuddering a little as she remembers a few things and wrinkles her nose while chewing on her bottom lip.

Maia continues petting the playful puppy in her lap, trying to calm herself down as she looks towards Rupert. "If you don't want to find out about Atlantis, go home and do nothing. If you think we're only doing this because I want to, then I don't want you with us.."

Rupert rolls his eyes at Maia. "Don't try and get snarky with me, luv. I've got you beat on that score." He shrugs and sits in an overstuffed chair. To Haldor: "I dunno. But I know when you make that transformation, you get more powerful. A lot more powerful. And you're our main fighter for this trip."

"Look. Let's not start measuring wangs, imaginary or otherwise, huh?"

Haldor shoots a glance at Maia and then a much briefer one at Rupert. The Viking closes his eyes for a few moments and shrugs a little bit. A faint expression crosses his face, though it's not an easy one to read. It's not a pleased one at the very least.

"Dunno how useful I'll be in that role on Hashima. I can't see ghosts and I can't seem to really hurt them with my drumsticks."

And that's where Maia comes in with a wry grin, wrinkling her nose as she pulls out two small items and hands one each to Haldor and Rupert. For the Viking it's a pair of chibi small swords that fit in the palm of his hand. For Rupert, it's his bagh-nakh (sp?) in a smaller size.

"Those are from Sojobo. Well not those, I made those, but they'll allow you to summon weapons that can harm spirits even if they're immaterial.." she says with a bright smile. Demigodding..does a party good.

Rupert looks it over. "Interesting. Thanks."

Haldor takes the proffered swords and peers at them curiously. There is an expression on his face that says he'd probably use them as toothpicks if he hadn't been informed of their true purpose. Even so, Haldor may yet use his mini-swords for toothpicks; they're just so conveniently sized.

"Huh. Cool."

"Hey..I can do things! And that's one of my new things I can do! All you have to do is focus on the image of the weapon and channel your own powers through it, and poof! It'll appear!"

Maia seems quite proud of herself with this as she beams brightly towards the pair. She wrinkles her nose and runs her fingers through her hair as she peers towards them.

"So..Hashima."

"Right, Hashima," Rupert says. "What's the objective when we get there?"

"I think we have two objectives when we get there. Find out what's up with the Atlanteans and find that Amatsukami and Valkyrie that have been missing there."

Haldor stuffs the swords into his pockets, leaving his hands there for comfort's sake as he returns to leaning against the wall.

"Precisely, that's the plan anyway. The major objective is finding Sarukhito and Brynhildr…that's what Sojobo wanted us to go for Hashima for anyway.."

Maia sighs a little as she eases on up before putting Drake down. The puppy runs around in circles around Rupert before rushing back towards Haldor..

"Why are we suddenly taking orders from this Sojoobie guy?" Rupert asks, looking a bit confused. "Not sure I'm cofortable with getting missions from titanspawn."

"Because Amaterasu vouched for him," replies Haldor, "Besides. He's been good enough to offer us training in the martial arts."

Haldor crouches down to pick up Drake as the puppy scampers over to him. The Viking grins broadly as he hefts the pup, rubbing its belly with one hand while the other arm supports the canine.

"Precisely what Haldor said, he's been training the both of us and as King of the Tengu he's trying to garner more of the tengu nation to side with the Amatsukami instead of Mikaboshi.."

Maia seems to trust her newfound guide afterall while she crosses her legs to get a tad bit more comfortable. She wrinkles her nose and eases on up motioning towards the door.

"So should we head back to the monastary so we can get Tatsu to fly us over to Hashima then?"

Rupert shrugs. "Just a minute." He heads through a doorway into a bedroom. "What's a Tatsu?" He calls out though the closed door. A few minutes later, he reappears wearing a strange suit of reinforced black leather armor and a cloak made of shadow.

"Giant dragon. Kind of slow as shit in flight, but that might just be my perception. I'm used to moving a lot faster, especially with my new trick."

Haldor ruffles Drake's fur and smiles, mostly to himself, as he settles down against the wall. Puppy in his arms, Haldor seems to get quite comfortable in the suite while he waits for Rupert to reappear… Shrouded in darkness.

"Huh. Badass."

"Those were gifts from mommy.." Maia explains as she heads towards Haldor and ruffles Drake's fur before wrapping her arms around the Viking's. She starts motioning and heading towards the door and takes a deep breath as everything seems in order.

"He's not slow…you're just ridiculously fast. And Tatsu is a dragon..I think he's Sojobo's but he sort of lends him to us to bring us places.."

"Right," Rupert says. His cloak wraps around him and solidifies in a black suit, hiding the armor beneath. He slides a pair of sunglasses on, and looks up. "Well, let's go see the Wizard."

Haldor gets to his feet after observing Rupert's cloak… Doing strange things. The Viking shrugs a little bit, trying not to ponder just how strange life has gotten in the past month or so. Instead, Haldor makes his way toward the door while tucking Drake into his hoody, zipping up to hide the pup from any hotel staff that might be lurking.

And there's the rental car outside. It's sporty, it's a convertible, and Haldor gets to drive because well, she doesnt want to. Maia hops into the backseat as she wriggles her fingers towards Haldor to take care of the pup.

"You know the way back, right?"

Rupert gets in the car and settles back in his seat.

Haldor passes Drake to Maia after he's settled into the driver's seat. The Viking doesn't fit exactly right in the car, it's made for Japanese average height it would seem. Even the few lost inches seem to make Haldor have to cram himself into the driver's seat.

Once he's Drake-Free, Haldor starts the car up with a roar. The Viking proceeds to drive on back toward the mountains and Sojobo's monastery upon one very famous mountain in particular.

Mount Kurama is very famous indeed as it's the home of Sojobo, the King of the Tengu and a trainer of one of Minamoto no Yoshitsune, a famous mythological hero. The drive up is quite calm and uneventful. It's a beautiful day and the birds are singing and Drake yelps happily in the back while panting enjoying the ride.

Eventually, they arrive in front of the monastary and Maia jumps out still holding Drake cuddled close to her chest as she motions towards the courtyard. "I'm sure we're expected.."

Rupert exits the car and stretches, while his cloak returns to its natural appearance. "We're always bloody expected," he comments. "Never went anywhere yet they didn't know we were coming before we did."

About a minute after the others have gotten out of the car, Haldor finally manages to extricate himself. Extricating himself without obliterating the car is, obviously, something of a task when one is super strong and super cramped. Haldor stretches and flexes, popping all the cricks out of his body.

"If we're not expected, then I imagine something horrible is inadvertantly lying in wait for us."

There's a soft chuckle of amusement under her breath as she watches Haldor stretch appreciatively before she beams and offers an arm after letting Drake to run off once more. The puppy found another shiny and is off running towards the courtyard.

"Well that's ot true..I mean we didnt expect…" and she pauses and facepalms. "Okay..so it's totally true."

Rupert smirks and reaches into a pocket. He pulls out his bagh-nakh and tengu mask, which are applied to hand and face respectively. "Well, just in case, I'm going to be bloody well prepared."

Haldor glances toward Rupert, arching an eyebrow for just a moment. The Viking shrugs a little bit, producing his drumsticks from a pocket as he takes Maia's arm. Casually he starts making his way toward the monastery proper, trailing after Drake.

Rupert might notice something new on Haldor's right hand. There's an icy blue stone on a ring on Haldor's right middle finger. It flashes for a moment, perhaps catching some of the dying sunlight of the day, or perhaps glowing with inner power. Either way, a bit of frost seems to spread across the ground from Haldor's feet with every step the Viking takes.

Fortunately for Haldor, Maia doesnt slip and fall on said ice. There's still too much gonig on, but unlike the two men, she doesnt read any weapons. It's a monastary and they've already been attacked and have killed there. So it's old hat by now.

As the trio enters the courtyard there's Sojobo standing next to a rather large dragon. How did he know they were there? Well its probably through the yipping barking puppy on the ground who is sniffling at the base of the dragon's feet now quite curious.

"Relax guys..it's just Sojobo-sensei and Tatsu.." Maia quips

Rupert eyes the tengu and the dragon. "I see that. Hard to miss a great bloody dragon, innit?"

Haldor slips his drumsticks back into his pockets as he sees no one that shouldn't be there. The Viking shrugs a little bit, smiling deviously as he watches Drake sniffing and yipping at Tatsu's feet. Frost continues to form at Haldor's feet, though as during the hike it never turns to ice. Just frost.

And as they approach, Maia bows low towards the Daitengu as she smiles warmly and takes a deep breath. She starts heading towards Tatsu's back where the pillows are so she can relax a bit. The dragon has a place for people to relax afterall. "We're going back to Hashima.." she explains.

And Sojobo just nods. "Be careful..do not do it because you got scared before and want to prove that you are not afraid. Fear is a good thing. It helps keep one alive.."

Rupert just follows Maia. He assesses Sojobobo, then shrugs and lifts up into the air before descending onto the dragon's back.

Haldor scoops up Drake from Tatsu's feet, leaping up and onto the back of the dragon. Casually the Viking saunters toward the 'saddle' area, the frosty effect not seeming to coalesce upon the dragon's scales. The Viking settles down and closes his eyes, nestling Drake on his torso.

"We'll be back, don't worry, Sojobo."

"Do be careful.." the Daitengu says before giving the others a wave. "I hope the weapons I made for you will be useful.."
With that, Maia nods and nestles against Haldor sighing a little as she looks towards the puppy and wrinkles her nose once more. She chews on her bottom lip as she reminds herself, "It'll be okay.."

Rupert just flips the beak-nosed dude a cocky salute and finds himself a decent seat on the back of the large beast. "Don't be a silly bint," he tells Maia. "It won't be okay. It'll be freaky, horrific, and possibly lethal. That's the point."

Haldor sighs as Maia and Rupert get down to the Band Dysfunctionality. It is both reassuringly distracting and annoyingly comforting in its familiarity. Going to the Underworld is rarely a trip involving happy-happy-joy-joy after all.

There's a faint trace of annoyance on her features before she takes a deep and calm cleansing breath and soon she's calm again. Is she really Amaterasu's daughter? Maia rests her head on Haldor's shoulder, squeezing his arm tightly as she wrinkles her nose and runs her fnigers through her nhair as she looks towards the two of them.

"This is going to be dangerous…so..I'm going to do this. I hope it works…Sojobo was teaching me about my new capabilities afterall.." she admits ruefully and chews on her bottom lip as she presses her hand against Haldor's chest, a warm glow on her fingers…

Rupert just sits back and relaxes on the dragon. "Oh, we're off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz," he sings under his breath.

Haldor blinks a few times, eyes opening as he feels warmth suffusing his body. Something about him seems to change. It's a subtle change though. Did Haldor always look quite so super healthy?

"… Well thanks for using me as the guinea pig."

"It's not like something bad could've happened. I just boosted you a bit.."

Maia smiles towards the Viking apologetically as she leans in and steals a quick kiss on the lips before she looks towards Rupert, taking the time to do things right considering it's a hella long way from Kurama to Hashima afterall.

"Okay..your turn.." and she presses her hand against his chest..unless he refuses of course..

Rupert eyes Maia skeptically, but doesn't refuse the offer. "Thanks," he mutters. Politeness!

Haldor sighs a little bit, shaking his head as he sinks back down to a rest position. The Viking closes his eyes and gets comfortable, one hand resting atop Drake as a faintly felt reminder for the pup to mind his manners and location.

But, more importantly: Seriously. Did Haldor always look so bright and shiny healthy?

No! Haldor hasnt looked so bright and shiny healthy. But that's cause Maia didnt have super special boosting powers before either. After the warm glow is done with Rupert, she finally looks towards the little puppy and does the same thing, wrinkling her nose a bit before she looks winded from the whole thing.

"Phew.." she says matter of factly, running her fingers through her hair as the isle of Hashima is in sight. It looks normal..to mortals. But like Times Square has the faint traces of otherworldlyness to it, the entire island has that miasma as well as faint traces of even taller dark spires can be seen as ghostly silhouettes.

"Look, mommy," Rupert says, catching glimpse of the island. "It's Disneyland!"

Haldor slowly gets to his feet atop Tatsu's back, slipping Drake into his hoody. The Viking arches his red eyebrows as he regards Hashima. Interesting; the Terra Incognita hadn't been quite so visible the day before. Perhaps their earlier trip had triggered something.

Gently Haldor strokes Drake's head, seemingly surfing Tatsu as the dragon descends toward the island's surface. The Viking looks to the others, slowly drawing his mini-swords from his pocket with one hand, the other still busy comforting Drake.

"Just calm down..stay calm.."

And that's Maia keeping herself calm once more as she closes her eyes and wrinkles her nose as she pulls out several sheets of prayer strips already prepared. Even as they're descending, she closes her eyes and concentrates as she thrusts her palm forward and mutters, "Ofuda, henshin!" as the prayer strips turn into a decently sized shield. She gives it to Haldor and smiles warmly.

"Use this, I'll take care of Drake..remember, my prayer strips affect ghosts as well, so this should keep you safe.." she says with a bright smile as they finally descend into the terra incognita once more.

It's dark and scary and very..ruiny. The skyscrapers of Hashima are empty and everything is filled with a miasma of decay and death. She can already see the spectres approaching as she chews on her bottom lip.

"We're surrounded..eight spectres. All children who committed suicide due to academic pressure…" she says with a soft sigh under her breath. "Summon your weapons. They're in a three sixty arc around us.."

Rupert immediately summons his uber ghost-fighting weapon. His cloak flares out and wings of shadow sprout from his back. He peers through his tengu mask, easily piercing the murk but unable to see the ghosts. "This blows," he opines, lifting into the air a bit.

"Could be worse. None of us could see what's going on around us," remarks Haldor to Rupert.

The Viking sets the shield upon his right arm while his left hand passes Drake to Maia. All that accomplished, Haldor grips the swords in his hands as he does as he was instructed earlier.

A pair of Viking long swords flash into existence in Haldor's hands. They possess a familiar weight and, more importantly, balance to them, though Haldor flinches slightly. Stuck with their given form it would seem.

"Hey hey, Kiddies. Don't suppose you'd be willing to help us out?"

"We're splitting it into thirds. Everyone takes one hundred twenty degrees. There's three spectres in each arc.."

And there's Maia, looking around, calculating what needs to be done so everyone strikes at least one creature. She chews on her bottom lip as her demigoddess brain runs overtime taking everything into consideration while she reaches into her outfit and pulls out a few more ofuda, already charging it up as she hrmms for a few moments and wrinkles her nose once more.

"Haldor..there's three on your corner. Two are connected at the waist, twins. Slice those. The third is shorter, looks like a baby, so you're gonig to have to slash down to eliminate that one. Rupert, yours are three teenagers. One of them even looks to be a former fan girl. They're all about 5'0" so strike about the middle in an arc and you should be able to hit all three.."

She continues to take a deep breath as she calms herself down. They can do this. They will not be eaten by evil ghosts.

Rupert eyeballs his assigned 'zone,' "Gotcha," he says to Maia, mentally planning the path of his claws through what appears to be thin air for him. "Just like practice. Except there's actually something there."

"Suicidal twins? That's just fucked up."

Haldor doesn't continue talking though. The Viking just has a subconscious understanding of which way Maia is looking as she shouts out directions. As a result, he twists to face the dead center of his arc, Viking blades twisting in his hands as he mentally prepares his strikes. Static electricity can be faintly heard as Haldor does something, channels some inner power or other, his body starting to move with its almost normal super-human edginess.

"Hashima is the Isle of Ghosts..they all claim to serve Aenaisaigo-sama, the Tragic Death. That's the same thing that sent the nekomata after us when we landed. If they do serve the tragic death, it makes sense that the spectres are all results of it. Children who've died succumbing to academic pressure. Mine are business men who killed themselves when the stock market crashed. Rupert..I don't even know what happened there.."

Maia sighs softly as she readies her ofuda ready to strike the spirits, wrinkling her nose as she swallows and chews on her bottom lip as she sighs softly and closes her eyes for a few moments, muttering a soft prayer under her breath.

"They're angry..whatever made this caused a stir in Yomi. They were kicked out.." she explains as she swallows once more. "On three…one…two…three!"

Ripper closes his eyes and whirls in an intricate dance-like step, whipping his straight arm out in a very specific path according to Maia's instructions. As he does so, he concentrates on projecting the full impact of his divinely inhuman appearance. Despite being cloaked and masked, or perhaps even because of it, he suddenly becomes intensely compelling, so that even the eyes of his allies are feel a bit of a draw to gaze upon him. His swift, graceful movements are like shadow embodied, and his deep, lyrical voice sings out from behind the mask, "Eat my shorts, ghost-blokes."

Haldor feels twinges of something he is going to sweep under the umbrella of 'compulsion' to look in Rupert's direction. Doing so probably wouldn't do anything particularly damaging to his position. After all, the Viking still cannot see his opponents; he just knows their relative positions.

The Viking blurs into motion almost in time with Rupert, a stream of fog marking his passage. Haldor moves into the air, seeming almost to step on the island's sea breeze itself as he climbs into the air. With a deft, practiced motion, Haldor inverts himself in the air. Miasma freezes over his feet, offering him a point of traction as he aims to neatly slice the twins in twain with the lightning flashes of his new Viking swords.

As the others make their attacks, Maia wraps her arms around her self before spreading her arms wide, throwing the ofuda straight towards two of the spectres in front of her. She sighs a little, keeping Drake safe and close on top of Tatsu as she looks around and glances around towards the others.

"Rupert, you destroyed one. There's one to your left and one to your right, they're trying to flank you!" she yells, trying to make sure everyone's kept abreast of the situation.

"Haldor! The remaining two are behind you! Strike there!" she cries out, coughing a little as the miasma thickens around them as she continues to keep vigilant watch of the environment.

Ripper grins behind his mask as he rises into the air on silent wings of darkness. Eyes still closed, he begins spinning in place, whirling at faster-than-human speeds. He leans a little to the right, and can feel his deadly claws catch on something invisible, with all the force and momentum of his spinning. He then leans to the left and feels the same thing occur, though he must have got a better hit on this one, because it feels like he hit a side of beef before it suddenly gives way. After that, the little mini-torado of shadow slows to reveal Rupert, eyes still closed and not even off-balance as he hovers in the air.

Haldor's swords cleave through the bond of the twins and then eviscerate the weaker and slower of the two entities. The Viking kicks off of the frozen air, ice shattering from the force of the strike, and he flips to land in a graceful crouch on the ground.

At Maia's warning, Haldor kicks up a wash of ice as he blurs into motion once again. The Viking executes a high arcing backflip and half-twist. He descends upon both remaining spirits, one sword to a ghost, rending one ghost's limbs before he drives his enchanted blade through its face. Mist billows out into the miasma from the blow.

Haldor doesn't stop with that though. The Viking twists to catch the other ghost that tried to escape his wrath. A long blade snaps out straight and shifts a little bit as the ghost dashes itself upon the blade. More mists explode from nowhere, mixing into the local miasma as Haldor moves to a stand-by position, eyebrows arched.

Razor sharp blades of paper fly from her hands, striking down the other creatures. Maia remains steadfast as she stands on top of Tatsu, the only not, not leaving the little carriage considering she has a puppy to take care of.

As the blades of paper strike through the unseen foes, shrieks can be heard as all the souls dont get sent backto Yomi, instead their destroyed. Her eyes widennupon this realization and she shakes her head as nine souls were just destroyed at the wrath of the young godlings. She shivers a little as she looks towards the others and mutters a soft prayer under her breath, sighing once more before she picks up Drake and jumps down onto the ground, landing with one knee on the ground.

"We just destroyed nine souls.." she says softly, shaking her head in disappointment as she swallows once more. "Look the dark spire there..I want to see it up close. There's something I have to know. I want to know if this is all connected to the Dark Hour.."

Ripper grins darkly, and begins to fly towards the spire. "Haldor, grab your girlfriend. We're gonna need her super-brain."

Haldor rolls his eyes at Ripper. The Viking backflips over to Tatsu, landing atop the dragon's back. For a moment, just a brief moment, he considers telling Tatsu off for not helping, but thinks better of it. Instead Haldor scoops Maia up, probably with Drake in tow, and blurs into motion. The Viking streaks after Rupert, twin contrails of frigid smoke flowing behind him.

There's a yelp as she's scooped up in Haldor's arms, leaving the puppy behind. Maia looks worried for a few moments but surely a ginormous dragon would keep Drake safe, right? She sighs and rests against his shoulder, still taking in the various sights of the ruined buildings and architecture.

While to Haldor and Rupert it's just dark and empty buildings, the sounds of moans and groans can be heard by her. Empty faces and various sights of blood and gore fill her mind to where she buries her face in his chest to not see what's going on in Hashima.

A few minutes pass and eventually they're in front of the tallest spires, looking exactly like the ones in New York City. This time the moans and groans of the various Titanspawn inside can be heard even by the others..

"Oh, joy," Ripper comments. "Reminds me of home."

"Reminds me of home and the last time I had to visit a damn hospital."

Haldor shakes his head a little bit as he casts a suspicious glance around. The Viking slowly sets Maia down on the ground, shifting his gaze to and fro as he considers the surroundings.

"It'll be all right.." she says reassuringly as she reaches for Haldor's hand, letting her fingers entwine with his own to give it a gentle squeeze. Was that for her sake or for his? Most likely hers.

Maia starts approaching the spires looking for markings of any sort. And there are some. She hrmms for a few moments and nods as she looks it over once more. "The exact same markings..but there's more.." she says, reaching around for something to scribble it on. "You guys have any pens or paper? Scott needs to see this other stuff…it has the For the Sins of the Father, Atlantis is Destroyed, but there's more.."

Haldor pats himself down with one hand, his other hand is occupied with holding Maia's hand. Finally the Viking produces a pair of battered Bic pens. Quietly he offers them to Maia while casting a curious glance to Rupert.

Rupert shrugs. "Don't look at me. I didn't bring any extra supplies."

"Thanks!" she chirps merrily, copying the rest of the glyphs onto her hand with the pen. Yay for pens that can write on skin. As she continues to write it down the doors start to open, creaking ever so slowly as she chews on her bottom lip and looks towards the others.

"You guys didnt touch anything right? If not, then we're being invited in.."

"If I go in there and see anyone having sex, up to and including myself or any of you, then I am leaving and not coming back," Ripper declares staunchly.

"If I go in there and see Ripper having sex again, I think I might just call it quits myself."

Haldor shrugs at Rupert, but glances toward the opening doors. Slowly he takes a step forward, eyebrows arching as he looks around suspiciously.

There's a soft chuckle under her breath as she sighs a little and starts following Haldor. Maia squeezes his hand once more as she starts heading inside. It's different this time, it's a wide open space though the floor is covered in crimson tile.

She continues looking around stepping inside as she hrmms for a few moments and chews on her bottom lip looking for anything out of the ordinary. So far, so good. No secksing happening.

Ripper follows the duo inside and peers around. "Good. The other bit was getting stale."5r

A bit of frost ripples out across the crimson floor from Haldor's feet. The Viking looks around slowly as he finally comes to a stop, suspiciously studying the interior of the Dark Place. Faintly he casts a glance toward Rupert and Maia, just to make sure there are no horrible sex-obsessed doppelgangers popping out of the woodwork behind them.

There are still no sex-obsessed doppelgangers running around anywhere. Though there is the sound of thrash metal behind one of the rooms. There's loud drumming. An incredible guitar riff. It's rock music. Music that Haldor should recognize even.

Maia just blinks around and lets out a sigh of relief as she wrinkles her nose and runs her fingers through her hair. "No sex..this..is pleasant!" she chirps brightly.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, luv," Ripper comments. "That just means the bad is gonna be more subtle this time."

Haldor arches a brow as he slowly turns his head in the direction of the door muffling thrash metal. The Viking takes a tentative step or two in that direction, his free hand reaching up to run through his spiked red hair.

"That song sound familiar to you too, Ripper?"

Maia just continues following Haldor for now, keeping quiet as she continues to look around, wrinkling her nose as she looks at the various writing and writes it down on her hand once more, having let go of Haldor's hand this time.

Meanwhile the music gets louder. It's thrash and metal for sure…

"Just sounds like metal to me," Ripper replies. "Not one of my songs, though." He cocks his head and listens for where the music is coming from, heading that way. The shadowy wings dissipate, leaving just the cloak.

Haldor frowns slightly at Rupert's reply, though the rockstar can't see that part. The music is so very familiar to him, the Viking could almost swear he's heard it before… Played it before?

Curious, the Viking reaches out to shove open the door between him and the source of the music.

And there's a thrash metal concert inside. There's lots of people jamming the night away moshing as they yell and go woohoo the entire time. It's back to a better day perhaps? One that was simpler with no monsters, no Titanspawn. There's a full concert with faux Rupert at the head singing his heart out towards the crowd. The crowd is getting riled up and becoming more violent, and at the drums, there's a familiar figure with spikey red hair with his shirt off showing off various tattoos as he drums his heart out.

Maia just blinks blankly at the scene..

Rupert laughs and shakes his head. "Seems our doubles are having a better time than we are. I think we got screwed."

"I've gotta say, I expected to be looking at myself… Not a whole concert."

Haldor pauses a moment to look at Rupert as he speaks up. The Viking nods a bit, chuckling to himself at the thought. Perhaps they did get screwed over here.

Regardless, the Viking starts wading into the crowd. This, whatever this may be, has him curious. As a result, he's slowly trying to wind his way through the crowd; perhaps trying to make his motions easy for the others to follow. Spatial Attunement is so useful for naviating crowds without bumping into one another.

And the crowd goes wild. Soon there's the faux Maia stepping out not really wearing much that would leave anything to the imagination. She's gyrating and basically generally acting all skanky to rile up the crowd some more.

Maia harumphs as she just starts following Haldor, muttering a few excuse mes and pardon mes along the way. They've got to get to the stage, right?

Meanwhile, faux Haldor just rocks on out, seeming to enjoy himself alot! He's havinga blast..

Rupert just rolls his eyes and pushes a guy over. "I'll take the shortcut." Stepping on the dude's back, he leaps up and calmly walks on the heads of the thrashing partiers to reach the the stage. He smirks at his doppelganger and nimbly jumps onto the stage.

"I think whoever is behind these places just doesn't like you, Maia."

Haldor pauses a moment and watches Rupert hop up on stage. The Viking shrugs a little bit, reaching back through the crowd to grab real-Maia by the hand. Meanwhile his free hand, his right hand as a matter of fact, comes up and cups the air.

For a moment or two, nothing happens. As soon as Haldor has hold of Maia's hand, ice suddenly cracks into existence under both of their feet. Moments later, Haldor and Maia are both ramping up onto the stage with a ramp made of solid ice. Smoke and steam rises from the edges of the platform as Haldor steps onto the stage proper, glancing around curiously.

"We definitely got screwed, Ripper."

"I don't think so either.."

There's alittle pout on her features as she follows Haldor IceManing his way up to the stage where she looks around towards the crowd. They generally seem happy and for the most part she and Rupert are ignored by their doppelgangers, though faux Haldor does seem to notice them.

He continues drumming for a bit and seems quite happy and content just going about performing for everyone.

"Definitely." He turns to look at Haldor and Maia; the real ones, that is. "Well, any ideas? I get the feeling this is your show, Freddy."

"Not yet. I'd rather not interrupt Lucky von DoppelThorson over there until his jam session's finished."

Haldor folds his arms across his chest, some frosty breath leaking out of his mouth and nose as he watches. Idly the Viking bobs his head along in time to the music, quietly regarding the assorted faux-Scions on stage and the general show.

And eventually a couple of hours pass. The jam session continues and soon faux Haldor eases on up having worked up a sweat as he woo and fistpumps in the air, twirling his drumsticks. He and faux Maia have a quick make out session before she heads off to make the other groupies go away which leaves him to face the others.

"This..is the fuckin life.." he says leering towards the real Maia a bit before trying to give the real Rupert a hi-five.

Rupert casually highfives the faux-Haldor. "Rock on, mate."

Haldor nods a bit at faux-Haldor's assessment of things. Couple of hours for a metal concert? Pffah. One of the few really casual things that Haldor has been able to do, although enjoying it might be outside of his capacity at the moment. Enemy territory and all that being what they are.

The Viking looks at his doppelganger and offers a faint smile.

"So what's the shit?"

"Whatcha mean? I got a gig with the band, traveling the world, don't need anything else.."

Obviously this group took band way too literally. Maia facepalms a little as she wrinkles her nose, staring between the two Haldors and just remains quiet for now.

Faux Haldor snickers softlyas he snaps his fingers and they're all soon transported to a trailer of sorts, presumably where he keeps his things. It's notas roomy, but it is nice.

"No travelling the world, killing Titanspawn or whatever the fuck else threatens the world?"

Haldor arches a red eyebrow as he regards his doppleganger. The scenery shift is a bit disorienting to Haldor, though he doesn't seem terribly surprised by it. Instead, he folds his arms across his chest while he quickly regains his balance.

"Travelling the world, yes. Killing Titanspawn? Leave that for the chumps.."

Faux Haldor grins wickedly as he grabs Maia by the waist and hrmms for a few moments, whispering something to her.

Her eyes widen as she seems shocked and just inches away going towards the real Haldor instead. "Um..no, you got my skanktastic version for that.."

Rupert snickers. "If you're asking for a threesome, I think the real Haldor already asked when we caught her making out with herself."

Haldor clears his throat and takes a step forward as his clone tugs Maia over. The Viking knits his eyebrows together as he regards the duplicate, snorting at Rupert's assessment.

"Chumps? What the fuck kind of metalhead says 'chumps'?"

"The kind that doesnt have to go around the world trying to save it all the time from itself. The kind who doesnt face a new and life threatening danger? The kind who just gets to spend time with his girlfriend whenever he wants without havin Titanspawn interrupt. And the type who gets to spend quality time with his dad.."

Faux Haldor snickers a little as he waggles his brows towards Haldor Classic as he looks towards Maia once more. "Dump the loser who can't get over his daddy complex and go with me instead…yeah?"

"Daddy Complex? The fuck're you talking about?"

Haldor looks like he really just wants to get into an out and out brawl with his doppleganger. Frigid mist pours off of the Viking's right hand as he clenches it into a tight fist, of course since it's partially obscured in his armpit, it looks like his armpit is on fire.

It's really not a fetching look for him.

Rupert can't help it. He tries, he really does, but he breaks into laughter at the sight of the fuming, armpit-smoking Haldor.

"Maia gets along great with her parents. As much as Rupert calls Kali a bitch, she's still there for him, to the point of sending another of her children to kill him so she can speak with him face to face! David's an ass yet he's still daddy's favorite. And we all know Jolie is a daddy's little girl.."

Faux Haldor just starts laughing to the point his stomach starts tocramp and he clutches atit just a bit as he looks towards Haldor Classic with a wicked grin curling onto his lips.

"And here we have poor little Haldor Archibald Englund.. no daddy. Couldnt even get gifts from daddy. I got mine from him!" and instead of turning into other weapons, his drumsticks turn into a copy of Mjolnir.

"Archibald? Your middle name is fucking Archibald?" Ripper asks in disblief.

"Oh get over yourself, fuckwit. Pop showed up when I needed it. He even showed up when I had to Viking sumo that dvergar."

Haldor steps forward, jabbing his right middle and index fingers square into the chest of his doppleganger. It's a forceful motion that, given the weird nature of this place, actually drives Haldor back a quarter of an inch with ever jab as his body mirrors the impact on his doppleganger.

"Pop's got his hands full of all kinds of Asgard bullshit, especially with fucked up castle things like this breaking everything. He's probably more goddamn proud of me than he'd ever be of you. At least I'm out there doin' something to help contain the problem, not jetsetting around the fucking globe and ignoring the - "

Haldor pauses a moment to shift his accusatory gaze toward Rupert.

"You got a fucking problem with my middle name being Archibald?"

Promptly the Viking looks back to his mirror image, eyes faintly crackling with lightning.

"- fucking problems in favor of jamming and exploiting the fuck out of your girlfriend's smokin' fucking bod. And, to top it the fuck off, you say 'chumps'. Fuck, man. You make me sick."

Maia beams brightly, letting out a happy little tee-hee as she wraps her arms around the REAL Haldor's, giving his biceps a fond squeeze. She hops up and kisses him softly on the cheek before looking towards the faux one.

"See, and that's why I'd never do that with you. The real one is a bajillion times better.." she says with a sage nod.

Faux Haldor hrmms for a few moment actually looking a bit sheepish the entire time. He stammers a bit, trying to come up with something better but alas, he can't find anything. He just grumps and crosses his arms over his chest and soon, the trio find themselves outside once more.

They arent in front of the dark spires either! They're back on Tatsu as a blue light starts to go over the little puppy. Drake lets out a little aroo sound, canting his head to the side as the light touches the puppy, though to no visible effect. He's just happy mommy and daddy are back so he lets out happy little barks!

Rupert snickers as they reappear outside. "Nice rant, Archie. But I'm hurt. You didn't even mention your awesome, monster-fighting friends." He pretends to be wounded. "Alas, I guess that's what we get for not being cute Asian chicks."

"Like I could forget that I'm hanging with /THE/ Ripper, kicking ass with the Monkey King's kid, trying to solve mysteries with the sons of Thoth and Eris, or have the good fortune of knowing the two coolest ghostbuster chicks ever?"

Haldor looks almost wounded as he responds to Rupert, though he watches the blue light washing over Drake. Curious, very curious indeed, decides the Viking. For the moment he leaves it at that, more concerned with patching up whatever perceived slight he may have caused Rupert.

"Man. That was just fricking weird… And didn't really solve much of anything we came here to do."

"I'm just glad I got called out as having the smoking hot bod.." Maia says with a little tee-hee as she wraps her arms around Haldor once more and steals a quick kiss on the lips. She hrmms and raises her brows over the puppy as she wrinkles her nose and scratches the back of her head.

"We didnt find any clues about Sarukhito and Brynhildr, but we got other things. There's still a lot to this realm anyway, but at least we know it's connected with the Dark Hour now..so that helps. Maybe we can coordinate with the folk in New York to see if things here affect things there? Till then..I say we go home and rest up?"


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