@OtomostheCrazySouth Africa, Survivor's Holdout"Undead!" Someone screamed, one of the lookouts on the roof. "We have a horde headed this way!" Frightened murmurs rose from the survivors. What were they going to do? There were injured, and people too tired to run. That didn't stop some though, a family quickly gathered their things and left without waiting. No doubt they were hoping the large group here would distract the undead long enough to escape.
Hannah's nerves spiked again, fear causing her grasp on her form to ripple across her skin ever so slightly. This was not good, she had barely kept her human form on the journey here, and she was so desperate for water she didn't think she could keep her cool throughout the whole battle, and it did seem there would be a battle. People were arming themselves with whatever was at hand, some even had firearms at their disposal.
Hannah quickly left the sisters and approached her friend, Harry, the co-pilot. He was awake now, and pulling himself to his feet. He ony had a small handgun, but it was more than she had. Beside himwas her bloody bat, propped against the wall. She'd taken it from the middle of a road in a destroyed town. She didn't even know they played baseball in South Africa.
Gripping the weapon tightly she offered Harry a reassuring pat on the shoulder and a etermined nod. One way or another they would survive this, even if she had to sacrifice herself to the Bloodforger to do it.
"Sonuvabitch." said Claire in annoyance.
Her day was bad in the beginning with the whole godly meeting idiocy she partially sat through, now the humans that she was trying to protect were being attacked, and some had already begun to abandon everyone else and flee. She'd help them if they could, considering they were a family, but unless she wanted to reveal herself as a goddess, she'd have to focus on one task at a time. Problem was that if she helped one, she'd have to leave the other to fend for themselves for a while.
This just reminded her of how the humans were strong in the sense that they made decisions on such things, knowing that there will be consequences no matter what. As a goddess, Claire could've made things easier on herself by using her powers to deal with the horde more quickly and effeiciently, but since she was disguised as a human, she had to make a disguise accordingly. She was a bit too stressed to make a clear decision, and it showed.
Luckily, Yuki saw her sister's expression, and instantly figured out the problem she was trying to solve.
"Go and help the family, Claire." said Yuki. "I'll help the others fight."
Claire looked at her sister for a moment, and then simply nodded at her in agreement. She gave Yuki her pistol, knowing that the tranquilizer thing wouldn't do anything, and that a magically conjured weapon would do more than raise suspicions. Claire rolled off to the family on her skateboard, and pulled out her knife. It wasn't much, but at least she could guide them away.
Yuki ran up to the other and looked out at the undead. There were a lot more than she expected, and some seemed old. Old enough to begin falling apart as they stumbled their way towards everyone. She fired the pistol a few times at the zombies that were closing in on them, but knew that there wasn't enough bullets to fend these things off. They'd need to find a window of opportunity, and flee altogether, maybe even scatter if push came to shove
Hannah took her place near the front, knowing her superior strength was needed there, and her melee weapon meant she wouldn't be effective anywhere else. The horde closed in rapidly, and Hannah just noticed Claire following the family to safety. Why had she left her sister like that? She was shocked the small family would take such a risk.
But then the undead were upon them and the front line of defenders almost buckled immediately, falling back from the disorderly straight line they'd been in to take better positions nearby. She readied herself to strike at an incoming zombie, but it's head exploded before it got close enough. At least the shooters were effective.
The next one she nailed with her bat, crushing the skull and causing half it's head to fall away. It was a disgusting scene as the zombie swayed and toppled over, even for Hannah. She had never seen anything so gruesome, not even at her job as a doctor. Everything was so clean and precise in a hospital. field work... not so much.
"Yuck." she muttered. There was no time to even think of heaving her empty stomach though as soon the defenders were falling back even further.
Luckily the horde had hit them head on, not surrounded them, the back door was still a viable escape route. For now. And only if they survived that long, the survivors were being cut down- or more accurately, dragged down, one by one.
When the Zombies broke through, Yuki had to think fast. There were only so many bullets she had in the pistol, and everyone needed to escape as soon as NOW. She helped those she could, but those who were too overwhelmed were beyond the limitations of a human being. Luckily, she saw that the zombies were only attacking from one entrance, and the back was still open.
"Quickly!" exclaimed Yuki. "Escape through the back!"
As the survivors clambered and fled, Yuki looked around and found Hannah. Coincidentally, she and her friend were the closest non-panicking survivors to the water supply. The food was useless, but if people were to regroup, then the water would help with their survival. She began making her way over to Hannah...
Meanwhile, Claire was not far from the former hideout. She had told the family of a good place to use for shelter. She used the excuse of "I found it while I was getting food" with the hopes that it'd be enough for them to fall for it. Fortunately, given the current situation, the family would take what they can get. They weren't entirely defenseless, but they were not equipped for large hordes like the one attacking the others. As long as they kept quiet and avoided making stupid decisions, they should be fine for a while.
With Claire done with everything she could humanly do for them (heh. See what I did there?), she took off to return to the others and help out. When she got back, everyone was already retreating, and scattering apart.
It seems paradise comes early, Hannah thought distantly. She was now the only one at the front, Harry and the girl, Yuki, were coming towards her, but Hannah knew what she had to do. She would but the survivors more time, and she would make the Heartbreaker proud!
"Have fun in the Underworld, soulless creatures! Wickedeisos awaits me! Occus preserve me!" Her skin warped and twisted, it hardened into scales and for a moment she was nothing but a mutated mass of sprawling flesh, but then her true shape came into being. Part of her human disguise remained, her upper body was largely unchanged, except for the extra set of arms... And her body abruptly ended into that of a large snake, an impressively thick curl that immediately crushed the nearest zombies. Blades manifested in her four hands, the bat dropping uselessly from her grip, and she turned her fury onto the undead. Abruptly thunder boomed over head and it began to rain, the water empowering the Naga to fight with renewed vigor. She snarled a scream, fading off into a deranged hiss as teeth ripped into her scales and nails dug into her torso.
Harry froze, utterly shocked, backing away slowly. Clearly he had not known his colleague was not human. Regardless of her humanity, this was a battle she was going to lose. the length and size of her bocked the entrance well enough to buy them time though.
The scream was loud. Loud enough to scare off the survivors, and force them to keep their faces forward, away from the horde and whoever let out such a screech. Yuki and Claire, on the other hand were simply surprised. Yuki even more so, because she was near the now-transformed naga. It seems that she and Claire were not the only ones hiding the fact that they weren't human. Of course, Yuki knew little about Hannah in the first place, so the transformation did not have as much of an impact as her human friend did.
Still, she seemed to be losing the fight, despite being a creature of human fantasy. Her friend certainly didn't seem to think that she'd prevail, going by the look in his eyes. Yuki looked around for a better weapon, as the gun didn't have much left. She found the bat that Hannah had been previously using. It was cracked, but at least it was something. Yuki jumped into the horde, hoping that the mass would get in the way of the vision of those possibly watching. She began putting her training to good use, dancing about, knocking off the heads of, and downing several Zombies. The bat wasn't the best weapon for her style of fighting, but it was the best she could do at the moment. She sparingly used the pistol, but she knew to focus on bludgeoning the undead back to death.
Claire joined in as well, though hers was a more crude-looking style. It looked to be more of an actual human's untrained style of ffighting, overly-forcing an attack, and making unnecessary movements. It didn't help that she had forgotten to put her music on. It would have made things much easier for her.
Hannah wanted to tell the girls to run, that they shouldn't be here when she was no longer able to fight, but the battle was too distracting. At least she could buy time for the rest. Then a clawed hand slipped past her defense and plunged through the thin material of her shirt and into her stomach. She gasped, the blades faltering, and the undead surged forward past the slight slip.
The exact moment of her death could be noted, she began screaming, in pain mostly, and then it morphed into the most divine song. A wisp of light, visible only to the immortals, rose up from her collapsing corpse, and faded into nothingness. Occus had claimed his end of the deal, Hannah's transformed soul would reside in a sort of paradise with him for all eternity.
Or so it was meant to be.
An ominous cloud of thick smoke rolled out from her body, a violet fog obscuring the area around the place of her final stand. It was impossible to tell how far the magical dust stretched, but it was fair to say anything within was unable to be seen from without. Despite the cloud light was not obscured, and those within could see around them reasonably well.
A portal formed within the horde, a swirling mass of violet nothingness, and then out stepped a tribal woman with a hooked blade and fire in her hands. She was the first of many though, and others were quick to follow her out of the portal. They were dressed in everything from modern American fashion to traditional Chinese garb. The warriors, or magicians given they all used magic to carve away at the ranks of the undead, quickly made their way towards Claire, Yuki, and the fallen Hannah.
Once a perimeter had been established and the zombies were bodily forced back another figure stepped through the portal. It was Occus, clad in plain clothes and clutching his spear-staff loosely. His first act was to narrow his eyes at the rising soul of his defeated subject.
"You're time here is not yet done." He informed her, reaching out as if to touch the light and then directing it back into her body.
Hannah's heaved in a desperate breath as dark magic clung to her, knitting together her flesh and rebinding her soul to her mortal body. A string of incomprehensible words left her, they mostly seemed to be thank yous and expletives of relief.
Occus then took note of the sisters.
"Immortals? What are you doing in the mortal world?" He asked suspiciously.
The African woman came up to Hannah's side, helping her with glowing yellow hands, healing magic by the looks, and restoring the blonde's human disguise. If the sisters were at all active in the Underworld battles of the war they would recognize the woman as a Occus' top General, Khulekani, who lead many a supernatural attack on the minions of the cthonic deities.
Claire let out a grunt of annoyance, and said,
"Crap. It's a guy from the meeting."
"Occus. I was not expecting to see you here." said Yuki.
"I was actually hoping we wouldn't see any of them at all."
"Alright, calm down, Claire."
The portal opening certainly was a surprise, though not one that was unwanted. It did, however, raise some complications and grievances, as Occus had revealed that Claire and Yuki were both part of the Merged. They had been working all this time to keep their disguise, but now they were revealed. Even if it was only to Hannah, and possibly her friend.
"I take it that the others have come to a decision on things?"asked Yuki
Ox raised an eyebrow, but he couldn't be too offended, he felt much the same most of the time. He frowned,
"I do not know, I left them to their squabbling." He gestured to where Kani was helping Hannah to the portal and another man was coaxing her human friend towards the swirling mass as well.
"Kani convinced me to aid these people, I do not care what the others have decided on the matter, but her heartfelt request was something I could not ignore. I owe her much for her help in the rebellion. It was she who healed me when Aeolus defeated Boreas and I, she was instrumental in my success."Perhaps that was saying too much, revealing too much of his personality to the exploitation of the Merged, but having just come from the chamber in which Kani had plead the case of the mortals, Occus was feeling generous.
"I cannot help them all, that would bring the ire of others, but helping the groups in which my people hide is excuse enough for the cruelest of us, and if not... Well as I said, I care not." He stated, unbothered.
"What of yourselves? Why do you mingle with the mortal survivors?" His tone was suspicious again, he was becoming increasingly wary of attacks on his mortal Fae. Certain deities had been meddling with his gifted and finding any immortals in their vacinity was enough to raise his interest.
"I'm here to be with my sister' replied Yuki.
She looked over to Claire, who was off trying to salvage whatever food and water was left in the place. She thought that some of the survivors would return out of curiosity or something. Yuki returned her attention to Occus.
"Claire's lived most of her life among the mortals, learning their arts, histories, and cultures. She feels more at home among them, than our own kind. Though I think it's another way to show her dislike for our mother and the old gods. She helped a small group of mortals survive, and we ended up becoming food and water-runners for them."
Yuki turned to Hannah, and tilted her head.
"In regards to those groups you've mentioned. I'm afraid you're a bit too late for this one. Most of them have either died or fled."
"Late for some, not for all," he looked to Harry, but then back to Yuki,
"though I'm not entirely sure I needed to be here." He frowned at her, befuddled, and looked to the bodies of those members that been slain.
"Why did you not save them? It was certainly within your power.""Unfortunately, we haven't revealed our true selves to them. Claire has lived among them long enough to understand that many normal mortals would blame gods and goddesses for the misfortunes they have had to live through. The wars, the massacres, the outbreaks of diseases, the untimely deaths of loved ones, so on and so forth. They would blame us for allowing these things and many more for happening."
"That, and it'll make my relationships with my friends weird!" added Claire.
"Those who have allied themselves to you may be accepting, but most others are not. I'd rather we be friends with them until the end of their days, rather than have them curse our names at their deathbed."
He was clearly confused by that too, but after a moment of staring at her with puzzlement Occus hid the emotion and brushed it off with a resting smile.
"Well, if it is so important to you then do as you will." He shrugged with one shoulder, dropping the point.
The horde was far from defeated, many had been killed but this was but the first edging of it. The spell casters were fueled by the God of Magic's presence, but even then they were not invincible. Occus had ordered them not to risk their lives, so they were slowly retreating closer to the portal.
"We cannot stay here, would you like passage through Wickedeisos? You can reach the higher planes from there. Or, if you prefer, you could come with us? I have lost over 700 mortal bodies to this disaster, and that is only of the deal-makers, the human body count is much higher. I will not lose more of my people if I can help it." He stated with determination and a hint of annoyance.
"Our next destination is not far, we will cross the border to Namibia.""On one condition." said Yuki. "You bring that human over there with us."
Yuki pointed to Hannah's pilot friend.
"Of course," Occus agreed immediately, "he has witnessed the Fae, we cannot just leave him. Besides, Hannah would not be pleased if he were left to die." His eyes softened, "I will always act in the interest of my people, they're friends are my friends, whether they know it or not."
He turned, gesturing to the portal with the intention of walking with her side-by-side to the portal. Seemingly knowing it was time to go without being told, the ring of defenders began retreating faster. In reality, Occus had communicated with them telepathically, but it was more impressive to think they just knew.
"We are leaving? Good, something evil is about." The Heart commented in distaste. As The Heart and Ocus were linked, only he could hear it's mental words. His eyes narrowed at the device's observation, what was the evil thing it could sense? It didn't matter though, it was time to leave.
"Come on, Claire!"
Claire ignored Yuki.
I am not going to up and abandon our own group. Even if they're scattered abou- thought Claire.
suddenly the wind became strong around Claire and picked her up off her feet. Yuki's dance manipulated the winds to float her sister through the portal, Yuki herself following quickly.
Occus grinned, finally, someone who was amicable. Immortals are always so touchy, it was refreshing one of them was easier to get along with. He followed them with a relaxed stride, stepping into the portal a second before his magi did.
@SlendyJotunheimen, NorwayScott inspected his ritual circle critically. He was never very good at this kind of magic, not that he'd actually summoned anything before, but any magic that didn't cause things to explode into flames was difficult for him.
Everything seemed to be in order, the ashes sat in a circle of thorny vines he'd gathered by hand, and several other herbs and vials of colorful liquids were set in similar circles in a pattern around the floor. In the very center was a large circle made of Selkie mucus, a very expensive and rare goop given there were so few of them in existence.
Scott took a steadying breath, and then in true warlock form he began to chant. Most of his words were half sung, coming from the language of the Lamensch in Wickedeisos, but many strings of words came from Gaelic, Germanic, and Greek spells. As his chanting began to pick up pace, a charge filled the air, a collective of energy being shaped into a spell to first find it's target, and then to reach across the world and pull that target to the spell's origin.
A surge of magic signaled the spells completion, and then a form shuddered into existence within the ritual circle.
@LugubriousThe woman's dreams were dull, like her thoughts. Her mind was becoming sluggish and the few emotions she felt were stronger than a zombie's, but weaker than a human's. Echoes of dreams, of a family and a husband, of a diploma and a large house, were all given up immediately, her hope dying and hopelessness setting in. Then her breathing faded and she was the same as any other of the mortal's undead creations.
