Cesarina is beginning to feel a bit bad that she basically completely forgot about Devil Ray; the poor schmuck was obviously just used and discarded in this whole deal.
Still, it should be time to end this.
"Be bound in the chains and come quietly, and this can all be over." she offers, forming the Shackles of Light around him.
Cesarina's Shackles surround the armored aquatic villain. As the pull his arms together, he drops the idol. It bounces off a display case and tumbles across the floor. Completely bound, Devil Ray falls to the floor, and as the shackles squeeze him, his red visored helmet shatters, sea water spilling out onto the thick carpet. Where you would expect to see the face of Carl Mattus, a well known criminal who stole the suit and uses it to commit crimes, instead you see a man twisted by some horrible power. His eyes bulge, his skin is grayed and mottled, and long slitted gills flutter vigorously at his neck.
Speaking to the team and the Nexus, "we need to secure this room. Such that, intruders cannot circle around and return after we go chasing after Dracula. We also need a secure place to hold the Hellqueen and Devil Ray while we're running down the rest." He pauses hoping the Nexus will do something obvious to support the team.
"Do we have some way to save this man? It looks like he's drowning, Eldritch."
Gracie lets forth a curse that is most unbecoming of a knight (fortunately, "no expletives" is not part of her code) and grasps her head. "What the hell is wrong with me? If he gets away with that spear... " She blinks, the multiple possible horrors of the consequences of her actions settling in, but reminds herself there is more going on that this and takes in all else.
"Don't suppose this house has a giant fishtank you can teleport him to?" She remarks on Devil Ray. With her foot, while squinting in the direction of it with one eye, she gingerly nudges the idol well away from the writhing supervillain.
Oz's sweat-soaked body falls to the floor. Any green body paint that remained is now gone. He lifts his weighty body off the ground with a confused look on his face.
"Did it happen again? I don't feel as sick, but I feel like it happened again."
"By the Philosopher's Stone of Zosimos" Eldritch commands and tries to recreate the red visored helmet of the Devil Ray from air. Then, he follows it up with another spell to put seawater back in the helmet. He hopes that will work.
A similar helmet weaves itself out of thin air, clamping onto Devil Ray's armored costume. He shudders as the water flows through his gills.
Bars slam down as portculli seal off the doors, and an old fashioned grid style prison door appears in the southwest reading nook. It will be tight, but there is enough room there to contain the prisoners.
As Devil Ray regains his senses and composure, he turns toward where Gracie has kicked the idol. His voice is distorted by water and a voice modulator. "No, I must have the idol. It's the only thing that can save me."
Still lying on the floor, he reaches toward it feebly.
Eldritch looks satisfied that his magic saved Devil Ray's life, almost like he had some doubt. He then looks to everyone and says, "Let's get Devil Ray into that cage."
"The Hellqueen needs to stay unconscious, because she can just portal out of here. Anyone got a good sedative?"
"Then, we need to chase after Dracula to get that spear."
He turns toward Devil Ray with Sandstone in his vision, "Devil Ray, I hear you. There are many that have been told that they can be saved with magic items in here. You may have been lied to, as a distraction for Medea getting in here and doing what she wants. However, after this crisis I'll help you too after Sandstone here. But, please accept the possibility it was a lie or worse, maybe it might save you from whatever, but at a cost far worse that you endure now."
"I'm fresh out of horse tranquilizer." Cesarina says with a twist of irony.
Sandstone moves through the shelves and display cases like a discriminating shopper at an antique bookstore. She doesn't seem to find anything useful.
It is easy enough to shove the weakened Devil Ray into the newly formed cage. HellQueen is equally as easy to move, though she presents more of a danger.
Grace leans over Hellqueen, thinking about how to contain her, and how someone from Avalon might do it.
Cesarina concentrates, creating a cage of light around Hellqueen. She feels faintly drained, but stays ready to move on.
"We need to find that monster before he causes more damage. Hellqueen may have been infernally empowered, but in experience she pales compared to that ancient creature. Only God knows what plans he may have in mind, and I don't suggest we dawdle long enough to find out."
Divine inspiration guides her steps this day.
"Ok so, let me get this straight. This guy is a wizard, you're a knight, and uh.... You're what? Like, a cleric or something? And we're in some weird journey into strangeness rip-off house? and that was who... Real Life Dracula? And I'm like... passing out and seeing weird visions of a twisted nightmare version of our world. Oh, this is totally normal"
After a pause to let everything sink in, he pipes up again.
"I don't remember much, just lots of blurs and dark smudges. It's almost like Giger painting over our reality. I came back on the ceiling and fell. I guess... I can climb? Am I, you know... different when it happens?"
She urges Oz to move with a wave as they get moving, and answers him as they go.
"I never thought of us that way, but yeah, I guess we are those things. All I saw from you was blurs and darkness too. I guess that makes you a Shadowdancer," Gracie replies, risking that she is making too nerdy a reference for some to get. "You've got something going on with you, that's for sure. I can't say more as I... I wasn't exactly myself a minute ago." She looks at her feet, ashamed.
After a moment, she shrugs and adds a half smile. "If you're shocked at all you're seeing though... what else were you expecting coming to Freedom City? This is just Tuesday."
She turns and addresses their "cleric," Cesarina: "What happened? What did that vampire do to me? How do I stop it?"
Cesarina frowns. "Yes, you were very different. You can't remember at all? Make a concerted attempt to control your abilities next time or we could all be in danger."
"Particularly since I have no concrete plan to counter Dracula's mesmerism. In my encounters with him I've never seen it done effectively; you need to have an iron will to break free. I've theorized that you could perhaps resist by both blinding and deafening yourself, but that has never seemed a practical solution."
"If he takes control of you again, it will need to be dealt with. The best I can do is binding or knocking you out with the Light so that you can't hurt anyone. Perhaps Eldritch can do better."
Oswald clenches his fists and eyes, exaggerating concentration.
"C'mon now, Ozzie Boy!" He then swings his arms wide open and shouts "Ozzie Powers Activate!" He smirks oaffishly.
"Aw man, Cleric, it didn't work! Would you believe that. If you can find me a manual, I'd at least pretend to read it."
"If he takes control of you again, it will need to be dealt with. The best I can do is binding or knocking you out with the Light so that you can't hurt anyone. Perhaps Eldritch can do better."
"Please do. I always thought I was stubborn enough..." she shakes her head. "I didn't like having to make that deal with Gwynn. Maybe part of me just wanted to be released. But there'll be hell to pay if we don't get that spear."
"Aw man, Cleric, it didn't work! Would you believe that. If you can find me a manual, I'd at least pretend to read it."
"You already found one, didn't you? That book that you found earlier, maybe you should actually take a look."
She pauses, then stares at him hard. "Look, I know you're messing about because you're scared. But you need to drop the clown act and bloody well focus. As crazy as this all looks, you are in a situation here where if we fail in what we are doing, the whole city could be in danger. If not the whole world. Lives are at stake here. Given how important all this is, I don't think it's a coincidence you're here. But if you don't start taking this seriously, people could die, and it could be your fault. You ready to live with that?"
Eldritch moves the Hellqueen into her Nexus-provided cage with his Crimson Bands and then starts to watch this new guy. Max shakes his head when he suggests that they are playing Dungeons and Dragons. Gracie finally delivers him the hard truth.
"Alright, pep talk over. Dracula is escaping with that spear that several villains want. Medea is still on the loose. Let's go! We need to return for these two anyway, so we can spend time to search for Sandstone's cure then, too." To make a point, he leaves in the direction that Dracula went.
He asks the Nexus to bring him to Medea.
That cut stings deep. The man-child looks to the ground in shame.
"I'm sorry. You're right, humor is how I get through the tough parts. Mom says I get it from my Dad."
He fetches the book from his back pocket and takes Gracie's advice, this time giving it a good read instead of thumbing through it.
As the team moves to the spiral stairs and begins to follow Dracula, the room falls away behind you. For those afoot, suddenly the footing is uncertain and you have a sense of falling before you find purchase standing on...nothing. Beneath your feet is a white void, though some sort of floor supports you. Above you and to both sides, the same white void. The only feature is a seemingly endless array of mirrors stretching in both directions in a sort of hallway. There are spaces between the mirrors, but instead of walls just the same void.
Looking back, you see Sandstone gazing into one of the mirrors in fascinaiton. In the mirror, you can see that the reflection is not the stone body of the woman but a beautiful woman with a black pixie cut, coffee colored skin, camo cargo pants, and a white tank top.
As one is want to do when passing a mirror, Gracie reflexively regards herself, sees her face as it is: worried, and perhaps confused/overwhelmed. But rather than see her sword and armor, weaving in and out over her whole body is a gleaming white outline of a sword in its scabbard, the same image that is "tattooed" on her forearm (in the mirror image, the tattoo is not there).
Then she realizes Sandstone has come to a halt. Turning, she sees what Sandstone is seeing.
"She's still in there. You're still you. This shows you what you want is possible. We'll see this through, alright? " She gives Sandstone a minute to consider, respond, but then gestures, urging Sandstone to keep moving.
Oswald marvels at the mirrors. He'd been to a carnival once or twice before in his life, but this hall of mirrors surely trumps anything he'd ever seen before.
"This is pretty cool, but what is it?" He stops to observe himself in a mirror. In the first, he stands noticeably older, chiseled and worn yet tall, proud and stoic. Strangely, streaks of black crack like lightning throughout his physique. A chill crawls over Oswald. Deep behind the image's stoical stare, an unearthly coldness draws him in. Oz gets closer to the mirror, entranced by the image's irises. The blackness seems alien, with movement barely perceptible. He holds his breath. Another chill makes it's way from his head to toe.
"My eyes are weird. I think my irises are moving? like... hm...have you ever seen the Hypnotoad? Kind of like that, but really slowly... I look kind of badass though!"
As he turns to face the others, his appearance very much mimics his older self.
"Is this who I will be?"
Cesarina pointedly does not look at any of the mirrors if she can help it.
"I'd be wary of such 'divinations'. Nothing good ever comes from paying them any mind."
Max moves down the hall, hoping to catch a glimpse of Dracula. As he passes a mirror, he catches a glimpse of the Lord of Vampires moving in the same direction. Where before he was dressed traditionally, almost as a cliche, this one is wearing a black leather biker jacket and pants. He grips the spear as he strides along.
In the next mirror, he continues to move quickly, but is now dressed in heavy red armor that seems to be made of some sort of crystalized blood.
In the next, he is younger, maybe 18, and his pale skin and dark hair seem almost to sparkle.
In the next, he doesn't appear at all.
As Oz turns to the others, he notices another reflection with the same eyes. But this is an older man, bearded. His father, but wrapped in darkness.
In another mirror, Gracie catches a glimpse of herself, but it isn't her self. It is her armor, her sword and scabbard, but the woman wearing the armor is Winifred.
In other mirrors you can see the whole team, or some version of the whole team. Reflections of missions you have had and others you do not remember.
Oswald stops dead in his tracks. Tears begin to well as his body tightens. "D-dad? DAD?? What's wrong with him? What does this mean? Dad, can you hear me? Where are you?"
You can't hear him, but his reaction seems like he can see you. He is saying something. Something like, "Oswald, Oswald? Where are you? Where have you been for the last 7 years?"
Eldritch stops and looks at the mirror holding the image of the father of the boy.
He double-takes and says, "The Hypnotist is your father? Gracie?"
"He was one of your former teammates, as I recall? Before my time, but his heroics -and sacrifice- were made well known to me."
Gracie steps past an image of herself, pale, clothed in a white silky material, holding a staff topped with a crescent, to regard the image Oswald is engaging with. She has to think back, be sure, especially with the figure's face shrouded in darkness. She had only known the man really for a matter of hours. But that time together could barely be forgotten. "Yeah, that's him." She looks at Oz. "That's who I was talking about. The Hypnotist. He's the one who gave his life to save this city seven years ago. Not to mention save me and Eld here, among others." She dips her chin. "I really don't think it's coincidence you're here. What's happening now is the breaking of the seals on this place that came at the end of the crisis that killed your dad. If we're going to stop this, we need you."
Another shiver washes over Oswald as his appearance returns to his current self.
"My dad was a hero. I had no idea.. my mother had no idea either. She thought he ran off to start a new life. He was declared missing. But... he died a hero. My father... The Hypnotist."
He trails off, mumbling to himself, connecting all the pieces until it set in.
"I knew my father loved me, but most of my life he was always too busy for me. He was busy saving the world. I never resented him or anything, in fact, I always wanted to grow up to be just like my dad. He always had a funny quip or Australian saying for whatever the moment was. Always ready to listen, help others... it all makes sense. I'm sorry for how I've been acting. Maybe you're right Gracie. There's no way I am here by luck alone."
He approaches Cesarina and Eldritch with hands held out, palms up.
"I'm sorry for being such a child. Humor is always my go-to. If you'll help me, I will do my best to live in my father's footsteps."
He faces the mirror holding his father's image hostage and gently places his head against his father's.
"I don't know what this thing is that's in me, but I promise to use it to live up to your deeds, Pop. And if you're not dead... if you're still out there, I'll come save you. I promise."
"How touching it is when a father and son make connections, even in death. My own father sold me to the Turks, but I respected him, nonetheless. What a strange place this is, if it is a place at all. It seems more like a place between places..."
The thick Transylvanian (actually Moldovan, though perhaps the Count's accent has drifted toward his cinematic portrayals over the last century) sends shivers through you.
Turning, you see the Count standing at the "end" of the "hallway," or at least in a sort of alcove formed by five mirrors in a sort of semicircle.
Blood drips from the tip of the spear in his hand, or rather hangs in a drip that never quite falls.
Upon spotting the vampire, Grace, terrified she may become incapacitated by him again, reflexively lifts her sword and aims a beam of light at him to blind him.
Eldritch turns and commands, "Be bound by the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak!" Red bands spring from his gesturing hands attempting to grasp the vampire again.
The hairs on the back of Oswald's neck stand on end. The corridors of his mind palace begin to shake. From the far ends, the familiar howls. He can sense the voices getting closer, clearer. The howls- no- the chants energize him. Hundreds of voices chanting in unison. It all begins to make sense. A song of the Dreamtime, one that his father would sing to him all his life. A tale of brave warrior-ancestors. It all made sense now.
In the mirrors all around him stand warriors. Garbed in loin clothes and pelts, painted in ceremonial white with shields, clubs, spears, boomerangs, some with bones piercing their noses, others with ceremonial scars decorating their bodies. All chanting, stomping furiously, all in unison.
Oswald joins in the chanting, allowing the strength of those ancestors to flow through him. The shadows around him begin to seep into him, shrouding his body in darkness save for two white-hot beady eyes.
Without a second thought, empowered by the guardians of Dreamtime, Oz sprints into action and leaps out at the fabled vampire with claws extended.
As the Crimson Bands attempt to wrap around Dracula, the vampire steps to the side, almost faster than you can see. He intercepts Oz's claws, knocking them aside with the spear.
Cesarina had turned to give Oz her forgiveness when Dracula's voice cut through the budding bonding moment.
Without hesitation she summons the Shackles of Light to bind the beast, hoping to end this in one shot.
"Submit, monster, and perhaps you may yet have a chance to be forgiven before your destruction."
Still moving at superhuman speeds, Dracula dodges Cesarina's shackles of light. He races past the claws of the shadow warrior to close with the priest.
The power of the light deflects just enough force for Cesarina to nimbly dodge out of the way.
"What's the matter, Vlad, getting slow in your old age?" she taunts, hoping to keep him focused on her.