eastbound | video. un: a_civil

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video. un: a_civil_serpent

This is what lies beyond the living-but-not walls in Chricter's secret room. ( The video starts with the sharpness of Wrath's voice in the dark cavern. Wrath and Fei continue forward with dim magical. Fei's sword is drawn, Wrath's serpent-dagger is in his hand. There are 20-25 mannequins in various states: burlap to human-like with defined features and soft skin.

A splash is heard as they step into dark water, and Wrath's jaw clenches at the realization they are being drained from the contact, but they have little choice but to push onward. Fei looks similarly displeased but determined. ) It is the dark water as it was in the volcano, as it was under the sea, infusing into the burlap sacks and making beings who are-

( Wrong. Unnatural. The video lands on the dog tags on the mannequins with a name on one, with a phrase on the other: hello, birdie, squirrel, eat your nuts!, the train goes, choo-choo on the other. ) Like the phrase left for Arabella.

( Before more can be said, chaos. The mannequins wake in a panic. They attack, rushing forward. Wrath and Fei work together to fight them off. She has been drained of stamina, and he has been drained of magic. They are worn from the waters, but they work in tandem - two experienced fighters, slashing through the burlap and false skin. It'll be difficult to tell what exactly is happening through the flurry of movement and sharp blades and burlap and skin and blood and features but not.

The mannequins rush out through the opening. Screams and shouts are heard from outside the room - distant. Fei and Wrath (bloody, torn, dripping dark water) step out of the wall. Fei spits out blood and wipes it from her chin, and then the video focuses on Magnus and Xingchen, waiting on the other side. The two were protected by Xingchen's talisman, which prevented the dark water from going any further. Magnus has his portal ready, and he speaks sharply: "Everyone into the safety hole now," and through it they go.

The echoes of chaos are left behind, and then there is darkness and silence. )

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( Wrath is the one who answers - bloody and wet still, clothing torn in spots. The mannequins were surprisingly strong though not anywhere as strong as Wrath. He steps outside, grimacing at the dark water that pools under his shoes still and stains the steps. Wrath shuts the door behind him. )

Thank you. ( It is spoken again genuinely. Demons are nothing if not polite, and he does appreciate him bringing these clothes without any hesitancy. He opens the bag to pull them out and then glances at Five again before his own gaze grows sharp. )

...what is it? ( He can sense a level of anxiety there, which Wrath only associates with one thing with Five. )

Edited 2022-09-18 19:50 (UTC)

[ Five isn't used to seeing Wrath bleeding this much. He eyes him critically when he takes the bag and nods at his thanks. Of all the things to give him trouble. Something with the water again?

At his question, the pit in his stomach grows. He hadn't planned on leading with this, but he doesn't beat around the bush. Maybe Wrath heard something.

It's just hard to get the words out with how tightly he's clenching his jaw. ]

Diego's missing.

( Wrath has pulled out all of the clothing from the bag. The dark water is still affecting him at the moment because it's still damp at his ankle, and so he intends to change outside if he has to since Five doesn't want to go in.

And now he can see why. It was that familiar anxiety that he recognized from Five in Taravast when he was searching for them, on the pirate ship following that disaster. It's how he feels whenever he searches for his siblings )

...when did you last hear from him? ( A pause, and then followed a warning for politeness if nothing else: ) I'm going to change.

( If Five wants to turn around, he can. He knows humans are often uncomfortable with such things )

[ Five didn't expect him to change out here, or he might have blinked into Emilia's room instead to give him some privacy. He ignores his instincts that warn against turning his back on anyone, because Wrath is just being polite and this is what people do, and moves to watch the street. ]

Seven days ago. [ He sounds angry, but it's mostly with himself. He'd been distracted helping with the power outages and all this other bullshit, so he doesn't have an exact time for when he went missing. Diego is liable to get mixed up in anything. There's way too many triggers here for his hero complex and he's got too much confidence after the Beastmaster. ]

It was bad timing. [ He swallows the lump in his throat and he half-turns back. ] When did Emilia leave?

( Wrath exhibits neither shame nor need for privacy. Hell is full of demons who are wearing very little clothing, and the naked body is nothing of note within the realms of it. People who pass on the street stare at him with wariness or temptation... or a strange combination of both. His body is covered in tattoos with latin phrases, and the magical one that spans the length of his arm - that binds him with Emilia. It has been quiet since she left the city limits (a consequence of being in this world instead of in Hell where he'd sense her anywhere within its realms).

He removes the pants, shoes, and socks first as they are still damp with the water. As soon as he does, his magic recovers itself, and the remainder of the wounds begin to heal. He slides on the new, dry pants, noting and sensing Five's anger as it winds around his worry. )

Three days. She should be back at any time if the duration of their planned trip is to be believed.

( Seven is a concerning amount of time to not have heard from his brother. ) And she would have mentioned anything of concern before she left.

[ So he's been missing from anywhere between three to seven days. There's been so much noise on the network, he probably missed something important. It's not like his family hasn't run off on their own before, but it's too easy for him to call up the memories of his corpse in the rubble; in the barn. Every time he's been able to undo it, but he doesn't know how many resets he has left in him.

He trusted them to watch him. Hell, he trusted the wolves. Stupid. ]

Leave it to my idiot brother.

[ Once Wrath is halfway dressed, he turns back. He notes the tattoos around his rapidly healing skin. It's a while before he asks. ]

It was the water?

( Wrath reaches for the shirt next to slide it on as he turns to face him, meeting his gaze. There is a pause following the question. It's helpless to take the pause before admitting to any vulnerability even if he has already done more than that by asking Five to bring him new clothing, showing himself in any state of disarray. )

It was. It appeared to have draining effects on Fei's stamina, on my own magic.

( He fixes the clothing itself until it is exactly as he likes it to be - every piece in place. All wounds have now been healed, and he feels his magic return to him in waves. )

And your brother gave no indication of any concerning plans? Emilia would have said if she had noticed him missing before she left.

Edited 2022-09-21 21:08 (UTC)

[ That would explain his urgency for fresh clothes, if nothing else. Would it affect his powers the same way? And then all these reports of the mannequins... It doesn't make any sense to him, and it would be enough of a distraction any other time. Now it just adds to his unease.

Five frowns and shakes his head. ]

He made a game out of sending me updates that would make me regret asking for them. Usually about his wolves' bowel movements.

[ When there's very clearly plenty going on over here that he could have been writing to him about. ]

I haven't seen them either. Unless they decided to follow Emilia. [ He's getting angrier the more he talks about it. They should have had a system to make sure this didn't happen. ] There should have been enough eyes on him that he couldn't just disappear.

( Wrath raises an eyebrow at the mention of the updates including the wolves' bowel movements. Well. He files that away as another way mortals apparently interact with their siblings - ridiculous jests.

He pauses a moment as he focuses on the house (the sounds inside, the breathing, the number of creatures within). )

They are not in the home - well, one is. ( But he feels Five's anger rising, and Wrath watches him, knowing his presence alone will feed into whatever Five is feeling - how ever unintentionally. Anger calls to him, wraps around him with its familiarity. )

...it is impossible to watch anyone at all times, and I am certain your brother would not want to be. ( Watched. )

[ Five's gaze narrows and he looks back towards the house. One is. That makes it his best bet for tracking down where the others went. He's considering jumping right to that, but when Wrath's last comment hits his ear, he scoffs and turns back. ]

You see how well that worked out. [ Normal people might be able to turn their back, but his family is special. Let him tell him about the time Diego dated a girl just to have her drug him and take him to the Commission in an elaborate scheme to murder Five. They can't be left alone. ] When he doesn't always end up in jail, or the nuthouse, or dead, I'll consider cutting back.

[ He's getting worked up and he can feel a rant coming on, but he cuts himself off. ]

That doesn't help right now. None of this does. [ He eyes him more critically. His brother isn't the only one who hasn't told him when he runs off, and he hasn't been living with him. ] Why are you taking that detective job so seriously, anyway? That's the second time you were attacked. You're lucky you had someone who could portal you out of there.

As I said, it's merely impossible regardless of how well it works. You cannot control your brother. He will always have the freedom to choose even when those choices are poor. ( No one can be expected to watch another human being for any length of time. They are creatures with freedom - the power to choose whatever they wish even when those choices are difficult, even when those choices feel impossible.

He had intended on telling Five that he could seek the other roommates if he wanted information them as well. He has finished adjusting the sleeve of his shirt when Five starts to escalate further.

Wrath can feel the way that anger of his feeds helplessly into Wrath's magic, into his power, how Wrath feeds the anger in turn. His expression is an icy mask of indifference, however, as he looks down at him even if the idea that this lecture is motivated by worry or some other strange emotion that should not apply to him is-. )

I would have been able to escape regardless. I am a Prince of Hell. ( the reminder is sharp. )

Dark water and mannequins hold no true threat to me.

Is that your way of saying it's no one's fault if he turns up in a ditch somewhere? We had a deal.

[ They were supposed to keep something like this from happening. It's just as much his fault, but they were all aware of his brother's stupidity. Saying it was his decision to put himself in danger is just a way to avoid blame.

Five knows that's not exactly fair, and that his anger is misdirected, but it's the last thing he needed right now. Keeping five other family members together is one thing, but he would have liked to think he could handle two. It isn't helpful that one of the only people he can stand thinks he's immune to something that very obviously hurt him. ]

They shouldn't, but you're not in Hell. Despite any glaring resemblance. [ And if they can hurt Wrath, they're all in trouble. ] Was it worth it?

No. But you do have a talent at twisting my words to suit whichever worst meaning you've conjured up for them.

( And Wrath will not repeat the words over again so Five might garner their straightforward meaning correctly this time. Neither of them have time for that. His actions have more than shown that he has done all he can to uphold the deal they have. Beyond that, he has made every effort to watch out for both of his siblings along with Five.

So he will not be guilted nor blamed for this. There is no blame. There is no failsafe. They live in a dangerous world.

You're not in Hell. His gaze helplessly flicks towards the sky, towards the sun. )

I am well aware. ( The sun was stolen from Hell a very long time ago. He never takes for granted the warmth of its light now. ) We have more information than we did before, and there was no permanent harm so I should say so. If we never take risks, we will never learn anything nor understand this world well enough to find our ways back to our own worlds and stop the unnatural mess this one has become.

[ His eye twitches when he accuses Five of twisting his words, as he often does, but it manages to shut him up. Not because he agrees with him, but because it wasn't really Wrath's responsibility, it was his. He did everything he could think of to protect his family, and he's managed to fuck it up spectacularly. Again.

Or the universe is hellbent on punishing him for daring to change the timeline. He's always been up against monumental odds, but nothing short of stopping an apocalypse is enough to give his family the lives they deserve. It's worse, not knowing what happened to Diego or where to look for him, but so far Allison and Wrath seem to think he should just accept that he's gone. That he's simply refusing to face facts.

He swears under his breath and follows his skyward gaze. What he says about gathering information is objectively true, if they're going to decide to save this world too, they need to know what they're up against. He's less invested in fixing it, but he needs it to survive long enough to find his family. At the backwards rate he's going, that could be a while.

He pinches the bridge of his nose and swallows his mounting desire to tear apart anything in reach. ]

Right. [ Exhale. This isn't insurmountable. ] Fantastic work. Just try to stay dry next time. We were all worried about the undead, but apparently water is the real enemy around here.

[ No idea how they fight against something that widespread, but he doubts Wrath is going to leave it alone. ]

What's your plan now?

( Wrath's gaze narrows at him following his reaction to all of it, but he appreciates Five does not attempt to push the matter nor place the blame at Wrath's feet or Emilia's.

He would not agree with it being placed at Five's own feet either. The world is dangerous. People make choices. Terrible things will happen including death, including disappearances, including all of the rest.

Still he allows space for Five's anger without intruding on it at all. It is accepted here. It is welcomed. It feeds into Wrath's power, which only makes that power stronger especially after it had been weakened in the water itself. )

I intend to return to see where the group will go next or at least to ensure the room itself is no longer operational if I am unable to follow them.

( There's a pause then, because he understands Five's need to search. )

To look out for Diego on my way. The Remembrance group was kidnapping as part of their recruitment process. You might also ask his other roommates.

( Hermione and Red - the puppy. )

[ No longer operational. For what? Five still isn't clear on what they're doing and why. It'd make more sense if they were building robots, but there's something else going on with the dark water. If Five wanted to get more involved, he could figure it out. At the moment, it sounds like Wrath is doing the Merchant's work for him.

They need answers before things get worse, but he has to manage his priorities. He appreciates that Wrath doesn't push the idea that he won't find his brother, and he nods his thanks. ]

It wouldn't be the first time Diego's been kidnapped. [ He looks back at the door with a slight grimace. He screened most of his roommates when this whole thing started, so he'd hoped they could at least help him narrow down the timeline. ] I'll ask.

[ He sounds more rational now, at least. He's still angry and more aware of the anguish swirling inside him, but it's pointed away from his present company. ]

Maybe I'll catch up with you. There's always a chance it's related.

( Wrath senses the shift as he senses all of the rest - the anger remains as it should. He would never deny anyone their anger, but so does the curse filled with anguish, and Five does appear to be in control of it all once more. He is aware he has a certain explosive effect when anger feeds into him and he feeds into it in turn - a helpless effect of being that particular sin incarnate. )

It could be.

( His clothes are fresh now. He's free from the dark water, and he doesn't intend on keeping Five from his task any longer. )

Let me know if you find anything, and I'll keep you updated in turn. ( His hand settles on the door handle, but there's one more pause: ) Thank you again.

( It may have seemed like a small task, but it was not. It was only a task he would give to someone he trusts. Wrath refuses to let most individuals see him in any kind of disarray (a signal of weakness and vulnerability in Hell enough to have demons worrying that a House might crumble). There's a reason the camera was pointed outward at everything and everyone else. )

[ Five lifts his head when Wrath stops at the door, and this time the only reaction he has is a slight downward tug of his lips. He isn't often thanked, even when he's risked his life for someone, so it's strange when Wrath repeats it over simply bringing his clothes and yelling at him. He didn't even need to walk over here.

Sometimes it really strikes him how polite demons are.

Or how easily he believes him when he says he'll keep him updated. They have some powerful people in their corner, and it's Five's biggest frustration that all these failsafes he had in place weren't enough. There's no guarantee that if he does it all over again he won't end up right back here.

It doesn't leave his mind that whatever is going on, they were able to hurt Wrath. Five has some faith in his brother's abilities, but it's a reminder of how much trouble he can get into on his own.

He doesn't wait for the door to close before he blinks away. Either to corner his brother's roommates or do his own detective work. ]

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video. un: a_civil_serpent

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