Dinner with Maloker ((group thread))

[slayers_desire]

Some may consider that all the 'Big Guns' that April has called together is overkill … but not really, not when it comes to the fact that many great minds are needed to find a way to prevent The Three (Discord, Disharmony and Cacophony) from their evil plans.

And the Big Guns are needed... when they have no idea where to start looking for The Three.

When other Keys (such as Dawn Summers) are being drained of their existence.

When the clock is still ticking on Lorne... and his battle with his disease.

Invitations were extended to Clark Kent/Superman; Harry Dresden; Sheriff Bigby Wolf; Edward Elric; Cipher Nine; and of course Spike, Angel, Buffy, Willow and Wes.

April is waiting in the planning room, for each person to arrive, going through some books as she does. For many... this will be a familiar encounter, as they had to come to fight together before. But there will be some new faces. And new ideas.

((forgot a posting order. Since multiple characters, Kat/Ael/ me))

Comments

[nonvillainouscipher]

"Clotho said our secrets would be in there, but... are there others as well?" Cipher Nine asks Lachesis.

[thepizzalord]

"Wouldn't surprise me," Harry says. "Weird magic stuff tends to go that way, and we are in April's subconscious, kind of."

[slayers_desire]

"Lies become truth. Secrets do not have room to hide. There is something waiting to be seen..." Of course, Lachesis can't give a straight answer.

[fmalchemist160]

Ed chuckles quietly at the cryptic answer. "Par for the course," he notes, with a definitely affectionate tone.

[big_bad_sheriff]

"You get straighter answers out of the Magic Mirror," Bigby mutters.

[slayers_desire]

There are no trials down the path, as they travel. And they come to the cave entrance without any further encounter. Atropos is standing there...

She looks like Drusilla. Spike swears. "No way. Why didn't anyone tell me."

[fmalchemist160]

Ed winces, looking away from Atropos for a moment. "Sorry," he says to Spike, quietly. "Wasn't even thinking about it. Had my mind on other things." Like the situation at hand.

[thepizzalord]

"So, Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come," Harry says to Atropos. "What hoops do we jump through now?"

[slayers_desire]

"Pretty little lamb..." Atropos smiles at Harry. She points to the cave. "Enter all ye who have come."

"Don't think I can do it." Spike hisses at Ed. "I ain't going with her. And I ain't going to have her show my secrets."

[fmalchemist160]

Ed looks up at Spike, entirely serious and understanding. "Atropos isn't actually Drusilla," he replies. "She's really just another facet of April's mind. After all, we all have a little bit of our parents in us, and not just in terms of our DNA." He exhales and shrugs. "But don't worry about it. I understand." He smiles a little. "You can still have our backs out here, right?"

[kalel_ofkrypton]

Clark takes a few steps towards the cave, then pauses, waiting for the others. "We've already come this far."

Harry tries not to look too creeped out by Atropos. Bigby ignores the weirdness, swishing his tail from side to side as he ambles up towards the cave.

[slayers_desire]

"Okay sure... I get that it is not really her. Just a facet. But just looking at Dru has my mind on her. And if my mind is on her... my secrets will be about her." Spike takes a step back, apologetically. "And I would rather not have those images stuck in my little girls head. Al'right? I will watch your backs."

Atropos is humming to herself right now. The inside of the cave is pretty dark, even for those with special vision.

[fmalchemist160]

Ed nods. "Okay. I understand. We'll be back." He heads into the cave.

Cipher Nine follows on Ed's heels, eyes narrowing to glowing red slivers as they step into the darkness. "It was too dark to see last time, too," he observes quietly, while Ed reaches for his flashlight and clicks it on, sweeping it around them to hopefully get a look at their surroundings.

[thepizzalord]

Harry nods to Spike in passing, acknowledging his choice. "I'm not gonna jinx us by saying anything stupid, but boy I wanna."

Bigby has no trouble whatsoever seeing in the dark, under normal circumstances. Clark doesn't have night vision, but he does have other senses to make up the difference.

[slayers_desire]

The flashlight doesn't work as intended. The darkness is part of the mindscape, and thus it just can't cut through it. Atropos hums softly, coming up behind them, and passing each one to take lead. Her fingers dancing across their backs and shoulders as she does.

A torch is lit. And she smiles at them. "To pass deep into the caves, where the secret of the Bat is hidden, you must all give a secret first."

There is a wooden door behind her. "Who is first?"

[nonvillainouscipher]

"Figures," Ed breathes to himself, clicking the flashlight off and replacing it on his belt.

Upon arriving at the door and hearing what they have to do to get through, Cipher Nine has only one question, asked only for the sake of clarity and making sure the Rules are completely understood. "Tell it only to you, or to everyone?"

[thepizzalord]

"And how secret does it have to be?" Harry adds. "Is it one of those deep dark nobody knows this thing sorta secret, or can it be somethin' a few people know about, so long as it ain't public knowledge?"

[slayers_desire]

Atropos tilts her head, curious to the questions she is receiving. "If you speak just to me, that is your choice. If you speak only a secret a few people know about, that too is also your choice."

"However, the more honest you are, the less doors we will have to open."

[nonvillainouscipher]

"So we'll have the easiest time if we speak a deep secret to everyone," Cipher Nine says.

[kalel_ofkrypton]

Clark looks slightly worried by that. Not because his secrets are anything terrible, but because he doesn't have any secrets from April. "I need to think about that."

Harry nods in agreement, but for the opposite reason. He does not want to admit to Lasciel's presence, not in this situation with all these people.

Bigby rolls his eyes. "Fine, whatever. I'll go first. The reason I live in Fabletown isn't really because I care about the other Fables, not at first anyway. I'm there because of Snow White. Ever since I first smelled her, I've never been able to lose track of her."

[slayers_desire]

With Bigby's secret spoken, the door disappears, and they are able to enter a tunnel that goes deeper into the cave. This tunnel is made out of metal and glass. There are pictures of April along the wall, from a baby to childhood to her youth, and into her adulthood.

Some of these pictures are those that April herself doesn't have.

They are living pictures too. The baby giggles and coos. The child is whimpering, trying to find a safe hiding spot from demons. The youth is a young teen April, who is trying to find her way in the Buffyverse, after spending her childhood in Quo'Toth. The adulthood includes her relationship with Clark, and of course becoming a mother (without showing the actual births).

There are voices coming from each picture too. Voices that belong to April, but are also hushed whispers of other people.

Atropos comes upon another door, after they have walked for 15-minutes.

[nonvillainouscipher]

Cipher Nine takes a deep breath when they reach the next door, steeling himself to tell a secret he's kept from everyone except his girlfriend. "I killed a man in cold blood several weeks ago," he says quietly, but still clearly enough that everyone present can hear him. "He and his... cohorts tried to kidnap my girlfriend at the behest of my nemesis. He was disarmed and already subdued. But the last time someone tried to take her, I told the men who tried that if it happened again, I would not show mercy a second time. I did it to discourage Hunter from making a third attempt, among... other reasons..." He trails off and swallows. "...But even so... I doubt it worked."

[kalel_ofkrypton]

It always bothers Clark to hear that a friend of his had to kill anyone. He doesn't force his standards on anyone and he doesn't think less of them for it or anything, but he hates that other people find themselves in situations where it's necessary. "You did warn them," he says.

[slayers_desire]

The door opened to them. They entered another hallway, this one created from wood and vines. There are pictures of April again...

But they are all of her inner darkness. The infant crying in blood hunger, not understanding why. The child taking her first kill, crying out of fear. The young April staking her mother in the heart. The blood thirst that Clark had to deal with a few times.

And in every picture, there is almost invisible bat wings shrouding April. The whispers get darker and darker. With sudden cries of pain and anguish.

Atropos gets to another door. And waits.

[fmalchemist160]

Some of the tension in Cipher Nine's stance eases out at Clark's response. It was his reaction he was most concerned about.

By contrast, Ed's getting increasingly more tense as they proceed down this corridor. It's not the images that are bothering him, but the sounds of pain and anguish coming from the voices. As they reach the door, his tension definitely increases. He has only one real secret that he's still keeping, and he's still concerned that revealing it will mess up the Kent family's timeline. So when they get to the door, he remains silent for the time being.