Devil In The Dark(IC)

[Vahnyu]

GM Post

 

The laughter would not die down, and as if in response to Carmen's fiery outburst, it gained volume and momentum. Mingled in the laughter, the voice, spake in a mocking tone. "The Itsy Bitsy Spider..." Unlike the laughter, that sounded as if it came from many different mouthes, the voice could actually be heard clearly now, and it belonged to a man, probably on his 30s, talking in hushed tones, as one would do when singing a lullaby to put their children to sleep.

 

Changing both its tone and its point of origin completely, the voice continued echoing through the clearing, this time, sounding like a weary old woman "Went up the water spout!"

 

"DOWN! came the RAIN!-AND, washed the spider OUT!" This time, the voice sounded like that of a homicidal maniac, putting an off-key emphasis at words.

 

"Out came the sun, and dried up all the rain" The voice continued, sounding like that of a young girl, and comming from bellow Carmen's feet.

 

"The Itsy Bitsy Spider..." Carmen could hear a low growling voice coming from behind her ears.

 

"Went down the drain againahahaahHAAHAHAHAAA!!!" A giant mass of spherical shape violently errupted from the ground. The only discernible feature it had was that it was full of mouths. Big mouths, small mouths, happy mouths, sad mouths, smilling mouths, frowny mouths, mouths with sharp shark-like teeth, mouths with no teeth at all... "And now, my speechless prey... I shall add your mouths to my collection... after I eat you, of course khyahahahAHAHAHAAHa!!!" All the mouths spoke in unison, and then the sphere developed limbs, using its many mouths as prehensiles. What once looked like a sphere, now gave the impression of a spider, one with 50 legs.

[Supercape]

Carmen actually took two steps back and felt a cold sweat form on her skin as she beheld the creature. She never liked spiders, and this was a hundred - a thousand times worse. It was the stuff of nightmares, and she was sure this thing would be crawling into her dreams for years to come. 

 

Her smoke paled and her flames fickered as fear overtook her. Perhaps even Tazel was recoiling, and that was something. Still, the infernal fire continued to bubble through her stomach into her bones and muscles. 

 

She opened her mouth, but no words came out. 

 

Instead, she spat out bellow of fire and smoke. 

 

She wasn't going to be a fly today...

[Vahnyu]

GM Post

 

Many of the random mouths got distorted into a sadistic grin, and as the demon withdrew its newfound appendages, it started chattering in an insufferably creepy manner. While Carmen remained unnaffected by the demonic powers of the creature, the S.S.Gadelica crew was not so fortunate as her, and the sailors, almost to the man, dropped their riffles and clutched their ears, in a vain attempt to stave off the pain. They felt as if someone was scratching a blackboard with a rasp, and it was a fortunate event that no one could make an audible noise. "KHYAAA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAA! That's right, FALL! Soon the only proof of your existance will be serving me faithfully! So why don't YOU just GIVE UP already?!" the demon taunted the agonizing crew members.

[Supercape]

Pitch frowned, deeply unsettled by the pain of the sailors and the horror of the the creature before her. She shook her head to the demon, her spine tingling. Whatever damage it had caused her as a babe, it had also protected her from any infernal magic. 

 

She belched forth a black smoke and grinned at the demon, raising a finger and wagging it. 

 

Not so easy with me, foul thing...

 

Gathering her fist, she pulled a dense ball of smoke on it, gathering the horrible acrid smoke from the realm of the infernal forge, and threw it at the creature, letting it pour into the things many ghastly throats. 

 

Choke on that...

 

She would have loved to have said it...

[Vahnyu]

GM Post

 

The smoke soon overwhelmed the demon, and all of its mouths started coughing furiously, in an attempt to stave off the tar out of whatever passed for its lungs "YOU*COUGHCOUGH* You'll pay fo-kerhak-this-kerhcoughcoughCOUGH!" It tried to say, while all of its legs were wobbling unsteadily. Meanwhile, whilst most of the sailors had fallen on the ground, clutching their ears in pain, some managed to regain their composure, at least, long enough to take aim and fire at the Spidermouth demon. Its erratic maneouvers worked more against its favor, rather than for it, and the shots fired by the Captain, Angelica, and Tom, found their target. One bullet managed to pierce its amorphous exterior, and sent the creature temporarily to its knees. However, while still coughing, it had now managed to regain its composure, up to a certain extent, and was now raring to go.

[Supercape]

Pitch took a few steps closer, smoking away and growing in confidence. 

 

That shut it up!

 

Even with all the ghastly drawings and inscriptions she had seen in the Cantos diaries. This horror had them beat hands down. She would need a stiff whisky and a good shudder when they got back to the home of...

 

...no, she couldn't afford to think about that murder, not yet. Not until they were all safe. 

 

She raised the Cantos stick and laughed - soundlessly, but still - at the horror, raising her finger to a wag, and then putting it across her throat as a sign of the creatures imminent demise. And then, clenching her fist, she forced the smoke to curl down its throats once more!

[Vahnyu]

GM Post

 

The Spidermouth wouldn't succumb to Carmen's imposing pressence, but it was struggling to stay on its feet, and it took all its willpower to remain conscious. The sailors were fast to capitulate on that fact, and as one more managed to regain control of her body, they all opened fire. This time, the infernal creature was able to control its body and handilly managed to dodge most bullets come his way, but Angelica managed to put a bullet to the creature at the base of one of its feet. "KwEEEHAAaaarrrghhjjJk" It screamed incomprehensebly due to the pain. "Khhhgkkkggghhhfoood... gghgfjffjjfooodshooould...." However, it started untangling its 50 feet, and in a furious assault, the demonic Spidermouth spinned in a whirling pattern, causing its legs to flail wildly and indiscriminately at all angles and in enormous speeds, hitting everything and everyone on its path, and causing a big part of the trees surrounding the clearing to become shredded into pieces, while roaring "FOOD SHOULD STAY DOOWWWWN!!!". Only one of the S.S.Gadelica crew managed to withstand the attack, and he was still clutching his ears.

[Supercape]

Pitch raised her arms and fought off a few horrible legs and a few horrible mouths, bashing them away with Cantos Devil Stick. Still, the ghastly things puckered all over her skin,leaving whelps and sores despite the smoke and flame and the tingling tattoo on her back that armoured her flesh. 

 

Pitch toook a few steps forward - not too close, however - she didn't want to get herself near that ghastly beast. She just felt more in control. 

 

She wished she could shout out to the thing. Taunt it. Her hatred of demons was no small thing. 

 

Instead, she breathed out smoke and clenched her fist once more, and the smoke that danced around the creature once again curled and snared into its mouths and pores. 

[Vahnyu]

GM Post

 

In its haste to beat the sailors and Carmen down to a bloody pulp, the Spidermouth overexerted itself, and by the time it had stopped to take a breath, it was already too late for it to realise that, thanks to Pitch, it had no breath to take any more. Convulsing violently, it finally collapsed on the ground, leaving only one final terrible shriek. "KlrgwII!! AHRraaark!! llrredhjjJk-koff" However, while the Spidermouth's body had stopped squirming, its feet looked all too alive. Coiling like snakes, the detached themselves from their jailer, and started moving around blindly, in vain search to find something to devour with their greedy mouths. A few of the downed sailors were close to a lot of those feet, and it looked doubtful that Carmen would be able to protect them in time.

 

FFFFFLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!///

 

A blindingly bright flash comming from way behind the remaining trees suddenly flared up. As soon as it stopped and Carmen regained her vision, she saw that the legs had been rendered paralyzed or knocked out, and unable to so much as move.

[Supercape]

The horror had lost its threat with the smoke in its lungs - but Pitch was no fool when it came to demons. They were wrong. Not meant for this world, a corruption of reality, a plague on humanity. 

 

She had no way to restrain it, no way to send it back to where it had came from. No time, no energy. And, if she was honest with herself, no inclination. It was not human, it was an abomination. There was only one thing to do with it. 

 

She continued to fill it with smoke until it twitched itself to death. 

 

She nodded with satisfaction to herself, and the smoke died down. 

 

She turned to attend to the sailors. At least none of them had been killed, although the horrifying legs and mouths had left their mark on more than a few. She could only hope that that was the worst the island had to throw at them, although she doubted it, somehow. 

[Vahnyu]

GM Post

 

The sailor looked uncertainly around him, and after a while, he finally lowered his hands from his ears. As if to confirm the situation, he said "Is that it? Is it over?" He didn't get any immediate responses, leading his heart to skip a few more beats, but his voice finally registered, signaling to him that the silence effect that had been suppressing all kinds of communication in the area had been lifted. As if on cue, the hail's bombastic sounds returned in full force, and the sailor found himself feeling relief at that, much to his surprise. "AHAHAHAHAHAAA!!! AHHH thank the heavens!" he shouted triumphantly.

 

"-and then I'm gonna feed that creepy ball to its own mouths, teach it to scare the Belzebul out of m-...." Tazel went, before catching himself after realising that his thoughts could now be heard by Pitch normally.

 

The downed sailors breathed heavily, but one by one, they started comming back to their senses. A few of them were still out cold, but that was more out of the shock than any serious or lifethreatening wound.

 

Meanwhile, Carmen noticed something with the corner of her eye. Looking towards the direction that the light that incapacitated the feet had immerged, she noticed a young boy, no older than 10 or 14 years old, smilling at the group. Few details could be made out, but his clothing looked proper, if a bit old fashioned.

Edited October 26, 2013 by Vahnyu

[Supercape]

Tazel, I haven't said this before, and I doubt I'm going to say it again, but its actually good to hear...

 

...who the hell is that?

 

Pitch spun around to look at the young boy more closely. If anything, after the horror of the spider beast, she was sensitised enough to find even the most innocuous of things terrifying at the moment. 

 

"And who are you?" she asked a little too sharply, but then - demons came in the most deceptive of forms. 

 

"Are you lost?" she said, realising as she said it, it was a stupid thing to say. 

 

"Do you speak English?" she asked, repeating the question in Spanish. 

[Vahnyu]

GM Post

 

The boy smiled at Carmen, and he said "Don't worry. Everyone here is alright and safe." He then looked at the mansion with a faraway look, and Carmen could have sworn that the boy looked sad, as he spoke "Please... you HAVE to help my brother... he has been ridden with sadness for many years, and that sadness has blinded him. Please... for everyone's shake..." He then disappeared behind the tree, next to which he was standing a few moments ago.

 

Angelica, who was already awake, remarked at the captain. "Well, Captain, 3 people are still unconscious. We'll have to carry them ourselves."

 

"Damn!... We'll be like sitting ducks if we stay here, and if we push forward, we'll be nigh-defenseless..."

 

Hobson looked at Carmen, who had been looking towards the boy "What's the matter, miss Canto? Why the long look?"

 

"Would you be a bit more grateful to the woman who saved your sorry ass, Tom?" Another member of the crew said.

 

"Hey, I'm asking out of concern here!"

Edited October 26, 2013 by Vahnyu

[Supercape]

Carmed smoked quietly, but no now longer silently. 

 

"Because I don't judge a book by its cover..." she answered. 

 

"Nice shooting, by the way. Keep that up and we may make it out of here....you best get to looking after your fellow sailors. I don't think we can make it all the way back to Acheron's palace. The monastry may be our best bet, although it gives me the spooks. Still, best of a band hand, I think..."

 

"In the mean time, lets see what our little friend here has to say..."

 

She quietened down her smoke and flame, changing back into plain Carmen Cantos. The ice and cold stung her, but she figured she could put up with a little chill till Tazel warmed her up again. And it was less frightening than looking like a bonfire. 

 

She hobbled over to the tree. 

 

"Come on out. There's no reason to be frightened..." she said, kneeling down on her haunches and resting on the Cantos Cane. 

 

"What happened? who are you? and what are you doing out here?" she said as calmly and as reassuringly as possible. 

[Vahnyu]

GM Post

 

...

 

No response could be heard, nor could Carmen make any signs of the boy's pressence. The way ahead appeared completely devoid of life, at least, from what she could tell on a quick looksie, but there indeed was a faint hint of... of... something?!

 

The crew, for their own part, eyed Carmen worryingly. "Uhhh, Guys? Who is she talking to?" One of the awake sailors said, indicating at the rock journalist.

 

The sailor who had managed to avoid the Spidermouth's legs replied "Dunno... I think she's talking to herself? Now that I think about it, she's been doing it ever since that demonic creature bought it." He added with concern in his tone.

 

"Perhaps she saw something we didn't, or couldn't?" Angelica chimed in helpfully.

 

"Well... that... that's not too far off, come to think of it..." The Captain said, thoughtfully, and then re-addressed the crew as a whole "Nevertheless, our benefactor, miss Canto, has a point. The church is not a lot of distance away from here, and we could definitely catch our breaths there, at least, until we can move out at full capacity again. Gather the injured, everyone! We move out as soon as possible." She ordered, in an authorative tone. The rest of the crew, for their part, were eager to follow her instructions and promptly get to a safehouse.

 

Angelica then approached Carmen. "We're ready to go, miss Canto." She informed her.

[Supercape]

Carmen should her head. 

 

What? Am I seeing and hearing things? After than monsterous spider thing...and Acheron's death...

 

She put her head in her hands. No. She had to get a grip. This was the way to insanity. If she wasn't their already. She screamed inside. Was she going mad? After all she had been through? Not just now...but everything. She had gone through several life times of madness. It would drive anyone crazy...

 

...but right now, she had to make sure nobody else died. Acheron was a stab in her heart that would never heal. And she had enough scar tissue to live with. 

 

Fire me up Tazel!

 

The smoke and wisps of flame bellowed around her body once more, studs erupting from her clothes and eyes buzzing with fire. She was pitch again, and the warmth ooozed like comfort through her body. 

 

"Right, lets go. I think we should make for the Monastry, it's nearer, and we can see about proper rest and getting our sailors back on their feet there..."

 

She just hoped Tazel could stand it...

[Vahnyu]

GM Post

 

Tazel had a few choice words to say about them going to the monastery, but despite that, it obliged Carmen without a second thought(not that it could, mind). The sailors, for their part, followed along, making sure their pace matched hers. Quite a few demonic creatures still stalked the group, but they were keeping a distance far longer than they had when Carmen was heading to the Pier. In fact, they appeared to be making sure to avoid the crew, as if a force was keeping them at bay, if not outright repelling them.

 

---

 

Abandoned Monastery: Saint George the Dragonslayer Church

02:08

 

On the inside of the gate, and outside the holy building, a statue of a man riding a horse and attacking a dragon with his spear was the first thing that greeted the S.S.Gadelica crew and Carmen. Carmen, for herself, felt sick to her stomach, while standing just a meter outside the monastery's gate. Tazel, for his part, felt even worse.

[Supercape]

Carmen new in her gut, and the it in her gut knew, that the Monastery was holy ground. Something Tazel could not abide. She turned her smoking head and fiery eyes to the sailors. 

 

"I'm sorry, guys, and dolls, but this is when I have to spit something out..."

 

She bent over, and - in considerable discomfort, forced Tazel out of her mouth in a vomit. The little demon came belching out, a flame of about a foot high. 

 

"Don't shoot it!" she said, holding a hand up and clutching her stomach as the smoke and fire fell off her and she was back as Carmen Cantos. 

 

"This thing is bound to me, and bound to obey my every command. It cannot but obey me...and may very well save out lives..." she said. 

 

She need not have given warning. Tazel was living flame and shooting at it would have been like shooting hot air. But it would have wasted ammunition and called attention to them. 

 

She straightened up, feeling the cold again. 

 

Stay silent, stay still, stay invisible...and warn me if anything approaches. Us poor souls need to catch breath and blood. And here is the best place for us...

 

"Come on, lets lick our wounds and get back on our feet. My little friend can stand guard, but an extra pair of eyes can always help, and this place has walls we can defend..."

[Vahnyu]

GM Post

 

While everyone had jumped at their guns, pointing them at Tazel, the Captain of the ship held her hand high, in a sign telling them to hold. Giving a hard appraising look at Carmen, she told her crew "At ease, everyone. We have to get our wounded inside."

 

"Uhhh, Boss?" Tom went, uneasily.

 

"We are NOT having this conversation, is that clear? Get the others inside, NOW!" The Captain responded, pulling all the rank she could muster in an as much authorative tone as possible.

 

"Yeah... Yes, Captain." Tom agreed and the crew was soon inside the church.

 

The Captain, for her part, turned her attention fully to Carmen. "Look, I get it. Lots of things I don't know about you Superhero folks in general, and even more about you in particular. You've already saved our hide, and you've been keeping an eye out for all of us. I GET IT. So please understand that the crew members, me included, are a bit jumpy with all that's happened these last hours. What I'm trying to say is..." Giving a pause to sigh and throw the tension out of her body, she continued "We trust you... But don't betray our trust in you." With that, she turned and went inside the building.

 

Tazel observed all of this, with great glee. However, his orders were clear, and he could not even make an attempt for a laugh. Carmen would pay for that lost opportunity... eventually...

[Supercape]

Carmen walked into the Monastry and even spent a moment to examine the architecture, which, in her opinion, had an eerie beauty. 

 

She was tired, she was hurt, she was cold, and she was even hungry. 

 

But she was going to go down fighting. 

 

She grabbed a blanket - some of the gear that the sailors had brought and wrapped it around her. Rock and roll clothing looked good but didn't keep her warm much. She hadn't expected hailstones on this island. 

 

"Lets get some food inside us huh?" she mumbled as she walked up to the captain. 

 

"Look, I appreciate your trust. And I'm gving it back to you, too. I don't want people to know I'm Pitch. It's dangerous for me, for anybody, to know that I spit hellfire and...othet stuff..." she said, alluding to Tazel. 

 

"That's why I keep it secret. I'm not going to keep it secret if it costs lives, though. I made that mistake once already today, and it cost somebodies life. Not again. So we both gotta trust each other, huh? There's nobody better who can get you out of this mess. I know its a lot to ask, but I can chain up, kill, and bind demons than pretty much anybody. I can't say your in safe hands, but there the best hands you could wish for" she said with the best smile she could manage. 

 

"So lets lick our wounds and get back to Acheron's place, huh? we got provisions to eat? how are your sailors doing?" she asked. 

[Vahnyu]

GM Post

 

The captain of the S.S.Gadelica listened to Carmen carefully, but she stayed silent, refraining from responding. Finally, when Carmen asked about food and the crew, the captain responded: "The rest of the crew are all fine. A few bruises, a mild concussion, but nothing that appears to be life-threatening, so far. As for food, we've got a couple of things we managed to snag from the ship's kitchen, but we've already eaten, so there's no need for us to-"

 

"-Uuuh, right, Captain?" One of the nearby crewmembers interjected.

 

"-... tsk, *sigh*... well, I suppose a brief snack won't hurt. At least, it would help calm the spirits somewhat, and make taking a nap a mite easier."

 

The crew beamed at her, and they all took some of their packed provisions out. Canned meat, bread, water, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes, as well as some sault and oil. Some made Sandwiches, others made salad, but they all shared the food. In order to stave off the cold, and dry up their clothes, they had to make a fire inside the building, breaking some chairs and using their wood as fuel. Thankfully enough, the church itself was made of marble, stone, and cement, rather than wood, so there was little to no danger of the fire going out of control and spreading thoughout the entire building. It was now nearing 3, and the groggy crew members were falling asleep one after the other, curling in their blankets and trying to generate as much heat as they could. Of them, only the captain, Angelica, and Tom were still awake at this point.

[Supercape]

Carmen curled up in a blanket too, feeling the cold and trying to clamp the heat to her body. She wasn't used to the chill, and she was feeling tired. She had at least taken some food. 

 

She pondered the situation, and it was not easy pondering. The crew of the ship were injured and cold. They would soon be tired, and rations were running out. They were still no closer to finding out what was plaguing the island, and why. 

 

They were at least, closer to Acheron's home, where hopefully there may be more clue as to what mess the singer had got himself into, and rations and heat might be better. But she had no idea how the people she left there, including Billy, had fared. 

 

It was, all in all, a mess. 

 

She turned over, and tried to huddle herself into the heat. 

 

Tazel, i'm signing off for the night. Wake me if there is any threat...she said sleepily, before clamping her eyes shut and trying to rest...

[Vahnyu]

GM Post

 

The fire flickered through the night, as anxiety and alertness finally gave way to fatigue. Tazel frequently made rounds around the holy place, noting that the other demons made certain to keep their damn distance away from that toxic for them enviroment. Every so often, though, it could pick a scream coming from the distance, or a few shots getting fired. This sounded like the kind of thing his master would like to know, rest or no rest. Too bad that it wasn't part of his orders, the little troll laughed inwardly with glee, savoring the thought in the process.

 

As for the people inside the church, what with the flames next to them, the hail outside, the furious wind, the fatigue, and the fact that they were inside a building, no one could hear a thing. And so, the day went. What was meant to be an exotic combination of vacation and an interview, had now twisted to become a perilous quest for survival and answers...

 

---

 

Abandoned Monastery: Saint George the Dragonslayer Church

8:36

 

Of the ones who had fallen asleep, Carmen was the first one to gain consciousness. As she woozily tried to open her eyes, though, a bright light had engulfed her, and the only thing she could make, before hastily shutting them down, was what appeared to be a pair of wings. A second later or so, the feeling of the light, disappeared, and the only other persons who seemed to be active, were Tom and Angelica, both of whom were wearilly nodding their heads as they struggled to keep awake while keeping watch.

[Supercape]

Carmen blinked away the sleep and fatigue - and it was fatigue - from her eyes, and wrapped the blanket around her. She shook the cobwebes in her head away, and spared little thought for the strange hypnopompic hallucinations of waking. She started prodding the sailors awake, and went to Tom and Angelica. 

 

"Nice work guys" she nodded to them as she went to prepare some food, what little they had. 

 

But there was little time to waste. They had to get back to Archeron's place and see how Billy and the others were doing - and hopefully get to the bottom of this mess. 

 

Tazel, its time to get moving. Be ready to get eaten when I come back outside...

 

She went to see the Captain, and yawned herself despite trying to model a fighting zest. 

 

"I know its hard knocks today, Cap'n, but we need to get this show on the road. Its been a bum deal, but we gotta make it to Archeron's place. See how the others are doing, and try to get to the bottom of this mess. If there is any clue as to what happened to this place, its with Acheron and his crew..."

[Vahnyu]

GM Post

 

On Carmen's words, Tom flew up instantly, as if he was suddenly awakened from his sleep, and slurred a "Whuzzat?!" Angelica remained more relaxed, and though still half-asleep, she mumbled "At ease, Tom. You'd just fallen asleep on the watch, 'sall..." "Oh?... ahh..." Tom slowly returned to his leaning spot, remembering to ask after a few seconds "And what about you?..." Angelica, with a long-drawn yawn, said "HUAAAAAAAaaahhhhhhhh... Me? I wuz jus' watching to make sure you didn't fall asleep on the job... which you did." Scratching the back of his head, Tom responded indifferently "Ah, ok, cool." They both fell asleep on the spot.

 

The rest of the sailors didn't take long to get up. While they were still mildly tired, they weren't exhausted any more, and they could force a simple march up against the hill. They could even fend off any threat that would meet them on their way. "I can only begin to imagine what it must be like for you, miss Canto. Holding yourself responsible for the survival of two seperate groups of people... That way lie ulcers, you know, hehe." She jested, trying to lighten the mood. "But at any rate, you are correct. Barring Tom and Angelica over there, we are all at full capacity, and them, we can carry. Plus, even though the hail persists, it's pretty clear that the sun is up, and the place is bright, or at least, brighter than during the night. We'll have an easier time being alert."

 

Soon everyone got out. Tazel, though still out of sight, dutifully ran to his master, as soon as she left the holy ground, and letting Carmen swallow him whole. Once inside he reported to her.

 

And a good morning to you, Master! As you can see, no demonic activity is present at the time, present company excluded, of course. The coast is clear as the bottom of a lake. Nor did I detect any threats throughout the night, as you instructed me; a couple of screams and guns firing in the distance, but nowhere near close to the vincinity, rest assured. Hehehehe

 

He told her with malevolent glee.

 

The hail raged still, but it was very evident that it was morning. No sound of demons, guns, or fighting could be heard.