"A spellcaster! They'll fetch a great price! Soften it up! Then bring me the rest of them!"
In a heavily accented Taldane, a voice calls out from the darkness. "Surfacers! I claim you as chattel! You can flee into the dark and get gobbled up, or live under Flendak's yoke!"
Several heavy crossbow bolts whistle out of the darkness at William!
Then three giant-sized dwarves with dark grey skin come into view of Aerel! Benedict sees only the lead dwarf, and the rest of the heroes can only peer to the extent of their darkvision and wonder what's there.
Valerie tilts her head. "You had more than one cat girl? Her name's Ne'veah I think. As for getting in, the 28th floor is undergoing renovations. You should be able get in there undetected. The elevator to the lower levels don't open up there, though, so you'll have to get creative. Lovelace's private servers are underground too. That's where she'll have all her info."
She squeezes his hands back, her smile hazily outlined on her face. "Of course she is. But I've been manipulated by the best. It's all right."
Shin is woken up from his sleep by a hand pressed against his mouth! His eyes search his darkened room frantically for signs of his attacker, but can see no one!
"Shhhhhhhhhhhhh," he hears in his ear. "It's me." Valerie's face, hazy and washed of color, materializes in front of him!
"Had to borrow Pallor's ability to get away for this meeting. You need to hurry your timetable, Shin. Lovelace, she's building a team. Valence is on it, Pallor--" she waves a translucent hand in front of Shin's eyes-- "You can see what he does. They also got the cat girl from this school, and some girl that can cause hallucinations. Scythe, too, if they can figure out a way to control her. They're expecting me to be on it, too."
She takes her hand off his mouth and leans back. "I gotta get back. They're keeping us in a sub-basement level at Lovelace Plaza, but I don't know for how long."
With the concern about Whippoorwill's mental state in the hands of the best person Conflux can think of (besides her own), First Class focuses their attention on Lovelace International. Training in infiltration and data extraction to not only save Siphon, but also to hurt the information broker where it would pain her the most.
At school, several absences are notable. "Tasha" has disappeared as mysteriously as she'd appeared in school. The exchange student Maeve has also presumably returned to her home in Ireland. Skyler's attendance is spotty, due to her frequent trips to the mental hospital where her mother is being evaluated on court order.
Even though the Valentine's Day dance is right around the corner, it's low in priority for the members of First Class. Instead, their attention is on the immediate future -- and beyond.
===========
Whippoorwill has left the decision to go ahead with the mission to Lovelace International to Horizon. Practice can only get the team to a certain readiness level, so he is about to put his misgivings aside and order the go-ahead. The mission: infiltrate Lovelace's high-rise stronghold and find the information about Heartache and other dealings by Lovelace.
Conflux finally gets a response from Whetstone after several tense days, just as the mission is about to commence.
Sharpener: Hey. Looks like you were on the right track. Nothing as involved as what you were afraid of -- thank goodness -- but there was a couple smaller mental blocks that Silent G found. Broken bridges, what she said
Sharpener: Well, not exactly 'said' but you get my meaning
The sounds of the group ahead get louder as they draw closer. The party tries to hide, but some are just not skilled at remaining unseen. After a moment, but before anything comes into view, some whispered words are exchanged amongst the newcomers.
Undercommon, plus Perception DC 24:
"Hey! Up ahead, you see that?"
"Sure do. Op! See another one, tryna hide."
"Surface folk, gotta be. Must be my lucky day. More slaves to join you, Kisegar. Bring them with little damage, and I might cut you a finder's fee."
"Thank you, Flendak. By your orders."
"Stay alert. There's probably more. Get ready!"
There's the sound of spellcasting in the darkness. Aerel catches a glimpse of a large figure suddenly but at the extreme edge of his darkvision.
Whetstone huffs. "Yes, all right. I'll approach her about your concerns and do a rundown on all her gear. She's got trackers, bio-rhythmic sensors, and other gear for post-op analysis. If you're asking that she bench herself... probably going to need more than what you've got so far."
==================
Caio, Message to the Corps
Caio gets a response after a while.
Alan: I've got some tech that can scan for telepathic influence, but an actual telepath is better. I'll see what I can do if you don't want to reach out to the Alliance or Heralds.
==================
Femtite
☀️: Anyway… I want to talk, but only if you don’t already have plans.
☀️: Like, if you and your family are about to go out to eat, I don’t want to just show up. That would be awkward!
She gets a text back.
Conway: Yeah! Sure!
Conway: (not about the awkward. About the being free)
Conway: Do you want to meet at Aloha Poke Bowl? It's close to my house.
Conway: and good food
Chastity shakes her head vehemently when Maeve pulls out her phone. "No. No, no. You gotta leave."
Her phone reports the message did not send. "Mom's already blocked you from all our devices," Chastity says. "And I don't want to see it anyway. Just go. God be with you."
==============
Unity Base
Whetstone mouths a "wow." He sighs. "Whip uses Alliance tech for communication. This doesn't sound very plausible. But I'll run a search through all subchannels to see if she's been 'nudged' to use one of our backups."
He snags another butterscotch and wiggles it at Connie. "Hey, paranoia is good, as I said, but keep a close eye on Occam's Razor too. Think too hard on all this telepathy stuff and you'll begin questioning the very nature of existence. Like, maybe you and I are just figments of Imagerie, or Halcyon never escaped the computer simulation of Vivatron in the '90s. My personal favorite is that we're all part of the Tommy Westphall Unified TV Universe because Angel Taylor had that recurring role in Law and Order: Halcyon." His eyes get big and goggly. "Meaning we're all just in some kid's imagination."
Chastity groans. "You-- you made it out like I was some paragon of humanity, and it was an honor at first. But then it was so much pressure. And you thought you knew what I was, but that was the power of a demon. I shouldn't have listened."
===============
Unity Base
Whetstone processes for a moment. "Well, it's usually good to be paranoid in this line of work. What you're saying is that you think Whip's still being manipulated. Or, is it that she could be, and that's enough to investigate? Any idea to what end?
"To answer your question, no, Gothic didn't come to me. Unless you were asking about Whip, in which case, yes. We checked on if it's worth it trying to make his kid account for her role in the CHC recruiting." He holds up a forestalling hand. "Outside sources, no one on Cortex's radar. Given the fact that the girl's been manipulated by him and her parents, and also a minor, it didn't seem right."
Chastity shakes her head. "No. I don't think you do. I think you had a very clear idea of who I was, or at least who I was supposed to be. I tried it your way, and I wasn't any happier."
She wrings her hands for a moment. "I don't know if I should say anything else. I'd like you to feel better, but I don't want you getting the wrong idea."
===============
Caio
Skyler shakes her head at the offer of joining the Corps. "No. Cancer ray, remember? I'll figure something out."
She falls silent during the trip back to campus, just snuggling close to him for support. She relents if he invites her to his room at Unity Base, and enjoys his company even if her mother's situation hangs like a black cloud over their interactions until it's finally time for her to return to her room at the school.
===============
Unity Base, with Whetstone
Whet accepts a piece of candy politely. "You know Whippoorwill is actually on a team with a telepath, right? Granted, Imagerie isn't your classic version, but she can usually get a sense of any meddling. And yeah, there's bad blood between us and the CADRE for years, but outside of him vying for Dad of the Year, what's the game? I think he's too smart to poke the bear, you know? Another throwdown between the CADRE and the Alliance is probably inevitable, but it's one of those classic standoffs, ya know?"
He thinks about Whip's teamups with Gothic. "Not sure. Maybe a couple times in the last month or so? But she definitely went to her once she found out she was whammied by Cortex"
It's all worked stone, so no stalagmites, but there are collapsed and crumbled columns, alcoves created by tall pillars shoring up the ceiling, looming half-fallen statues, etc. Sometimes the Long Walk is wide, sometimes as narrow as 50 feet. This particular section during this encounter is wide enough that you cannot see the far side of the passage, so it's at least 70 feet wide. Map is now updated.
The Heroes of Phaendar find themselves in a vastly different world from what they're used to. The ancient Duergar highway supposedly stretches on ahead for miles, though the pitch blackness of the lightless realm presses down upon them. Darkvision gives everyone the ability to see each other and the ground beneath their feet, but beyond sixty feet the darkness is impenetrable. The possibilities of what lurks beyond the edges of their vision is unnerving.
With the journal's directions giving them the best option to reach the dwarven stronghold of Kraggodan and avoid the armies of the Ironfang Legion and Molthune, the heroes brave the darkness and begin their journey.
Without a sky to track time, they can only measure their steps and own fatigue to estimate how much time has passed. The Long Walk's features change over the course of their first few hours. Sometimes they feel the road ascending, sometimes descending. Sometimes there are gradual turns, while other times it feels to go straight. Sometimes the passageway narrows so that they can see the far wall, giving them an estimate that the passage had narrowed to less than fifty feet wide. Most of the time, however, the passage was so wide that the far side was completely out of sight.
After several miles of travel, several of the party hear movement ahead, likely that of a fairly large group traveling together. Knowing that many subterranean races have greater darkvision ranges than those of the party, it will likely be only moments before the group is spotted.
"Okay," she says quickly. She appears to regret it instantly. "I mean... I hope it's a good change for you. I--" She looks away.
"I'm sorry I can't be who you want."
================
Unity Base
Whetstone whistles. "Hooooboy. Cortex. Let's see. Former teammate before we switched sides. Sociopath. Liked digging into your mind, implanting triggers and whatnot. He's also quite a jerk."
He folds his arms across his chest. "Still with the CADRE, if I'm not mistaken." He nods his head toward the supercomputer. "Most of all that is in the files. Whatdya need me for?"
Chastity folds her arms. "Maeve. I know you have 'ways' of finding me? But this has gotta stop. Seriously." She glances back into the household.
She rubs her temple, shaking her head when asked how she is. "I was scared by the movie, but I feel... better? Somehow? Like... I dunno. It's hard to say why... but I realize that... this. Whatever you think we have?"
Her voice drops low. "Can we take a break? A real one? I know this probably will make you feel terrible, but... I don't think it'll work between us."
======================
Psst:
Connie: sooooo
Connie: very aware that people don't always take me totally seriously
Connie: but I'm getting out of the hospital today if I don't like, die again
Connie: and did anyone check up on that whole thing with Whip?
Ichi: I'm keeping her up to date on things happening with the team. She's also working with Imagerie for deconditioning.
Connie: !
Connie: I f*!@ing knew it! (Colloquialism)
Ichi: It's not as cut and dry as you would expect. A lot of it is looking for unusual associations. I've been affected too.
Ichi: There's no indication of any programmed responses towards you in either of us.
Connie: cannot express how much I am not the center of the universe
Connie: afaik Cortex has never thought twice about me
Connie: but to be clear
Connie: i'm talking about the recent stuff
Connie: like at the group debrief
Connie:.....bbbuuuudddyyyyy??
Ichi: Yeah, it's complicated. Ichi: I'm sorry, have had more on my plate. Need to make sure V is safe. Cops came looking and V went dark. Ichi: More worried over her than Whip at the moment.
Connie: mm
Connie: V can handle regular cops tho?
Connie: no one Else is looking, right
Ichi: Not as far as I know. Whip knows and can keep the cape community from hunting her at least.
Ichi: L framed her for the breakout. I want to hurt her where it counts. Her stock price.
Connie: :grin;
Connie: I love when you go for a weak spot
Connie: :thinking;
Connie: Whip's got a techie, right?
Connie: she's always vibed as 'knows enough to fix her stuff in the field'
Connie: but anyone who successfully miniaturizes things like her quills has both skills and love for the game
Ichi: Yeah. They showed me pointers for developing my own gadgets.
Connie: Great! I need a meet
Connie: face to face if possible
Connie: least resource intensive way of handling/confirming all this
Ichi: I'll reach out to Whetstone and have them swing by the base Ichi: Anything they should bring?
Connie: an open mind
Ichi: Tonight at 5pm
Ichi: Bring some butterscotch candies
======================
Unity Base, shortly after arrangements are made
An older man, sporting a grey beard and a vest full of tools carrying a pack heavy with even more gear, is darting back and forth in the base, checking out various panels and consoles.
"Been a while since I've worked on ol' Clocktower. She doing all right for you?" Whetstone asks Horizon after slamming a panel shut.
He looks around at the faces of the heroes. "What's all this, then?"
The arrows are searing arrows and the tin contains three doses of seer's tea. The ring's magic is too complex for William to ascertain for now.
The party takes a few more minutes to have Haela patch up their wounds, and then go back to the door near the vault where the steps descend into the area of the Darklands known as the Long Walk.
Absolutely no light penetrates this deep underground. Without a torch or light spell, William is completely blind. Already easily two hundred or more feet or more underground, the steps take the party almost two thousand more into the depths before they finally reach the end.
There, the stairs open into an old side tunnel that opens upon the Long Walk. It is an expansive cavern with tall, ancient columns supporting the arching ceiling. A massive fissure overhead allows for the water from the ancient cistern to rush into a large black pool.
The party picks along a crumbling bridge to reach the Walk itself. As with the stairs, no light anywhere in the expansive cavern means that the party has to provide some for William. However, any light source could become a beacon for those things that lurk in the dark.
Sandwiched in between Movie Night and Message in a Bottle
Inside Connie’s hospital room, a beam appears! A portly figure slowly fades in with the light, and seated on his shoulder is …a Barbie doll?
Unsurprisingly, the ‘doll’ grows to her maximum height of five-foot-nine, or maybe six-one in those heeled boots. Femtite is wearing a pinkish-purplish Star Trek uniform—the minidress kind from the original series, though possibly shorter. She turns to her guest, giddily giggling, “Wasn’t that fun, Conway? And we can beam right back to your car after we bid Connie goodnight.”
Her eyes linger on Conway… then finally, she turns to Connie.
“Oh, Connie… Conway and I were at the park. Not parking,” she interjects with a giggle. Then eyeing the roses, she says, “Oh, but you received my flowers. And I’ve been meaning to tell you that my sister is very sweet. We’re working together to keep her pixites safe, and I believe Mr. President will be instrumental in that.” She looks as if about to swoon, exclaiming ‘my hero.’
“Alien Night was fun, too. Sorry you had to give it a miss, but there’s always the sequel.” She flashes a lovely smile Connie may not recall seeing since their early dating days. “I’m talking too much.
“Really, Connie, how is your heart? How are you?”
"Honestly? Kinda annoyed by the timing even if it was mostly worth it. Also: annoyed that the boys had to stop my heart again to make it worthwhile. 'Cause let me tell you, doctors really don't want to let you out of the hospital after your second cardiac arrest (that day)."
Conway waves, smiling at seeing his friend again but wearing the pained expression of seeing her in a hospital bed. He also seems out of sorts around Femtite, his cheeks flushed in a perpetual crimson.
"Crap, really?"
“Crap what? Don’t tell me you’re having a third heart attack.”
"Should I call someone?!" Conway stammers in sudden panic. He starts to the door. "A nurse, maybe? Oh, wait! We're not supposed to be here."
Femtite looks at Conway asking to help. What a man! Oh right… after hours.
What a SMART man!
"(Not a heart attack. Also, it'd be the fourth cardiac arrest unless we're talking about this week.) But uhh, no don't call anyone. We'll talk about it later. What's, uh, what's been going on at school? And with you two?"
"She watched Alien for the first time," Conway says.
Legendary Sidekick — 03/13/2024 4:20 PM
“Yeah. My scream was the loudest. Chastity grabbed my right hand, Conway had my left. We did not let go for the whole movie.
“I had to eat the snacks lukewarm.”
Femtite turns to Conway. “Was it the face-hugger scene? Is that what you call it?”
Conway stammers again. "It was the, um, chest-- oh, wait. Connie, have you seen it yet? Don't want to spoil it for you."
“Oh yes,” Femtite giggles. “Hey, at Barbie-size, I can be a face-hugger alien.” She laughs at her own joke, obviously to how corny it is.
"Yeah yeah, the pregnancy scene not the ra- But uhh, is that when you two got all snuggly?"
“Oh! Ahhh, haha…. aaaahhhhh . What? Oh.
“OH!” Femtite holds up a finger. She needs a minute.
Conway's voice cracks. "Snuggly? I don't know if..."
“No wait—ahhh. Nope. Yep. Okay. It’s like this…
“Chastity brought out this spin the bottle game. It was obviously Duke Zepar, right?” She smiles at Conway, “Sorry, cutie. Talking shop.”
She goes on, “Anyway, it was really… gross. Mrs. Robertson actually introduced the game to Chastity and Raquel, which means for all I know, Raquel was forced to kiss Gabe and like it.
“But even before I called Chastity out on bringing an item with Zepar’s sigil on it—I mean…
“Her mother taught her—a girl named Chastity—a kissing game! That alone, minus magic and fallen angels—gross, right? But everyone wanted to kiss. Consensual kissing is wholesome!
“It was so stupid.” She shrinks and sits on Conway’s shoulder. “But this guy…”
Femtite gradually grows back, levitating with one arm around the back of Conway’s neck.
“He sat out with me, and like a gentleman, gave me lots of space on that sofa as my girlfriend and I had a heart-to-he…” Femtite covers her mouth. “Sorry. A talk.”
Conway jumps when Femtite returns to large size and keeps an arm on him. He decides to study the hospital bed instructions intently.
"Your ability to quickly and concisely get to the most critical details may never have been equaled.
"Talk to me about the Zepar bottle?"
Legendary Sidekick — 03/13/2024 6:43 PM
Femtite puts both arms behind her back. Her aura pinkens.
“Getting to that.
“Chas and I argued. It was going nowhere and she was about to spin. Her cousin and his buddy and Raquel were ready to play, so I said the L-word.”
She clarifies, “Outed myself… just myself. But I threatened to reveal another truth. And then…” She turns to Conway. “You don’t remember this. Time stopped for you.”
She turns to Connie. “The room dimmed. There was a red glow around Chastity. The plate she used to spin the bottle upon had Zepar’s sigil. She shoved it in my face and I grabbed it!
“I felt a presence—it was crawling all over me, like under my skin, but barely. I resisted him.
“Chastity called him Lord Zepar. She spun the bottle on her fingertip like a Harem Globetrotter! She tried to ‘straighten me out,’ so I would be happy like Raquel! She offered me her cousin. Or suggested I steal Gina’s boyfriend. Or I could have Ethan whom I thought was the boy she’d ask to the dance. She mocked me for taking the plate—it was her trap!
“So I said yeah, you got me. But I choose my guy.” Femtite turns to Conway. “Who but the best the Earth has to offer? Who but the boy who started a club just for me? A boy who, even when Connie and I were together, found a special place in my heart?
“I am not straight. I don’t want to be. But if I had no control over my heart, if I had to be with a boy… Conway!” She gazes into his eyes, taking his hands if he lets her, but not forcing him if he’d rather not touch. “You are the only male I could consider this way. I…” She starts to tear up. “…I knew in that moment, you would never take advantage of me, as that Ethan probably would, or Chas’ cousin Gabe. And if there was no cure, if my feelings were dismissed as a cloud or a personal issue, you and I might find happiness.
“And so I grabbed the bottle from my girlfriend and slammed it against the plate so the bottle would stop spinning and point at you!
“I wasn’t going to let Chastity or Duke Zepar or random chance choose. I chose you because there is no boy on Earth that could reach a pixite heart except you!”
Best of C&S 9
Molten gold tears flow down Femtite’s cheeks. (And she seems to have forgotten Connie is there, and also hasn’t finished her story.)
Conway's face is open astonishment. He lets her take his hands -- they're trembling -- and his mouth works to form words. "I didn't tell them... but... you didn't save my life from the dukkemager. You saved it... afterwards. If you hadn't been, well, you, when I left school, I would have--" He sniffs hard and uses his shoulder to wipe some tears that were falling freely down his cheeks. "You made me proud to be me."
Femtite throws her arms around Conway and holds him close, bawling.
She manages to eke out a few words to finish the story: “Oh… and Raquel dumped Gabe, sniff, and Chas said the bottle game was stupid. sob I broke Zepar’s spell. snerk And his bottle. And his plate.”
Conway holds up his hands and looks to Connie. "Ahh, uh, is this okay?"
“Of course it is. We broke up three months ago, and she’s not a jealous ex.”
His voice gets tighter and higher pitched. "I mean you chose me not to take advantage and I'm afraid anything I do will be taking advantage and I don't want to take advantage and I'm saying taking advantage too many times!"
Femtite whispers reassuringly, “I melt spoons eating ice cream… so… knowing what my mouth does to metal, you’d dare not kiss me.”
She steps out of the hug, and notes all the hospital equipment.
“But if you did, at least we’re an elevator ride away from the burn ward.”
Connie can only stare. ""What the fuuuuuuck."
Femtite levitates with one leg crossed over the other. Her dreamy-eyed stare lingers on Conway.
But she finally turns to Connie. “Sorry. You said to tell you about the Zepar bottle, but you wanted clear and concise.
“Concise: it’s broken.
“Clear: Chastity and Raquel are free of his influence.”
She looks to Conway, hoping to glimpse his expression of approval regarding her clarity and conciseness.
"Okay, but like, what that entity is currently effecting is something we're all aware of, right?"
Conway remains wide-eyed and slightly panicky, his swell of emotion still evident by the wetness of his cheeks. "I heard you mention Zepar several times. Who is he?"
Femtite replies, “He’s a fallen angel who forces girls to like boys.” She covers her mouth. Her eyes widen and glitter with remorse. “I… I know how that sounds. But Conway, I aimed the bottle at you.
“Like, on purpose—I chose you. It’s not… it’s not like Raquel who forgot she was aro. Or like Chastity who stopped being a lesbian. I’m still…”
Her tears flow freely. “Oh gosh…!”
"Yyyeah. Sorry bud. Wished you'd known that. (Which is actually a pretty big complement if you want to take it that way.) Femtite? 'Pat-Pat-Pat'. Sorry I can't reach you from here."
Femtite moves to Connie’s side and places a hand gently on hers while she tries to compose herself.
"Soooooooo do we all know we're undoing this?"
“Oh, Connie… I came to visit you, not to dump a problem on you.” Femtite wipes her eyes with her free hand. “I chose this, and… I’m not affected like Raquel was. I mean, obviously yes, I’m affected, but no orientation is being forced on me. Zepar’s spell simply amplified a feeling I already had.”
Conway in the meantime found a chair and had sat down in it, holding his head in his hands. He lifts it up, his face blotchy from all the blushing and emotion. "Femtite, you gotta get it lifted. As much as I wish this was all coming from you, it's not. If you'd have missed and hit Gabe, or Ngon, and were feeling the same feelings to them, you'd want Connie to fix you, right?"
He slumps in his seat, looking dejected. "If we left you like this, I'd deserve the burns I'd get from kissing you."
Femtite looks as if about to swoon, feeling the love… and she can’t disagree with Conway.
“Very well,” she says in agreement. She looks to Connie.
“What do you want me to do?” PtM 7: Connie - what do you want me to do?
"See? That's why I implied a compliment, bud." Connie smiles wearily at Conway. "I don't know what to do yet. I haven't gotten to examine the vessel, I don't know if it was the only conduit for these assorted working, I don't have my tools to make such an examination, I have a tube in me because it would be too dangerous for me to do so much as stand up to take a piss. All I've got right now are words: I'm just spotting the obvious problems and saying what will need to be dealt with. Just...I dunno, remember that magnification is also alteration? Don't do anything that'll make anyone hate themselves when we have had a chance to deal with this? "
Femtite nods. She is visibly relieved that Connie isn’t going to do anything here and now, and seems especially moved by the warning not to make anyone hate themselves. “Okay, Connie. I’ll do this your way.
“But while you’re here, do you want me to ask Feya or Imagerie to look into my condition? [smsller]Or… someone on the team?”[/smaller]
"Feya's in a related specialty, and her flaws map best to either arrogance or outright betrayal... Yeah she'd be fine. Can't imagine why this would be the moment Imagerie would suddenly be helpful."
Femtite thinks Connie is holding a lot back, regarding her feelings toward Alliance heroes. So Femtite simply agrees, “Feya it is then.”
She sits by Connie’s side, merely giving the room some warmth and—unless Connie or Conway have more to say—a peaceful silence, so Connie may rest and heal, and Conway can sort out the emotional rollercoaster.
The other Mr. Robertson looks unsure about Maeve's unannounced visit, but lets her inside to stand in the foyer. "I'll go get her," he says, then leaves her there in the entryway. After a few moments Oreo and Copper appear and begin rubbing their cheeks on Maeve's pant legs.
She gets only a minute with the cats before Chastity appears. "You can't stay. My family's all going out to eat in a little bit," she says bluntly.
=====================
Contentedness:
Connie's still unconscious when she gets to the hospital, and they keep her down for a while longer out of caution, but that night, she finally wakes up to see Percy at her bedside.
"Heeeeyyyy," she croaks, "I barely sound dead at all."
Percy makes noticeable effort to not jump to ask how she's feeling when she finally wakes, so he whispers despite not needing to. "Hey... hey, yeah you're good now. Just take it easy. Turns out you've still got plenty of stubborn in you."
" The only truly limitless resource (joke)... How long?"
"It's the same day," chimes in a nurse from the door. "Are you up to answering some questions, Constance? That's a great name. Now- Oh! You must be the- Oh! Well, I, er, suppose- were you the pers- the 'Friend' who brought Constance in? Do you know what happened to our Friend Constance? Memory loss is very common in cases like theirs."
Percy stands at the nurse's entrance resisting the urge to get upset at her avoidance of the word person. "Uh yeah I was. I was there when it happened and I can answer any questions you need that Connie can't." He looks to Connie for a moment. "It may be better to talk in the hall though. You'll just have to trust me on that."
Connie looks up at him and smiles, shaking her head. "Go ahead, Indy. You can tell her."
"Now was there anything like the last time? It says here- Acid?! Is that right, Constance?"
Seeing Connie address him as such, Percy takes a moment to switch mental gears a bit. "Ah acid, not this time thankfully. This time was..." He looked to her again, "An extreme fall and the overstressing of some magical wards."
He picked through his memory not recalling when she'd actually gotten hurt by acid, recalling the various tattoos however.
Behind the nurse, Shin pops inside looking a bit haggard and worn out. "Connie, what in the name of all gods happened that got past your thirty thousand wards AND the protection of a giant magic dragon? I am...just, f$*$, are you going to be okay - sorry, backing up, hi, thanks for letting me know the improbable occurred."
"I said I'd explain Horizon, just give me a minute to answer the nurse's questions alright." he raises his hand to try and calm his friend.
"Don't worry, Oh Fearless Leader. Heart just stopped; it's not broken. Acid wasn't as out of place as it seemed. Tattoo removal. The cardiac arrest part was a big surprise for us both."
"Good Lord. I hope he lost his license. What a butcher!"
"They didn't. Wasn't their fault. But yeah, no acid this time, or any other intense- Well wait, there was a fall? If I said there was... Torsion or something, would the doc spend a lot of time confirming? Or could we just skip to the bofaectomy?"
"Fall as in impromptu skydiving incident yes, but no actual impact with the ground or anything else."
"Your. Heart. Stopped. BEATING?" Shin raises his voice. "And you fell from the sky? You don't have a single damn ward to prevent falling impact?"
"Sllllaaaaaannndderrr! oww"
"Horizon." He glares at him and pulls out a strangely practiced measured commanding doctors voice, "There's a lot to go over. And you aren't making it easier by getting worked up."
"Of course I'm worked up, why wouldn't I be..." He starts, before looking at Connie. "This some spell gone wrong for you? Or is this an after effect of when he had his hand inside of you?" Shin asks, gesturing to Percy.
The nurse is not quite in full retreat after the slew of concerning terminology, but is clearly wishing she didn't have a heroic patient. "Better if Indy tells you."
Indy moves over to Horizon and again makes soothing gestures as he leans in, "It has to deal with dear ol' dickbag, but we literally can't talk about it around her. Kind of what caused this."
He pulls back and looks at the nurse, "Sorry despite all that we've been through it's never been so intense. Is there anything else you need to know right now?"
"...is it some kind of geas? Or I suppose a curse?"
"I'm working on figuring that out still, but I think more... insurance. Obviously more pressing concerns at the moment."
"Indy, I'm lucid. You can say what you need to say. To the nurse, or to uh... Horizon? Have I ever called you that? Or to me."
"I'm not exactly sure I can without sending you back into the state you just came out of... but considering we're in about as safe a place as we could be."
He walks over and sits next to her again groaning at the uncomfortable chair for his morphology. His eyes take on the same glazed over look he had when he was examining the tattoo wards earlier.
"The long short of it, is I think Dear ol Dickbag has some insurance placed on you to keep certain information locked away from the wider world. Weather it's triggered by us or yourself is still up to debate. Like I was just telling Horizon, haven't exactly had time to test this theory on account of you half-dying."
"Hey hey hey. I was clinically dead. None of this half nonsense. Means I was briefly able to keep Ben Franklin's secrets."
"What's more shocking is if I had a nickel for all the times you were clinically dead in my presence i'd have a dime... which is both a lot given the circumstance and concerning."
" Shhhh, Indy. They don't know about that one. You're gonna make me get a bad grade in hospital. "
"Right." He looks over to the Nurse, "Hero business is never easy I'm sure you understand."
"Also having two nickels is different than having a dime." "I'll... I'll go get you a form to fill out for Constance."
Indy laughs weakly, "Please stop being smart for ten seconds."
"Fiiiine. Talk it all through and I'll chime in if I've got something funny and disruptive. "
The smell of pastrami arrives before Caio does. He pokes his head inside the room and then rests a sizeable bag on the nearby table. "Venya insisted." He explains.
"You brought Venya's pastrami to a cardiology wing?! We'd better get rid of that fast - pass a bite here."
"I had already ordered them and was about to text you if you had bailed on me when I read you were here." He slowly pass the sandwich. "You are not trying to kill yourself with it, right?"
"My cholesterol's fine (probably)."
She takes a bite, but is still visibly weak. "Well don't let me stop you. Go ahead and talk it through."
"...I had wondered why her tattoos transferred over to this new body," Shin admits to Percy after having a sit down to calm himself. "Can you do what you did with me?"
"Yes. You sure did."
"Am I going to blow up your heart if I ask you directly?" Shin asks.
"By asking that you are already throwing it into the testing you realize that right?" Indy adds.
He shrugged, "I've already checked it in a similar way, since it's got a physical presence unlike the one attached to you I don't have to check it from the astral realm. I could delve deeper, but I think I need to wait for Connie to be in a more stable state to do so first."
Tapping a claw uneasily on his arm he adds, "Who knows what kind of b+!++&&~ backdoors are possibly in place that I'd have to circumnavigate."
Connie shakes her head gently at Shin, then lifts her eyes to the ceiling, focus shifting back and forward minutely in thought.
"...You know they're not anchored to my body, because Shin just told you that they appeared on this body when I inhabited it. So, I feel the need to remind you not to break things. If we aren't starting with an assumption that anything can be removed, what would next steps be?"
"Oh.. right yeah the whole cloned body thing.. which means they're a bit more deeply tied which means it's on either your soul or have a secondary binding elsewhere?" He finally looks up to nod to Caio having seemed to space out that he had even arrived.
Caio hands Percy a pastrami sandwich.
"Oh.. thanks man." He takes it but doesn't get to eating it quite yet.
Shin keeps considering. "Not a soul, but an identity? Wait, I don't want her to have to undress, but are there pictures of all the symbols we can see?"
"They're tattoos, and no I didn't take pictures she was sort of literally dying in my hands," Indy says.
"...Okay, you can have pics, but only of the tattoos known by Percy to be magic. And you have to crop the boob one to just the specifics."
Percy looks at her, "You good to move that much?"
"To tug up and down my gown and do a hand-bra? Yes "
"Alright, you heard her." He points out the staggering amount that actually held any magical weight.
"...Connie, tell me you know what that means." Shin points to the character on the nape of her neck. "Because you of all people wouldn't have chosen that yourself."
" I don't speak the language, but yes I know what it means."
"Well that's filial piety, for anyone else. Means essentially respecting and obeying your elders, particularly your parents."
Connie suddenly clutches at her chest.
Her eyes bulge.
"Please-
Please continue..."
She slumps back against her raised bed, eyes closed until she opens one to peek.
"Don't let me distract you."
"...Kokei on it's own is something that works for some people, definitely not for Connie. But I don't know if there's a way that we might be able to alter the meaning by adding a new character."
"It's the one bit of this mess that I feel like I might be able to do something about. Though...hmm." He pauses. "...If we remove this stroke here it'll become a name instead."
"If special inks were used, it might be really easier to remove something then be able to work the proper formulas so we can add something." Caio says, recalling the not so trivial combination of his own silvery ink.
"What-" Connie stops, a look of pure frustration on her face. "Remember: Complete bodily disintegration was insufficient to affect them. Triage? Secondary objectives?"
Caio thinks. "True, then, if we can't alter then, perhaps we could create a magic circle around it to either seal its effect, like mine used to work, or force it to use a different source of energy and so fail by not having it available." Knowing it was confusing for Horizon, he adds. "As a magical tattoo, it probably sustains itself by draining a little bit of Connie's life force, but if we can force it to work from a specific food, or add an external adjunct circle... Which is what happens with those classic circles with the candles all around it." He shrugs. "Might ruin a bit of the aesthetics."
Connie breathes out through her nose, eyes tightly shut. "That's a solution, not triage."
"Triage. Right. What's the tattoo that's causing the most damage right now and what can we do to fix it?" Shin asks.
Shin's eyes glance at her name and the missing section from scarring.
"Rose thorns to the best of my knowledge and I'm not sure yet. I don't have any ideas quite yet either."
"Guiding you all step by step will be a less efficient way to do any of this, but maybe start with what they all mean?"
"I think the ribbon is just to keep your heart going for a little while longer, a way to visually check your pulse? I'm not sure about the circles. The name could be an attempt to strengthen the bindings of others. Seems Shin has deduced that the character forces some sort of loyalty to DoD so you can't directly cross him. Then the thorns are the punishment, and the magpies keep a close eye on you."
Connie doesn't reply, head ducked for a moment as she thinks, and thinks, and thinks. A frustrated tear threatens to escape her eye and she angrily rubs it dry.
"I also haven't had any time to study them and I don't feel safe doing so right now. so these are... very vague guesses so far."
Something seems to click in Percy's head for a moment, "Oh Caio, what do you know about Harpocrates any useful god trivia in that head of yours?"
He starts eating the sandwich and tapping on his phone with one hand to do some searching.
"Huh? No it's Hippocrates, right?" Shin asks in a bit of confusion as he's suddenly distracted from his attempt to gather clues. PtM of 5
Connie throws a cup of jello at him almost by reflex.
Shin ducks also on reflex. "Okay, different person, got it. Gods...Connie, I'm sorry."
He stops trying to discern the meanings of the different symbols and considers the parts of the body they're attached to. Though he's one wrong answer away from getting Feya Firestorm involved.
"Not much... Greek God of Silence and Secrets, right?" He asks. "I recall that he is thought to be the same entity as the Son of Horus of the Egyptians, but that is uncertain because the statues and symbols depicting the Son of Horus is of a child with a finger on his mouth, which apparently back then the Greeks thought he was shushing people."
"In the broader and interconnected cosmos he is known as Shateiel, the Seraph of Silence. Usually associated with the images of roses."
Shin grumbles. "So another angel. Great. Is this entity affecting these magical tattoos, and if so how can we get them to stop?"
"Entities like Harpocrates are rarely literally involved in temporal concerns, and are much more commonly referred to symbolically than specifically. Rain is more a symbol of cleansing than it is a symbol of Matariel."
"...I...you know what?" Shin grabs his bag and empties it of what appears to be several devices that Conflux might recognize as Shin's attempts to create an anti-magic gadget. He picks one up that seems to be an ofuda of protection that's gotten some kind of snap bracelet insert into it to latch on, purified with salt.
"This may do nothing. But I cannot solve a magic riddle without your guidance, so I'm going to try," He tells her as he affixes the charm to her arm.
Unleash Powers of 10 to try to neutralize one of the curses on Connie.
Connie twists away, rolling onto her front to keep her arms away, but exposing the roses on her shoulders in the process.
Alarms and alerts go off as her sudden listing pulls some of the leads off of her.
He pauses briefly before shifting the charm to apply across her shoulders instead. He claps his hands together twice, taking a deep breath and letting it out with a prayer in Japanese, enunciation the syllables in a clear, precise manner. Calling on the kami to relieve her pain and release her from this curse.
Connie goes almost entirely limp, using all her energy to speak as quickly and intelligibly as she can into the pillow. "Cool cool cool. Okay, something to remember - my dad is actually very smart." She starts talking faster, slurring a little as she begins to tense up. "I'm smarter, but that's why this whole system of things was designed in steps as I kept finding new ways- she gasps and drives her fingernails into her flesh to refocus "-to piss him off. He's not afraid to add new layers of problems over time S!%%. Okay symbolism's not that deep, roses secrets, piety obedience, straight edge straight edge, magpies stealing, inner outer matching circles are truth, the name's how he stole my old name, ribbons are bloodline and keeping it saf- No time!" She twists her fingers, still bare of any of her gear and ignites a small puff of pink fire. The talisman burns out, and she lets the spell lapse. "Kay I'm not gonna be conscious much longer, and visiting hours will be ending 'cause my heart just stopped again. Immediately get help. Please, please, please let this be the last time, 'cause this is really, really unsustainable. Even like in a hospital. Love you all in one way or another in case I don't get to say it again."
"I'm calling in Feya." Shin says. "Unless you both think we can manage this tangled web of curses on her on our own. And get the nurse!"
Percy frowns, Did we really have to cause another one of these to get results, his hand balling into a tight fist as a growl built in his throat, but at least they had more to go off of. "I'll get the nurse again, Shin, Caio stay here I'm going to get the Nurse." He reaches over and presses the call button but stands and heads out the door as well. Just before he gets out he looks to Shin, "Call her, I'll get in contact too."
Outside Indarius moved over to one of the nurse stations, "We need someone in room 457 quickly she's going to be going out again very soon." With the nurses informed his mind couldn't help but drift to Mathers He's so very lucky that I'm one of the good guys.
In moments a number of nurses and staff rush in, pushing the others out of the way so they can work on resuscitating Connie's heart.
Caio is busy writing everything Connie just said on the back of a medical form. "Don't think we should risk doing this on our own"
Shin is already sending a message to Whippoorwill and Feya directly about Connie's status as the nurses come in and start to usher them out of the room.
When Shin and Caio come out of the room they are greeted with Percy balling his hands into fists, the second Shin looks like he's done with the message he says low. "Where's Quincy.. I need to have a word."
"On a respirator last I heard. Not in any condition to answer questions. Believe me I've thought of that.
She has other brothers, though."
"It's not just for this." He eyes Connies room but quickly looks away. "Didn't happen to catch where the other players were did you?"
"Not off hand, but I can request a contact list. Not certain what that has to do with Connie's situation though."
"I want to see if Quincy has the same. The others is... me stuff."
"Cool. Be aware though, there's some other stuff...that thing I talked to you about? It's going to be a team thing sooner than later." He looks at Caio. "Details to come later. But you'll be getting some new lines of communication for it."
"Yeah, alright needs to be a fairly soon thing. Aside from making some visits i've got some obvious research to do regarding Connie's condition. Quincy would be invaluable. The players are a me thing, get that contact list to me asap please."
He obviously looks like he wants to run back in and rip apart the wards. But between Connie's warnings and what's happened in the past when he resorted to brute forcing things, he forces himself to turn away.
"I should get to work on all these things now."
Several hours later, a text to her boys Connie: that sucked
Connie: can you at leat tell me you know what's wrong with me
A rapid knock on the door is followed by a blonde-haired head peeking into Connie's room.
"You awake?" Pru asks in far too loud and anxious of a voice to allow any sleep to be had.
"Panther Pride Get-Well Committee incoming!!!" a chorus of cheerleaders announce, as five others of the squad push Pru inside and join her around Connie's bed. Flowers, balloons, and stuffed kittens suddenly appear in every nook and corner of her hospital room as if summoned by magic -- though it's only through the power of cheerleader convalescence.
"S@%#..." Connie blinks hard to keep from tearing up too much. "Hey you guys. How'd you hear about this?"
As if waiting for this moment, the new phone by Connie's bed buzzed.
Ichi: If there's anything else you need, don't hesitate to ask for it.
Connie's smile dies as she messages back.
Connie: Tell me you know what's wrong with me
Connie: and make me believe it
Ichi: I know you can't tell me. And I know you have magic beyond your tools and wards.
Ichi: I'll do everything I can to free you.
Connie: ...Okay. So you know I have magic that I-
She stops, thumb hovering over the screen as she chooses her words
Connie:...Okay. So you know I have magic that I didn't tell you about, but that I made a point of showing while the rose/secret tattoo was disabled
Connie: You know that there are bindings on me relating to secrets, obedience, straight edge, stealing, truth, names, and bloodline
Connie: You know who put those bindings there, right?
"You going to just spend time on your phone?" Shanika says, hand on her hip.
Ichi: Seven bindings. Six brothers and a father. Ichi: Unless one you were made to bind yourself.
Fuuuuuck "Sorry, Shanika. Someone with bad timing's trying to work a diagnosis from the cape angle and heading down the wrong track. Lemme just politely nudge him and I'm all yours." Connie: Leave the numerology and symoblism to me
Connie: you're the Investigator. Occam, bud
Connie: Occam. "Okay. So. Tell me everything"
Ichi: Your father then. Who else would be so cruel?
The cheerleaders tsk and look impatient, but some busy themselves by tidying up Connie's room a little more, tying the balloons down and making sure the flower arrangements are showing their good sides. Others produce their own phones and focus on them.
Connie: Okay. If he did it, why would he do it? What would those bindings each do? You don't have to understand each one
"Please let that f~&$ing do it."
It takes longer than usual; it takes more work, but Connie smooths over the fear and hope and frustrated rage to give her friends what they need.
"Okay, be real, just how bad is it getting at school without me? Spill the tea girls."
Ichi: Roses prevent you from spilling secrets. If I'd ever offered you a smoke I think that straight edge would prohibit you from taking it. They all seem to be about controlling your behaviors. Even keeping you from having your name.
The cheerleaders start ticking off their fingers as they recount the latest gossip. [b]"Well, Macie and Evan are now officially 'taking some time off;' Danae got rejected by Curtis when she asked him to the dance; Mr. Calhoun is not chaperoning (thank God); Becca -- I mean, 'Fae,' asked Tiv Kruger to the dance and he said YES! Then there was Shin and the new girl, Tasha, I think? Anyway, you should have heard the jock table. He and Alden were totally chest-thumping over her," Pru recounts.
"You could cut the testosterone with a knife," Sanvi says with a roll of her eyes.
Shanika cuts in. "You're leaving out the best part! Shin and Tasha got into it this morning. Screamed at each other in her dorm. They both stormed out, and she was all over Alden at lunch."
" Lord. Shin's a cutie, but that boy fumbles the bag like no other... How's Danae? She didn't do the whole All Out plan for asking, right?"
Discreetly Connie: &
Ichi: Bloodlines = preventing children?
Stealing self explanatory.
Truth...you are unable to speak plainly because you can't speak truthfully?
This really explains a lot.
"Thankfully no," Uma says, but the look on Pru's face tells Connie she'd have loved the extra drama. "She scaled it back to a banner across Hallway C only. Still. Sad."
"Banner's still pretty- m*@!*+ f~~%*~!" Connie whips the phone out from where it was hidden.
Connie: Are you f!@@ing kidding??
Connie: I speak plainly all the f%!+ing time
Connie: And truthfully
Connie: When I told you "Shin, I do not have romantic feelings for you" what part about that wasn't plain or true?
"F~*#ing s@%#. How is this so f$!#ing hard with a f%&!ing laundry list to start from?!"
Ichi: Then you can't lie. Not directly?
Connie: Are you just f&$&ing guessing?
Ichi: I'm confirming my beliefs.
Connie: Don't f%&!ing tell me that, Shin
Connie: Do you want me to f&$*ing randomize my responses?
Connie: You know I can't spill secrets
Connie: That includes winking and speaking in f%!*ing pig latin
Connie: If I think you'll understand it, I can't say it. Not if it's about a secret I have to hold in confidence.
Ichi: But you can talk about it if it's no longer a secret to me. Which is why you keep confirming that I know these things.
Connie: I tried to make Franklin's magic # stick for what does and doesn't count as a secret, but it's proven to be fuzzier than that. Also, sending you and Femtite messages in Morse code did work, but only because I (correctly) didn't think you'd catch them.
Pru huffs as Connie refocuses on her phone. "Look, you clearly are in the middle of something. I guess we could come by some other time, or whatever."
Ichi: I'm sorry it took me this long to figure out.
Ichi: When you're out, I'll see you at Unity.
Connie smiles wickedly up at Pru. "You sure? You don't want to know about an entirely different bag that Shin fumbled?"
Caio's words elicit a bitter yet exultant sob from her. Her legs completely give out and with an easy motion he's carrying her as she buries her face into his chest. During the walk to the bus stop, the only sounds Skyler makes are muffled sobs and sniffles.
She finally regains her feet when the bus arrives so she can climb aboard, though she doesn't let go of him. When they find a seat and take it, she clings to him desperately. She lifts her head up to meet his eyes. "I love you too. I love you so much. I couldn't-- I wouldn't--"
Skyler stops herself from saying more in the public setting of the bus with effort. She sits upright, wiping her face, then taking the folder of legal paperwork and flipping through the pages. "Mom's getting evaluated for civil commitment," she concludes. "If they say she can't take care of herself, she'll be in assisted living. If not, she'll be on her own."
She looks at Caio, fresh tears welling in her eyes. "I don't know which is worse."
The final two caves are evidently the living space of the clan's chieftain. Poorly preserved animal furs line the floor of the first cavern, while the one furthest in the back contains a pile of detritus -- mostly ragged bits of armor or ruined weapons.
Picking through the pile for anything of value takes a while, though utilizing detect magic helps identify magical auras on a ring, three arrows, and a small tin containing a fragrant substance inside.
Thaddeus glowers at Caio. "Wait until you find out the one you loved has lied to you for decades." He glances at Skyler with an expression like he believes her to be lying to Caio even now. "Get out of here. She's your problem, if you really want to keep dating a bastard."
Once they're outside, he slams the door with finality.
Skyler clings to Caio as if he's her one anchor and if she lets go she'll be cast fully adrift. She nods, holding onto him desperately. "Thank you. I don't-- I don't know if I could do this without you. I need you."
==================
Several months ago, at W-HCY:
The W-HCY studio has set up chairs in a semi-circle with an array of cameras trained on each seat to catch every decent angle of the participants in the interview.
The backdrop appears to be that of an English manor, with wood paneling and pleasant décor. Connie (and her guest) again is brought through the giant media building at the center of Halcyon City.
As she is brought in and handed over to makeup and wardrobe, Connie catches a glimpse of William engaged in a heated debate with one of the directors.
"--completely projecting the wrong image," he is saying.
"People think of magic, and they think Old World. This is the perfect backdrop for this kind of interview. Mr. Grumman picked it out himself."
"It screams 'Hogwarts' and I'll not be having it..."
Connie isn't able to hear much more as she's pushed into a makeup chair. "Hey! Remember me? I'll be working on you again today," says the familiar makeup artist, armed with a number of brushes and powders.
"Mmmmyeah sorry, gonna have to change at least a few plans there." Connie takes out an answering makeup kit, every tube, bottle and case still sealed, though the labels are scratched off or blacked out to mark them unsellable. "No shade on you, I liked your work last time, but if I were here to take a shot at any of my brothers, I would absolutely use you as a vector."
"Um, what?" Karli asks, clearly not getting Connie's meaning. She eyes the makeup kit. "Uh... do you have sensitive skin or something?"
Shin pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, standing there by Connie's side. He's looking out for anyone paying more than cursory attention to them aside from their make up artist.
"Oh, did you not watch my last interview? Magic is real, Karls. A vanishingly small number of Mathers are trustworthy, and even if Dear Old Dad didn't or wouldn't ask them to do it, it's very likely at least one of my brothers thought about using you to poison me. So uh, sealed products only, and I brought brushes too. Seriously though, love your work ."
Karli grows suddenly pale. She looks over her high-end makeups and brushes like they'd transformed into snakes. "Um, seriously? No one's been by here, and, well... you think they're poisoned? That's crazy."
"Oh they're probably fine. And I'll be happy to give them a full look later to make sure no future guests catch a stray that was intended for me... Should we get started though? Punctuality and paranoia are two things you can rely on learning in the Mathers household."
"It's a precaution, but there's no harm in taking it," Shin says as he nods to Connie. "She just wants to be as comfortable as possible for this interview. You understand how it is when you're about to face family in a stressful situation. Every little bit helps," He says to get Karli on board.
The makeup artist still looks unsure, but uses the products brought in by Connie. In short order, she has the Mathers daughter camera-ready.
The director somewhat urgently gestures for Connie to take her spot, seated in between Jean-Paul and Tim. William is looking smugly satisfied as set dressers are removing the wood paneling and opening up the backdrop to reveal the Halcyon Skyline behind them.
If you're expecting me to be bummed about Hogwarts not being the vibe then you really really must believe in the death of the author. Not aspirationally
With a smile that's all innocence, Connie drags her new chair formerly belonging to an unseated Mathers over to one end of the row so that she has at least one brotherless direction to turn her back.
One of the technicians steps in and stops Connie from moving the chair. "They're all lit properly, dear. Please don't move them; we'll have to readjust all the lighting."
"Did Gare-bear not tell you? Seating choice was one of my preconditions for the group interview. I can drag another one back to the mark if you like."
The tech throws up his hands. "Ugh! First it's the backdrop! Now it's seating arrangements! I suppose next someone will be needing special microphones!" He has Tim moving in one so that Connie can sit next to him, and thus directly across from William. The youngest Mathers arches an eyebrow at her. "Constance," he says simply. His eyes flick over to Shin standing off to the side. A corner of his mouth twists upward in disdainful amusement, and then his eyes move to study something else in the room seemingly having discarded the Protégé into his mental rubbish bin.
Connie greets her younger brother quickly as, "Hailmary," before following his gaze to Shin. "Mm. Your mistake to dismiss him. By all accounts he's actually shockingly good in bed. Oh, or if you were thinking about fighting him instead, I'd rather have him at my back than ten of you. True for the sex thing too, but that's for a lot of other reasons."
Shin crosses his arms and stands off stage, keeping his eyes sharp. He may not be in uniform, but he still has some gadgets at work. His glasses for instance had a HUD link to Clocktower set to help him hone in on potential hazards he might otherwise overlook. He sets his field of vision across Tim, getting a sense for what kind of a threat he might be to Connie and himself. Being that he was a monstrously well-built man, it might be safe to assume he's a physical brawler. He didn't think that Mathers would look kindly on 'all brawn, no brains' though.
He was a little off guard when Conflux promoted his prowess in bed though, but tried not to let it show on his face. "Try not to look like you're sniffing sour milk when you're looking at us. Makes you look bad," He advises.
The same flustered director shoos Shin away from the stage and then starts waving his arms at Connie and Tim. "Enough of that! No muttering! The mics will pick it all up!"
Tim inclines his head politely. "I apologize for my sibling, sir." He turns to her. "Seriously? You can't stop being petty for one moment?" He gives a grin to the director and his teeth gleam under the stage lighting.
The director appears mollified. "Right. Yes. Thank you, young man." He finishes by glaring hard at Connie, then turning to move Shin to a distant corner of the studio.
Connie rolls her eyes. "Kiss ass says what?" But mostly she settles in and waits for Gurmman.
Shin settles out behind the cameras' view, nodding to Connie and showing her that he's got his eye out, before making sure to keep his focus on her erstwhile siblings.
William and Jean-Paul have a brief exchange and they sit down in their appointed seats. Tim lounges back in his seat with a practiced air of total confidence.
Lights blaze as Gary Grumman takes his place opposite the semi-circle of young Mathers. Camera operators get behind their lenses and the director gives the signal that recording has begun.
Gary plies his practiced smile at the primary camera. "Good evening, and welcome to the final episode of Halcyon Today's look into William Westscott Mathers: sorcerous revolutionary or megalomaniacal magician?
"I'm joined by several of Mathers' family -- before he allegedly pitted himself against the Alliance of Heroes, he was first and foremost a family man. Adopting children from across the globe, he was clearly more than your typical despot with plans for world domination."
The cameras pan across the guests. "Joining me today are four of his seven children. William Junior, Jean-Paul, Constance, and Tim Mathers."
Gary turns to William. "As the second eldest here in the studio, let's start with you. You've known William Westscott Mathers the longest. Is he the villain the Alliance says he is?"
William's face is stern as he regards Gary. "Of course not. I'm fully aware that there's going to be a perceived bias in my experience with my father. I mean, how can my word compare with those of actual Alliance members? I can only hope that my twenty-seven years of experience with my father will lend some credence to what I say: he only has Humanity's interests at heart. Magic is a gift that should not be locked away."
Gary tilts his head in interest. "Fascinating. Is this sentiment shared by the rest of you?"
Tim jumps in immediately. "Oh, of course. Think about it; they teach math, science, literature in school. Why not magic? Because there's not enough of it to go around. Dad was going to change all that."
"Yeah. And all out of the goodness of his heart. Look, whether or not the magic should be out there is a really complicated topic... Which is exactly why that's where his water-carriers are trying to take you. Demons. Abductions. Funneling that power in a transparently self-interested way.
"Discuss."
Gary follows up on Connie's statement. "That's a good point. The Alliance's official statement was that William Mathers -- senior -- was not providing magic to all, but magic to a chosen few. His chosen few."
Tim responds quickly. "I don't remember the part in history class where the whole world got together and voted to lock magic away. Oh, right. Because it didn't happen. But Doctor Infinity did just that. And others before him. Houdini. Maskelyne. Herrmann. All the way back to Merlin. Taking it upon themselves to keep magic from the masses."
"You say that," Gary says, "but how was this not a power grab? And why not tell people first? Get support? Jean-Paul? You've been quiet so far. What do you say?"
The middle Mathers child stirs at being thrust into the spotlight. "Well, Dad's always been, you know, close to the chest."
"And it's ridiculous to believe that the released magic would be available to everyone," William interjects. "It takes study. Discipline. Practice. Just like not everyone can be a doctor, or an engineer, not everyone can become a sorcerer just because magic was reintroduced. Only those willing to put in the time and effort."
"Again, really not interested in getting dragged into philosophical questions about the availability of potentially dangerous resources at this juncture. Even if you subscribe to the idea that giving himself phenomenal power that lesser beings don't deserve is a noble thing * * cough, cough, fascist* *, he still had to capture and abuse children to make it work."
Tim scoffs at Connie. "'Capture and abuse children'? Are you serious? Do you really think Dad's capable of that?"
He turns to Gary, leaning forward. "Constance has some problems with authority. Oppositional defiance. Just like how she couldn't even agree to a simple seating arrangement without her having to move us around."
"Connie, and our father's a capable guy after all. And what, you're saying Captain Stalwart completely misunderstood that whole situation? His jaw-ship himself? Now who has the issue with authority."
William sighs. "Captain Stalwart is a great many things, but an expert in magic he is not. I'm sure he's being quite sincere, but remember most of the available information from the Alliance is from Feya Firestorm -- a neophyte member of that team of aliens, robots, and enhanced individuals."
"Mr. Mathers, the Alliance has defended this world from countless threats. Are you truly sure your father was not one of them?" Gary asks pointedly.
"That, of course, is yet to be decided in a court of law. I understand the rush to label someone as the next big villain of Halcyon -- especially an older, white male. They make excellent villains, don't they? -- But until all the information is in, weighed, and judged, I simply am not ready to accept such a label on our adoptive father. And it shames me that some of my siblings are so willing." He casts a side eye at Connie.
"Oh jesus f@+&ing christ tell me you're not going to complain that our father is getting 'cancelled' for something as petty as, you know, the abduction of children. Look, you're not gonna catch me disrespecting the man here, but I also can't just lie. I can't lie about what I saw, and I can't lie about the kind of man he is. No matter what else you might think about his whole grand design, that's what he was doing."
All attention turns to Connie. "Do you want to talk about what you saw?" Gary inquires, leaning forward a little.
"Yes, Conflux. Are you revealing your role with First Class on national television?" William asks.
Shin stands in the shadowed part of the studio outside the frame the cameras focused on. He looks for any signal from Connie to step in to intervene.
b]"Good lord, William, I knew you were getting up there but are you that old?! Even if you're still on Bing, if you put in 'who is Conflux' you get pictures of my un-masked face! And some links to an IT consulting and analytics firm. No affiliation. I'm not gonna get into specifics about a situation that's quite literally pending trial-"[/b] She squeezes her eyes shut tight against a sudden pulse from the migraine that had been building in her brain for hours. "f+%$, f&@~, f#+#ity-f@~&. S&&@, sorry. Bleep all that I guess." she finished through gritted teeth.
Gary half rises from his chair. "Is everything all right?"
Jean-Paul snorts. "Looks like someone Infini-searches herself."
Tim leans back, appraising his distressed sibling with a curious eye. "I remember that look. You still gotta go all the way to the breaking point, don't you?" He snickers in amusement. "And you always break."
Gary is on his feet and moving to Connie's side. William catches his hand before he touches her shoulder. "Don't worry. This is just more of Constance's drama."
Shin doesn't want to fight Connie's battles for her. But from where he's standing, it's three-on-one and Connie is in distress at the moment. If they have to cut him out in post, that's fine. But he is going to her side and kneeling by her.
"Your brothers are all real charmers," he comments sarcastically. "Forget about them for now. What do you need?"
"Yeah why not Jean-Paul. Oxytocin, endorphins, lowered blood pressure..." Connie squeezes her eyes shut. The pain doesn't subside. But that's okay. You just have to make it twenty more seconds. What can't you take for twenty seconds? Then just twenty more after that. And after that. And after that...
She opens her eyes, gaze locking on Shin's. "Thanks bud. I just- I can't let them be the only one that people hear. Not about him."
She leans forwards, gripping the side of her chair. "Okay. So no specifics. Or at least not from me. Timbo? No secrets among family, right? You wanna let Gare-bear in on what's happening? With my drama? It's fine by me."
The director steps in, shouting for the cameras to cut. Gary shrugs out of William's grip and steps up to Shin. "Give her some space, son. We're taking a break. You okay?" he asks Connie.
Bodies start shuffling around. Shin feels hands grip his upper arms and move him away from the studio. Karli is suddenly there in his place, leaning over Connie with terrified eyes. "Are you okay? Need me to call 911?"
William stands and moves clear of the sudden rush of bodies as it's looking like there's a medical emergency happening. The other Mathers stay rooted in their chairs watching on with interest.
Shin generally looks a little concerned as everyone seems to flock in to check on her even though she seemed ready to push forward with the interview and press her brothers. He pulls away from whomever has their hands on him though. "I have first aid training, I was already checking her condition," He says in annoyance, trying to see how Connie is doing with all of the attention on her.
"Oh for f$#~'s sake! We're not taking all that s$%$ from the top or anything are we? I get the headache and everyone else is running around like the ice pick is in their skull? Shin, how bad was that from the outside?"
He pushes in close enough to her side to whisper back. "Well, you look pale and feverish to everyone. Was this some magic attack on you?" He asks, looking at the brothers and narrowing his eyes.
"It's nothing my brothers did or are doing. It's not an attack. If you've got some sort of gizmo that instantly cures headaches I'd try it though. Or even if it just works on cramps. All that aside, external view time. Can I go back on looking like this? Or will I look like the only one of Dear Old Dad's kiddos to not toe the party line is strung out on junk?"
b]"Maybe taking ten minutes in makeup to relax might take the edge off,"[/b] Shin suggests. "I didn't think to bring any of my medical tools with me. I have...gum? If that helps?"
Horizon's narrow-eyed stare is met with indifference by most of the siblings until he eyes Tim. He meets Shin's eyes evenly and smirks.
Go ahead and take a condition, Horizon, for that miss
Again Shin finds himself guided away from the scene. "Maybe you'd like to watch from the booth, young man," one of the security staff suggests, though it doesn't sound like a suggestion.
Karli stays in Connie's field of view as she pats some sponges across her brow. "You sure it's just a headache, sweetie? I have some over-the-counter stuff if you'd like."
She has Connie close her eyes as she starts using the big makeup brush. Her voice is soft and reassuring, just like the brush dancing along her cheeks. "You know, sometimes the pressure of the cameras can get to people. Just remember, you're doing great. Gary's going to take good care of you. Keep your eyes on him and try to block everything else out, okay? How about taking a deep breath for me, okay?"
Shin, however, isn't being treated as daintily. The security staff are insistent that he moves away from the stage.
What do you do?
(Taking afraid)
(Assess: Who is in the Greatest Danger (i.e. is this a f&&#ing trap), and what here can I use to cover our escape)
Connie looks around at the state of the studio and her brothers having quiet conversations either amongst themselves or with other network employees. At the moment, the thing in most danger is her reputation as being someone who can keep it together under a bit of pressure. Escape doesn't seem like it would be a problem; she could probably demand to go, leaving Gary with the choice to either edit around her departure or conduct the rest of the interview with her siblings as if she'd never been there in the first place.
Connie's eyes stay relentlessly opens as she blocks Karli's brush with her hand. "Yeah yeah. Just... give me a second."
She fishes out her phone, and quickly types out a reply. Starbucks off 4th. Two hours. Ask your questions there and you'll get your answers. Or don't. Up to you. "Okay. Let's do this. Feeling better already."
Shin thought that she looked like she needed some blankets and a hot bowl of broth, but that was unlikely to happen. He's scowling as he's effectively pulled away from Connie, but doesn't resist as he steps back and continues to worry.
"I get it, we need to give her space," He says through grit teeth. But he can't help but wonder if Connie's paranoia is right and if he needs to step in and get her out of here.
Karli takes a step back. "Yeah. You do look better. Okay, here," she gently tucks a few stray hairs into place and helps her up.
Connie's return to the array of chairs gets the studio back in action. Gary smiles warmly at her and signals for the interview to resume.
Once the lighting and sound is re-checked, he begins. "Don't worry. Magic happens in the editing booth. So, let's continue.
"William, when were you adopted?"
He does some calculation in his head. "About thirty-two years ago. Give or take. I was thirteen, and a refugee orphan from one of Rodovka's internecine struggles. It certainly changed the trajectory of my life."
Gary nods, absorbed in his story. "I could only imagine. Jean-Paul, what about you? When were you adopted? "
Sitting up from his slight slouch, he shrugs. "Fifteen years ago, I think. It was a surprise to me, since I was almost sixteen when he adopted me. But, you know, that's what he did."
Gary turns to Connie. "And let's hear from you. When were you adopted?"
"When I was eleven years, eleven months, and eleven days old. Or right after he picked out this one," she points her thumb at Tim with a bitter smile. "Right before he got going on taking him home though."
Gary quirks a smile at all the elevens. "That's unusual." He tries to parse out the timeline. "So, you say that your father picked out Tim first for adoption, but then adopted you ahead of him. Interesting. Do you know why?"
Tim smirks at the question, but it's similarly bitter. "That's... family business." He glares at Connie briefly -- a familiar look that conveys his ire that he might be denied a glorious destiny and it's all her fault. It's gone in a moment.
William clears his throat. "What my youngest brother means is that our father had his reasons for everything he did. It's common for practitioners of magic. Think of common everyday activities like horoscopes, Feng Shui, magnets, and the like. Most of those have their roots in actual magical practices. For someone Gifted, following those rituals can produce verifiable results. So, the order in which he adopted us was... no doubt important."
Gary nods sagely. "All right. We've talked some about how the man was as a father. But what about his life before that? Do you know where he learned magic? What was his own upbringing like?"
As Shin watches from the sidelines and avoids getting checked by security again, he takes a look at the brothers, trying to read their reactions from this line of questioning. Of the three, he felt that Jean-Paul was probably the one whose motives were the most vague. Could he potentially be an ally?
13 on PtM, focusing on Jean-Paul: What are you really planning? What do you intend to do? How could I get you to support Conflux?
Sorry for your really good roll, but I don't think it's possible to glean those answers from Jean-Paul's actions and demeanor. He's closed off, short in his answers and flat in his affect. Which at the very least tells him that he's trying to be secretive not just to outside observers like Horizon, but also his own siblings.
"...I don't think I can tell you anything that's not already in the public record. The Matherses and the Westcotts have been around a while, and, evidently, here we are still. If you're looking for more, you could take a WASPy background, season with Eton and at least a dash of Blavatsky, and who knows, you might even be right. But best to do digging on his early secrets with people who were there and can talk about it."
William leans forward. "Our father was apprenticed to very accomplished arcanists, including Doctor Infinity. After Infinity's disappearance, he traveled the globe dealing with magical threats and phenomena. Unfortunately for him, magic does not draw the same accolades as your science or meta heroes."
Jean-Paul crosses his arms and rolls his eyes. "A lovely spin on Dear Old Dad's life, Will. Yeah, he traveled the world. And yeah, he 'dealt' with magical threats," he says using air quotes. "But a lot of those were only threats to him. Because he kept making deals and bargains. Demons, fae, boggards, angels, daemons, even entities that will drive you insane if you know enough about them... Dad didn't discriminate who he'd screw over."
Connie gives Jean-Paul a hard side eye. I... Am surprised he's going into that level of detail in such a public venue without being cut off.
Similar surprised looks appear on William's and Tim's faces.
Jean-Paul continues like no one is reacting. "So, yeah. But what's really impressive is that all his kids are similarly pieces of trash. Even me. And even this one," he juts his thumb in Connie's direction, "who loves to pretend to be a hero. But Constance is just as f&!#ed up as the rest of us."
"He gets bleeped for saying f%~% too, right? I'm not sure I'm the focus of today's little confab, but uh, is being a hero somehow not allowed if you're f#*#ed up?"
Gary gives Connie an annoyed look. "We can bleep a one-off expletive, but please refrain from stringing them together." He resumes his interested expression. "This is revelatory. Were none of you aware of your father's history? Why haven't any of you mentioned this before? William Westcott Mathers making deals with demons?"
Shin looks a bit relieved to see that Jean-Paul is taking pressure off of Connie here and getting the focus now. Though he's quiet and not drawing any attention to himself since he doesn't want to get kicked out.
Connie looks up at the ceiling while trying to word her answer. "I'm not describing what our father did as moral, sane, or even smart. However, oversimplifying extradimensional beings for a broad audience poses its own dangers. There's a lot of baggage associated with different sorts of creatures, and when people assume they know the rules because things seem to align with a mythic framework that they're passably familiar with, they can get in a Lot of trouble. It can also encourage people to assume that every person with a reminiscent name or appearance is truly a representative of that supernatural ordo, and that brings its own prejudicial troubles, even if your only link to angelic or demonic beings is cosmetic. "
Tim laughs, an infectious, charismatic chuckle. "You're going to put the audience to sleep, going on like that. Seriously, give the editors a break." He turns to Gary. "What she means is, there are entities out there depicted in popular culture far differently than what they actually are. And since most people get their information from movies and shows, the misconceptions can get you into trouble.
"Just like how superhero movies don't get it right." He turns to the camera with a smile. "Except for Behind the Mask, of course." That gets a laugh from Gary and the crew.
"Yeah, so while 'bargaining with demons' is something we generally default to being a bad thing for pretty solid reasons to be fair, you really want to look at the details of what's getting used as payment, and for what before you decide that a pact with the fae or with angelic beings is any better.
"There's a lot of different things that can demand your firstborn child, and in my not particularly humble opinion, they should all be told to get f-, uh, stuffed."
Tim raises his hand. "Um, isn't there a demon on your team now?"
"See that's what I'm talking about. Cosmetics can make people trust or mistrust even when there's nothing morally or ethically attached to them. Devil Diva has a provocative name, and a provocative look, but she's fought as a hero, even when persecuted for her appearance."
Wearing a "gotcha" smile, Tim continues, "So which is it? Is it all right to make deals with devils? And to put them on your team? Or should we avoid them?"
"You're the only one saying she's a devil, Tiny Tim."
"Just me and her agents, cape watchers, teammates... you... or does she not go by Devil Diva?"
Connie snorts and rolls her eyes. "You must get really confused at sports games."
Shin can't help but crack a smile at Connie's retort.
==============
The Actual Broadcast, just recently:
After the W-HCY logo appears, giant letters flash across the screen displaying The Grist with Gary Grumman along with bombastic music. A montage of the seasoned reporter nodding along or asking hard-hitting questions to a number of heads of state, celebrities, and superheroes in the show's intro. Then the camera zooms in to a studio with several people sitting in a semi-circle around Gary Grummond himself.
Gary plies his practiced smile. "Good evening, and welcome to the final episode of Halcyon Today's look into William Westscott Mathers: sorcerous revolutionary or megalomaniacal magician?
"I'm joined by several of Mathers' family -- before he allegedly pitted himself against the Alliance of Heroes, he was first and foremost a family man. Adopting children from across the globe, he was clearly more than your typical despot with plans for world domination."
The cameras pan across the guests. "Joining me today are four of his seven children. William Junior, Jean-Paul, Constance, and Tim Mathers."
Gary turns to William. "As the second eldest here in the studio, let's start with you. You've known William Westscott Mathers the longest. Is he the villain the Alliance says he is?"
William's face is stern as he regards Gary. "Of course not. I'm fully aware that there's going to be a perceived bias in my experience with my father. I mean, how can my word compare with those of actual Alliance members? I can only hope that my twenty-seven years of experience with my father will lend some credence to what I say: he only has Humanity's interests at heart. Magic is a gift that should not be locked away."
Gary tilts his head in interest. "Fascinating. Is this sentiment shared by the rest of you?"
Tim jumps in immediately. "Oh, of course. Think about it; they teach math, science, literature in school. Why not magic? Because there's not enough of it to go around. Dad was going to change all that."
"Yeah. And all out of the goodness of his heart. Look, whether or not the magic should be out there is a really complicated topic... Which is exactly why that's where his water-carriers are trying to take you. Demons. Abductions. Funneling that power in a transparently self-interested way.
"Discuss."
Gary follows up on Connie's statement. "That's a good point. The Alliance's official statement was that William Mathers -- senior -- was not providing magic to all, but magic to a chosen few. His chosen few."
Tim responds quickly. "I don't remember the part in history class where the whole world got together and voted to lock magic away. Oh, right. Because it didn't happen. But Doctor Infinity did just that. And others before him. Houdini. Maskelyne. Herrmann. All the way back to Merlin. Taking it upon themselves to keep magic from the masses."
"You say that," Gary says, "but how was this not a power grab? And why not tell people first? Get support? Jean-Paul? You've been quiet so far. What do you say?"
The middle Mathers child stirs at being thrust into the spotlight. "Well, Dad's always been, you know, close to the chest."
"And it's ridiculous to believe that the released magic would be available to everyone," William interjects. "It takes study. Discipline. Practice. Just like not everyone can be a doctor, or an engineer, not everyone can become a sorcerer just because magic was reintroduced. Only those willing to put in the time and effort."
"Again, really not interested in getting dragged into philosophical questions about the availability of potentially dangerous resources at this juncture. Even if you subscribe to the idea that giving himself phenomenal power that lesser beings don't deserve is a noble thing * * cough, cough, fascist* *, he still had to capture and abuse children to make it work."
Tim scoffs at Connie. "'Capture and abuse children'? Are you serious? Do you really think Dad's capable of that?"
He turns to Gary, leaning forward. "Constance has some problems with authority. Oppositional defiance. Just like how she couldn't even agree to a simple seating arrangement without her having to move us around."
"Connie, and our father's a capable guy after all. And what, you're saying Captain Stalwart completely misunderstood that whole situation? His jaw-ship himself? Now who has the issue with authority."
William sighs. "Captain Stalwart is a great many things, but an expert in magic he is not. I'm sure he's being quite sincere, but remember most of the available information from the Alliance is from Feya Firestorm -- a neophyte member of that team of aliens, robots, and enhanced individuals."
"Mr. Mathers, the Alliance has defended this world from countless threats. Are you truly sure your father was not one of them?" Gary asks pointedly.
"That, of course, is yet to be decided in a court of law. I understand the rush to label someone as the next big villain of Halcyon -- especially an older, white male. They make excellent villains, don't they? -- But until all the information is in, weighed, and judged, I simply am not ready to accept such a label on our adoptive father. And it shames me that some of my siblings are so willing." He casts a side eye at Connie.
"Oh jesus f@$~ing christ tell me you're not going to complain that our father is getting 'cancelled' for something as petty as, you know, the abduction of children. Look, you're not gonna catch me disrespecting the man here, but I also can't just lie. I can't lie about what I saw, and I can't lie about the kind of man he is. No matter what else you might think about his whole grand design, that's what he was doing."
The camera focuses on Gary, smiling unctuously. "Interesting. The question still remains whether William Westscott Mathers is a supervillain or not. Yet, interestingly, he is a family man focused on adopting children from all walks of life. Let's explore that.
"William, when were you adopted?"
He does some calculation in his head. "About thirty-two years ago. Give or take. I was thirteen, and a refugee orphan from one of Rodovka's internecine struggles. It certainly changed the trajectory of my life."
Gary nods, absorbed in his story. "I could only imagine. Jean-Paul, what about you? When were you adopted? "
Sitting up from his slight slouch, he shrugs. "Fifteen years ago, I think. It was a surprise to me, since I was almost sixteen when he adopted me. But, you know, that's what he did."
Gary turns to Connie. "And let's hear from you. When were you adopted?"
"When I was eleven years, eleven months, and eleven days old. Or right after he picked out this one," she points her thumb at Tim with a bitter smile. "Right before he got going on taking him home though."
Gary quirks a smile at all the elevens. "That's unusual." He tries to parse out the timeline. "So, you say that your father picked out Tim first for adoption, but then adopted you ahead of him. Interesting. Do you know why?"
Tim smirks at the question, but it's similarly bitter. "That's... family business." He glares at Connie briefly -- a familiar look that conveys his ire that he might be denied a glorious destiny and it's all her fault. It's gone in a moment.
William clears his throat. "What my youngest brother means is that our father had his reasons for everything he did. It's common for practitioners of magic. Think of common everyday activities like horoscopes, Feng Shui, magnets, and the like. Most of those have their roots in actual magical practices. For someone Gifted, following those rituals can produce verifiable results. So, the order in which he adopted us was... no doubt important."
Gary nods sagely. "All right. We've talked some about how the man was as a father. But what about his life before that? Do you know where he learned magic? What was his own upbringing like?"
"...I don't think I can tell you anything that's not already in the public record. The Matherses and the Westcotts have been around a while, and, evidently, here we are still. If you're looking for more, you could take a WASPy background, season with Eton and at least a dash of Blavatsky, and who knows, you might even be right. But best to do digging on his early secrets with people who were there and can talk about it."
William leans forward. "Our father was apprenticed to very accomplished arcanists, including Doctor Infinity. After Infinity's disappearance, he traveled the globe dealing with magical threats and phenomena. Unfortunately for him, magic does not draw the same accolades as your science or meta heroes."
Jean-Paul crosses his arms and rolls his eyes. "A lovely spin on Dear Old Dad's life, Will. Yeah, he traveled the world. And yeah, he 'dealt' with magical threats," he says using air quotes. "But a lot of those were only threats to him. Because he kept making deals and bargains. Demons, fae, boggards, angels, daemons, even entities that will drive you insane if you know enough about them... Dad didn't discriminate who he'd screw over."
Connie gives Jean-Paul a hard side eye. I... Am surprised he's going into that level of detail in such a public venue without being cut off.
Similar surprised looks appear on William's and Tim's faces.
Jean-Paul continues like no one is reacting. "So, yeah. But what's really impressive is that all his kids are similarly pieces of trash. Even me. And even this one," he juts his thumb in Connie's direction, "who loves to pretend to be a hero. But Constance is just as f&*+ed up as the rest of us."
Gary resumes his interested expression. "This is revelatory. Were none of you aware of your father's history? Why haven't any of you mentioned this before? William Westcott Mathers making deals with demons?"
Connie looks up at the ceiling while trying to word her answer. "I'm not describing what our father did as moral, sane, or even smart. However, oversimplifying extradimensional beings for a broad audience poses its own dangers. There's a lot of baggage associated with different sorts of creatures, and when people assume they know the rules because things seem to align with a mythic framework that they're passably familiar with, they can get in a Lot of trouble. It can also encourage people to assume that every person with a reminiscent name or appearance is truly a representative of that supernatural ordo, and that brings its own prejudicial troubles, even if your only link to angelic or demonic beings is cosmetic. "
Tim laughs, an infectious, charismatic chuckle. He turns to Gary. "What she means is, there are entities out there depicted in popular culture far differently than what they actually are. And since most people get their information from movies and shows, the misconceptions can get you into trouble.
"Just like how superhero movies don't get it right." He turns to the camera with a smile. "Except for Behind the Mask, of course." That gets a laugh from Gary and the crew.
"Yeah, so while 'bargaining with demons' is something we generally default to being a bad thing for pretty solid reasons to be fair, you really want to look at the details of what's getting used as payment, and for what before you decide that a pact with the fae or with angelic beings is any better.
"There's a lot of different things that can demand your firstborn child, and in my not particularly humble opinion, they should all be told to get f-, uh, stuffed."
Tim raises his hand. "Um, isn't there a demon on your team now?"
"See that's what I'm talking about. Cosmetics can make people trust or mistrust even when there's nothing morally or ethically attached to them. Devil Diva has a provocative name, and a provocative look, but she's fought as a hero, even when persecuted for her appearance."
Wearing a "gotcha" smile, Tim continues, "So which is it? Is it all right to make deals with devils? And to put them on your team? Or should we avoid them?"
"You're the only one saying she's a devil, Tiny Tim."
"Just me and her agents, cape watchers, teammates... you... or does she not go by Devil Diva?"
b]"Good lord, William, I knew you were getting up there but are you that old?! Even if you're still on Bing, if you put in 'who is Conflux' you get pictures of my un-masked face! And some links to an IT consulting and analytics firm. No affiliation. I'm not gonna get into specifics about a situation that's quite literally pending trial-"[/b] She squeezes her eyes shut tight against a sudden pulse from the migraine that had been building in her brain for hours.
Tim leans back, appraising his distressed sibling with a curious eye. "I remember that look. You still gotta go all the way to the breaking point, don't you?" He snickers in amusement. "And you always break."
"Interesting," Gary muses as the cameras focus on him nodding with a clear "deep in thought" expression. "Is Westscott Mathers a villain? Or a misunderstood mage, trying to rekindle magic in the world? Certainly a puzzle for the courts, and, quite possibly, the court of public opinion."
The camera zooms out as the studio darkens around everyone except for Gary. "Amazing to think that magic could be a source of power for everyone. That magicians and sorcerers could be revered at the same level as our scientists and captains of industry. But at what cost? Mathers is accused of horrible crimes, including the kidnapping of children. If that is what's necessary to bring magic to us all, is that truly worth it? Or, are there other ways, perhaps even known to those who would otherwise protect us? Are they seeking to protect us from ourselves, and making those decisions for us? These are the questions that need answers. Thanks for watching, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Gary Grummond, and follow me next time on Halcyon Today."
William strikes the shaman with another arrow, eliciting another grunt of pain. The shaman follows the remaining morlocks down the cliff face into the darkness as they all retreat from the martial prowess of the heroes of Phaendar.
They're all clambering down the side of the great chasm to get away from you, effectively retreating. You can try to chase them or take ranged pot shots, but for the most part the battle is over and this morlock tribe is mostly destroyed.
Caio looks at the papers and sees they're full of legalese. When he gets to the end he sees that probate court Judge Ivan Ramos has ordered Karina to be evaluated at the Halcyon County Mental Hospital.
"Screwing them? That's rich," Thaddeus sneers. He holds up another envelope and throws it down on the table. "Results from the paternity test. I am not your father."
Skyler doesn't react, staying close to her mother. Karina keeps her hands over her ears and shaking her head, muttering.
"Since my name's on the birth certificate, legally I have to support you until you're eighteen. Thankfully, that's right around the corner. Then I'm done with you."
Skyler's eyes seethe with hate. She turns to the officers. "Can I go with her?"
"You can go back to school! I'm still paying for it!" Thaddeus shouts.
One of the officers steps over to Thaddeus in an effort to calm him down. The attorney also puts a hand on his arm. "You've made your point. How about letting the police take over?" Thaddeus relents and moves to the kitchen.
Skyler turns back to her mother and gives her a fierce hug. "We're going to fight this! We'll be okay! I promise!"
It's a whirlwind, but in minutes Skyler and Caio are on the street, watching the transport van drive her mother away.
Skyler and her mother both accept the tea gratefully. While Karina begins weaving the long pink hair into a thick braid, Skyler gives Caio a curt shake of her head in answer to his question about cameras. "No. Not on the inside."
The two fall silent while Skyler's mother skillfully braids. By the time when she reaches the end and is about to tie off the end so it doesn't unravel, the house's security system beeps to signify a vehicle in the driveway.
The door opens before Skyler can stand up to check on the door. Thaddeus strides in, along with a man in a business suit and two police officers.
"Dad!!" Skyler shrieks when she sees the police. "What are you--?"
"Why are you here?!?" Thaddeus cuts her off, then immediately points to Caio. "And what is he doing here?"
"No! Dad! What are the police doing here? And who's that?" Skyler shouts, on the verge of panic. Karina slaps her hands over her ears and starts moaning at the shouting.
Thaddeus puts his hands up and softens his voice. "You weren't supposed to be here for this. This is Mr. Granger; he's making sure all the paperwork is final so your mother can go someplace where she'll be cared for."
Skyler looks stricken, and for a moment she can't form a coherent thought. The police officers begin to step forward, and Skyler moves to stand between them and her mother. "No! What are you doing!?! You can't take her from me!!"
The officers hold up their hands in a placating gesture. "Calm down, Sweetie. You'll be all right. But we have orders from a judge, okay? She's just going to a hospital for evaluation."
Mr. Granger pulls out a thick stack of papers. "It's all right here from the probate court."
Skyler looks wildly from one face to another, her face a mask of horror. Thaddeus turns to Caio. "Why don't you go to her, make sure she doesn't do anything that'll cause her problems?"
What does he do??
==============
That week
As First Class begins to turn their attention and training towards an infiltration mission, Shin observes that Valerie is not in school. The officers that day left empty-handed, and she doesn't immediately return.
After dropping off the phones to his classmates, Shin notices a pair of adults moving through the cafeteria. Based on their swagger, he pegs them as plainclothes officers. When he glances over to the jock table, Valerie is gone.
===================
Caio and Skyler
The park doesn't help Skyler feel better, though Caio's words do calm her down from her near panic. After walking a while in the bitter cold, she makes up her mind. "I need to go home. I need to talk to Mom, see how she's doing. And I really need to talk to Todd. I'd like for you to come along."
Later, at the Worrell household:
"Mom!" Skyler shouts the moment she uses her key to open the door. "Mom! It's me!"
"In the parlor, Dear," a voice calls from inside the house.
Skyler shrugs out of her coat and leaves it on the floor as she kicks off her boots. She dashes through the house until she finds her mother in a small sitting room. She gives her mom a hug.
"Is it the weekend already?" her mom asks.
"No, Mom. I came home because of, you know. The divorce. I can't believe Dad would -- we're going to fight this. You hear me?"
Karina looks at her daughter blankly. "Fight who, Sweetheart? Oh! I like your hair! Can I braid it? I'll get my brush!"
A bout of impatience hits Skyler, but she lets it pass. With a sigh, she sighs and waits for her mother to come back with a hairbrush. She sits dutifully, looking at Caio with apologetic eyes while her mother begins running the brush through her long pink locks.
"No, what's this about? Who's getting a divorce?"
"Mom, you texted me. Remember?"
"Oh, the legal thing. It's just an annulment. Your father explained everything. It's so technical."
Skyler squeezes her eyes shut. "An annulment is a divorce, Mom! Dad wants to break up with you!"
Karina's hand pauses mid-brush stroke. "It's... he said it's for the best." Her brow furrows as she tries to concentrate.
"Who's best? Mom! Don't tell me you signed anything!" Skyler twists in her seat to look at her mother, fresh tears starting to fall.
She stares off into space. "I... might have. I don't remember."
Skyler whimpers, but turns back around and lets her mother continue brushing her hair.
Skyler squeezes Caio again, sniffling. She nods wordlessly at his suggestion and goes with him away from campus.
==============
Mae + Fae
Fae listens, appearing skeptical at first but starts leaning in closely to hear the plans to keep the attention on the Pixites.
"I know you said you'd help, but I was planning on making sure you did. The humans have a saying, 'There's no such thing as bad publicity.'"
She leans back and folds her arms, giving her hair a toss with a shake of her head. "Okay. We can meet, and talk. Sister."
==============
Shin+Valerie:
Valerie continues getting dressed while Shin makes plans, squeezing into a black pair of skinny jeans, a black top and a dark jacket over that. She rolls her eyes as she flips her hair out from the jacket. "Oh, please. You don't have to worry; remember, this was my life for two years."
She returns the kiss, but holds up a hand. "Nuh-uh. One: I don't slap. Two: you're a better fighter than me anyway. Three: I still have Rufus and Hogan's strength from the other night. I might put you through a wall."
Connie: you ok?
Connie: that wasn't like a fun experience, but I dont' think anyone else got like forcibly darksided
Connie: so how you feeling
Percy: No... and uh.. still like s%+@ honestly. I can't
There is a lengthy pause between the next text
Percy: Sorry dropped my phone, I can't believe I was so stupid to trust any of them or your brother again.
Connie: you know what they say:
Fool me once, shame on you
Fool me twice, that's so mean! Why the heck would you do that!
...
Connie: (sorry)
Connie: if it helps, i have been punished for trusting where I shouldn'tve a lot more than twice
Connie: so it's not cause you're stupid
Connie: cause I'm hella smart
Connie: hey you wanna get some fresh air and sunshine while we do this?
Connie: and provide an extra layer of protection for an experiment?
Connie: (fresh air sunlight and exercise is the most annoying releaver of depression/related stuff)
There are several moments of typing silence, and then typing, before finally something comes through.
Percy: I doooo still kind of owe you that flight. It'd probably also be better to talk in person with someone experiencing any kind of duress..... Pretty sure I read that in one of my psychology books for college.
Connie: Great, near the docks?
***
Down at the docks, Connie is in a typically weather insensitive outfit - dayglo green crop top and loudly nylon harem pants, with an ominously long rope.
"You're not allergic to jute, right? It's a very rare allergy, but always better to ask in advance."
Percy arrives with as little fanfare as he can manage, utilizing his ability to shrink down to avoid most notice. He is as usual now days not wearing anything in his odd mostly forced nudist life style.
"I don't think so? Also I've gotta talk about Kyana's player and what I think Umboriax promised. It can wait though."
Eyeing all of her things he hesitates to ask, "What's the rope for?"
"Unlike Khaleesi I don't want to hold on via spike up the backside. And a saddle's too sexual."
Percy raises a clawed digit to retailiate but catches himself mid-breath with a cocked eyeridge. "Yeah no actually that's fair. So, should I just.. I dunno."
He lays down. "Lay down like this?"
Quickly Connie runs the thin rope into a series of patterns that look more like cat's cradle than a proper knot until the rope spins to life and snakes one end tightly around Percy and the other looping tightly around Connie as a harness.
She holds up some dayglo orange putty and asks, "So we can talk while we're up there. Sending or ear goop?"
Percy looks instantly uncomfortable with the rope, slamming a paw on it before it can encoil him like those damn chains.
"Whoa whoa whoa." Connie grabs the rope, cracks it like a glowstick, and it goes limp and slides off them.
"Okay. Sorry. Bad communication. You okay?"
"What?! I mean uh.. yeah no..no.. yeah."
He takes a deep breath tries to relax if only slightly, "No. In the game right before. Before they took the key and I died there were chains and yeah not... not the reaction I thought I'd have sorry."
"S##@. Sorry. F~@!ers."
"Sorry I just... reacted without thinking Connie."
"Bruh you do not have to apologize. Will the rope be okay if you know what's about to happen? I have a plan B"
"You're right sorry I-" he breaths deep and holds it for a moment then exhales slowly.
"I think... maybe I can be okay. I've got spells and everything or I could just hold you. I do have these grabby... hand.... claws... paw things?"
He tilts his head holding one up and rolling his very flexible wrist. "What the f+%$ do we call dragon hands actually?"
"...Paws is good? Or front feet? Probably not in this form . I mean, I've got a plan B." She reaches into her bag and pulls out an airplane seat belt. "Just have to stick it to your back."
He waggles the thumb-like appendage at her. "I mean I have thumbs... anyway um not important. I'm guessing it's not literally being attached yeah?"
"Hmm... thumbs are handy and hand-y... Oh yeah, it'll stick to your back. Otherwise how would it keep me on?"
"I mean like nevermind."
He slowly slides down again allowing himself to return more to his original size which prompts a sigh of relief.
Connie braces herself, hops up, and gently slaps the seat belt against Percy's scales. There's a brief pulse of heat, and then it quickly cools as she fastens it to itself in a little loop nestled next to her.
"Oh yeah, Sending or ear goop?"
"You're secure right?"
He cranes his long neck around to look at her with one eye. "Right? And sending it'll be easier to not use the breath to speak. And the air'll kind of mess your tiny lungs up if you open your mouth to breath when we're going fast."
"Oh I'm secure in all kinds of things."
"Yeah. So uh hold on I guess. Take offs are bumpy."
He turns and signs with one free hand. Connie feels a little extra floaty for a moment. Then he begins running down the clearest path and jumps to take off. This action would shove her down onto his back as the wingbeats carry them skyward.
"So. Being betrayed sucks. Shin and Val didn't do it or anything, right?"
"Shin f#+#ing abandoned me, so depends on how you take that I guess. I thought he died at first. Which is why I went to rip the gates down. I didn't even know Val was in the game, I take it his 'noble sacrifice' was for her benefit?"
He gains altitude slowly so that Connie has time to adjust to the thinning air.
"The adventurers were suspicious from the very beginning, didn't even try to announce their presence after I told the villagers. Who were trying to sacrifice one of their own by the way to tell them to come to my lair. Like come on open invitation."
"Oh we're going high-high. Perce? I don't want to interrupt your flow, but transparently, I don't know enough about what was going on before I bumped into you in the command tent to know... Wait, Shin died too? Damn, good thing no one dies for good in D&D 'cause what, half of First Class died in there?"
Realizing she's gone off on a tangent, she pats Percy's back. "Sorry. Focusing back in.... Oh. So those little s$%~birds were typical f&*&ing adventuring sociopaths and betrayed and murdered you because you were a 'monster' and didn't count, huh?"
"He gave up his key to Kyana. Stood there like a drooling corpse and then waltzed off. And yeah they wanted me dead even after I made it very clear I was wanting to save both worlds. The barbarian or whatever was especially thick skulled. Kept trying to say I lied or something everytime I tried to make the terms of our arrangement clear."
He starts to level out, the skyscrapers were several hundred feet below them ensuring that he'd have plenty of room for manuvering and correcting any issues should they arise. The air was cold obviously and it wouldn't take but a bit longer to rise even higher into the lowest cloud layer, considering some especially low ones were already well within reach.
Perhaps strangely for Connie the air seems to come up from under them as well as from the front.
"Then the with Shin happened. I freaked out, tried to knock down the gate to the inner sanctum, got chained and that bastard thief stole my key. It was like... It was painful, like being stabbed or breaking a bone but in my chest. I wanted the barbarian to kill me then and there. Then the game master gave me a second chance to be another guardian of a key. Could have gone to you or Caio. Figured you'd have things in hand once I ran the situation through my head."
"Aww. I appreciate the trust. So Shin got got because he trusted that the rules of the game/world would be fair. That tracks... Whole thing's still totally f!&~ed though."
"Don't think it was that simple for him, I think it's more he just couldn't be the bad guy. I mean... you know his whole thing about Dusk. He and I share the feeling that it was like having your heart ripped out though. I think he may have also been trying to cover for Val." The wing beats stopped once he felt they were safe to ride the currents completely, which for Connie meant that most of the jostling was gone aside from the occasional gust. Percy himself felt really glad for going out of Halcyon to get flight lessons.
"How were things on your end? I didn't really hear anything about your entire before the tent situation."
"It kinda sucked. I was Princess Constance again, which meant I basically couldn't solve anything, or succeed in anything by myself. Bonus(?) I was probably essentially invulnerable? Not sure though since the world wasn't exactly the same. I definitely wasn't as safe as I used to be. So I had a key that was the one thing keeping my kingdom from falling into demonic corruption. Meanwhile Femtite unaware is the demon in charge of grinding down my will to resist/exist. It turned out her rules on what she could do to me were more expansive than I guessed, so it all took a little longer to circumvent than I expected. First I tried to set up a deal that would call on her to help me for the next week and a day, my own payment to be deferred for that long or until she no longer wished it. Then it turned out she wasn't the kind of demon who did deals. Annoying. So instead I rigged things up to get her to say she hated Chastity, figuring that the dissonance would let her pop her way out.
"It did though I think she just thought the point was saying the name of someone she knew? Unclear. Then we headed off to find Caio, she was still under a compulsion to erode me into giving her my key, I told her I wouldn't do it, we fought, she flew off it turns out to sell her pixie dust and team up with someone else. The coach we were in crashed, I got chased through the woods by the big bad wolf, sicced some rodents of unusual size on him did you know that's from the Princess Bride? Am I the only one who hadn't seen that movie? All of that movie at least. and then you grabbed me through the Shadow Realm."
"Horizon told me the other day that she gave Pixie dust to Quincy, who none of us know the actual motives of in order to body swap. I was talking to Shin about how I feel that she needed to change or leave, especially given her recent behavior."
"I already had my say on that point. It was a bad move, but she has apologized. As long as she does a better job being team-ly going forward, I'm satisfied."
"After saying that, he said I need to either talk to her accept whatever she's got to say, keep trying if I don't like it, or leave the team myself."
"...Honestly? I think doing something to chase her off the team is a pretty strong net negative."
"Could have fooled me, but hey maybe you know something I don't know. But I'm just tired of trying to deal with it especially since it seems to me she doesn't even want our help. I mean did she even thank you for dealing with her planetary annihillation issue?"
"Yeah, she made a special point of thanking all of us right after the mission. She got all choked up. She also then started gaslighting me about Millie, but that's a separate situation where driving Femtite off even more obviously results in a villainous turn."
Connie feels a rumbling hum emanating from Percy, "Shin told me about the fey gate, what about Quincy or you. What happened once you got out?"
"Well... When I got out, I knew that Dear Old Dad and Feya were working the portal and the drain. I didn't know if they'd maybe accidentally unplug everything before everyone was out. So I used the temporary gate system to fast travel over to Quincy/Infinity's old haunt, flipped in and found him. Well, found the d20 first. He was too plugged in, he was dying of exhaustion, of dehydration, of starvation.. the world was sustaining him a bit, but he couldn't take it.
"So I plugged in instead. Didn't end up needing to quarterback as much as I thought, but I think it was still the play."
"So he was killing himself being the forever GM? S@@#. Well I know it may not seem like much, but I hope he's doing better now. As much as I... I just hope he's not too hurt."/b]
Starting a gentle bank to circle around the outer side of Halcyon's airspace he takes the chance to glance back at Connie. [B]"How are you holding up after seeing that, I know you and your brothers probably never see eye to eye, but. Couldn't have been easy seeing him like that."
"I think I'm the single person in the world that he's been cruelest to. Makes it hard to assess him, 'cause I know that he's got friends, and a lot of his wrongs are out of laziness and sloppiness instead of malice. Or Fear. Bit of Ambition too . F~@@! I don't know. It's a lot easier to put him in a box as regards to me."
"Do you I dunno wanna talk about it? You're a little trapped up here with me, so I don't want to pry and make you uncomfortable. Could even swoop down into the skyline if you want a little more excitement."
" OH I WILL FULLY JUMP OFF IF I HAVE TO," she shouted.
"Please don't."
"That doesn't exactly answer either question though, just tells me you're willing to dip at anytime. I know I haven't been in the best place, and you tend to not want to talk deep in group sessions. But helping you might help me and vice versa sort of situation you know?"
(8 C&S)
"...He's the only one that hated me. Abe loves me but not enough, William jr. disdains me, who the f%&& knows what Seth really thinks about anything, Jean-Paul thinks I'm funny, but otherwise doesn't think about me much I think. Tim's basically a walking sneer, but Quincy just f!&%ing hates me. Hated me at least. I was this walking reminder that whatever Dad promised him wasn't going to come true.
"And I was weaker than him. It didn't take long before I could make an abjuration training wand work if I had one, but that was about it. You'd never get in trouble training with a sibling as long as they could walk away."
"So attempted murder and brutality was totally okay so long as you could limp back to the dinner table? Connie that's f#&+ed up. Not even sure what to say beyond that.
Indy started to slowly tilt downward towards the city proper it'd be a bit till they got down to the towering buildings again, but that would give Connie time to decompress.
"'Attempted murder' wasn't okay at all. It means you were trying to break the rules and you didn't even succeed. "
Making a whistle sound that sounds pretty clearly even at these air speeds Indy folds his wings slightly causing much of the sound of his wings catching air stop, and the sudden gut lifting sensation of quickly diving started. "Hold on tight
Only a few seconds later the leathery appendages opened up and immediately filled with air to slow their descent, now fully in Halcyon's skyscrapers there was a lot more play with Connie being pushed down into Indy's back as he turned around the narrow by comparison city streets. "Scuffed is scuffed no matter which way you break it."
"Spoken like a guy with enough power to make up the difference. Figuring out exactly how and along what lines things break matters to me."
10 ptm what do you want me to do(To help you)? what do you intend to do? how could I get your character to Open up about what's eating at you?
Connie wants Percy to: Stop blaming himself for what was done to him
Percy could get Connie to open up (more than she already is on this flight by: Figuring out what's wrong and not letting her deflect out of it
She intends to: Get Percy to feel better by giving him space to take his mind off his own problems
"What I'm saying is, you aren't in that situation now. You don't have to hide it from the people who care about you the most. The ones who actually want to help you grow and get better, the ones who aren't going to skirt the edge of some dumb rule just to hurt you."
He levels out along a long straight road and Connie can feel a great rumbling in his chest and throat before he speaks aloud for the first time this flight.
"I suppose I should take that same advice though." He can't let his wings wilt especially now that they were in flight and he couldn't let his emotions get the better of him. "I know you all want me to feel okay about things it's just hard to accept. Caio may be really s+%+ at making up metaphors but he may be onto something about the monster at the bottom of the water well."
They begin to gain altitude again, climbing back out of the city streets. "But if I'm going to do better at that, then I need you to do something for me Connie. A straight answer an actual conversation where you don't try to hide behind the snark. I don't want you to feel like you can't open up to us just because you've had s@*!ty people do it in the past. You're my friend among other things, and I care about you. I want you to grow. I want you to feel safe, to be safe. I want you to feel like you can actually talk to me about all the weird f%@$ed up s%&@ that you need to get off your chest."
Once they leveled out in the mild updraft above the city he cranes his neck back to look at her, "I love you Connie. Not in the I wanna ravish you nightly way, but you know.." He glances away from her slightly feeling kind of dumb for saying it.
"You deserve better than me, Percy. I wish I could give you what you want."
I wanted to make a comment about Connie not having felt safe as long as he'd known her, but then I remembered that when things were good with Femtite, she really *did* feel safe. But making a comment about not having felt safe since things went bad with Femtite is too blamey sounding lol
Connie begins to feel a familiar weightlessness as Indy's wings stop but they don't seem to lose any altitude, "Connie-" He begins reaching around towards his back with an open upturned paw, his wings folding back as the magic takes hold of them "Come here please, you won't fall."
Connie takes his paw without flinching, loose pants flapping in the wind as she stands on the air. "You know I'm not afraid to fall, right?"
Pulling Connie to his front he cradles her gently between both of his 'hands' "I know you aren't. Even if you didn't have your protective charms or my own around you I wouldn't let you fall anyway. That's what I've been trying to say. You already give me what I want, a friend who I can open up to about some of the deeper issues without judgement. I need you to know and hopefully accept that I'm here for when you need the same. You don't have to carry the weight of it all on your own. So please, tell me how I can help."
Connie just looks incredibly tired. "Honestly man? I'm kinda running out of ways to try to do this..." She takes a deep breath. "Okay, so. You know I lived for like-" she waggles her hand "-two years on the street, right? I'd gotten out of Dear Old Dad's house 'cause it's not like I could fight him or my brothers, and I knew that the longer I was gone, the harder it would go on me if I got taken back. So I had to stay moving, avoid doing attention drawing things like stealing etc., but early on I didn't have as many boltholes set up or repeat customers to fall back on. Anyways, I'd helped this guy Veniamin with a whole tax fraud scheme which is not any of the points of this story in exchange for some free meals. But a bunch of things had fallen through, and it was winter, and I didn't have my anti-weather wards as anything more than a theory, and I really needed a discreet, safe bed."
Her left hand flexes and twitches while she chooses her words. "And I couldn't just go up to this guy and say-" she screws up her face, visibly powering through the unpleasantness of what she's about to say "- 'Hey my dad's an abusive a!+&!@@ and I'm on the run from him, and I really need help. I don't drink, I don't do drugs, I'm not gonna steal from you, but I can't lie to you and tell you that there's nowhere else I could go 'cause I do have a home, it's just not somewhere safe to sleep. I can't lie to you and say that it's totally safe to take me in either, even if I don't want to hurt you. Back then, I couldn't say any of that. It was just all this secret hurt that was too big to make it out of my mouth. Like... I don't think I could've even said that my Dad hurt me if you all hadn't literally seen him throw me into a wall. Sometimes, something has to not be a secret before you can talk about it." "But Venya didn't ask. He just saw that I was staying in my booth, hoping there wouldn't be a rush that meant he'd throw me out for taking up tablespace, and he walked up and handed me a spare key to his place upstairs. He just told me that I needed somewhere better than his smelly old booth to nod off, and... he was right."
She flicks a thumb along her fingernails. "He was right, and it wasn't a secret if he could see it; I didn't have to deflect and dance around what I couldn't talk about, all I had to do was take the key. I hadn't realized someone could do that for me. I don't know if I'd be dead, but I wouldn't be where and who I am right now without that."
Percy just looks at Connie in his hands for the length of her story and then for a bit longer afterwards, with an exhale he lowers his head into a slight bow. "I... think I get it, but I'm no good at guessing games. Especially when it comes to you Connie. I know not everything is alright, can see it in the way you hold yourself alot of the time. But that doesn't mean I know why. I don't know if taking your dad down a peg would help or what and I'm really at a loss here. Hell maybe it's not something I can fix or even help fix, but I'll keep trying if you want me to." He seems unsure what to do or say in the moment and contemplates just moving her back towards his back.
Connie still looks tired and a little bit... Smaller. "Yeah. I know. If it were easier to talk about what I can't talk about, then we'd be in a whole different situation. I guess... I want you to keep trying, but Believe me, I know how exhausting it is to try and fail at this over and over."
Percy nods a little bit, "Yeah, but you guys don't seem to wanna give up on me. So I'd be a pretty s!@!ty person if I gave up on you. Baby steps or something ya know, maybe just try one thing new everytime we talk even if it's small maybe it'll eventually coalesce into a bigger picture."
"...I think you need to take me seriously about what was so important in that last story... And I know I know there's all this 'take someone literally but not seriously, or seriously but not literally, but just... I dunno. Do whatever combo you think you haven't tried enough."
His eyes search for something for a bit before narrowing ever so slightly at Connie.
"Do you... are you trying to say you literally can't talk about certain things? Like a compulsion put in place by your dad?"
Connie just looks at him, blinking laconically.
"Are you just guessing stuff?"
Percy makes to speak, but whatever sound he had planned to make dies in his throat as a held back hiss. So he relies on their mental connection again. He nods ever so slightly
"I think the fey geas has my mind pulling towards similar explanations so, yes. Sorry I just..."
He picks through the words slowly even across the mental bridge" Am obviously not good at figuring this sort of stuff out, your stuff. I'm trying but it's difficult to tell if that's what you want, if you want me to just leave things as they are, or just accept that I can't do anything yet."
A defeated huff escapes him, "Would you... mind if I looked, just in case?"
Connie bunches up her legs and kicks Percy in the chest as hard as she can, flinging herself backwards out of his grasp and down towards the city below.
As she falls she's immediately in motion. A hard jerk rips one of her earrings out of the cartilage, and Percy feels the flight spell on her snap. A few more quick motions and all of her even slightly removable jewelry flies off of her body and onto a carabiner which she hurls above herself out of reach. Finally, she grabs her loose canvas pants by the waist, whipping them off and hurling them to the side where they immediately fill with air, inflatably drifting down safely through the sky, getting farther and farther from Connie as she plummets.
"Are you going to ask questions? Or are you going to save me?"
Percy is taken aback by the kick but due to the nature of the spellwork at hand barely budges as he watches Connie zip off into the sky, well at least she'll- JUST GET RID OFF ALL HER WARDS AND MY SPELLWORK!
As she makes to ask him she doesn't even get halfway through before he's cut his own part of the spell and starts nosing down into a dive with his arms, legs, fins, and wings tucked close to his body. He similarly drops like a rock coiling in on himself to roll his body in a downward path, like liquid metal. His eyes never loose focus of her for a second thanks to the nictitating membrane allowing him to deal with high speed air without the need to blink. Having not flown back up to the extremes they were at before, the window of opportunity was much shorter here, but on approach he reached out to catch and break Connie's rapid descent after passing and readjusting his own pace to meet her own.
Curling his hands around her he finally breaks eye contact to see they are danger close to the quickly approaching sky scrapers. He pulls Connie to his chest and fully opens his wings causing air to fill them with a leathery snap, from her place held close to him the strain on the muscles in his chest was clear, his lower body flung out from behind to now be the closer ground facing half. A controlled descent could be difficult at this level of strain and his lessons with Glasswing taught him that while he and her could likely withstand the high force of a sudden stop due to their physiology it would smash most normal people or seriously injury them even when cushioned.
With the air whistling in his wings he collided with the edge of one of the skyscrapers with his back legs shattering the concrete siding and likely spooking those on the top floor, but using it to roll off the side instead of careening down into the next building in sequence. A quick spoken word and thrum from his chest told Connie he had cast a spell after the collision, one that halted the fall of the now broken skyscraper bits. Tucking his wings and twisting to put his front back ahead of him while distribute the vectors of their velocity more evenly, thus dragging down g-force more safely. he quickly reoriented his angle to go down the street and opened them again and pulled hard around the upcoming corner.
He flew for a few minutes with Connie pressed to his chest before finally setting down in a secluded area his heart pounding. He sat back on his hind legs propped by his tail before slowly peeling her away from his chest to look at her in his hands. "Please be okay.. Connie?"
Connie looks up at him fiercely but stays silent. The haze of her many, many talismans is gone, but Indarius can still feel a small, answering thrum of magic from within the girl in his arms.
Despite the sharpness of her eyes, she looks more than a little woozy.
Percy finally let's out a breath he'd apparently held for a while now, "Why would you ever- Of course I'm just going to save you when there's not a question to ask!" He finally actually blinks, "Come on you'll catch your death out here like this."
He brought her back up to himself, but didn't press her against his chest quite so tightly. Weaving one spell around them and another which sounded like the taletell signs of a portal being opened. He looked down to see her shake her head and frowned but let her speak before he moved on.
She looks at him, hard. Her head sways a little; she seems nauseous. She doesn't speak at first, and when she does there's a slight slur to it. "Stop asking if I'm comfortable in the booth, and give me the key."
A familiar wvorp happens as the portal apparently closes. "I feel like I just need to hand you the entire keyring sometimes. Right now I think it's the one that says let's see if you have any lasting injuries from that tumble, warm clothes, and a lesson on not scaring the s@@# out of your friends to get the point across. Unless you've got another hairbrained way to tell me something?"
"Fall didn't hurt me. Coldsh not gonna, not gonna do it either. Don't. Waste. This." Desperation edges her slurring words, but it can't quite sharpen them.
Percy focuses on what little magic remains around Connie in an attempt to determine exactly what is left coating her.
The first thing that catches his eye is a tattoo that he's seen a few times before in part. Red and white ribbons twining up her thigh, tracing the path of her femoral artery. But now the red seems to throb and pulse as if in time to the beating of a heart far from here; the white restrains it, holds the bloodline in check. No bloodshed stains the mark of peace.
Panning up her body his senses are arrested by the twinned concentric circles in white surrounding her navel. Nothing without that is not also within. The inner circle is smaller; they aren't truly identical, but nothing in the outer is not somewhere in the inner.
The X across the inside of her right wrist scarcely changes to his expanded vision, still a simple, blunt forbiddance; though he can feel the literal power it holds.
The cherry tree that stretches up the other arm seems to just be made of ink and skin, but the magpies in its branches are alive, eyes alight with malice, beaks ready to raise a loud hue and cry when their watch is ignored.
Her back and chest are woven with deep workings anchored at the nape of her neck in a single character, 孝, that seems to stretch farther and deeper beyond what one person's body could ever hold.
Her name, C. [i] Westcott Mathers leaks out through the thin fabric of her crop top, marking the position of the ink that dictates it, awkwardly stretched across a breast that hadn't existed when she'd first been renamed. This tattoo writhes and twists, straining to recomplete itself where abrasive, acidic scarring keeps it unfinished.
And between her shoulder blades arch blooming, thorned roses. They're thick, abundant, fecund; the sheer number of petals, the imagined smell is stifling, muffling, gagging. The thorns all extend deep into her chest, into her unbeating heart, wet with blood.
"What's happening Percy? What do you see? Please tell me you know about Harpocrates."
Percy's eyes seem unusually focused and unfocused at the same time, the iris's sharpened to needles but looking through to the other side of Connie. He shifts her in his hand and pulls back one of his talons pressing it gently against the point between her shoulders while letting her head rest on the knuckle.
"I see a lot of pain. A strangling force... I'm not sure about Harpocrates, but I can look later. Based on the name I'm guessing Greek. It feels muffled... you didn't get this one yourself? You feel held together like a doll on strings, like a stiff breeze could snap any of them and any that snapped would cut the rest. I could...no not so bluntly."
"Don't Break Them. Now, my heart stopped beating almost thirty seconds ago." she slaps the side of her left thigh, then swings her arm up to point vaguely in the direction of her gently drifting pants. Her cheek slaps against her arm as her head lolls. "[smaller]left pocket. think 'adrenaline.' 911. shepeuhr..." She passes out.
"F+&~." He turns and opens another portal to reach through and snag the pants gently setting Connie on the ground and changing into his humanoid form so he can actually fit his hand into the pocket for whatever she was telling him about.
"S~&& s$*% f$~&.."
As Percy reaches in, his hand wraps around a single use EpiPen.
Quickly pulling the pen out his eyes dart over the instructions and he takes a deep breath, pulls the cap off and jams the tip against her leg. "Well suppose there's no training for emergency situations better than actually being in one." He quickly draws out his phone from a magical pocket and begins dialing for emergency services. He looks on while waiting for the operator to pick up.
After the pen is depleted he sets it to the side and presses his index and middle finger to her carotid artery to check for a pulse before the phone picks up. "Hello, a ci- my friend has collapsed, cardiac arrest less than a minute ago. I've administered an epinephrine pen. I could bring her via teleportation, but don't want to jar her without second opinion, pulse is weak but present. I'm monitoring her as close as I can without equipment."
After some time he's cleared by the operator and Connie's slowly strengthening heart beat to bring her via teleportation, he covers her with her pants and figures he'll have to explain the situation one way or another nomatter how awkward it looks. Then he tries to look for any doctor with the name she had been sounding out before she passed out completely.
He also sent a text to Shin, Hey don't freak out, Connie's in the hospital. I'll explain when I can, but she's safe and I'm going to stay here with her so long as they let me.
Percy gets an immediate reply:
Shin: Is she hurt
Shin: How d
Shin: Ho
Shin: How did sh
It takes a minute before Percy reads:
Shin: Copy that. Room number please. Will visit soon.
Percy: I'll explain when you get here. Number when I get it.
Shin+Valerie:
Valerie starts to smile. It quickly turns into a smirk. "Now, that's the first good idea you've had."
She spins back around to face him, grabbing a bralette and gingerly putting it on over her bandage. "So, you'll do that? Back a play to turn this back around on Lovelace? You know she timed the breakout so that suspicion gets thrown on me, so... we 'fall out?'" She adds air quotes.
==================
At school, Mae + Fae
Fae frowns again as Maeve talks about leaving the body behind forever, but doesn't say anything.
"Aren't we getting ahead of ourselves? I just want to make sure we exist. I'm not thinking about happily ever afters!"
Fae's smile immediately reverses, looking serious. "I didn't have much choice that first time. But we're happy together, learning from each other. So that means that Maeve Gallagher from Kildare will stop existing once you're done with her? That's so sad."
She is silent for a moment, like she's in mourning. Then she arches an eyebrow. "You found me. I should ask you the same question."
=============
At school, Caio + Skyler
Skyler shakes her head while she ugly-cries into his chest. "I don't-- I don't know. He-- he just served her with papers last night."
She looks up at him, her expression terrified. "Mom can't take care of herself! She'll have nothing! I'll have to leave school to help her!"
Shin+Valerie:
"Exhaustion, huh? Figures." Valerie sighs and leans over the back of the chair again. "As for the burn, I got too close to a laser grid. I'm out of practice.
"It was a standard job, anyway. Nabbed a bit of data from some Rangipoor nationals. I just thought that Lovelace was giving me a warmup, since... well, it wasn't just this one job. It's never just the one job."
She puts her head on her forearms. "Do you really want to give up the search for Heartache?"
Valerie pulls a chair from her desk and sits in it backwards to give Shin easy access to the wound. She doesn't flinch when he administers care.
She does flinch, however, when he mentions Scythe. "What? What do you mean--?" She turns around partially so he catches the side of her eye. "Shin, that... that wasn't my job."
She pitches her head back. "Oh, that B~*&$!!!" she screams.
==========
Maeve, at school
Fae smiles. "What a coincidence. I have a sister with eyes like yours, too!" She leans in. "So, Maeve Gallagher from Kildare. You came a long way to get possessed, didn't you?"
==========
Caio, at school the next day
Skyler meets Caio in her usual spot that morning. Her eyes are puffy and red from crying. Rather than wait for him to reach her, she hops off her perch and runs up to him. She throws herself into a hug and starts crying once again. "It's Todd!! He's-- He's div... divorcing Mom!"
On the lookout as she is, Maeve quickly spots the purple-tipped girl with mismatched eyes. The girl looks her up and down when she approaches, giving her a smile. "Well, someone looks festive. Is it your birthday?" She holds her hand out in greeting. "Fae Miller."
=============
Shin+Valerie:
Valerie stops moving and lets him hold her. "Shin... why do you gotta make this so g+*%!~med hard?"
She stirs after a few moments and slips out of his hug to sit down on her bed. With her toes, she grabs her panties off the floor. "Last chance," Valerie warns, dangling the tiny bit of fabric in front of him before she slides it up her legs.
Still looking tormented, Valerie doesn't bother covering up any further. "Tell you everything? You already know I went to Lovelace. If it gets back to her that I talked about the job, she won't give me the info on Heartache or Psyche. I'm doing this for you, you know. You and her."
With a sigh, she rises from her bed and stoops to pick up her tights. When she does so, Shin sees a recent burn mark on her back.
"Who said anything about sleeping?" Valerie immediately snaps back. When Shin pulls her hands away from his pants, she tries to move them up under her tank top to feel her breasts. "Maybe you're my notch? Huh? Ever think about that? So how about you start screwing the world by screwing me."
She gets more aggressive, pulling off her top so she's standing before him naked. She tugs at his hands, inviting them to roam her body, and pulls at his clothes to encourage him to remove them.
Valerie seems to think her life is going to come crashing down anyway, so she might as well do it herself. She wants him to hate her or lose faith in her so it'll hurt less when she inevitably lets him down. She most likely understands his feelings already, which is why she's trying to get him to see her differently.
"I want you to f$+@ me, Shin. That's what I want. And if you turn me down you better believe me when I say I'm going to find Alden and f$$# him in the first closet we can find."
Valerie stares at Shin flatly after he speaks. She sighs and checks the time. "All right, fine. Let's f#@&."
She reaches past him to lock the door, then hooks her thumbs in the waistband of her tights and tugs them down past her hips. "Get it out of your system. Plus you can brag to Alden that you tapped this first."
She steps out of her tights, leaving them pooled on the floor, and starts to unfasten Shin's pants. "You gotta be quiet, though. These walls are pretty thin."
Connie: Hey labbie
Connie: had a little trip to the hospital so I'm gonna be out a few days
Connie: but I've got my phone and everything
Probably Definitely Faetite: read
Probably Definitely Faetite: OMG!!!
Probably Definitely Faetite: Hope your doing okay
Probably Definitely Faetite: dont worry a thing about the project. i got this
================
Femtite
☀️: Can we talk?
Nearly an hour passes before Maeve gets a response.
Chastity: what's to talk about? You're in every class with me. Do you need to catch up on the days you missed? My notes aren't very good because my apartment got wrecked.
================
Horizon + Valerie:
Valerie's mouth twists when he uses the suppressor device. "Fancy."
She folds her arms and gets very closed off after he confesses having listened in on the Lovelace conversation. "I cannot believe you did that. All right, fine. Yeah. I made a choice. My choice. I'm not doing this just for you, Shin. It's just... how things are."
She gestures to the dorm room's sparse walls and meager decorations. "What have I gained? No family, no friends, no money, nothing! I will absolutely throw this s@#~ all away for a little revenge!"
She softens a bit and looks Shin in the eyes. "It means a lot that you're trying, but I'm serious. I'm not worth saving."
Shin can hear a brief scrambling behind the door after he knocks. Then the door opens a crack as Valerie peeks out. The door opens the rest of the way to reveal her standing in the room wearing a tank top and dark leggings. She scowls at him. "I think boys aren't allowed in here for another hour."
She dithers for a moment, then pulls him inside and closes the door behind him. "If I get in trouble for you being here..." She leaves the consequences unspoken. "What are you doing here?"
===============
Caio, Lunchtime
Sniffling, Skyler relaxes her grip. She wipes her eyes while he comforts her. "Okay. Right. Yeah. No way this is, um, you know. Fake. Couldn't be."
She reluctantly pulls herself off Caio, starting to become aware that they're generating some attention. She sways a little when she rises to her feet and holds onto his shoulder to steady herself.
Her voice is ragged. "But if you ever find out it's not real, lie. I don't want to know. Don't you dare ruin this." She gives him one last, desperate look made even more severe with her streaked mascara, then drunkenly makes her way out of the cafeteria.
Skyler's eyes roam around the cafeteria. "It's high school. There's always a bunch of guys and girls in love, or in lust, with each other."
She swallows hard as panic grows on her face. She looks in Caio's eyes. "If I was aro... I don't know. Just like, what if... oh, God."
She throws her arms around Caio and hugs him like he was the only thing to stop her from falling thousands of feet. "It's real. It has to be! I love you, and it's real, and it's not a spell, or Dad, or anything else that's making me love you! It's me! Itsmeitsmeitsmeitsme."
She clings to him desperately, buring her face into Caio's body and trembling.
Sometime in the middle of the night he gets a response.
AH-26: I don't. I don't blame you, either. we'll talk soon, but think on this. Has anyone turned evil? Has there been loss of life?
AH-26: just because the team isn't going to last doesn't mean it wasn't a success. And you had a role in that
Horizon, Later:
After Valerie's no-show at lunch, Shin managed to catch word that she'd spent the lunch period in the library. Throughout the rest of the day he failed to bump into her.
After sending his texts, he gets no sign of them ever being read. It then occurs to him that her phone had been compromised the night before, so anything he sent might get intercepted assuming Valerie didn't dispose if her phone for good.
Clocktower's systems also fail to catch any sight of her, either through video surveillance or tracing her phone. In fact, his fears are confirmed that her phone's signal never turned back on since Lovelace's building.
* * *
The next morning, Shin awakes to an update from Clocktower. Valerie's school ID pinged at Halcyon Prep at 4 am.
Also, although news of this is being kept out of the media to avoid a panic, Detention Site 29 had been attacked overnight. Several powered individuals were taken from the facility, including Scythe. A powerful EMP managed to knock out the electronic systems, so cameras were not able to record the perpetrators. No casualties amongst the guards, but several report severe exhaustion.
What do you do??
=================
Lunchtime, Caio
Skyler shrugs. "I don't know her real well. Of course, I don't know most people well."
She glances over at Raquel at the table with her group of friends. It's nonchalant at first, but then she puts her chin in her hand and rests her elbow on the table. A slightly dreamy smile grows on her face. "Mmmm. I wonder if that's what my aura looks like now."
Skyler tears her eyes away and leans into Caio, using his body as a backrest and risking getting yelled at by a teacher for the PDA. "I was always annoyed when auras got like that. Full-on love haze. Acting all stupid and giggly." She closes her eyes and snuggles against him harder. "I just didn't know what I was missing. Good for Raquel. Girl's got it bad."
"Really?!?" he exclaims, but quickly tries to act more nonchalant about it. "I mean, yeah. That sounds, you know, cool. Cool and all. I um, have a car now, and I could meet you at... let's see... the Northside Memorial Park? If that's not too far for you? What am I saying? Of course it's not for you. Is that, um, okay?"
===============
Indarius
Whatever strands linking Horizon to the fey he can detect are tentative and weak. A pinky-promise; barely tethering him. It almost feels like something he could rip asunder with enough effort. The only problem with doing something like that is that it will create a lingering mark upon Horizon's being. Nothing dangerous, but magical creatures would be able to sense it and would not likely trust him in the future.
Connie: hey I was gonna visit Kyana before the psych hold ends
Connie: no idea if you'll be welcome actually in the room
Connie: but do you want to come?
Connie; (i'd like you to come)
Caio: sure
Caio: think you'll need to test waters first though
Caio: I'm probably their #1 enemy right now
Connie: oh yeah you're for sure outside at first
Connie: maybe second and third
Connie: Kyana might want to see you
Connie: but really i just think I might need you there
Caio: that is reason enough for me
Caio: just let me know when
Caio: and where ofc
Arriving at the hospital, Connie is stymied at the front desk. There's no one under "Kyana" and she never learned their full name those few times she played with them years ago. Without a full name, the front desk staff are less than cooperative.
Since they were somewhat in hero duty, Caio decided to show up as Rain. He looks at the employer's name tag. "Mister... Johnson. I do appreciate and respect your work, but I'd ask you to let us through, please."
"We come here to help, as we did with those twenty-three people trapped inside the fantasy world." He says, pointing towards a tv, which, by chance, was reprising the very same events. "We are certainly not above the law and we want no trouble, but we could you your help to help them."
(Rolled an 11 on that soldier "invoke authority" thing)
Rain's presence gets through to the front desk staff and Johnson complies, grabbing the phone and whispering into it about the John Doe under psychiatric observation.
A few minutes later a harried and haggard RN appears and escorts Rain and Conflux to the bank of elevators. "You know our John Doe, huh? Figures. All we got from the graveyard shift was that he kept trying to go back to... wherever he'd been. Now he's barely conversant. Won't tell us anything."
The RN leads them down a busy hallway once they step out of the elevator. "He otherwise checked out okay, but he's in restraints and 24-hour watch," she explains while walking. She swipes her ID on a pad before a set of double doors, pausing. "We've always got a few Captain Stalwarts or Dr. Dreads or whatnot inside. Try to be discrete, and it's best not to feed their delusions. Hopefully they won't recognize you as an arch nemesis or something."
The doors open with a remote click, revealing the psych observation wing. The main desk is in the middle of the floor, with numerous cots around it and private rooms past them. A few patients apparently have leave to move about and are sitting at tables or staring out the window.
The RN checks in with the desk, then points to a door. "He's in 17-J, to your right."
Connie takes a deep breath, knocks, and goes in.
"Hi. I'm Connie, you know, Quincy's sister. The Princess. I'm... I'm so sorry. I couldn't find a better resolution, and... I made the call to save your life when I know that's not what you wanted. I don't think I made the right choice, but I'm really, really trying to make it the least wrong one. So. That's why I'm here."
The room's occupant is on a hospital bed with an IV connected to a saline bag in one arm. They're turned away from the door, and attempt to twist away further when Connie enters but the restraints keep them from curling up. The arm with the IV is tightly bound to the bed, but they strain against it to pull as far away from Connie as possible.
"Is... Indarius with you?" Kyana's player's voice is hoarse. They twist slightly, catching Connie out of the corner of their eye, then twist back. "Of course not. You all lied. Every. One."
"I didn't lie. I wouldn't lie. I am not lying. I just didn't get the outcome for you that either of us wanted. Indarius will be here, but he's still recovering from his time in that world, and frankly, I'm gonna want to check his math before he does something intended to be permanent. The less revision and tinkering we need to do, the better. Honestly, normally I would... Okay, y'know what? I'm operating off an assumption, and that's needlessly circuitous and a bit dangerous.
"You're trans, right?"
They shudder and attempt to pull away again. Their voice cracks. "No. I'm not putting on a dress. I'd be even more of a freak." Note: the views and opinions expressed by Kyana's player do not reflect those of the GM
Connie carefully doesn't smile. "Hey, deal. Not sure that's the main criterion though. Like, I'm a girl, and I can't remember the last time I voluntarily wore a dress.
"But if you want to avoid that label or hell any labels, that's fine by me. So, I'm gonna be helping Indarius with his math and in figuring out the parameters of his spell. Once we're done, you're going to want to live your life as a woman, right? Like, poof, magic wand, nobody else has to know, no one you meet for the first time knows unless you tell them that you've changed anything at all. That's the plan, right? Kyana on the license?"
A little more life stirs in them. The defeated, dejected air lifts slightly. "I... yeah, kinda... but... Kyana's a, you know, an elf. Is that... doable?"
"So... The farther we go off of human typical specs the easier it is to get Complicated. Pointy ears? Definitely. Centuries-long lifespan? ...Possible. I would really, really recommend against it, and will do the same to Indarius. The ability to see beyond horizons because the curvature of Middle Earth itself is no barrier to your vision? I don't think he could swing that one, and I wouldn't help him do it without a really good reason.
"He could probably set you up so your hair and skin keep looking unfairly fantastic without you doing any maintenance, but I'd recommend against that for a couple reasons.
"1) Magic uses shady accounting, but everything you do with it comes at a cost. An ongoing effect to give you gorgeous hair needs to push against all kinds of entropy, which means an ongoing expenditure of energy. Even if he sets you up with just a preposterous battery life, that continuing expenditure keeps the spell much more active, and active magic is much easier to dispel or mess with accidentally. When you're in a body with the right parts that makes the right chemicals, it's all self sustaining.
"2), if that's a part of your looks that you care about, then it will bring you joy to get good at it. I don't believe in God, but even the people who believe he exists and played a direct, obvious role in creation don't think he made a mistake by not having bread grow from the ground, or wine grow from the vines. There is a wonder to sharing in the act of creation."
They roll back over, making eye contact with Connie. Their eyes quickly fill with tears as they nod. Soon, their entire body is shaking with sobs, but now borne of hope.
Connie puts a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm gonna also say that gradual transition is available too, and it really does have a ton of benefits, but as someone who essentially got a miracle cure and then lost it, I get that you're not in a relatively typical place.
"You don't have to decide on specifics right now though. But, let's talk next steps. When Indarius is up to it he's gonna pay you a visit too (probably with me), and we'll all figure out how we're gonna do this thing. So, start figuring out what's a need, what's a want, and what's maybe something you assumed was or wasn't the default, and we'll see what we can do, and what warnings and consequences will go along with it.
"Before then, Rain General Costa, is here too, and he wanted to say a quick hi and get well soon. You don't have to; he was also here for me in case I was an absolute wreck when we were done."
Kyana stares at the ceiling, blinking hard at the tears because she can't use her hands. "Okay. Yeah. Wood elves have Twilight Sight, Blend, and Lightfootedness. I was a Ranger-Rogue hybrid class. I... um, had Reflexes maxed out. Double proficiency in archery... I..." She trails off.
Fresh tears begin to fall as she looks at Connie. "It's not going to be the same. I don't need a driver's license with Kyana on it. I need my bow! Woodland step! Hunter's quarry! But none of that matters here! I need to be there! He should have left me behind."
"Kyana, staying there was not an option. Leaving you behind wouldn't have meant you were there. It might have meant you were just dead. It might have meant much, much worse depending on which leaky hole in the world you fell through. You would almost certainly not have kept the same shape, and you would not have had the total mental immersion. It's okay to regret what you lost, and what we did; it's okay to mourn it, but that exact path does not and did not exist."
She pauses for a moment.
"So. Since... Woodland step. The ability to ignore certain kinds of difficult terrain that are basically never found in dungeons or urban campaigns or even that often in- Sorry, Woodland Step, archery etc. Those are things you want to be in your life going forward. I can think of a couple paths for you that do have that."
Once again, Connie pulls her out of a spiral of grief. "Really? I'd, um, if it's, you know, real? I'd help. If that's something you'd need. Not saying you do, but... if there's ever something I could help with? As Kyana?"
"I mean one is as a hobbyist. You can start doing it basically right away, and the whole SCA/whatever community is supposed to be really great. You can dial up your involvement in it, you can dial it down, and it'll give you a lot of opportunities to make more friends with similar interests.
"Or you can train. We'd want to start soon, because right now you have memories of how to shoot and hide and generally hero fresh in your head, and we'd want to capitalize on that to make training more efficient at recreating those skills in a world where a character sheet isn't propping them up. Then, after training on a lot of stuff, you could maybe do the whole hero thing. That's obviously a much, much riskier path. But... it is a real one."
Kyana closes her eyes as her rising hope shows on her face. "Okay. Will this be, um, soon? Do I have to get discharged first? I don't know how long that will take. But if I am, I'll go to my stepdad's place. He hates me, but will let me crash in his basement for a few days." She gives Connie the address of a place on the edge of Rustside.
"The next visit, definitely soon. I'll talk to them about discharge, but I don't want to cut corners that could come back to bite you. Now, you aren't vibing with the trans label , which honestly I am going to want to circle back on at some point, but you do get that regardless a lot of your practical challenges are going to come from similar directions to that experience? Like, is your stepdad's going to be a safe place for you while we sort everything out? Do you have insurance, all that jazz? Is it through family who would be supportive? Lotta things in life get easier if you can get your hands on a doctor's note. None of these are prerequisites, none of this would be insurmountable, but it'll help me figure out paths to recommend."
Kyana huffs. "I'm not some dude who wants to be a woman. I'm a blob. I'm mush. I'd be the same way if I put on lipstick and called myself, I dunno, Rebecca or something. I've been playing Eliana for three years. I was her, until I got my throat ripped out. Then I made Kyana for the new game, and I was even more her. I forgot this sack of loser s+$* entirely.
"And that's what I plan to do again."
"Sure. But like, just to be clear: It's been quite well expressed that you hate the idea of crossdressing, or of being a woman in a way that feels pretend, but the you you want to be is a woman, right? Like, we shouldn't be trying to figure out how to help you live as Kyanus Kerkyles of Andros or something? It matters for the spellwork."
"Also, it's important for you to be honest, but a couple things I'd like you to know so you don't feel like a jackass later. First, I have trans friends. I in fact have a trans friend whose first realizations on that topic came when she was magically transformed, and she gradually realized that even if she didn't love every aspect of her transformation, she was happier as a woman. There are trans people who have always felt and recognized their gender, there's usually another wave of that when puberty hits and most physical differentiation really begins, and then there's a whole bunch more who just need the right moment to recognize that their feelings have a name, and that maybe they could do something with them. There are people who feel like they were born in the wrong body, or that they're trapped in a body they hate; there are trans people who love their bodies. There are trans people who feel like they changed from one gender to another, or that they were always that way. There are trans people who felt like they needed to transition, and ones who just needed to know within their own heart, and ones who didn't need to but wanted to.
"So, it's fine if you're cis, or you just don't like the trans label, or something else is a better descriptor, but while it won't change the help I give you, you do really need to stop talking s#~# about other trans people so far it's only been about women, which
whether this is self hate or not probably bears examination. But yeah, be nice to my friends; stop talking s!~!.
"I'm also trans, but you can still talk s#!* about me if you want, just keep it specific."
Kyana opens her mouth to protest but doesn't interrupt Connie's dressing down. A look of sudden fear blooms in her eyes as the clear thought that the offer might be rescinded is apparent on her face.
Tugging against her restraints, she tries to sit up but fails. "Yes, fine, yes. I won't talk s*~&. I... thought it didn't count. That since it was all in a game I couldn't be tr-- trans..." A long, exhausted sigh as she stops straining having finally said the word. "I... I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I keep seeing my stepdad, and how he'd have killed me if I..."
She trembles again. "But f+&+ him, right? He hates me already, and I hate him. It doesn't matter what he thinks. So, I'm... a female elven archer. That's who I am. And if that makes me trans... then... I... I am."
"Hell yeah, sis. Now don't forget, you don't owe anyone that answer. If you don't think it's safe, f*@! 'em twice, and strongly consider not cutting yourself off from resources without a plan. I've got you, but you've gotta get you too, okay? Even when all that means is asking for help."
Connie squeezes Kyana's hand.
"Now I'm gonna go talk to whoever I have to to at least get you out of these restraints, and get you started towards a discharge. Your stepdad's basement is better than here, right? While I'm doing that, do you want Rain to keep you company? Oh, advice for your assessments: I would avoid saying that a superhero is going to magically fix your problems. Instead talk about an understanding of hope for the future, connecting with supportive community etc. Afterwards you say whatever you want, but the goal right now is friction reduction in getting your next steps started."
Conflux wrote:
"Your stepdad's basement is better than here, right?"
She rattles her restraints and looks around. "Marginally."
She nods at the rest of the instructions. "Got it. I'm just... going to shut up where I can." Kyana looks past Connie to where Rain is standing near the door for a moment. She flops back on the bed and stares upward. "Doesn't matter."
"Whatevs. He wants to apologize/check in, but that doesn't mean you have to let him. I'm gonna be back soon. Give him a shout if you want the company. Cool plan?"
Outside "Cool. Kyana does not super hate me, and I think Percy and me are really going to be able to help her going forward. I'm gonna go smooth things in here with the staff a bit more; she may ask for you, she may not, but things are going..."
She stops, putting a hand on Caio's chest to steady herself. "Sorry. Thought it'd be worse."
Caio looks at Kyana but doesn't try to push her into talking. Sometimes people do need something or someone to blame and unload their frustrations. He wasn't happy about it, bet he'd play the part if that was what was needed of him.
Outside
Caio takes a good look at Connie, as if expecting to find something different about her. There was nothing at all, so he lets go of the breath he was holding. "I'm glad to hear it and, if you can actually do it, then perhaps you can do it for someone else as well, but we'll get to it later."
He takes her hand. "Don't worry, ok? You did great. I should be the one thanking you because I for sure did not have the right perspective to help her." He glances at Kyana. "I..." He frowns a bit before letting a smile escape.
"Should I say something about what you revealed about yourself?" He asks, uncertain. "Like, I'm sure you did not forget I was listening... I just, it is none of my business, but if I've said nothing it could look as if I was making light of it, but if I do, then it looks... I don't know?"
Kyana's player briefly makes eye contact with Caio, but doesn't say anything. He sees some lingering resentment, but far more shame. She quickly turns away with her limited amount of movement, shrinking from his stare.
Connie tilts her head far to the side at Caio's vagueness. "To be clear, magicking up a perfect elf-girl body has only the barest resemblance to my own transition, which is and has been essentially a natal puberty, and if she wasn't essentially hemorrhaging from a psychic amputation courtesy of brother-not-so-dearest, and if I didn't have the promise of a Very Powerful practitioner who will actually let me check his math backing my play, then this would be a very different situation."
Her left hand twitches. "Talk about it more later? I don't know if you have leftover questions after Max, but if you've only met trans folk who have undergone magical transformations that might be giving you a weirdly misrepresentative sample."
Caio raises an eyebrow. "Oh, I'm not making comparisons or implying anything... I'm just wondering if whatever you will be working on could also work for Terrier." He shrugs. "Before we discovered their plot I was working on helping them just like you plan now for Kyana. They are on my notes... if you have not thrown them away?"
"I'm not very experienced for sure on the matter and I'm not against learning something that will keep me from saying something stupid."
"It's pretty simple, honestly. I'm a girl. The differences between me and most cis girls are basically between me and any romantic/sexual/life partners, so let that guide you about whether or not there's anything you need to ask about. Oh, I don't get periods, but I do get cramps and a monthly cycle and everything That's not universal for trans gals, but lucky me, huh? You haven't given me chocolate or fudge ripple or whatever when I've been crampy and everything before, but in case you get the idea to do so, I didn't want to scare you off. So... yeah. Unless something dramatically changes, nothing has changed.
"Terrier's in a tougher situation unfortunately. See if we get to work with Kyana soon, then on a pretty bone deep level she'll still expect her elfy body, which makes getting a transformation to take and stay stuck and inert much easier. If we were talking about within a week or two of Terrier's transformation then... yeah. Maybe with me and Perce working together. Maybe. I'd have to play a lot of catchup, cause that particular school of transfiguration isn't a specialty."
"Of course you are... and the rest is just common sense." He says a little bit relieved. "Out of curiosity, if I give you chocolate outside of your cycle, will you like it, or kill me because I'm basically implying you are crampy? My first..." His smile falters for a moment. "You know what, why don't you go talk with the doctors and I'll wait here."
Connie narrows her eyes, but there's a flicker of humor behind them. "Chocolate is tasty and good. I suspect your first girlfriend and I share a distaste for having a bad mood shrugged off as hormonal."
"Yeah..." He trails off, clearly uncomfortable.
"Okay. I'm off to the docs, but clearly I need to buy you a milk shake, maybe put on some country, and listen to that tale of woe."
@Conway @lunchtime:
Conway's eyes go wide, making him look even more comical in the somewhat fisheye distortion of the video call. He stammers briefly, then he gets a suspicious look. "This isn't some trick, is it?"
He looks at something off screen, then back at the camera. "Sorry. The internet is... not a place for the trusting. I have to watch out for trolls. You, um, know about that, right?"
Grum drops the flanking morlock with devastating efficiency, then with his last swing cuts deep into the chief. The chieftain tries to get revenge on her fallen tribe, swinging her obsidian blade at the rampaging orc.
Debriefing, Debunking... shortly after the first day back to school:
Unity Base
Those who follow the instructions and arrive at the base find Feya Firestorm and Whippoorwill waiting on them.
"I would have liked to have done this sooner," Whippoorwill explains without preamble, "but you needed to get back to your lives and we needed to make sure there wasn't any residual effects anywhere else but that gate by the stadium. So, now that you all have had a chance to breathe, I'd like to hear about your experiences in that place."
Feya clears her throat. "We've come to understand the realm was a fantasy simulation. The abductees we interviewed likened the world to that of a game."
Whippoorwill adds, "Like a computer simulation, but with magic. Whetstone filled me in on the concept. He sounded almost jealous."
Percy, assumed his humanoid form for this particular discussion and makes a point to not look directly at Feya before any of the talks start.
"Seems about right. I'm guessing we should start from the beginning or what we were doing before we entered the world?"
He looks around the room, "After being sent away from trying to assist Feya with the investigation. I went to investigate some police sirens and battle horns. Turns out an army of 'orcs' spontaneously errupted in the city streets and were rearing for a fight. So I landed to deal with them, right before they all blipped back out of existence. I decided enough was enough and followed through, because I didn't want to be side-lined and there wasn't time to get Feya or anyone else on scene." Percy doesn't look nor sound exactly proud of that reasoning but it was true enough.
Caio raises his hand to signal he is going to speak. "I was with Imagerie when she was got the call to help with the phenomenon. We met Feya above the Comet Stadium." He looks at the mage, knowing she'd confirm. "I got sucked right after I landed and summoned Matariel."
Feya looks sadly at Indarius after he speaks, then nods in confirmation of Rain's version. "The incursions were alarmingly similar to Indarius's magical signature. I recall I warned you against getting close. I mistakenly believed that Rain would be safe in proximity to one, as he lacks mystical Talent, but possesses knowledge of warding sigils."
Femtite takes in the timing of Caio’s entry into the world. “Oh… I was using my power to beautify the area—to distract whichever Robertson parent was about to interrupt Connie’s investigation which Chastity consented to. I don’t know if my power opened a portal to the castle realm, or maybe more likely Connie’s magic since I didn’t have a key around my neck like Connie did.”
She asks Feya, “But if all four of my teammates had keys, does it mean Quincy deliberately targeted them? And Valerie and I, the only keyless supers that I know of, just happened to be close by?”
Whippoorwill folds her arms. "The incursions practically stopped once you were all taken. Feya witnessed Rain; the rest of you we had to go with witness accounts and conjecture. But it didn't take us long to operate on the assumption that the incursions were deliberately after First Class, and succeeded."
Feya interjects, "The abductees mentioned keys as some kind of quest. Could you elaborate?"
“I was an insanely powerful demon guarding Connie’s key, which I couldn’t take because.. plot armor?” Femtite shrugs. “I sang a song about heroes killing me for ex-pee, whatever that is.”
"Yeah maybe it was similar because." He sighs and jolts over to the next subject to not get bogged down.
"They mean experience points Femtite, so that they could level up and get stronger. Anyway I was a pretty stereotypical evil ice dragon who lorded over an entire region. The heroes came to try and kill me. I made a deal that I'd try to save the world, but they couldn't have my key yet. I'm not sure exactly what the keys went to or if it correlated to something on this side of reality."
Shin is there, in uniform but letting everyone else talk right now. He's given Whippoorwill his own run down of events in the fantasy world already so he's sure he doesn't need to go over it all again unless asked.
“I wanted the heroes to kill me,” Fem says. Without getting into the specifics, she sums up, “As the demoness, I had urges that I could never silence, and a very wrong idea of how to spend time with my girlfriend.
“Oh… but about dying in the game—” She glances at Percy, and also at Shin, “—I asked Summer, who experienced death, what it was like from her point of view.”
She looks to Shin, Percy and the adult heroes, not entirely sure “if anyone wants to know.”
Whippoorwill and Feya exchange a look. The winged hero draws in a breath. "We had been advised of the... villain roles you -- well, most of you -- had been placed in. While the abductees haven't been exhibiting signs that their personalities carried over back here... I hope you understand our concern that you might have residual effects. We're not overly worried, mind you. You were in for a lot shorter time than most of the people. But that doesn't mean we're not going to check on you."
"Technically, I started off dead. At least, that's the vampire logic over there." Shin says, trying to relax the mood a little. "But I was far less in control of the hero I took on than the vampire. It was like being under the surface of water, watching events but not able to break the surface. I could nudge things in one direction or another at least."
Femtite replies, “I felt much better once I was a fey instead of a demon, but I think I felt mostly okay about it all after the gamers told me their experiences were fun, not traumatic.”
Her light expression puts on a little weight as she considers Q’s fate, but out of respect for Connie, she keeps the pity to herself.
"My role was that of a ruthless general. I was not forced to do much against my will... But the memories were another matter. I've killed hundreds in cold blood. I've razed villages, burned houses with people inside. And the women I've..." He shakes his head. "I'm glad it is already fading. I can't see the images of any of that in my head anymore."
"Only the certainty that it wasn't real got me going I think." He confesses, ashamed and shaken.
Caio then tells about the command tent and the fact that the people he saw had the faces of real people he knew. He tells about the Oracle and her identity in Halcyon, about the Corps reaching him, about the importance of the keys. "The only think I was certain was that the keys were important, that they were intrinsically tied to ourselves, and that I should fight to keep them."
He then tells about the shadow mages, Umboriax arrival, then Connie's arrival. He then lets the others reach the same point in the timeline with their own stories.
Whippoorwill's expression darkens as Rain describes the memories put into his head.
"That is troubling," Feya says, a frown tugging at her own mouth. "Cast into a role not of your writing, playing a part for which you had not asked. We made every effort to free you from that place, I only wish we could have done so more expediently."
"Mm. Yeah. My role was a familiar one, Princess Constance. I still had all my thoughts and memories, no overt compulsions, but I had some understanding that getting outside my role could be... damaging. Also I knew that this particular role is as a damsel, and as such I narratively couldn't succeed at escaping or overcoming obstacles by myself. So I enlisted Demon-Femtite and some gag Telicomyes to get me closer to Rain since his location was known. Then Shadow-Umby got me anyways. Brief sojourn with the Fey Queen in there, but nothing I had the time or perspective to trust."
"Yeah the villagers tried to make a sacrifice and warn me of the coming adventurers that were coming to end my reign of terror. I sent them all away with their treasure and lives and told them to send the adventurers to me. They assaulted my lair and I brokered a deal to try and save their world as well as ours. I don't recall. Being quite so filled with false memories as Caio, not as many vivid ones at least."
Percy shrugs, "Anyway deal made with some very untrusting adventurers who knew I could overpower them at any moment. We traveled to the hero sanctum or some such, met up with Vampiric Horizon. He gave up his key went brain dead and waltzed off. I thought Quincy had done something to him and tried to rip down the door to the inner sanctum."
He hugs himself a bit as he recalls the freezing chains. "I got trapped and they stole my key, killing me in the process to be punished by becoming Umboriax. I lost.... alot of me, so it was just raw hatred and emotion. The very monster Quincy wanted the heroes to face in the first place."
"Sure, but bud. Femtite just was a demon. Caio was a ruthless general even if he had more of a hand on the wheel. Like, I'm someone who thinks that outcomes and intentions really both have to be considered, but the outcomes were essentially fake, and your intentions weren't really yours. Like, this sounds horrible, but like, horrible that it happened to you, not that you did it."
Femtite agrees. “Indy, I didn’t know when I was immersed, but I know now that you were hurt in there and under your persona’s influence like I was as a demon. But please don’t beat yourself up over what Quincy’s simulation did to you. You know you saved lives pulling people out of that dying world, and everyone who was in the game knows that too.”
Caio frowns slightly. "Femtite, your experience as a demon was most likely close to mine as a general or Shin's as a vampire. Percy suffered on a whole different level. Not even remotely close I think." Caio dos not like her choice of words. Why was she saying Percy saved people? He did not. He couldn't because he was too lost and that was the whole point. It seemed to him she was trying to save face, which raised the question if she was trying to hide another f*&$ up.
Feya rubs her chin as she puzzles that. "Odd. It would appear that Perc-- ahem, Indarius's experience was distinctively more unpleasant than all the others who reported generally favorable attitudes towards their experiences. I am not saying that portraying villains was pleasant, but the way Indarius was treated sounds rather... vindictive. Why would that be, I wonder?"
"I could see Quincy being angry since Indarius crashed his last game by overpowering him."
"I didn't get the screening effect of getting to hide in a character." He says off to the side, since the last few times he tried to explain that, everyone just said he shouldn't feel bad.
Femtite sees how Percy is reacting, and is afraid that her attempts at making him feel better are having the opposite effect.
PtM 7
• How can I get your character to feel more at peace with what happened in Q’s world?
She turns to Whip and Feya. “While it’s true some of us were worse off than others, nobody in that world was entirely themselves. So how do we move forward?
“Have you ever had experience with this sorta thing, where several people in a group thought they were someone else, kinda made their own choices, but biased by implanted beliefs and false memories?”
Whippoorwill nods grimly. "Not in as specific of a scenario as you describe, but the Alliance has had to deal with implanted memories before. It's a very insidious form of mental manipulation, because it's not your basic mind control. It's rewriting your experiences, your frame of reference so that you're coming to your own -- if skewed -- decisions that may seem completely reasonable."
She addresses Indarius directly, her tone soft. "It sounds like you were the biggest threat, since you overpowered Quincy the last time. So, you got the worst of it. Once they got your key, he had to make sure you couldn't act against him. So he made you into a villain. As hard as it may be to accept because you lived it, he's at fault. Not you."
"Yeah... I'm not so sure about that Whippoorwill. While the others were shoved into the roles of other people entirely a new mask to wear if you will. I feel like mine was stripped off. My ability to hide my feelings, or the insidious thoughts in the back of my mind stripped away."
He rocks on his feet a bit, "I was actually betrayed again and snapped. I wanted to make the players suffer through their characters. I wanted to end Quincy and Mathers when I found out about their involvement. I couldn't possibly care if the world burned with me."
Finally looking up and around the assembled group he adds, "I know you all want me to be okay with what I did. To say it wasn't my fault, but we don't pardon people who are under the influence when they hurt people. So why do I get a pass for having my inhibitions stripped away and killing someone real or fake?"
I don't believe there is an easy way to make him more at peace with what happened.
"Wait Indy, drunk driving is not remotely analogous here. You're still responsible for things you do under the influence when you put yourself under the influence! And I understand that that rage and that hurt is a real part of you, but so is what normally would have held it in check!
"If someone rips all your skin off it's not your fault that what's inside you makes a mess of the carpet."
Caio looks between Whippoorwill, Percy, Connie, and even Femtite. He recalls the talk he had just yesterday with Percy. "He isn't ready for this kind of help yet. He is in another place."
"Hum, I'm certain you all mean well, but perhaps we should go back to the debrief?"
Femtite is visibly relieved by Whip’s words, worried when Percy won’t accept her explanation, and when Connie challenges Percy’s analogy she’s ready to chime in… but Caio’s gives her pause.
And in her hesitation, she contemplates her read on Percy. And he’s right. It won’t be easy.
“Yes, I would cede that there isn’t an easy fix or an instant one. But…“ She softens her tone as Whip and Connie did. “Percy, you did ask about why you deserve a free pass. I think Whip’s and Connie’s words are more like a reality check, or truths that will help you heal if you can accept them.
“Also, it’s not just that what happened isn’t your fault. The player, Summer, is fine. She thought you gave her priestess a good…” Don’t say ‘death scene!’“…finale. And she was excited to play her new artificer.
“You didn’t cause ‘suffering,’ according to the player. A high-stakes game is what she signed up for. And I don’t think you got a free pass.
“Quincy made you suffer more than anyone in his world when he took your key and used it to manipulate you. You didn’t deserve that at all, and you certainly don’t deserve to suffer the after-effects now.”
Conflux wrote:
"If someone rips all your skin off it's not your fault that what's inside you makes a mess of the carpet."
"Thank you for that colorful metaphor," Whippoorwill says dryly. "But it's accurate. If someone slips a drug into your drink, you're not responsible. They are. We're throwing you a lifeline here. I'm not saying it's easy, but when you're ready, grab it."
"Also, bear in mind - you killed one person, when you very well could have killed a lot more, in a fantasy world where immoral mercenaries take jobs to travel to foreign lands and assassinate leaders, poach rare creatures for adventure while also sometimes murdering whole tribes of indigenous peoples because their skin colors are green and they're all painted as evil." Shin chips in.
"...and if I hadn't been offered the role of hero, I probably would have done so much worse as the vampire than you did."
"See this is why despite all the rudeness and the other stuff, she's still on my competent list."
Indarius remains quiet with all the attention on him praying quietly that his continued silence will motivate things to shift and move on.
"All right," Whip says after Indarius remains silent. "Good suggestion, Rain. Let's wrap this briefing up."
"Quite so, yes," Feya agrees, though she gives Indarius a concerned look before looking at Conflux. "The magical energy drawn from the game was likely more than all the magic I've channeled in the course of my lifetime. I fear your adoptive father's machinations may have further consequences in the future. We must be diligent. Any insights you have on him or your other siblings would be appreciated."
"Like? You apparently know him pretty well."
"I know him far less than I thought I did. Certainly not well enough to anticipate the scope of his ambition."
Feya's face is tight. "Mathers leapt at the chance to help as soon as he understood what was at stake -- or, what was necessary to undo the game world. Even though I took pains to ensure that he was not siphoning off the power to himself, he seemed barely interested in it once contained."
"What happened to the snow globe you put all that power in? I hoped it's stored somewhere safe enough." Shin asks. "I don't know if you think any good can come from using it or not, but probably best to err on caution's side."
"It's partially a creation of Mathers, so we're taking all possible precautions," Whippoorwill assures them. "We're quite accustomed to locking dangerous objects away."
Femtite isn’t sure what to make of Connie’s father and brother. She asks Whip, “What’s to become of Quincy now?” She turns to Feya. “Was the elder Mathers aware that his son was dying?”
"Hmm," Connie replies to Feya, "Any other friendships that's leading you to reevaluate? Whatever, we're apparently taking things real back to basics.
"Since it was apparently in doubt: My father, William Westcott Mathers, is a deeply ambitious guy. Also something of a practitioner as it turns out." She rolls her eyes in annoyance.
"I don't know a ton about his early life for sure, but a synthesis of publicly available information paints its own picture in some respects.
"He himself is the seventh son of a seventh son, and more particularly, the seventh son of the seventh son of one Moina Mathers nee Bergson, yes like the Nobel prize winning philosopher, the famed seer and Imperatrix of the Alpha et Omega, and one Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers, published military theorist, Master Mason, Magus of the SRIA, evoker of the Ascended Masters, mystical mentor and eventual nemesis to Aleister Crowley, which I had thought was a fun curiosity until Drake listed him in a list of archmagi and of course, founder and head of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
"So far as I know, their children didn't go into the trade, and except for one thing I'd assume the same of their granchildren, but dear old Edwin Mathers, hereafter: Gramps somehow wound up married to Florence Westcott hereafter: Grannie, and Grannie Westcott was of course descended from one Dr. William Wynn Westcott, Coroner of the Crown, Master Mason, Supreme Magus of the SRIA, and recipient of communications from the Ascended Masters leading him to found the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and one Countess Anna Sprengler aka Swami Laura Horos, aka Mother Elinor, aka Madame Messant, aka Princess Editha Lolita, aka Ann O'Delia Diss Debar, a noted necromancer, diviner, thief, and convicted buggerer who if her diaries are to be believed they aren't is by miles my favorite family member."
"So, something got Gramps and Grannie together, those crazy kids, and Occam suggests that it was them, but Dear Old Dad never told me why exactly those four storied mystical lines had converged in him and his brothers. Or, hell, that he had brothers. If death certificates are to be believed (they might be?), then I don't have any living uncles, which I honestly see as a net positive. They did all die in birth order though, which while technically reasonably likely, does make you wonder, right? Again, all public records here.
"Once we get past that into his apprenticeship with Dr. Infinity, apparently the inheritor of some kind of task from Crowley, so there's a whole web of apprenticeships and rivalries and everything that implies. Hopefully some of them f*!%ed or at least did some hand stuff [smaller]not the family members or they'll really have been wasting a lot of tension...
"But that's where you probably know more about him, right? At the apprenticeship?"
"You probably know what you were doing with Mathers, but it still makes me uncomfortable." He admits to Feya and Whippoorwill. "Can't shake the feeling we are playing his game."
"I'm at least ten years his junior," Feya states. "I knew him by reputation before we actually met. He was known as quite the maverick in the mystical world. He'd managed to keep his apprenticeship with Dr. Infinity a secret; unsurprising given Infinity's proclivity to play the part of costumed superhero with secret identities. It was in vogue for heroes of that time to take upon youthful wards. Kid Cadabra disappeared the same time as Dr. Infinity."
She addresses Rain's comment. "Magic exacts a toll. There are prices that come due eventually. Mathers had long had the reputation of slipping around or evading the costs. Pacts, bindings, deals, and bargains are the stock-in-trade of practitioners of his ilk. They usually meet their end by a noose spun of their own machinations. His gambit last year was incredibly ambitious. So I have to wonder, did he simply grasp at an opportunity that presented itself, or did he make the attempt out of desperation?"
"I feel he did grasp, but I'm not certain about it being an opportunity." He sighs. "With the trial coming due, I'd not be surprised if he was not pulling the strings above Quincy's head just so he'd have to be called to save the day"
On the subject of Dear old Dad, "We all know he plays for keeps. Wouldn't surprise me if he 'shared' the power siphoned off of the tome and myself with his children so they owed him when the time came to collect." His voice still carries a worried bite to it when talking about his capture months prior.
"Ten years? It's called moisturizer, damn. I... I don't think it would be possible for me to refer to my father as Kid Cadabra, but can I request that everyone else follow their heart? I guess the thing I can say for reasonably sure is that unless Tim was involved, it probably wasn't his Ultimate Plan, not like I can tell you about what exactly that might be, but it's a pretty good metric to follow. Bargains and pacts and stuff are exactly where he's most secretive; 'cause let's face it, not actively telling me his weaknesses is like the least he could do to keep me from just spilling them."
She ponders a moment. "Hey Ms. Orwill? Can you tell me about any advice of mine you followed after our last meeting? Trying to assess whether I should bother even pondering the orb's security."
"It's hidden in plain sight in a quaint shop in Vienna," she deadpans.
Feya gives Whip a look of mild annoyance. "It most certainly is not. Suffice it to say, it is beyond even my reach."
Shin checks his watch, noting the time and looking a little restless. He looks up to his mentor's dry response to Conflux's question/accusation and clears his throat. "I'm satisfied there. It's probably even safer than the Nanometeor."
"So... what else happened on this side after we were all in the other world? Did the incursions stop, get worse, how did you end up resorting to...him?"
Femtite’s aura pales a little at the mention of her planet. When Percy follows up with a question about Dear Old Dad, her glow gradually reverts to the usual golden hue.
"When Caio was taken, I managed to stick a metaphysical plug in the hole to keep it from sealing up entirely," Feya says. "The incursions stopped shortly after the large one that defaced an apartment building. We surmised, as Whippoorwill explained, that all of First Class had been taken. I first elected to consult with Mathers after Lucidity told us she'd spoken with Rain. The Corps also lent their assistance, but they lacked the expertise in the precisely channeling the magic so that it would be contained rather than released into the aether. Mathers had it."
"...something that bugs me a little is if this fantasy world might have skirted close to becoming an alternate reality, like when Apotheosis was bringing those to Halcyon. There were permanent alterations to the city and its people then." Shin taps his nails together. "Now with this Fey gate, I'm worried about what will happen if we have an influx of their brand of magic in the city. I'm hoping no wooden puppets coming to life or delinquents turned to donkeys."
"Or pissed off fey queens seeking revenge?" He states flatly not exactly innocent of potentially causing that whole situation to come bite them later.
"Fey gate? When did this happen?"
“I trust you’re all aware of the Fairy Dust?” Femtite explains, to clue in the adult heroes, “When I was a demoness, tempting the god of the world with treasure made sense at the time… and when I was a fey, I learned that player characters—a paladin and a priestess—worshipped a goddess named Ninavae.
“Now that I’m back in the real world, I wonder if the fey had already tapped into Quincy’s demiplane. Ninavae is not a fantasy goddess, but a real person—the true faerie queen of the Seelie Court of the Western Realm. Mother knows her. I could find out her interest in the virtual fey wood.” Speaking to Percy’s terminology, she adds, “I don’t think we should assume the fey are angered or vengeful.
“And as I said to Horizon earlier, I own the mistake of supplying the world with Fairy Dust. I also have the best connection to Ninavae, so I would appreciate the opportunity to atone.
“Mother will know the proper channel, how to ask without causing offense.”
"Oh. Ohhh. Ninavae wasn't a character but a real Fey queen. That's bad. That's really, really bad. Because we made a promise to her, didn't we?" Shin asks, looking at Femtite.
“The promise made in Quincy’s world was fulfilled. I’m in debt to Tyg for acquiring the dust in the first place at the Hallow’s Eve Ball.
“I have a means to see the silver threads of a fae geas, so if the queen surprised us I can find out for certain.”
"You really think she'd take kindly to when I.. er.. Umboriax..." He flouders for a moment trying to decide which is more true. "When Connie got stolen from her?"
Femtite turns to Percy. “Wait… you mean? Oh, no, Percy… Queen Millificent was just an NPC. I suspect she was villainous in Connie’s presence.
“When it was just me and the heroes, Valorian apologized to her for mistaking her for a villain, and she was being helpful and giving me maternal advice.” Femtite shrugs. “Which was weird because I didn’t know she was based on my Mother at the time.”
"Yes, the one in the game world what do you think we're here talking about? Also you'll have to excuse if I don't trust whatever you see as a mother figure. They haven't been exactly kindly to anyone in the room, yourself excluded apparently."
"...Fem. The Fey woods still exist. Meaning this Queen Millificent likely also still exists, and more importantly, based on how everyone is treating the Fairy Dust, is likely to be real. And we made a promise that we haven't yet fulfilled to bring the princess back to her. I know enough folktales to know that reneging on a deal with spirits is how a lot of people end up with their fortunes maligned."
Indaruis began rubbing his eyeridges at Horizon's explanation of making a promise to a fey, real or fake, this was going to take some real work to get out of.
"Don't think any of you'd get out with, the princess doesn't exist anymore either. Who all made that promise Horizon?"
"Pretty sure I went along with as well as the rest of our party. Including Valerie." He glances at his watch.
Femtite rises from her seat, one leg crossed over the other. “Then I should go home tonight, report to the Council of Queens, and hopefully have our people contact Queen Ninavae’s people through the proper channels.
“I’ll also need to examine you, Shin, to see if there truly is a promise. I was a guide, not a hero, so the geas would be on you, Val, Brian and Kara… if there is one.”
"When you met the queen, you were still in character, right?" He asks. "Considering Queen Millie knew the fey, would it be impossible for this Queen Millificent to actually be Millie? Do you have any evidence that she was just an NPC?"
Femtite has an exasperated expression. “That was not my Mother.” Realizing that flat denial is unconvincing, she adds, “Likewise, the Big Bad Doggie was not your Wolf. I had knowledge of them as ‘boss villains’ and several minor villains and monsters.”
The two Alliance members stay quiet while First Class discusses the faerie realm and implications of their actions with Queen Millificent. Whippoorwill's expression gets sterner and more dour, while Feya's mouth pops open as her eyes widen in astonishment.
"Quintus used the name of the queen of the Seelie Court as the name of a fictional goddess?" the pyromancer says finally. "Why--? I cannot fathom the logic behind doing so!"
"Yeah, it sounds like all kinds of dumb. But... why exactly is it bad?" Whippoorwill asks.
Feya fumes for a moment while she orders her thoughts. "These people, trapped in personas who believe Ninavae is an actual goddess, were most likely worshipping her. Calling for her favor. Entreating to her. Those prayers were already drawing her attention, so what do you think would happen when actual faerie dust is introduced into this mix?"
"We get a fae gate in the middle of the Comets Stadium parking lot."
"Precisely."
"Exactly the kind of the things that made that world unstable long-term. Shoddy worldbuilding is much safer when things can't crawl in through the plotholes."
"Princess Constance is a character designed to be me to an acceptable metaphysical degree. The problem stands."
"The Big Bad Wolf is a classic character in many fairy tales and so is ingrained in our imaginations. The same is true about fairy godmothers and queens and stuff. We grew up watching and consuming these stories." Caio explains to Femtite. "If the queen of the fey was called whatever else, I'd not even think about connecting her to your mother, but look, Connie was called Princess Constance. I was called General Costa. Percy was called Indarius I believe. Now, the players had all different names... doesn't it seem a reasonable coincidence that NPCs that were actually real people, had names similar to their real ones?"
"You also get a fey being able to say they created something and now you owe them.." Indarius says dimly, then he looks to Connie, "That's definitely not going to make things any better either, and it means that all the people who made the promise character or not will be bound to it." A low growl starts in his throat, "Gah this is hopeless, now a princess is owed, we have a improbable 'debt' to pay to the actual Seelie queen, and that means we'll have to likely entreat with her in person."
"Constance was a pre-existing facsimile. Millificent could have been Millie, but there's not really any proof either direction that we have right now." "Femtite, can you look to see who's currently bound by fey obligations?"
Caio nods to Connie. "I'm not saying it is a proof of whatever. I'm just saying that it could be from what we know."
Hearing Caio reiterate the argument, Femtite pales with worry—and Connie thinks so too?
“Then I am definitely going home tonight!” She starts to tear up. “The Nanometeor’s supposed to be safe from… but if Mother was visiting the Seelie Court and never returned??? Then that means the… that means…”
She looks at Connie.
“Yes. Checking now.”
Femtite becomes a spark, then nothing.
Outta This World 12
Whippoorwill rubs her face, then steps away from the briefing and whispers something into her comms as Femtite shrinks away to subatomic size.
Feya frowns at the sudden disappearance. "What is she doing?" she asks.
"What she always does when there's even a hint of doubt." Indarius continues to grumble, his tail lashing across the floor to show his displeasure and unease. He looks somewhere between Connie and Feya but not at either of them, "Any ideas on how we might go about this, I really think it's a bad idea to let her 'handle' another situation alone."
"Is she just looking, or is she doing more than that?" Feya asks with rising alarm.
"I have a yo-yo for that, but it's not something I think is reasonable to use except in extremis. Like when I'm real mad. This is probably just fact finding like I asked, but she'll be back sometime in the next 5 minutes to 5 hours (figurative), so we can check then. She's not going home though unless y'all did a truly terrible job hiding the Nanometeor."
"Hopefully just looking, buuuuttt... it is always a coinflip."
"Distance travel is much faster when she's not subatomic. She's probably here or somewhere close."
Indarius hums in agreeance with Connie's deduction, then glances off to a different section of Unity Station. "Well I don't think we should travel far, she'll need to stick close to anyone who she's investigating. I assume. Meaning Horizon, you get to stay put."
Putting his hands on his hips for a moment and tapping his claws impatiently against the ground he begins to head off towards the kitchen after a bit of deliberation. "I don't know about you all, but I haven't eaten a good meal in days and I am starving right now."
"I...fine. You know, we really need a way for her to contact her planet without having to travel there."
"Scale, Oh Fearless Leader. They're often small enough that sounds don't work the same. It's not exactly a simple process."
"She can send video messages from her scale to ours. It's not phoning home but that's probably going to take less time than her microsizing and flying there. Telegram might even work for sending a signal."
"Sure, but again. Right now she's looking for fey obligations 90% sure"
Whippoorwill returns from her brief aside. "No unusual activity from Nanometeor," she reports.
Feya lightly taps her feet as the wait for Femtite to return begins in earnest.
"Okay, but seriously Ms. Orwill. Did you actually check your data? And not your device data, but your carrier data?"
Blinking at the question, Whippoorwill folds her arms. "There's only so much data we can glean without sticking the rock under an electron microscope. We're trying to be better neighbors--slash--hosts than that. But, given we are paying attention to it, I can report that Nanometeor has shown no observable changes since its relocation."
"What? Not about Nanometeor. Like I asked, did you do it after our last conversation? About aardvarks?"
"Oh."She glances at Horizon and Rain. "I had a chat with Gothic. If any 'chat' with Gothic can be called that. I'm... aardvark free, or whatever. Must we keep speaking in code?"
"That. Is not the same thing."
"Help me out here, then," she says with a note of impatience. "Am I compromised? No. So what else are you asking?"
"a) Whether you're taking me seriously. b) Whether you've examined the most straightforward way to re-compromise you. c) Whether you have the imagination necessary to be at all useful as something other than access to resources in getting rid of aardvarks. I'm gonna say that earlier when you didn't even ask what the way I would've had you kill me was? That was a mauve flag."
Whippoorwill stares at Conflux for a beat. "Is there such a thing as a satisfactory answer to all that?"
Caio silently and sneakily follows Percy to the kitchen.
"I mean, one satisfactory answer to it would involve time travel, probably not worth it. Another would start with asking yourself why you don't take me seriously, keep deflecting etc., then probably some soul searching, and then either an honest conversation, or more likely, yet seemingly unlikely a heartfelt apology through gritted teeth."
Percy seems to be making some sort veggie stir fry, while also seering some venison on the side. Based on the amount of uncooked venison left it's going to be a while till he's done.
Whippoorwill pinches her brow while Indarius and Rain slip away from the briefing. Feya busies herself on a cell phone.
Finally she lifts her head and looks at Conflux directly. "I'm sorry," she says with ungritted teeth. "I apologize for my role in whatever this has become. It was not my intention to insult you or insinuate that I did not take you seriously."
"How many Alliance investigations and projects are you currently hands-on with, sensei?" Shin asks in a demonstrative question. "Aside from the ones involving First Class, and that whole thing with the civil war in the Mole Baronies that made the papers."
She shakes her head tightly. "I don't know. Off the top of my head, maybe twelve or so."
"... Okay, being real? I did not think an apology would actually happen, and I'm kiiinda feeling like I'm being boxed in by the social contact and my discomfort with being rude. But I'm muuuuuch stronger than that, so here we go:
"First, thanks. Second and like, a lot more important, not paying attention to me is bad , but I also actually care about the safety thing I brought up. My recommendations can do two things. Soooo are you gonna do it? Or have someone else do it? Do you need me to remind you? Or explain why? No lie, without third party confirmation, I've kiiinda gotta assume that you could be compromised. "
"Except I told you. Gothic cleared me. And if that's not good enough for you, then why are you asking for third party confirmation?"
"Gothic telling me is third party confirmation. You telling me that Gothic cleared you isn't."
With effort Whippoorwill stops her eyes from rolling mid-roll. "Then why ask me in the first place?"
"Because I'm reasonably convinced he couldn't full-on puppet you long-term from a distance. So, working within the expected limitations of his powers, I came up with ways that I could keep you essentially compromised while also skirting a Gothic only examination." "And then came up with a way to look for those methods that would only be foiled with incredible effort, OR something like this situation where you ignored me, or were nudged to ignore me, and by not telling you what I was looking for, would make it relatively difficult for anyone to give me a false negative that I'd believe."
Whippoorwill wipes her face. "You realize you're talking about an incident over two months ago, and presuming that Cortex even knows who you are and that -- if he did -- he would be so worried about you that he'd lay a heretofore unheard of psychic trap in my mind as a failsafe against you asking questions about a scheme that has his calling card all over it. ." She lets that hang in the air for a moment.
Clasping her hands together in a prayer pose, she leans over Conflux. "Please take this in the best possible way: Get over yourself."
Connie smiles, a bit nervously. "If it were to catch me it would have to be a much tanglier web than this. This would be to keep you on the hook for whenever he needs you. It's not about me. Also, are we pretending the incident had his fingerprints all over it before I ID'd him and pointed out a way he'd tampered with your mind? 'Cause you seemed real surprised."
Whippoorwill folds her arms again with a sigh. "Are we going to bring this discussion to a close anytime soon? It feels we've reached an impasse."
"Ok. We don't have to talk about it more right now."
Whippoorwill's glower shows Conflux exactly what she thinks of the "right now" part of her statement. She checks her gauntlet for updates on the city while she paces.
Feya does an exceptionally good job of keeping her face neutral. The Alliance members don't appear impatient exactly, but they clearly dislike being idle.
Several more minutes pass as the aromas from the kitchen get stronger.
Finally, well over a half hour since she shrank down, Femtite returns to full size!
"Femtite. That took you over half an hour." Shin says. "I trust you got your answers?"
Femtite nods. “Half an hour… that’s pretty quick, actually.”[/b] For the benefit of anyone who doesn’t understand a pixite’s scale, she says, “If humans were to lay down along the equator, each head rested against another’s feet, it would take 23 million humans to wrap around the equator. For pixites to do the same along Horizon’s waistline, it would take 800 billion of us.
“It helped that I knew what I was looking for… and unfortunately, there was another advantage that helped me expedite the search:
“The geas is on me and you both, Shin. Likely, I would find it on Valerie, Brian and Kara as well. The geas is a simulation. It ties us to a false promise and is currently too weak to bind us. But left alone, its power will grow.”
She reiterates her earlier request. “Shin. Please let me contact the fey through the Council of Queens. I know how this team feels about my Mother, but she knows the proper channels better than any of us.
“And she will contact the fey on my behalf as soon as she’s wise to my newly incurred debt. Better I approach her immediately so I can make the case for freeing you and the other humans of the impossible debt.”
"Cool. And you couldn't have gotten this information after the meeting because your powers don't work unless you immediately act on information, right?"
“Shin. It is for the best I didn’t wait. We are under an impossible geas. I am asking for your blessing to go to my Mother for your sake, Valerie’s, Brian’s and Kara’s.”
Shortly after Fentite's return, Indy walks back into the room with a large bowl of veggie stirfry mixed with peanut chicken.
"Oh cool she's back, what's the news?"
"And I am asking you to be considerate of Whippoorwill, Feya and the team's time before you launch yourself into something like this." "Because we could not continue the meeting without you." "Because we are a team."
"Mmm not good then."
He then shuts himself up with a spoonful of the meal.
"So no, you don't get my blessing to go off on your individual quest to resolve this issue. You're going to work with Connie, Percy, and the rest of the team to resolve this, together, using our combined efforts." "Sensei, I apologize for my teammate's inconsideration of your time." Shin bows his head to her. "Let's continue the meeting, please."
"Peanuts?" Caio offers everyone.
Femtite is shocked at the attitude. “Shin… wait. This is not me doing my own thing. Rain has the Corps. Connie and Percy have their magic, which I can’t help them with. You have your sources.
“Why is it that you won’t let me use my unique connection?” She looks to the adults, but Shin just speaks over her.
Femtite just says “No” to peanuts. To Whip and Feya, she says, “Sorry. I thought by acting right away, you wouldn’t just wait around but continue while I searched. I thought you’d want to wait for the result so you’d end up waiting a half hour either way.
“But sorry if you all just at peanuts the whole time.”
"Caio doesn't hop off to the Corps in the middle of a team meeting. You need this information as much as anyone else on the team, and when you go off like that and leave us hanging, you're being a bad teammate. There was no reason you couldn't have done that when we were done here first." "You have to put your team duties first. And sometimes, that means exercising patience." "Thank you for getting that information. It is helpful. It's more helpful when you wait until it's appropriate to go get it."
“Fine… I thought Connie wanted me to right away. Still, that doesn’t excuse denying me access to my connections.” PtM Shin 9
• How can I get your character to see that my position on the Council of Queens is advantageous?
Indy swallows what he had after listening to all this for a bit.
"In fairness we did ask, and needed results. But also Femtite you do have a tendency to just go off before things are ready for it."
He points his utensil between Horizon and her, "So uh.. not agreeing with either of you. Just... yeah."
By taking him or someone else with her to see the Council.
"Also no offense but there's a tendency for your solo outtings to actually cause more issues than they solve. I'm sure I'm not the only one who won't take your mom 'solving' this at face value no matter how much you trust her."
Femtite looks hard at Shin. And considering Percy’s words, she says, “It isn’t solo if I’m communicating this… and include…” She contemplates a moment, and finally says, “you, Shin. Via video call. You alone, and you need to adhere to rules of etiquette.“
"Does your council adhere to parliamentary procedures? It's really how we should be conducting these meetings in the first place but I felt that Connie would never stop making fun of me if I did." "Also, I need to take a look at the powers the council has for governing the Nanometeor, along with the bylaws and any documentation that grant such power. Actually, this is pretty interesting when I think about going through the law books of a uniquely non-human civilization...but later. Meeting first, let's call to order."
"Heh that adherence to laws is gonna serve well with the Fae Horizon."
"True. (Figuratively)"
Femtite just stares at Shin as he demands something that doesn’t exist. And what does exist isn’t the sort of thing a sixteen-year-old princess can offer.
She turns to Whippoorwill. “You of all people surely understand why I’m so confident I can actually get the Queens of my world to help, right?”
"I mean, making deals and agreements is important. You have to understand the language so you make sure that you don't get screwed over and lose your first born." He replies to Percy. "Or your spleen sucked out."
Reluctantly, Connie stops eating for a moment. "Yeah, but bro. There are plenty of long running human states that don't have actual written constitutions, and my understanding/brief observation is that we're more organizationally complex." She turns to Femtite. "Is there anything like that that exists? If not, what's the best available primer/primer substitute? I can make the flashcards if need be."
Caio contributes with the crunchy sound of him chewing his peanuts.
"That's honestly a fair point. Sorry if I caught you flat-footed. I just want to ensure that when I meet with the representatives of your entire planet I understand their code of laws and ethics enough not to put my foot in my mouth."
Shin glances briefly down at his watch before looking back up at Femtite.
Femtite looks relieved. At the foot-in-mouth comment, she jokingly suggests to Shin, “Then you might want to avoid asking about ‘law books.’”
To answer Connie, “What we have are several Earth-millennia worth of memory crystals. Our eldest pixites, Queen Solveig included, were born when homo neanderthalensis walked your Earth. The recorded memories exceed her time, and even that of Mother’s predecessor, Queen Áine. I’m not authorized to share these memories with outsiders. They’re sacred, and… some are… hard to watch.”
"That is... not equivalent. Just as a heads up. Also, I can get you flash cards for AP Gov"
“The Queens look at our vast history so that any mistakes are not repeated. Or, to look for similarities when confronting the seemingly unprecedented.”
Feya and Whippoorwill have been listening as this discussion turns to contacting the Pixite queens.
After a moment, Feya clears her throat. "What did you mean when you said the geas was a 'simulation'? I fail to see the need to embroil the queens of your people. We have our own means of contacting the fae courts, here on Earth."
"I was getting to that."
Femtite nods. “If you’d prefer your own channels, okay. You just seemed surprised that Queen Ninavae was real when I mentioned her, so I thought maybe I had the more direct route to the fey? Perhaps I misunderstood.
“But also…” Turning to Whip: “We’re grateful that the Alliance has secured our planet. What you’ve given us is more than anything we would have asked for. So… any opportunity for pixites to help humans would be… y’know. We didn’t crash here to just take and take and take and never give back.”
"If we can reach the fey without involving Queen Millie, I honestly believe it is just safer."
Turning to Femtite he adds. "During your investigation, did you find concrete evidence of your mother being on the fantasy world or not?"
Femtite just stares at the floor, obviously dejected.
To answer the question of finding evidence: “No.”
"It might be necessary, it might not be. It will not shock the world that I'd as soon avoid trusting Millie or Willie. However, we lose very, very little by maintaining multiple possible channels. Femtite will need to talk to her mother about whether or not she herself was dragged into the game, but my bet's on no. Femtite, why through the whole council, by the way?"
"Yeah, I summoned a version of Dusk in that game and I'm fairly certain it wasn't actually him. Or else things would have gotten real hard, real fast."
“That Millificent was not my Mother. We should really be a lot more concerned about a geas that can’t possibly be fulfilled.
“The silver thread is strange… disorganized.” She looks up at Connie. “Fair question. My Mother will be a lot more alarmed than the other queens, since this geas is on me as well. But Queen Donoma can reach out to the best seers… maybe it’s not necessary to meet all five of them though.“
She looks at Feya, but with more confidence this time. “Like Connie said, having more than one way to reach the fey isn’t a bad thing.”
"A geas that can't be fulfilled also can't be broken. We should resolve it, but going in panicky is showing a weak hand against some really, really top of the line players."
Femtite shakes her head. “Connie, whatever you know about a real geas doesn’t necessarily apply. The geas Tyg put on me is stable. The one on Shin and I leads to a tangled web… a pulsating node pulling on me, Shin, presumably others, demanding an obligation it’s not even sure of. With each pulse, the node gets incrementally stronger. And so does its next pull.
“It’s easily resistible now. When it’s not, I don’t know how bad it will be.” She’s looking Connie in the eye and her tone is calmly matter-of-fact. “I’m not panicking.
“Just flustered… never mind.” She turns to Caio. “Yes, I’ll have a peanut, thank you.” She takes exactly one.
"I was imprecise. This is serious, but we're looking to bargain. Don't show them your fluster."
"Yeah, there's still plenty of time to resolve the geas. A time limit was never set after all." Shin looks to everyone. "Any new business?"
"Out of curiosity, was this geas to bring the princess back?" He asks. "What are the chances of it changing to regard another princess?"
Femtite replies, “Probably, if Shin and I share it.”
But she’d rather say something “about new business: Caio, Connie… just an update on what we talked about earlier. Chastity seems in control of her own will. Raquel though, I’m concerned. She was over Chastity’s cousin’s house—like, as in she met him once—and now she’s squeeing over him. She asked him to the dance, and… this is not normal for Raquel.” She looks at Connie. “I’m probably not allowed to say why it’s not.
“Anyway, I don’t know if there’s a subtle way you can detect Zepar’s influence at school. I’m trying not to jump to conclusions, but her friend Gina also looked concerned. Chastity’s happy for her and Ngon… I dunno. He’s probably glad to not be the only boyfriend in the group.”
Caio nods, but first looks at Shin, Whip and Feya to see if they'll add anything new. He'd not dive into a parallel before the meeting was over.
"How about let's not jump subjects to personal stuff quite yet?" He says mildly annoyed that she's bringing some duke up at a time like this after just being scolded by Shin for wasting people's time.
"So our game plan is to let Horizon and Femtite speak with the council of Nanometeor about the geas binds, meanwhile Feya, Conflux, and myself will try to open direct contact with the fey court correct? In the hopes of establishing a way to abolish the previous bond and hopefully not get wrapped up in an unending fetch chain of favors and promises, right?"
Caio feels like the unpicked vegetable in the stand.
"Okay, roll it back please Femtite. This is for team business, not personal. If you're concerned about this Zepar then you should speak to a teacher if you think they're breaking school rules. Otherwise it's not the team's position to get involved."
"Zepar is an entity, like Matariel." Caio clarifies the point Horizon got incorrect.
"...further back up. Why is an angel getting involved in high school social circles?"
"Entity, Horizon." Caio corrects as he puts his bag of peanuts aside. "I do not want to be a stickler but the terms angels and demons gives us wrong ideas because of millennia of bias."
"Femtite believes that someone is summoning the Duke so her girlfriend isn't into girls anymore." He gives an elevator pitch of the subject. "It is obviously more complicated than that, but you are right that as far as we know this is a personal matter. I agree with you that we should finish our debriefing first..." He turns to Whip and Feya. "unless you two are interested in this?" He'd be surprised if the two heroines did not have more urgent matters to attend.
"That's not a personal issue, that's a team one. If an entity like Matariel is being abused, that is what the team goes to shut down. Why did no one bring this to me?"
Femtite is glad she held her tongue. Her expression suggests she is obviously irritated, but she answers directly. “You were in Fantasy Land.
“Percy and I were investigating hoofprints. I examined them at a subatomic level, but had a vision. Chastity and Rain were in it. Connie popped out of nowhere and explained the sigil in my vision… it’s a long story, but Connie was helping me make sure the threat was real. We got consent from Chastity to investigate her home, and Quincy sucked Connie into his world just when she identified the source.
“Then we had to debrief so I waited until you asked about new business to inform you.”
"It could certainly be big, but it is not necessarily." He explains, since the debriefing was apparently officially derailed.
"Just to make an analogy, imagine you are walking in the park in a sunny day and the sun is blocked. Without you looking at it, it could be just a cloud, or an eclipse or an evil alien race blocked it so we all die and despair... Most likely it is a cloud."
"I do not mean to diminish her worry about her relationship, but from what she told me and from what I know about these entities, it is very likely this is a cloud."
"If you have the time I can explain everything in more detail."
"Huh... well the way I see it getting rid of the fey bond is still higher priority since it's getting worse as time progresses apparently."
"At least until we discover any actual proof aside from Femtite's vision."
"So far nothing I've actually seen/detected leans me away from cloud/someone misusing magic derived from Z's portfolio... But Femtite had a vision which placed equivalent weight on Z and Matariel. That's not dispositive, but it's the main reason outside of generalized preparedness that I'm pessimistically awaiting another shoe."
"Relationship aside, Femtite's visions do skew towards correct more often than not. So, this is new business, but I think rather than getting wrapped up in the details of your social clique we should focus on Zepar and his origins. This has been going on longer and the Fey stuff can be put aside for now." "Do you have any idea who is responsible for summoning the entity and who else is being affected?"
"Did you not just.." Indarius sighs openly and stares at the ceiling.
"Summoning is about 6-7 in the doom scale..." Caio says, agreeing with Percy. Was there a bat in the ceiling?
“Raquel,” Femtite replies to Shin, “self-identifies as ace-aro. And as I said, she met Chas’ cousin once, yesterday, and is already planning a date.
“If the source of Zepar is at Chas’ cousin’s house, and Raquel was exposed, we can—I hope—find evidence that Raquel is under compulsion.”
And for anyone who thinks this isn’t serious, she adds, “My concern is she’ll be forced to do something and it will follow her for decades. This is every bit as serious as the geas. Arguably worse.”
"And it's worse because?"
"Self-identify is redundant in this usage. Seriously though. I'm taking the Duke Z thing seriously. Right now I don't think it's team business because there's nothing to punch. There's a couple things to research, a clam to jam, but right now we don't have the details to make it a team thing."
Indy looks around the room, "No seriously why is that more serious? On one hand we've got the Fey, something we know is real and can actively do something about that's only going to cripple us more as time goes on. Versus, something that's neither confirmed, affecting a significant portion of the team, or getting progressively worse while we deal with other things." "I'm not saying i'm not going to take the Duke situation seriously by the way. It's just not priority one because it's not going to hamstring us into not being able to do the other thing while the other thing is actively going to start limiting our ability to deal with the duke when it becomes a serious problem."
His gaze stops on Femtite expecting an answer from her.
Because it is Femtite. If we do not do what she wants, she will do it on her own. And we know how it will end. Caio sighs.
Pointing out this is thinking, in case you miss it
"My take on it, is that it's more important because it affects you above all of us. Which is something you, as a member of this team, can't do. We are a team, we keep each other in check, we help each other with our problems. You should know that more than anyone since we've put our asses on the line to dig you out of bigger issues several times. You know we're good for it, but lately those previous scenarios haven't seemed to be on your mind much. It's time to give back to the team and help the others out. We handle the fey, then we can all focus on the Duke. No more lone wolf s$+~, no more focusing on personal relationships." He looks over to Horizon, offers a sad smile, then turns back to Femtite "If we don't look out for one another first, then everything else falls apart."
Femtite listen to the rant, then answers Percy’s question. “Read about victims of sex crimes, and the decades-long effects, then tell me a compulsion forcing girls to lust for boys is not that serious.”
Caio puts a hand on Percy's shoulder. "Man... you know what you are about to say won't matter."
He then turns to Horizon. "Horizon, I'll respect your call, this discussion will lead us nowhere. We all know it. Please make a call about what we should focus first. I believe everyone already has made their opinions on the matter very clear."
Femtite makes eye-contact with something on the floor. She speaks slowly, softly.
“Did any of you understand that I mentioned my concern, in the hope that Caio or Connie could check on Raquel at school tomorrow to detect Zepar’s power, if possible?
“That was not me asking the team to drop everything and save Raquel from an unconfirmed threat. That was not me lone-wolfing, hence my asking for help, and giving Connie and Caio updates as promised. When I said ‘just as serious, arguably worse,’ I was not talking about priority. I was talking about the perspective of the victim.“
As the discussion grows more heated and old grudges and accusations start to rear their ugly heads, the adult heroes' presence are nearly forgotten. Remaining silent and only observing, the argument plays out without interference from the Alliance members.
Feya finally steps forward during a brief pause in the argument and asserts herself. "Correct me if I'm mishearing the matter, but knowledge of both of these concerns were derived from Femtite's divinations? So any uncertainty you profess should apply to both as well."
She turns to Caio. "The Corps would find the entreating of Duke Zepar as the greatest threat. You should know that, and be worried that Matariel and Zepar appeared in a vision together. Why are you dismissing this concern?"
Femtite stands at attention as Feya speaks. She listens, respectfully makes eye-contact, and it’s not her turn to speak. She remains silent and attentive.
"...I'm inclined to side with Fem in this case, Indy," Horizon says. "You bring up time as an issue, but we don't properly know how long this Zepar business has been going on. We know how long the Fey pact has been on us. And to clarify, we look out for those who can't look out for themselves. Femtite's friends aren't magicians or sorcerers. You can help save them and others who might also be victims."
Indy sighs once again as Femtite misses anything of substance from what he said once more, including him saying it was still serious, so he looks to Caio. "Yeah I guess I should expect everything I said to be wasted breath. So guess I'll just stuff my mouth and follow commands like a good little dragon on a leash or whatever."
He then proceeds to express the concept by taking an overly large bite of his food and zoning out of the conversation stepping back a ways. "So whatever I'll drop out of the discussion here since my concerns apparently don't matter. Call me when you need me to pull your ass out of the fire I guess." He walks off to his room depressed that Shin once again just rolled over with Femtite's demands. When he got there he slammed the door causing it to crack ominously before freezing over.
"Sorry, if I'm already on board with helping on both these things do I need to listen to the lecture too? I'll stay either way 'cause I've got some stuff for after, but like, can I do some work?"
"With the fey geas, Femtite's vision is confirming something we were already suspecting. With Zepar, her vision is the only clue we have."
He frowns. "I'm not dismissing the matter. No one is. No one is saying it isn't serious." He points to his room. "I've been researching about Zepar since I've heard about it the other day and I've already contacted the Corps. They told me to stay vigilant, even if their guess is that this is nothing but a goethic love spell. With this new information about Raquel, I'll check tomorrow."
"I'm just not overreacting until we know anything concrete about it." And this was why he trusted the Corps over the Alliance.
Got an 8 to Reject Feya's influence
Femtite says “Thank you” to Caio when he says he will check on Raquel.
She looks as if about to say more, but is hesitant. Feya called on Caio, not me, she reminds herself.
In silence, Caio leaves the base so he doesn't burst like Percy.
After the second walkout, Femtite is having a hard time keeping comments to herself.
She floats, one leg crossed over the other. And eventually, she raises her hand.
"Oh jesus f!!&ing christ." Connie calls on Femtite with great flourish.
Feya's mouth forms a tight line when Caio shuts her down and leaves the base.
"Meeting adjourned," Whippoorwill announces, sounding sick to her stomach. "New orders: check on the geas, check on Zepar. Watch out for the civilians; they don't need to be wrapped up in this any more than necessary. All right?"
Maeve-Conway texts:
☀️: HI-hiiiiiiiii!!
☀️: Conway, I don’t know if you know the people I sit with at lunch.
☀️: Chastity, Raquel, Gina and her bf Ngon.
☀️: Anyway, two questions and expect a third:
☀️: 1. How would you like to watch the original *Alien* starring Sigourney Weaver?
She texts the date, time and place.
☀️: 2. Are you available for a video call?
☀️: (Lunch just started at Hal Prep.)
RougeLeader:...
RougeLeader: Hi?
RougeLeader: never hung out but I remember them. Lemme check
Several minutes pass.
RougeLeader: It's cool. I can go. U sure they want me to come?
All but one of Aerel's shots miss the shaman. Benedict feels the unnerving sensation of numerous arrows whizzing past his ears and neck and watching them appear in the body of the raging morlock in front of him.
With the rager dead, Benedict moves up to threaten the shaman. Amkarang hits the chieftain once with his whirling hammer.
The shaman stands firm against Benedict's threatening presence and carefully casts a spell.
Concentration DC 23:1d20 + 15 ⇒ (13) + 15 = 28
A sickly greenish glow appears on the shaman's hand and he reaches out to touch Benedict.
Touch:1d20 + 11 ⇒ (18) + 11 = 29
Had to revise the damage calculation because the big morlock in front of Benedict made his reflex saves against the fireballs and had cover from Benedict (narrow corridor, Benedict in between William and the target) so only one arrow hit.
Benedict can change his action or try to push past the morlock. Also, still waiting on Amkarang
William's first multi-arrowed shot flies astray, but his second shot manages to strike the morlock destroyer. The wounds are too much for the raging berserker, and it falls.
Grum manages to dodge or absorb most of the big, ponderous swings, but she catches him in a backswing that he didn't see coming, but the wound could have been a lot worse.
Haela moves into a defensive posture as the rest of the morlocks continue to swarm.
The burly morlock continues his attacks on Benedict.
Maeve, you can't get a read on Chastity since she's very closed off from you right now.
"Good," Chastity says about Conway being invited.
"So, me and Gabriel, Gina and you, Maeve and Conway... Chastity? Anyone else you'd like to invite?" Raquel asks. "I could ask Gabe to invite a friend of his?"
Chastity shrugs, and Raquel goes back to texting.
* * *
Alden leans back in his chair with a stretch. "I guess not. I'm still editing them anyway. Did you catch up with her last night?"
============
Connie
Connie assesses the instant pot while Fae brings up the spreadsheets she'd built on her tablet. "Could you look these over? It was either working on these or scrolling through Infini-tok all night."
The shaman cries out in a strange and haunting language. Suddenly, ghostly morlock spirits claw out of the rocks around the heroes and claw at them with their ethereal limbs.
Storm of Souls:5d8 ⇒ (2, 5, 4, 6, 3) = 20 Fort DC 22 for half
