Scene #8344: The Chronoplast

Owner	Pose
Raziel	The great doors of the Chronoplast open, creaking with metal and their sheer weight, revealing a circular room. The chamber had three large stepped tiers which curved around the outside of its sides. Each of these contained several semi-circular control panels, arranged in vertical lines along each tier; with each control panel consisting of a decorated back plate. A large central 'pointer' needle is pivoted at the bottom, and five symbols are arranged along the outside of the back plate. Across from where you entered, is another portal. This one is rather ornate and much larger than the one you used to get to the last room. It swirls with energy but does not quite seem to be activated yet. The ceiling of the chamber is also decorated like a moving and flowing starry night-like pattern with the only feature being a rotating piece of machinery in the middle with a large central sphere. The Sphere has four claw-like parts hanging from its sides and several smaller spherical bodies. Currently, you are on the second layer. A voice speaks, across the way from you at one of the control panels for this complicated device. From the angle you entered, he wasn't visible but seems to be walking across the third layer, walking towards a control panel on the other side. The voice is carefully measured, well spoken...and just a tad bit mocking "At last, I must say I am disappointed in your progress. I'd imagined you'd be here sooner. Tell me, did it trouble you to murder your brothers?" "Did it trouble you when you ordered me into the abyss?!" Raziel shoots back but is met with soft laughter from Kain. "No, I had faith in you. In your ability to hate. In your self-righteous indignation." he responds. "Lies. You could not have foreseen all of this." Kain starts walking, unhurried across the top of the Chronoplast, as he starts speaking again. The tone is less mocking and more... instructional. As if he's trying to teach a lesson to an unlistening student. Though that might be mocking in and of itself. "Eternity is relentless, Raziel. When I stole into this chamber centuries ago, I did not fathom the true power of knowledge." "To know the future, Raziel, to see its paths and streams tracing out into the infinite. As a man, I could not have contained such forbidden truths. But each of us.." he says, swinging his arms wide, and seems to indicate those who had come with Raziel, "Is so much more than we once were. Gazing out into the plains of possibility, can you not feel within all of your souls how we have become like gods? And as such, are we not indivisible? As long as one of us stands, we are legion." "That is why when I must sacrifice my children to the void, I can do so with a clear heart." Raziel responds, scornfully, "Very poetic Kain, but in the end, you offer no more than a convenient rationalization for your crimes."
Raziel	Kain disappears from his perch and reappears in the center of the Chronoplast. "These chambers offer insight for those patient enough to look. In your haste to find me, perhaps you have not gazed deeply enough? Our futures are predestined. Moebius foretold mine a millennium ago. In Nosgoth, we each play out the parts fate has written for us. We are compelled reluctantly down preordained paths. Free will...is an illusion." "We have been to the tomb of Sarafan, Kain. Your dirty secret is exposed! How could you transform a Sarafan priest into a vampire?!" Raziel jumps down, facing off against Kain in the center of the circle at the bottom of the room. "How could I not? One must keep his enemies close, Raziel...and his enemies even closer. Can you grasp the absurd beauty of the paradox? We're the same, Sarafan and Vampire. With our holy wars and our obsession with Nosgoth's domination. Who better to serve me than whose passion transcends all notions of good and evil?" "I will not applaud your clever blasphemy. The Sarafan were saviors! Defending Nosgoth from the corruption that we represent! My eyes are open Kain..." he says, and dashes towards the elder vampire, claws swiping at his chest, then aiming a kick to slam him into the nearest wall. "I find no nobility in the unlife you rudely forced on my unwilling corpse!" he says as he presses his advantage, aiming to try and pin Kain against the wall, perhaps to give someone else a shot. However, Kain grabs Raziel's hand, breaking the hold. It's absurd how much stronger Kain is, physically than Raziel. "You may have uncovered your past, but you know nothing of it. Do you think the Sarafan noble? Altruistic? Just?" Kain chuckles at the seeming absurdity of the thought. Then he releases a blast of psychic force to blast Raziel across the room, into one of the pillars hard enough for it to shatter under the force and cause Raziel to fall into a heap. "Don't be simple. Their agenda is the same as ours," he says, looking at the others. However, Raziel was not out yet, dragging himself back to his feet and scowling towards his maker. "You are lost in a maze of moral relativism, Kain. These apparitions and portents... what game are you playing now?" Raziel is back on his feet, the Soul Reaver drawn. "Destiny is a game, is it not? And now you await my latest move..." Kain says, and disappears once more, appearing on the first ring near one of the controls. His stance is defensive. He's ready to fight, but the question is...do you help Raziel or do you question Kain further? To get more answers out of Kain, you would need to stop Raziel, who seems very hellbent on killing Kain, despite his injuries.
Hellwarming Trio	Floating shortly behind Raziel are the three yokai that, through a sheer chance meeting since that day with the presentations, have managed to accompany him through this entire ordeal to find Kain. Despite staying off the ground, there's a distinct heaviness to their movements as they move into the chamber with Satori not even needing to keep Utsuho and Rin in check thanks to the rather jarring imagery that they were forced to witness just a short time ago. They're all looking around, of course, but they don't have enough time to split up and start digging around before they hear the voice of Raziel's main target in all of this. They exchange slow glances with each other as he addresses them directly, drawing a scrunched and skeptical look from Utsuho and Rin while Satori lets out an irritated groan in return. "Not... Really? Uh. I've had this power for a while now." "A little, if even, but I'm not letting it get to my head like you are, guy." "Indeed. I'm almost disappointed that you're going down this route." Unlike Raziel, though, the three don't jump into the offense right away. Satori places a hand on each of her pets' shoulders to keep them still for a moment, just giving them a knowing nod before focusing her gaze right on Kain. "Humor me, then, Kain. What's been driving you for this long? What do you fear so much that you'd go to such lengths?")] Satori calls out from across the chamber. She's not expecting a direct answer of course, but her mind-reading powers are already at work, listening to Kain's thoughts, trying to sift through what comes to his mind first that might not even match what he says. As she speaks, Utsuho and Rin move to join Raziel, each of them sort-of-but-not-really holding him back a bit to buy Satori a bit more time. "Easy, bro. Master'll just need a sec." Rin whispers. "Yeah, we can beat him up later." Utsuho does not whisper.
Trudy Grimm	Whatever Trudy saw when she traversed the portal has left her with a kind of shark-toothed half-smile and a somewhat glassy look in her eyes, this same sort of placid half-expression that follows Kain about the room and its arcane machinery. About the only move she makes as she listens is to rest a hand on the Grimoire, hanging from her shoulder by its strap. A weight she is all too conscious of right now. Raziel jumps Kain. A tussle ensues. The younger vampire is introduced violently to a pillar. Closing her eyes, Trudy lifts her hands. Sowulo appears above her palm, flickering with the Daystar's light. Her voice raises, "Boys, boys. We can hardly have a chat if you're busily killing each other." "Once we're done, rip each other apart all you want," One eye opens as she pushes Sowulo into a runic circle at her feet, "Just leave something for me to make cute friends out of when you're finished." "To proper business: Mister Kain, it seems there's such a shortage of souls that even humans unrelated to your Serafan can't have children anymore," As she speaks, the witch draws Dagaz, the Dawn Rune, with a fingertip, but does nothing with it just yet-- "Would you consider your existence to be contributing to such a curse? Or do you have a different theory to offer? It would seem that humans continuing to live would be of great importance to vampires, wouldn't it?"
Timespace Riders	>Can you not feel within all your souls how we have become like gods? Are we not indivisible? Sougo Tokiwa's hands rest at his sides, fists clenched, eyes locked firmly on the ground below him. When Kain reappears in the center of the Chronoplast, he slowly lifts his head to gaze at him with unspoken anger and accusations in his brown eyes. >In your haste fo find me, perhaps you have not gazed deeply enough? Our futures are predestined. Woz freezes like a trapped animal, fingers squeezing almost protectively against the hard cover of the mysterious book always in his possession. When Kain's barbs focus in on Raziel, an anguished noise escapes from Sougo. Panic is written plainly on his face, quiet though it might be--how can he comfort? How can he reassure? How can he be there for Raziel? "Raziel!!" Woz remains frozen, when Raziel is hurled across the room, but Sougo doesn't. Another Sougo appears from a wave of pink energy, poised to intercept and dull the force of the blow. Even so, he's brought to ground, too--and when he disappears, his present-time counterpart sports a fresh cut on his cheek. "How can you say something like that?!" cries Sougo, taking an agressive stance but not reaching for the belt just yet. He also, however, isn't restraining Raziel. He's so upset that he might not even notice the blood trickling down his cheek, much less Satori, Rin and Utsuho's gentle efforts to restrain Raziel. "How can you see the wasteland outside, and say that this is best outcome gods can think of?! This world where no one can smile?! KAIN!!" He howls at the elder vampire, fist flung angrily out to the side. "Why should it matter," he continues, voice cracking from his shouting, tears threatening to form in his eyes, "What the Sarafans did or didn't do? You're the one sitting here!" Woz is startled by Sougo's outburst, stunned into finally looking across the chamber and seeing Sougo. He looks like a knife has been stuck in him, at the next part. Uttered quietly after a calming breath, "I want to avoid a bad future, too... I want to make the world a better place. If that's also what you want... you're going about it in the wrong way."
Raziel	Raziel's flung is lessened by Sougo's intervention, at a cost to himself. The ghost looks startled, but turns to face Kain again, ready to continue the fight. However, Rin and Utsuho are there to restrain him. Raziel struggles in the two yokai's group, growling at them. Kain was /right here/. "Let go!" he says, though, despite his struggle, he does not try any methods to hurt them. Though he is forced to relent by both Trudy's words and Sougo's hesitation to put on the belt. Kain himself, looks amused at the sight, though he regards Satori as he moves to one of the half clocks and moves one of the large hands to another strange symbol. Then he turns to fully face her. "Hmm..? Ah, not human. Interesting. Raziel has come to meet some interesting people on his journey outside of Nosgoth." "Given the choice," he starts answering Satori, "Between ruling a corrupt and failing empire...or to challenge the fates for another throw. A better throw. What is a king to do?" His response is not exactly /clear/ but his thoughts are perhaps a bit more so. This is a man who was used as a pawn in his youth, encouraged and tricked down the path he has. Raziel's execution seems to have been part of this plan, his so-called better throw at destiny. Kain looks back to Trudy next, a narrowing of his eyes, followed by a slight widening of his grin. "Ah, a necromancer. I can smell the foul magic on you, after all, it is not the first time I have encountered one. As far as the human's problems, they are not my problems. I have larger and more important things to fight. Though...interesting that such a thing is happening. However, vampires are hardly the source of such things, we drink blood...not consume souls. If I had to wager a guess, the one responsible is the one I am seeking. The hands of the prime mover. The so-called 'wheel of fate'." It's Sougo's outburst that catches Kain's attention next. There is a flare of Kain's nostrils as he notices the blood, less of an active move but rather a natural response. He is a vampire, after all. Though he recovers and chuckles a bit. "Ah, I see, someone much more like Raziel. I am the one sitting here, yes." "But I am not the one staying here. I am not the one refusing to look at the greater picture. I am not the one letting their anger at the smaller picture blind them to the larger one. Perhaps in your world, such things can be done gently, but not in Nosgoth. Not while our fates are tied to one thing." "Not while our..." and when he says 'our', he motions to Raziel and himself. "Destinys are stolen from us. Or would you have had me sacrifice myself at the pillars all those years ago? Doom the vampire race to oblivion? Let me ask you something..." "What do you think would have happened had I done so?" Kain says this with a smile as if he /knows/ Sougo knows the answer.
Trudy Grimm	The cant of Trudy's eyebrows doesn't quite match her own broadening, shark-toothed grin as her profession is recognized so easily. Beside her, the Doctor raises a hand to adjust the fit of his gloves one at a time. The gaunt figure is obviously Deceased, further evidence to support Kain's conclusion. "I had thought as much myself," she admits, "Vampires consume blood. Not souls. That is how it is where I come from, too." A hand lifts, poking at the Dagaz rune where it floats, sending it slightly off kilter, "It was something I found rather odd when it was explained to me. That you and your vampires had consumed so many souls that the cycle of reincarnation is starting to fail." "If something seems unbelievable," the witch states, "It's worth investigating further." Reaching out, she clasps the Dagaz rune in her hand and then squeezes, extinguishing it. Without fear, Trudy approaches Kain with measured steps, the metal pieces of her shoes clicking on the stonework. The rotating Sowulo rune circle travels with her as she moves, pulsing with a faint yellow glow. "It sounds like you're implying the Hub of the Wheel isn't being entirely truthful about his intentions or goals, either."
Hellwarming Trio	Satori nods slowly as Kain answers her (sort of), and she nods once while the eye over her heart blinks slowly and stares at Kain just the same. "You may be pleased to know Raziel's learned quite a lot since his time here. Perhaps even more than yourself, if your knowledge hasn't yet taken you out of here." She's fishing a bit, since the thoughts she can read don't give her anything particularly concrete to use, but... She has a motive now, and a fair bit more background with the destiny thing and attempting to improve things. Letting out a mildly troubled noise, she touches down on the ground to join up with Trudy in her approach towards Kain. "I suppose if I was a ruler, it would only make sense to roll the dice there. But-" Satori gestures at Utsuho and Rin (who have since let go of Raziel), then at Trudy, and finally at Raziel. Notably, she doesn't gesture at Sougo and Woz. "-would you expect those that aren't to care about such things if you were to use their homes as the sacrifice?" She gives him a moment, in case Kain actually does want to answer. She's pretty calm about this, all things considered. "People aren't so forgiving if they're the ones being cast into the fire, I'm sure you already know." She pauses, then lets her eyes close a little more in an incredulous 'are you serious' look when he smiles at Sougo with that last question. "... So what is it that you're planning to do going forward, then?" She asks somewhat simply, glancing over at her pets and gesturing at them to join her instead of worrying about holding Raziel back further. "You weren't just waiting here for Raziel to arrive this whole time, right?" Satori is totally listening to Kain's thoughts at that last part, too.
Timespace Riders	Sougo's image flickers in front of everyone, as if reality had suddenly dropped animation frames. "...History doesn't work that way, Kain. Even if individual people can have a big impact, they're not.... islands, in lockstep with the movement of a story they can't see. That isn't the way real people are, it's just a way we romanticize moments in history. People are connected." >It sounds like you're implying the Hub of the Wheel isn't being entirely truthful about his intentions, either. "He isn't." "To put it plainly... the problem with the humans is the Hub's fault," Sougo says to Trudy. "Or if it isn't, he's benefiting from it either way. The Pillars don't exist to keep things on Nosgoth going. Not exactly. It's closer to say that they exist to keep things going the way they are. They're not an engine. They're a fence--to keep out a very old enemy. The people who would become the 'demons' of today. They would have asked him to stop, once they saw what he was doing. And what he's doing... is hoarding the souls of living things." Sougo reaches up and rubs his sleeve across his face, drying his eyes. "Which means," he says. "That the human problem actually is your problem. They want the same things you want. They think about the same things you do. Just on a smaller scale. Thinking of them as food at best, and obstacles at worst, like with Wilhelm, only helps the Hub, in the end. Do you know why?" Sougo takes another deep, measured breath. Woz listens, raptly. The Demon King's eyes slowly open again after the grounding breath, fingers relaxed at his sides. "Because it's exactly what he did when the vampires weren't his favored children anymore. When those 'demons' were banished, they took a parting shot. The 'angels' became the vampires, and then only the humans could watch the pillars. And just like that, everything the ones before had done didn't matter. You shouldn't be fighting them, or manipulating them. You should be giving them the care that the Hub never gave you, because you'll never have that future you want, deep inside, if you aren't ready to let go of the past and present."
Raziel	Kain looks perplexed by Trudy for a moment, not expecting her to peacefully, or willingly talk with him. Perhaps that wasn't in the future he saw. However, a more fond look in his eyes is there. Respect is growing, because someone is listening, and paying attention to things. Though then looks less than impressed a moment later when she mentions 'The Hub'. "That is an expression. A rather old one, in fact, one reserved for the ancients. It's describing the cycle of death and rebirth, nothing more." However, Sougo's comments on it, make it seem like something called the Hub causes him to reconsider this knowledge. He knows SOMEONE is using Moebius as a pawn. Someone used the ancients as a pawn. Had the prime mover shown his hand to them..? Then... He holds a hand up towards Satori, "You need not lecture me on what other people may feel or not feel. I am not mad, nor am I indiffernet. Fully aware of what I did, to Raziel. The throw at destiny required this outcome to be achieved." And what isn't said is that his choice, while horrible...seemed to be a preferred one than to the one where he did not cast Raziel in. Kain looks towards Sougo's comment about people not being an island, about not being stuck in a story they can not see. "That is where you are wrong, boy. Or have you not realized it yet? I thought this observation partially came from fatalism, after all...changing history requires great effort. But..." "What if something was stuck on the cycle of life and death, fate and free will? If this 'hub' you speak of exists, then it would reveal more about this prime mover...the one that sits behind Moebius." Raziel seems to consider something. "...If this is true...then it isn't the Pillars that have caused the decay of Nosgoth. Instead, it is my 'benefactor'." Kain's eyes brighten, and a grin moves across his face. He was not expecting to hear what he has heard today, it seems...as if it was the first bright spot of news he's heard in a very long time. As if on cue to Satori's question, he disappears from where he is, and appears on another platform, pulling the machine to point at one last rune. At this point, the machine turns on, spinning up and sparking. The portal, the one opposite of where you came in comes to life. It seems to pulse forward, beating and then falls back in line with the portal's dimension. Kain disappears once more, fading back into view in front of it. He waits for others to walk up to it. However, Kain pauses when Sougo makes a very good point. There is...something there, some sort of acknowledgment of Sougo's point, but at the same time, something is hindering it from sticking. Kain would be sweating, if he had the luxury of that anymore. Something fundamental to his soul seems to be resistant to meditating on the very true fact that The Demon King makes apparent. "We shall have to put aside this disagreement in methods and means for now. After all, we have a greater foe and greater stakes in this game than this particular disagreement, wouldn't you say?" To Satori, he chuckles. Yes, he had waited here for Raziel. For a very long time. It seems as if he barely left the Chronoplast since he threw Raziel to his death, only using it to move between times and places. In this one and the past.
Raziel	"As for what to do..? Well, I think it's time to throw the dice of destiny. Thanks to you, this is not where...or how our story ends today. Fate promises many more twists before it unfolds completely." He turns towards the portal and steps into it. Expecting you to follow. However, the Elder God speaks the moment he leaves, "Take heed, if you enter that portal you will be beyond my influence. Do not let his venomous words seep into you, for that vampire enjoys twisting things for his own gain." Though Raziel seems less than willing to heed said warning. "Get back here Kain, we are not done yet!" he shouts, Soul Reaver extended and the wraith rushing in, after Kain.
Trudy Grimm	The witch comes to a halt, resting her hands on her hips. Like this, she casts her gaze towards Sougo when he shares what he knows, canting her head slightly, "So there's more to my suspicions than mere paranoia." Her eyes return to Kain, a hand lifting to touch her lips in thought. She hears Kain out to his entirety though, without interrupting. The runes around her feet fade to nothing, no longer seemingly necessary, though the Doctor remains at her side. "A fence to keep out something terrible, which would benefit from their destruction..." An ancient being with a beautiful baritone who seems rather intent on the destruction of the Pillars. It doesn't take long for Trudy to reach her conclusions. Her gaze lifts towards the chamber's ceiling when the Hub speaks, "And how are we to know that your words aren't the venomous ones? I would prefer to confirm things with my own eyes and ears." With Kain gone and Raziel diving after him, the Doctor rolls his neck with several loud pops and steps forward as well. Behind him, not two steps, is the witch herself.
Hellwarming Trio	"Good. If you couldn't say that much, we wouldn't even be entertaining this after what we saw on the way here." Still sour over what they had been forced to witness in that previous room, Satori keeps her own anger restrained while Utsuho and Rin remain beside Satori and stance up as though trying to vaguely threaten him with their presence. She gives them The Look, then turns her attention back to the possibilities being brought up by Trudy, the Demon King, and Raziel. "Then Moebius might have truly been onto something deeper than just what was going on with the humans, too. The martyrdom of one, the eradication of the Sarafan, the..." It's a lot to take in, and it's more than enough to the three quite the headache. Satori looks over as Kain activates the machine, watching its pulsing and eyeing that portal cautiously before taking the invitation to approach it. She's not about to spoil the show that Kain's set up for them so painstakingly, after all, especially since he's been waiting for so long just to set up everything like this for their arrival. It's almost flattering. "So... What? We're working with him now? What if he's lying?" "There's too much at stake and too many unanswered questions for us to do anything drastic about him or the Hub." Satori pauses to look up at the ceiling. It's the easiest way of indicating she's addressing the Hub rather than anyone else by accident. "Miss Grimm is correct. You're more than welcome to join us, but if you'd rather stay, we'll keep investigating this with those two." "For now?" "Y... Yes. That's what it means when..." Satori sighs, then just reaches over to ruffle Rin's hair a bit before leading the other two yokai in.
Timespace Riders	>Take heed. If you enter that portal you will be beyond my influence. Sougo sighs. "I want to believe you. I want to believe in you, and I have from the start. But it hurts to do that. Because you don't believe in anyone. I'm sorry, but I'm going. Come on, Woz." Sougo nearly steps through--but the retainer isn't coming. "Woz?" This is the straw that broke the camel's back. Woz is paralyzed in place, unable to look Sougo in the eye until he forces himself to, with a slow sweep of his head that seems more terrified than theatrical. Even a few seconds must be agony, because he promptly takes a knee, a display of fealty to take refuge in. "My Demon King... as I am now, I would only be a liability. Please allow me to withdraw. I swear I shall return the moment I am able." Sougo feels a lump in his throat. "...will you be home tonight?" Woz doesn't look up. "I know not." Sougo swallows. It feels as though the inside of his mouth is sand. Or glass. "Okay," he says, hoarsely. Deathly quiet. "I l--" Woz flings his scarf out, disappearing within it and emerging somewhere very far away. Sougo's fists clench and unclench, his head lowers, and he struggles to fight off tears as he steps through the portal.
Raziel	This method of travel seems far different than the portals before this one. It's almost similar to being on an escalator, or one of those moving walkways. At this point, you are less walking forward, and more being drawn through. Like before in the Timestreamer's caves, the fog is all around you, obscuring your vision. Red, oranges and green clouds are all mixed together, as the sounds of the device are gone. Eventually, the clouds part, but slowly, and you seem to be on an ornate floor. Beyond the clouds, a voice is heard, but it is not Kain's. "Trudy Grim, steadfast ally and poisonous wretch. Cursed by blood, and seeker of her own path." "Satori Komeji, insightful eyes, and a lonely soul. Rejected and loved." "Utsuho Reiuji, power without limit and unimaginative mind. Surrounded by friends, but unsatisfied with themselves." "Rin Kaenbyou, steadfast worker and unenlightened mind. Dedicated friend, but distracted by their work." "Sougo Tokiwa, Demon King, and unsatisfied ruler. Protector and destroyer." "And Raziel, pawn, and messiah. Redeemer and destroyer." "Welcome timespan souls. Welcome...to your destiny." The man who stands before you is elderly. The iris' in his eyes are milky colored, indicating he should be blind...yet seems to see just fine. He is dressed in robes, made of purple and trimmed with gold. In his hand is a staff. The top has an orb that glows with some strange power, and around the staff is a snake engraved in it, its jaw opened on the ball itself. "'Where am I?' Is the usual question, but when might be a more apt question." " Almost immediately, Raziel draws the Soul Reaver up, ready to strike with it when the orb on the staff glows more brightly. Moebius looks confused by this, maybe even surprised. Especially when the Soul Reaver itself seems to slowly fade from his arm...still there, but quelled. Raziel looks at his arm, but his eyes are still narrowed. "Very well you old snake. If you prefer I'll use my bare hands..." He says, thrusting his claws out and making it so that they are wrapped around his neck without choking him, holding him in place against a nearby wall. "This is completely unexpected. This orb disables our vampire enemies, leaving them helpless and incapacitated. Strangely, it seems to have the same effect on that peculiar weapon of yours. But you must believe me, I mean you no harm!"
Trudy Grimm	The significance of Woz leaving Sougo's side is not lost on Trudy. The retainer's voiced hesitancy give her pause. He voices his refusal, enough for her to glance over her shoulder towards the pair-- who had, to her knowledge, always ventured forth together. Her smile is gone when she turns away from the now-alone Sougo to enter the time vortex, her jaw set in a stern frown. The fog of transit once again. The moment Trudy recognizes it, she throws up what mental guards she has. Nothing comes this time, save their evident destination. The Doctor rears to his full height, taking in the surroundings attentively. Trudy's attention focuses solely on the source of the voice addressing her. "Moebius, the Timestreamer," she guesses after his comment about Where and When. Raziel goes for him, gets disarmed, and starts using his bare hands instead. Calmly, Trudy approaches to stand beside him. From the depths of one sleeve she produces a modest-sized green crystal, holding it up to examine it in the light, "Don't kill him. I'd rather prefer to extract his soul and burn it away in a lantern." Without shifting her posture, her eyes dart down towards him. For a brief and alarming instant, the jovial witch's gaze is filled with scorn. It disappears behind the mask cast when her sharktoothed smile returns, "A girl's heart is a delicate thing that shouldn't be toyed with. Were you trying to get me to give up, back there? To quit from my path and embrace the evil nature of what I am?" She leans down closer to Moebius as Raziel manhandles him, "I won't. But I can't help but indulge sometimes." Her free hand's fingers splay out, above them manifests the sickly green Death Rune, Eiwaz, "Usually with people who particularly upset me." "You had best start changing my mind."
Hellwarming Trio	The exchange between Sougo and Woz is not missed, and it's enough for Satori to slow down considerably once she steps through the portal. That doesn't do her much good when the fog sets in, though, giving all three of the yokai a brief moment of anxiety until it fades without so much as giving them a terrible premonition like the last time they were thrust into the fog. "Mister Tokiwa. Are you alright?" She knows she can read the answer to the question even before Sougo says it, but she deliberately asks that both to offer some semblance of reassurance again, and to try and get him to let some of that tension out with a helping hand nearby. "I'm sure Woz will get things sorted out soon. Have faith in him, and he'll return the favor before you know it." If there's another hug like last time, she's even prepared for it this time around. She's even smiling for emphasis, like she's been through this kind of thing before. Afterwards, the three yokai finally approach the held Moebius when Raziel grabs him by then eck. They gather close, considering all of his questions and his insights while leveling steely gazes towards him. Before they give him a single word in response, though... They take turns just punching him, one each. Utsuho goes straight at the gut, Satori throws a clumsy hook at the kidney that might hurt her hand more than anything else, and Rin just goes straight for the dick. They take a moment to compose themselves, and then the two animal yokai both stand beside Satori to actually speak to him. "That doesn't make us even yet, just so you know, but we'll leave it at that for now." "So, talk. What was with all that weird crap you showed us?" "Yeah, what Okuu and Trudy said! You're lucky we just stopped with that, you-" "Rin, that's enough. We should at least give him some time to explain himself first. So. Go on. Why should we believe you?"
Timespace Riders	"I don't know." No, Satori, he isn't alright. He's scared. Queasy. Is Woz leaving forever? Was it something he did? What did he see, in his own vision? He isn't sure what to believe at all, and is only continuing because he so badly wants Raziel to be happy and well. It may reassure Satori to see the solace Sougo takes in her efforts to comfort him, however small it might be. She can at least be sure that his sheepish utterance of thanks is genuine. Sougo flinches at what he sees--but Raziel isn't choking Moebius. He can, he hopes, keep it from escalating further, and get valuable information as to 'when' this is. I've got to hold it together. From there, catch up to Kain and, if necessary, stop him before he makes a mistake. Before he hurts everyone around him again. "Trudy is right to be upset. I'm upset with you too. Whether you meant to or not, you hurt someone close to me, and I don't know if he's coming back or what he's thinking." "There isn't any such thing as destiny," says Sougo, steeling himself. His voice steadily rises... "I'm not destined to be king, and I'm certainly not destined to be a tyrant. If I believe that... then I also believe that Raziel didn't actually decide to be a good person in either of his lifetimes. That... it was all decided before he was ever born." Until he shouts defiantly. "No matter what you say, or do, or show me, I'll never believe something as ugly as that!" He vehemently lifts a hand, index raised high, as if accusing the heavens. Slowly, he lets it fall. "...even if it kills me. ...The vampires aren't 'your enemy.' It just seems that way because you've been manipulated into being at each other's throats. It's easier for the Hub to get what he wants, that way. Where is Kain?"
Raziel	"You can drop the benevolent facade, Moebius. I know who and /what/ you are. I should kill you where you stand.." Joined by Trudy, Moebius looks utterly terrified of the situation. This happens right as he's immediately punched by several angry women in succession. Moebius is in quite a lot of pain, and his voice has gone up several octaves... "Perhaps you should...but you don't!" "Are you so certain?" "My position as time guardian grants me a certain level of omniscience...but no, you don't kill me! That honor belongs to your maker, some thirty years from now." Raziel recoils, "You two are quite a pair, you're just as fatalistic as he is..." It's at this point Moebius engages with Trudy, and then the Hellwarming Trio. "I'm afraid I don't know what you are..." he pauses, "That's right, you used my Chronoplast to come here, that means you had gone through my sanctuary," he says, shaking his head. "I know not what has become of it in the future, after I die the future is blocked to me. My limited omniscience does not go beyond my death." "I assure you, it was not an active plot by me, those images were likely activated by the portals you traveled through...connecting you to a possible future..." though he looks thoughtful. "I am here to assist Raziel and you in your mission, to kill Kain." Sougo's outburst is...well actually welcome because he's not punching him in the dick! "Destiny is something very solid here in Nosgoth. Perhaps it is different for you...but I do not think so." "It is because of our natures that destiny and fate happen. We are born in this way, we are shaped by our experiences, and then we spread out influence on the world around us...and that in turn binds us to fate, destiny, and the wheel." "As for you, Raziel...death comes for us all, it's just a matter of time." Moebius comments as he motions them to follow him. The room opens up into another chamber, round. On the wall, there are several murals. Raziel seems to take a few moments to recognize where they are. "Are we within the stronghold of the Sarafan Priesthood?" "Yes, but the glorious days of the Sarafan have long since passed, I'm afraid. This is a more...cynical and indeciduous age. My mercenary army now resides in this stronghold. We strive to honor the memory of the Sarafan with our own...humble crusade." Moebius moves towards the center of the room, where a pedestal with a container with water on it resides. "As for your...words..." he says towards Sougo, "I was not manipulated into hating the vampire scourge. You should read our history before you make such uninformed statements. In fact, this very room shows what they have done to gain my specific hatred." "Though it is a little of what they have done personally to me," he says, and his staff waves over the pool of water. "Ah there. Kain resides at the pillars. Residing there like cancer he is. See how he stands in wait? He is unaware that I have plucked you out of the time stream to be here, instead of there. Hopefully, you can use this time to learn of the past of Nosgoth." One of the murals depicts a figure, with large ears and bat-like features. His mouth has long fangs, and the figure appears to be stabbing a helpless figure. All around the room are images of this vampire. He with several women, seemingly being taken as 'brides' and becoming vampires. Others where he sits, drinking blood from a chalice. "Is this the vampire Voridore?" Raziel asks. Moebius answers with a harsh tone, "Yes. He devastated the circle that day, and I and two others managed to escape his rampage. The circle was devastated that day, and the Sarafan all but wiped out."
Trudy Grimm	"It's a future I reject!" Trudy spits when Moebius attempts to explain what she saw, "With every fiber of my being! Taunting me with timelines in which I fall back into that life is beyond any cruelty my father could ever dream of." Leaning forward, she presses the gemstone against the Timestreamer's forehead, the Eiwaz rune pulsing ominously above her palm. That intense, malicious glower returns to her face again, "I don't trust you. Minions of unknowable gods are just cultists. 'Omniscient' just makes you all the more dangerous." "I don't see why we'd ever need you alive. Death does come for us all. So give me one reason I shouldn't rip your soul out right now. If I leave your animated corpse for Kain to kill later, that should be enough to avoid a paradox." Raziel releases him and only then does Trudy back off. The Doctor towers behind her, faint points of green light shining through the lenses of his plague mask. The whole incident with the time portal from before has definitely put her in a foul mood, as hard as she's trying to hide it. Her fingers flex around the rune she'd conjured until, at last, she extinguishes it. The crystal is tucked into her sleeve, her eyes closed, "Another history lesson. How will the story be different this time?" One eye opens, "What new directions will this mad cultist twist it?" Her hands prop on her hips, "I think I preferred speaking with Kain, honestly. There's something more honest about dealing with a predator that you just don't get from a magus."
Hellwarming Trio	"Oh. He's already dead." "Doesn't mean he can't feel it! Er. Right?" "He does. But past grievances aside..." Moebius explains some things about the Chronoplast and what they had seen, but it's not enough to get the trio to let him off the hook just yet. Although they refrain from punching him again, they do continue giving him somewhat withering looks even as they commence the investigation with their companions here. "Destiny, huh? I dunno... Sound like a weak excuse for doing messed up stuff." "Right? We're still doing all this stuff to fix this mess, so what's it matter if it's real or not?" "Don't get dist... Mmn. If things are as dire as they sound, we don't have time to dwell on that now. Later, perhaps, when we're not on a time limit." Following Moebius to the pedestal, they peer into the water while Moebius continues answering more questions about the actual place they're in right now. Strangely enough, though, he mentions a mercenary army, and more context is given about when this place is. Rin in particular seems rather irritated again when Moebius speaks of history, and she steps right up to him with another clenched hand as another unveiled threat. "If something's important, then spill it instead of telling us to read. Just give us the short version if you have to!" Satori doesn't stop Rin's outburst. Instead, she focuses on the water, then the mural of the batlike figure. "... Rin, this /is/ the short version. It explains Moebius' hatred of them in particular, at least." She turns to Moebius next. "And because of this, everything was set into motion... But you have yet to answer how justifies everything that's happened." She looks towards Trudy briefly, but returns her gaze back to Moebius while keeping a neutral-ish (but still visibly agitated) expression. "Did you plan for such far-reaching consequences? If you've been able to see so many things, surely you must have a plan."
Timespace Riders	Sougo follows Moebius. The look on his face suggests he's still firm in his position. It's the only thing he can firmly hold, he feels. The image of Sougo flickers in place, again. Moebius can see exactly what it is--a form of time travel. Sougo was now, but is then--peering at that fateful meeting so long ago, between Moebius and the Hub, to see exactly what he was offered, what he was told, and what was expected of him by the then-not-as-elder-god on that day. "I've seen your history, Moebius." He doesn't read--instead, nodding in firm agreement with Rin. "'Fate,' where I'm from, is a word we use to imply that there's... a will, behind the way things turn out. And usually, that will, or that power, doesn't mean 'people.' It means 'something else, that knows better,' or 'a machine that doesn't care one way or the other, as long as things keep moving.'" "Was it fate when you sent Kain to kill Wilhelm, knowing what would happen? What about when the vampires were first made--when the Hub washed his hands of his favorite people, for something someone else did? They fought a war for him, and he abandoned them because he couldn't stand the sight of the scars. How would you feel, in their place?" "I just want everything to be okay," Sougo says, almost tiredly, as he finally caves and looks at the mural. "The Hub only wants things to be okay for him, and you're all too busy hurting each other to see that. The vampires hurt you because they think it hurts the Hub. Or because an older vampire told them it was the right thing to do. And you hurt them back, because that's how these things go."
Raziel	Moebius looks deathly afraid of the rune, trembling at the thought of being caught in the gem. However, when he is released, he takes a moment to regain his composure. "A-as I was saying.." he starts, looking at her, especially at that comment about Kain. "You would not be so eager to meet him if you met him while he was younger." Though he decides not to push his luck there, "Again, I had no control over what you saw in those caves. I would thank you to remember that I was long since dead, and I can not affect things past my own mortality. I am neither a mad cultist nor claim to be so...but yes I do serve the one that Raziel serves as well.." To the comment on Kain killing Wilhelm, he shrugs. "I did do this, yes. However, this is because a prophecy had to be set in motion. The vampire scourge must be expelled. Again, you have not seen the terrors they have wrought on us. Not only were we food to them, but they treated us as their playthings and tools. Just because they were born first." Sougo flickers, and the Timestreamer /knows/ what he's doing. Sougo can clearly see him...IN the past. Not just his younger self, but the version he knew. "If you wish to see, I have nothing to hide...but you are searching for the wrong memory.." he says, and the staff glows. The memory changes from that of a younger Moebius talking to the Elder God, to an even younger Moebius. A young child born to poor parents. On a farm no less. In the night a winged figure bursts through his window, claws grabbing at his shoulders... Next is a slightly older Moebius, in a cloak being fostered by those same winged beings. With him are other children. "They took us from our homes, to groom us to be their servants and guardians of the pillars. We had no choice in it, but instead chosen by the pillars they had constructed. What do you think happens when one of the guardians here grew to adulthood?" "Yes, I chose to serve the god of life and death so that we could be spared the loss of our humanity. You might have seen Kain's history, you may have uncovered some secrets of Nosgoth..." He turns to face Sougo completely, "But remember to consider the source before you judge me too harshly, boy." It breaks, for all but Sougo, nothing happened. "I wanted things to be okay too, my young lad. However, you fail to realize that people are focused on what is good for themselves first. It is not a crime to be human, and to act in one's self-interest." "Alas, we can forget about forging a bond of friendship now...but consider an alliance. There is much about Nosgoth I know, and more I can show you...but of course, you are free to find these truths on your own. If you do, pursuing Kain should be your first step, as he will point you to where you can find truths written in stone..." "But remember. Stones too can lie. Oh..." he pauses, as if remembering something. "You'll have to escape the stronghold, but I can't reveal that I am aiding you. They wouldn't understand but try to keep the casualties to a minimum. Every movement needs a few martyrs." With that, he disappears, fading into the time mist.
Hellwarming Trio	Everything Moebius says doesn't get the yokai to look any less irritated at him. They're irritated at the situation, too, but they just seem utterly done with him by the time he finishes explaining things: About his original plan with the vampires, about how the vampires viewed his people, about the alliance he's seeking with them. There's the slightest of smirks from Rin and Utsuho when he acknowledges that friendship isn't a possibility, but that's all he can get from them for now. Utsuho narrows her eyes soon thereafter, though, and she audibly strains to think for a few moments before scoffing lightly. "Tch... Using the 'being human' excuse now? That's stupid. You're stupid." Turning her head aside briefly, Satori keeps it together long enough to instead get irritated at the guidance provided by Moebius. "It all comes back to finding Kain again, then... He couldn't have gone that far, if he was waiting for us." She pauses. "If we can trust him at all." "More than this guy, at least."
Trudy Grimm	Trudy Grimm tilts her head to one side when Moebius brings up the younger Kain, "I somehow feel like I wouldn't." Leaning forward a touch at the waist, she adds, "You're the one who set the trap, stupid. Of course I can still blame you for it." While completely ignorant to the Time Fuckery between Moebius and Sougo, she's starting to notice that when he flickers like that it means he Did Something. You'll have to escape the stronghold, but I can't reveal that I am aiding you. They wouldn't understand but try to keep casualties to a minimum." Moebius is gone like so much mist. The witch's frown returns alongside an acidic tone, "People lie a lot more often than stones." Her eyes close and she pulls up the Grimoire, its buckle unfastening. Over her free hand she manifests Eiwaz, the Death Rune, and the subtle shadow around her feet suddenly deepens to void-black pitch. "Afraid I won't be able to honor that request," she comments out loud, "But you knew that was going to happen. Just like you know I'm saying this after you left. Don't you?" Her shadow expands, flowing around the feet of the others like a spill of scentless liquid. -- <J-IC-Scene> Raziel just noticing, "Wait...where is Woz?" <J-IC-Scene> Sougo Tokiwa says, "He..." <J-IC-Scene> Sougo Tokiwa says, "He left. I don't know if he'll be back." <J-IC-Scene> Trudy Grimm says, "Do you believe in him?" <J-IC-Scene> Raziel says, "I see..." <J-IC-Scene> Sougo Tokiwa says, "I do. I'm just... scared. He, um, wouldn't tell me what was wrong." <J-IC-Scene> Trudy Grimm says, "Then have faith in him, as you always have." <J-IC-Scene> Trudy Grimm says, "He must have seen something truly distressing. We all did." <J-IC-Scene> Sougo Tokiwa says, "Yeah..." <J-IC-Scene> Trudy Grimm says, "We work through these things differently." <J-IC-Scene> Trudy Grimm says, "For instance. The object of my ~interest~ has run away. So I'm afraid I'll have to-- not honor his request." <J-IC-Scene> Sougo Tokiwa says, "Will that help?" <J-IC-Scene> Trudy Grimm says, "Not in the least, but I'll feel better. He knew it was going to happen anyway, right?" <J-IC-Scene> Sougo Tokiwa says, "No!" <J-IC-Scene> Sougo Tokiwa says, "He knows what he's bothered to look at, and even those moments are eventualities--not set in stone. Everything that he said to us was something he had time to think about beforehand. That... it isn't the same as predetermination. He just wants you to think it is." <J-IC-Scene> Trudy Grimm says, "Tch... Are you going to ask me not to, then?" <J-IC-Scene> Sougo Tokiwa says, "...if you want to reject a future, your actions have to show it by building a better one. So... Yes. I'm asking you not to." <J-IC-Scene> Raziel says, "While they won't show us any mercy, it is not their fault that they are set against us." -- Trudy hesitates. On closer inspection, her hands are shaking, frustration written all over her face in a shockingly severe expression. She freezes suddenly, eyes widening. The Grimoire drops from her grip, swinging down on its strap and closing on its own. Her eyes shoot to the rune hovering over her hand. After a moment, she heaves a sigh, closing her eyes. The rune extinguishes. From her expanded shadow, simple skeletons with simple armaments start crawling free. "I'll just use a few. As a distraction. They're weak... a-and expendable," her tone is sheepish, as if she'd just realized what she was about to do. Or what she had been doing.
Timespace Riders	Moebius leaves. Sougo looks exhausted. "Of course I know it isn't bad to have desires," he says once the prophet is gone. It'd be hard for someone who feels desire as strongly and sincerely as the would-be Demon King to feel otherwise. His arms wrap around his middle, as if huddled from the cold, as his eyes fall from the mural to the ground. He nods at Utsuho, in agreement. "What's bad is when you convince people theirs can never be met, if some other person gets what they want. And to me," he says, looking tiredly over at Raziel, "That seems like something that's happened over and over again in Nosgoth." If not on many other worlds, too. It's clear that as time travelers go, Moebius and Sougo couldn't have more different expectations for how it ought to be done. For why it ought to be done. The back-and-forth took a lot out of him, after he was already flagging from the vision of his future and Woz's departure. "Thank you, Raziel. And thank you, too, Trudy. For holding back." "I know that people like Moebius and Kain make it hard. But I want to believe in us, just like I believe in Woz. Thanks for all the work that goes into being you. I promise... I'll make sure it isn't wasted. It's what a good Demon King of Time would do." He reaches into that navy peacoat, and procures the Timespace Driver--with the most certainty and ease he's had since the vision. The bulky white belt fastens around his waist automatically, as the red LCD chronometer briefly flashes the current Multiversal year. "I'm ready when you guys are."