[Nexus] Inside 43

[Slii Arhem]

A Dark Side-Street

"Oh yes." Is that a convenient manhole cover Jakob spies? I do believe it is. Time for a good old fashioned discus throw then.

The meaty giant stabs his fingers into the cobble surrounding the manhole cover and lifts it out whole, trailing shards of rock as it goes. A grim smile and a quick haul back of the arm is all the warning Gregoire gets before Jakob hurls the metal disk at waist height across the alley.

[Rebonack]

[A Dark Side-Street]

And Gregoire retorts with a single deft stroke of his Relic-blade, neatly bisecting the projectile and sending the two halves careening into the walls on either side of him.

He then takes one step forward.

One very slow step.

Follow by *THWOOM!* as he crosses the distance between himself and the giant in a blink of an eye. Then comes three jabs with the blade, each aiming to punch into the hole left by the one before, drilling a hole into the giant's torso.

Freddy, meanwhile, approaches his prayer beads again and takes a deep breath. This... is going to hurt. A lot. But he isn't going to just leave them behind.

A sharp hiss as his pins the cord to the ground with a paw and clamps his teeth around the Relic before wrenching it away and hurling it as far as he can. Then with blood running down his face he picks up the cord in his teeth. Carefully. Reverently. And though it still burns at him it isn't nearly as bad without the Relic attached.

Nor does it compare to the gnawing pained inside him. One more source of hurt is a small price to pay for a memento that means so much.

[Slii Arhem]

A Dark Side-Street

Jakob holds out the hand he just threw the manhole cover with, letting the blade slide through his palm on the first blow, just barely making enough headway for the tip to press into his chest, hissing and smoking slightly.

Then he closes his fingers tightly, trying to trap and crush Gregoire's hand before it can withdraw and strike again, "Holy killer is quick, and has good technique. Is too reckless, perhaps."

[Rebonack]

[A Dark Side-Street]

Gregoire's hand makes an unpleasant cracking sound. Though it probably isn't ruined beyond use. That strange golden miasma around his body seems to push back against the giant's grip. Not enough to completely nullify the attack, but enough to weaken it.

"Perhaps," the Templar replies simply before holding up his other hand toward the giant's chest and making a holy gesture.

*FWOOOOOSH!*

A tremendous gout of flame erupts from the air in front of the Templar's hand, carrying both tremendous heat and force!

Meanwhile!

Freddy turns toward the fight, his yellow eyes finally beginning to focus as he quickly grows accustomed to block out the gnawing pain and hunger. And to mention the aching emptiness.

He grits his teeth, fox-fire licking over his body as several wisps lift off and begin to congeal into an orb of ghostly blue flame! And with a flick of his tails he HURLS it at Gregoire and the giant!

...

And misses completely.

Poor sickly tree that's now on fire...

What did it ever do to you, Freddy?

The Huldra blinks, then folds back his ears as he looks away sheepsihly. "Right... practice on aiming..."

[Slii Arhem]

A Dark Side-Street

Jakob, being at point blank range, takes the gout of flame straight to the face! That must be nasty. He managed to close his eyes before it hit, so at least those will probably not sear right out of his head.

It doesn't loosen his grip any either, so the force of the flame knocking him backwards might just drag Gregoire over his head by the templar's sword hand. And would you look at that, a conveniently placed wall behind them for Gregoire to possibly slam into.

Jakob, if the templar-slamming is successful, will end up on his back, trying to blink away the pain of a flame-seared face.

[Rebonack]

[A Dark Side-Street]

Gregoire hits the wall!

And goes crunch again!

As before his aura protects him from the brunt of the damage, but it looks like that still hurt quite a bit! He staggers to his feet and finds that his arm is still held fast! Well. That simply won't do.

The Relic snaps back to its neutral position before flaring into a wide razor edged shield! This may force the giant's hand open. Or sheer off his fingers. Gregoire would be quite pleased with either of those results!

Then he staggers forward and cries out in pain as a rather sizable ball of fox-fire blasts into him from behind! The aura is still helping! But geeze, that stuff hurts!

Fredrick just lobbed another projectile. At the moment he's standing rather shakily on his hind legs, bracing himself against a convenient wall. Seems he isn't too accepting of the idea of crawling around on four legs just yet.

[Slii Arhem]

A Dark Side-Street

What actually happens is a bit of both, in fact. Jakob's index finger is sheered off completely, while his ring finger dangles by a thread. The others are simply forced away, singed but otherwise unharmed.

"Scream for me little one. Scream and perish!" Jakob lashes out with his uninjured arm, hoping to catch Gregoire across the knees while he's still laying down. The other hand begins the process of propping the giant up, so he can stand sooner rather than later.

[Rebonack]

[A Dark Side-Street]

That works too!

The Templar is a bit distracted due to being blasted from behind. He's also a bit distracted when he turns around and sees Freddy.

Why is that?

Freddy figured out to make herself look human again.

Yep. Herself.

See, when a Huldra takes human form they generally don't take a specific form. They take the form of the most beautiful, attractive person possible to whoever they're targeting. Usually Templar carry allheal with them to allow them to see through the lies and illusions of Huldra.

Buuuut Gregoire's pouch of allheal was in his coat. The one he shrugged off earlier.

So surprised is he by the sudden appearance of this woman of near divine beauty that all other thought process aside from ogling her is temporarily suspended. Especially when she leans toward him in a fashion that shows off her figure quite stunningly.

Then Gregoire gets punched in the knee.

When he wasn't focusing.

Which means the golden miasma didn't cushion the blow as much as it would have. Which means his leg makes a horrible snapping sound as it gets clipped out from under him.

Whoops!

[Slii Arhem]

A Dark Side-Street

While that certainly is interesting and worth noting, Jakob's muted sense of desire caused by being an it, rather than having a true sex, pulls him through.

And so he stands up, trailing blood from the many wounds he's acquired so far.

"I would like to say you have fought well little killer, but you have not. Your soul will be better off without this shell to hold it." A pale grey mist begins to collect around Jakob's bared chest, and he reaches out with both hands to try and grab Gregoire's shoulders and hold him upright despite the ruined knee.

[Rebonack]

[A Dark Side-Street]

Welp.

Greg is in trouble.

He redoubles his miasma and grits his teeth, trying his best to force the giant's grip off him! Mostly because he would really rather not have his soul get stolen. By anyone, really. A stolen soul means he can't get to the Golden City when he dies!

As for Freddy...

She grins a rather predatory grin as she saunters over toward the giant, looking up at him with pleading eyes. "Can I eat him? Pleeeease? He did this to me and I think that would be a good punishment for such a bad boy."

[Slii Arhem]

A Dark Side-Street

"Question you should be asking yourself, little monster, is if you can take him from me." Jakob's grin turns fierce as his grip loosens slightly, but the hold has served its purpose. The mist coalesces into a massive, scythe-like claw that extends on a corded arm sitting directly in the center of Jakob's chest. Even as it forms, it's lashing out at Gregoire's heart, try to lance straight through with all the force he can muster. At the same moment the strike would land, Jakob tries to give a wrenching pull on Gregoire's soul, anticipating that the shock might loosen the templar's hold on it enough for it to come free.

[Rebonack]

[A Dark Side-Street]

At that answer Freddy crosses her arms and offers a pouty face. Sadly asexual giants are generally immune to pouty faces. "Probably not. I have no idea what I'm doing."

It's true!

Missed that first fox-fire ball like a champ!

And she still isn't totally clear on how to do anything else!

AND she hasn't devoured any other souls yet! That sharply limits her options. But that's easy enough to fix! Just go find some people to eat and- wait. No. That... that isn't...

She? He? It? Freddy clutches her gut and staggers back several steps, gasping in pain. The emptiness is gnawing at her. But she can't... she can't just give in like that.

...can she?

No...

NO!

She's NOT a monster! She's NOT a slave to Discord! She still has her soul. And she should refrain from tainting it.

Freddy glances up just in time to see the Templar transfixed through the heart and his soul wrenched from his body. A wave of nausea suddenly hits her.

Then him.

Then the wolf-sized fox beast as Freddy loses his grip on his human shape and topples over, stomach roiling as he dry-heaves at the ground. Geeze, this is really terrible.

[Slii Arhem]

A Dark Side-Street

The claw dissolves, dropping Gregoire's limp corpse to the ground unceremoniously. In Jakob's shredded hand, a small link of chain rests, pulsing with soul energy. Fredrick should be able to feel it from where he is resting on the ground.

"Are you sure you would not wish to try little monster? There are more souls I can find, but this one would be special to you, yes? Keep it, as gift. Maybe one day when you have grown in power, I come to take soul from you, yes?" Jakob tosses the link of chain in Fredrick's direction, where it should clatter near his front left paw.

[Rebonack]

[A Dark Side-Street]

Freddy looks at the link, still panting from his rather unpleasant experience of vomiting up nothing a few moments prior.

Freddy looks at the injured giant. Obvious killer. A fiend and a monster. Some nagging feeling tells the Huldra that this thing is even less human than he is.

Freddy looks at the dead Templar.

This is all his fault. He had trusted him. Trusted Priest John. And they both betrayed him. And for what reason? So the Empyreum could have another leashed Huldra to help destroy their enemies. That idea hadn't ever bothered Fredrick before. But when it came time to put the leash around his neck suddenly he was quite opposed.

His Orb drifts over to the Templar, makes a loop around his neck, and drags the corpse back toward himself.

This is wrong. Even if Gregoire was a terrible person denying someone entrance to the Golden City is just...

The Huldra lifts one paw into the air.

This is wrong.

Blazing claws of fox-fire ignite.

Stop, this is wrong.

Claws rend into the Templar's abdomen and messily extract his liver.

But it feels so right.

The fox-monster begins to rather noisily devour the liver, dragging the soul-link into the meal and consuming it along with the organ. Freddy can feel the soul settling inside his hollow, empty shell of a body. He can feel its power. The soul of a Templar is strong.

What comes next is intoxicating. That ache of Fredrick's hollowed husk is replaced with a feeling of fullness. Soundness. Completeness. Of being whole again. Of being human again.

The Huldra gives a small murmur of pleasure, closing his eyes and leaning against a nearby wall as blood drips from his teeth.

[Slii Arhem]

A Dark Side-Street

"Good, yes? Continue to feed little monster. One day Jakob will find you, and test himself against your claws. If you are not strong enough then, you will die." The great lumbering giant turns, and begins to walk away. His job here was done, and there were always more souls to fight before he was found, and called back to the hive.

[Rebonack]

[A Dark Side-Street]

Freddy hardly even registers the words. He's too busy basking in the feeling of not having a black-hole for a heart threatening to suck him away into oblivion at all times.

"Mmm... okay..." the Huldra replies dreamily as the giant departs.

Some part of Freddy, and not a small one, is screaming at him that what he just did was horrible and wrong and disgusting. Another part is telling him to get the hell out of here before someone finds the fox-demon covered in someone else's blood loitering around near a corpse.

The second voice manages to motivate him more than the first.

Without any real effort to speak of the Huldra leap atop a nearby building as if he weighed little more than the air around him. He lands with grace and poise before bounding off over the rooftops.

Eventually he finds a tall abandoned apartment complex with a long since empty chicken coop on the roof.

What better place for a fox to rest?

With a swat of his paw Freddy peels the door off his hinges, climbs inside, and goes to sleep.

Some time later...

As morning dawns the next day Fredrick slowly comes to his senses. He had the most horrible nightmare. Templar Gregoire had stabbed him and he became a Huldra and wait, where is he?

He tries to stand, only to bang his head on the roof of the coop and snarl in pain and frustration!

...

And sets the coop alight in a burst of fox-fire.

"GAH! I'm on fire!" the Huldra cries as he comes tumbling out of the coop, quickly realizing that his dream was not in fact a dream at all. Sadly it was all to real. So with a heavy non-heart the fox demon examines the prayer beads wrapped around his front right leg.

The skin near the beads is tender and sore. As uncomfortable as it is to wear them they're all he has left of his humanity and he's not about to let go of that memento. His last connection to who he was. Ever so gingerly he begins to run a paw over them, closing his eyes and wincing in pain as he offers up simple prayers to the Archons.

...

It had always felt like they were listen before. Like someone was truly there to hear him.

But now...

Not it feels like the he's just speaking to the empty air.

Had the Emperor really abandoned him? Abandoned him over something so totally out of his power? Maybe it's because he ate the Templar who had betrayed him... That must be a sin of some kind. And it's not like he can go find a Priest and take the Ritual of Cleansing for it either. Demons don't get rituals performed for them. And rightly so.

The fox-demon huffs. "Maybe I should distract myself with something... Get use to this new life I've been cursed with..."

He sniffs at the air...

And picks up on something... delectable.

But something a long way off. Naked souls. Ghosts. Free meals just waiting to be devoured! Ha! Now that would be a good way to spend his time.

And so Freddy is off, leaping from roof top to roof top toward Arkham Street.

[Lost_Deep]

Arkham Street-Haunted house

The thing about Arkham street is that two thirds of the houses are haunted... and the ones that aren't haunted are filled with things that scare out the ghosts.

Look at the house... more of a mansion, really. A few ghosts in there... or maybe just one, spread out?

Depending on how accurate Freddy's senses are, the soul may seem... off. Strong? Angry? Stuck? There's something different about this one... different how?

Well, the answer is that it's not from Freddy's universe. It's different. But will that really matter?

[Rebonack]

[Arkham Street - Haunted House]

Rebo made a Haunted House here once.

It was rather silly. And full of ghosts.

Anywho!

Freddy still isn't totally sure on what his senses even mean yet. He just recently acquired some of them after all. And so when he alights in front of the haunted house and peers up at it he really has no idea what he's getting into.

Aside from the fact that he knows that ghosts are something to eat.

A quick glance at a random passerby gives him a nice human form to work with. Male. Handsome beyond all reason. And most importantly in possession of thumbs!

"Alright ghost," he says aloud as he approaches the front door. "Here I come."

[Lost_Deep]

Arkham Street - Haunted House

The house is old, and a bit unmaintained, but not dilapidated. The outside isn't too creepy... no light shine from the windows, no breeze blows through the trees... nothing in particular.

If he opens the door and steps inside, all the lights will come on. It's a hallway, and down the hall there is a T-intersection with a single frame hanging on the wall, empty. Off to one side, there is a door... probably to a coat closet.

When the lights went on, the spiritual dynamic of the house changed. What was different? The spirits were hiding?

If Freddie steps in far enough, the door will swing shut behind him. It's meant to do that; it's weighted. If he wants to leave, he can. Nothing will stop him.

It's not cold. If anything, it's a little warm in here.

[Rebonack]

[Arkham Street - Haunted House]

Freddy takes a deep breath and steps inside!

The smell is the thing that gets to him the most. Previously smell had just been something to inform him that bread was baking or what have you. Now? Now he can smell the history of a place.

Who has been there. Inklings of what transpired. Of souls passing through. How close to death they may have been. But most of all it's those naked souls that flood his senses. He knows that it's here. The question is where?

With one hand he unconsciously begins to fiddle with his Orb, the device pulsing with baleful crimson light. His soul. His connection to humanity. So precious to him. And so strange to have it drifting around outside his body.

With the other hand he trails his fingers along the wall, collecting dust as he goes. Eventually he'll stop at the empty frame and attempt to right it if it happens to be crooked.

[UncleWolf]

Years Ago - Markets

Oh, sure. Her fur was cut short, but she ruled this strange place and knew it. After all, the cutest thing in the multiverse couldn't have any other job, could she? With her nose held high, jaunty gait, and sashaying tail, she ignored the masses and just kept strutting her stuff.

Chloe paused after a moment, sniffing something new. Taking a few breathes through her nose, she sneezed to clear it. Sure, she sneezed over a little toddler nearby, causing him to stare at her in shock, but she didn't care. She had a new underling to introduce herself to. The pekingese takes several dozen short little steps to get to her destination, panting a bit by the time she rounds the corner. She doesn't give the underling the satisfaction of needing to look up to see his face, so she just sniffs at his foot.

Wolf. Something. Power. Male. Alpha...

This one was a good one. Perfect to help cement her reign over these pitiful mortals.

The pekingese snorts over Wolfy's lower paw, an order telling him to pick her up.

______________

Looking down at the fluffy white dog, the God can't help but smile. In all his omniscient glory, he hadn't known or seen her arrive. It was a wonderful surprise. "Well, hello there." He greets to her before picking up the little puppy and scritching her ears. She couldn't have been more than a few months old. "So...Chloe, is it? Where shall we head to now?" He asks the girl.

The Pekingese gives a yowling bark of excitement and wags her tail before leaning her head to one side, offering a cheek. Chuckling once more, Wolfy leans down to kiss the pup's cheek, just as Chloe wanted. "You're a pretty girl. I know just the place. I'll take you to my home."

Present Day - Wolfy's Moor

"I...I think it's time for me to go now." Says a strong and feminine voice in Wolfy's ear. Chloe kept her tone quiet, but she wanted to make her meaning strong. She winces inwardly when she sees the God's ears droop in sadness, but she reaches up to scritch them softly. "We knew it was coming." She admits.

After a bit, Wolfy nods and gets up from his chair to look at the being he could never sense. In his Realm, he had gifted her with a humanoid form to allow easier interaction. They weren't lovers as their relationship didn't allow it. Over the years, he had come to think of her as a Mother.

Even Gods needed someone to dote over them on occasion. It helped keep them in line.

The God smiles softly at the small, Asiatic appearing woman in front of him and gives her a gentle hug. Initially, she had been made young, but over time, their relationship imposed a new and more mature looking form upon her. After the hug, Wolfy reaches up and strokes the "pekingese"'s white hair away from her shoulder so he can look at her once more. "I...I'm going to miss you, Chloe." He wanted to keep her close, to beg her not to leave him. He'd do anything to make her stay with him just one more day, but he knew it wouldn't happen. They'd discussed this event on prior occasions. Even so, Wolfy can't help but sniff a bit, feeling heartbroken and sad. Once he let her go, he'd likely never find her again.

Chloe looks at the Wolf and her features soften, sad as well. She reaches up to stroke his muzzle gently, wiping away the tears. "You'll be fine without me. Besides, someone needs to rule the Mortal Realms since you won't." Wolfy chuckles sadly at her near-joke and offers her a small smile. "Alright."

He almost sends her back right then. Back to her normal form and where he'd found her, but he pauses for just a moment to nuzzle both of her cheeks in affection. "Love you, Chloe. And good luck." He sees just a glimpse of her smile before she fades into mist, back into the mortal realm.

Streets - Present Day

A little white pekingese, fully grown but just as spunky as a puppy, patters out from under a table, a grin on her face. Chloe, the Self-Proclaimed Empress of All, was back on the streets once more.

(Chloe, my dear departed Pekingese...I've had a wonderful 12 years with you and would never give up a single one for anything. Wherever your spirit resides now, I know you knew that I loved you the entire time and will always remember you for the rest of my days. I will always miss you.

May you forever rest in peace.)

[Lost_Deep]

Arkham Street - Haunted House

People were here... a long time ago. That's what his nose tells him.

The frame isn't crooked. Only empty. In order to get to the frame, he has to step into the T-intersection. to one side, a stairway heading up. To the other, a living room with an old-fashioned television. The big boxy kind, from the '90s. It's hooked up to an entertainment system from the same era. The tv is off, but the VCR is on. Can't tell what it says from here, but it seems to be blinking.

Breedle-Ding~

An odd noise comes from the living room. It asks for attention with this chime, and at the same time a buzz is heard as something vibrates.

The souls have all but retreated... or is it just one vast one that is hiding?

The lights flicker.

(The coat closet was in the hall leading up to the intersection, as opposed to in the intersection itself. Sorry if that was vague.)

[Rebonack]

[Arkham Street - Haunted House]

It's worth noting that this place is really strange to Freddy to begin with. He was from a ye olde setting and so he really hasn't the faintest grasp on what various appliances might do.

Even lights from something other than fire is really weird.

Suffice to say the Nexus has been new experience after new experience for him. Even discounting the fact that he ended up getting turned into a Huldra.

Into the living room Freddy goes!

He's never seen a TV before. Modern or otherwise. He'll reach out to put a hand on the screen, running his fingers across it. Probably getting really dusty in the process. The odd sounds of the VCR grab his attention next and he kneels down to get a better view of the strange box which is no doubt flashing 12:00.

The Huldra is pretty distracted right now. And given that he isn't focusing on keeping his tails hidden at all the two foxy limbs are gently swishing behind him.

"I wonder what this thing is..." he mutters aloud as he prods at a random button. The ghost is completely forgotten for now.

[Lost_Deep]

Arkham Street - Haunted House

The VCR is blinking, but is blinking 12:03. That's not the time it really is, is it? In any case, poking the buttone doesn't seem to do anything.

Now that he's in the living room, he can see the couch and chairs. In front of the couch is a coffee table, which has an old-fashioned cell phone on it. The cell phone is on, and quite bright. There is a doorway to a dining room, and in the dining room you can see two other doors to other places in the house.

If he looks at the cell phone closer, it will say it has 1 new message, received at 12:03.

[Rebonack]

[Arkham Street - Haunted House]

The VCR proves to be rather uninteresting!

Freddy wrinkles his nose at the machine. He's pretty sure it's supposed to do something. The buttons make funny clicking noses when he pokes them! But maybe it just isn't working?

Ah well.

The cell phone is the next item on his list of things to fiddle with!

He'll pick it up, turn it over a few times in his hands, sniff at it.

...

And then try pulling it open. Unless of course it isn't one of those old cellphones you pull open. In that case more button prodding!

[Lost_Deep]

Arkham Street - Haunted House

The phone is opened up! The message pops up on the screen:

Why?

No sender is listed. No number, either... which is very odd for anyone who knows a thing about cell phones. Further button pushing will net nothing. Closing the phone will make it show the time: 12:03.

I'm fairly sue it's not 12:03 yet.

[Rebonack]

[Arkham Street - Haunted House]

It sure is a good thing that Freddy was taught how to read as part of his faux-Priest training. Otherwise the mysterious message would be totally lost on him.

...

This would probably be a lot creepier if he actually understood what that 12:03 meant. Or how cell phones worked.

With a shrug he puts the device in his pocket. He can figure out how to work it later. Who knows! It might end up being useful. He's seen lots of other people talking into them after all.

He'll head into the dining room next since he seems to have exhausted his supply of interesting things to do in this room.

[Lost_Deep]

Arkham Street - Haunted House

The phone goes into his pocket.

The lights turn off. The only light coming into the room is coming in through the windows.

The sun seems to be going down. Perhaps the ghosts will be more eager to come out after that source of light is gone...

If he looks closely, he will notice that the VCR is also powered off-all the electricity in the house is off.

The phone vibrates and makes its little tone. Fredrick just got his first message!

[Rebonack]

[Arkham Street - Haunted House]

Not like Freddy knows anything about electricity.

He's a little too low-tech for that. Again, this would probably be a bit creepier if he actually had a grasp of how all this stuff works. But he doesn't! And so it's all just written off as the strange and mysterious functioning of super-advanced technology.

Then the phone in his pocket rings.

"Gah!" the Huldra gasps, looking around frantically to figure out where the sound is coming from!

After a few moments of this silliness he thinks to pull the strange device out of his pocket and open it up again.

Maybe it'll say something else this time?

[Lost_Deep]

Arkham Street - Haunted House

The message is about as long as it his helpful:

Why!?

The lights do not come back on. The sun is slowly setting...

Ring ring!

There's a phone ringing. It's coming from one of the rooms off of the dining room.

RING RING