Otherworldly [IC]

[Voltaire]

Season One - Episode Two (S01E02)

'Bad News'

Theme Song: Johnny Cash - Ain't No Grave

***

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

Nicole sets her cup down, the clink of the thin china the only sound in the still air of the room. A single clink, followed by the unsteady rattle of cup on saucer as her hand clenches involuntarily.

"Why us?"

Her voice trembles slightly, the truth of the situation striking her as vividly as the visions so recently painted across her mind. The horror has struck home: that moment of terror when you realize that something you have long taken for granted is now something entirely different, and something entirely alien. It seizes Nikki now.

[commander panda]

as gus speaks, stephen keeps a dutifull checklist of facts and names.
-doctor, Sariel, nikki. three more names in the pot. he'd remember the rest later.
-gus is a demon. good. sanity reasserts itself.
-gus doesn't like straight answers. the poor girl must have a headache allover again.
-denim man is a magician. righto, we're makeng progress.

then the visions come.

-first are the celestials arriving, conquering the natives, god being a douche, lucifer gets cast down, politics as usual.
-something is wrong? thats new. maybe. something powerful enough to disrupt a speces and beckon armageddon? hmm.
-then one of the greatest questions of all. stephen turns inward. where do you go?

[Gem_Knight]

Aric resumes sitting down. He lets out a sigh of mild frustration, "It's a good thing I'm used to crazy people speech," he mutters to himself.

He shrugs and gets up to move closer to the group, this time managing to ignore the shrinking room for the most part. "As for Demons, got nothing against them, my best friend is a quarter demon, and his grandfather- if you can get him to drop his ******* armor, is a very gentle person underneath- mind you if he were to hear me say that he might try and kill me again," he chuckles.

"I suppose I could go for some biscuits, or as I prefer to think of them, cookies." He takes one of the cookies (Assuming they are actually somewhere and not just talked of without being delivered >.>). As he munches on one, "Hmm, not bad. But anyway, so- on the topic of preventing apocoli- or whatever the plural is, I take it you either can't or won't be more specific. I mean- is there some force we should be on the lookout for, a single entity we could lash out at- hell- how about a timeline, next week, next year, next wednesday? Or is this more of a lacking timeline sort of thing because the thing lacks time being somehow outside or beyond it?"

[Raunchel]

Hannah is still leaning on Nicole when the visions come over her. A strange kind of rest comes over her face as she takes everything in. She seems relieved. The girl sways slightly and says, with her weak voice: "But what can be done? What do you want done? Why do you even care? about the world, it is just one of the many realms."

[Gnomes2169]

"World ending catastrophe? Sounds like my cup of tea." The Dotcor said after the short and awkward silence. "Speaking of which, excellent tea my good sir. You are far more courteous than the demon I met before. Rather an angry fellow, full of rage and mind control. I believe he was sucked into a black hole." For some reason, the Doctor knew that the screwdriver wouldn't have found anything, but he checked anyway and shrugged when the display showed nothing. "So then, if you are keeping us here for as long as necessary, then what are we supposed to do here?"

[theduck]

The visions and the questions nearly sent Ed reeling, and while he could not fully shake the unease the question left him with, Hannah's response calmed him. Serenely, he starts to wander aimlessly.

She brings up a good point, you know. All things end, eventually. Are you sure we even can or should try to stop it? What kind of end is coming?

Still... where do the souls go to rest Turning abruptly, he starts to walk towards Hannah and Nicole.

Who says that souls ever go anywhere to rest?

Sitting on his haunches, he tries to look Hannah in the eyes, and gives her a small smile.

You do seem calm about this possibility, though. What is your name?

[Raunchel]

"My name is Hannah", replies the girl, looking back at Edward. Her eyes seem strange, frightened but behind the fear there is a kind of understanding that someone her age shouldn't have. She continues: "There is no rest, that is clear, old souls last forever, they only suffer. The world might end, but that always continues. There is no real end, only new beginnings. From one suffering to another, the eternal drift."

A tear falls from her eye while a thin smile appears on her face.

[Starbin]

Sariel snorted at the visions. "Damn, Gus, a prince, eh? Last I heard you were a Duke ... moving up in the underworld, eh? Well, thanks for the trip down memory lane, Gus, but I caught the matinee." He stepped forward and grabbed a biscuit, scoffing at the tea. Damn, Gus, is Hell going all British Invasion on us? I would have thought you'd spent more time with Americans and brought a decent pot of joe."

As he listened to the people around talk, including the little girl, he stared at them for long moments, then laughed out loud at the various comments. "Wow, I don't know where you got these folks, but they are a HOOT! They're also f*&king retarded. You and I both know the souls used to go up or down ... Lou f*&ked that all up with the Tiff and it's been limbo ever since. NOBODY gets out alive ..."

For a moment, Sariel stops, staring at his biscuit for a moment, his eyes flickering with ... sadness? regret? Then he looked back up. "Most of these folks have the right of it ... what do you want us to do about it, Gus? I know you're usually a straight shooter, so give it too us strait without all this "beyond what you see" bullsh*&. What's the lowdown?"

[theduck]

Hello Hannah, it is nice to meet you. And I hope you don't take this wrong, but I disagree Ed shrugs as his fingers trace along the tattoo on his right wrist 'This too shall pass.' All things end, all things are temporary, even pain.... Would you like a biscuit? You look like you could use a biscuit.

Without really waiting for a response, Ed Boyd walks towards the plate of biscuits and tea, and began picking a few up. He glanced over at Sariel, something about his condescending tone just grated him.

I gather since you're not a demon you play for the other team. So I take you've seen a few souls then, maybe saw them join the choir immortal before you guys so peacefully came here?

[Devilfish]

For a long while the room remained about the size of a football stadium. You may not have noticed the Roberts sulk off had it not. When he walked, it made no step, and for a chatterbox, he was barely audible, and even still he continued to walk and walk and walk out of earshot until you could barely see him as but a spec on the horizon. Even so, he was sure Gusion could still hear him; and so the demon prince would perhaps be the only one to behold him fall to his knees, raise his head towards the sky, and scream. Noiselessly, and endlessly.

Souls be damned.
The celestials be damned.
The primal gods… gone…
…
No.

He had been away for a long time.

* * *

Roberts returned much more briskly than he’d left, wordlessly waving away the refreshments Leila offered on his approach. He’d be there a while, he realized, and it would inspire the most peculiar of transformations: When he removed his coat, his posture relaxed. Under his hat lay no demon horns or endless voids, but simply a robust head of hair parted slightly to the side. The glare off his glasses had all but disappeared, and in but a few moments, before your very eyes, without need for incantation illusion or supernatural, he had changed fro a Stranger to a well-mannered businessman. Perhaps he simply had been all along.

“You seem familiar with this man,” he opened to Sariel, his speech coming out remarkably clear. “I ain’t. Heck, I’ll admit I don’t know much about demons at all. And that’d be fine, if that were that.

“Seems to me, though, that he’s got an awful lot to profit off of us. Sending a third party to fight his angels for him, ‘an all.” He paused briefly to retrieve his paper from Nicole with a nod and a disarming smile. It would prime his coming words.

"Sorry Gus," he annoucned in a dropped tone. "but I'm with him. It all sounds swell, but you'll forgive me for not trusting you.”

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((Conveniently omitting my question doesn't help neither, bucko =p

Sorry if that seemed like a long one next to the gentle pace most posts are taking; just one for the road until I can come back))

[Voltaire]

Gus - Gusion - giggled. It was disconcerting, watching a demon-prince-as-baboon giggling like a schoolboy. One would tend to expect a cackle. Or some king of bellowing, villainy-laced maniacal laugh. No, it was just a giggle. He seemed genuinely amused.

'The Reign of Questions continues! Good! Good! Let it not be said that Gusion, the Teacher of Solomon, the Sage of the Seven Great Libraries didn't appreciate a question asked.'

He shifted once again, seemingly out of habit, and settled both his hands on atop his walking stick.

'I am sorry for keeping you in suspense, my friends. I like suspense, and it likes me. You could say we go together, like fish and chips. Peas in a pod. Birds of a feather. Fly together? Huh. Anyway, let's see if Gusion can add "Shedder of Light" to his many awe-inspiring titles. Child of titans, why anyone else? Why poor Gusion? Why not a mouse? The universe chose; not I. My role is to deliver a message. Magician, the timeline is this: now. Everyone always assumes these things happen with a bang. But sometimes the universe whimpers; only a few hear it.'

Gusion awkwardly sips on a cup of tea.

'As for the "who" - or perhaps "what" - of the matter... I do not know. And I tell you the truth in this. But I know what it's about. Doctor, Hannah, everybody, the question of what I want from you is closely tied thereto. No visions, this time, I'll try to be plain: we've lost a lot of souls over the last epoch. Is that what they told you, Sariel, that souls go into limbo, because of the Firstborn?'

The demon prince giggles again.

'The Lord of Hell did nothing to humanity's animae. The arrival of the celestial host, on the other hand, did. To this day, we don't know what went wrong. All we do know is that this world has been on a slow boil ever since. Tell me, Sariel. Did they also tell you that the Argument was over who would reign supreme in God's favor? They tell you such funny things, up there. Then again, you are young, Sariel. So brash. So impertinent. You remind me of myself, from another age.'

Gusion leans forward, slowly.

'Now all of you, listen. The kettle is close to boiling. I don't know why, or how. But we're all going to be cooked, if something isn't done. I am not asking you to fight angels. You'll be fighting them one way or another - they're coming to kill you all. I'm asking you to stop the end of the world. There's some vested interest in that, surely?'

He looks around, his face a picture of empty mirth.

'Forces are mobilizing all across this plane, and many others. The Host of Heaven will not be unopposed, when they come down.'

...

[OOC]: Part 2 of this post, coming later tonight. You may post internal monologues, or something of the ilk, but consider this 'in situ' and not a natural break for action/dialogue posts. Unless you have something you think is really relevant to interject with (and if you do, by all means, feel free.

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

"Child of Titans." He'd looked at her, no question about it. Pinned her to the wall with that knowing glance, with his laughing eyes. Child of Titans. It makes sense, in a way. If angels plot to destroy mankind and demon princes offer tea from baboon-like guises, who is to say the titans never tread the earth, nor passed their power on through mortal blood? Not something she'd ever considered a possibility, of course, but here and now it seems almost obvious.

The weight of the world, however...a heavy weight indeed. Even if what Gusion said were true--even if she *were* of Titan blood--would it be enough? To shoulder that massive weight? How *could* it be? These people around her seemed better suited, comfortable in their skin, sure of whatever power they possess. Even the girl seems more at ease now, leaving Nicole Emily Seeming alone. Leaving her the only one not aware of this supernatural world, the only one who had assumed herself a fluke of humanity. The only one with neither the knowledge nor the means to fight back. What good is a sword against the army of heaven, even if the strength behind it is immense?

Which leaves a single image burned in her mind: a girl and a sword, standing before the host of heaven itself. Madness. How could it be anything else? And yet...and yet...a faint calling. A whisper in the blood, called out from eons ago, from generations long passed. A feeling of...Nicole cannot place it. Not yet. But the image is not as frightening as it would have been--had she even been able to conceive of it--a day before...

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That being written, my posting will be very infrequent until Monday. A friend's Bachelor party is this weekend, so I'll be either traveling, or likely drunk.

In other news, Nicole is *really* feeling the odd woman out here. By her view she's the only one completely at sea and completely uncomfortable to be so. Quite a bad situation for her, and I'm finding it very interesting to write, especially as her world view is rapidly being shattered. I hope that discomfort is coming across in the character.

[Starbin]

Is that what they told you, Sariel, that souls go into limbo, because of the Firstborn?'

'The Lord of Hell did nothing to humanity's animae. The arrival of the celestial host, on the other hand, did. To this day, we don't know what went wrong. All we do know is that this world has been on a slow boil ever since. Tell me, Sariel. Did they also tell you that the Argument was over who would reign supreme in God's favor? They tell you such funny things, up there. Then again, you are young, Sariel. So brash. So impertinent. You remind me of myself, from another age.'

Sariel snorted. "Ah, there it is. First, you lay all the blame on Above ... next thing you know, you're signing a contract on a time share."

Leaning towards the hottie, who appeared to be freakin' out, he stage whispered, "Don't sign that sh*& without reading the fine print, cuz it's forever!"

Settling back on his heels, Sariel waited for the other shoes to drop ...

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

Nicole pushes Sariel back: it is a gentle push, but it is also abundantly clear that the force behind it can increase exponentially if he doesn't back off. Her voice, when she speaks, is low and distant.

"Better the devil you know, mystery man. You seem to know a lot you're not sharing, and that's not making you any friends here. So you look after yourself and let me do the same. I've read Faust once, and I'm not an idiot."

[Gnomes2169]

Well now, angel hmm? I'm guessing since this man claims to be a demon, he isn't talking about ones that turn to stone when you look at them. Which meant that they would likely continue coming for them and tear any member of the "team" limb from limb as they watched. Well that was a bit terrifying. But they aren't our main enemy. Whoever was stealing souls seemed to have upset the balance of heaven well enough to be drawing out the divine host. Just like that son of a b- A wave of nausea almost knocked the Doctor off of his feet and he lost what he was thinking about. In fact, what had he been thinking about? Oh right, angles, soul stealing and the like. Well, I might just be useful in stopping the end of the world again! It really was turning into a full time job these days. He raised an eyebrow at the two talking, Sariel and Nicole if he remembered correctly, and put a finger to his lips. "Shhh." He breathed softly, not wanting to miss anything because of those two squabbling. And if Sariel kept on interrupting at every opportunity, a coat might soon be stuffed into his mouth. Which would be unfortunate, because he rather liked this coat.

[Starbin]

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For the record, Sariel would only have been leaning in, not invading her personal space ... stage whisper was supposed to indicate that it was kinda loud

Sariel glanced down at the hand, raising an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, did I whisk you off to Wonderland and start talking Armageddon? Don't blame me for this ... I don't see you exactly discussing your work-out routine."

To the guy who looked vaguely familiar and shushed him, he gave the finger.

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

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I figured. She would actually have moved to push you back. Sariel has been grating on her a bit, and his pretentious "I sort of know what's going on here" antics are *not* making her inclined to have him talking to her.

Yay character interactions!

"Wasn't placing blame. Now shut up and let him finish."

[Starbin]

Sariel shrugged and waited. Seemed that because he knew who Gus was and wasn't spouting off at the mouth about all his accolades, he must be a bad guy. What the f*&k ever ... let 'em make their own decisions, just like God wanted them to do.

Wasn't his fault if nine times out of ten, the screwed the pooch.

[Gem_Knight]

Aric watched the byplay with the Angel. He wanted to avoid jumping in however. He couldn't fault the Angel, he had his worldview, and that demon had his. It didn't help that the Angel wasn't completely wrong that demons were known for half-truths and lies.

All in all, better to just listen for the moment. If the world really is at stake, it'll be worth it, if it's all a sham, well, having an angel by your side was probably a good thing against a demon.

"I think for the moment we should just listen," Aric finally spoke up. "For now at least Gus isn't making any deals, and while that should probably make us just as nervous, he is talking about the end of the world. Of course he's going to make himself the hero in his telling. It really doesn't matter if it's true, if it really is the end of the world he wants us to prevent. If he's lying, well, none of use are lightweights, and nobody has signed anything, but if he isn't- then this is important, we need to hear this..."

[Voltaire]

Gusion looks on, his face a picture of mock sadness.

'You are all very impertinent. This is the time to hear, not the time to speak. But I forgive. Did you know that wise Gusion was once a great teacher? A teacher of teachers? A guide? It seems that the universe has a sense for the poetic. Do you see?'

He harrumphed.

'Here's the pickle, pickles. When the angelic host comes down, there will be a reckoning. Out there, in Wayland, blood - and other vital substances - will flow freely. Not in any way obvious to the humans, of course, but the people that need be concerned are very concerned, indeed. This is where I come in. I have brought you here to let you know that the universe wants you. That it has picked you to make sure that what is happening... does not. But, I suppose that if you say "no", it must only have suggested you. Or wanted you to be here to hear my words, and then to reject them. Or just considered you at length.'

Gusion briefly looks down, then to the right.

'Regardless, it's a simple choice: help us find out what's happening, why and how to stop it, or watch the world you know burned out from within. And, to be perfectly clear, the angels are coming down to kill people like you. They see you as different to their "flock". There's no avoiding this. At worst, you have been warned, and you may do as you see fit with the warning. But know that you have a real chance to make a difference, here.'

He clears his throat, and settles on his haunches again.

'Some of you may believe that I am lying. Or misrepresenting the truth. Or perhaps bending it, for some nefarious purpose. I suppose that is fair. Wise Gusion is also Prince Gusion, arch-demon and ruler of Pan-Stygia, commander of a numberless demon horde, after all. But, the task I would have you undertake would speak for itself, I believe. If you're not convinced that the danger is real, and that the need for your help is real, by its conclusion... then I have failed us all. Before I tell you what it is, however, I'll need you to make that choice.'

He lifts his hand gently.

'Don't look at me like that. Yes, I know what I'm asking. To agree to that which you do not know is hard. It is your trust to give; yours to trust. I will leave you for a few moments. Deliberate. When I come back, each of you will swear an oath - a binding oath, which I can certainly enforce - to help save this world, as it is now. Or you will not, and I will send you from this place to take your chances out there on your own. I hope the universe picked wisely.'

And with that, he vanishes.

[commander panda]

the demon chimp disappears.

godsdamnit! stephen had his own questions. not the least of which being "how do we get out of here?"
"well..." stephen stares at the empty space where gus was for a few silent seconds. "ok, so, we should probably make use of this good tide." he sees no one knows what he's talking about. "we should leave now." he points at aric. "you said something about teleportation, didn't you?"

[Devilfish]

"Couldn't hurt to try," Roberts added dryly, sitting down and propping open his newsprint.

"'A terrible catastrophe is coming, sign up here to be saved, no questions asked'? I may as well send the prince of Nigeria my bank account number."

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(Yes, there was a chair and coffee table there now, along with three other papers- thank you Leila.)

[Gem_Knight]

Aric sighs, "As a matter of fact I'm quite sure it could hurt to try, for the moment I doubt it will, but from the sounds of it, if you want to go- all you have to do is wait for him to come back and tell him so. If he doesn't then, then we're free to act out against him. At which point getting out of here takes a back seat to surviving. I However intend to take up his offer. I trust him about as much I could trust a cat with a bowl of tuna. However, Angel or Demon or whatever, I've got a vested stake in keeping this world here, no matter which side is trying to end it." He crosses his arms. "I hate the idea of being bound to a task, even one I would do anyway-" he scoffs, "Especially one I would do anyway, but it's the nature of Demons and Binding things."

[Devilfish]

"If the world is ending. Now I'm not saying no," he flipped a page without batting an eye from it. A smirk crept up on him.

"But he won't make a monkey out of me."

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Aaand that's all for now. More next week, promise

[Gem_Knight]

"If the world is ending. Now I'm not saying no," he flipped a page without batting an eye from it. A smirk crept up on him.

"But he won't make a monkey out of me."

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Aaand that's all for now. More next week, promise

Aric shrugged, arms still crossed, "Meh, I've been suckered before, I won't let that make me bitter about it, I still say it was a good 'cause then too- and that doesn't count the time I found out I was literally sleeping with the enemy," he chuckles, "That was awkward when her father walked in and I was all like holy crap you're Havok and he was all wait Doom- Honey?! then lots of raging and screaming and thank god for teleportation..."

[commander panda]

stephen offers aric a shrug. "as much as i agree that keeping this plane in tact is a priority, you have to concede that rogers has a point. we're talking about entering a vaguely termed and magically binding contract with a demon. i think that trumps sleeping with someone your parents disapprove of. for all we know he could be the apocalyptic threat, and we'd be magically bound to help him. we leave now, and we can pursue this on our own terms, without magical compulsion."

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steven takes a pull from his stogie and reclines in his gold plated vibrating waterbed.

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do all the demons have servants this awesome or is gus just special?

[Gnomes2169]

The doctor stood to the side of the conference, sipping more at his tea. While he rationally felt like he shouldn't trust the demon with telling him if he was on fire, something tickled at the back of the Doctor's mind and told him that there might be something here... Something that he should pay attention to and probably do something about. "Well, as is I don't think it will be all that easy to break our way out of here. I mean, Gus seems like he can just leave at any time but from what I gather, you people can't really use your powers, whatever those are, in here. So busting out... maaaaaybe not the most possible of options available to us. My sonic didn't get anything either, no energy signatures, no signs of an exit, nothing but ambient background radiation. So, we're stuck here at least until we make our decision and tell Gus." He said that last part while looking at the newspaper from afar. "I, for one, think it might be a good idea to go along with it for now, but don't particularly like the idea of a contract."

[commander panda]

"touche." stephen attempts to turn invisible

[theduck]

Ed was about to take a bite of the biscuit, when he seemed to think better of it.

This might be a silly question, considering we are dealing with a demon prince, but how much could he be lying to us, in this case? I mean, are there rules about these oaths? Like, can they be entered when one person is lying?

On the other hand, swearing an oath to a demon seems like a monumentally bad decision