Connie nodded, her smile small, her eyes wide. "Okay."
She did her best to follow along, and if she lacked Femtite's effortless, gravity defying grace, she had a practiced elegance that meant she was never wrongfooted. Never for a moment did her body betray her, even though her mind was essentially nothing but fireworks.
Okay. Okay. Okay okay okay.
Okay.
F~+~ me, phrasing, it's like I'm in a f&!#ing romance novel.
But seriously, if they were big enough, my bosoms would be heaving and all she did was twirl me.
"Tell me where to go, Connie. We shall dance our way to the rescue, watching each other’s backs. Any chance you have another inexpensive flashlight?"
Right. Yeah. Not the moment to figure out who bursts into actual literal flames first and then spend the night carefully rubbing aloe into-
Right. Yeah.
She pointed towards the columns with her head, her eyes never leaving Femms's face.
"Always."
☀️:I suppose we just look like we’re so caught up in each other, that we’re vaguely aware of what we’re doing.
☀️:♥️! That look in your eyes is perfect, Connie!
Femtite presses closer to Connie. She extends an arm in the indicated direction, and that is where the dance takes them.
Fem’s eyes are locked on Connie’s. Her lips. Her dress. The flesh between hem and boot. Connie’s hand in hers. How she would love to trust DD knows what she’s doing…
☀️:I only ask because we won’t have a means to pass the bruisers. And the violet energy may not have been directed at you anyway. I felt it was close… directed at someone close to me.
☀️:Was Caio arrested by a purple succubus? If the thugs turn us back, what say we dance his way, check on the others?
Femtite’s eyes rise to meet Connie’s. Her candy apple lips smile sweetly.
”There is a selfish motive. I don’t want this to stop… not unless we’re certain there’s an emergency.”
She presses even closer, her malleable breasts finding more cover in Connie’s dress than her own. Fem’s aura is peach. Her flesh is warm, warmer. The cold isn’t bothering her with Connie this close.
Fem craves her…
She would beg for a kiss if not for the potential danger, the public setting, whatever in Goddess’ holy name Caio is doing…
She falls short of begging Connie to take her to a sofa. We would blend in… until I burn it all.
☀️:To make certain he’s safe, of course.
Femtite smiles at Connie. Her lips part just a little…
Just as Percy thought his efforts at stealth were stymied, Caio tossed an empty bottle of oil at the guard before he went further into the club. The guard missed the catch, and the bottle bounced and rolled off. With the guard giving chase, Percy found his opening and slipped inside.
Once inside the building, Indarius could gather the components -- some carpet fuzz, a few paint chips from window sill -- for a camouflage spell that would work while inside the club.
Finally warded from casual glances, he's able to slip around the back rooms of the club. Mostly storage and access to the impressive sound system, the back passages also act as a means for the staff to ferry drink orders from the various private booths to the bar and back. Blended in as he is, he is unobserved by the scantily-clad succubus waitresses moving past him in their heels.
There are some upstairs private rooms, he notes, as well as a narrow staircase that leads down into a basement or subbasement. There is a disturbing swirl of energy flowing between the upper and lower levels but without studying it more, all it does is give him the chills.
What do you do?
========================
Gloaming doesn't open up. She just smirks. "When anger is all you have left, you'll see." She waves him away.
They exchange a look with each other. Scarlett gets an amused smile while Cyan giggles again. "Is that it? If you leave now, will you be satisfied? Are all your questions answered?" the redhead asks.
"No. But you've given us nothing useful, so I don't see the point of staying any longer."
Cyan's smile grows more alluring while her legs slide up and down against each other. "But there's other reasons to stay. Dear Maximilian, tell us, when you were a boy, did you like girls?"
"Your friend can join, if she'd like," Scarlett adds with a sultry gaze.
Kayla, still in her armor and sitting on the couch opposite the demons, says ”Well, if you two are so,” she started, then the two demonesses started trying to seduce them, which elicits a blush and confused look from Kayla to Max.
Max blushes too at the blatant proposition. ”No. No, no, no, we are not doing that. We should go, Kayla.”
Kayla, still blushing, stammers out ”Like I w-was saying. If you two don’t have the answers, then who do we need to talk to?”
The pair lean toward each other and share a passionate kiss. It's long and sensual as their hands explore their ample curves and their dresses slide up under their touch.
When they slowly break the kiss, they look over to Max and Kayla. "Oh, you're still here?" Scarlett slurrs.
"We could indulge in some pillow talk, if you indulge us. Who knows what secrets we might share." Cyan crooks a finger in a "come hither" motion.
Max cant help but stare at the sensual display. She shakes her head, but finds it difficult to actually get her legs to move...
Kayla, seeing Max enraptured by the scene, also finds it difficult to look away. Then, at the ask of pillow talk, she counters ”Or…we could just talk here.”
Cyan smiles knowingly as she draws an acrylic-tipped finger up and down her cleavage. "Sure. Let's talk. Do you like what you see?" Her finger hooks the top of her dress and pulls it lower, while Scarlett draws the hem of her dress higher.
"Damn it! Yes, I like it, but we're not going to join you..." Max insists.
Kayla stands and steps over to the pair of sultry succubi. She puts her hands on her hips defiantly and says ”So, either show you two are able to be helpful to us, or we will seek help elsewhere to help Max with this Violet problem,” as confidently as she can.
"Of course we can help Max with his Violet problem," Cyan coos. She rises sensually, heedless of the fact that one perfect breast is now exposed. She steps even closer to Kayla, so that the latest Praetorian can feel the heat radiating off her. "No one's here to see you. You can act on your desires," she whispers. "Max needs your permission, doesn't she? Let her know it's all right."
Kayla doesn’t step away, and tries to ignore the latter comments, even if her own heart is racing. ”How can you help Max? And who can help me with freeing my parents?”
Scarlett rises and moves around Kayla so she's whispering in her ear. "Our master is a lord of Hell. He can locate your parents within the nether realms. Violet is his favorite. He'll do as she asks."
Being surrounded and coaxed in such a seductive manner was causing Praetoria to swoon slightly. ”Can we…just…focus here?”
"We are focusing, on what we want. On what you want, but aren't willing to admit. Yet," Cyan says, then bites her lip as her hand teases and plays with her bare breast.
Scarlett looks over her shoulder at Max, the sudden movement causing her hair to lightly play against Kayla's exposed skin. She locks eyes with the newest demon girl, her expression that of wanton lust. "Kayla's sooo conflicted. Can you help her make up her mind, Maximilian? We can teach you things, things you can do to Praetoria later."
Max is struggling to maintain her composure as the demon girls tease Kayla. "No, no, this... This is wrong. This is not who I am..."
Scarlett slowly slides her dress up, revealing a supple and perfect ass. "Max, what's wrong about wanting to have passionate sex with three gorgeous women?"
"You are not women. You are monsters," Max retorts.
Scarlett slinks up to Max, keeping her dress hiked well above her waist and hips. She whispers seductively, "I know. Have you ever used your tail? It feels sooo good."
"My... tail?" Max gasps. She looks back at the wriggling appendage behind her.
"Mmmm," is all Scarlett responds with, eyes half-lidded and her hands rubbing her dress up and down.
Max swallows and looks to Kayla for help...
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The two are caught up in themselves and the atmosphere of the Ninth Circle. The rhythm, the lights, the intoxicating haze of other bodies similarly engaged in euphoric pursuits, it would be nothing for Femtite and Conflux to join in. They weren't standing out. They would be indulging in the best of camouflage.
But the two had a direction, given by Caio. They start moving toward the recessed and hidden stairs and are overcome by even more lust.
But up the stairs they go, past the sign that says AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY and to a small but soundproof door.
Cracking it open, Conflux's ward against Max's demon lust burns her skin. The pair sees Max, Praetoria, and two astoundingly gorgeous women.
It looks as though they got there just before sexy times.
What do you do??
Shin steps out of the private booth, paler but holding it together, if only because he was more worried about Max and the others. He finished the glass of sake to steady himself before activating comms. "I need to know what's happening, people. Anyone have eyes on DD?" He asks, hoping he's not drowned out by the loud music. He focuses on heading towards the doors to the VIP area, hoping to see if he can't slip in from here.
And also considering just leaving at this point. Being the leader was just tough every day. Let someone else call the shots. Someone who understood the magic.
Shin leaned over against the wall, the anxiety welling up in him as he waited on a reply. "Anyone there at all? Someone respond!"
"Saw Max and Prae... Disappear close to columns... We are down here... Conflux and Femtite too... Are here, not disappear... " Caio answers Horizon, even if he seems out of breath while doing so. "Sorry miss, no touch... thank you miss... no miss, better save it for your baby..."
"What-" Shin didn't know what Caio was currently up to but he hoped that his information was still good. There was no way for him to get down to the VIP lounge without getting into iffy legal territory - but there was one team member who might have an answer.
"Indarius, I'm on the main floor by the VIP doors. Everyone's managed to slip in so far. You can teleport people, right? Any chance you can hone in on where Conflux or DD are and zap us both there?" He asks over comms, hoping for a response.
"F%%& me, Femms, this is not...
...You know we can't right now, right?" She put both her hands flat against Femms's chest, about an inch lower than they should have been to unambiguously keep her at bay.
"But I promise. You can make me make it up to you later..."
***
"Oh what in the hell?!"
Conflux plucked an earring out and slotted it into the charm at her throat with a neat **snap**
The heat at her throat ebbed and with a voiceless word, the boundaries of her ward doubled and redoubled to engulf Max.
"Oookay. Now that we can approach this without anyone placing their thumbs or other appendages on the scale,"
"Deedee? You good? Usually someone trying to give me the brain whammy is the end of negotiations for me, but you're calling the shots here, girl. Unless I don't think it's you calling the shots..."
Femtite sees Connie burn—CONNIE!!—and then she sees the succubi, one red, one blue… but the only violet succubus is DD.
She gets it. ”Violet didn’t hunt you. You hunted her.”
She glares at the foursome that is about to ensue, only fifty-to-seventy-five percent consensually, Fem guesses.
“You heard my girlfriend! Time for a cold shower, ladies! Not the kind where we writhe naked under the water and confuse the word ‘nippy’ in a way considered winkily humorous in a male-dominated society but something arguably cooler!”
Amethyst chains come from floor and ceiling and the ether all around! They wrap Femtite’s body, flattening curves and buttoning up that bellybutton! The chaining ends with a giant padlock with no keyhole over Femtite’s technically-virginal groin!
A silver aura surrounds Femtite. Connie at her side is in its strongest light. Its radius takes up the whole room, hopefully protecting DD, likely Kayla as well…
Conflux extends her ward to envelop Max, but the demoness doesn't feel like anything's changed.
The two women start at the intrusion. The one next to Max with her dress hiked over her hips is tall with fiery red hair. The one working on seducing Praetoria is dark haired with darker skin and one lovely breast exposed.
The redhead scowls at the interruption while the dark haired one pouts. They wince at the bright light generated by the alien.
"More friends of yours, Violet?" Red asks.
"And they don't seem like they wish to play," the other sighs.
Femtite says somewhat apologetically, “Oh… wait. Did we interrupt something consensual? I’m not a prude or anything. My mom has twenty-two ladies in her harem, and my girlfriend and I danced up a storm. So this I get…
“But I just wanted to know if DD’s ready to go home now.”
"Yeah, but don't worry, Cerise, it's just because I'm familiar with literally any stories involving succubi. " Connie gave an insincere grin.
"Deedee? We good? Kayla?"
"Yeah, but don't worry, Cerise, it's just because I'm familiar with literally any stories involving succubi. " Connie gave an insincere grin.
"If you're so afraid of succubi, why do you want to take one with you?" Red asks mockingly.
The raven-haired one slinks around Kayla to stand next to the redhead. She runs a finger up and down her arm sensually. "We're simply trying to educate young Maximilian here. She has so many questions. We've known her for lifetimes as Violet, and would never do anything to harm her."
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"Not afraid of succubi, uh... Beryl, but I don't shake hands with raccoons just because they have cute paws, 'cause that's how you get bit, and diseased. Not in a slut-shamey way, the metaphor just got away from me like a raccoon. From that trap that time."
"And let's face it... Violet and Max, not yet two hearts who beat as one." Or else she wouldn't be circling the area "So never doing anything to hurt Violet, not really closing off all your options, ja? Especially if guess #1 about whose 'lifetimes' you're talking about pans out"
“Yes, and we want to take DD with us because she’s our friend.”
The sudden arrival of Conflux and Femtite snaps Max back to her senses. Her eyes narrow as she steps away from Scarlett. "Yes, these are my friends. They care about me, and they would never try to manipulate me. This has gone far enough. Come on, Kayla. We are leaving, right now."
She gives both demonesses a cold stare. "You almost had us. But never again. We are better than you."
”At some things…”
Soft voice, eeeeeasy smile, Femtite wants to keep the partly naked ladies happy. They can play with each other when we leave, right? That’s what I would do if everyone but Connie left.
“…she possibly means, such as keeping clothes on—ow” Femtite feels a pinch as she tries to step back. “—or at not running clubs. Ah..chafing?
”Which reminds me, I am going to write a five-star review as soon as I get hoOomMWAaA!?!” Her voice cracks at the uncomfortable twist felt as she attempts to turn her body. “Mind if I spell the club name with toothpick emojis—yarrr?!?”
Femtite decides she will stiffly hover out the door, if the succubi would be so kind as to let everyone just leave.
The two look affronted at Max's accusation. "Manipulate?!? Maximilian, we've told you nothing but the truth. You are a succubus, in body and soul. The mind will come around. The process can be pleasurable..." -- Scarlett turns and gives Cyan a deep kiss, then looks back to her, eyes suddenly inhuman -- "Or unpleasant."
"You're doomed, Maximilian," Cyan says with a note of sadness. "You can come with us and learn to be Violet on your own terms, or stay with your 'friends' and watch them suffer as you succumb to your demonic side."
Scarlett looks at Conflux and Femtite. "Has she hurt one of you, yet?"
”Well…” Femtite replies, ”…’hurt’ is a subjective, relative term, really.
“But there was this double-date scenario, so I thought at the time, and she was texting her”—by which Fem means Kayla, not that she dares so much as cock her head in her extremely uncomfortable armor—“and I’m not judging, DD.
“You’re my friend, and you were very nice to me when I tried to talk about it and made it about my tangentially relevant mommy issues, but since we’re being honest…
“Yes.”
Femtite smiles at the red succubus.
”See? Violet’s doing her work. Mission accomplished, meeting adjourned! Good job, Violet!”
Femtite moves her arm to pat DD on the back, and the aura near her left buttock reddens sharply from the sudden pain of a chain thong riding up.
“Aaaahhhaaawaaaahhhh… Violet hurt me againnnnnn. That counts, right?”
”Femms...” Max says quietly. She looks briefly hurt, but her expression quickly hardens again as she turns back to the succubi.
”I will find a way to beat this. You’ll see. You’re wrong about me. I will not become the monster you want me to be.”
Having had enough, she turns and walks out of the private room. She clicks on her comm as she descends the stairs. ”We’re done here, guys. Let’s go home.”
Praetoria's eyes glow as if she's prepared to unleash a massive optic blast, but she keeps it in check as she strides out while shifting her battle outfit back to the club wear. Her face is set, no longer looking flushed and conflicted.
She reaches the threshold of the private room and pauses. She glances back into the room. "I'll be along shortly," she says, and shuts the door!
Over the comms, Percy's voice comes through. "Got a date with the manager give me a bit."
"Of all the stupid, selfish decisions..."
Connie began assembling something out of disparate shrapnel from her clutch. "Max, can you break that down please? She was doing bad enough at this without a chaperone."
Fem hops in the Bug.
☀️:If there’s a fight, I need the Bug.
A reddish-pink speck begins to rise from Connie’s head, expanding as it clears a path for DD!
Once in human form (though far from human size), Fem’s voice is on the comms.
“Caio! Bust outta your cage. Praetoria’s in a hot mess of her own making, and we might be the clean-up crew!
“We’re your friends, DD, whatever you decide!”
Percy rips apart the veil with his mind as his book appears at his side. It opens to a page full of arcane sigils and a drawing of a pit surrounded by runes and pillars. Instructions flow into his mind, of special materials and configurations, precise alignments and formulae, all designed to punch a two-way hole into a realm that's designed to be one-way only.
He recognizes the flow of energies in this place as the residue of what used to be here. There once was a portal created to these exact specifications in this area. While not realm-threatening, this place will long be a hotspot -- like a fallout zone -- for extraplanar beings and those who are touched by planar energies.
The club is taking advantage of this, using the Hell-spawned auras to intoxicate and lower inhibitions. It creates a feedback loop, siphoning off the emotional energies and redirecting them, intensifying feelings of euphoria and passion. More concernedly, this energy is being collected.
Indarius's face grows more and more worried at the implications of making another two-way gate. If they were harnessing the power and containing it they could even be planning on breaking open another, possibly more powerful gateway. He watched the energies flowing and tried to do some quick mental aethero-caluculas on how long that would take to complete
The collapsed rift is like a scar between realms -- now thicker and tougher than ever, even if ugly and forever marred. The energy is likely being used for some other purpose.
He taps at the book and wonders what else demons and devil's could do with that kind of energy beyond simply bringing more of their kind here and sustaining themselves
The psychic energy could sustain any number of emotion-based spells. Depending on what's used as storage, it could be used as a more generic battery for a wider array of magic.
"You're trespassing here," Indarius hears in his mind. It's a variant of the sending spell he uses, keyed to a location. "Who are you, and why have you come? There are other clubs far easier to sneak into."
Taking a quick look around he wondered if anyone had actively seen him, he tried to respond similarly to his own version of the spell. "I could probably say the same about all the fiends here. Who I am isn't really important, what is, is what's going on here."
He felt himself bristle and he thought about pulling some of the ambient aether to him, but it would likely set off anyone watching the flow closely. Assuming his mere presence hadn't disrupted it already.
"Fiends? You mean my paying customers? They're here to have a good time. Like the regular people lining up outside. Music, dancing, drinks, and the company of others wishing to enjoy the same. You're not here for that, are you? So, I ask again: who are you, and for what purpose?"
"Yep those are the ones, the demon's and devil's that are absolutely trespassing the planar divide. I'm here to help someone get rid of one such unwanted bedfellow. One who certainly hasn't paid rent let alone gone through the paperwork. I take it since they're 'your' paying customers you own the place."
"I'm the manager. So, then I take it you are the Praetorian's backup? Why don't we continue this discussion in my office?"
"So long as we keep things civil, I think at least that can be arranged."
(Comms) "Got a date with the manager give me a bit."
Indarius' setting shifts (think Thor: Ragnarok at the Sanctum) and suddenly he's in a posh office. The manager is a well-dressed man most likely in his mid-thirties based on the salt-and-pepper in his beard that hasn't reached his head. He is sitting behind a clean and orderly desk, and the office has several disturbing paintings of hellscapes on the wall.
"That's better. Have a seat."
Indy takes a moment to reset his feet underneath him and takes in the office space. Keeping himself open to the aetherical flow here. "Glad I didn't have to muddy the rest of your fine establishment treading through it Mr..." He looks to see if there's a nameplate on the desk and round off his introduction before he introduced himself.
"Mathers," he answers. "And now, yours? So we can continue this civil discussion?"
Running a hand on the arm of the seat he closes his book and folds it across his lap as he sits. "Paralax, so long as the mask's on. Can't be giving up the true ghost I'm afraid. Bad for business, I want to make it clear that I came with no intention of actually interrupting your establishment. Hence all the skullduggery and for that I'm sorry, had I known you were a agreeable gentleman I would have simply requested to see you first."
He smiled lightly from under the half-mask making sure to keep his arms and legs away from the resting spots on the chair. Cordial as this might seem he's seen more than one spy movie with restraint chairs and really hopes he's just being paranoid.
He shakes his head in disappointment, though his eyes immediately become glued to the book when "Paralax" shuts it.
Mathers' mouth twists into a frown. "Notice that I have not extended guest rights or welcomed you. You are still a trespasser. Yet I've extended you a courtesy and you repay that with falsities?" The walls almost loom in on Indarius, and the hellscapes seem to move in his peripheral vision. "What is that book?"
Nodding as he feels the man on the other side of the table shift his gaze to the book giving him just a bit of a break from the daunting feeling he taps the surface of the old thing though thanks to all the enchantments it barely looks it's true age.
"I know the dangers of giving up one's name, so I have allowed you another by which I may respond. I thank you for the hospitality, and you have invited me into your office. This tome is my repritore of spells. But not exactly the subject of our talks is it?" Unsure if the rules of fey applied to demons and devil's he sure hoped they had at least some semblance.
His lips curl into a wicked smile. "No, I've brought you to a place where I can trap a trespasser." The hellscape paintings are truly animated now, and casting a blood-red glow on Indarius. "Unless you've altered your appearance to appear as young as you look, you seem but a child. A child who should have no rights to that book. What else have you stolen? What did you hope to find here?"
|
Indy kept his hands on his book and looked around at the paintings doing his very best to keep up the bravado. "I do really enjoy the lighting, I'll have to get in contact with your guys see if they can spruce up my base. I've stolen nothing, all given by freedom of choice by a soul kinder than most. And I only seeks answers for the benefit of my friends. What is it you hope to gain here though, hosting demons and devils seems a bit much to make a quick buck. You seem a smart enough businessman to do more than offer a nightclub. "
I see you hoarding away all the excess emotion
He twists his hands in a nervous way casting out his thoughts towards Shin.
Max eyes the door, tempted to listen to Connie. But she shakes her head. "No. If we bust in there it's only going to be kicking a hornet's nest. Praetoria knows what she's doing. We have to trust her." She hesitates. "But... Let's not go too far. We only go in if she needs us."
Max hopes that she is making the right decision. Because if not, she wouldn't forgive herself.
================
Trying to get an idea of what's going on inside the private room, Max opens her devil's senses and receives a flood of sensation from everywhere in the club. The wanton lust, greed, idolatry, and covetousness -- focused and augmented by the proximity of a Hellscar -- courses through Max's demonic flesh and fills her with power and euphoria she'd only briefly experienced before -- when she had Caio fully under her control, in the throes of passion, and when she savagely cut loose with her demonic strength.
It's fulfilling. It's empowering. She gets a glimpse of herself feeling like this all the time, self-assured, confident, powerful. The words of her sisters ring in her ears. They undersold it. Resisting this power will not just be unpleasant. It will be torturous.
Max shudders and gasps for air as she leans up against the door. Her tail writhes and her claws flex.
"I'm sorry, in what way does she know what she's doing? She's a superhero with like, a year's more experience than us and she's stupid enough to abandon the buddy system on a whim when dealing with succubi. And lest we forget, we're standing where empirical proof that she can lose to demons was pretty conclusively provided."
She flicked her middle finger against Max's forehead. "Think with this."
"Femms? The door."
Caio activates his comms as he stops dancing after receiving Femms' message. "How am I not surprised at all about that."
He looks at the other dancers and waves at them. "Nice to meet you guys... I would get the hell out of here if I were you. Good luck and thanks for teaching me these moves!" He then moves towards the cage and slips through it easily, specially while covered in oil.
Joining the others, his nose picks up the unmistakable scent of sex, but he doesn't comment on that. He does hear Max's words, though, about Kayla knowing what she is doing and how they must trust her. "Yeah... I do not trust her at all."
Looking around worried, he states. "Look, guys, I think we either go after her, or we get out of here while we can. I know the way."
Fairy-size Femtite flies to the door. “Let’s see if we can see what we’re getting into before we bust in.”
Femtite shrinks to a spark, then too small for the naked eye as she adds a feature to the electric lock!
Connie decisively jerks her finger toward the door.
"Is anyone not putting together that if things go bad for Praetoria again, they could go very bad for other people? Kayla's emotional steadiness and unwillingness to f~~@ around with succubi when she shouldn't is the cheeto in the deadbolt, so I'm kinda feeling the ounce of prevention plan"
"Femms, only about half of that frequency is human visible."
Femtite alien techs her way into making a view screen of the interior of the private room.
They see Praetoria holding Cyan in the air by her neck while pinning Scarlett underneath one high heel. Scarlett is struggling helplessly on the ground, and Cyan's legs are kicking uselessly as she pries at Kayla's fingers.
What do you do??
"Well what the f#!@ are you all waiting for?! If I'd known that a f!!%ing regular-ass door was going to present so many moral f!*&ing quandaries, then I would have actually brought my anti-door kit, but I figured 'noooo, literally anyone else will be able to deal with this without having to take time and reagents to come up with a solution'"
Caio sighs before shoving his shoulder against the door, breaking it and allowing them to hear what is being said.
Caio pops the door open with a hit from his shoulder, revealing the same scene that appeared on Femtite's gadget.
Praetoria twists her torso to look at the door. "I told you I'd catch up with you in a minute!" she shouts at the intrusion. The succubi continue to struggle feebly in her grip and underneath her heel.
Caio shrugs. "Whatever Praetoria, have you finished?"
Shin was used to psychic messages being less strict on word counts, but he figured that he got the gist of things from Percy. Now there was only the immediate concern and terror Praetoria was going to completely demolish the club dealing with demons!
Shin ducks into the bathroom, ignores the strange sounds from the occupied booth and tucks into the other as he brings his comm up. "Someone put me on speaker so I can talk to Prae, please." He says on broadcast. "Unless someone else thinks they can talk her down from violence. Whatever you do though, don't make her angrier. She wants answers about her parents. Empathize with that and try to show you're on her side but this isn't how to go about getting what she wants," He advises the group.
"Yeah, and if you'd had to pee or touch up your makeup instead of do a couple murders, then probably doubling back wouldn't have been a good idea."
"Or is this a 'beat 'em till they talk' thing? 'Cause that would be stupider, given everything we know about the efficacy of torture in getting good intel, but, y'know, I guess slightly more understandable?"
Her fingers twitched as she prepared, balancing a pair of wards to the point where only a thought would trigger them.
"You know this is a s$+%ty play and that you're doing the wrong thing, or you wouldn't have tried to pull this secretive b*@@!&!#."
"Let 'em go. If you're actually looking for a way to help your parents, this isn't it, but we can help." Good for burning off impotent rage though.
Femtite remains fairy-sized but shrinks her Bug, wearing it as a hair clip.
She is wearing the rose petal dress, but this time the petals won’t dissipate from her touch. She sits on Connie’s shoulder, and takes advantage of her proximity to Connie’s ear. “I’m so proud of you, Connie.”
She doesn’t say anything to Praetoria. She simply crosses one leg over the other and watches to see what the so-called paragon will do.
She does activate the Bug’s speakers.
☀️:Speakers on, Horizon.
Max swoons as the weight of the club’s sins overwhelm her senses. Her yellow eyes are wide as she leans against the wall, writhing and moaning softly. She barely even registers Connie flicking her in the face or anything else going on...
"Don't pretend you know me," Praetoria hisses. "And they're demons. They like it rough." She grinds her heel down onto Scarlett, eliciting a whimper from the pinned succubus.
"You're supposed to be smart. You tell me then. Why are we leaving them free? What good could possibly come from not slaying, or binding, or whatever you do to demons so they're locked away forever!"
"Because killing then will release their souls to possess people freely and to bind them we need both a well crafted magic circle, or specially prepared container, and their true names... Which they tend to keep to themselves." Caio explains to the child who thinks herself as the smartest person in the room.
"Is this standard Alliance behavior and procedure?"
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Indy saw that things weren't going his way and decided perhaps despite his feelings it wasn't his turn to try and outsmart someone who could very well be a millenia old fiend from beyond. He relents a bit, "Alright, alright. I can't tell you my real name. In the super community I go by Indarius, my spellbook was given to me years ago by this old librarian I knew. I didn't steal it nor do I intend on giving it up. Not that it would do many others good anyway, given there aren't exactly any mages capable of preforming most of the spells within. I'm here assisting my friend, Devil Diva. She came to meet with her other hall's sisters who we were lead to believe worked here. I came in the instance that things went wrong."
He hopes that is enough to at least start to alleviate the obvious tension in the room.
"I theoretically like it rough too, and should also not be beaten or murdered Also if you'd paid any attention to the briefing, then you'd know what Caio pointed out about the efficacy of murdering demons."
"And I am f%#!ing smart. I'm smart enough to know that emotionally motivated vigilantism does not net out to a positive, and that even if I don't personally care about the lives and livelihoods of these two demons, it's still the right ethical and practical thing to do to stop you."
"Oh, and though I'm not sure I need to be smart for this one, any time you're f+!$ing with literal demons, and there's an opportunity to 'go too far' and generally do corruptive things? It's a bad move. Even leaving aside infernal concerns, putting yourself in such a leverageable position with people who live and breathe blackmail and corruption is a stupid-ass move."
Duh
"If you have any reason to assume that these two demons actually know anything about your parents past what literally everyone who follows the news does, then you're stupid for not telling us that earlier, but hey, we'll make something work. Otherwise, this wasn't the objective, you're putting the whole team in danger by pulling this s#&* behind our backs, and it won't help.
"So, is there anything past the whole 'I'm sad and mad so I'm gonna make it everyone else's problem?' 'Cause the whole 'they're bad people so I can do whatever I want to them' is some cop s+@* and I'm not hearing it."
Femtite flutters over to Praetoria. “You have Connie to thank that you and DD didn’t end up in a foursome moments ago, and you are aware Connie solved a case in which Whippoorwill and Imagerie were transformed into dolls.
“She was looking out for you, and still is, Praetoria. Let go of your anger… don’t you see you are directing it at the only one who refused to turn her back on you?”
Though Femtite speaks in a kind tone, she would rather not have Praetoria along on future missions. Not a fan.
Max finally manages to stagger away from the wall. She makes it a few steps before swaying unsteadily and stumbling. She would have fallen if Caio hadn’t been there for her to catch onto. She looks at Praetoria with pleading eyes.
”Kayla, please... I can’t be here any longer... Let’s just go, please,” she whimpers.
How do I reach Praetoria right now?
Shin caught Prae's outburst, and got a good sense of the situation. Praetoria needed a redirection. "Prae," He calls over the speaker, "Listen to me. Your parents sacrificed everything for you. They saved both of our lives. This club being next to their monument is a slap in the face to their legacy. So think about it - these demon sisters don't have the resources for that. Someone else runs this club. And beating them up won't get you answers. But getting your family to ruin this place and put the owner's financials in a vice when you sue them to the bone will get that done. You can do far more damage that way than you ever could with your fists," Shin says. "So come on, give them a parting love tap and let's bounce, okay?"