kapuchu

The Crucible - Winner Take All

And posted.

If anyone see any mistakes or really weird sentences, feel free to PM me about them so I can correct it.

Also, @ObliviousRoadie I hope I did the puppy properly.

The Crucible - Winner Take All

With the initial surprised abating, Lily found herself wondering the extents of this flask. Did it have a limited amount of uses? Was there any side effects to drinking it? And, for that matter, was it possible to overdose?

All things that were important to consider before she started gulping down a substance that, well obviously miraculous, was still somewhat dubious. If the effects if the potion came with side effects, the flower should show what they were, but at the moment there was no reaction from the newly grown plant. One uncertainty eliminated.

That still left the matter of overdosing, and possible limited uses out in the open. Both were simple enough to find out: The plant had absorbed something close to half its weight and seem to none the worse for wear, and there was still some of the Golden liquid left over, indicating that it took what it needed. As for limited number of users, the only way of finding out about that, what to use it.

She turned to Brucie, a few kernels of apprehension still burning in her chest. "Do you think it's safe?" She asked.

Brucie shrugged, seeming far less uncertain than Lily felt. "I don't see why it wouldn't be. The flower healed up well enough, and it's ain't started mutating. I reckon it's safe."

"Well, in that case, bottoms up I suppose." She brought the flask to her lips and drank, slowly and making sure to take only a little. No more than a single mouthful. It tasted much as it had smelled, but much richer and fuller - a very pleasant taste.

She put the flask down and swallowed, standing stiff as a board and looking like she expected, to spontaneously combust. Fortunately no such thing happened. A tingling sensation on her right arm prompted her to look, and revealed to her the powers of the potion. Before her eyes, the clotted wound that Brucie had inflicted upon her, was closing all on its own, leaving nothing but unblemished skin after a few seconds of healing. Eager to see how else it healed her, she turned so that her back was facing the Shark, and pulled up her shirt to inspect the cuts he had left there. They, too, were closing, but at a much slower rate, and within a handful of moments the healing ceased. The wounds were smaller, as were every other scratch and bruise that she had accumulated in the fight, but only the smallest had disappeared entirely.

"It looks like the amount of healing is proportionate to the amount I consume. On the plus side, I felt only a tingling sensation from my wounds healing, and I don't feel any more tired than I was already. That's good. The energy required to heal my injuries, comes from the potion itself, and not from me." She tipped the bottle to her lips again, taking a few mouthfuls this time. The tingling sensation set in immediately, and before her eyes her removing scratches and bruises disappeared, as if they had never been there in the first place. The only evidence of any sort of injury were they patches of dried blood around where the injuries had been.

She pulled her shirt back down and returned to the bonfire, a rare smile on her lips. Brucie followed, sitting down opposite her and through another piece of wood at the fire.

"So, what now?" He asked, staring into the flames.

"It's approaching night time, so I think we should go to sleep," Lily began, fiddling with her bangs, "but we can't both sleep at the same time. We have no idea who might find us, and I don't want to risk being stabbed in my sleep. Tournament or not, I would not put it past some people, to just off a competitor when they are defenceless."

"That's easy," Brucie said. "Sharks like me don't really sleep. I will still be aware are things around us, so you don't have to worry."

That is a relief, Lily thought, curling her tails around herself. "That's great, so yo- wait, what's that?" Her ears stood erect, both pointed towards the door opening. A sound was coming from outside, that of foot falls, like a those of a quadruped. She didn't trust herself to assume that, just because it sounded like a small creature, it was not dangerous. For all she knew every animal in this world might obey the principle of scorpions: The smaller they are, the more venomous and dangerous.

She held her hand indicating to Brucie that he should remain quiet and motionless, even as she rose to her feet with cat-like grace. Nine tails fanned out behind her, moving with gentle motions that brought them in constant contact with each other. Senses straining to their utmost, they waited with bated breath for the would-be embouchure to make his appearance.

The sound of the approaching creature came closer and closer, until finally it reached its zenith and a... dog walked into the room. A small, rotund, black and white dog appeared in the doorway, walking into the room slowly and with obvious hesitation. Its - his? - eyes shifted between the fire and Lily, having stopped halfway between the door and the room's occupants, as if asking permission to approach.

Something of a wave of embarrassment washed over Lily, and though she forced herself to show nothing of it, she still couldn't help but feel foolish for having been so paranoid about as small, fat dog. She forced to self to sit down slowly and adopted a relaxed and un-threatening posture.

Reaching out a hand and giving the dog a smile, she spoke to the dog, hoping to lure it closer. "S'alright. You can come closer," she said gently, using the tone she most often employed around the village's smaller children. When the dog did not seem forthcoming, still uncertain, she weaved a little bit of magic into her hand, producing the smell of a common dog treat from her world. Judging by the sudden reaction from the tail, now wagging, it seemed to have been a success. Her smile widened to become more genuine as the dog slowly approached, tail wagging at the prospect of a treat.

On the other side of the fire, Brucie watched intrigued as the newly arrived critter started sniffing Lily's hand before giving it a tentative lick. And then a few more. "How'd you do that?" He asked.

"Illusions," she explained. "It's much more than simply images. I can also mimic taste, smell, sound, and even physical sensations. Right now, he thinks that my had tastes like a dog treat. It's not as easy as visual illusions, but still some things I can do." With the dog still licking her hand she reached out with the other and, carefully so as to not startle him, ran her hand across his back. When he didn't react aside from more rapid wagging she couldn't help but feel a small sense of accomplishment. In fact, the dog seemed all too happy to lick her hand and get a taste of dog treats, and to be scratched behind the ears the same time.

"You gonna keep him?" Brucie asked, breaking her out of her reverie.

Judging by the continued licking, the dog was still in his reverie. "I think so, yeah," Lily said at length. "He's wet, and probably cold, from the rain. At the very least we could lets him sleep here with us tonight." She removed the illusion on her hand that made it tastes like dog treats, and though the dog seemed momentarily disappointed, he quickly recovered and lay down by near the fire, content to accept Lily's scratches for the time being.

Brucie shrugged. "Alright. You go sleep, I'll go half-sleep. Like a proper shark." He chuckled to himself and turned to the door, leaning sideways up against the wall. "Night, Boss-lady."

"Good night, I s'pose," Lily replied and lay down, wrapping most of her tails around herself like a makeshift bed and blanket. The single one not wrapped around herself, lay next to the dog, curled around him to keep him warm. "Wake me if anything comes."

The Crucible - Winner Take All

It had been well over an hour since Lily and Brucie had built their little bonfire inside the abandoned office. The fire had burned well, spreading light, warmth and - most importantly - dryness to Lily's tails. As nice as they were to have on mere principle, they could often get in the way quite a lot, especially when water was involved. Any person with long hair knew the fundamental truth, of how heavy hair of any kind could be when laden with water. Her nine tails, each as long as she was tall, and extraordinarily voluminous, was no exception.

It was one reason why she and Tsukiko had an entire closet devoted entirely to towels, and why she always started a fire before taking a bath. Because if she did not, it would take an entire day to get dry. She sighed, running a hand over one of her tails, glad to find that it was dry thanks to the fire. The only problem was that the salt in Brucie's water, had made their fur coarse, and a little stiff. It was unfortunately not something she could do anything about right now, as she had neither brush nor the shampoos and conditioners that she used on a regular basis, to keep them soft and pleasant.

Speaking of which. Thinking of water and washing, have reminded Lily of something else. She uncurled one of their tails, revealing the yellow, crystalline flask. It had to have a purpose - had to be more than just a simple container. This place; tournament, College, this city. All of it was shrouded in enigmas, with the answer to one question simply leading to more. A place with so much magic, or Magitech, did not give the contestants of its tournament prizes that were just pieces of junk. She reached the flask, holding it up against the light of the fire.

"What are you?" Lily whispered, tapping the flask with a nail. No reaction.

"It's a bottle of some kind," Brucie answered, though the deadpan look he received told him all he needed to know, of how welcome his reply was. "What? Just look at it!"

"I can see that. But I can't figure out what it does. I don't think the rewards we get for winning a fight in the tournament, are just random pieces of junk. It wouldn't make sense, based on what we know about this College. They have the means to travel between Worlds, after all." She set the flask on the ground - it sounded exactly like glass would - and watched the flames reflect off of its surface. "Might as well ask, do you have any ideas?"

It took Brucie a moment to reply, his body language indicating deep thought: Leaning forward, scratching what amounted to his chin. When he spoke, he spoke slowly and not without uncertainty. "It's a bottle. Maybe try to put some water in it?" He shrugged, righting himself. "My Water cannon is busted, but I think I can probably make some water come out of it, just nothing that could be used as a weapon."

It was something to consider, Lily decided. The logic was simple, but not wrong. At the end of the day it was a bottle, meant to contain liquids of some kind. The question was whether it's with conjure something, given a passcode, or if it had some other effect. Whatever the case, they might as well start from square one. She handed the flask to Brucie, who took it in his metallic hand and sets it on the ground in front of them.

He then began fiddling with his right arm, pulling out broken pieces of metal, poking at other places, until he finally looked satisfied several moments later. He held his arm above the flask, what would have been the exit point for his water, directly above. "Here we go," he muttered, flexing the fingers on his right hand which cost the mechanism to trigger. Water drippled from the hole - far from the geyser it happened before - about half of it making it into the bottle proper, and the other half spilling on the ground around them.

Brucie finished filling up the bottle, shut off the dribble of water with a twitch of his fingers, and then they waited.

They had only wait a few seconds before something happened. It was sudden, without fanfare or preamble, I'm from one second to the next it changed from simple, clear water to a golden liquid more at home in the story of alchemist, than in reality. If Brucie was surprised he did not make a show of it.

Lily, on the other hand, jumped to her feet and picked up the flask within a second of the colour changing. Out of everything she had expected, this was not one of them. At least, not this specific outcome. Of course transmutation would have been one of the possible results. It was either that or Conjuring, she thought, bring the flask to her nose. It smelled not quite sweet, nor bitter. It was more like the floral scents off some teas, except that one that she could place. "Pleasant scent. That's a good sign," she murmured. "But what does it do?" She didn't start to drink it, having no idea what affects it might cause. She needed something to test it on, but she was hesitant should give it to Brucie. He was sentient like her, after all. A plant, she needed a plant.

She put the flask down and started looking around in the office, searching for a potted plant, and old flower, or anything in that vein. Unfortunately, they weren't anything is the office itself, but upon opening the window and looking outside, she found flowers growing up the wall. She spared no time in grapping one and pulling it off the stem, taking it inside with her again. She spent a short moment shaking off the rainwater from the flower and her arm.

"Give me the flask," she said to Brucie, eyes fixated upon the flower, hand extended towards the mechanised shark. The bottled arrived, carried with surprising gentleness and handed to her. Flower was placed on the desk, its light blue petals brights in the fire light. "Here goes nothing," Lily almost whispered and poured a little bit of the golden liquid on the flower. It spread around it in a small pool, acting much like regular water would, except golden, but otherwise doing nothing. Disappointment had just started set in when, on the count of five, the pool seemed to retract, the flower actually absorbing the liquid and reacting in turn. Where Lily had pulled off the flower, broken it off from the rest of its stem, she noticed, with a gasp, that new plant material was appearing, growing at a rate she had only ever seen dryads being capable of.

"It's healing!" She exclaimed. The flower had even regrown roots. "It's the healing tonic! And it looks like it transmutes water into it, when it is poured into the flask!" Her smile became a grin, and her grin became a laugh. "I didn't think this kind of thing was even possible!"

The Crucible - Winner Take All

@BCTheEntity
Much better!

The Crucible - Winner Take All

@BCTheEntity
The purple text is literally painful (yes, I mean literally) to read. It hurts my eyes to look at. Could you remove the colour? Or at the very least change it to something that doesn't hurt to look at.

The Three Realms War [A DMC, Bayonetta and Darksiders RP]

Lily's eyes narrowed dangerously. That was not information he should possess. Let alone the fact that he knew as small a detail as Wrath having been there with her. She knew that the Nephilim had ties to Heaven - He was part Angel after all - but that did not explain why he had given potentially crucial information, to a faction that might well be there anyway. A Traitor? Double agent? No. He may be more muscle than brain, but no one would be so stupid as to betray the Charred Council.

No matter. What was done was done. She could not change the fact that Wrath had leaked information you should not, but what she could do was to make certain that anything he had said couldn't be verified. "I am an agent of the Charred Council. That is all you need to know." She paused, just long enough for the non-answer to make frustration take root before continuing. "And if you had intended a fight, you would have attacked the moment you had the slightest suspicion that I was not Uriel." She gave him a smile that could hardly be described as anything but condescending. "Don't try to fool me, Boy. We both know the truth; that you were scared that I might actually have been who I claimed to be, and that you risked breaking your own silly little laws."

She took a step forward, then another, arms no longer crossed, but hanging down her sides and spread ever so slightly - an open and welcoming gesture. She stood there, facing the angels and smiling. It was an un-guarded pose; unconcerned. Confident. It was one predator's message to another: "I am not afraid of you. You are not a threat."

"Now," she said, "I do believe you were about to let us about our business, correct?"

Ianus Congreatio: Secret societies, horror, and mystery in the shadows of Prague.

@Astarael42@ConteAmarula
It's probably a clue to Astarael's secret identity. Given that it's a "Ba", I suspect she might be a Goat.

The Crucible - Winner Take All

@obliviousRoadie
Since the puppy now appeared near Lily, I figure I should ask you (or @Lugubrious?) about how'd it'd react to various things.Or am I free to make such calls myself? Provided I follow its personality and such, of course.

The Crucible - Winner Take All

Out of everything that Lily would have expected to be the prize for her victory, she had expected something that was a little more exciting than a bottle. Upon inspection it was obvious that it was craftsman with no small degree of skill, who had crafted it, but at the end of the day it was still a bottle, made from a sort of semi-transparent, crystalline stone rather than glass, as one might have otherwise expected. It wasn't giving an obviously magical item. It was just... A bottle? And not only that but it was also empty. She had received empty stone flask as a reward for surviving a fight against a mecha-shark? To say that she was not impressed would have been an understatement. After a life or death fight she expected something... More. Armour, a weapon, a one-time-use spell convert form of the scroll, or something.

But she had won a bottle.

"Ya don't look very satisfied," Brucie pointed out. Simple minded him might be, but stupid he was not.

"No, I'm not," Lily said, standing up. She held the bottle up against the distant, yellow light that lit up this area in the hopes of finding out more about it by looking at it, in a new light. "I only just managed to defeat you, and all I get for the trouble if this empty flask." Upon finding nothing of interest she lowered her arm and reached behind her, where one of her tails wrapped around the flask and held it secure. She then turned her attention to Brucie, raising an inquisitive eyebrow. "So what are you going to do?"

The shark shrugged with his mechanical limbs. "Dunno. Figure I might as well stick with you for the time being. Ain't got nothin' better to do." He stood up, spending a brief moment to look down upon his destroyed water cannon. "So where to?" He asked. "You're the boss, fluffbutt, as far as I'm concerned."

The glare that Lily aimed at Brucie could have curdled milk, but to him it did little more than make him laugh; a guttural sound that still grated on Lily's nerves. Not because it annoyed her, but because it was unpleasant - especially to one with ears as sensitive as hers. If he noticed her wince he did not show it.

When finally his laughter died down, and he had enough self control to not break his composure, he fixed Lily with a stare caught somewhere between mocking and pitying. "I take it you don't like puns?" He hazarded.

"You're right, I don't. Especially not poor ones mocking my tails."

"Protective of them, are we?"

Lily bristled, visibly annoyed at this point. "I would appreciated if you ceased your jokes. I do not find them entertaining." She turned and left, looking for the nearest door out of this room. Based on her estimations what they were on now must be the ground floor, and so where she would likely find the offices that Oren had mentioned earlier, before flying off. If she were lucky she would be able to find some wood and papers, with which she could build a small fire and dry herself. To others it may have just been a matter of convenience, but to Lily beam dry was imperative. Were she not, her ability to produce lightning and fire would be incredibly diminished at best or - more realistically - completely gone at worst.

"Want me to come along?" She heard Brucie ask behind her.

She saw no reason to deny him. It seemed to her that, whatever it meant to take someone's soul, it came with a dose of docility. Not that he was docile per se, just that any hostility that had been there before, was now utterly gone. "If you want," she said, looking down along one wall for a door. There. She headed for it, calling over her shoulder to Brucie, "So long as you don't try to attack me, I suppose it won't hurt to let you tag along." She needn't mention that there was a door near her, as the sound of metallic feet upon concrete accompanied the far more muffled sound of her own.

The door led to a mostly empty hallway, a single door at the far end for which Lily immediately headed, Brucie dutifully following. The door was unadorned; constructed of featureless metal and, much to Lily's annoyance, locked. "Just a moment," she said quietly placing the palm of her hand a few scant centimetres from where the lock would be. The sound of bending metal echoed down the hallway a second later, the lock having been blown apart by a single powerful blow of raw kinetic energy. Lily need not do anymore than push it open after this, revealing what looked like a changing room of sorts. It was filled with rows of working boots, boxes with gloves, and the like, as well as small lockers and racks for clothing.

This must be where they changed from everyday clothes to whatever uniforms they used before working the machines? She walked over to the nearest locker and pried it open. Inside was not much. A spiderweb bereft of any spider and a small piece of plastic - wrapping from a piece of candy, probably. "Brucie, go look through the lockers," Lily instructed, opening the next. Behind her, Brucie went about looking through the ones on the opposite side of the room. "Tell me if you find anything more interesting than empty candy wrappers or spiderwebs," she continued. "This place has looked abandoned from the very get-go, but there's no sense in not looking."

The next few minutes were spent in silence, aside from the opening and closing of various lockers, and the occasional tearing sound as Brucie tore a locked one off of its hinges. Mostly Lily found herself disappointed, finding nothing but spiderwebs and useless pieces of plastic - though she did come across one identification badge of a raven-haired woman called Salem - and an assortment of other useless pieces of junk. Brucie, however, was more lucky.

"Found something!" He announced jubilantly.

"What is it?" Lily inquired, turning around to face him. Her anticipatory expression fell the instant she laid eyes upon him, along with her ears pressing flat against her skull. "Really?"

"What? It's good!" Brucie, with all of the glee a shark face could show, took another bite from the candy bar he had procured.

A wave of disbelief washed over her face, transforming her annoyed to expression into that of someone who couldn't quite believe what they were witnessing. It fell away moments later, however, replaced by a far more controlled look upon her face. "I had... expected something a bit more useful than a decade-old candy bar. Did you find anything else? Something that might have been useful?"

Brucie shook his head. "Nah. Just this," he announced, then shoved the rest of the candy in his maw.

"Right... Well, we're done here. Nothing to just for this except broken lockers." She started towards the exit, giving Brucie a single look over her shoulder. "Coming?" Then she was gone, through the other door and out into whatever lay beyond.

They arrived in what looked like a sort of reception area, with a set of large doors to the left, presumably leading outside, and what could have looked like an automated check-in service for the workers here. Whether on not it was, however, was difficult to see and of little consequence. Lily continued the head, crossing the foyer - if that was what it was - and down the opposite hall. Finally it seemed like luck was on their side, as doors flanked them on either side. And to make matters even better, they which made of thick and sturdy wood. Those some showed obvious signs of disrepair, there were yet many that seemed whole and dry.

"So... what're we doin' here, exactly?" Brucie asked at length, breaking the silence that had formed between them.

Lily, deciding that it was not worth the effort of getting annoyed, informed him of her need to stay dry, or she wouldn't able to do much of anything. She had figured that, for whatever reason, taking Brucie's soul had made him friendly towards her, I am so telling him how her powers worked wouldn't be a risk. "Furthermore," she added as she stepped up to a locked door and placed both palms against it, "I'm looking for a pen and a piece of paper." The door buckled and shattered from twin lancers of force. Lily steps through the resulting hole, already picking up the larger pieces of wood and instructed Brucie to do the same, as well as construct what would essentially amount to a bonfire.

As he did so - and after she had discarded her pieces of wood where she wanted the bonfire to be - she began looking for a paper and pen. As she had hoped and expected, the door she had blasted through led to an office, complete with a computer desk and a bookcase full of binders. Paper was easy enough to find, having to just tear out a page from the binders, but a pen eluded her. Who ever had worked in this office must have been particularly fun of their pens. The cup where there are usually was a dozen or so in any given office, was strangely absent from this one. She had little luck with the drawers, too, finding naught but old paper clips.

"Bonfire's done," Brucie announced just as Lily open the last drawer and, thankfully, finally came upon an old, short pencil.

"Good. Just a moment." She looked the pencil over. The tip was broken, but it was serviceable. She then took the piece of paper and wrote down a short message, finishing it's by signing her full name.

To Whom it May Concern

The holder of this missive was defeated in the tournament, but left alive, and later divulged his wish to me. I write this as a request,
and ask that you help bring the holder of this missive to my World, giving him the means to return as well. I know you have the means to do so. Once there you are to bring him to one of the facilities known simply as Academies, and hand this missive to whomsoever you meet upon entering.

The Holder of this missive wishes to become human, and doing as described above will accomplish that. Your announcer, Oren, mentions that the College is not a wish-granding service, but something that can be accomplished through science is not a wish, but a goal.

Help this individual accomplish his goal.

Signed
Lily Strider - One of the Nine Tails.

Once finished she folded the paper and walked over to where Brucie sat, a stack of wood in front of him.

"Ya done?" He asked, sounding impatient.

She sat down, her right side to what would become the bonfire. "I'm done," she said, letting her tails grind against each other behind her, creating some friction despite how wet they were. It was just enough to create a small ball of fire in her hand, which should gently sets down to the fire where it caught on quickly. She lets her tails fall around the bonfire, encircling it so that each and every one of them had the chance to dry up.

"I was writing this," she said after a few moments of making sure that the fire would continue to burn, and not catch on to her tails, and handed the piece of paper to Brucie. "I destroyed your weapon, and you don't have any more rockets, so I don't think you will be of much help to me in future battles. You might even be a detriment, if I were to be honest. What it says is basically that I want them to take you to visit my world, and have the people there help you get what you want, and then take your back so you can get home. I want you to go back to the college, and find someone important to give it to. Try to look for some of the people that were in the announcement room with us."

Brucie the paper in his metallic fingers, looking down at it. His eyes flicked to the fire, then back to the paper, them to the fire again, and finally back at Lily whose expression told him that she knew exactly what he had been thinking.

He sighed stuffed the paper into the compartments on his left leg. "'Kay, I'll keep it. If only to make sure you don't get wrinkles early from frowning like that." Lily's frown only deepened, causing Brucie ot let out a brief peal of laughter. "But no. I appreciate the offer, but t'aint for me. A Freakshow's who I am, and I'd much rather be a freakshow that tags along with you, an' gets into all sorts of interesting stuff." He chuckled again, seeming pleased with himself. "If ya'll have me. You say I'll be a detriment or whatever, but ere's the other side of the coin: I'm big, I'm strong, and even without my supersoaker and shoulder-mounted nerfgun, I can still beat the everliving snot outta most anyone. You might be a quick thing, but you're fragile and not very strong - oh, don't gimme that look, it's true! 'Sides, I owe ya one as I mentioned. I'll keep the paper, maybe think about it later, but for now I wanna stick around unless you really want me gone." Having said his piece, Brucie crossed his arms, awaiting Lily's judgement.

He wouldn't have to wait long. Lily sighed, bangs covering her eyes as she hung her head. If he feels like he owes it to me, what right do I have to stop him? And he is right. A front-line bruiser would be useful - someone similar to Alice. She straightened up, ears erect atop her head. "Alright," she said, offering him a wry smile, "if you insist, I'll let you stick around. Just don't soak me through like this again. It takes away at least half of my strength."

Brucie laughed. Again. "Can't promise I won't make ya wet."

Lily groaned, pulling her knees up against her chest and hiding her face. Even muffled as it was, Brucie could have sworn he heard her mention something about sushi.

Ianus Congreatio: Secret societies, horror, and mystery in the shadows of Prague.

News for everybody: Astarael's working on a post, but won't be finished today.