Oct Event Log - Portal Chaos

[serpentinthegarden]

The glowing portal shuddered before slamming shut behind them. It had seemed like a good idea at the time... go through the portal in order to close it from the other side. And it had worked! The portal was closed, the school was safe but the heroes who had worked together to close the portal were now trapped on the other side. 

[ OOC - This is the IC log for this. Consider it a freeform playground, take these prompts and run with them or come up with your own. ]


Through the Portal
( Loki, Crowley, Alec, Beetlejuice, Sho )

Silence fell as soon as the portal closed leaving the small group standing in the middle of a crossroads. The ruined archway that ran along the top of the cliffs hinted that there might once have been more of a civilization in this world but now there were only the two pathways, one that ran down the hill into the face of the brilliant red glow that hinted at a flow of magma beyond and one that curved up a hastily cobbled together set of stairs. Of course they were free to stay right where they were as well, here in this craggy passage with the imps peering down at them from every rock and crevasse.


Rescuers
( Aziraphale, Harry, Lena, Eleven, Mal )

With the battle won most begin to relax. There was the wounded to see to and the damage to the school to repair... but gradually the more tuned in students start to notice the missing. Roll calls that were taken but never completed for some were not around to answer to their names. Then one of the injured students comes to and mentions having seen the missing students disappearing through the imp summoning portal. Clearly they were trapped on the other side and it was up to their fellow students to work out a way to bring them back!

Comments

Through the Portal

[serpentinthegarden]

[whose_son_am_i]

In hindsight, having an actual plan would've been useful. Loki stayed on a wary guard, given the imps that were peering at them weren't attacking. Odd, considering how ravenous they'd been on the other side of things. So why. So many why's...

"Does anybody have an idea on how to determine where we are, or how to get back?"

[creepyoldguy]

"Normally, I'd suggest drawing a door," Beetlejuice rasped cheerfully, weighing the pros and cons of eating an imp.

[serpentinthegarden]

"Drawing a door... That ever work?"

Crowley stalked out from behind the other two, giving the imps staring at them a good long look of his own. One had to do things like that in order to keep imps in line or they simply went wild.

"Anyway it's obvious where we are." To a demon anyway, "We just need to find a way back. You guys favor right or left?"

[scotch_egg]

"Christ. What is this place?" Alec couldn't let Anthony go alone. Not like this. Yes he was banged up, arm in a cast, slightly disorientated and dizzy with the damn whip dog whining at him, but regardless he was here. He tugged at his collar, flushed with heat or perhaps illness.

"If those things attack us we're fucked."

Though it would probably just be him. He didn't know about the other guy.

[grim_heaper]

Ugh, why did it look like one of the zeros multiplied?

As fr which way to go, the answer was always up. But saying as much would be something a team player might do. Ad that's never been Sho. He started heading for the higher route. Better to get the lay of the land, whatever the factoring hectopascal this land was anyway.

He had thought it was a summoning glyph for taboo noise, now that he knew it wasn't, he just wanted to get the zetta half back to the campus and start collecting all that sweet salvage before it got cleaned up. It would make for some flawless sculptures. Perhaps one right in the center of everything, and then one one quarter the height equidistant on eight sides...

So yeah, rather than standing around and talking, the reaper is just walking off. He doesn't seem to care if anyone follows him or not. The whole group thing has never been his style. Ask the Conductor.

[whose_son_am_i]

So much for sticking together; not that Loki would say that any of the group were team-players. How they'd all had the same idea and worked even somewhat together to close it had been rather impressive.

"At least one of us has made their decision. Are we actually going to attempt to stick together?" With an eyebrow raise as he looked at the others.

[creepyoldguy]

“Of course drawing a door works! As long as you use chalk and knock three times.” He tossed a dog biscuit from his pocket to the unhappy familiar as he spoke.

Beetlejuice made a rude gesture toward Sho’s back and looked at Loki.

“I’m all for sticking together.”

[serpentinthegarden]

The imps that surrounded them drew closer when they caught sight of the dog biscuit but pulled back when it was given to the dog instead. A few of the braver ones skittered over the stone steps after Sho, for now simply following and watching as he blazed a trail.

Meanwhile Crowley's attention had turned to Alec whom he had just left IN THE HOSPITAL WING and whom ought to have still been there convalescing. This dry look you were getting... consider it the worst sort of mother hen tongue lashing you've ever received. You should NOT be here!

"They won't attack me." He stabbed a finger at Beetlejuice, "Or probably him. Imps work for demons and without anyone summoning them through portals they don't have any reason to attack us."

His dark wings flared out behind him, brushing past Loki's shoulder and overall just looking damn impressive if he said so himself!

"The rest of you though..." A sideways glance at Sho who was disappearing up the trail and about whom he knew very little, "Pranks. They love their pranks."

Some where on the floor near their feet one of the braver imps scuttled around but made sure to check Loki's feet for shoelaces that might be tied together before it made it's escape back up the stone cliffs.

"Welcome to Hell."

Crowley took a moment to sniff the air before pointing.

"Sulfur pools must be over there," for there was the distinct smell of brimstone and rotten egg, "Probably those stairs lead somewhere. If you want to stick together guess we need to catch that guy up."

But even after taking a few hops up those stairs he stopped and looked back toward Alec, uncertain if he could really handle stairs right now.

"You didn't have to follow me. It's not the first time I've been down here." A beat, "Well... maybe not here, here. This particular section of Hell isn't one I've been in before, but if you've seen one magma pool you've seen them all."

Alec Hardy Sidequest

[serpentinthegarden]

OOC - Taking place after This

[whose_son_am_i]

Well---that was all entertaining in its way. Also annoying, and frustrating. "Ugh." Was all he could say in response to show, absolutely done with the other's nonsense. "You two figure out a way out of here, I'll get him." The god addressed Crowley and Beetlejuice, before heading back down the mountain towards Alec.

Unsurprised to find him catching his breath and on the ground, still injured. Loki was mildly impressed he was conscious still. "Well. Can you get up on your own?" Arms crossed, expression closed off aside from a bit of disdain.

[scotch_egg]

He felt it. Hated it even moreso because he deserved it. He remained where he was, staring up, gathering what meager strength he had.

"Yes. Now piss off. I don't need your help." Well he did but he didn't want it.

[whose_son_am_i]

"You know, as someone who's a good liar--I'm offended by just how BAD that attempt to lie was." Loki raised an eyebrow. "I suppose you'd rather we just leave you here in Hell?"

[scotch_egg]

There were many things he could say to that, none of them he wished to. He let out a sigh and hauled himself to his feet. It was hauling almost literally, his ribs were probably bruised and he refused to let his ankle win even as his arm throbbed.

"You just go back to whatever the hell is happening up there," he rasped. "I'll get up there eventually and if I don't-- What's another human gone."

[whose_son_am_i]

Loki hated it--but Alec had a point. What was the problem with another human gone? They were beneath him, and he could indeed walk right back up to join Crowley and the other demon and the weird-kid and be done. No one would scold him or think less of him.

So why wasn't Loki doing just that....

"Please, do you really think I want to deal with the ridiculous bureaucratic process they'll put us through if we all don't come back? It'll be bad enough if we're not all in one piece, never mind if any of us are missing." Because there would probably be repercussions to them all having jumped through the portal. Better they spin it as something heroic, which meant *all* of them returning.

[scotch_egg]

"They don't really give a damn." He started himself forward since if he was going to talk he was going to have to move at the same time if they wanted to get anywhere.

"I'm not even from here. I don't even belong here. It will just be a stranger gone and one less to worry about. I doubt there will be an inquest and what would you care if there was? You'd just look down your nose at it."

[whose_son_am_i]

"Yes, I would. But it would be a giant headache and distraction from important things so I'd really rather not bother with it." Loki said, moving to walk with him. "You really do have a martyr complex, don't you? Are you trying to get yourself killed because there are easier ways than all of this."

The Rest of the Group

[serpentinthegarden]

Taking place after this.

Re: The Rest of the Group

[creepyoldguy]

"Holy moly is that fella dense. Should we let nature take its course? I'm thinking we should let nature take its course."

Beetlejuice was frankly impressed at this level of delusion, and was hoping the large demon would use Sho as a toothpick.

[serpentinthegarden]

He was thin enough to be a toothpick...

But Crowley was less focused on Sho than he was on the place Alec had once been standing. He had confessed recently about his lack of time. A few months and that was it. When Alec had been in hospital he couldn't have foreseen the giant demonic mountain he was about to attack or the whacking great fall he was bound to take... maybe he hadn't had months left, maybe Alec was dead already.

"I never asked him to come..." A harsh whisper gained a touch of heat, fear over what Alec's fate might have been flashed to rage, which was then directed to the only people nearby, "I never asked any of you to come!"

Sightseers in Hell! How could that ever have gone well?!

Crowley's anger began to build. His fury caused the magma to boil more intensely as the fires of Hell to rose up around them. But the mountain demon wasn't sitting still for this. The large demon on the mountain stretched his wings to send those attacking imps raining down around them like hail. Frozen in little balls of ice the imps hit the ground hard, some shattering out of their icy prisons to reach out and swap sides... clambering over which ever unlucky adventurer they happened to land on. Crowley was pulled to the ground by a horde of the creatures before whatever retribution he had been building up to could be unleashed.

[grim_heaper]

Sho's Noise were taking care of most of the imps that fell on or around him. But letting them do that for him would be passive.

And boring.

And not his style.

"INFINITY!!!!!!" He yelled. His original power teamed with the adapted magic of Diatu doubled up as massive energy burst out from the ground behind him. Not only did it fry the imps imp-ressivly, but a bright light was beginning to glow from within his form...

[creepyoldguy]

"Look, pal, an open portal is a possibility of getting back home. You're great and all, but, I didn't come just for the charm of your company." Beetlejuice's hair shifted towards red with his annoyance at being yelled at.

Of course, now that there were imps trying to claw, bite, and maim him, conversation would have to wait. The first few imps Beetlejuice kicked towards Sho. The really determined ones that kept coming at him he grabbed and pinned to the ground with extra striped arms that sprung from his back, giving him an arachnid vibe.

[serpentinthegarden]

The impressively large mountain demon held up his arm to shield his eyes from that horrible white light. It was too bright and entirely out of place in Hell! Sho became his soul focus as he picked up a boulder sitting beside him and chucked it at the annoying firefly like pest.

Meanwhile the imps that had dragged Crowley to the ground soon realized they had made a mistake. Many of their number ended up singed by Sho's light show and those that didn't ended up singed by Crowley's fire magic. Imps with scorched bottoms darted right and left, up over the cliffs and into those dark hidden recesses where they would be safe.

"Home? You actually wanted to come back here?"

[grim_heaper]

That bolder was obliterated as the light surged one final time, hiding Sho at its center. When the light vanished he was... changed.

He howled in triumph. "SO ZETTA LAME!" He proclaimed moving with a flash step like technique, too fast for human eyes to follow, though the others here with him probably could if they put in the effort. Not being human and all. "You think you can subtract me?! DO THE MATH! Because that doesn't add up! I'll erase you, you factoring hectopascal!" And with that he, and a fair number of the odd monsters he summoned... attacked the big mountain demon.

In the school, he was... depressingly weak. But in a UG? This was what he was MADE FOR. Ever since he'd died he'd been getting steadily stronger for one purpose. One goal. Take over the UG and become the new Composer. And no mountain demon or smarmy brat was going to stand in his way this time! Erase or be Erased. He had no plans to survive this if he didn't win. Which meant he was going all out and barreling right at the danger.

Also helped that he naturally had a reckless streak a mile long. Which could explain how he died so young in the first place.

[creepyoldguy]

"Here? No--" Beetlejuice paused and snapped his fangs at an imp that got a little too close to his face. "But, a chance to get to the Netherworld is a chance to get back to the Upperworld."

Not that anyone there missed him. But, still. The demands were fewer and the chances of exploding randomly were even less.

He flicked a glance at Sho's transformation. "Do you think that cute headmaster will give us a reward if we come back without him?"