Roleplaying
2004 Archive
2005 Archive
Seminars
| When: | 18 February 2005 ("Good Intentions" Plot Event) |
| Who: | Alexander, Bronwen, Christian, Ellen, Inarin, Kacela, Merazekiel, Nicodemus, Pan, Remy, Sarah, Tyrr, Uzal |
| What: | Christian gets exactly what he wants... |
Midtown - Austin
Midtown is a mix of government, schools, and parks. Right in the center of Midtown is the University of Texas at Austin. It's an impressively large campus that has buildings all over this section of the city. The governmental buildings surrounding the Capital and it's massive lawn bustle with people moving to and fro. Being the Capital of the state itself, the State Senate and Capital Buildings are always open to the public, twenty-four hours a day.
Sauntering out of the precinct looking like the veritable cat that ate the canary, Kacela looks over her shoulder at the glowering form of Christian. "And here I thought you'd appreciate the fact that I sent half the city to go look for you at Brackenridge Hospital." She shakes her head. "Well, bail's been met. You're more interesting when not behind bars, go forth and be, well..." She narrows eyes, "Yourself. I'm sure you'll find someone out there to give you your wish."
"Of course, you're limited intellect fails to comprehend that Brackenridge Hospital is RIGHT NEXT DOOR!" Christian sneers as he walks out of the Police Department, somewhat amazed but really unsurprised given what he's guessing about Kacela. "Ignorant fool." And perhaps surprisingly, Christian balls up a fist and throws a punch right at Kacela's face, aiming to break a nose or jaw... or his own hand.
Alexander is, oddly enough for those who've been hunting up and down for this man for some time, actually simply passing by the precinct at this particular moment, trailing a thin cloud of cigarette smoke, an oversized duffel bag slung over his shoulder.
Genevieve is indeed next door at the hospital, fussing with the receptionist desk. However, it doesn't take too terribly long before she zips out, pouting some. She shakes her head to the waiting figures of Tyrr and Bronwen. "Nuh uh. I even snuck on one of the machines myself to lookit the lists. No one saw me, though, I swear it. I was fast."
For once, Merazekiel isn't watching. He's slipping towards the precinct in an amiable, interested way. The cloud of smoke that billows past his fedora sets a trail. The punch starts him moving faster, though.
There aren't exactly any good ambush spots. But 'Rin is, of course, going to have to. He didn't manage to get ahold of Nicodemus, and isn't sure if he's about to get the drop on anybody, but he walks quietly into the area briefly before spotting two people. He smiles, before heading in a seperate direction, heading between two buildings to prepare.
A young man with black hair is sauntering nonchalantly down the street, hands in his pockets. His bright, blue-violet eyes study the vicinity, on the lookout for anything interesting. And, lo and behold, there's a glowing man punching a woman! Uzal's eyes narrow curiously; a slight smirk touches his lips, then, like Toucan Sam, he follows his nose for trouble, slinking quietly toward the ensuing ruckus.
Alexander catches the punch being swung out of the corner of his eye. As do probably several other folks out on the street. Shifting his weight easily, he turns to watch, relying mostly on his height to see over the people in his way, not moving closer yet. Not quite sure what's going on.
Ellen isn't really looking for trouble, but she's about to find it. On her way down the street from the University, she catches sight of the pair exiting the jail. Christian's face is unmistakable, as is his intent to wallop the poor woman. Ellen frowns, and looks up and down at the gathering group of people, planning her approach cautiously to keep some of them between her and Christian. Getting too close to his hands is /not/ a good idea...
The hit lands, there's no question of that. Kacela's head whips around, her eyes shut briefly. Raising a hand to her split lip, Kacela hisses out, "Oh, it's not going to be that easy for you. Your ass may want to get killed, but it's not going to happen yet. There's bigger things, bigger people, bigger forces that want their hooks in you." In an under current, another resonant, chant-like drone rolls under her next words, "Hold still, and wait until the greaters powers have a better look at you..."
Roll by Kacela: (5) (6) (3)
Time... Time waits for no man or Celestial. Time ticks away, continuing to measure progress towards an end, whether Bright or Dark. While one half of the puzzle, Sandra, has proven as elusive as ever, the other half is well-known. Christian. The other fedora-wearing man, Remy, heads down the street, looking back every so often as he works his way towards the Precinct.
So much to do, so little time to do it in.
Little does Remy and the others known, but Sandra and her 'keeper' Sian are nearby. Two blocks away in the back of an alleyway, both sit with a lead 'box' between the two of them. They're quietly eating an ice cream cone while Tyrr and Bronwen stand just outside of the alleyway monitoring the police station from afar.
Raising a hand to wave a finger back and forth slightly, Christian smiles as his own forces allow him to resist. "Now now, while I may want my own end, that doesn't mean I won't take a bunch of you with me. Human, Horde, or Host... you're all the same, pathetic creatures in a Symphony that's gone corrupt." WIth that, he murmurs the corporeal song of Thunder.
Roll by Christian: (4) (4) (5)
Another figure - wearing, of /all/ things, a pith helmet - follows after Remy, keeping her eyes peeled, frowning. "I've got a bad feeling about this, Remy," Sarah murmurs. "Let's do it quickly."
Merazekiel pulls up on the heels of that song and pauses long enough to consider that perhaps moving closer wasn't his best idea ever. He tosses his cigarette away with a flick and steps forward quietly.
Alexander shifts the dufflebag around to his front, unzipping it part way and slipping a hand into it as he makes his way slowly towards the fight, letting the motion of the crowd determine his pace. Tossing his cigarette aside, he straightens up from a habitual slouch, flicking his gaze up and down the street, looking for... signs.
'Rin...Sit tight? No. He doesn't open fire yet, like a good soldier. Not with his guns. He tries for something a little more subtle than shooting at first. He stays where he is, not even really acknowledging the hissy fits the two are throwing at each other, and then narrows his eyes...aiming for a little magic. Let's see if he can't screw Christian over with the greatest of God's attributes.
Roll by Inarin: (1) (4) (3)
Uzal edges closer, watching with interest. How magnificent -- a Saint of God who has dared to defy the Almighty! Why, this might even set a precedent... His eyes narrow at the Song-making gestures of the pair.
A Lincoln Navigator, not the most agile of vehicles, weaves in and out of traffic at reckless speeds. It darts across the yellow line abruptly, evoking honks and curses from the other commuters, only to pull dangerously into a space not far from the police precinct. Who would be so bold as to pull this sort of stunt well within the reach of the arm of the law? You expect a spoiled sixteen old and his friends to leap out laughing amongst themselves, but no...it is a stone faced Nicholas Lyman, and he's brought lackeys. Large ones.
Pan follows along after Remy and Sarah, yawning a little as if she were tired. "Man, what a night..." Pan complains, rubbing at her eyes. She doesn't seem to be paying much attention to anything else quite yet, just focused on Remy and Sarah...perhaps intending to keep them nice and safe as much as possible. Or just to annoy them. Hard to say for sure.
Ellen looks around for angels to hide behind -- er, allies to stand beside. She sees Sarah, Remy and Pan and approaches them with a quick, nervous wave.
Kacela breaks into a low laugh at the stressed strum of reality around her. "The Symphony has abandoned you!" she proclaims, before stretching out one hand to snatch him up by the collar, no subtlety tonight, it would seem. However, at the screeching of tires on pavement, she flashes a grin as she recognizes the visitor from the day before. Nevermind that she's on the steps of the police precinct, and not the hospital.
Roll by Christian: (1) (3) (1)
Remy looks over to Ellen as he walks, giving a wave before looking over in horror at the Lincoln Navigator. He quickly moves farther away from the edge of the street... and nods. "Yes, we need to move faster. Sorry, Pan. I would let you rest longer, but it seems things might be coming to a head." Turning to the commotion before the Precinct, Remy frowns. "But how to handle this?"
A shade of instinctive dislike passes through Uzal's eyes at the sight of Nicodemus. Ah, a 'big shot'. Uzal studies the man, leaning nonchalantly against a wall. He alone seems bereft of the tension that infects the others here. Indeed, he seems to find the event somewhat amusing, sizing things up to figure out who the players are.
Roll by Christian: (2) (2) (2)
Ellen's eyes widen as Nicodemus appears. She blinks, "Oh no, is he going to kidnap Christian?" she murmurs to the three near her.
Sarah...mutters, quietly, to Remy. "Wish I knew Shields. I've got nothing, unless you can come up with a use for false imagery. And I can't get involved here, anyway....he's human." She shrugs, helplessly. "Sorry."
"The Symphony has not abandoned me..." Christian says as he staggers back not just from the failed attempt to invoke Thunder but as his body rings with something trying to mess with his head. It's gone, and he's unable to garner any information on who or where it's coming from. "You've no idea what it's like. To know that corruption has ripped into your soul. That while you're not damned, you are neither saved. What is it, that happens to a soul when neither Heaven or Hell will have you? No... there is a way, if I can find it... to pass my own judgment on the sins of death." And this time, Christian moves forward, but not just a slow bit, no. He's murmuring something under his breathe. For those who are nearby, you can recognize it as Corporeal Motion. And he heads right toward a group of humans, hands outstretched and already touching two people who immediately fall to the ground. "KNOW THIS! DAMNED SHALL I BE! DAMNED SHALL YOU ALL BE!" Yes, Christian's just a bit insane nowadays.
Roll by Uzal: (4) (4) (5)
Alexander sees the madman coming into the crowd, and people falling before his touch. And he reaches out to hear Christian's symphony... to hear his honor, and how it rings.
Roll by Alexander: (1) (1) (5)
Pan glances over to the Lincoln Navigator, and then pats Remy's shoulder, "I'll bug the bullies, okay? I trust you to do the right thing, you too. I trust you to do it right. You can handle this. You guys are awesome!", and with that she darts of, whipping on her gloves, checking her rabbit's foot, and patting her pendant as she dashes towards the goons piling out of Nico's car, "Hey there!" She calls out to them.
Merazekiel winces at the two falling to the ground, and reaches into his pockets for another cigarette. If it weren't for the tense, worried set of his stance, anyone would think he was enjoying this by the affable smile on his affable face.
The moment he sets foot on the pavement, Lyman is actively scanning, his face devoid of its usually warm expression. First, a weighty gaze evaluates the three, Kacela, Christian, and Inarin, only to shift away briefly to take in the surrounding area and the bystanders. In the short time it takes for him to come back to the trio, Lyman's hired help hustles to fall in behind their employer, a beep emitting from the Navigator to signal that it is locked. Lyman wastes no time, pointing to Christian, "That's him." With that command, the hired muscle moves in, producing tasers as their means for subduing Christian. As their target goes about slaying humans, the first of Lyman's men hesitate, unsure of what to do. Still, one brave soul lunges forward, hoping the highest settling will be enough to incapacitate the strange man.
Rin glances to the Lincoln Navigator too! He reaches into his jacket and reaches for his pistol. "Dead flesh... Punishing the weak... A pity he too is weak..." He truly does seem a little saddened at the prospect of shooting Christian. Which is why he whips out his pistol, aims it carefully for Christian, and fires the .44 Revolver at his back. Oh no! Firing into a crowd! Hopefully he'll hit his intended target! If he misses and shoots one of Nico's thugs, it's not realy his problem.
Bronwen glances over her shoulder before giving a nudge to Tyrr's arm. "Come on, we should do something about this," she growls to her companion. "I personally don't plan on straying far, but I also can't just stand here and do nothing."
Kacela arches eyebrows as she watches Christian take to the air. "Now that is just someone who doesn't care anymore." She tilts her head to the side, eyes dancing in morbid delight at the action she's set in motion by posting bail. A cool gaze is set towards Nicodemus, perhaps of approval as he sends in the lackeys to do his work. "Shame he wasn't a celestial, everyone of those bodies would ring out all the Superiors, I'd be sure of it."
Ellen bites her lip as two more bystanders go down. "Christian!" she calls out. "You're human; you should be /more/ than this. Your life is still worth living if you dare to make it so." And with that motivational speech, she sees the gangsters and gunmen going after Christian. "Look out!"
Genevieve glances back over her shoulder, brow furrowed as she talks to Tyrr and Bronwen. "Well you two better figure out something fast, he's killing people! But... how do you guys do something about HIM? I mean, hurting or killing him is just going to cause trouble for you two?"
The ends of Lyman's pack, and the industrialist himself, turn in Pan's direction. The men are unsure how to react, but Lyman's eyes narrow, recognizing the child from some recent security footage of disappearing Lux patrons. As the shots ring out, Lyman is unflinching, his gaze not wavering from the pintsized distraction, though his immediately scatter...
Christian's luck hits an upswing as he speeds through the group of humans... 3, 4, 5... 6... fall dead under his hand. Police from inside the building are already rushing out. But the doors to their precinit have been welded shut, so they're stuck there for the moment. Just as Nico's man decides he's going to taser-tackle Christian, Inarin's fires his weapon and only narrowly misses Christian and instead nails the henchman right in the thigh. "Ignorant fools, firing on me won't amount to anything. You'll kill me and send me to HEAVEN."
Just then, in the alleyway with Sandra and Sian, Sandra smiles and takes a closer look at the lead box. The lead box has no lid or opening to get at the inside of it. But yet, Sandra figures out a way to get inside it, as her hand slips inside it and removes what is inside. She pulls her hand out and holds her fist clenched around it. It's warm. It feels as if it once contained the light of the world. And as she opens her fingers, /everyone/... not just in Austin, not just in Texas, but everyone across the world for one moment feels the utter brilliance of the beauty of the world. It's a feeling that no one can resist, demon or angel, human or undead, saint or fallen saint alike. The alleyway two blocks from everyone is the source. And for about the next ten minutes, the Symphony will be so flooded with this perfect Light, that no one can trace it. But the feeling. It's there. It's there.
Alexander is inside the group of humans, dodging back from the fatal deathtouch even as he whips a longsword out of that duffel bag of his. But rather than waste time trying to rush Christian, or attack him directly, he begins to speak under his voice, an incantation, an invocation of the Lady. The light washes over him even as he raises his voice to the sky.
Uzal touches his head, rubbing his hair lightly and letting out a slight sigh, as his resonance bounces off Christian -- and he feels the Symphony jam closed to his attempts to manipulate it. Then, the Light rolls over and overwhelms him. He hisses softly, sinking limply against the wall, eyes closed -- looking rather like a fish left lying helplessly washed up on the bank of a river.
And if that wasn't enough, around the few blocks there are a handful of Superiors who arrive. They're arrival is masked by the washed-over 'disturbance' that the light is causing. Disturbance is still washed out for a bit longer. It remains untrackable.
Ellen closes her eyes too, but she looks daydreamy, a sense of childlike wonder on her face. For the moment, she's forgotten that there are gangsters and shooting and murders going on. Fortunately, she's not standing too close to any of it.
Bronwen sucks in a sharp breath at the sensation passing through her. "Hammer and anvil," she manages to grit out, laying a hand on a nearby brick wall to steady herself. "I don't think I dare even ask 'what's next'."
Merazekiel gasps a little and shudders down his whole body like... hell, like the light of the world just sang through him. He whispers something that might be a curse or then again might be a prayer and tries to focus on the real world.
Pan knows how cool the world is! She loves it! Normally she'd start with punches, but she decides to be nicer than that. Give them a chance. "Hey, I know it sounds cool to be a thug and all. I've watched TV, and they make it seem uber, but you..." She points at a thug, "You could run a video store! And you!", she points to another thug, "You could become a teacher of American Lit! You don't need to be cannon fodder! Fly free!"
Inarin says, "That's fine with me," calmly. He doesn't even blink. His eyes widen though at the sudden 'light'. "...Lord, God?" He asks, "What do you wish me to do?", he raises his head up and smiles for a few moments. "I do your bidding, just say...." He seems to be in a bit of a delusion moment there, eh?
It is fortunate for Kacela is currently in the Corporeal plane... the same can be said for many. At the million explosions of luminescent grandeur, crippling in its comfort and beauty, washes over the consciousness of those gathered, she balks. Her reaction is not unlike Uzal's, stunned, bewildered, and not fully comprehending the significance of what she had just experienced -- a side effect of having never known Heaven. Perhaps a little cowed, she remains standing on the precinct's steps. Hands are clenched tight, the palm of one slicked in blood from nails digging into her own flesh.
Remy stops in his tracks as the feeling washes over him, and looks over in the direction of the alleyway. For precious moments, he stares, reveling in the purity as he quietly says, "No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light." Closing his eyes, he shakes his head, and begins singing, gesturing along with the brilliant, Light-infused Symphony as he tries to pull the winds around him to protect himself for what he might do next.
With eyes centred on Pan, the industrialist can only sense Kacela's glance from his peripheral vision. "This one appeared with Yves outside my establishment," he rasps under his breath, his brows sinking into a glare. But just when this malice seems to be reaching a boiling point, there is that dawn of that heavenly light. Lyman falls to his knees, hissing in an uncultured voice. "No," he grunts, trying to resist as he feels something familiar, like an embarrassing childhood memory he was so desperately trying to forget.
Roll by Remy: (3) (4) (1)
Christian falls to the ground. He's breaking down, if he hadn't broken down already, as he begins to cry. The humans around him dead and the other non-Celestials already beginning to run. But the feeling of light in their souls causes many to stop dead in their tracks as Christian has. "And the Lord said on the fourth day... Let their be light. And it pushed back the darkness." He remains sitting with his legs bent underneath him.
Sarah...stops. That's all. This fight is not her ground. And the Light engulfs her, makes her pause, unable to resist the blissful perfection. This is how it SHOULD be, without filthy demons and Fallen Saints to taint the air...
She also takes no other action. Because there's not much else for her to do, all told.
Sandra sits there and stares at the light. Sian, who was just an ordinary Soldier, given her proximity has been thrown back into the wall in the alley and has taken serious injuries to her head and back. Currently flickering between consciousness, she watches as Sandra smiles widely, oblvious to what's happened to Sian or the world around her. The crystal shard in her hand continues to reflect the smallest bit of light into an almost blinding fury. For now the lights contained to the alleyway, but it begins to fade.
But, Lyman cannot resist and for a moment he returns to some other place, some other time. Fluid, he would not admit to be tears, well in Lyman's eyes, until his jaw clenches tightly and rage blinks the water away. Shaking as he rises to his feet, Lyman spits words a Pan, "A trick of yours?" Then, whirling back to Christian, he finds his men, even the one bleeding from the thigh, carefree and sitting on the pavement. "Now!" he barks and the goons recall the debts, the threats. When the weight of the world, the real world of lies and despair, is back on their shoulders, the advance on Christian with the intention of roughly collecting him.
Rin looks to Christian, and watches him for a few moments. He stares at him long and hard. Perhaps it is because of the light that he merely says, "...Perhaps you've paid for it after all," He turns and walks away. He seems to be done with Christian. What was just witnessed -has- to be something close and dear to the Lord, and he will no longer interfere with Christian. "Nicodemus, consider this battle lost. I have business elsewhere," and he says no more words as he departs.
Roll by Alexander: (3) (1) (3)
Pan winks at Nicodemus, "Me? Wow, I -wish-. I'd be totally awesome then, don'tcha think?", she frowns at the advancing goons, and with her mighty gloved fist, throws a punch at the nearest one's groin. "Hey!" She complains at him, "You know the four of you could totally take your boss down anyway? Besides, Christian's sad now, not a fair fight."
Alexander shouts the final words of his call to the Lady, and as the thugs approach, turns and holds the blade out, down near the earth, a mild smile on his face. "Now now, gents. I think others would -much- rather have a word with him."
Uzal's eyes blink slowly, opening. It takes him a moment to remember to catch his breath. Then, he shakes his head briskly, drawing his features back to their usual sharpness. Instinctively, he tries to self-resonate -- to tell himself that /it never happened/. But, his resonance is still offline. This just isn't his day. Muttering soft curses, he pushes away from the wall, then steps up to look in the eyes of Lyman's thugs. Invoking his Balseraph of Faction attunement, he proclaims, "Your boss is nothing but a worthless scoundrel. You should just tell him to blow off." Nodding to Pan's words, he adds, "She's absolutely right. The four of you have guns, you could shoot the bastard, and you'd be better off without him."
"That's like a mace to the back of the head," Bronwen grimaces, turning her head to look at Tyrr. "Was that what I think it was?" She doesn't get much of a response from the other stunned Michaelite and shifts her position to be able to look back at the alleyway. "We should check on the others. As soon as I can convince my legs to move, at any rate."
Kacela regains enough of her wits to extricate herself from the situation, mind still reeling from the blast of light that emanated from the alley. For now she follows, and watches those who have started in that direction, appearing to do better in situations where she's had some time to arrange things to suit her whims.
First, Lyman. Tracking the departure of the now docile Inarin, the industrialist follows with a few furious footsteps. "No," he urges, still speaking in the voice that seems feral when compared to his normally refined tone, "Lies. What you felt, what you saw. He made this world on lies! All you can do is seize what you can, while you can! We will seize Christian...and he will..." Lyman does not finish that thought and the sermon of an incensed child, urging his sibling against their father, comes to an abrupt end.
As for Lyman's hired thugs, the one that smiles confidently down at Pan suddenly doubles over when the child's fist makes contact with his groin. The others just laugh, but almost nervously. They don't know what to do about the child...they don't know what is going on...and Uzal's words take them all in.
Sheathed in protective air, the Librarian Who Is Not A Librarian rushes forward, the powerful winds whipping his coat around him as he charges forward, not letting anything get in his way. Not thug, not demon, nothing in his way blocks him as they are pushed aside with a powerful force. Skidding to a stop before Christian, he looks deep into the man's eyes even as he interposes himself between the Fallen Saint and the thugs, spreading his arms out wide. "Look at me, Christian. Tell me. Show me. This cannot be the end."
Alexander gets out of Remy's way, moving to the side as it becomes clear that the whirling winds around the Librarian are more than just currents of air. He glances down at Christian, and shakes his head. "Betrayer. She comes now... cruel betrayer..."
Some pidgeons coo and flutter away into the sky, heedless of the disturbance. An old man, dressed in tweed and slightly wrinkled pants, and wearing glasses stops next to Sarah, having approached from the direction they came from. Completely calm and collected despite the ensuing chaos, he shakes his head. "Don't be afraid... What will be, will be."
Christian looks up at Remy for a moment, their eyes making contact for only a moment. A moment enough to tell the story of what's about to happen... but not enough time to stop it. Christian gets off his knees and shouts to the Heavens, ignoring all those around, getting shot by one of the guards who decides to get triggerhappy upon seeing the cause of all this move. The shot nails him right in the neck, the blood pouring down from the bullet more nicking the artery than going through his neck. His voice coarse from this, he screams...
"You left me stranded here! Abandoned and alone! With silly memories of things! I've never know... So when the mystery... Is starting to grow old! Another dream goes by! Like ashes out of gold! Hail Mary! Hail Mary! Hail Mary! Won't you take my hand... Hail Mary ... Forgive me father for I do not understand..."
Then with the speed of Corporeal Motion at it's maximum, Christian finally fixes on the location of everything. The thing he's been searching for, for years... is here, it's nearby. He zooms off to the alley, down only to run headlong into Sandra who is holding the very crystal he's after. "Give it to me!" But before he can lay a hand on Sandra, there's a man who was hiding in the shadows, just waiting for this moment when no one could see him. With a wave of his hand, Sandra passes out, as Dominic looks toward Christian. "Your Judgment has been overruled. No longer will your Evil be made to last on this Earth or in Heaven where you may taint the righteous." And from his hand strikes out a force that rips Christian's very soul apart. There's no afterlife for Christian, who was mere seconds away from acheiving the afterlife he felt he deserved, Hell. No, instead there is only one thing.
Disincorporation. And for just a moment, a smile crosses Christian's face. As if he feels that this is what he deserved. Those who chased after Christian will catch only a blinding flash of light... for right now. Sandra and Sian both lay in the alleyway unconscious, and the shard... it's underneath Sandra's body.
Roll by Pan: (4) (4) (6)
Roll by Nicodemus: (1) (4) (4)
The movement of a zipping Christian catches Bronwen's eye and she stumbles back towards the mouth of the alleyway. "Sandra," she whispers and slowly moves towards the fallen woman. She reaches out to touch her shoulder with the tip of her finger before pulling her hand back and slowly getting back to her feet. "No more." And with that simple proclamation, the Michaelite pulls out a rather large axe from her jacket.
Roll by Pan: (2) (1) (1)
Rin looks over to Lyman, "...We could not have changed the outcome of Christian. Perhaps the Host had better teamwork." Is all he says. "I don't know what happened to him, but it seems quite clearly out of our capabilities, and starting a fight just to lose isn't going to work well...", he pauses, "Unless you have an idea besides throwing guards at people?"
Pan darts off after Christian. Very quickly. She's very, very fast. She's practically an Olympic Athlete at the tender age of 13. Her eyes are wide with -horror-. She's tries to remember the corporeal song of healing. Just in case.
Uzal starts to smirk as he watches for Lyman's thug's reaction to his 'suggestion'. Then, suddenly, he gasps, face growing pale, eyes staring. He sinks to his knees, covering his face with his hands.
Tyrr just stands there, letting Bronwen run back to the alleyway. He collapses on the ground, falling on his butt as he leans forward. He says nothing, does nothing, as those nearby start to run toward the alleyway.
Ellen is running over towards the alleyway, more slowly than Pan.
Alexander winces faintly, but waits for the answer to his call, sword at his side, whatching the chaos with a detached gaze, a slight half-smile on his face.
Remy reaches out a hand to Christian, as everything goes into slow motion. A flash of blood, the bullet, the words... And the blur. Remy screams out as Christian runs... And screams out, "CHRISTIAN! NO!"
But as fast as Christian is, it's already too late. Remy turns, the winds whipping about him for a short time longer as he runs as fast as he can... Which, while isn't all that fast, is still a good clip for the rail-thin wuss-boy Remy appears to be.
Instead of finding Christian in the alleyway, there's only a pile of dust with scorch marks on the ground. Not that far from the dust pile is Sandra, who is moaning and crying in a fetal position, the crystal closed up in her hands hidden from sight. Sian... the injuries were too much, her brain suffering too much trauma from the impact, she's dead. Sandra continues to whimper and rock back and forth in her fetal position just as Pan arrives next to her.
Only now does Lyman fully overcome the effects of the perfect light, the cold quality of one familiar with the boardroom returning to his words. What Inarin says is logical and the industrialist bows his head in acceptance. "You're right," he comments, shutting up the hatred he has for such purity and truth. Turning around, convinced he will see failure, Lyman looks, instead, into the furious eyes of one of his henchman...and then the barrel of a shaking pistol. "Whatever are you doing?" he ventures. The thug's response is a nervous shot that falls short of Lyman and hits the concrete.
"May your soul find the higher Heavens," Bronwen murmurs towards Sian before turning her attention back towards Sandra. "Sandra, I ask for your forgiveness. I failed in my full duties of protecting you..." Her sad request is cut short as she turns back towards the mouth of the alleyway at the sound of another's approach. "At least in this I can resume my duties." She moves into a slight crouch, both her body and her axe at the ready to attack.
Lyman is frozen under the sights of the gun, though calm. He surveys his other henchman as best he can, not making any sudden movements. Only now is he able to note the other pistol drawn, the one that shot Christian. His lower lip curling back in an expression of forced regret, Lyman says aloud, "Would somebody please shoot this man."
Inarin pulls out his pistol, and says, "Sure thing," Since he's a helpful guy, and all. He aims at the henchman and pops him one in the head, "Don't listen to people who tell you to be stupid," is his eulogy. Poor guy. "Bad business."
Sarah shakes herself free of the shock of the light...only to have something ELSE wash across her. She's about to say something, act, do something - but she can't remember what. A sense washes over her, a note in the symphony acting upon its own will. Sarah's eyes loose their focus as she briefly drowns in the sensation - a power of pure, limitless terror - and she falls, heavily, to her knees.
Pan darts into the alley, like Speedy Gonzales, "Hey! Hold o-..oh, okay! Helping good!", she does a roll forward and slips by Sandra's side, letting Bronwen be scary as she moves to Sandra's side and tries to help her out by hefting her up carefully, "I'm sorry, Raph, I'm sorry I said mean stuff to you!" She whispers, "You were the greatest, you were the most awesome, the best!"
The flood of light begins again as Pan moves Sandra. Sandra's hands let go of the crystal shard, it clinking as it hits the ground before the entire alleyway is flooded with light... then the scene. The scene of Dominic in mortal form stepping out of the shadows, assuming celestial form, and disincorporating Christian. The scene plays out in the alleyway and over the buildings at the same time. The scene, it's hard to miss, and will cause the Mundanes countless years of speculation. But for those Celestials here, the meaning is clear. And for the Superiors who arrived earlier, Baal and Kronos on top of one building together, and Gabriel and Michael on another building... the meaning sinks deep. Yves just shakes his head as he walks into the alleyway himself behind those who've since arrived in it.
Those free of Uzal's influence comply with Lyman's orders, raising their weapons slowly. But, their reluctance to kill a friend allows Inarin to get the first shot. After the body drops, the industrialist looks after those that flee after Christian to the alleyway. He doesn't follow, he simply breathes a heavy sigh to Inarin, "Perhaps, even without our intervention, he'll cause them enough trouble..." A demon can hope, can he not? "Let's go," he commands, now turning his voice on the thugs. They slowly withdraw, carefully eyeing Uzal...wondering how the man managed to turn their friend against one of the most powerful men in Austin.
"Damn...." Ellen murmurs, staring and blinking as she screeches to a halt before the vivid, light-wrought scene. It's all she can think of to say at the moment.
"Please move away from her, youngling," Bronwen whispers as she draws her axe in closer, having recognized Pan from previous encounter. "Because I do not want to harm you but I will if you hurt Sandra any furth--" The last is cut-off at another encompassing vision and a sharp breath. "Bloody blades," the Malakite growls, withdrawing a second weapon from under her coat. It's a long dagger inscribed with a lost language.
The vision is not lost on Sarah - but she will need time to think about it later.
After her mind isn't being overloaded with someone else's terror.
Alexander hisses softly through his teeth at the vision, shaking his head slowly. Sword hanging easily at his side, he glances up, listening for a presence, an answer to his call. "Clearly, I've been out of it much too long..."
Uzal slowly uncurls himself, still shaking a bit. He wipes some sweat off his brow, climbing to his feet. He is going to have to self-resonate /so/ much to erase the unpleasant memories of how he lost his cool, twice in one evening. But that can wait til later. He shakes his head with a cluck of disapproval as Inarin shoots the rebellious henchman. Then his gaze darts to the scene in the alleyway, and the sudden cinematic view it presents. His eyebrows arch, gaze growing keen with speculation. Yet, he doesn't try to get nearer. Those are /Superiors/, and more than one previous Demon of Insubordination has gotten flash-fried from such encounters.
There's tears streaming down Tyrr's face, he's not even looking up at image in the sky. Instead he gets up from where he landed on his ass, and kneels down. A few seconds later, he disappears in a flash of celestial light.
Pan has no clue. No idea what's going on, "I'm not trying to hurt her!" She says, "I'll protect her too..." She knows they've been hiding stuff. Tyrr -and- Bronwen. They've been sneaky and maybe that helped her mess up somewhere. She looks up to the vision, shaking her head...not really willing to believe it all that much. She looks to Yves, and murmurs, "Help... I don't understand. What's going on?"
"Nice shooting by the way," Lyman mentions to Inarin, before starting with his pack back toward the Navigator. The group pauses to observe the strange cinematic, but when Lyman has made his observations, he urges for the mundanes to come along.
Rin halts in his approval to look towarsd Uzal. "Focus your efforts where it belongs," He says coldly before following after Lyman, "Thank you. I am well-trained in shooting people, it is what I do best. Unfortunately, I did not shoot at Christian well enough. Tyrr knows what he's doing. I worked with him. We must tread carefully."
Sarah is still on her knees! Staring into space! Near the precinct!
That last sentence may actually be unique to her, at this point.
Nope. Merazekiel is still standing near the precinct, too torn between decisions to actually do anything useful and trying to look unobtrusive.
"Ah, but I focus them /exactly/ where they belong," Uzal smirks faintly, not seeming at all disturbed by Inarin's disapproval. He leaves Lyman and his entourage alone for now, though, slinking to a place near the wall where he can watch what transpires, hopefully without attracting unwanted attention from the Celestial Big Shots.
As he scans the road, Uzal catches sight of poor Sarah, alone. He hms to himself, then walks to the woman. "Are you in need of assistance, madame?" he asks softly, peering down at her with a warm, kindly look.
Alexander stands, actually not too far from the precinct as well. He's not following the rest to the alleyway. A faint flicker of fire rises up from his lighter, whirling about in an ever-spinning ring, and he smiles at the crackling of the flames. He bows slightly to the circle of flames, intoning quietly, "As you say, Lady." Coming back to himself, he notes the presence of Uzal near Sarah, and sighs. Shaking himself slightly, he tucks the lighter into his pocket and heads over. "You don't look so good, Sarah - clearly you got too close to that madman, and whatever wierd power he was using." Uzal gets a grin from the large man, who's still holding a longsword loosely at his side. "Thanks for keeping an eye on her..."
The librarian swings by the startled Sarah, reaching his hands down in an attempt to help Sarah up. "Horrible things have happened, but this isn't the end. We need to go help elsewhere." He glances over to Uzal, arching an eyebrow. He's in a hurry, but he's not going to rush his longtime compatriot.
Alexander glances at Remy. "I'm going with you. She has ordered it."
Roll by Uzal: (2) (2) (3)
Yves turns from the alleyway, and looks to the nearby Remy and Sarah, gesturing for them to approach.
Sarah...shivers. "There's...fear. Terror...death. Some kind of...some kind of great terror of dying...I...I don't...know where it came from..." She shivers again, but slowly regains her powers of perception at the presence of others in the area. She slowly allows Remy to help her up.
Yves waves to Pan, too, smiling kindly. Far be it for him to exclude Pan!
Still blinking, Ellen turns about and looks. There's Remy, Sarah looking kind of spooked, and Pan. And that old guy. Pan is the one she knows best, so she approaches her, quietly. "Guess it's all gone to shi-- er, crap, I mean?..." she murmurs. Gotta watch her language, there's a kid present. "What do we do now?" Then, her eyes turn to the weird old guy.
"Trying to or not, that vision was triggered by her fear. Step away from Sandra, youngling. This is your last warning," Bronwen responds simply. She senses another person in the alleyway but chooses to keep her attention focussed on Pan.
Uzal narrows his eyes as the two men get between him and the damsel in distress. He was just trying to help! But, he bows smoothly to Alexander, with a slight smile. "I am glad to be of assistance. Especially for such a charming lady in such unfortunate condition."
Alexander glances down at the sword in his hand and shoves it back into the duffel bag. "Your concern is admirable, but since we're here, we'll make sure she gets home alright." He glances over his shoulder at Remy and Sarah, nodding as the Librarian helps Sarah stand up. "Have a good night." He turns to offer his arm to Sarah, opposite Remy, dropping his voice to a murmur. "I am coming with you both. I have been told to help you."
Remy nods to the others. With a look at Uzal, Remy nods. "Thank you for your concern. She is a friend of mine, we'll handle this from here." Alexander gets a nod from the librarian, and a smile of thanks. Turning, he leads Sarah and Alex over to Yves, nodding in greeting to the Archangel. Once they have all gathered, Yves looks to them all and says, "Take care of Sandra. She still has a bright potential to fufill. Keep her safe at all costs, and get her to a safe location. I have faith in you all."
"Thank you," Pan looks to Bronwen, "That's 'us all'," she manages not to add 'dork' to that, but it took a secret will roll in Pan's head. She doesn't move, of course. She's not scaring Sandra, because Sandra has yet to react to her.
"You are welcome. A good night to you all," Uzal nods with a smile, while inwardly cursing. Before the three get too far away, however, he attempts to use his perceptions again -- this time on Sarah.
Roll by Uzal: (1) (6) (4)
Bronwen's gaze slides towards the Archangel standing behind her in the alley. "Considering how poorly you 'all' did in finding Sandra, you'll have to pardon my disbelief that you cannot complete what you aim to do," she answers Pan coolly.
Plucking up her courage, Ellen decides to approach the group in the alley, hoping to get more clues about all this. Her eyebrows arch lightly as she catches Bronwen's words. "Orion and I searched the homeless shelters for days," she puts in quietly. "It wasn't because we weren't looking." She casts a glance at poor Sandra. "Is she going to be okay?"
"That's because she was already found days before the attempt was even made," Bronwen says in response. "Days that allowed for a fairly large timeframe of those that were aware of her unique nature to get ahold of her. And I don't necessarily mean those of the Host either."
Sarah nods, slowly, looking up at everyone, and then at Yves. She nods, slowly. "That...that might have been where I felt the fear from. It...might make sense, as to why I felt it so strongly..."
Pan says, "Yeah, well, nobody sent the message," flippantly. She seems to be done with the conversation. "Good job bringing her to Christian or whatever."
Ellen blinks, looking from one to the other. "Why was she brought out here, anyway?" she questions. "I thought whoever found her was supposed to keep her safe -- or better yet, call someone to get her fixed?" Ah, clueless human.
"No message needed to be sent. A simple direct question would have gained you a response -- perhaps, depending on just how much I trusted you at that point," Bronwen answers. "It was that... light that gained his attention. And it seems we know who put a stop to him as well." She turns to look towards Remy. "You'll make sure she will heal and be safe?"
Ellen blinkety-blinkety-blinks. "Are you saying she was.... bait? For Christian?"
Remy nods. "I am not perfect. None of us are. I simply tried to do the best I could, and failed. That said... I will not fail here." Remy looks over to Sandra, and smiles softly.
Pan says, "A message needed to be sent, I am pretty darn sure about that. Not my fault you couldn't trust me. That's your mess-up."
Sandra stares off into space. It's probably some knowledge thing.
"I may visit you and Sandra later then," Bronwen says as she begins to walk deeper into the shadowy alleyway, axe, blade, and all. "And do try to keep your fledglings on the right path. Because you don't want to know what happens when they stray."
Roll by Ellen: (5) (2) (1)
Pan says, "Oh shut up, you don't even know anything," irritably, "Let's go, I'm sick of this 'we work alone' crap." Gasp! A naughty word from Pan! Well, she is probably the oldest person here except for Sandra.
No answers from /these/ folks, nope. Ellen inwardly shakes her head, but keeps still, just looking quietly disappointed. She hi-5's Pan for saying 'crap', with a slight, grim smile.
No response comes from the darkened portion of the alleyway. If anyone was to try to search it, they'd find no trace of Bronwen's passage.
Pan hi-5s Ellen back, mostly on reflex. She frowns a bit, "You shouldn't encourage me! That's a bad word!" She shakes her head sadly.
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