eastbound | video. un: a_civil_serpent. [set before the Colosseum-attacks]

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video. un: a_civil_serpent. [set before the Colosseum-attacks]

( Wrath has the device pointed toward himself, but over his shoulder, the rest of the crew who went after the news shouters are clearly in view. It is possibly an amusing village with Wrath being so entirely tall and broad, and the rest being much shorter, smaller: Kamala, America, Hermione, and Five walk behind him. Together, they enter Wrath's current residence (it's quite fancy, because the devil likes fancy things) to review what they have learned and make sure the coast is clear after breaking the shouters out from where they had been taken.

It's only when the door has closed on his magically warded residence that Wrath speaks: )

Kamala was right to worry about the veteran news shouters. We found them being held captive in the House of Scribes. According to these shouters, they had been beaten as a part of... conversations they were made to have over their 'poor civic spirit' - a direct quotation.

They were apparently detained for refusing to spread fearmongering about the supposed imminent resurrection and upcoming apocalypse of the Chained God. Their orders to do so were signed by Caius Justus himself. It is their belief that Caius Justus weaponizes this fear to stir the public in a particular direction - usually toward violence, bloodshed, fighting.

The shouters did appear to admire Messalina. They consider her message to be of one of... peace and liberation of the dead. As with all things, take that final particular information not as fact necessarily, but as their opinions to take into consideration.

( ooc: threadjack away, feel free to address any of the crew/threadjack, and also, replies could come from any of the crew )

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[ He really would like to say that's all he's worried about, although that's part of it. That they're throwing the word 'apocalypse' around is just adding salt to the wound. ]

My concern is what happens if they don't take Messalina's deal. I'm close enough to see that siding with a god of chaos isn't going over well, and there's a fear that they're secretly making an alliance with the Brotherhood.

If it's true or not, I can tell you that she won't stay idle forever.

There's been no evidence that they've made any such deal, but fear and paranoia can be a powerful motivator.

( so he could see that it might influence Messalina's actions going forward. )

I believe most would agree that siding with a god of chaos is not a smart move for anyone involved despite this city's strange history with the god. Do you think she will attack instead? She would be making more enemies for herself if she did - and a powerful one if this army is so sought after.

[ He fully expects her to make the attempt, based on their last conversation, but his nod comes slowly. There are no easy solutions. ]

If she were able to take them over, they'd give her an edge she'd be willing to gamble to have. ...If not, they may be evenly matched enough to cancel each other out.

...take them over?

So for all her talk of freedom and liberation, you believe she would force control over the army if she was not given it? ( That would be rather hypocritical of her - going against what she proclaims directly to want and desire for her own... people. There are too many suppositions in all of this and not nearly enough concrete evidence of anything on either side. )

[ He's not saying he's wrong, but he can also see her frustration. She's already been aggressive in her methods to get support, and it's hard to say how it will go if she's able to overtake the Hand. Either leave weaker than before or destroy her credibility. ]

It's an option she's considering. [ He sighs and leans back. This all seemed a lot more promising when they first arrived. ]

I don't know if it's too late to work out a deal, but that's the only way we're going to avoid this becoming a mess. Either way, we need to get anyone from our group away from the Hand before they either have the dark water used on them or the undead come knocking at their door.

( Of course it is an option that she is considering. Of course she is. Wrath does not like the idea of handing an army over to an undead leader whose words have shown to have little value. This is one city where he feels like they should not be involved in what is happening, because there is neither enough information nor clear enough answers. Caius Justus is terrible as well. There are no good options, and they are not the ones that will have to live with the consequences of the choices made here. )

This is one of those times when I believe based on what little information we have that there will be a mess regardless.

But yes, they do need to get out. That has to be the priority.

[ He's silent for a while, thinking about their position. Sitting here is a nice break to be out of the undead encampment and get some distance from everything he's been working on. Keeping up appearances hasn't been pleasant. Keeping Alir fed has been particularly messy, for all it's helped sway the Senate.

Wrath doesn't know how far he's gone to make this work, and thankfully Kamala hasn't stumbled on his activities. Everything has been a risk. He'd hoped it'd be for a reason. ]

I'll put the word out, see if they'll listen and stay out of sight until this blows over. If the dark water can take their form and their abilities, we all should keep our distance. [ As he says it, there's something else on his mind that he's wanted to ask Wrath. He would have by now, if things hadn't been so tentative between them. He's almost convinced himself that it's real this time, and he'll risk disappointing him if he can be certain. ]

Have you seen my brother?

( Wrath does not believe the dark water should be able to fully take his form, take his abilities, but he also is not willing to test it out for obvious reasons. The source of his own power is too great, and while the dark water is powerful especially at the source, it is nothing in comparison to the primordial power he has inside of him, which cannot simply be mimicked, recreated. But even a fraction of his power in the hands of another being is a terrifying thought.

There is a pause at the subject change before Wrath nods. )

I have. I saw him in the room of mirrors.

( Again with dark water taking the shape of him. He did not allow it to exist long enough to see if it might copy the tentacles. )

[ It's not necessarily a related subject, but to Five it's just as important, and it means something to him that Wrath found him, even if he hadn't intentionally tracked him down. He looks a mix between relieved and concerned that mirrors were involved, and he considers that for a moment before responding. ]

How did he seem to you? [ Confirmation that he's both real and alive are unfortunately things he needs to get an outside opinion on. It also makes their decisions here that much more difficult. ]

( The question surprises him. Is Five questioning whether he is truly here? He supposes it is understandable given the last two times he thought Ben was there (at least that Wrath was present for), Five was mistaken. It was merely a trick of this world. )

Tense and confused, but the dark water had just formed a doppleganger of him so that is to be expected.

He is truly here if that is why you ask.

He... [ Five takes a breath, keeping his emotions in check. ] I don't have to tell you that he shouldn't be.

[ The question was to see if he's really here, but also if he's really alive. He accepts the latter, since he's fairly sure Wrath would mention it if his brother didn't seem quite right. As impossible as it is to have him back. ]

The dark water copied him? [ He looks pensive as he takes that in. ] His powers too?

( Wrath nods in answer. He does not have to tell him - his grief has been palpable both times his brother was involved in these visions even if Wrath is quite unfamiliar with the feeling himself. )

I cannot tell you how it is possible, but his body does appear to be living at the moment.

( It is that of flesh. He breathes. His heart beats. He is not here as a ghost nor is here as a hallucination. )

I destroyed it before it could, but I did see the dark water copy other powers it should not have been able to. I imagine it could have replicated his own abilities if it had the chance.

[ The swelling in his chest when Wrath reassures him that Ben is alive nearly breaks him. The one brother that he couldn't save without destroying the timeline is here, miraculously whole, and it nearly puts all of his plans on hold so he can figure out why. Until he understands that, how can he make sure he stays that way?

He clears his throat and pulls his focus back to the crisis at hand. He's always appreciated the plain way Wrath answers his questions, without a great need for Five to explain what he's feeling. Maybe it's obvious in this case.

This new development with the water has some troubling implications that he really deserves his attention. ]

Destroyed, meaning it returned to the water? [ Or did it disappear? ] Would it remember?

( Wrath can feel it too - the strength of Five's emotion even if he doesn't comment on it. This is what it means to have a true family, he thinks. Not like his many brothers and their many machinations against one another. Before Emilia, before he met her as the Goddess of Fury, he had no idea what it meant to love. His grief he felt briefly before he was made to forget it, but love changes individuals. It changed him. He doesn't know that there can be a way to keep Ben alive.

Death is final - usually. Wrath would know, but at least Five and Allison can have his company now - here in this strange place where death does not have the same meaning. )

It returned to water. As for whether or not it will remember, I do not know.

The copy took on more than just the form of the individuals it saw. It appeared to know them, their life, their voice, their words. In an instant, it could pull all this information out to replicate it. ( He doesn't know if it matters if it can remember when it appears to be able to do that merely by being in someone's presence. )

[ Five takes that in quietly. For someone who has been tricked, time and again, it fills him with a very specific kind of dread to hear what the dark water is capable of. Confirming that his brother is real and alive would only make it easier to fool him.

They can hope that it doesn't remember. Or that it has to be near to replicate them, but even Wrath doesn't know. ]

...Shit. [ His could jump to so many conclusions from that. Is it getting stronger? Feeding on them? ] What does that mean for us?

It means our priority is finding and destroying the dark water, destroying the portion of the army that was made by it if that is indeed the case.

( Given how much of it there appears to be in this city, it's a monumental task, and the very act of destroying that dark water might require a certain level of destruction in turn, but he does not want to attempt it until he's found enough of it to be certain. )

All the rest is secondary in comparison. The world would not survive an army fueled by the power within this group, left at the hands of someone who wished to destroy or rule it.

[ Five frowns and starts to pace the length of the room as he thinks. He doesn't disagree with Wrath's assessment, but there's several obstacles in the way. Not the smallest of which is Messalina's impatience, which he's only hinted at. He's far closer to her than most and he sees the writing on the wall. As her advisor, he helped to write it. ]

The Merchant always said we were this world's greatest threat. [ He's brought that up before, but things like this remind him of new ways to take that statement. ] We don't know how far it's spread. Trying to take out the portion that it was used on might mean wiping out all of them, and that's if we have the time.

There's no other way to neutralize it? When we ran into the dark water before... was it ever purified?

From my study of the dark water, I do not believe it can be purified - it appears to be an energy all its own: one of cold, one of creation. It would be like attempting to purify the sun.

( They cannot change the nature of the sunlight - not with all the magic in the world like this dark water cannot be changed from what it is, this strong energy, this force. )

It can be destroyed, but I do not think it can be changed in its purpose to be something that does not attempt to copy, to be like the living. ( The Merchant was wrong about them being the greatest threat - the dark water with what it can do, do to them, take from them. ) If we could find a way to shield ourselves from its reach...

( Wrath shakes his head though in thought. )

[ Anyone else, and Five would have done more to question and stubbornly look into changing the water. Unfortunately, Wrath usually knows what he's talking about.

He runs a hand through his hair and barely fights the urge to kick something across the room. Nothing works. He knew pitting their enemies against each other was going to be a long shot, but how is Messalina going to react if they're the ones who take out the army she's been vying for? Just when he was getting somewhere, he's chopped off at the foot. ]

...I could reach out to Anurr. [ That's always been his last resort, if there was any question that he's still hanging onto his finger. ] He seemed to be concerned about the water back in Yancai, so he might know something about how to protect against it. He doesn't have a lot of interest in the areas outside of his realm, but he still owes me a favor.

If there were any time to do so, it would be now. We have few options.

( And all options lead to something terrible, which explains Five's mounting frustration, his anger. It is shared though Wrath reveals nothing in his expression or body language. Unfortunately, Messalina seems like the best opportunity since they are forced in a position of voting at all, and Caius Justus' army was built from the dark water itself. There are too many pieces missing still, however. It feels wrong to make any choice for an entire city without knowing enough. )

If he doesn't know how to protect against this dark water, he may know about Messalina. Information about either would be helpful. Have you ever asked him about Mattias? ( How does he feel about the man in white? )

I've mentioned him, and the Brotherhood. I was... attempting to see how he could help us deal with them, but he wasn't interested as long as they didn't interfere with his land. [ Which he knows could have been a lie and he could be as ambitious as the rest of them. He has no illusions about Anurr, but he does trust that he'd keep his word. ]

In Yancai, he said he could stop the floods if it was his realm. I just don't know what we'd have to offer him to stop what's happening here.

( that is unsurprising - wrath's brothers often do not care about what does not affect them directly, and wrath is left tasked with keeping the balance between the realms, between hell and the living and all the remaining realms besides. )

...the implication there is his capability comes from being within his own realm, the power he gets from being within his own realm. I have far more power in Hell than I do here.

( in his own Hell, Wrath can punch through realms. he can warp Hell to do his bidding, bypass locked structures and mountains with a touch of his hand and whispered words from the devil himself. )

He may not be able to stop what is happening within this one. He may not be able to affect the water at all - he simply has some manner of control over land that is his.

[ That would have been too easy of a solution. Five nods, grimly, and goes back to his pacing. ]

That might be a dead end, but I can try. I doubt his thoughts on Messalina are much different. [ Even if she's more like him. Someone that wasn't created by Matthias, seeking her own version of coexistence with the living. ] What about the soldiers who ingested it? Can they be cured?

It wouldn't hurt to learn whatever further information we can gather about her. ( Wrath does think regardless of what happens here, whatever choice is ultimately made within the city, there will be destruction, death. And they will likely be incorrectly blamed for it.

This is not their world nor their city, and he thinks it's the reason so many of them within the group hesitate to make a decision on either side. They can sense it is not for them to decide - the fate of the city (or world) when every route leads to a dark one and that possibility was created long before they arrived. They do not wish to be the villains of this world unwitting or otherwise. )

As for the soldiers, I cannot say. I would have to see one of those soldiers for myself, see exactly how the dark water has become part of them. It's curious they ingested it - much of the dark water like some of what I picked up from the previous location tries to shape itself against living things, tries to become living.

[ That's disturbing on a few levels, and it makes him wonder if the dark water was the original source of all the undead. If it got into the bodies somehow. He seems to remember Wrath saying something about the water not feeling like the undead, but maybe they absorbed it.

He stops his pacing near him, and considers. There are several things he can do, it's just a matter of any of them helping. ]

We could probably bring you one. I could. [ Blink in and out of the solider barracks. Easy. ] Our time is limited, but it'd be worth it to know if they're a lost cause.

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video. un: a_civil_serpent. [set before the Colosseum-attacks]

in person.

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