Serious Plots 8: Rawr serisaurus!

[bc56]

The Hives and the Sekhmet

With all this extra help, Sekhmet is pushed further into her body, her brainwaves spiking again and remaining elevated, although not yet at normal levels. Prumathe's magic begins mending the connections between her brain and the rest of her body. Prumathe, that itches. That itches! Sekhmet thinks, excitedly. She can feel the sensation of the skin on her face crawling.

The ritual is rather grim. Mark the corpse with certain signs, on its forehead, its tongue, and the palms of its hands. Remove its eyes and replace them with tallow candles made from its fat. Speak a long incantation while sprinkling it with fresh human blood, then light the candles and speak the name of the fiend you wish to call.

[Earl of Purple]

The Grimm Sekhmet

Good, Prumathe thinks as he's informed about the itching. It shows it's working, and he's glad about that. He doesn't want her to leave him. Doesn't want to leave her, either.

The golem and the Hive gets totally ignored.

[Recaiden]

Oh, yes, it would take a while to make Sekhmet into candles and to acquire a clean human.
How about the ritual for the living vessel?

The hive maintains what it's doing, giving Sekhmet's brain time to heal and her time to remember inhabiting that body.

[bc56]

The Three Little Hivelings

Feeling continues to flood back into Sekhmet's body, spreading from where Prumathe is touching her. Suddenly, she psychically cries out in pain and begins to lose control. Aaaah! It's so cold! Her body begins shivering violently as she feels the cold again.

The ritual for a living body is similar, but not the same. The same glyphs must be branded onto the victim, and the incantations are very similar, but the mutilations are different. An iron chain, inscribed with certain runes, must be fastened around their neck and held in place by a barbed spike driven into their flesh. Their hair must be soaked in grease and set ablaze at the culmination of the process.

[Earl of Purple]

The House of Straw and Hope

Prumathe gasps when Sekhmet complains about the cold, grabbing her with his hands- they're right there, after all- and heaving her up and out. Well, hopefully; he's not boosting his strength, since all the magic he can gather is being pushed into Sekhmet. He might be able to pull her out of the snow, but if the Hive resists then he'll probably fail. If he does, he'll start exclaiming that she said she's cold.

[Recaiden]

And procuring and inscribing such an iron chain is not the quickest or easiest thing to do.

The worker that had positioned Sekhmet reaches over to grab Prumathe's arms in its mighty claws and hold him and Sekhmet there, unmoved. Additional leathery flaps from the pool lining curl up to try to keep Sekhmet semi-still.
Spike tries to explain. "Stop! She was literally burning. We warm her up slowly."
If Prumathe avoids doing anything crazy for a second or two, the weaver will start brushing away snow from her hands and feet, keeping a careful feeler on her internal temperature.

[bc56]

The House of Sticky Situations

Sekhmet senses the change in the mood. "What's going on out there? Why am I cold?" They were taking her to the regeneration pool, right? Why does it feel like she's lying in the snow? What's stuck up her nostrils and making it uncomfortable to breathe?

[Earl of Purple]

Welcome to the House of Fun doodle-oodle-oo

You felt hot, so they partly buried you in snow. And took her clothes off, but Sekhmet will discover that on her own. Prumathe doesn't really think to mention it yet, he's still too happy that what he's doing is working. And he'll continue doing it, too, pushing more magic and love into her as she hopefully wakes up and returns to proper life.

[Recaiden]

Specifically, she's lying in the snow right next to the regeneration pool.
"Stay still. Your body was burning up from your fire magic."
As far as I know, there's still a ball of fire burning between Sekhmet's horns.

If Sekhmet's out-of-control inner fire seems to have subsided, the pool's tubing will bit-by-bit stop its cooling and recede. If not, well, medicine is often uncomfortable.

[bc56]

House of Cards

The ball of fire is still there, floating between Sekhmet's horns. It's very bright and difficult to stare at for an extended period of time. Unlike her earlier outbursts, it seems rather contained, not spreading much heat into the environment at all.

However, warming her back up is probably not a good idea, as she almost immediately begins to heat up inside once more. This time, however, she can feel it happening. It's not enough! My body still isn't a proper vessel. It needs to change.

[Morty]

[Grove]

Oooooh, is that a promise? Fflur asks, resting her head on Fayyaad's shoulder. Well you better show me a good time. Alaine too. She says, winking at Alaine. This fae doesn't seem to want to stop being turned on as all hell. Come on then. She says, pulling at Fayyaad and trying to lead him and Alaine off to the side, distinctly away from the grove Alaine had spotted.

"I'd rather not make promises before the job is done," Fayyaad says, but allows himself to be led. It's possible that Fflur can navigate through his place better than they can. It's not like they were getting anywhere on their own.

[Earl of Purple]

My House, In The Middle of My Street

Prumathe keeps pouring his magic and love into Sekhmet, but doesn't have much idea of what to do. Unless... "Could you move to the armour golem? Would that be a body able to sustain you?"

Or could the Hive fuse Sekhmet to the armour golem so she survives and keeps her body somehow?

[Recaiden]

Okay, continue with the cooling then.

"How does it need to change? You don't look so different from Sapphira." Sekhmet's alteration upon joining the hive was a bit peculiar. Perhaps they can do a more thorough job? Or is it that the body is too mortal, too much a thing of flesh and blood?

[bc56]

Something Strange in the Neighborhood

She wasn't really alive. She didn't need to worry about these things. Sekhmet thinks back to the hive. She continues, I don't know how to put it in words. So she sends an image instead. There are surprisingly few changes. Most seem to be cosmetic. Does she really need to be a couple inches taller? Does her hair have to be that long? Others are more functional. There's an extra organ which performs much the same function as the device she's currently hooked up to. Others are more unusual. Are those metal filaments threaded through her muscles? Something like this. She turns her psychic attention to Prumathe. I can't live in the golem, but maybe I can use it? Uh, for materials.

[Murkus]

[Gem Dungeon]

"Oh, honey, I wasn't," Tina sasses at Carmen a little. Still, things seem to take a turn more for the serious and Tina looks pretty uncomfortable. She starts to say something to Rein, but decides to withhold judgement. This wasn't her situation. Still, it did seem like he owed Carmen if all that was really the case. At least she wasn't too upset.

"Yeah, what's up, girl?" She asks. "You wanna get out of here?"

[5a Violista]

[Gem Dungeon - Floor 1]

Oh!
This is going surprisingly well for Carmen. If he's really this easy to control, she really won't have to do anything else, which is great because the less she does, the fewer opportunities she has to mess up. She is rather out of practice, after all.

"It's okay, I don't blame you," she says to Rein. Speaking of messing up, she just realized in the memory she made the version of herself look exactly like she does now. Same age, same hair length, same clothes, same everything. Wouldn't she be expected to look a little different after so long...? Maybe if she just alters the memory a little then...no! Wait, bad Carmen, she thinks to herself: changing something like that while they're both looking at her is just begging to be caught. Especially if that other one, the woman, can see magic or whatever her deal is.

Besides, weren't these two just saying something to her? She thought she heard a question or two. Jeez, girl: just because you're starved for social interaction doesn't mean you can just stop paying attention to what people are saying halfway through their sentences. "Get...get out?" Is that what they were asking? What about getting out? Getting out of what? Oh, wait, yeah, get out of here. Obviously that's what they were asking. Oh! Yeah! Yes! I do, but there's the whole binding thing and all, so I'd love it if you could take care of it."

She looks around, and spots the stairs down to [Floor 2]: "I know! I actually know just where it is, so I'll go get it ready." She turns, and runs down to the stairs, going downstairs into the darkness to go prepare things.
...and consequently leaves the two adventurers alone to discuss what just happened and how much they should trust her when she says Rein isn't her type and she won't try to take him away, among other things.
Or they can just immediately follow her down to the floor that (last time Rein was here) held cells full of demons.

[Reinholdt]

[Gem Dungeon - Floor 1]

"You don't?" Rein's shame disappears and is replaced with complete bafflement. There's little way to look at this one. Rein left her here for years. He's to blame. And not even the way he would blame himself for only being tangentially related to something. But actually to blame. If anything Carmen should be mad at him. This felt illogical.

Rein frowns as she runs off and makes to follow her down, glancing over to Tina to explain a little as they walk. "She was down a floor with all the demons cause she was caught with all the demons by paladins. Because the demons caught her and it was all a misunderstanding? There was something else..." Rein frowns in thought as he tries to remember.

[Earl of Purple]

Welcome to Dead House

Prumathe turns and orders the golem closer, so it can be used as materials. "Let me know however I can help." He's also well aware that the golem's value is likely to be subtracted from his wages, but that's a problem for future Prumathe. Saving Sekhmet is current Prumathe's problem.

[Recaiden]

Need to be taller? Yes. Humans are actually far smaller than they could be, and half-fiend half-humans are the same. They have just the thing...
"We can make these changes. The stature, the heat-regulating organ, even the metal is, I am told, like what used to be done for Doctors. The only thing is...the hair."
Sekhmet has surely noticed that of all the hive creatures, only she and her copies have hair on their head.

They make sure the cooling entities will be up to the task and begin slowly inching Sekhmet even closer towards the pool.
Your magic was able to direct much of your transformation before." Is that still true?

[bc56]

The House of your Dreams

Of all the things she asked for, the one thing they can't do is the hair? They can't stimulate hair growth or something? Sekhmet almost laughs in her mind. Yes, it can still direct. She thinks back. As she feels herself pulled towards the edge, she reaches out to Prumathe again. Don't worry. Everything will be all right. Right before she tips in, she adds, I love you, Prumathe!

[Earl of Purple]

Bleak House

Prumathe smiles, still very worried and concerned, and thinks back. I love you too, Sekhmet. He's still here, able to help if he can. He's just not sure how, except by pushing magic into her. And love. He has no idea how long he can do this for, though.

[Recaiden]

It's probably literally within their capabilities, but they don't know how.
"Prumathe, direct the golem into the pool and continue what you are doing."
"Sekhmet, concentrate on your new form's appearance and structure."
Sekhmet will feel a surge of cold, soon countered by the warmth of the fluid as she's slid into the pool. Further tendrils reach up to her from below, some to supply oxygen to breathe and biomass to obtain extra inches of height, others to begin unraveling muscle and metal to fuse them together.
The weavers move away from Sekhmet in particular and take up their positions around the pool, setting the water humming with biokinetic energy.

Barring intervention from, uh, Prumathe, the transformation begins, a mixture of accelerated growth, surgery and transplantation, the supernatural flesh-altering of the weavers and queen, and in this case particular case also fiendish magic. I'm sure it's terribly uncomfortable, but it's not easy to get such dramatic results.

[bc56]

A Madhouse

Unlike the last time this happened, Sekhmet is fully conscious. It makes it far worse. Prumathe can watch as Sekhmet's flesh and bones are reshaped and extended, as bits of the golem (although not nearly the whole thing) are stripped off as wires and inserted beneath Sekhmet's skin, as a new organ is placed into her chest cavity and connected to her arteries, as her body chemistry changes and her blood goes from red to black, as her hair grows into a great flowing mane, drifting in the currents of the water. It's only a short time into the procedure that Sekhmet begins screaming in pain and crackling with energy, the sounds coming out burbling and distorted because of the pool.

[Earl of Purple]

House of Knives

The golem strides into the pool, after handing its massive sword to Prumathe who rests it upon his shoulder. He takes a step back, and looks away as Sekhmet's form changes. Before, when she was dying and naked, he was more interested in the former than the latter, but now... She's changing physically, and it seems like a violation of her privacy to watch her organs move. Also, it's pretty disturbing.

That changes when he hears her scream, he looks to see how she's getting on and pales. "Can't you add some painkillers or something?" He's not expecting an answer; probably this isn't deliberate on their end.

[Recaiden]

After a little while, Prumathe does actually get an answer. Spike shakes their head.
"Anything strong enough would interfere with concentrating on her powers."

As her new organ is connected to her circulatory system and starts to do its job, the blood-cooling tendrils slowly lower their activity and then are drawn back into the sides of the pool.
It seems to be going well, actually. The black blood - like the black eyes? - is the only worry.

Spike projects feelings of calm to Sekhmet, and shows her the newly improved body from the outside as it takes shape.

[bc56]

Knife to Meet You

Sekhmet calms down after a few minutes, although she's still in pain. She sends a feeling of approval at her new body, but declines to watch closely. Seeing herself cut open like that is disturbing. She doesn't seem to think there's any problem with black blood, but she didn't exactly expect it. It's probably fine.

As a sidenote, the ball of fire has remained fixed between Sekhmet's horns and shows no signs of going out, even underwater. It's clearly not natural fire by any means.

[Earl of Purple]

Shanked for the Memories

And Prumathe knew there was a reason they didn't do it. It doesn't make him feel better, though.

Prumathe sits on the edge of the pool, trying not to look.

[Recaiden]

Usually, your blood suddenly turning black is a serious health concern, not probably fine.
But this is far from usual.

Spike doesn't look away from the grisly spectacle, but they also don't persist in showing it to Sekhmet. The fire is particularly interesting. Fueled directly by magic, perhaps? Is it useful to Sekhmet, or more of a mark of her nature? Trying to get information about it from Sekhmet right now would be a dangerous frivolity, though.

As each part of the transformation is finished, Sekhmet should find her skin healed back up as if there were never even a cut.

[bc56]

Sharp Recollections

With her body rebuilt, Sekhmet should be about ready to come out of the pool now. When she feels like she's mostly put back together, she begins to stir again to examine herself. Are there any lingering aches or soreness from the surgery? Anything unexpected the hive did to her beyond what she requested?

[Earl of Purple]

A Blade in Hand is Worth Two in the Bush

When she comes out, Prumathe will turn and look at her with a smile- before blushing and looking away, as I doubt the Hive has provided her with any clothing. He's happy to hug if she initiates one, but given her nudity won't approach her for that reason specifically.