Serious Plots 9: Srsr and srsr

[Deathkeeper]

Waste Land

Krayger seems the device appear in Reina's hand and starts to instinctively jump left, only for the elf guard to send her to the ground. Works for him. He should-
He blinks for a moment in confusion. He gets the distinct impression that something very important just happened but his mind feels fuzzy. Or perhaps it suddenly feels fine and the difference is what's confusing him. Like walking into daylight after spending a week underground. Reina appears to be down and his employer is-
Oh blast his employer appears to be exploding or something.

Krayger attempts to get through the whipping winds and approach the Prince who appears to have been shocked badly although he doesn't remember seeing him get hit by any of the lightning. His revolver is back in its holster and he's trying to dig a thick glove out of his bag. He needs to bring rubber gloves for these things! The prince's guard appear to have momentarily left him to deal with...something. Reina, judging on proximity.
"Your Highness? Can you hear me?" he calls as he gets close. He's pretty sure royalty doesn't like peasant mercenaries laying their hands on them but if he has to do first aid he'll have to. Maybe if they're all lucky this is just a magic display and the Prince just never mentioned he was a sorcerer...

[Morty]

[Waste Land]

The two elven guards do nothing more once Reina falls. She cannot hurt their lord, so their orders have been fulfilled. Tallhora looks like she wants to go and help her, but with the bird still in its dying throes, it's too dangerous.

As Krayger approaches the Prince, he'll find that more is at play here than just some lightning. The Prince... up close, it seems like his form is just a shell, a prop. Something incredibly powerful is churning and roiling within it, straining against the force flowing from the dying bird. When he speaks, the Prince glances at him only briefly, through the visor of his mask, but it's enough for... glimpses to appear before Krayger's eyes. Above the din of the bird monster's demise, a breath can be heard. It slips through the cracks, getting stronger, carrying images and voices with it.

A figure wrapped in a black cloak, with a rat's skull, adorned with antlers. A beautiful, terrible queen, worshipped and feared. A tree, burning without a fire and choking all around it in darkness. A mighty dragon-like lord, bellowing a challenge to giants and gods. All of these and more seem to be contained within the Prince, and soon too will be the bird. Underneath it all are memories, of lands long forgotten, a world left behind and something true under the many faces and titles. That something is no king, queen, prince or warlord, but a darkness full of claws, teeth and nameless terror.

All of these will appear only briefly, as the Prince looks away from Krayger and focused on the bird again. With last powerful effort, the last of it is absorbed into him, and all is silent once more. Lightning still crackles on the edges of the Prince's mask and weapon and there's a strange change in him. He's more animated, more vital, more emotional.

"That... did not go entirely as I had planned," he says, his voice more natural and no longer seeming to require effort to speak. As he speaks, Tallhora and the two elven warriors will try to help Reina get up.

[Earl of Purple]

Throne Room

Prumathe tries to avoid the tail, but he wasn't actually expecting it so it's able to tighten about his neck. He reinforces his neck to try and make it harder for Sapphira to strangle him, and he also tries slapping at her tail with his sword. He's panicking a little and not twisting it, so if the weapon makes contact with the tail he's only slapping the flat of the blade and not actually slashing at it.

[Rebonack]

[Throne Room]

Hmm.

Well.

Zee has had a bit of extra time to consider how things are going here. That is absolutely a sword made from her bane. She had only told Wenomir about her weakness lest she go off the rails and considering that he's here trying to chop Saph's tail off Zee is guessing he probably didn't inform the demon queen. That means there are shinanagins afoot.

Darn.

That sharply limits the range of options Zee has here.

Well, aside from obvious first steps. In this case, stepping to the side and forward to avoid the rising slash. Rising cuts are always tricky since you haven't got gravity on your side, but since Sapphira is made of cheating Zee is going to guess that probably doesn't matter a great deal. One way or the other, she would prefer to avoid getting bane-bopped. It would be unpleasant and really inconvenient. Betting bits of her carved off and dumped back into the Empyrean is a giant hassle so probably a good idea to watch for the sword.

Getting into grapple range is definitely the best option.

"Softness, gentleness, heaven's warm embrace! Sam Bacon, I invoke thee!" Zee thunders as she aims to catch Sapphira's sword-wrist with one hand, wrap an arm around the devil with another, and pull the Queen of Poison into a hug. Should she manage to effectuate her grapple Zee will try to plant a kiss right on Sapphira's ruined eye.

*smek*

Normally that would be completely pointless.

But Zee also kind of happens to be a living conduit straight to the Empyrean and the Searing Light of Truth just came blasting out of her mouth Godzilla style.


[VIGIL Skybase]

"Prumathe sent me to rescue you specifically to keep you away from your mother. Several of VIGIL's most accomplished warriors are assaulting the tower, including Commander Wenomir," Geneva says as she as she de-rezes. Normally this would dump Sekhmet on the ground but there's a little psychokinetic cushion to break her fall. ~If your mother has him at her mercy then the only reason she would keep him alive is as bait for you. The moment you appear he wouldn't be useful to that end any longer. It would be safest to allow VIGIL to do our job and rescue him. And I believe this man may be part of the prophecy.~

Which man?

The crazy one, of course!

~You witnessed Sekhmet's birth?~ Geneva inquires of the madman as she reaches to his mind with her own. Bringing order to mental chaos happens to be a thing she's pretty good at. ~Who is she to you?~

Meanwhile! She's sending out a mental request to one of the adventurers to fetch something from the armory for her.

Quickly.

[bc56]

Vigil Skybase
The madman's mind isn't just chaotic. It's scrambled. Like someone stuck a whisk in it and whipped it up into a froth, then let it settle. All his thoughts are fragmentary, bits of images or recollections ground up and stuck together like stained glass. He does not, perhaps can not, protect his secrets. She is my Little Lioness. My future Lady. My one and only. With the thoughts come fragments. The feeling of a tiny hand gripping an outstretched finger. The sensation of bowing before someone's feet. A corner of something that might be a heraldic crest.
"Geneva, what's going on? How do you know?"

Throne Room
Wenomir chops through Sapphira's tail, freeing Prumather from asphyxiation. But the real spectacle of the moment is Zee. She grabs Sapphira, and moves to kiss her, only for the gesture to turn into a searing laser of holy power. Sapphira squirms and takes it through the cheek instead, but it doesn't matter. Where the light touches the cracks in her face, it blows them wide open. Sapphira's body disintegrates in a blast of green light and the fading sound of a pained scream. But that's not the end. Something coalesces out of the light hanging space where Sapphira was. A body. A woman with skin like marble, clad in white, hair and wings glowing faintly with emerald radiance. She collapses onto the floor unconscious and still in front of the assembled heroes.
Is that it? Did they win?
If they did, there's still some aftermath to consider. Ilpholin is still made of gold and trying to kill Kiun. Wenomir is poisoned. And who is this mysterious unconscious lady?

Scorching Depths
A shiver passes through the air. One might believe they're imagining it, but it seems very slightly cooler. Still lethally hot, but not quite so much. A weighty presence seems to have left this place, a feeling of being subtly watched diminishing to nothing.
And the eyes of every devil in the land turn towards the palace, and know fear and uncertainty.
The queen is dead. What happens now?

Vigil Skybase
"Geneva?" Sekhmet asks again. Her voice seems different now. She seems scared. "It begins!" The madman shouts into the air. "I am free!"
Sekhmet, meanwhile, is collapsing limply to the ground. "Geneva, what's happening to me?" she gasps, as if struggling to breathe.

[Reinholdt]

[Throne Room]

Ilpholin hasn't once tried to kill Kiun!
Her whip retracts and turns into a sword which gets buried into the floor beside Kiun as the golden nymph looms over her. She opens her mouth to speak.

Lolthing dammit!

There's a clicking noise, almost like she was clearing her throat and restarting her vocal subroutines.

"STAY."

There. That's better at least.

Admittedly, there is a bit of a distraction in the form of Sapphira screaming. Ilpholin pulls away from the mini-Sapphira on the floor so as not to get ambushed while she watches Zee do some horrible eldritch life manipulation thing. To turn Sapphira into... some kind of angel? Ugh... it's not as good as killing Sapphira, but Ilpholin can respect Zee's choice. Turning demons into angels is like turning humans into undead. +1 soldier in the good fight. She is forced to admit that it may be better as a whole to do that, but it would do nothing to satiate her need for revenge.

[Waste Land]

Getting Reina up is not problematic and she makes no effort to push away the help. Though all of the elves will get shocked by painful static because she's a charged catgirl and charged cats always shock people with static. Nothing intentional or serious though.

Once up, she'll look around, moving her head slowly because she has a real headache and a real concussion and feels dizzy. She keeps her arms around the two elves for support. "Did we win?" They probably won. She was there after all. Can't lose with a good luck neko girl.

[Deathkeeper]

Waste land

The wind is sucked from Krayger's lungs as his knees buckle. His hand reaches for something to hold onto but doesn't find purchase.
Gods preserve. More of these blasted monstrosities. Hasn't he had enough of all of this? His skin crawls; his shoulders itch. Despite all the mind-numbing imagery being blasted into his brain he has the distinct impression of something lodging itself somewhere between his eyes and shoulders.
The feelings pass with the images but he's still not up immediately. It takes a moment of panting before the minotaur can properly stand. He wipes sweat from his face and shakes his head.
"Well I'm glad we won anyway, Your Highness." he mumbles.

[5a Violista]

Slime Cave

The slimegirl wants to tell them that they don't have to worry about any of that. She just got a little lost, is all, running away. In fact, she would tell them if she could think of a way to tell them with hand gestures, they don't even have to go with her. Just point out the way, tell her how to get up, and everything will work out in the end.

She listens to the first one and tries to come up with a way to communicate her thoughts.
The slimegirl cups her hands together.
The slimegirl points at her eyes.
...
Or, rather, where her eyes would be if she had some. Wait, do these guys even have eyes? Some deep-cave animals don't have eyes. Gabrielle can't see in this darkness to tell if they do or not, but it's entirely possible that they don't even know what eyes are.
Okay, that won't work. Time to think of something else.
Gabrielle then pauses.
Then, she points at herself and waves. Then points at them and lowers her hand.
She then pauses and points upwards.
Then, she points at them with one hand, and with the other moves her fingers and thumb together and apart. Then, once again, back at herself, and then moves her other hand back and forth like a fish or snake, moving at an upwards angle.

And she mentally prays that somehow they understand what she's trying to communicate.


Mirror of Art

"She hasn't really opened up to anyone else yet," the ranger comments. "Just keeps to herself, sitting around camp."

Anyway, on to the (possibly) more important thing. "I see. Back when I was first here, I tried sending some messages through to get help from people, but the best I could do was signing and lip-reading. They were able to help a little, but...it took all my effort just to get a little message across and they weren't really able to help. And I needed to focus more on over here."

She stretches and sits down, since she's had an exhausting day so far. "Sounds like you've already done more than me, though! Good to hear you have such a reliable family! You're pretty lucky, that way."

[Morty]

[Waste Land]

The Prince gives both Reina and Krayger a long look. It seems to tug at something within them, that only just now became a part of them. But nothing else happens.

"The task has been accomplish, despite... complications along the way. I did not anticipate them. You will be compensated as was agreed upon."

[Throne Room]

Sam Bacon? What in all the dead gods' names is Zee talking abou- that's about when the poison in Wenomir's back spreads just a little further and a jolt of pain brings him to his knees.

"What is- aaagh. I need a medic, but what just happened?"

[Rebonack]

[Throne Room]

Alright.

That definitely wasn't what Zee was expecting would happen.

She was imagining that she would do her hugs and kisses of doom and injure Sapphira and possibly get stabbed with that gross sword, so this turned out way better than she would have guessed. Speaking of that weird sword? She's going to be kicking that thing away from Sapphira the Queen of Angels Who Kiss the Pavement or whatever.

Pow!

Sword likely sent spinning across the floor and up against the far wall.

"Not totally sure?" Zee replies to Wenomir as she moves toward him, keeping a cautious eye on Sapphira just in case she does something more threatening that strumming a harp and being benevolent. "I guess she was the fallen angel sort of devil and all the demon stuff got.... blasted off her? Maybe?"

It's pretty clear that Zee isn't totally sure what just happened. But hey! Sapphira isn't trying to stab them anymore so that's a plus, right?

She'll kneel down next to Wenomir and inspect the envenomed wound. If the poison is an actual physical object she might be able to denature it. If it's conjured faerie magic nonsense she might be able to burn it out with the Light of Truth but that always risks-

Oh.

Wait.

Wenomir doesn't have a soul.

"Someone actually had sense when they were making people? Crazy," she mutters as she assesses the damage. Then just for good measure she's going to yell at the alabaster-skinned woman, "Hey are you going to get up and offer an explanation or just keep sprawling there like a landed fish?"


[VIGIL Skybase]

~I don't know for sure but I have a suspicion,~ Geneva replies tentatively just before she begins probing.

And-

Oh.

It's such a terrible mess in here. It would take months if not YEARS to try to reorganize the poor man's damaged mind. If such a thing were even possible at all.

But! Geneva quick finds what she's looking for. The memory of the child. That she shares with her friend.

~Sekhmet... I think this man might be your father. I~

Her train of thought is interrupted when Sekhmet drops like a puppet with her strings cut.

~I don't know? Someone fetch a medic, quickly!~ she mentally shouts, touching the mind of everyone nearby along with a psychic tug giving them an idea of where she and Sekhmet are. No doubt some VIGIL healers will be arriving shortly just in case this is something particularly bad. ~Don't panic, Sekhmet, I'm here.~

And at this point?

An adventurer arrives with a tiny mew-sized wrist communicator backup. Geneva snatches it with her teek and snaps it on. As soon as the device is active a message will be sent out-


[Throne Room]

On the communicators of those involved with the raid on the tower a message will come through.

"This is Geneva, I've secured Sekhmet at VIGIL, but she's experiencing some sort of psychic and physical distress. What's the status of the mission?"

[bc56]

Vigil Skybase
Father? Sekhmet telepathically asks. Her breathing is too labored for her to speak now. "My lioness. Let me hold you one last time before you go." The madman bends down and attempts to cradle Sekhmet's head in his arms. "Be brave for me..."
Geneva has cause to be worried. Sekhmet sounds like she can barely breathe. All her limbs are limp and unmoving, her eyes are closed, and the flame between her horns is flickering and dancing wildly. I feel... So... Cold... She sends, her mental voice feeble and fleeting.

Scorching Depths
Dark, swollen clouds hang heavy overhead. There's a pressure in the air. Something is about to happen.
A bolt of lightning splits the sky, a rumble of thunder soon following, and still the pressure continues to build.

[Reinholdt]

[Waste Land]

"Complications?" Reina thinks for a moment, though it hurts quite a bit to do so. Oh right. She was... did she? She may have lost herself for a moment. Oh gosh, what an embarrassment. She wonders if she can leave that part out of the report.

"Oh I'm so sorry about that. I didn't hit anyone did I?" They all seem to be doing better than she is right now so can't have been too bad if she did. "We should check on that town, make sure it's ok," Reina suggests.

[Arkhosia]

Offices
Anika can easily knock the two zombies around as a bear. Likewise, Blanche has no trouble shooting them, because they lack any presence of mind necessary to dodge. But despite broken bones and bullet holes, both corpses just get back up and continue their mindless, relentless approach towards Blanche.
And now the last 3 of the possessed have finally made it into the fray. They swarm around Anika, flapping and clawing at her with wild fury.

Offices

Oh, the old unkillable undead thing, eh? Anika had dealt with that before and she had a pretty good idea how to handle it.
Of course, then there was all those demon-girls coming after her. Gotta deal with those first.
Now, there was a reason why Anika wanted to be here in the first place. If those flying b****** wanted to all get in here they gotta get through the windows and it'd be difficult getting in all at once.
So the moment the druid notices the succubi coming in towards the window she's going to trust that Blanche can deal with the zombies and just charge towards the demons. But before she reaches them she's going to get up on her hindlegs and wait for them to come to her with her arms outstretched.
As they're attempting to dig her claws into her fur she's going to use her size advantage to embrace all the demons into one big bear hug, succubi were into hugs right? This is more of a grapple but that's really just a super-hug.
Then if that succeds, she's just going to keep hugging them until she crushes their bodies while simply enduring all their attacks.

Office

Agh, [caress]ing undead. Always a pain in the ass. Blanche backs up to maintain her distance and adjusts tactics, shifting her aim from center of mass to knees and heads. She goes for the knees first to bring them to the floor before going for the capital blow in a series of quick bursts, always mindful of Anika charging forth in the background. If she isn't fast enough to cut them all down before they reach her, any grasping hands will earn themselves a vicious rifle butt or vindictive stomp.

[Deathkeeper]

Waste Land

That creeping feeling crawls its way down Krayger's back again.
"We're happy for a job completed. We can check on the townsfolk and leave you to your victory celebration I'm sure, Your Highness." There is likely to be one. Or they'll at least say there is, since a real royal would probably throw one.
Not that that's what he's looking at right now.

[Recaiden]

[Vigil Skybase]

Sekhmet, there you are. Spike's words appear in Sekhmet's mind.
Sapphira is dead, but there's a sort of pull on her power, and clearly on you too. Stay with me, okay?
We'll get you if you need us.

[Throne Room]

Ilpholin hasn't tried to kill her yet.

Speaking of which, Kiun flinches away from the sword, and does stay in place.

Okay, fine, do it now.
There's a shimmer over Kiun, and her unnatural beauty fades away, and her wings and tail flicker and vanish, and anyone who looks would just see a confused human girl in a ragged dress. Black hair, glowing pink eyes, welt on her leg from being grabbed by a whip. This is of course just an illusion. Anyone who pays very close attention would see a frightened human girl in a ragged dress, with black hair, glowing pink eyes, welt on her leg from being grabbed by a whip. Which is also fake, and if you can pierce the more solid second layer, you'll see a four-winged red-skinned demon girl - although she doesn't quite look so much like Sapphira as she did at first.

Huh. They hadn't paid it much mind, after all swords are gross and heretical, but when Zee kicks it away, it becomes worth considering. Sapphira made it sound like it was a weapon specifically for angels. That could be...interesting, couldn't it?
After Zee kicks the sword away, if no one else goes after it, it might seem to disappear. If you kept watching it as it spun across the room and after it came to a rest, you might see Haru pick it up curiously, but otherwise, it's just...not there to notice any longer.

[Slime Cave]

Unfortunately for Gabrielle, they don't have eyes, so that gesture is lost on them.
But it seems pretty clear what she's saying. She can leave without them, and they won't have to undertake the dangerous journey to the surface, as long as she knows which way to go.

"Oh, really?"
"Well, if you go back the way we came, and turn right, then left, then right two times, you should get to the fields. And at the far end, you can climb up to the gallery, and then follow the sound of beetles, and when there gets to be lots of salt, turn away from it, and then you get to the door to the empty place."
Easy, right?
The other guy steps aside and motions the first one back, so Gabrielle can get started on her journey.

[Mirror of Art]

"Mindy is, um...it's not like what she expected, here." Ein says, failing to find the word that means what they meant.

"It should be easy to get some kinds of help, now." They look at the ranger, distracted.

"Your family was not sufficient, correct? That's a common individual problem, unfortunately."

[bc56]

Office

Blanche shoots out one zombie's knees, but the second reaches her before she can finish it off. It's beaten back by the butt of her rifle, but keeps attacking remorselessly. The second one crawls with its hands, getting closer and closer.
Meanwhile, Anika is hugging the life out of a group of succubi. They aren't strong enough to escape, or to seriously injured a bear, but they will keep her occupied while Blanche is outnumbered, unless she drops them or thinks of something clever to do.

[Earl of Purple]

Throne Room

Prumathe takes a moment to catch his breath, before straightening and looking at the angel that was Sapphira. "That's... huh. You've redeemed her, somehow. She was an angel, once. Forgiveness, I think. I... wasn't expecting this to happen. I need to go find my wife now." Prumathe starts patting himself down to find Sekhmet's phone. Hopefully he's not dropped it, but Earl has honestly lost track of what's happened with Sekhmet's stuff.

[bc56]

Throne Room

The poison is really real. Whether or not that's a good thing for Zee depends on what she wants to do with it.
Prumathe should still have Sekhmet's things as long as he still has her purse with him. And the phone is right on top after the last time he used it.

The mysterious angel (?) groans and slowly sits up. Something doesn't seem quite right about her. Not in an unnatural, inhuman sort of way. But rather, if you were expecting angels to be full of holy radiance and have perfect composure, she seems... Dim. The green light radiating from her is but a weak flicker, and she seems bewildered and unfocused, maybe even sickly. "Where?.."

Haru picks up the dropped fossil sword. Immediately, on touching it, she'll be struck with the amount of power it radiates. It's clearly a potent weapon. But behind all that power can be felt a terrible and malign will. A presence, that while not intelligent, is forceful and purposeful. It has one intent: to corrupt and destroy, to cause terror, despair, and hatred. Truly this weapon is a vile thing, but of great power.

[Morty]

[Throne Room]

"Sapphira was... transformed into an angel. Or something like that," Wenomir tells Geneva. "Zee did something. But I don't know if we're in the clear yet. Sekhmet might be feeling some ricochet effect of that. Get her to the clinic, ideally to Mia. She might be able to help." He quickly switches to another channel. "Blanche, where are you? What's your status?"

[Waste Land]

"The bird's death did not go entirely as planned. But it is dead now, and that's what matters." The Prince seems quick to dismiss it. Should Krayger and Reina go to the town like they said they want to, they will find that the townsfolk seem to have recovered. The madness is gone, but no one is quite clear what happened. Their memories of the events seem clouded and confused. It appears that everyone is rationalizing and filling in the blanks best they can, so it's unlikely they will learn the truth on their own.

[Rebonack]

[Throne Room]

"Wasn't me," Zee objects. "I think it was that arrow that blasted her in the eye and made all the green cracks. Everything after that was just spreading the damage. Pretty sure if anyone had mashed her in the face again that probably would have happened. You mind if I get under the armor here, Wenomir? I think I can re-arrange this poison into- HEY!"

Well.

That was some abrupt yelling and pointing at Haru which may or may not strike the others nearby as odd since they may or may not even notice that Haru is there.

"That thing's dangerous, drop it! It's full of demon poison and bad thoughts and evil mojo and... stuff. It should probably get locked up in the VIGIL vault or tossed into Mount Doom or something," Zee quite forcefully informs the hiveling. And just to make it clear she means business she makes the universal 'I've got my eyes on you' gesture at Haru.

There.

Told them!

"Anyway I think I can neutralize the poison since it's actually a thing unlike Sapphire's conjured fart cloud," Zee continues.

-and then the angel starts waking up. Boy everyone is just conspiring to distract Zee with all sorts of things that aren't tending to Wenomir's poisoned wound, aren't they?

"Heeeeey welcome back to the land of the not smothered under the seething bulk of ten million tortured souls. You're in the mortal world, in case you were wondering. How are you feeling? Any lingering compulsions to commit heinous acts of villainy?" Zee pipes up brightly before whispering to Wenomir. "Gunna admit I'm not totally sold on the idea that this isn't some sort of trick to get our guard down; that felt like it ended way too easily. Be cautious."


[Scorching Depths]

Rose had been working on sprucing up the ol' burning pit of lava when... something... started happening.

She really isn't sure what but it feels...

Like a pressure had been taken off her shoulders?

Like there weren't eyes on her back anymore.

Had something important happened? To Sapphira? To Sekhmet? Surely Sekhmet would have summoned her if she needed help, right?

...she knows she can summon Rose if she needs help.

Right?

Ugh, she probably doesn't does she?

But then the storm clouds begin building. Which is... troubling. Rose really hadn't seen weather happen down here before. Ever.

"Sekhmet, where are you... what's going on?"


[VIGIL Skybase]

Wenomir will get back an "Understood," as Geneva gets to work.

Okay. Okay okay okay this looks like some sort of paralysis. Geneva can work with that she just, haha, she just has zero experience doing what she's about to do so she's just going to wing it and hope for the best. Sekhmet is suffering from paralysis and unable to breath so-

Geneva will use her telekinesis to move what needs to be moved for her. Keep the lungs billowing. Keep the heart pumping.

~I need a stretcher NOW. We need to get her to the clinic immediately she's suffering from cardiopulmonary paralysis. You, call ahead to the infirmary so they know we're coming. You and you, get the stretcher. MOVE!~

As for Geneva?

She's going to be focusing all of her efforts on keeping Sekhmet alive.

~Hang in with me, Sekhmet, okay?~ the mew says as she settles directly on Sekhmet's chest, placing her little paws on the woman's sternum and wrapping her tail around Sekhmet's wrist. The former is to make it easier to focus her teek. The latter is to comfort her friend. And herself. ~We're going to get you to the doctors everything will be fine.~

[bc56]

Vigil Skybase
Sekhmet croaks out two more words before passing out completely. "Where's... Prumathe..." She's fading fast, but thanks to Geneva, still breathing, her heart still pumping. The flame above her head blazes wildly. "Don't worry," the madman, Sekhmet's father, gently presses a hand to Geneva's shoulder (or closest analog), "The seed must die so the flower may bloom." There's a flash of light as Sekhmet's flame suddenly explodes outward, then just as quickly, goes out completely.

Scorching Depths
Weather is definitely unusual. The sunless sky always has beaten down with relentless, oppressive heat. The feeling of pressure continues to build, and then...
Something even more unthinkable happens. In a great release, the storm breaks. For the first time in millennia, it rains in the Scorching Depths. Torrential rain beats down upon magma rivers and fields of ash, creating great clouds of steam and pools of black mud. The marble palace stands out in sharp relief against the stormy sky. It has lost its old aura of power and danger. It feels... Incomplete now. It is a very strange feeling.

[Shadowcaller]

Throne Room

Well, Anika actually had a plan for that but there's a danger it might hurt Blanche as well. She was pretty sure that could be avoided though!

Thus, she's going to move backwards while still 'hugging' the succubi. Then in one powerful show of strength she's going to heave them all over her head and driving them right into what she hopes are the zombies. But might just be the floor. Either way, it's going to hurt someone. Hopefully not Blanche.

[Reinholdt]

[Waste Land]

Then the two will probably return to MERC, after payment, so Reina can be debriefed and maybe hopefully just possibly get treated for a concussion.

[Throne Room]

Ilpholin watches everything with suspicion for a moment, narrowing her eyes at Sapphira, the demons on the floor, Kiun, Haru which she kinda only sorta noticed but didn't seem important. She swings her sword arm towards Kiun and levels it at the girl's chest.

Oh. Oops. It transforms back into a hand of gold, offering her assistance in getting Kiun up off the floor. Ilpholin doesn't have enough silver in her right now to test for demons, but that's not going to stay true forever so Kiun might want to accept Ilpholin's offer and book it from here. "Call an ambulance for the other office workers," Ilpholin suggests.

The golden nymph will leave Kiun to her own devices and head over to Zee and Wenomir, not even apologizing for slamming her into the ground earlier! "You ok?" She asks Wenomir in between his communications, trying not to immediately ask him where Anika is as well, her eyes mostly on Sapphira than the warrior.

[Recaiden]

[Throne Room]

Kiun tenses up, glancing around for a way out when she sees that she's about to be stabbed-
Then she smiles slightly, and puts her hand in Ilpholin's to get back on her feet.

She gives a jerky nod and reaches into her pocket for the phone that definitely seems to be there, and makes a call-
"At the Xuracorp building, my coworkers were possessed by demons, and a lot of them are hurt, and-
She staggers up the stairs out of the throne room while talking to the emergency responder, filling them in on how VIGIL stopped the demons, but the elevators are out, and there are monsters in the stairs, and there's blood everywhere please help, etc.

Sapphira should have filled the sword with an evil possessing personality like that staff had. It would have worked here, in all this confusion.
"Extremely dangerous! That's why I'm not leaving it lying around - what if a demon comes in and summons it to hand? What if a civilian picks it up?"
"We have procedures for evil artifacts! And they don't involve kicking them like toys." Haru holds the sword point down in one tentacle, you know, carrying it like a piece of garbage rather than a weapon, and wags a finger disapprovingly at the barmaid.
She's also rather annoyed that Zee can see her, but not surprised about it.

[Shadowcaller]

Orobou Office

Artie isn't entirely sure about what to ask.
"Well, do you think it likely that I'm to end up running afoul of any celestial laws? I didn't think I was bound to, nor would I be associating with such people. But ah, if there are such things I should be worried about I suppose that's what I should be asking about first."

Orobou Office

"I doubt it. I've made sure to only tell you what's generally known among us so you won't have to worry about accidentally revealing confidential information. Besides that, it would be extremely difficult for you to even find a way to break the law as it's being enforced within our own world. While there are angels coming here, they won't try to even implement it on the nexus. It would be far too much effort for no tangible benefit. Therefore, the only way you could really run afoul of them would be to travel to our world first. But even then I can't really think of a scenario where you'd do something that would warrant more than a warning. Assuming no political bias of course as we aren't always on the greatest terms with them." Vez pauses as his tails move to make another sketch on the paper.

"There is... one thing though. Something I'm afraid I can't really talk about you openly as it would entail the exact information that'd get you in trouble." As Vez talks, the sketch quickly starts to take form. Perhaps somehow brought to life by the dream itself Artie fiends herself staring at the picture of a horned creature with skull-like facial features and a yellow glow coming out of its eyes and mouth.

It's dressed in loose fitting clothing however, something that would resemble a robe on a more humanoid person.

"You should avoid contact with beings that look like this. The angels are looking out for them so being in their presence would not look favorably."

[Earl of Purple]

Throne Room

Prumathe takes the phone from Sekhmet's bag and calls Geneva's number with it!

Geneva lost all her clothes when she shapeshifted into Sekhmet to get into the summoning circle. She probably can't hear him try calling her- unless it patches into her Vigil communicator, but again that's probably in Skyside somewhere and she's using someone else's.

[Deathkeeper]

Orobou Office

Artie nods gravely. Something about this face is greatly unsettling to her. Like something tickling the back of her mind.
"I already have no interest in hanging around unsavory characters. I will keep angelic trouble away from myself and the Court." She stares at the sketch.
"I assume this is some manner of demon. Certainly not anyone I would be willingly speaking to even without your warning. I think I've shot a few in my lifetime." It does make sense that the angels would be going after demons, wouldn't they?

[5a Violista]

[Slime Cave]

The slimegirl nods.
The slimegirl raises one hand to her forehead and the other to her chest, and moves them both away at the same time.
...
Presumably, it means something.

So, right, left, right-right, cross up, beetles, no salt, door. Right-left-right-right, cross-field-up, beetles without salt, door.

She waves quickly at them, then starts on her journey, going past the two people, while trying to incorporate the directions into some sort of jiggly-dance to keep it in mind. The physicality makes it easier to remember, she thinks. Right, left, right-right, then cross-up...what kind of dance move means beetles or no salt? she wonders. Oh well, she has this whole trip to try to figure that out.

'No salt'...maybe sticking hand straight out and turning away? If she can fit it into the rhythm, then that might work, but first she has to find a way to distinguish 'beetle' and 'salt' and 'door'. Also it would be easier if there were music going on, too.


[Mirror of Art]

The ranger doesn't know what word Ein was trying to use, either.

Well, anyway. Seems like Ein had a lot of good news.

"No," she says. "My adventurer's party was basically like a family, but..."
The ranger sighs.
"Well, there were five of us, and two of our members died in a dungeon we weren't prepared for. Since then, everyone just sort-of drifted apart. One of the other members probably could have helped me after I got through this predicament, if I managed to contact her, but...I couldn't find her. She probably went back to her home or something." It was the mage. The party consisted of a warrior, a mage, the ranger, a healer, and the heart, but the heart and the healer both died in the same dungeon.

[bc56]

Throne Room
Zee's comments just seem to confuse the tarnished angel more. She slowly stands up. "Was I... Dreaming?" By her tone, it's clear this is a very unusual thing. "How did I get here?"

[Recaiden]

[Slime Cave]

I'm sure it would mean something to someone. Just not to these cave-people.

They watch the slime-girl go for a while before turning back, and taking the left fork instead of the right. The one who had done most of the talking comments that it felt like they should have done more. The other guy disagrees - they're just lucky they got rid of the slime without anyone being hurt.

If Gabrielle only had some knuckle-bones and wooden spoons, this memorization task could go so much better.

Simply going right-left-right-right is a long way. It would probably take two hours if you had legs and had been this way before.
And the whole time, there is going to be a total lack of music, light, or really anything else helpful.

[Mirror of Art]

Ein quietly considers this for a few moments.
"And you weren't able to get two new adventurers?" Adventurers are interchangeable parts, you know. Like tires, you just need a set of any four, about equally worn out, and you can go. "It's lucky that you three survived in the end. But, it's still sad, for a family to just disappear that way."

Through the mirror, the ranger will feel an impulse to jump in the water. What water? Don't worry about it.
"What about this place? The people here?"