World Tree MUSH

    It's a dreary evening in Spain. A chill mist hangs low to the ground and blankets the earth in a frigid fog that bites through to the bone the closer one gets to the seaside hamlet called Imboca.
    It's been a long drive, but Morrigan Lor'osa doesn't seem to need sleep in the least and has been at the wheel for only god knows how long, now as she putters her 2003 Ford Windstar down to rocky, unpaved roads at... A surprisingly safe pace, and with proper deference to the rules of the road. For all she is a horrible person, she is a safe and legal driver, and demanded that anyone getting in her minivan put their seatbelts on first thing.
    Nevertheless, by the time the party arrives at the designated meeting spot just outside the small village, and the minivan rolls to a halt, the full moon is high in the night sky and the car's clock reads somewhere just after midnight. Setting the car in PARK, Morrigan turns the key in the ignition to shut it down and swings the driver door open.
    "We're here." She says as she plucks her backpack from the back, the soft yawn of the sleepy shinki inside it sounding off as Mary Contrary peeks out.
    "So. This village went radio silent about a week ago after something washed up on shore. Anyone that's come to look into it has gone missing or turned up quite very unpleasantly dead and washed ashore at one of the neighboring villages." She explains, slinging her backpack over her shoulders now that the road trip is over.
    It's a horrid night, with dark clouds looming in the sky above blotting out the moon and the stars as feet crunch along the wet and moss-covered gravel all over the road towards the town, not a single light to be seen in any of the houses.

    Those arriving would spot a, to some, familiar figure in white robes and the white-painted Shinki that accompanies her. They seem to have arrived not long ago, but have kept largely to the outskirts, likely expecting others to come investigate as well. As the car rolls up, the Assassin turns, doffing her hood and taking in the group with a subtle nod to those she knows.

    "Hail friends. The Maestrae of the Brotherhood had reports of Templars diverting forces here. I was sent to investigate." She doesn't sound all that happy about the situation. "The town seems to be abandoned, though my instincts tell me to be very careful," she looks over the others. "I advise the same to you, too."

    Aquila remains perched on Piera's shoulder, her armour on, visor snapped shut and a tension in her form unlike the usual countenance the Shinki has. "I do not like this place, Piera." she says, fist gripping tighter around the haft of her bident.

Misaki has been spending the trip catching up on sleep. She's been so busy on her heroics that she's barely had time to keep up with school and so sleep has had to suffer. When they arrive, she wakens blearily. The senshi looks outside and immediately transforms to generate a glowing white light above her head. No-one told her to avoid drawing attention.

    Dante had gotten a message from Morrigan that amounted to "Got another job. You in? -M" He was definitely in. Despite her incredibly weird eldritch powers, Morrigan had proven to be anything but duplicitous before to the Son of Sparda. Other people might've mistrusted Morrigan, but he had no real complaints. It might've been because he was used to people assuming the worst of him due to being half-demon.

    Riding shotgun in the van, he climbs out once Morrigan parks, popping his neck. "Alright, let's go get this bread." He says, grabbing his Guitar-Case-O-Holdin' and slinging it over his back.

    The sight that greets them is...mysterious. "Any guesses from the client on what did it, or is that why we're here?" He asks, checking his pistols.

    "Yo." He greets Piera. "This your world?" He'd caught a nap on the way too, so he didn't really get a good look at the vines they traveled on.

    Well after their last meeting, Yumi is just a smidge wary of getting in a car with Morrigan. However, to her eternal surprise, the first thing she hears on getting in the car is 'buckle up'. And what follows after is... perfectly fine, acceptable driving?

    Honestly, that might be weirder than if Morrigan's driving was crazy.

    "So something's probably taken over the place," the redhead observes as they step out of the vehicle. Much like Misaki, she transforms just about as soon as they disembark, and starts radiating a very soft and pleasant warmth to counteract the chill in the air. And of course, there's someone else there waiting for them; all she can offer is a wary stare at Piera, with no time for much of anything else.

    She's not sure if meeting the assassin like this is better or worse than 'meeting in a situation where they can have words'.

    "I'm assuming some sort of monster here. I'll-" Oh. Oh, Dante's here. That's good. "...Dante and I should be the ones to take point. We're pretty tough."

    Tyrael had learned about the situation in the small fishing village known as Imboca from a previous discussion with Morrigan, during which the two of them had come to a sort of mutual 'quid pro quo' agreement. For his part, the angel is hoping he can convince her to join the ranks of the Horadrim. After all, she is quite familiar with the World Tree.

    But for now, this town is in trouble from something that is clearly sinister, and he intends to help her put an end to it either way. Despite the dark and moonless nature of the night, there is one source of light visible up there in the sky--that of the archangel as he flies over the village, surveying it in order to take general stock of the situation and searching for any clue as to what might have happened here.

    "Huh. Templars." Morrigan muses as the party encounters the Assassin already on the scene. "That probably won't make our job any easier."
    It's dark, though. Or it was, until Misaki makes her light and Tyrael shows up overhead.
    "It's fine. I'm sure it's fine." Morrigan says, sounding entirely unsure as the group starts to make their way into the fishing hamlet. She lets Yumi and Dante take the lead, eldritch glowing green eyes sweeping left and right in an almost paranoid manner as the party makes their way between houses.
    Something lurks in the shadows; moving at a swift slouching lurch between house to house, and the sounds of more footsteps begin to be heard as though chasing it-- before it bursts from an alley.
    A local; in tattered, ratty, water soggy clothes. His skin is a pale grey and his eyes are a bit too large as he gurgles and reaches for the group as though for succour, one hand clutching a bloody wound.

    DANTE: Piera shakes her head. "A vine over... it allowed the Templars easy access, but also allowed our eyes to track their movements." is her reply. No, this is not her world, but one nearby.

    Yumi gets a slight lingering look. She says nothing more, turning to take point in front of the group.

    Sound, in the township. Movement. Eyes lim with gold for a moment, and as the local bursts forth, the Assassin goes into action. "Templars. Four of them chasing the local!" she announces, dashing forward toward the local, sword flashing as she draws it and dodges around the local, before driving her blade through a figure hidden in shadowas they make to break from the shadows in pursuit.

    "That's not very reassuring," Yumi remarks to Morrigan in a dry tone.

    Into the village they go, though, and Yumi is left to wonder what a Templar is, and whether she's going to regret getting involved here... but she knows full well she can't help herself when innocent people might be in danger... like right now, for example. A wounded man steps out, and Yumi's eyes go wide.

    All it takes is Piera to give them direction, and Yumi is off like a shot. She hasn't summoned Prominence, but against most unpowered humans, she doesn't need to. The first Templar she reaches is going to get a fist to the gut backed by superhuman strength, and if they can stay on their feet after that, well, she'll sort it out from there.

    The sight of another man being stabbed out of the corner of her eye draws a faint grimace.

Misaki is not a fan of killing people. Not even when they are evil. So instead of trying to fight the templars directly, she rushes forwards and throws out a cone of flashing, blinding light, aiming to disorient the templars with that visual assault.

    As Tyrael does not know who the 'Templars' are or why they might be chasing the local man, he hesitates to get involved, simply watching from above as the group immediately engages them. 

    At the same time, he's still vigilant for anything else unusual or that might shed some light on the situation here. Morrigan had mentioned something washing ashore, so he decides to check the port for evidence.

    After Piera clarifies, Dante nods to Yumi. "I agree. You and me, let's get movin." He says, motioning with his pistols as he takes off towardd the local.

    "Hey there! You doin' okay bud?" He asks, stowing his pistols as he notices the wound in the man. "Aw shit, he's bleedin' pretty quick. MOrri, healin' potion?" He asks the warlock. Seems the others beat him to the fight for once, then again there were only four dudes. Not much of a fight.

    It may not be very re-assuring, sure. But Morrigan is trying to be an optimist right now.
    It is not easy for her.
    Nevertheless, Piera drops one of the Templars with a lethal and efficient stab, And Yumi's sucker punch to the gut drops another man, bringing him to the ground breathless and writhing.
    "Merda!" One curses, he and the other remaining man are forced to cover their eyes as Misaki blinds them with her brilliant light works.
    Which leaves the local.
    "Mmmmm..." Morrigan muses as she inspects the wound, but more importantly seems to be eyeing the man himself.
    "Nope." She says to Dante. "There's not much I can do if he can't breathe."
    As she says this, the man falls to his knees, clutching Dante by the coat- and getting slime all over it.
    "Save... Mother... Nabhar..." He gurgles, beginning to asphyxiate as Morrigan motions to the flaps on his neck.
    They're gills.
    Meanwhile. In the skies above the hamlet, Tyrael heads for the shoreline. ... Eventually he'll find what he's looking for. A great, white, washed up carcass rests on a hidden inlet beach; the kind of place that could only be found from the air or by actually proceeding through the village itself. The creature looks... Like nothing of this world. Too many fins, far too flat to the ground, like a jellyfish, and the smell... The smell of rot reaches high into the night sky.
    And from the looks of things there are multiple figures in white examining the corpse, one of them bringing out a series of cutting tools from a case.

    Piera shoves the dead Templar off her blade with a boot, kicking him to the ground. Misaki's lightshow staggers the remaining two and with a flourish, Piera sheathes her sword, then leaps on one of the staggered Templars, her left hand pressing against his cheek, a spray of red spuring between her fingers as her Hidden Blade does its lethal task.

    She holds there for a moment, a pause that lasts for a split second but is noticable if you're looking at her. As if someone had tapped the Pause button on a DVD.

    She stands wiping her hand off on a handkerchief before turning toward town, and setting off with a purpose... Her hood has come down in the fight, and her movement makes the loose fabric of her robes flutter with her motion.

    Aquila blinks a little, "Piera?" she asks, hovering alongside the Assassin... to no response.

    "Well, shit." Dante says, watching s the poor guy seems to asphyxiate. "Can't even spare a healing potion or somethin'?" He asks, before he notices the gills. "Wait. Hang on!" He has no idea what to do. There's no body of water he can throw the guy into, and that's without factoring in the stab wound. "Please tell me SOMEONE can summon up a buncha water or somethin'!"

    Save Mother Nabhar. Those might be the poor fishguy's last words.

    Yumi lets her first opponent drop readily, and without skipping a beat she dives for the second one; this time it's a knee, but the end result is the same, and then she turns to see...

    Piera, having stabbed the other man as well, and now running off?

    It's here that Yumi finally speaks her mind. "Do you have any solution to a situation that's not stabbing people?!" she yells.

    Okay, it's probably not fair of her, not when they've saved lives together. But that makes three people Piera's stabbed in two times they've met!

    Still, though. There's no time for chasing after. The templars are down, it's time to go over and check on the innocent towns...fishperson? Yumi slows to a stop, staring at the dying fishman. "Wh... what's going on here? Wait, where'd Tyrael go?"

    When Tyrael spots the carcass, he recalls what Morrigan had said about people worshipping dead whale carcasses. But not knowing anything about this particular realm, he can't really say whether that one would've made sense to be native to it or not. He watches as they seem to be examining the corpse, taking out cutting tools. For the time being, he just hovers there, waiting to see what exactly they're up to. Hopefully they don't bother to look up. People usually don't think to look up, right?

"Yumi-sempai, she's a professional killer." Misaki states, with no doubt in her voice of her opinion on the matter. She likes it no more than Yumi does, "We should try to focus on saving lives, shouldn't we?" After noticing the gills, she puts her feet where her mouth is and sprints towards the coast.

    "Satan's... Reef." The fishman chokes. "Go to... Satan's Reef."
    THOSE might be his last words if no one bothers to pick him up and start heading in the direction of the reef as he points towards it with wavering hand.
    Piera however... As she confirms her kill of the second Templar, gets a moment to herself. A moment in which the man's final words and thoughts reach out to her.
    "The Old One that washed ashore... Its child will spur research for years to come. You're already too late. Our researchers carve it up while you wait."
    The Templars at the cove in question... Are too engrossed in their research to look up, not noticing the bright beacon of light in the night sky that is Tyrael as they begin to cut into the rotting flesh of the carcass.
    As the group makes their way through the hamlet, now they'll see the corpses of the locals killed by the Templars, strung up on the wet rotting trees and in high places from the sodden wooden buildings. All misshapen fish-people like the first man, some clearly have already been experimented on, others left for dead.
    But in passing all this the party makes it to the reef just in time to see something excised from the dead thing on the beach.
    Just looking at the infantile thing in the researcher's arms makes the head hurt and vision blur as it cries.
    "Oh no..." Morrigan murmurs. "Oh no no no. It's still alive."
    She's not talking about the rotting thing on the sands, either.

    Dante picks the guy up as he hauls ASS toward the reef, running toward the nearest source of water. "Hold on there, dude. We got you!" He notices something; The locals are all fish people, the stench is horrible, and on top of it, there are a LOT of fish people. "Jesus, what the hell were they doin' here?" He asks in pure disgust. Not for the smell, not for the deformities, but for the sheer massacre on display.

    And then they see it. The thing at the shore, the creature. "Oh...oh god."

>> SUMMARY[Dante] >> For once, Dante's just beside himself in horror. Yeah, this is next level.

    Piera doesn't respond to Yumi's yell. "The longer we wait the closer they get to something they shouldn't have." she says firmly over her shoulder. Her pace is quick, her face set in a scowl as she moves, shifting to a jog, then a run, before a full sprint as she feels time is running out... and that's when she rounds on the Templars pulling, something, from the carcass... She lifts her arm, hand splayed out as she skids to a stop. She braces her arm, and the report of her Hidden Gun echos dully through the fog... she's not expecting to hit anything at that range, right?

    Tyrael watches for a few moments more, but since they haven't started doing anything interesting yet, he decides to start interrogating them. As such, he swoops down out of the sky and lands in the midst of them, probably with as dramatic of an entrance as you can possibly get, too.

    "Mortals, I demand answers regarding what has befallen this peaceful village. You will tell me all you know." Someone at some point earlier had commented that the archangel is pushy. Well it's true.

    "Why didn't you say something sooner?!" Yumi replies to Piera, starting to sound legitimately cranky - and that's something rare for her. "You just ran off without a word!"

    But from here they have no choice but hauling ass, closer and closer to something that sets off her sense for reality-twisting magic in a way that just about drives her nuts. "...Misaki, be ready," she says after a moment. "That's probably not a youma, but it's also probably not friendly."

    They reach the beach, and Piera opens fire on... something. Something that's maddening to listen to, to look at. Yumi's teeth grit, at the sound, and she staggers for a second - then brings up her hands, and in a quick flare of fiery runes, summons her greatsword to her hands. "...I don't think now is the time for negotiation!" she calls up to Tyrael.

Misaki had run ahead, and then back after sensing the reality warp to join with Yumi. "You think so?" She asks, and summons her guns, going to find a good vantage point to aim from. She points both her guns towards the infantile thing, then takes a deep breath, charging up her attack.

When she finally shoots, it's two highly charged bursts of magic infused light, which do not move in a straight line, rather curving around the great one's orphan to hit the researcher's arms.

    Morrigan has to take a moment; wiping the blood trickling from her nose at the sheer sight of the orphan. The researchers, those closest to the squalling thing from beyond this world begin to gibber and froth. One's head explodes as a hideen gun bullet tears through his skull, another starts bashing his face against the nearest rock wall, a third leaps screaming into the sea never to be seen again.
    These men are in no condition to answer Tyrael as the one holding the orphaned Old One drops it with a howl as Misaki's light-based fire scalds his arms.
    "Nobody touch The Thing!" Morrigan says very firmly.
    Mary pokes her head out of Morrigan's backpack.
    "The Thing, Master?"
    "Not now, Mary!" Prompts the shinki back into the bag as...
    There is motion by the edge of the water. Slimy and green figured lurking in the shallows.
    The orphan's malice is PALPABLE in the air all around. A madness inducing fury and rage at its loss and inevitable demise to come, being too young and ill-formed to survive this world. It writhes and begins to die slowly on the beach, but...
    Misaki and Yumi will still feel that sense of the world's reality going haywire. This time coming from the rotting corpse of the mother Old One.
    And as the young one dies, the figures in the water begin to emerge. Villagers. So hideously mutated they may as well be more fish-frog than man, flexing their claws and gnashing their razor teeth.
    "Deep Ones." Morrigan whispers. "They'll take care of the Templars. We need to go and come back later. Now."

    Tyrael doesn't get answers from the men, but the horde of mutated villagers that rise out of the water is answer enough. Well, this town may very well be a lost cause, and the archangel is no stranger to lost causes especially when it comes to people having been transformed into monsters or demons.

    So he takes to the air again, and would search the town for anyone who might still be left--you know just in case--before taking leave.

    It's easy to see on Yumi's face. She's not happy about it. Any of it. But there's so much going on with the situation, and she's not sure either side would be nonhostile to them, and whatever those creatures are... or were, they exude reality-warping magic just by existing. They can't afford to stick around. Morrigan is right. Yumi hates it, but she's right.

    "...we should listen to the crazy torture cultist lady," she growls, her tone grudging. She'll turn to retreat, unless anyone stops her.

    Dante sets the dead guy down, closing his eyes. Then he stares at the orphan, watching it rage and lash at the Templars before it too dies. Don't touch The Thing indeed. Of course, things only get worse as fish mutants begin to emerge from the shore, horrific meldings of fish and human. Some are more aquatic than others, yet still carry some humanity in them. That includes murderous hatred of invaders.

    Fly, you fools.

    "Y-yeah. This ain't our fight!"

"Don't call her crazy." Misaki responds, "That just excuses her behavior, she knows exactly what she's doing. Callous torture cultist lady." She's retreating, too.

    Piera winces, averting her eyes from the orphaned thing. And then the Deep Ones appear, and she doesn't like her chances against such beasts. She pulls her hood up, and turns to flee with the others.

    Morrigan... Leads the way back to her van, the sounds of chaos and Deep Ones battling Templars the whole way...
    "Oh come on I tortured one demon worshipping cultist and that's my name now? That is so not my name!" She huffs, swinging the door open and stabbing the key into the ignition and turning the car back on.
    "We'll be back when the heat cools down, but we're not finished here."