Church of St. Sebastian, Buzzard's Bay, Massachusetts, Saturday early afternoon

[trigons_child]

Going with Dinah's knowledge of where main Church of Blood was located in her world, Karla had arranged for a portal to the dimension that was home to Raven's Earth and handwavily gathered people to help.

The front entrance to the church in Buzzard's Bay looked normal enough -- except for the armed guards lurking by the doors. But before they'd even had a chance to consider their approach, a faint tendril of black energy that felt distinctly of Raven to anyone who was sensitive to such things wrapped around Warren and seized control of him again. "Raven belongs to Brother Blood!" he said before launching up into the air and flying for the woods behind the church. They had to scramble to follow as he led them to a secret entrance there in the form of a hidden cave in the side of a hill.

Raven's power left Warren then, but her message was clear. This was the way to go. The passage into the hill led to steps and a hallway that ended in a set of closed double doors, behind which murmuring voices could be heard.



Anakin
"Anyone else have a really bad feeling about this?" Anakin murmured to no one in particular.



Tahiri
"Me," Tahiri spoke up, then made a face. "So that feels about normal."

That was sad, wasn't it?



Warren
Fairly sad, yeah. But then, Warren was having his fair share of bad feelings, too.

"You're telling me," he sighed, putting a hand to the side of his head. "And I'm starting to feel like a parrot, here."

Because you are, Warren. Because you are.



Sookie
"Well, good, I'm glad we're all on board the bad feelings train," Sookie said, rubbing her temple lightly. "And here I thought there'd be pony rides."

She was getting a headache from trying -- unsuccessfully -- to stretch to hear Raven anywhere. Don't mind her crankiness.



Karla
"Not if Sebastian is involved," Karla growled. "He'd probably be off doing something dirty to the ponies anyway."

Those poor ducks.

"Just be careful, okay? He's powerful, for all that he looks like a skinny, whiny, obnoxious little bitch."

Guess who wasn't fond of Sebastian!



Anakin
Anakin slanted his eyes at her. "By the church?"

He hadn't been sleeping well and was a little off his game.



Jono
//He doesn't strike me as th'type to worry too much about where he's doing what he wants t'do,// Jono noted, a touch dryly. //To ponies, to Raven, or otherwise.//

He was getting one hell of a bad feeling about this. And, as he stepped toward the door, he didn't exactly seem to care.



Raven and Sebastian
The doors opened into a huge chamber. At the far end of the chamber was a large pool, filled with blood, in front of which stood Raven, dressed all in white, her expression blank. Keen eyes might notice the oozing blood on her forehead where her chakra had once been. With her stood a pale teenage boy with white hair, and before them was a red-garbed priest, reading from the open book in his hands. Between them and the doors stood dozens of red-robed worshipers, watching the ceremony raptly.

"...the dawn of a new era, one foreseen by our prophets and your namesake," the priest was saying. "Raven will be a doorway that will bring salvation to this wretched world. Salvation from her father's realm, a legion of followers that will consume any non-believers, and leave a utopia united in faith to begin anew."

The boy opened his hand to reveal a familiar, though bloody, red gem, which he brought up to his lips. "With this virgin blood," he said, swallowing the gem, "I now pronounce us brother and sister. Man and wife." He took hold of Raven's shoulders and leaned in to kiss her. She didn't react in either desire or fear; she merely passively accepted it.

Then the boy noticed the intruders. "This is a private ceremony," he snapped at then. He addressed his followers. "Bring them to their knees. So commands Brother Blood!"



Jono
//... Virgin?//

So sue him. Even Jono needed to take a moment's pause to point out the important things that his brain was catching up on, while standing in the midst of a bunch of freakish vampire cultists, or whatever the hell was going on here.

Oh, yes, and his hands were snaking toward his bandages. He'd get to Raven if he had to blow the living hell out of everybody between here and there.



Sebastian
Sebastian didn't recognize most of these intruders, but he wasn't about to let them stop him, not when he was so close to his goal. "Blasphemers," he said. "Disbelievers. Your reckoning has come."

He left Raven standing at the blood altar to deal with the uninvited guests himself. And as fate would have it he had singled out Jono first and was fully intending to try to punch his head off.



Jono
//Reckoning? Blasphemers?// Jonothon's eyebrows furrowed as he pulled his wrappings down, loosing a blast of fire toward Sebastian as he ducked out of the way of that fist. Really, he was quite the fan of keeping his head right where it was. Enough of it was missing already, thank you. //Sorry, mate, I don't much care for the antics of mad gods. Got enough of that gobshite in my own family growing up.//

Though, admittedly, most of the members of Clan Akkaba dressed better.



Sebastian
Sebastian dodged away from the fire with reflexes much faster than a normal human. "You can't have her," he snarled with all the arrogance of a teenage boy who thought the world belonged to him. "Raven is mine. She and I are going to bring the world their savior."



Jono
It was possibly fortunate that Jonothon was too distracted by Sebastian's speed to reply with the painfully obvious reply, 'I already have had her,' wasn't it?

//Yer definition of 'savior' is perhaps a bit lacking,// Jono noted, furrowing his eyebrows, attempting to chase after him with another wave of flame. //For th'record, Trigon is a horrible landscape artist.//

Case in point: New York. Seriously.



Sebastian
"Blasphemer," Sebastian hissed again. "I will drain your blood as an offering for Lord Trigon and use your fire to cook the flesh of your friends to feed my followers."

He had Raven's powers from tasting her blood, but not her ability to use them. It was a blunt wave of pain he was attempting to hurl at Jono now.



Jono
Jonothon winced, somewhat. His flame sparked red-hot.

He knew pain intimately. This didn't begin to compare.

//Going to have to try harder than that, you skinny prat.// More flame. Jono would blaspheme a thousand times over if it meant he could have a clear shot at this bastard. //I don't think you'd find my throat terribly appetizing, at any rate.//



Sebastian
"Do you bleed nothing but fire?" Sebastian taunted. "Freak!"

But the flames wouldn't let him get close enough to Jono to even try to bite, so he sent a silent signal to a pair of his followers, who now attempted to sneak up behind Jono while Sebastian tried to continue to distract him. "But even a freak has fears," he said. "I bet I can find yours."



Jono
Jonothon did, in fact, bleed blood. From his arms, his legs. What was left of him.

He wasn't about to tell this bugger as much.

//You'll have a hell of a time of that,// he replied, furrowing his eyebrows, unaware of the pair who was behind him. The taunts didn't bother him so much. Not coming from somebody like this.

He was a freak. He came to terms with that much a long time ago.



Cultists
"Kneel in my presence, freak!" Sebastian commanded. And the two minions behind him jumped on Jono, trying to force him to do exactly that.



Jono
Jonothon was a lot of things. A freak, certainly. A bastard when he needed to be and something a touch softer when he wanted to be. A man. A mutant. Broken, more than anything.

What he was not? Was particularly solidly built. And so when he was tackled from behind, he did hit his knees, and hard. One of the minions was rewarded for that little manoeuvre with an elbow, aimed quite solidly for his face.

//Is this all yer good for? Blind subservience to th'first giant in a loincloth that comes yer way? You want to know my fears? Accidentally getting a glimpse up that is high on that list.//

On bruised knees and being wrestled to the floor, and he could still snark like a champ.



Sebastian
"Lord Trigon promised me his daughter as my bride," Sebastian bragged, ignoring the insults to his god for now. "His power will cleanse this world of all non-believers, and our child will rule over a utopia. One you will not be part of."

He gestured to his followers, one of whom had a hand clasped to his rapidly blackening eye, as they held Jono down. "Kill him for his sins against me and our Lord Trigon."



Jono
Jonothon raised an eyebrow at that, looking over his shoulder at the pair that was holding him down.

//How were you going to go about that, then? Suffocate me? Tear out my heart? Spray me with water a bit and hope that does some good?//

... He was actually almost intrigued, here. So sue him.



Cultists
In answer to that question, the cultist with two good eyes reached for the dagger tucked into his belt. Attempting to slit Jono's throat wasn't going to work, of course, so he defaulted to raising the blade up and attempting to go for a good old-fashioned stab in the back.



Jono
It was two against one, and Jono was a skinny little goth boy. There was no way in hell that he was going to be able to get free before that blade buried itself in his back, slicing neatly through his leather, wedging itself deeply between two ribs.

Ah. Yes. That was what pain felt like. His eyes shut tight, and he bit back the scream that threatened to break loose. There were people here who he didn't want to send into convulsions on the ground.

There was blood. Blood and fire. The knife had cut clear on through to where he ended and the furnace began, and flame licked out from the wound even as blood ran down over his back.

//That was... a good starting point, maybe...//

Bloody hell, that hurt.



Sebastian
"Finish him," Sebastian said, turning away to deal with the other interlopers.

The cultists had released their hold on Jono when the flames started to come out of his back. The blow should've been mortal to anybody else, but he was still moving, so just to make sure, the black-eyed cultist took his own knife and made to stab Jono again.



Jono
And letting go of Jonothon was about the stupidest thing that either of them could have done. He rolled over the moment he thought there was enough distance between him and the peons in order to be able to manage it, and when that blade came down at him this time, it was aimed directly for the gaping hole that was already there.

And in that moment, that flame was hot.



Cultists
Now the cultist had a black eye and his arm was burning. He dropped the dagger, shrieking in pain as he reeled backward.

His companion wasn't stupid, but he was mindlessly devoted to Brother Blood, and he wasn't about to disobey a direct order. He was still standing, so fire or not, he was aiming a hard kick at Jono's side.



Jono
Jono wasn't even on his feet yet. That kick collided with his side fairly solidly, accompanied by a snap made all the more audible by the fact that there was practically no meat against that rib in the first place.

He was fire, but these two men were only human. Killing flocks of Jhinka or demons was... it was different, somehow, from just unleashing a wall of flame against the brainwashed human masses. There he was, bleeding and a little more broken than he'd been when they'd gotten here, and they were going to simply beat him to death if he continued to sit still. He wouldn't burn them. Not unless they were stupid enough to stick their hands in it. But he could make them hurt.

He could make them hurt every bit as much as he hurt. The cultist that was still standing, the one that had kicked him, was now facing the full psionic backlash of Jonothon's pain. The shattered rib, the wound in his back. And while Jono was at it, he was reaching out, trying to gather what his companion was feeling, in his face, up his arm. He was quite welcome to know what that felt like, too.



Cultists
The cultist howled in pain, collapsing to the ground. He wasn't bleeding or broken, but it certainly felt like it. He wouldn't be going anywhere or hurting anyone for awhile.

Unfortunately there were many more of Sebastian's followers he came from, and they'd be keeping Jono busy for awhile.



Karla
"Kiss kiss," Karla drawled. "So sorry to interrupt. But I'm a little hurt not to have gotten an invitation. And here I thought we'd bonded, Sebastian."

Funny how enough contempt and disdain heaped on a word could make anything sound like a curse.

"Glad to see you haven't gotten any less pathetic since I saw you last. Moved up from molesting waterfowl to non-responsive women, hmm?"



Sebastian
"You're too late!" Sebastian snapped, glaring at Karla. "Raven's my wife now, and you're not taking her anywhere this time. If that boy is with you I'll rip his head off and wear his skull."



Karla
"I've never looked so forward to making someone a widow," Karla snarled. "I'm going to bring this entire church crumbling down around your ears and then I'm going to make you look back with fondness to what Andy did to you."

She gave him a smile that was utterly devoid of warmth. "Or did you forget that your little god is dead? Do you really want to fuck with the people that brought him to his knees?"

Okay, so there was some slight glossing over the details there. But whatever--he point stood. Trigon was dead. Suck on that, Blood.



Sebastian
"Trigon lives on through all of us," Sebastian snarled. "Two years ago you struck him down, but our savior will be reborn in my and Raven's son."

Time, apparently, had passed much more quickly here than in Fandom.



Karla
"I'll see you shaved before I kill you," Karla hissed, letting loose with a bolt of Sapphire. "For even thinking about touching her."



Sebastian
"I don't need to shave, idiot," Sebastian retorted, having no clue what Karla really meant. He dodged out of the way of Karla's attack, but it struck a cultist who'd been behind him and send that man crashing to the floor.



Karla
"I can't wait to show you just how wrong you are," Karla replied with a nasty smile and another bolt. "I'll even send you a feather later, so you can be neat when you piss."

It wouldn't be a big jump from the Brotherhood of Blood to the Brotherhood of Quills, right?



Sebastian
"You don't make any sense," Sebastian said. "And I'm done wasting time with you."

At his gesture, a pair of his followers came running to try to take Karla down.



Karla
"We aren't finished yet!" Karla yelled to him, even as she turned to face the oncoming cultists. Sebastian might have slunk off to go fight someone else, but she had plans to find him and tie him up and leave him as a present to the Harpies.

"This is your last chance to turn around and run," Karla told the cultists. "I suggest you take it."



Cultists
Sadly, they weren't going to take that opportunity. They had just one thought in their minds -- obeying Sebastian.

Which mean they were going to try to tackle Karla to the ground and, oh, stab her with their knives.



Dinah
"Finally. People to hit!" Dinah beamed around her and then pointed at Sebastian. "Did we get to the 'speak now or forever hold your peace' part yet?"



Sebastian
"You have no say in this ceremony," Sebastian said, glaring at Dinah. "It is done, and Raven is my wife. And now I will bleed you dry in her name."



Dinah
"Good thing I didn't buy that toaster," Dinah snarked. "And wouldn't you like to get her an annulment? I know she'd like it so much better." She cracked her knuckles. "By the way, I'm Canary, and I've been wanting to hit you for a year."



Sebastian
"I don't care who you are," Sebastian snapped. "I am Brother Blood, and you will kneel before me."



Dinah
"Only if you're flat on your back and I'm choking you," Dinah said.

She aimed a TK blow at his jaw. "Take your best shot. I'll just get warmed up."



Sebastian
Sebastian reeled backward, but recovered quickly. "I'll drain you dry," he threatened, leaping up into the air with superhuman strength and coming down behind Dinah, then lunging to grab her.



Dinah
That had been satisfying, but damnit, he would have a fast recovery. Dinah whirled around, and fought back as he grabbed her, growling and hitting out, then aiming a kick between his legs.

"You can try." Then reached with her TK, hoping to lift and throw him. "Is this how you killed your dad?"



Sebastian
The TK was more effective than the kick; her foot would've felt like it was kicking concrete. "I stabbed him to death," Sebastian snarled. "He was weak, like the ones before him. He didn't deserve the power. I do."



Dinah
Ow! "Hope you're that philosophical when we finish taking you apart!"

She picked him up with the TK, and shook him like a terrier shakes a rat, then grinned. "After Trigon? You are really, really not scary."



Sebastian
Furious, Sebastian ripped free of her hold. "You'll learn fear," he said, diving for her neck, fangs bared.



Dinah
"Pathetic. Were you raised on B-movies?"

Biting him first probably wasn't an option when her foot still hurt form that kick. Either he had some magic going on, a steel codpiece, or he had stupid impermeable skin. No way to tell which.

Dinah ducked, hoping he'd over-shoot himself. Then sent another burst of TK to help him to smash into the floor there, if he kept going.



Cultists
Her TK made her too difficult to deal with on his own, not when he had more important things to do. "Kill her," he ordered his minions.

They'd keep her busy for awhile.



Dinah
Dinah only had time to yell, "Wuss!"

Then she was having to TK a lot of cultists into each other, back and forth, because using the Canary Cry on them would be a really final way of dealing with them.



Sookie
"Brother and sister and man and wife, all at once?" Sookie asked, raising her brows and bringing her hands down to her sides. "Honey, I'm from rural Louisiana, and even I know that's fucked up."



Sebastian
"No one asked your opinion," Sebastian snapped. He drew closer to Sookie, baring his fangs in an attempt to frighten her. Clearly, he didn't know Sookie.



Sookie
"Oh, sweetie, I've banned older and stronger vampires than you from my property twice over," Sookie snorted. "I mean, those are very scary. That's the right reaction for me to have, right?"



Sebastian
"This is my property, not yours," Sebastian said. "And your crosses and garlic won't work here." Sebastian was special.

"But I'll drink your blood all the same," he said, lunging for Sookie.



Sookie
"Like hell you will," Sookie snarled, her hands flying up in defense, aiming purple blasts his way.



Sebastian
"I really really hate your friends, Raven," Sebastian snarled, dodging out of the way of the blasts. He'd leave Sookie to his followers. They'd lay down their lives for him, after all.



Bobby
Bobby hadn't exactly had the best of experiences with churches lately. And this? This was definitely reinforcing that feeling.

"Actually, I've got my invitation right here," he countered casually.

In the form of a fist towards the nearest creepy cultist's face, naturally.



Cultists
Oh, there were plenty of cultists rushing at Bobby right now. A teenage boy didn't seem like much of a threat, but their master's orders were orders.

They didn't have any powers other than slavish devotion, however. The cultist that reached Bobby first went down clutching his bloody nose, but two more were right behind him, trying to wrestle Bobby to the floor.



Bobby
Normally, Bobby might've felt bad about using his powers on normal humans, but one... humans weren't exactly his favorite people in general right now, and two, these creeps were complict in hurting Raven, so.

Bobby twisted as he felt someone grab him from behind, kicking one of them out of the way and shoving the other up against the wall, pressing his forearm against the guy's throat. "Seriously, aren't weddings supposed to have that part where people are allowed to object to the marriage or something?" he asked. "Because, while I know I've hidden it so well up until now, I really, really do object."



Cultists
"You will obey Brother Blood or die," the cultist snapped, trying to kick at Bobby while clutching at the arm at his throat.



Bobby
"Who do I talk to if I disagree with both of those options?" Bobby asked, affecting a concerned look.



Cultists
"Those are your only choices!" the cult member said.

One of his companions was edging behind Bobby with a dagger. Would he bleed ice like his friend bled fire?



Bobby
If the guy was lucky- and strong- the knife might puncture the organic ice that Bobby was currently composed of. But he wouldn't bleed, no.

"And see, I think what we have here is a disagreement on a fundamental level," Bobby said, giving the cultist he was currently... conversing... with a shove hard enough to send his head knocking backwards against the wall.



Cultists
The cultist slumped to the ground, unconscious. But don't worry, Bobby, there were plenty more where he came from to try their hand at taking him down.



Tahiri
"Honestly, could you announce your clever plan any more clearly?" Tahiri asked, stepping through the doorway; she flung her right hand out in front of her as she moved, shoving out hard with the Force to send several cultists sprawling.

All that special-rules bowling she and Ben had done was good practice!



Sebastian
"You weren't invited to this ceremony," Sebastian snapped, springing up in the air and landing in front of Tahiri. "But since you're here now, I'll kill you in Lord Trigon's name." He aimed a punch at Tahiri's head.



Tahiri
"Oh, you don't have to go to that trouble on my expense," Tahiri answered cheerfully, ducking under the blow.

(Try harder, Sebastian; she could do that jumping trick just as well as you.)

"I suppose I can't fault you for being annoyed with us for crashing the party, but really now." She came up inside his arm and twisted, lunging forward to slam an elbow into his solar plexus.



Sebastian
"You can't stop this," Sebastian hissed. He absorbed the elbow blow; it would've felt like hitting brick to Tahiri. "You're too late. One faith will unify the world, and our child will rule over it."



Tahiri
Yes. Yes, it did, and it hurt.

"Hu-carjen tok!" she hissed as the pain flared sharply up her arm . . . but she absorbed it, transmuting it into strength as she brought her other hand out to shove it palm-first into his chest, less a physical blow than one with a good deal of Force momentum behind it.



Sebastian
Sebastian flew backwards. He was really getting tired of these stupid friends of Raven with their stupid powers, though if he could bite one of them then said stupid powers would be his and that would be cool.

"I want that one's blood!" he shouted, pointing at Tahiri. "Bring her down!" Several of his followers were more than happy to obey, and flung themselves at Tahiri.



Tahiri
Tahiri sighed. "How original."

No need to bring the lightsaber out for these opponents; it would be dishonorable, and really, waiting until the last second to spring into a high Force-assisted somersault over an onrushing cultist's head was close enough to overkill as it was.



Cultists
Nimble little minx, ain't she?

The cultist closest to her when she jumped crashed headlong into a wall and was momentarily stunned. But there were plenty more where she came from, all eager to obey their master's orders.



Tahiri
Tahiri sighed and flung both hands out, exerting a hard Force shove.

"Really, this is hardly necessary."

Very nimble, thank you.



Cultists
The cultists went flying backwards, some of them hitting the ground hard enough to stun them. But as long as they had breath in them, the others would keep coming.



Raven
Raven didn't react at all to the appearance of her friends with any flicker of recognition or relief. She just stood there silently, watching.



Anakin
Since Karla and Jono and the others seemed to be taking on the emo kid, Anakin focused on Raven.

Holding his hand out and focusing hard, he reached into the Force and concentrated on trying to get her attention. Raven! he called mentally. Snap out of it!



Raven
With Sebastian occupied, his influence over her mind waned, and the jolt of Anakin's power actually got a reaction of her her. Her eyelids fluttered, and her head turned to take in the scene around her, though she didn't entirely comprehend it. "Professor Skywalker?" she said.



Anakin
His expression softened slightly. "Hi," he said unnecessarily. "Were you planning on getting married and not inviting me?"



Raven
Raven blinked, her eyes seeking out Sebastian. "Married?" she said, still dazed and dreamlike. "No, I did not wish to wed him. He seeks to end the world with our union."



Anakin
"Generally a bad foundation," Anakin said wryly, igniting his lightsaber. He pointed to her forehead. "Where'd your jewel go?"



Raven
She lifted a shaking hand and touched it to the blood on her forehead. "Sebastian bit it off," she said. "My abilities are weakened now. Without my chakra, I have little control over them. If I am to be free of his influence, I must get it back."



Anakin
"He bit it off?" Anakin made a face. "What the kriff is wrong with him?"

He raised his voice to carry over the sounds of fighting around them. "Karla! The little bastard ate her chakra!"



Karla
Karla glanced up at Anakin's shout, eyes narrowing in thought, absently slamming her clenched fists into the temple of the nearest acolyte.

Swallowed it, huh? Karla had an app plan for that.



Raven
"He is very dangerous," Raven warned, swaying dizzily as she struggled against Sebastian's power. "He is young, but Sebastian gains his powers from the blood of his victims. His strength is incredible. And he wishes to use me to help end this world." Again. Like her father had before him. And she felt powerless to stop him.

"Why am I the way I am?" she whispered, cursing her canon.



Sebastian
That someone had gotten near Raven didn't escape Sebastian's attention, and he made his way back to the altar of blood. "Because our lord and savior, Trigon, made you that way," he said, drawing closer to Raven while giving Anakin a dark look. "Because you are perfect in every fashion, Raven. Because I really like you. Like you, like you. But I don't like your friends. Now come back. Come back to the ones who worship you. The ones who love you."



Raven
"No, I refuse it!" Raven cried, doubling over. "Your love poisons me!" But his nearness strengthened his control over her, and her eyes glazed over again. She straightened up, staring blankly at Sebastian and awaiting his instructions.



Anakin
Anakin's eyes focused on Sebastian's. "Back. Off," he said, imbuing his words with the Force.

It was always worth trying the Force-suggestion first before snicking people's heads off with lightsabers. Obi-Wan had taught him that.



Sebastian
Sebastian took an involuntary step backward, but after his last visit to Fandom and how Andy had controlled him (those poor, poor ducks), he'd taken pains to eliminate that weakness. Namely, by eating a telepath.

"That won't work on me this time," Sebastian snarled. "But I will rip out your spine for trying."



Anakin
Anakin rolled his eyes. "If I had a credit for every useless threat I've ever heard, I could buy my own planet."

He held his lightsaber out in a low guard position. "Let's see what you're made of."

Anakin was betting on "easily hackable bits."



Sebastian
Sebastian, however, had something else in mind. He wasn't terribly interested in getting too close to that lightsaber. His worshipers couldn't put up much of a fight, and as strong as he was, he was still out-numbered. "Raven!" he ordered. "Bring them forth! Deliver us!"



Raven
Raven's blank expression didn't change, but she did stretch her arms out, spreading out her cloak, which seemed to grow impossibly far more larger than it was. The folds of her cloak flared red, then several demons began to pour from it, very similar to the ones that had fought for Trigon. They immediately began to turn on everyone closest to them, including many of Sebastian's followers.

Raven still had no emotion on her face as she remained with her arms out wide, keeping the portal open. Sebastian watched in glee. "yes, deliverace," he said. "They come! Have faith and you will survive!"

[OOC: Preplayed with the fabulous blondecanary, furnaceface, glacial_witch, justwantsquiet, longislandiceme, not_a_parakeet, sith_happened, and weetuskenraider. NFB, but OOC is happy! I take no responsibility for much of the dialogue. GOD, canon.]