2014.08.03:The Veil Conclusion
| The Veil Conclusion | |
|---|---|
| Package from Hell? Return to Sender. | |
| IC Date | Sunday |
| IC Time | Night |
| Players | Clarimond (Storyteller), Cross, Leila, Mikhail, Silvana. |
| Location | Somewhere in the desert |
| Prp/Tp | The Veil Breach/The Tainted Crusade |
| Spheres | Mage and Shifter and Vampire and Wraith |
Log
Clarimond is waiting in her Sedan, the wheels have been changed for offroad capabilities, it's night, but the sky is clear, allowing for limited visibility. Her ghoul driver has shut the car off and her bodyguard ghouls check their ammo while all of them sit in the car waiting for everyone to arrive. Sand dunes blow every now and again.
Silvana actually dives up this time in her car and her goons that tend to really not do anything but jump when she says or get stuff are in a car behind them. She probably is going to chit chat with Cross if he is up to talking, though she seems actually on that quiet side.
Cross is up for talking, though its mostly about the task in hand. Once the car that Silvana and him are in arrives, he gets out of it. The old man is wearing his usual clothes, though his skin is covered. Underneath his trenchcoat is a white loose cloth that covers him from neck to waist. He is carrying in one hand a long, 10 foot pole. The end of it is covered with a white cloth matching that which is around his body... And it looks like its covering something rather heavy. When the old man gets out of the vehicle and looks around its plain to see that the normally dead milky eye on his face is a piercing white. Something might be going on there.
Mikhail comes walking up from quite a distance, it seems unlikely that he walked the whole way and yet he didn't bring a car with him. His hands are in his pockets and as he draws nearer, he seems to be humming something.. an old Russian military march perhaps.
Clarimond steps out of her car, and as a show of good faith towards Cross, does not let her bodyguards out with her. She comes alone, completely without protection. She approaches the old man, "You must be Cross then. I've heard many rumors from others but nothing from your own mouth about your person. I am Clarimond and I will spare the titles, and as some say these days, blah.. blah.." She glances at her sedan, "I had no idea how much firepower to bring but they brought everything we had at the house. I never expected to need military grade equipment so I have never bought any. In all honesty they were never intended to be anything more than wards against criminals.."
Silvana gets out of her car and steps up next to cross. She has what she normally brings and probably has stuff in her trunk and in the other car but of course once the plan what and how they plan to go in is made will things come out. She bows her head politely to Clarimond and raises a brow at Mikhail and nods to him. Otherwise she doesn't say a thing
The old man steps from the vehice, propping up his polearmbriefly. He digs out an olive drab military rucksack, and throws it up over his shoulder, slinging it across his bag. It rattles lightly, and looks to have some considerable weight to it. As he moves towards Clarimond, his head bows slightly. "Indeed. That would be me. I'm known as Cross or Father Cross, your preference." He says comfortably. "Ye must be Lady Harcourt. I'll admit that I've not heard that much about ye." He says with a fainter smile. "The firepower is a good idea, but admittedly I'm not sure how helpful it would be. The Earthbound isn't going to fall to simple weapons. The Reliquary must be destroyed."
Mikhail finally strolls up to the group, giving a slightly formal bow to Cross but only a slight nod to Silvana and Clarimond. He remains silent for now, letting the others talk and plan. He'll find his own way of being useful if he sees a place in the plan for him.
Clarimond nods, "Yes so we have found actually: Standard rounds don't hurt as much as I thought they would when I first saw them in action. But it isn't a surprise, the mortals are still ignorant of us, at least as much as they always were, and have no adapted their weapons.. not en masse at least. This is as far as we can track the Earthbound or its' minions. To advance further we need more information."
Silvana looks at Mikhail a bit with a thoughtful expression before turning her attention to Clarimond "What kind of information?"
The old mans head bows slightly. "How was it being tracked?" He says quietly. His eye is distantly looking off into the desert, and he nods again to Silvanas words. "We know of the artifact that was in the ocean, yes? Has that been found?"
Mikhail's eyes move from Clarimond, to Silvana, to Cross, then back to Silvana, expecting her to have a comment on the Ocean artifact.
Clarimond thinks, "We have not physically found it but Silvana discovered that it was taken from the ocean but a group of men in boats. I had my ghouls work with her to follow them into the desert. A sand storm hit and they were unable to pursue them any further than this point."
Silvana hasn't anything to add to that. "Silvana, do ye remember what the artifact looks like?" Cross asks quietly. "Ye saw it with your own eyes, right?"
Clarimond pages: I wanted actually DO that scene on camera but.. time.. :P Silvana nods her head "yes I did as they took it from the ocean, wich was exactly how I had seen it before, it wasn't just as shiny"
The old man nods, "I want ye to think of the artifact, in your head. Push it to the fore of your mind. I need to know exactly what ye saw, and I'm goin' to need look. Ye alright with that?"
Mikhail's thick squared jaw moves with his dark eyes from person to person as they talk. He listens intently, he watches Cross, and listens. He doesn't suggest trying to track as Cross seems to have another way of finding it.
Silvana can't help but wrinkle her nose and take a rather deep breath at Cross' request. She brings her hand to something around her neck and nods with a little hesitation "Yes" she looks at Cross a moment as she waits for him to give her the go for her to start thinking of the artifact not that she isn't already now.
The old man smiles softly towards Silvana. "I don't like it any more then ye do." He says gently. He reaches out to rest a hand on her shoulder, and another moves to the sigils around his neck. He mutters quietly in latin for a few long moments, then withdraws his hand from her. He seems to be considering the artifact in his head, as he absently asks. "And we already tried trackin' them to here? We can't get further? My methods will likely clue them all in that we are looking."
Silvana closes her eyes and really really concentrates on what she saw for herself wich was the artifact being taken out of the ocean by a hooded man and however many men were there. She tries not to think about how she saw it in that vision but sticking to the other. " I don't think the tracking device landed where I wanted it, but i can give that a try but it could have fallen off or been destroy" hey well she did try.
Mikhail is quiet watching the two concentrate and trying not to interrupt them, he turns his eyes outward to make sure nothing's coming up on them in the desert night as they work.
"We've got two options." Cross says simply, "I can teleport us right on top of the reliquary, or I can find out where it is and we can walk there. But I can't promise they won't notice me looking at it."
Clarimond ponders Cross's words, "Either idea has its' advantages. But if we are transported right to the artifact, we could be sent right into the jaws of the beast so to speak. It may be best to approach and fight our way throught."
Mikhail tilts his head, "Excyept" speaking for the first time in that Russian accent, "Eet eez usually easier to break out of a fortress and eento a preeson zan ze reverse..." he offers, actually curious about this 'teleport'ing.
Silvana opens her eyes looking at Cross "I don't think he would be expecting us to jump right in. But do what is best for you" she looks at Cross with some concern.
The old man smiles faintly, "The jaws o' the beast is sometimes the last place a predator expects you to appear." Cross says quietly. "My particular method is usually... that direct. The Earthbounds reliquary must be destroyed as swiftly as possible. If they have time, and any other willworkers, it can be moved quite far, quite fast." Cross explains. "How competent are ye lot in a fight? I don't want to lose anyone."
Clarimond thinks for a moment, "Then teleportation seems to be the general consensus. We will go to them then." She begins pumping blood in preparation.
Silvana steps away to go get her bag from the car now that the plan has been made and pumps up her own stats in the process. She slings it over her back, checks her sword and nods walking back to cross and the others
Mikhail looks, "I seem do have a... veakness against Namebrakers.." he says looking intently at Cross so the man grasps the meaning of the term means people like him. "But osser zan zat.. I em strong..."
"Lad, don't ye feel bad about that. Everyone has that weakness." He says dryly, "I'll try my best to keep him from usin' any effects. I imagine they'll be thinkin' the same o' me. Focus first and foremost on the reliquary. Destroying that will banish the earthbound back to the Abyss."
The old man gathers together the four new aged fighters. Clarimond, Silvana, Mikhail, and himself. He unwraps the head of his voulge. The weapon is nearly ten feet long, foot to blade. The 8 foot wooden shaft has celtic etches and woodburning done from its metal tip all the way to where the four foot long blade attaches to the shaft with a solid metal anchor around the wood. Two feet of the razor sharp blade overlap with the wood. The blade has similar etchings to what is in the wood, light filligree decorating away from the cutting edge. The shaft is wrapped with cord near the bottom and halfway up, where the hands should go. It looks to be a rather heavy weapon, and the brutally curved weighted blade would make this a devastating weapon to be struck by.
Cross chants out loud in latin, loud and harsh words that compel reality around them. There is a sense of strengthening reality, of things changing before everyone would feel a disorienting jerk right around the midsection. Then they'd be deposited on the nearest 'safe' area in close proximity to the relic.
Clarimond ensures that her ghouls remain with the sedan, "They will just get in the way I am sure.. and.. well.. if I am somehow killed I think they should be allowed to return to their mortal lives." Is that a selfless action? By HER? Could be the Earthbound's influence if not for the fact that demons are not generally in the business of promoting kindness. She pumps more blood and steels herself.. then suddenly there they are in a dark cave lit by MANY torches. A black piece of ebony sits propped against a wall, there are no visible guardians. It may very well be all too easy or all too quiet.
Mikhail watches the world vanish and turn to a cave, he seems to concentrate then frown as nothing happens then growling his body grows massive and monstrous into a ten-foot long sabertooth tiger, stripes running down it's immense body.
Silvana gives a little shiver at the whole jerk and feeling she shakes it off before putting her hand on her sword as she tries to listen for noise as her eyes try to adjust to the change and keeping watchful.
Cross looks around carefully once they've landed. His eyes cast towards the artifact in the corner, and there is a frown as he stares at it at length. "Destroying it will raise skeletons to fight us. Get ready." He moves towards the Reliquary, pointing. "Thats the object we are here for. It must be destroyed."
Silvana wrinkles her nose "Oh goody skeletons.." she says a little sarcastic as she pulls out her sword at the ready "Hopefully they won't be armed with guns" yes she did just say that.
It begins. The old one eyed and mostly blind preacher takes a few steps towards the block of cool stone. "Get ready!" He calls to the room. That voulge of his is raised high up over his head, and his muscles ripple as he brings it down with deadly force. The blade slices through the stone like butter, clanging heavily and embedding itself in the floor of the room. Its ripped up with ease, Cross taking a few steps back as his voice intones in words carrying heavy weight. "Find peace in Oblivion, Fallen."
Silvana follows Cross when he heads for the artifact and stands in a rather defending manner to cover Cross' back in case someone or something tries to come up behind him when he breaks the thing she tighens her grip just a bit as she gets ready for what is coming next.
Mikhail growls loudly, his muscles tensing to spring at the ebony idol until it is destroyed....
Clarimond watches as everything seems to happen in the blink of an eye. She prepares herself for potentially dying. But after Cross destroys the artifact, she doesn't end up as a crispy pile of ash! But in the wake of its' destruction, waves of black energy swirl out in all directions, but for some reason, she doesn't collapse on the ground in agony! Her skin merely bruises in a few areas, "What on earth..? That.. wasn't as deadly as it looked." She is genuinely confused.
As the monstrosity rears its head and that wave of black flows forth from the artifact the old mans voice barks out sharply in latin. His hands move in broad gestures in front of him, and a pulse of white light flows from him. It doesn't destroy the shadowy wave of destruction, but it off-sets the worst of it. Its a slightly wearier looking Cross with an angry grimace on his face as his body rebels at the touch of the energy that turns around to face the soon to be coming horde of undead creatures. "Hold here. We don't know what traps are laid. Handle what comes."
Mikhail swipes wildly at the first zombie then shreads one to pieces before nearly destroying another with another one of his claws. Snarling the beast seems to be making his way to block the tunnel entrance with his massive form.
The old man starts to speak heavy latin words. It forces all of the undead creatures in the room to lurch to a halt, and then send them stepping backwards as the weight of Cross' faith, the certainty of his conviction and the holy radiant aura about him casts aside the wicked and impure.... and Clarimond. When Cross realizes its affecting her too, he stops and sighs. Blade up, he advances.
Silvana looks at Cross when he starts to chant though when she notices Clarimond backing she gives a little one of those, oh that didn't go well. She steps back just a bit before she gets ready for the next rounds, some skeleton's must come down
Clarimond grins as one of the zombies are ripped open by her own claws. Mikhail is not the only animal present! She has no time to look around because her opponent is not backing away. When Cross nearly sends her careening into a wall with a spell she does pause for a second however, but she isn't about to complain when this horde is almost completely on them.
The old preacher with the vibrant white eye raises a fist to his lips. He mutters a few words softly, before gently kissing a gray ring on his right hand ring finger. There is a moments pause before he seems to just... unhinge slightly. A smile appears on his face, and its not an entirely stable one. There is a flurry of activity. Cross smashes his voulge clean through one of the abominations of animated corpses. As Clarimond falls to ones blows, he barks out a few swift words in latin and she is infused with a healing aura that wipes clean the slate of injuries across her form. The old mans foot lashes out, colliding sharply though causing little harm to another of the creatures. He almost blurs into motion as he advances through the skeletons, his voulge cutting a swathe through them as a single powerful swipe of the blade wipes three of the creatures from existence. The old man is ruthlessly efficient. Every action he takes is optimized for range of motion and reach, and he moves with a sure confidence that belies decades of this sort of work. This is his element.
Silvana frowns as she looks at the thing attacking her "You smell horribly" she tells it before swinging her sword and down goes the first one just to have the one behind her take it's place and try to hit her "Your no better" she grumbles a bit
Mikhail roars and tears his claws through another dead body before shifting from the solid blow that undead fist deals to the large beast, his other paw rising to tear down one of the tattered former people, his jaws opening to snarl and bite. The beast roars as his claws and fangs drop two more of the undead creations.
Clarimond brings down her enemy, tearing out his spine as her claws break through the torso. With her first zombie down, the remaining two are regarded coldly. She drops the bloody bone and stands ready.
The old mans head cants as the scent and sounds of approaching forces can be heard approaching. "Oh no ye don't." He mutters under his breath. His hands begin to move, and he shouts. "Ye stay above ground! DONT COME BACK IN!" There is a familiar to those present disorienting jerking sensation, then suddenly... Everyone is above ground, standing in the middle of the desert. Somewhere nearby is a cave entrance.
The old preacher is down below in the caverns, after he evacuated the rest of the warriors of light from the cave. His blade chops and wades through numerous skeletons and zombies, cutting them down. He tries to focus on the effect he was weaving, but a particular annoying zombie throws him off. He grunts in annoyance, and drives his blade clean through its forehead. He takes a deeper breath, centering himself. Deep incantations of latin that bring a darkening to the air around him begin to show the effect taking hold. Light dims, the old mans own body seems to even wilt in the strength of his weaving. A dark black roiling ball of pure chaos appears in his hands, throbbing and pulsating with an inner light. As the legions of Demons begin to pour into the room, their cackling caws and demented screams echo in Cross' ears. There is... a small, amused smile on the face of the willworker afflicted with chaos energy. The ball starts to jitter and shake, and Cross closes his eyes as he readies himself.
On the surface of the desert, Silvana, Clarimond, and Mikhail would be standing in the sands, confused. One moment, they were fighting hordes of undead. The next they'd been jerked clean out of the fight and into this place of relative tranquility. For a few moments, nothing would happen. Then the earth would shake violently, and a quarter of a mile away a plume of fire would rise up into the sky, flashing as an explosion rocks the earth. Its a good thing they were in the middle of nowhere, because that was -not- subtle.
Silvana would start to make her way towards the cave, she isn't about to go inside but she knows that Cross might need help or at least if he does someone needs to be there.
Mikhail blinks in shock as what looks like a nuclear explosion blasts in the distance, in a second he is Human again looking at the others, "Fasser Cross?!" he asks not seeing him.
From the steaming entrance of what remains of that cave, a figure trudges out. Tipped over one shoulder is a rather familiar voulge, even if the blackened figure doesn't in any other way resemble Cross. That is, until its scaled features could be seen. Only one eye gazes out from its face, and that eye is a familiar clear white. Cross is covered in irridescent scales, thick ridged armor that has sprouted over his flesh. The colors are surprisingly vibrant, each scale almost like a crystal with its radiance... well, where they aren't charred and burned. He is standing almost 7 feet tall, and is thick and imposing. His clothes are either under the scales, or have vanished in the explosion. Even with the heavy, nearly impenetrable armor its very clear that Cross has been badly injured. Scales are blown off to expose raw and red flesh underneath, burns have destroyed much of the plating on the front of his body. But he is still very much alive, and very much moving slowly and painfully under his own power.
Mikhail stares at the taller scaled man, his look is QUITE surprised, possibly mistaking the Namebreaker for some rare Mokole.. but he says nothing. Moving closer he examines Cross's wounds...
Clarimond is bewildered! Shocked! Flabbergasted! "What in the devil?" Then Cross is coming out moments later, in bad shape. But the danger is not passed. We can all hear clapping now, slow, mocking-like. A figure appears out of the haze, an African American male, middle aged, a grin on his face. As he claps he laughs, "Bravo.. bravo.." His voice is deep, melodic, "I have to say that I did not expect you to walk out of there Cross. Father Dread sends his regards and wants you to know, before you die, that he sends his regards to you, and to Leila. We will be going after her soon enough, but not until after I deal with you."
Silvana is sure glad to see Cross and almost rushes to hug him thought she composes herself and moves closer to him seeing that he is in really bad shape she starts to move closer to him. She looks towards the sound of the clapping before pulling one of the fangs from her charm and seems to touch it in certain places before giving it to Cross "Drink that"
Mikhail here is the Nephandi entering: Clarimond is bewildered! Shocked! Flabbergasted! "What in the devil?" Then Cross is coming out moments later, in bad shape. But the danger is not passed. We can all hear clapping now, slow, mocking-like. A figure appears out of the haze, an African American male, middle aged, a grin on his face. As he claps he laughs, "Bravo.. bravo.." His voice is deep, melodic, "I have to say that I did not expect you to walk out of there Cross. Father Dread sends his regards and wants you to know, before you die, that he sends his regards to you, and to Leila. We will be going after her soon enough, but not until after I deal with you."
Mikhail looks at the wounds and shakes his head, looking up at Cross he offers, "I might be able do help..." he says then sees the Namebreaker that nearly killed him. Gnashing his teeth he barely holds back his rage and even then through an extreme effort of willpower. His eyes go back to Cross, choosing not to use the power without the man's permission, his focus seems to be healing Cross as his own wounds close more and more every three seconds or so
The old man takes the thing from Silvana when its offered to him. He eyes the clapping african man quietly. "Ye should know me better by now, if ye are workin' with Dread." His voice is hoarse, coarse, singed with the proximity to the explosion he'd just faced down. His body is tense as its only through force of will he keeps the impending paradoxical bitchslap of the universe from colliding with him. There is a flash in the old preachers eyes, and his legs spread slightly into a more ready stance. He throws back the healing potion, draining it. "Ye won't ever lay a hand on Leila." The coarseness of his voice lends to the growl that comes from him as he says it, and the voulge is wearily brought back in front of the tired willworker. "You know my name. But you are just another worthless face, one more pawn of Dreads sent to their death. Do you want to die nameless, or are you going to introduce yourself?"
Clarimond focuses, "My name? You can call me Leviathan you slave. You wield a cross yet you do not know that it is Lucifer who claims that symbol above all. He nailed Christ to the cross himself, just as I will nail your corpse to one, and erect it before the city of Prospect, so that all will know that you have failed."
Mikhail lays his hand over one of Cross's patches of burned flesh and a strange spiritual energy runs through Mikhail's hand as the flesh heals and knits. Turning to face the Nephandi, his form shifts into the large, fanged beast of before, growling at the man. His eyes darting for things to use against the man other than head on assaults.
Silvana stays standing besides Cross just kind of watching Leviathan. One hand is on her sword as if in the ready.
There is a slow, rolling laugh from the old preacher. "Oh come now, Leviathan." He says with a grin on his features. His scales are healing rapidly, the irridescent glow returning to them as the angry flesh disappears. A hand moves to gently urge Silvana behind him, as he faces down the Nephandi. "You claim to mimic Lucifer, yet ye employ an earthbound? Interestin'. Considerin' he champions their destruction." Cross rolls his broad, scaled shoulders dismissively. "The cross is a symbol o' my faith, and my faith is my strength. Test it if ye wish. I will not hold back."
Clarimond|| Leviathan snarls, "That is a LIE. Lucifer IS an Earthbound you ignorant cur.. but enough talk. You will learn the truth after you have been damned to the Abyss with all the creatures you have slain. They await your arrival so that they can repay the favor."
Silvana gets gets urged behind Cross as she keeps intently watching the other man though now she's behind Cross mostly. She takes slow easy breaths keeping he rself really calm
Mikhail begins to circle the man, not drawing nearer but forcing the Namebreaker to divide his attention between the scaled man and the huge tiger beast. A low growl continuing to come from the beast as it moves around him...
The final battle is on. Mikhail circles around to the back of the african Nephandi, while Cross advances quietly to his front. The scaled behemoth flanks with the giant tiger beast moving to the rear of the Nephandi. Silvana takes aim with her shotgun, as Clarimond readies herself.
The warriors are swift. Cross lunges forwards, bringing his celtic scribed voulge down viciously into the Nephandis body. Despite the evil willworkers shielding, Cross bites into him with a blood spurting gouge. Mikhail lunges at the man from behind, but his claws skitter uselessly over the creatures magic-enforced flesh. As the evil Willworker begins to bleed, it unleashes from its fingertips a bolt of burning white fire towards the scaled Cross. Cross raises his voulge, and deftly 'slashes' at the attack, the blade cutting apart the Nephandis working before it can even touch him. Then, a little 20th century surprise. Silvanas shotgun fires, and the double ought buck lands a few pellets that burst through the nephandis shields, leaving him yet more wounded.
The pace is fierce. Cross sees the way the Nephandi raises his silver spear, as if to plunge towards Mikhail. With a dextrous thrust and a powerful uprising strike of his 10 foot voulge, the old man lifts the spear clear out of the nephandis hands, sending it twirling through the air to embed itself in the ground. Nearing deaths door, disarmed, and outclassed by his opponents the Nephandi launches a fist at the scaled preacher, colliding full force with his face. Its like punching a brick wall. Cross' expression could almost be said to be sadly disappointed, as his dead eye stares disapprovingly at the Nephandi.
The Swift Mikhail wraps arms around the foul willworker, pinning him with his muscular furry arms. Cross stabs his voulge into the ground, and draws back one scaled fist. He drives it forwards, turning around the Nephandis own punch as his fist shatters the jaw of the corrupted mage and sends him spiralling into the blackness of unconciousness. Cross steps back, and says immediantly. "Don't kill him." The old man is out of breath. The looming Paradox was something that made it difficult to concentrate, but his work wasn't done yet. "He needs to be cleansed."
Mikhail growls, but releases the man, stepping back as he takes his human form again, "Can he be clyeansed?" the large Russian asks, looking skeptically between Cross and the African Namebreaker. Oddly he doesn't object to whether or not the man SHOULD be cleansed.. only asking if it's possible..
Clarimond watches the man fall to the ground after what she thought would be a fight to the death. She looks at each person, "I am glad that my ghouls weren't here.." Cleansed? "So he can be.. cleansed? The taint from him cleansed? You are turning him into a.. more moral person?" She is confused.
Silvana looks thoughtfully at Clarimond then at Cross and Mikhail as she steps closer to them looking them over to see if they are alright.
In the hopeless pit of rotting despair that's made manifest in the shadowlands at this place, a darker black boils out of the air, currents of pure darkness swirling as though blown by a shifting wind. As that stuff of pure nothing is blown away, a figure remains behind; it's Leila. Her body is transluscent, and she looks a little bit the worse for wear, but that's not the most noticable thing about her. No, the most noticable thing about her are her eyes. They were definitely not this black before. They're hypnotic, the way they almost reflect the light-sucking void that brought her here, so much so that they might even serve as a distraction from the dangerous ferocity of her expression.
She's looking around the moment she arrives, guarded, as long, wickedly sharp blades slide out of her wrists. The Things here -- because there are some very, very nasty Things drawn to this pit of dark emotion -- take notice of her, but the sight of the massive sword strapped across her back gives them pause; they know that sword, and they know what it's made of. She takes note of them, but only in passing, enough to make certain they're not currently a threat. All of her focus is on Cross. She lifts her arms, takes a step forward, and literally slices the shroud to ribbons, creating a hole to step through.
That would be the first that most of the people here see of her, a vengeful spirit, now looking as solid as anyone living, stepping out of a hole ripped in the fabric of reality by the blades protruding from her wrists. She either came for a fight, or from one, but either way, it's a pity that she's missed all the violence.
"No." Cross says softly. "He will never be a moral person." The old man mutters. "A willworker is flesh, mind, soul, and Avatar. His Avatar is corrupted. A monsterous thing, that will find another soul down the road and turn that into a Nephandi as well. A widderslainte." He murmurs, "What I will do is destroy him. It will return him to his base forms, and perhaps give his parts a chance at redemption through serving creation." Cross kneels down gently beside the Nephandi on the ground, and reaches over to rest his hand on the Nephandis chest. He takes a slow breath. "This will take me a few minutes." He says wearily. Poor old willworker, called to duty.
But... right before he starts his work... a mercy. He pauses, and he turns his scaly features up towards the woman that just stepped from seemingly another realm itself to join them. "Leila." He says, the words soft even with his coarse and rough voice. He is on his knees, and slowly starts to rise. There is definite relief in his voice.
Silvana has just stepped over to Cross and Mikhail though when there is a swirl her shotgun is raised in the direction as if at the ready though there is a blink and a surprise look on her face as she notices who and how Leila has arrived, her gun is lowered and slung over her shoulder. She is just kind of staring since indeed she's never seen this always suspected there was something different but this.
Mikhail nods and steps back from Cross and the Nephandi. He looks around at the area carefully, trying to make sure there are no other surprises waiting. He jerks at the woman but doesn't shift.. he hears the name.. the name the Nephandi mentioned and while he doesn't relax he doesn't go nuts either.
Leila seems as though the effort of stepping across worlds may have drained something out of her; some of her ferocity is gone, replaced by a detached, flat calm. Her eyes are still a -lot- blacker than they used to be, though. The blades slide back into her arms. "I felt you get hurt. Are you...?" She's looking him over, a little confused at finding no injury. The rest of the world will start existing for her soon, probably.
Clarimond watches Leila step into existence. She raises a brow, "A spirit.. interesting." But that is all she says because she clearly knows Cross. She lets the two reunite. The old man bows his head. "I was quite hurt." He says softly as he gets to his feet, stepping towards her and extending a hand her way. "Ye can thank Mikhail and Silvana for takin' care o' that." He murmurs. After a moment, he adds something softly in gaelic, the words light and lyrical as they flow from his scaled lips.
After a moment, he straightens. The scales begin to shudder and shake from his body 'falling' from him and leaving behind... The old man. Almost identical to how he was at the beginning, clothes and all. There are no injuries, thanks to the help of the two healers. The aura of Pandemonium around him fades as well.
Silvana nods to Leila and smiles a bit though she hasn't quite stop staring, oh the questions that will come that's for sure, though not now, save that for later " I knew better that he better not get hurt or I'd have lots of explaining to do to you " she tells Leila.
Mikhail steps back and slumps to the ground.. he looks.. pretty drained. He glances over at Silvana and Clarimond to see if they're harmed, shaking his head. He looks up and watches, listens but does little more than that as he lets those two talk.
Leila glances over at Silvana and... she's not sure which of the other ones is Mikhail, so everyone gets that brief, grateful glance, just so there's no risk of her missing anyone. She's remarkably cool about the giant cat-man who's slumped on the ground. She's cool about -everything-, really, like her emotions have been cranked way down. Then she's walking to Cross, taking his hand in both of hers. "Do your thing," she tells him gently. "We'll deal with the rest later."
Cross bows his head, and his hands move to hers as he gives them a girm, gentle squeeze. "Alright." Its a concious bit of willpower, before he can tear himself away enough to settle down next to the Nephandi quietly. He takes a slow breath, and his eyes slip closed as he centers himself. Its a long dozen seconds before his hands move to the cross around his neck, and he begins to chant.
Silvana still looks kind of bruised but nothing seriously wrong with her, look she didn't break a nail, can you imagine if she had. Well not that she can cause the damage Cross did but yeah. She steps away from Cross lightly patting his back now that he is in the care of Leila and moves to check on Mikhail sitting down besides him "Are you alright?" she turns to watch Cross curiously now.
Being a willworker is hard. And being a tired willworker with a lot on his mind is not the best state to be in when you are working magic that is so legendary and renowned, very few coteries of mages would ever attempt it without a half dozen Masters present. But Cross is a stubborn old donkey of an irishman.
The ritual goes poorly. His words are unfocused and its clearly difficult for him to concentrate for almost ten full seconds. His booming voice is beseeching to the heavens, the latin words strong but halting. Then, the familiar 'wilting' of Cross can be noticed, as some of the brightness leaves his eye, and his skin dims in its glow somewhat. He drains himself down to the dregs, fueling the pattern that unwrites the willworker. The tired old priests skin even begins to darken into angry red patches of wounds as his own patern goes into giving this tortured soul the last gift it would ever receive. A chance at eternal peace, a chance to redeem itself by rejoining creation as pure, untainted energy.
When the working is over, the nephandi just ceases to exist. It was not bollywood special effects. One moment, there was a body there. The next, there was the briefest sight of it disintegrating, before there was simply nothing. Cross keels forwards, resting his forehead on the sand as he takes long, heaving breaths.
Leila knows Cross well enough to spot the signs of trouble. She stays by the old man's side, looking more and more worried as his chanting falters. She unclips one of the charms from her bracelet (it's shaped like a little key) and holds it in her cupped hands, looking indecisive, but he finishes the effect before she decides to do whatever it was she was thinking of doing. Instead, she kneels down beside him while she clips the charm back on her bracelet.
You'd all feel it. The incredible power, the incredible upwelling of energy. Cross voice weaves in the fabric of reality itself, tugging and plucking at the strings of creation. The Nephandis mind is the first to go, as the old willworker breaks down its tormented being into something more neutral. The Avatar is next, the seed of evil rooted deep into the creature. Its destroyed, the shards changed from an entity of destruction and taint, into pure and blameless energy, the essence of creation itsef. The Primordial Cross functions as the truest of the destroyers, returning the evil creature to its primal state, the essence of the beginning. His own energy flows into his words, bleeding out of him rapidly through the effect until he has nearly husked himself, so much flowing that he eats the pattern of his own flesh to fuel, going so far as to partly begin to erase himself for the strength needed. But finally, the Nephandi is gone and that is when he slumps forwards.
Mikhail rises slowly and moves closer, looking the man over with a clinical eye.. he learned first aid in the army, the Russian one.. and now he's using what he learned to try to identify how badly the man is hurt.
Silvana starts to stand when she sees Cross starting to fade and concern comes to her face. She stands but halts in moving closer when Leila goes to Cross and she seems to take a breath she surely would know what to do better than she could. She looks at Mikhail.
Leila's expression is hard to read. There's concern for the old man, definitely, but other than that? She's so distant that it's hard to tell. Maybe a hint of a shadow flitted across her expression for a moment, maybe that was just worry. Either way, she smooths his hair, staying close, giving him time to recover.
Mikhail shakes his head, considering the wounds he helped heal, the fact that these minor ones seem beyond him might be a bit troubling.
Clarimond can sense the man disapate. She takes some steps backwards after she witnesses what Cross can do. Leila is given a second glance but either way Clarimond REALLY hopes that this guy isn't about to turn his attention on her now.
Cross' body hitches a few times on the desert sands. There is a sudden shudder, and then a grunt of discomfort. His left leg, from the knee down suddenly... turns white. A glowing, white, crackling and roiling simile of a real leg, composed of energy. A crack of light shoots through the clothing on his back, on his side, and in a few other places as if it seems the shell of a man is breaking. His right hand from the forearm down, and from the bicep to the shoulder experience the same effect. Bits and pieces of Cross' body are falling away, but before he seems to explode in a hail of white energy it stops. It leaves roughly a quarter of his body formed out of energy, the rest of flesh. He is wheezing breaths in and out as he tries to make sense of the things that are happening to him. Remember children, paradox is a bitch. His real left hand presses to the sands, and he seems as if he is about to lift himself... but when he puts weight on the energy palm of his right hand, it smooshes out on the desert and he topples onto his side with a surprised and rather indignant squawk.
Leila was ready for a lot of bad things to happen, but it's been a long, long time since she's seen something like -this-. "Sean?" Now there definitely IS worry. Her instinct is to reach out to him, but her fingers brush the pure energy that consumes his shoulder, and there's a sickening sizzle; she snatches her now partially melted hand back with a hiss.
Silvana seems really concern as she stands near Mikhail watching Leila and Cross. She slowly looks around "We should probably get him home, he needs to rest" she looks around "Though now to figure out exactly where we are?" she takes her phone out of her pocket and begins to try and see if she can GPS. Though when Cross starts to turn white her eyes blink and she hmms "Shit" she used the S words. She moves closer without the hesitation "We will get you home" she checkes her phone and by some miracle, because those things happen she finds where they are "Great" she makes a call "Get here now" she is about to reach out to help but then Leila's hand sizzles and she actually pulls her hand back.
Mikhail just stares at the glowy light. Well.... that's new. He looks around to see if anybody else knows whats going on, did Cross just become an amputee? He looks at the three quarters of the man that aren't energy and asks, "Shud I leeft?"
Cross waves his left hand, the one that is still attached to a real arm and not intangible primal energy. "Don't." He warns off any more touching, after hearing and seeing what happened to Leila. A pang of pain crosses his expression, and when he rolls over it can be seen that one side of his face, from cheek to his missing eye, has broken away into that same glowing primal vortex. His breath hitches, and he mutters. "Paradox. Comes with the trade." His attempt at being laissez-faire is brave, but difficult all considered. He mutters again in Gaelic, speaking with his milky eye in the general direction of Leila. After that phrase, he switches back to english. "Some day, I'll try to explain this." He mutters in the direction of Mikhail, the old man very carefully proppin himself upright to 'sit' on the sand as he tries to make sense of the new shape and limits of his body.
Clarimond watches Cross change colors and glow. She has never seen this before. She backs away more, afraid that whatever is doing this to him will spread. But when it doesn't she starts to move forward again, and try to make sense of what is happening, "Paradox?" Leila's hand looks like it were made of wax exposed to the heat, the fingers melted together a little bit and fused, but there's no blood, no burning, and she doesn't seem to be in pain, or not very much anyway. She looks up at Mikhail and Clarimond, and supplies: "Paradox is the price of messing with reality. When it snaps back, it can hurt." She touches Cross' arm with her other hand, very careful not to touch that white light again.
Silvana kneels down though she doesn't touch Cross as she looks him over she brings one finger to timidly touch the fleshy part of Cross not the glow part "It's bad" no really Sherlock she can be no help sometimes.
Mikhail smiles and offers something of a joke if you know his people, "Ssank yu.. I em... curioos..." his dark eyes move around the others. "Anysseengk ve can do?" he asks Cross curiously.
Cross remains sitting on his ass in the sand, his hands slowly and carefully moving to his knees. His glowly, primal hand rests on his clothcovered knee. And it doesn't melt through! At least a small mercy, Cross isn't eating himself with his energy. He takes a slow breath in and out. A grateful nod is cast up towards Leila. "Time. Time heals it, time fixes it. Just need time." He doesn't say how much. He wishes he knew.
Silvana looks up as the sound of vehicles are heading this way. Hopefully Clarimonds ghouls followed her people to get over here to get her if not well there is enough room to take everyone back "They are almost here, we will figure out how to get you home"
Leila stays near the old man, but she's being very careful about touching him, now. She should probably be a lot more freaked out than she looks right now, but maybe she's in shock. "... I'm not sure how to get you home," she admits.
Clarimond considers something, "If he is seen it will be hard to explain.. best to keep a blanket over him while you drive him back." She watches her sedan driving behind Silvana's car, "Then our rides are here after all."
"This is goin' to sound weird." He mutters softly. "... But I don't entirely know what happened to me. I feel different. I feel very off. I can't feel parts o' myself how I'm used to feelin' them. But I can't f-." He cuts himself off, and takes a steadyin' breath. "I can't see." He says calmly. "So... can someone please tell me what exactly is wrong?"
Silvana takes a breath "Parts of you have been turn into energy, and apperently touching the bright light side of you, melts the skin. Fleshy parts are still touchable.. So, what parts of you can you feel?"
The large Russian confirms Silvana's description, "Da, parts of yu are steel soleed. Ve can dry moveengk yu by yur soleed parts.. but.. yu glow> Mikhail says. Okay, -that- gets a reaction from Leila, an momentary expression that shows more pain than she did when her hand melted. "It melts corpus," she corrects. "I don't know what would happen to skin. I think you managed to unwrite yourself, love."
Clarimond nods, "Indeed." But what Leila says makes Clarimond blink rapidly, "Unwrite himself?" She says something in Norman French, a dialect not spoken in probably almost a thousand years.. and it was probably not very proper.. or ladylike.
There is a long moment, and then Cross emits a slow breath. Both of his hands move, and rub through his hair. Which is odd to see, cause one hand is that whirling vortex of primal energy. He pauses though afterwards, and rubs his fingers together. He can clearly feel the difference between them. He clarifies for Clarimond, "Like the Nephandi. But partway. Paradox is a fickle bitch, but in my experience it usually hits ye with somethin' recent that earned ye paradox. In its own way." He mutters. He holds a hand out towards Leila, after a moment, and its his good hand. "Can ye all help me up? Onto my good leg?" There was enough parts of him that were 'safe' to touch if people latched on to him and guided him to his feet no one should risk injury.
Silvana nods and is ready to help "Wait i'm going to have the car move closer so that you don't have to get very far." she signals for the car to come right up to them before she looks to Mikhail and then to Leila "When you two are ready"
Mikhail moves behind Cross, one hand where the man's belt would be, the other on his good shoulder, he lifts him easily by those points to one leg, and from there keeps holding him... Not trusting the man not to crumple once he lets go.
Leila stands up and takes Cross' hand. Even though she's muted, in that small moment, helping him (with more strength than she really should have) struggle to his feet, her love for him gives her a brief radiance. "Lean on me." Her shoulder is about the right height for it.
Silvana makes sure the door is open so they can get him inside "EAsy does it, your almost there"
Cross rest his weight on Leila, and with the help of Mikhail hoisting him up bodily, and Silvana as well. The group gets him to his feet, and he rests all of his weight on his good leg, his good arm going around Leila... very carefully. He didn't know where the holes were in his flesh, and there was some at his side. But so long as no one poked their digits into those, it should be fine. He experimentally steps down hard a few times with his energy foot. It doesn't seem to be entirely tangible, but it also isn't fading into the ground. It just doesn't support his weight.
Clarimond thinks for another moment, "I hope that you don't mind being kept out of sight. Clearly no one else should see you like this. Things were so much simpler in my day.. just blame it on miracles, angels, acts of God. The populace would go straight to the church to pray in the aftermath rather than going mad with fear."
Mikhail guides the man in, being careful of his glowing energy limbs so they don't hit him. He does ask though, "Can yu.. rrewrite yursyelf?" he asks as he makes sure Cross' solid rump finds the seat, he moves back a little. He does not seem like he will be going with the cars...
Leila is definitely taking care not to touch those glowy bits on his side. One melted part of her is enough. She gives Silvana a grateful smile, again. She helps to maneuver the old man into the car, but she's going to have to take the ridiculously huge sheathed sword from her back before she gets in, something that she pauses to do now. It's a little awkward without both hands. She'll let Cross answer the question if he wants to before she jumps in.
"Only time heals paradox." Cross repeats. "I need to rest. For a while, likely." He mutters. "I'm hopin' that we've taken care o' this... problem. There wasn't anyone else ye can recall, was there?" Becuase seriously, an earthbound and a Nephandi-clone of Cross was enough for one night for the old man. After a moment, he stirs. "Oh. My voulge love." He says to Leila, "Can we make sure we get that?"
Silvana looks at Mikhail "If you want to ride in the other card you may. They will take you wherever you want them to drop you off. We are far from the city.. Please take the ride" she nods to Leila letting her get in before pulling out a blanket to put on Cross without touching the glowing bits "We ready?" she actually hugs Mikhail if he allows her too.
Mikhail shakes his head at Silvana, "Ssank yu..." he says to her, "But no.. I veel make my own vay home..." He grins, "I veel be fine!"...
Leila blinks. "... I don't know how I forgot. I must be..." She trails off, leaving the thought unfinished, and, after she puts the sword in the car, goes back to get the voulge, which is definitely not going to fit in the trunk. While she's grappling with this problem, she glances up at Mikhail, and says something to him in a language that might be Russian. Her accent is -terrible-. (Anyone else speak Russian?)
Mikhail looks over at Leila, "I owe the shelters a favor." he says in Russian, <But I can make my own way there..> he glances at Silvana, Clarimond and the cars.. He seems to trust them enough with an injured Cross.. but... that doesn't mean he trusts them.
Cross is settled in and covered, and he gives a grateful quiet noise to those that helped. Once settled in though, he goes still as the exhausted old man just gathers the blankets around himself. Fortunately, he doesn't seem to melt them.
Leila smiles wryly and angles her head in Cross general direction, then says something else, after which she finally slides the voulge in, between the two front seats, so that it rests along the length of the inside of the vehicle, blade hidden in the back. Then she climbs in back.
Clarimond gets into her sedan and trusts that Mikhail will make it home however it is that he gets home.
Silvana looks to Mikhail and turns to regard him "I think she meant when we get him back there, to take him inside" she clarifies for him before she turns to start to move to her car
Leila shakes her head, switching back to English once Silvana's in the car, too. "It's not a big deal. Arec will probably be there to help."
Silvana gestures to the car behind them "And we have two others. It's all good. I just wanted to make sure he was safe" once everyone is inside she waves to Clarimond and Mikhail and drives off
