Clash of Cults

[orleanide]

[Tonight on Victorian London: Emerald edition, we bring you a normal everyday ritual.

For the most part.

Under an abandoned church - the remains of the Order of Dagon - a new group has set up their own gathering. Shrouded in dark hoods, at least twenty people have been separated into groups of three or so with an overseer for each.

In short: it's sort of like a classroom for cultists. Most of these people are new and trying to harness the energy from the rift that infamously goes through London. Surely their god will be pleased. But before they try the main event, they really need to get their newbies into shape. Just going through some basic summonings and magical exercises, nothing that should be too bad.

Enter a problem: See that weirdly shiny relic in the center of these destroyed, watery ruins? Another cult happens to believe that belongs to their God. That cult is currently waiting in the shadows for a moment to strike and attempt to steal it. So maybe they ruined this harmless practice session on purpose or maybe the rift in spacetime was too much for the newbies to handle. Either way, their summoning doesn't go...right. It gives cult number two over there a chance to run in, magic ready.

So where does this leave you?

Maybe you were just summoned in. Maybe you were spying. Maybe you were invited as a witness to the training session. Maybe you were passing by when fireworks started blasting out of the church ruins.

Either way you should probably get out of here. There are strangely spacious sewer exits against the right wall, definitely wide enough for people to go through. There are crumbling stairs and doors going to winding catacombs. Maybe you can follow some of the escaping cultists and hope they don't turn on you. Maybe someone will rescue you.

All of it is up to you.]

Comments

[dorca]

[What do you do when you're a high school swimmer in your uniform with your backpack deposited roughly in a damp puddle (that's not water) in the middle of this chaos?]

[You probably think you're hallucinating or having a nightmare or something, first. That's definitely among the first ten thoughts. While engaging in some dazed staring.]

[This isn't real right? I mean that's not even possible so it's definitely a very vivid dream.]

[Definitely.]

[Very vivid.]

[But not real.]

[For sure.]



[Right?]

[argentmarteau]

Hey!

[Hey, Makoto, you see that moon pool over there? There's a big seal with really sharp teeth and oh dear, is it talking?]

Hey, you!

[It's definitely talking.]

[stripdown]

--Makoto.

[ --comes urgent but familiar voice coming from behind makoto, which hopefully doesn't spook him all the more. he's more concerned that makoto is here, whether this be dream or reality. ]

[virtasallan]

[...Well. As far as taking a wrong turn goes, this is probably better than ending up in the viscount's bathing room.

Probably.

Nevertheless, this is clearly not the right place for young elven mages to be hanging around in, specially not ones muttering to themselves as they slowly, veeryyy slooowlyyyy, inch toward the sewer exits.]

Ohhh, what a mess, what a mess... This is not good...

[leviathaned]

[SUP HERE'S A DUDE LEANING OVER YOUR SHOULDER REMEMBER SEI? HE'S BACK.]

...I leave for a year and this is the trouble you get into, Merrill?

[fleuri]

[......Okay, this? This actually is kind of scary. Yeah. A little. Maybe.

It's a good thing she's got some experience dodging potentially dangerous things, as that's exactly what she's going to be doing with these cultists.]

[leviathaned]

[I couldn't decide whether to tag Merrill or Ib so both of them get Sei's.

Speaking of which, Ib, remember this guy? Well, he's got (really pretty) wings and he's shielding her from an attack and kneeling down to her eye level.]

Ib...? What are you doing here, I thought you were in Romania.

[concealingeyes]

[Shit. And she was just here to spy on these new guys and see what their deal was. She didn't ask for this. But now there's a bunch of idiots caught in the crossfire.

She's not risking her life for them. But she doesn't need to. These 'eyes' are enough.

Kido suddenly appears beside your character and holds out her hand.]

Come on! Let's go!

[veratrum]

[This one looks up at her, slow and lazy, and...blinks. Was she...? Oh right, he looked human right now, to spy.]

Um, Miss, that's...

[Oh wait incoming fire. He'll just grab her hand and yank her out of the way, who gave these idiots guns, Sweet Azathoth's swinging dick they were all idiots.]

[paraleyes]

[Just the person she wanted to see. Mary had actually been rushing into the church to grab her, but this kind of development is much more convenient.

But still absolutely terrifying. Nothing about this situation wasn't.]

K-Kido -- !

[digitalemperor]

[Sometime later like, way later, after all the chaos has died down and the monsters have been let loose or killed and the cultists are off in their usual cult spots and everyone else is recovering, or dead, or whatever they're up to.]

[A young Japanese boy in his late teens steps onto the rubble of the abandoned Westminster Church (or were we in the Abbey shh I remember facts) and looks around, letting out a small sigh. He clutches at the strap of his bag nervously, fidgets as he toes at some rubble, and then takes a knife out, cutting his hand with a small pained hiss.]

[He starts writing in the air with his own blood, strange, twisting symbols that give you a headache, seem to whisper, tug at the mind and sanity if you look at them too long or too directly. They twist and drip in the air, glistening and slick, and he grimaces, looking away.]

[A word slithers from his lips, in a strange language no mortals should speak, and the feeling of madness becomes almost a screaming in the bones of any onlooker. He sighs again, tucking his bleeding hand against his shirt as he looks around.]

[Then he takes a sign out of his bag and hangs it on a particularly upright piece of rubble, stepping back to make sure the words Trespassing Prohibited, Violators Will Be Sunk Into The Depths of Hell and Cast Into An Oblivion From Which None Shall Return, I'm Serious are clearly visible.]

[A drop of rain makes him fumble for his umbrella, still wincing and cradling his hand. Murmuring softly in accented English, voice regretful and sad and a little irritated.]

...I really wish they'd stop trespassing. It's not a playground... Jeez.

[leviathaned]

You know, I don't think that'll work on me.

[So how the hell did a six-eight giraffe of a man with blue hair sneak up behind you, Mikado? WHO KNOWS.]

You should really find a different kind of magic for that.

[deathdefied]

[Hey, you know what this looks like?

A buffet line.

That might be why this woman with metallic wings and spiraling red tattoos is perched here. Waiting. Watching]

[veratrum]

[Meanwhile, not far, Liam had arrived down here when some of his poor cultists had gotten caught up in this mess. He'd only meant to spy, and so for the most part he looks like a short brown-haired kid.

Up until shadows impale three cultists and the floor opens up and swallows two more and he rips the still beating heart out of someone who'd tried to attack him. He doesn't look pleased.]

Rude.

[leviathaned]

[Then there's this asshole.

He's got popcorn.]

Hey, exit's that way, champ.

[And pointing to a curiously neon-lit stairway.

[alethiological]

[And he gets a smack upside the head for his trouble.]

Stop being in the wrong places!

[Seriously Sei, this is going to get him in such shit.]

[stripdown]

[ christ. there's a moment where haruka doesn't do anything, because who can reasonably tell themselves, "oh, i was just summoned into this trainwreck, that's all," and expect themselves to act right after? better yet, how he was supposed to make the connection between the scene before him, his arrival, and the method were completely lost on him.

his first instinct is to follow the water, and the physical tell is obvious: his body jerks in its direction, mind finally managing to tell his body he needs to get out of here. but he can't finish the action, gaze frozen on the chaos around him. just -- what is this, and was this even real? ]

[argentmarteau]

Hey, dumbass!

[So there's a seal in the water and it's calling you names, Haru, what do.]

[affectate]

[Being the devoutly religious type, Elaine's not one to go around attending other people's sessions typically, putting aside the fact that the fucks she has to give have been gradually decreasing for months. So, obviously, she's only passing by when she catches a strong whiff of magic, then sees the "fireworks" exploding.

Ah, geeze. This is bad, she guesses. So she turns around towards that sewer exit and just sits in the entrance, head inclined towards the old church so she can watch.

With food.]

[inhumanity]

[Her pet dog comes up from the sewer and stops. (There may be some blood on him, and not all of it is red.)] Mm? Michi, should you really be here? I'd feel so sad if anything happened to you.

[PS he wants food he's hungry feed him.]

[keynote]

[ someone was being a good sick kid and was just hanging out in bed, but, um. being unceremoniously dropped in the middle of everything is faintly distressing. maybe just slightly? he makes a very good impression of a deer in headlights, or a sitting duck, or any game animal of your choice. ]

U-um...!

[paraleyes]

[It's fortunate he's not actually looking in the same direction as everyone else. KY baby. The cultists facing him just freeze suddenly, in their own deer-in-headlights impression -- or maybe like they've turned to stone. They're clearly still flesh and blood, but they aren't moving.

Anyway. Despite this sudden adrenaline and fear-fueled display of courage, Mary's friends aren't here. But there is this boy, who feels weirdly similar to them, deep down? He's a victim of these people too, yes, but there's something else, something she can't really place.

So while she still has the chance, she uses that courage she has left to speak.]

U-Um -- are you okay...?

[paraleyes]

[And Mary, of course, feels a pointed lack of desire to visit any churches -- but it was all right to walk past this time, she assumed, because that building was supposed to have been completely ruined. Abandoned. No one uses it for church anymore, even if there were rumors saying otherwise. That's why this mission was supposed to be safe.

Keyword "supposed."

It's short, but she shrieks at the very top of her lungs once she realizes what's happening -- putting her safety aside, she has friends in there. If something were to happen to them --

That's just not a chance she can take. So you might run into a young lady with fluffy, white hair and pink eyes (age 14 approximately by looking at her, but the length of her dress implies she's older and just short) on your way in or out of the church, moving as fast as her legs can carry her.]

[inblood]

['Kay, see, Touya's ears? They're good. Really good. Helps him avoid trouble.

Thing is, they've been getting better at hearing things, and it's messing with his estimations. He hears everything so much more clearly that there's constant static. Coupled with his recent dizzy spells and fevers...yeah, no, he's not lucky enough to get to avoid this.

He's a bit lost. Ends up wandering into a building (well, ruins), hoping for some people to ask directions from, or even just some peace and quiet oh god he's hearing awful things what the hell--

It's loud and disorienting and the vertigo has Touya catching himself on a wall before he falls over. And then fireworks and magic explosions and sweet Arceus someone hit the mute button or something!!]

[leviathaned]

[What's that, scruff the tiny kid? Yeah,that's happening, and Sei's music drowns out all sounds for a blissful moment.

until his bitchiness starts up.]

Touya, what are you doing.

[petitebreeze]

[Oh, and then there's a tiny child (and her little dog, too), appearing in the middle of this mess. She has purple hair, big red eyes (her icons lie), and a blue kimono. And also a bell accessory on her wrist.

She's got a powerful aura, despite being tiny. What is she even, six years old? She holds her puppy close to her chest.]

U-Um...

[sharkastic]

[Rin wakes up to a shooting star.

Which is kind of fucked up, because last he checked his ceiling wasn't transparent, and quite aside from that, Nitori's bunk isn't see-through, either. Neither, decidedly, is Nitori himself, much as Rin wishes otherwise sometimes. Just sometimes.

He's not normally a slow riser, but it's really dark, which is more disorienting than anything. He's used to waking up to Nitori cramming at the last minute, or at least to some light from the campus outside. This, though, this is pitch.

It makes the fact that the shooting star has mysteriously become a meteor shower much prettier, but--

No, wait, there's definitely movement. Muffled yelling. Splashing.

The first two he might have been able to discount, but sadly for them their dorm isn't anywhere close to Samezuka's pool. Rin finally gets around to sitting up -- at least his eyes have more or less adjusted while he was lazing around on the floor, and are those hooded figures? What the--]

What the--

[A flash out of the corner of his eye has him diving for the floor again with reflexes honed from years of training and sudden wildlife in locker rooms, and the decidedly-not-a-shooting-star-this-is-more-like-laser-tag-isn't-it only manages to take off what's likely a lock of hair as it shoots overhead.]

Holy shit, watch where you're aiming those!

[Feeling and probably looking like a cat that'd just been dunked in cold water (he dove into a puddle, didn't he?), Rin nevertheless wastes no time backing straight up against the nearest wall, out of the line of fire.

Well. He's not in Iwatobi anymore.]

[inhumanity]

[Hey, sharkmouth.

Someone just showed up beside you.

And that person sighs. Dreamily.]

I just love territorial battles, don't you? It's such a good reminder of how in the end, humans are still part of the wonderful cycle of animal violence that Mother Nature encourages and embraces.

[Christopher turns to look at Rin, and cheerfully, he smiles.] Pick: fight or flight.

[duplicitoussight]

[Wow fuck this noise.

Kano was on a mission with Kido, but seeing the chaos that's spilling out? He's making a break for it. But having a soft spot sucks, because it leads you to do stupid decisions, like helping some sap (like you) by yanking them by their hand with a laugh.]

Are you that eager to become fishfood~? Ehh, how stupid of you.

[paraleyes]

[No actually it's just this sap in particular. She lets out a surprised kind of noise seeing him, but it's honestly a pretty huge relief.]

K-Kano --

You're okay...?

[bilocation]

[B-ko thought it'd be fun. A real cult! Performing actual rituals! But something has gone horribly wrong and now she's lost and she's really scared and maybe?! She's freaking out a bit?!

Out of the way because a teenage girl is barreling around the corner--!! Possibly right into you!]

[shark_pup]

[Like his older self, Rin can't help but think the attacks above him are stars. Streaking across the sky. But once he realizes they are moving too fast he groggily sits up, rubbing his eyes.

Most people would be scared. Freaking out. Something. But Rin just assumes he's dreaming. And as such the people fighting around him are more fascinating then dangerous, and the kid just... takes it in, ruby eyes huge but otherwise making no move to get to safety.

Someone might need to get him before a cultist realizes a twelve-year-old is pretty sure to be a prime virgin sacrifice]

[sharkastic]

[The older, wiser version, thank you very much, is meanwhile occupied with very practically and gingerly sidling his way along the wall while keeping his head down while watching out for any projectiles coming his way. By some miracle of small mercies, they're glowing projectiles, but at the same time that really does not make him want to find out their effects firsthand.

It also means that keeping his sights on them in the dark impairs his peripheral and general vision, so there's no way to spot someone lower down than himself and completely unmoving near the outer edge of the fighting.

That is to say, Rin manages to fall quite gracefully and literally over himself.]

... Ow! Hey, you! [His vision is still adjusting, so he doesn't quite make out the obstacle's features in the darkness, other than that it's smaller and person-shaped. He barks at it anyway, just out of principle.] Don't just sit there blocking traffic!

[onelastpromise]

[The more sensitive beings, human and otherwise, will notice the exact moment when two vastly powerful beings get pulled into this world. One of them's benevolent, the power of a universe. The other is ominous, absolute death.

On a more local level, two teenage boys have just appeared through all the summoning nonsense. The blue-haired one is unconscious, wearing nothing but some white boxers and a white holster with a gun in it. He's bound with what appears to be barbed wire, and it's cut and torn into him all over his body. Something with big claws has also clearly been ripping at him, judging by the open wounds on his chest. That's a lot of open injuries. So this puddle is probably not a very good spot for him, especially given the power levels he's radiating.

Ryoji, back to you, for details on how the other half of this equation is going.]

[notsogrimreaper]

[Ryoji is in a better state than Minato is, fortunately. A little dazed, of course, since he's just woken from a very, very deep sleep that probably lasted a few months at least. The summoning has him feeling a little queasy, with all the magic and the negative auras surrounding some of the beings of this world. Other than that, he's been doing well...

At least, until he notices Minato.

Immediately, he sits up in a panic, turning the other boy onto his back. The barbed wire is still sharp and tangled, but Ryoji still struggles with it until he cuts his hands one too many times to ignore.

Even with all his power, he's not a healer. So after a while, he gets up to his feet, stumbling around the area, searching for help.]

E-Excuse me! Can someone help? My friend... He's hurt and I-I can't...

[He calls out to anyone he thinks may care, trying to hold back worried tears.]