June 15, 2015:
Zee tries to heal John after he takes in the Book of Sins…. it goes wrong.
Shadowcrest - Gotham
Characters
![class="image1"](http://cmbeta.wdfiles.com/local--resized-images//class="image1"/medium.jpg)
NPCs: None.
Mentions:
Plot:
A Dark Hold
Apocalypse: Only the Strong
Blood versus Family
Bones Of The City
Breaking the Universe
Cyberdata War: First Strike
Dangerous Esterikos Wonderous Mystikos
Dark Gods & Times
De Oppresso Liber
Demon Lord of New York
Diaz de Muertos
Don't Tell Thanos The Babysitter's Dead
Empire of Tears
Escape from Sakaar
From the Ashes
Gateway to the Stars
Genosha: Rebirth
God Of The Dead
Hacker, Sass-Mastah, Engineer, Spy
Himmel und Hölle in Bewegung Setzen
Mood Music: None.
Fade In…
After the episode at the Museum, Kitty's reached out to Zee to ask for assistance with John. The man it seems, is a bit of a mess. Of course, Zee has agreed but has arranged to have John bought to Shadowcrest. Zee might be magically strong, but she'll take every advantage she can get - Shadowcrest is a point of power for her.
Before John arrives though, she's made some preparations including cleansing the circle in her workroom and taken a leaf out of The Fox's book to power some crystals - Citrine, Amber, Quartz and Amethyst specifically. Those designed to aid in concentration.
She's also called in some assistance using the Primal Force network, they've all got tokens to access Shadowcrest and Richard has been told to direct them to the workroom. She just now needs to see who responds.
When all is finally in order, Zee works with Kitty to teleport John from the House, straight into the middle of her circle where there's a travel bed set up for John to use. After trying to settle John, Zee turns to Kitty "Alright Kitty, this is going to take a long time. Hours at least, maybe days. You have the responsibility of making sure those outside the circle are kept fresh. Richard knows this and will bring food and drink periodically, but don't be afraid to ask for anything." Looking back to the centre of the circle, Zee rubs her arms a little "But above all, whatever happens, do not let the circle be broken, I fully expect that what he took in will try to fight back." Zee's expecting this to be more than just a healing.
Jes hasn't left John's side since discovering he'd been hurt so badly. There's been very little she could do but side and watch and help make sure he had the pain meds and enough to drink. She's in her human form but frustration and worry have her near the edge and there's a very feral energy about her. She's currently standing very still, almost creepily so, because her pacing would distract Zee. "This will work. It has to work." Jes mutters to herself, not realizing she's speaking her native tongue instead of english. She adds a few more sentences that are a lot harder to guess because her tone changes from worry to something more determined and then she falls silent again.
Though Kitty has been attempting to do her best to care for John ever since the Museum, it's been difficult. He's not exactly the world's best patient and she doesn't even know the best way to treat his wounds - magical or physical. She needs Jean or Hank, but she knows they don't know magic. Instead, she turns to the only person she knows for a fact that has healed John when he was in a bad way: Zatanna.
Prepping John for the journey as best she can, she packs a few bags with some clean clothes and pajamas for him. She was given a token to get to Shadowcrest before and though she can't move house, she's hoping that John is drugged up enough to not ask too many questions and move it himself. She'll shove him into a cab if she has to, but it's really not something she's looking forward to doing.
The young mutant gives Jes a reassuring smile, attempting to make sure that the coyote knows he'll be alright. THen, Kitty crosses her arms and nods. "There's nothing I can do inside the circle?" she asks Zatanna stubbornly. "I mean, I don't mind helping out, but I imagine everyone here knows how to ask Richard for help." A hand rubs absently against her chest, worrying at the same spot as she thinks, eyebrows knit together.
"Kitty," John rasps, coming out of the semi-sleep he'd been drifting in and out of for several days. He turns his sunken, withered eyes towards the source of the girl's voice. "Piss off, you little git. There's a far cry between lighting a candle and being able to latch onto Zatanna's focii. Go to the school, eh? See your friends, do whatever it is normal gels do with their free time. House is locked up until I can get you back in, anyway," he says. He tries to wave her off and groans in pain, the twisted ruin of his claw-like hand rising barely a half-inch from his chest before settling again.
"Zee, if this takes days, you're losing your touch, luv," he says, baiting the girl with an irascible and insincere tone. "If this doesn't work, I'd like to point out my spirit will be vengeful, angry, and retain all of my wizardly knowledge. And I'll haunt your shower."
"The hell you will. I'll bite your ass." Jes isn't sure he knows she can interact with ghosts and spirits. She scowls. "Now shut up and let us help." Her tone is angry but really she's just terrified and not willing to show it. There aren't many people at all she can call friend and John is one of them and more so a truefriend. She stalks over and whispers something softly in Zee's ear. (Take my energy if you need it, Zee. Hell, take some of my life force if you can. Take as much as you need. I don't care. He's more important than I am.) It's not like she'll live to see old age anyway and John is needed a lot more than her.
Joshua was contacted and then Lyn was asked to come over today. She knocks on the door and waits. She is dressed in shorts and T-shirt. She is wearing her heavy gold jewelry and her long hair has been braided and bund up in bandana that hides her forehead. She has a waxy pallor to her skin when she arrives, but with her comes the smell of rain, grass, wood smoke and earth.
Melinda May arrives as soon as she can, which is almost too late to be of any help. Other than her connection to Primal Force, though, the reason she's arriving so late is because she tracked down and called in the assistance of the only other magic-based healer she knows. Zatanna knew that May would be hopefully arriving with Rain (and likely the cat), so when they appear in the Shadowcrest lobby, they're shown to the workroom promptly.
Leading the way into the workshop, May scoops up the trenchcoat-wearing cat before he can follow his human into the circle, and hands off a large tin of tea to the house staff that led them here. What was his name again? Robert? Richmond? "Captain, stay with me for now."
Rain is arriving with May. Healing is part of what she do, along with the newtations, exercising her right to bear arms (and bear legs and bear… everything). The witch is more shy, quietly trailing behind. "Whoa, nice pl—" He grunts as he's scooped up. "Thanks," Rain replies. Captain kind of blinks, his tail flicking into a ? shape now and then. "Well, the service isn't bad," He quips. His paws dangle loosely, exposing kitty jelly beans. His voice is a rich, baritone voice.
Rain looks quietly concerned. "Um."
Lynwen is shown to the workroom by Richard and Zee acknowledges the new arrivals in turn.
"Maybe I am loosing my touch, John." Zee walks up to the man on the bed "but now it is time for you to sleep." and murmurs a spell, a simple cantrip really… that knocks John out cold.
"Kitty, no, there's going to be enough going on in that circle without me having to worry about you. But… I need you to stay, you'll have to watch the wards on the circle and make sure they stay in tact." Zee had already briefed Kitty on the spell she used there, and worked with the young woman to adapt it to Kitty's method "Trust me, Kitty. If what John took into him fights back, you'll be busy enough."
"Hello Rain, May, Lynwen… have you all met Kitty and Jes" Zee will give the group a minute or two to introduce themselves before she explains just what happened to John and what they're going to do here today. While she's waiting, she places a crystal at points round the circle, the points correspond to the points on the compass.
Addressing the group, Zee looks grim "That was a lot of demonic energy, John absorbed. So, I expect that I'll be dealing with it fighting back as much as healing John. That's why I've asked for help." Pointing to the crystals "May, Jes, Lynwen, Rain… would you each take a point? The circles warded, so you'll be protected from what comes out, but… I can access any energy you channel to me." The pendulum bearers know how to do this, May and Jes have worked like that with Zee before. "Rain and Lynwen, if you form and channel healing spells, I'll manage the weaves as focus. Kitty, you're on wards and if you think one of the others needs bolstering, go for it… but… don't tap yourself out."
Zee's dressed comfortably today. A pair of loose yoga pants, tshirt and a hoodie. Inside the circle, on the ground next to the bed is a folded blanket for Zee to sit on, several bottles of water, various 'ingredients' for spells in case they're needed, plus several clay pots that contain holy oil.
"Any questions before we start?" Zee takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly "If not, take up you places. Once I'm in that circle and I close it, I won't come out till we're done."
At that point, Richard enters the room and gives Zee a hard look. "Richard," Zee's tone is admonishing "you know the procedure. Call Kane, Fenris and my Dad if things don't go well. Kitty here, is my voice for this matter if you're not sure." Richard settles next to the door of the workroom, seems he's not going anywhere just yet.
Jes usually likes Richard but today, when he enters with that expression, she steps forward and snarls at the man. She would rather be captured and tortured by HYDRA than feel this helpless. There she'd at least be able to fight it, she'd know what to do. Here, all she can do is wait and watch and hope that this works. But May's presence seems to help and Jes lowers her eyes and shudders. She respects May and sees her as an Elder, someone to be respected and obeyed. "Sorry." She moves to where Zee directs and keeps her eyes on the floor for the moment.
"You can piss off yourself," Kitty tells John with a snort. "I'm not going anywhere. And if you haunt Zee, I'll make sure it's my mission to exorcise you. She's just trying to help. Stop being a jerk and let her help you."
Though Kitty still frowns at being rebuffed from helping any further in the circle, she's at least given something to do outside the circle rather than just give people water. She tries to hold in the sigh, but it's still there. The others are met with a nod. She knows Lynwen from the Museum - well, knows her face if not her actually personality. May is a familiar face from the Iceworm mission. Rain, however, is entirely new to her. Lockheed, silent on a shelf flies over to investigate the talking cat, head tilting sideways curiously at the creature.
Nodding her blonde with the bandana speaks. "I am Lynwen" She pauses and gives a surname after she thinks for a moment, "Cornwall for those who do not know me, it is a pleasure to work with you and I wish it under better circumstances." She then moves to one of the points that is not selected by one of the other women. "Zee do you also need cleansing energies woven into the healing spells as well? I can form both and give them to you." She offers, her normal heavy accent has been tone down and she does not seem to be having issues with English at the moment.
Melinda May nods as Zee asks for her to help with the channelling and sets Captain down gently. "Stay out of trouble," she warns the feline, then aims a significant look toward Kitty and glances toward the cat briefly. She's charging the young woman she remembers from upstate New York with watching over and minding Rain's familiar, because this might get ugly, and the cat wanting to help might not be helpful at all.
She steps to the place indicated and takes a moment to shed her jacket and any concealed weapons that might possibly interfere. That'd be two taser-ended batons, a slightly odd-looking pistol, the setup strapped to one arm that holds four small throwing knives, the modified shoulder holster that supports the paired butterfly knives at her back, and a slinky length of black silk sash. Finally, she pulls her pendulum out from under the neckline of her shirt, so the carnelian point and the gold dragon curled around the chain are both visible.
Rain is sort of a mystical mouse. She got raised with a servant mentality and never sprouted out of it. If they're not careful, she might pop an umbrella and take the nearest breeze home. Or into a jet engine. Remember, eagles may soar but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines. "Hi, I think I've met Miss Jes, but not Kity," She admits. For her part, she's listening more than speaking. "I have duct tape," She offers helpfully. Engineers.
Otherwise, she listens, nodding. She looks quietly concerned. "Um, sure thing. I'm not particular on a direction. Though, if I go west, I hope a house doesn't drop on me." Hey, the last witch of the west didn't have things work out so well for her. Rain's a little paranoid after her own aunt had a house smash her. It's apparently a legit life worry.
She nods. "Form and channel healing at my point. You got it." Captain is quiet, for his part, limbs dangling almost comically limp in that helpless cat resignment. "Hey, sometimes having a friend there helps." He and Rain made it while homeless. He peers back at Lockheed in turn. "Sup, dragon dude." An easy, laid back Gotham accent. He's resisting the urge to battabattabatta with a paw as Lockheed is flying/dangling. Thankfully, enhanced intelligence and restraint came as part of the familiar bonus plan. Rain is curious in turn, but manages a smile and wave to Kitty. Why not. Captain finds himself on the ground, tail wiggling. He gives May his best Puss-in-Boots innocent eyes. Oh yea, guilty as all hell.
Richard slips out of the room as the group starts to take their places, returning after not too long with a tray containing a teapot and mugs. Seems the staff have made use of Mays tea cannister already. Following behind Richard is Elizabeth who assists in pouring and distributing the tea. They've seen Zee's father work like this and know how to help in the situation.
Zee enters the circle and sits herself down, the light flickering in the depths of her eyes. "Please Lynwen, cleansing and healing energy would be good." She looks to John, then the group and her eyes glow bright blue as she murmurs a spell.
The Circle is closed. Those with magical senses will sense it and the wards the Mistress of Magic has set. Zee's not a slouch when it comes to this type of magic, her father has taught her well and she's used the Shadowcrest Library to good effect.
Reaching out with her senses, Zee waits for the others to channel their energy, before she starts casting her healing spells.
After snarling at Richard Jes has spent the past several minutes with her face tilted towards the floor and her eyes shut putting all her considerable will into forcing herself into a meditative trance. It's not going to last for long but should be enough she hopes. Jes has a really reckless or even nonexistent regard for her own safety since Zee first met her so it's probably not a surprise when she sends a slight tendril of energy to Zee and once she's got hold of it slowly increases the flow and leaves the connection completely open. Zee can take as much as she needs from her, Jes doesn't care about any danger to herself. Just that John is healed and doesn't die.
"It's nice to put a name to a face," Kitty tells Lynwen with a smile. "I'm Kitty. We didn't exactly meet at the Museum, but I remember you," she tells the blonde woman with as warm of a smile as she can manage. Her hand, still rubbing at the same spot on her chest, straightens, putting the hand down and nodding at May. Luckily, she has just the thing for this. "Lockheed," she tells the dragon, who's already eyeing Captain with quite a bit of interest, "You take care of—-Holy crap your cat talks." The last part is directed at Rain - and to Captain - with surprise and a bit of a step back. She's seen some magic and Lockheed talks in his own alien language, but a cat talking with a Gotham accent? That she's never seen before. Pulling herself together, she looks between Captain and Lockheed. "Alright, the pair of you, look after each other."
Her eyes go to Richard as he slips in and out of the room. At least he's unobtrusive. As the ritual starts, Kitty puts her attention on the wards, attempting to feel and bolster them if needed. For now, it seems she's mostly just a back up - a position she particularly dislikes - but, she will keep her attention focused.
John lays quiescent, possibly asleep again. Who knows? His chest rises and falls. It must be painful for all the beautiful women surrounding him- for some reason, no gentlemen are in attendence to assist with the magic. Perhaps it's because healing requires the touch of a coven. Perhaps it's because still waters run deep. Perhaps it's because John's sly and abrasive nature hides a heart of gold, the sort of spirit that women go crazy for. Perhaps the small circle is hoping to rebuild him, better, stronger, faster, a man of action and looks.
Perhaps if they all started making out, that'd help him heal faster. It does seem like the sort of gesture John would appreciate. But only from those who really care about him and want to see him healthy again, and quickly.
"It is a pleasure to meet you Kitty. I sense mischief between the two." Her moss green eyes are eyeing both the Cat and the Dragon. Then they go to each woman in turn. "May it is good to see you again, and the Koi are doing well. Rain, it is nice to see you too. Jes, it is has been a while." She looks at John. With a nod of her head Lynwen opens herself up to the divine and the elements. She begins to chant in the ancient tongue. She begins to glow brightly with power. The air stirs and any open flames leap and grow brighter. The smell of ozone grows stronger. The gold jewelry she wears glows as bright as the sun. She continues to chant and then opens up the channel to Zee. She is careful this time it is gentle and speaks of spring and the early summer of life and the spirt. The scent of sweet blossoms and rich loam grows stronger. With next she forms a spell of healing and cleansing.
Melinda May nods to Lynwen, inwardly glad to hear that the koi are doing well. She kind of suspected they'd be okay. Captain's innocent face only earns a brief glare and then she's turning to focus on the task at hand. And Constantine should be really, really glad that May isn't telepathic, or this healing would start off with her giving the irreverent man a Gibbs-slap of lethal proportions.
Rain is a Level 10 Dire Introvert. Any making out would involve making models or electronics outside. Besides, she cares about Spearhead immensely, even if a good portion of their relationships consists of wrangling him and bringing him back to the manor to heal him. We're also pretty sure the frozen salesmen in Hell had a double coating of ice the day Rain got a date that wasn't a fruit (but she doesn't discriminate). Rain is quiet or a moment, before beaming at Kitty. She looks quietly amused. The cat laughs softly. "'eeeeeeeey." He seems more amused by the reactions than anything else. There's mischief in those feline eyes. "I do. Yeah, sure, I can dragonwatch." No problem, he's got this. If there's anything in this world that is good at staring at things, it's cats.
Rain will take a point, once the others are starting their thing. Rain was kicked out of the Easy Bake Coven, she's a bit shy on this coven business. Rain does care, even if she's pretty sure it's a good thing he hasn't found the magic booze. The truly ancient, truly fae stuff. Yet. Does he have a sixth sense for this kind of thing? Captain's tail is flicking slowly, and he's watching Lockheed, uncertain.
Rain's magic is notable for one thing. It is so subtle that one might mistake Rain for either a zen master or someone more stoned than an entire geology club. The power is palpable to those with the right senses, but there is no glow, no cool effects. It's quiet willworking, magic woven out of what Rain wants to happen. Freaking witches. At least no one has to deal with dramatic speeches in toiling and bubbling. And she has her relic guns, because no one would take her seriously with a 12 inch wand. Ahem. Also, Rain is glad to hear the koi are doing well - even if she is a bit distracting.
Zee just wants to heal John. If he comes out of this better, faster and doesn't cost $6million, then that's a bonus. For now, she's happy he's still asleep because what she's about to do, will probably hurt - she's been practicing, but healing hurts.
Zee's focussing on controlling the energy flows as they reach her. Each one of them will feel the tug, as Zee starts to blend the magical flows moving slowly so Kitty can see what she's doing. If Kitty can't be in there with her, the least Zee can do is aid the learning. Taking a deep breath, the Mistress of Magic exhales slowly as she speaks the words of her spell
~~ laeH nhoJ ylluF ~~
As she speaks, the magic envelopes her - making her the focal point, letting her magnify the energy as she directs it to John on the bed in front of her. It's possible some in the room may see a shimmering aura around Zee.
As the first tendril of the spell touches John, something reacts and pushes back, reaching for the wards on the circle … trying to get through them. Kitty's probably going to have to do some reinforcing of her own. Zee might need each of those around the circle to put their own unique skills into the energy flows…
Jes slowly raises her head in response to the thing pushing Zee's attempt to heal away. It wants out, wants them. Her eye's open and she sends a second tendril out but into the wards this time. She's Coyote. A hunter, a predator. This is her territory and she'll not stand for it to rise. She pours that power into the wards. Teeth and fangs and claws and animal rage. No one will take or defile what is hers, not without a fight.
"Mischief tends to follow Lockheed around," Kitty tells Lynwen with a smirk. She gives the dragon a bit of a raised eyebrow and the cat both of them. "Well, you two look after each other." Lockheed, curiously and warily reaches out a claw to pet Captain - much like a parrot attempting to pet a nervous cat.
Then, however, her attention is focused on the ceremony. She, luckily, can't tell what John is hoping for, because otherwise she'd be with May knocking some sense into him. Instead, she watches Zee and the way she manipulates energy. She's been learning quite a few things with John, but it always gives her a sense of wonder to see magic in action. Even as she does so, she realizes that the wards need some help and quickly moves into a position to do so. She may be new to this, but she's a quick study.
The backlash from the healing is more than just the normal feedback. Healing is a delicate art- too little energy and nothing happens. Too much and there's a risk of the recipient burning out or dying. Complicating things, then, comes something lashing back along those channeled lines of force. A pollutant that rises up from inside John- corrupt. Rotten. Evil. It does not merely resist their efforts… it actively attacks the circle's members, a nauseating flood of hellish power that threatens anyone linked into Zatanna. And it is /powerful/.
Lynwen stands there feet apart hands by her side. She continues to chant each word carries weight and power and the magic is bent to her will and the blessing of the gods and goddess given. The tug from Zee is welcomed and the magic continues to gently pour into her. She herself is in the magic seeing the flow her eyes are distant she sees what is pushing against the wards and she calming continues to chant and feed Zee. When the evil rises she weaves another cleansing spell and releases it.
Being the most Muggle of this bunch, May doesn't fully understand the hows and the whys of magic, but other than being an open conduit for ley line energy directed toward Zee May can lend what she DOES know. In addition to the energy, May's contribution to help the focal mage is a sense of the profound calm and focus practiced by Shaolin monks amongst others. When that nauseating sensation tries to make them recoil, she tries to share that calm and focus with everyone involved. Hopefully it'll help them withstand the attacks from whatever that is.
Rain cares about the cantankerous British magic dude. Sure, she's shy as heck, but she do. Captain, on the other hand, seems to be the more outgoing and social of the two. He put up with Lian carrying him about like a teddy bear, and being thrown at spirits to combat them. He watches Lockheed quietly, intently. Slowcatblink. If Rain were a cricket, she'd be nervous. He is still, letting Lockheed's claw make contact. Huh, not bad. A paw, no claws, is carefully extended to gently touch Lockheed back. Poke.
And yes, blowing up one's patient like a bored kid in a fireworks factory is bad news(TM). Rain winces, her stomach feeling angry at the hellish power. Was this like working help desk? Oh yes. But remember, two tridents lets you poke the damne— eh, the users twice as fast! It's a bit like tending an infected wound, you have to do it even if what ensues is unpleasant. We're not going to paint any more of a mental image there. Just no. Make up your own. Rain seems to prefer to wash the pollutant, or at least drown it out with her own. She's doing her best to keep up and feed Zee healing and magic, but it's tough.
The ritual lasts for hours… Zee directing the spells from Rain and Lynwen at John. Slowly, the teen mage teases the dark energy from Johns body, confident that the Circles wards will hold, and allowing the healing spells to do their thing.
Jesana's claws and teeth are shown to the malevolant energy, Mays deep reserve taken in… Zee settles in the back of her mind, letting her training and instinctive magic take over. But… what should have completely drained the young mage by now, hasn't and it's all thanks to the generosity of those around the circle.
With all the practice she's had fighting Darques necromancers, Zee's able to split her weaves and finally, as the darkness lashes out again, the teen mage murmurs a second spell and opens a portal to a hell dimension… a one way portal to be sure.
"Kitty, I'm going to need you to direct what I'm removing from John into that portal… don't cross the circle, use me as your focus but 'push' it, hard. Jes, lend your energy to Kitty… I've got enough to hold out for now." Zee sounds exhausted … but quietly confident and Jes' feral feel might just work. "John, if you're there, we could do with your help… I'm going to banish this once and for all."
Jes keeps clawing and biting, darting away and coming back for more. She'll distract it while the others to their work. If the evil breaks free and Zee can't send it through, she'll step out of the circle and let it into herself. She isn't human, and if she shifts it'll be trapped inside coyote. Jes thinks just maybe she can hide her mind away long enough for Zee to get rid of it or for May to kill her. Better her than any of the others. There's something Jes has never told Zee, or Fenris even. Vaguely she wonders if John had realized. Maybe, but she's hidden this secret very well. She's already given up her soul, or her spirit. When she dies it isn't heaven or the resting place of her people she's going to be sent to. Jes smiles and shrugs slightly. She lets all these thoughts pour through the pendulum into the others. "If it fails, I can do this."
It's not the hours that bother Kitty so much as the wondering how John will fare. Keeping her attention focused on the magic as best she can as opposed to the other nagging fears that she wrestles with, she frowns and keeps focusing her energy in ensuring the wards will stay up. Lockheed, on the other hand, is curiously testing the boundaries of Captain. A claw reaches up to scratch on his head as the cat attempts to paw and scritch at his scales. There doesn't seem to be annoyance there so much as an exploration of boundaries.
At the request from Zee, Kitty takes a deep breath. This is the bounds of which she has learned from both Zee and John. In the grand scheme of things her magical training is not very much. However, with the life of her teacher and her friends on the line, she will ensure that nothing bad happens to them.
"Got it," she tells Zatanna with far more confidence than she actually feels. Focusing her energy, she prepares for that horrible feeling she felt when she channeled the energy into Zee to help John in the Museum. Hopefully this time she won't throw up.
"IA IA F'LGTHAGHN, MO'DRKT RYWLD DEF KPWAA NGITH!!!" The words explode from John's mouth, a gibbering, mindless fury behind them. The tongue is that of the Infernal realms- the deepest crevices of Hell, where evil and cruelty descend from the universe above and gather into literal beings of absolute corruption and defilement. A shadowy figure explodes from John's chest, causing his body to buck- form, indistinct, and yet bristling with fury, hate and malice- something beyond mortal comprehension, pure evil given form. That shadowy aura, torn from John's chest, lashes out with force and fury, slashing, tearing at, even attempting to poison the women gathered in the circle with fell and accursed energies.
That portal opens behind it, Zatanna's raw will channeling a gap into the Infernal realms, and the being struggles mightily, attempting to grab the women in the circle with tooth and claw and shadowy tendril.
And behind that form rises something else. Intangible, yet full of energy. A shadow, yet concrete. The chains of a lifetime of regret and anguish hanging from his incorporeal form, John's soul wraps his arm around the being and hauls mightily, dragging it towards the portal to Hell with a familiar look of grim determination on his features.
PUSH! he yells at Kitty, soundlessly and full of thunder at once. IT MUST NOT ESCAPE!
A rash begins to form on Lynwen's skin and there is that delightful pallor, from just being this close to the powerful dark magics, she will pay for it when the task is done. Zee is the offered more magic it flows freely from her the blessing of the gods. She continues to chant. A fevered sweat is starts to form on her brow and slide down the back of her neck and into her shirt. She is focused. Her eyes narrow as she sees Johns soul being pulled she the temp of her chant changes and she calls upon the other elements offer them to Zee to wield if she choose to. The power is raw and is of all five of them. They pulsate waiting to be unleashed at entity that is dragging John with it.
May's eyes snap open at the words shouted by Constantine, and without so much as changing her expression or turning her head, she kneels down, reaches behind herself to pull a length of chain out of a pocket in her jacket, then the chain whip with a visibly oily sheen starts to whir as she sets it to spin faster and faster, then abruptly launches it toward the thing and the John-spirit over Zee's head. One miscalculation, and she could hit the mage sitting in the center of the circle with a potentially lethal blow.
Rain is a quiet sort of caster. She doesn't know what Jes is up to, but it would worry her. Healing and a gentle kindness are offered, looking completely zoned out and serene in stark contrast to what is going on. Then Constantine goes full Lovecraft, "Oh, geez. The last time I saw this it was at the DMV." "Or when your aunt went nuts," Captain notes. Rain gets up to things. Alas. The witch frowns, and decides to play tentacle chicken rather than exercising her right to bear arms.
There's a feeling of ease, after a good cry or a spout of rage, and a celestial sort of energy - violet and lavender tentacles swat at the others. Oh no you didn't. Don't? Whatever. Sometimes you have to fight tentacles with tentacles. Though, Rain looks a bit tired. A lot tired. Seriously. Dangit. At least she takes comfort in that she can kind of wiggle out of the way of tentacles, and that she's taken more seriously than if she had that 12 inch wand.
Mays sash whip crossing the circle, breaks the wards… which is probably a good thing given the violet and lavendar tentacles that are not fighting the Lovecraftian inspired demon…
"Get back in your body, John." Zee snaps firmly "We've got this, I need you to heal."
Standing, stiffly, she's been in that position for while, Zee plants her feet at shoulder width and her eyes burn like neon flames. Taking Lynwen's cleansing spell and whatever energy the others can spare, Zee taps the Leyline as well… that's an awful lot of energy for any mage to channel
~~ teG eehT hguorhT ehT etaG, nomeD. reveN nruteR oT sihT enalP ~~
"Kitty, check the wards on the door. It can't leave this room… " Zee sounds strained and Kitty will feel Zee tugging on her magical energy as well. "Lynwen, more cleansing… May, Jes, Rain we need to push it back and give John time to get clear." The tentacles are an intersting ploy, and may just work.
Jes pours her energy into Zee while still nipping and clawing at the evil being with animal power. She might be tired like the others but she doesn't show it. Just grim determination. Mind over matter, like she's been trained. Hours of standing is nothing compared to three days with your arms tied above your head. She manages to edge close enough that she'll be able to grab John's soul and yank it back if she can. She doesn't why or how she can interact with such things, she just can. If it looks necesarry she'll just throw herself at the damned thing and knock it through.
Lockheed and Captain's bonding session are far beyond Kitty at the moment. Automatically pulling on the energy lent to her by Jesana - or that she believes Jesana is giving her due to the words of Zatanna, the young mutant takes on the horrible energy necessary to push through the portal.
"IF YOU ARE POSSESSED BY C'THULHU, JOHN, I AM GOING TO BE SO PISSED AT YOU," Kitty hisses as she focuses both her own and borrowed energy in containing and pushing on the being that has escaped from John's body and fights at the circle and the wards. Instead, she pushes right back, shoving psychic and magical energy at the creature, borrowing what she must in an attempt to shove it through the opened gap in front of them.
"I—-I can't!" she tells Zatanna, trying to keep her energy channeled and keep the monster within contained as best she can. "Lockheed, Captain! Look at the wards!" She knows Lockheed has been studying at least some of what she has been doing, he should be able to at least tell if something is wrong there, even if he can't do much to stop it.
SORRY, LUV. IM NOT ABOUT TO RISK IT. John and the demon both scream with pain at the lashing magical chain whip slashing through their incorporeal forms, a trail of swirling mist following the weapon's path. He thrusts a hand out at Jesana when she draws near and a wave of force flies from his palm, enough to send the shapeshifter tumbling back into the far wall.
John eyes the portal, then turns and looks at the women- an expression filled with gratitude and fear, at the same time.
BE GOOD.
And with that, John wraps the chains on his arms around the demon and leaps into the sucking, tugging portal, hauling the demon with him, the two of them disappearing in a screaming, anguished roar of protest.
Using herself as a channel Lynwen opens herself up to the gods completely and to her lady. She becomes the open living channel. The cleaning divine energy of the Mother of the gods and the other gods of nature who have been long lost are poured into Zee. She is lost. Her mortal body reacts to the nearness of the creature, despite the wards and despite what she is channeling.
Melinda May pulls her chain whip back clear of Zee and drops it to the floor when it proves to have been ineffective, and then turns the entirety of her concentration back to sharing her focused calmness with everyone in the room… even if she doesn't really know that it's making any difference or not. And, Muggle that she is, she can't really tell what's going on with the portal.
As John and the demon disappears through the portal, Zee just gapes in disbelief "That MAN! Dad always said he'd come to a bad end…." The teen mage takes a step or two towards the gate and then shakes her head. So much responsibility is laid on her shoulders… with the Master Darque threat and what's happening in Limbo, she can't afford to be lost in a hell realm. They need to regroup.
Sagging, Zee looks to the portal and murmurs the words to close it… it will close because it was her construction
~~ esolC ehT latroP ~~
And she let's her power drop as she glances at the body of the man who's soul is now wandering a hell dimension.
The portal begins to close, fairly quickly, disappearing to a pinpoint before blinking out of existence. If anyone was fast enough, they might make it through, but where they end up, who knows?
Jes is stunned long enough that by the time she gets to her feet Zee's closing the portal. She throws herself towards with a scream of rage and terror but can see she isn't going to make it. Not good enough, she isn't going to lose someone else, not like this. She's never done this without drugs but she's also never let something stop her if she wants it bad enough. Jes's body drops limply to the floor, intending to send her soul after is despite the fact that once its gone, she's not going to be coming back. Only, the portal closes before she's all the way through and it's the human half of her spirit that goes after him and the coyote half that is left behind in her human body.
As Kitty pushes on the demon, she can feel the words of John as they start filter through her own magical attempts at holding the evil spirit. "No!" Determined, stubborn and basically the embodiment of John's apprentice, the mutant gives zero cares about the wards, the runes, the crystals or anything else that is happening.
There is a look spared to Lockheed and then to Agent May, who cared so much for Captain that she asked Kitty to look after him. Hopefully she'll spare the same kindness toward one of her best friends. There's no words, nothing other than the lunge that she instinctively and consciously takes. Much like the coyote spirit, she is after leaping after John Constantine and that portal no matter the risks.
Only when the portal is closed does Lynwen close her own channels. She then manages to move away from the point she has taken before she sinks to her knees. Her eyes are dull, she shifts her position and get more comfortable. She draws her knees to her chest. "I would ward his body or keep his body in the wards to protect it. As long as it is alive and he does not get destroyed he will return, the same goes with Jess, thought I am not certain what I saw there. Zee if she did she do what I think she did." The spell she had one is wearing off and her accent is getting thicker and it is sounding more Welsh. She frown and rests her head on her knees.
Melinda May blinks and glances around as things suddenly go chaotic. When Kitty lunges past her, she tries to grab the younger woman around the waist to keep her from leaping into the portal after John. While doing so, she misses Jesana slumping over as if she's fainted. "Kitty, don't!"
The portal closes… and Zee hangs her head. She's sensed Jes has done something… Whether Mays saved Kitty, she has no idea as she builds a ward around Johns body. He'll remain in the Circle, under magical protection. Walking slowly to Jes' downed body, the Mistress of Magic crouches down to check her friend. What she senses has her frowning deeply.
Lynwens words though, have the young mage looking up… the enchantment on the pendant was fading for now. Drawing a little more energy to her, Zee speaks another spell
~~ etalsnarT tahW newnyL sI gniyaS oS eW llA naC dnatsrednU reH dnA etalsnarT tahW eW erA gniyaS oS ehS naC dnatsrednU sU ~~
"I'll call Joshua to come get you, Lynwen." Zee is visibly upset "May, Rain, how are you going? May, I need Fenris and probably Jericho." and, she doesn't say this aloud, Magik and definitely Kane. Zee desperately wants to see Kane.
Richard returns at that point and looks at the disarray, raising an eyebrow at Zee. "Can you move Jesana into the circle please, Richard? I have to ward her as well till I can sort this out. And yes, call my father, tell him John Constantines gone to hell…."
Jes's body suddenly starts thrashing wildly about and a terrified hair raising sound of animal panic and pain tears from her throat. Coyote doesn't understand what happened. She hurts more than anything she's ever felt and her body is wrong, her senses are wrong, nothing is working right and the other part of her, the part that *knows* is gone. They are one, not meant to be seperated only now they are.
Lynwen shakes her head at Zee, "No, I can take self home, I have him dress shopping for me. What about Kitty can she be pulled back?" Her accent his thick the spell is definitely wearing off. She turns her head to Jes and she begins to chant. She moves to get onto her knees again. This earth magic, she then pulls a pocket knife from her short pocket and cuts fingers with the blood welling out of them she begins to draw runes on the floor as she chants. Her eyes are dull. There is a sense of something unseen standing by her as she does this. The ghostly figure of a coyote moves into her. She then staggers to her feet and goes to put her hand on Jes' head. The spirit goes with her. She says nothing for a moment.
The portal snaps shut with a hiss of air, the vacuuming nature of the tear in reality sending the interior of Shadowcrest into a tumble. John and the demon are gone, and Kitty, literally ghosting through May's grip, disappears into the gap in the moment before it vanishes from reality. A deafening silence falls, broken only by the coyote's fearful whimpers and the sound of heavy breathing from the remaining women.
A strong hand closes around Kitty's shirt, lifting her off the cold, frigid ground, and John snarls in her face. "You… you MANKY GIT!" he bellows, shaking her violently. He is semi-transparent, clearly discorporeal, but that doesn't seem to stop him from assaulting Kitty. "What in the BLOODY BLAZES are you /thinking/?! This is HELL! I talked- I warned- we…. GAAAAH!" He shakes Kitty until her teeth clatter, finally dropping her onto her feet with little concern if she tumbles onto her rear, and whirls on Jesana, blanching. Spirit-John grabs the former shapeshifter up, pushing her off her feet and bellowing incoherently. "YOU TWO BLOODY WANKERS! YOU TOSSERS! WHAT THE FUCKING BLOODY CODSWALLOP ARE YOU…" For a man with a lack of a body or internal air and blood system, he seems to be struggling for words and air and a pulse.
He brushes his hands through his hair- unscarred, uninjured, and wearing his trenchcoat, he at least /looks/ like himself for the moment.
"Well, bollocks," he swears, looking around the desolate, frozen hellscape. "Getting you two out of here is going to be a proper trick. Last time I was in this shithole, it was an adventure getting /myself/ out, let alone two daffy bastards like you."
John turns around in place, fishing for a cigarette inside his coat pocket and lighting it up. Sure, it's incorporeal, but so's he, and he seems to enjoy it just fine. He looks up at a mountain in the distance, tens of thousands of feet high, surrounded by crackling clouds and tiny, flying specks that must be gargantuan up close. This world is not curved, because the vista stretches for unimagineable miles. He drags heavily on his cigarette, his trenchcoated back to the women, and looks up, up, and up.
"Welcome to Hell, ladies."