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

[slayers_desire]

"Just as simple..." Atropos signaled to a picture of April in the present, where she is sitting in the back room of Lorne's bar. Wes and Lorne are sitting beside her, in concern.

Atropos makes the frame bigger, until it is the size of a door. "Just step through and return..."

(When they do, April is struggling emotionally right now. Wes and Lorne are trying to help her through the issues. There is no sign of Buffy or Angel)

[nonvillainouscipher]

Upon returning, Ed immediately notices April's state and goes to her side. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asks, quietly.

Cipher Nine, meanwhile, notices the conspicuous absence of Buffy and Angel. "Where are Angel and Ms. Summers?" he asks, frowning.

[big_bad_sheriff]

"Like Narnia," Harry says with an appreciative nod. "Sweet."

Once they're back in the real world, Bigby is no longer in his true form, instead appearing to be the middle-aged man he was before. He scratches at his beard and looks around. "Don't tell me we left 'em in there."

[slayers_desire]

"She started acting weird. First, she was very paranoid about everyone around her. Said some things to Angel and Buffy, so they left," explained Wes.

"The prats..." Spike has rejoined them too.

"Then she was very angry... and threw some stuff around..." Lorne gestured to a broken mirror, shattered by a chair that had been thrown at it.

"Lastly, she went into a bloodthirst..." Wes has some nail scratches on his arm. "And I had to use a spell against her, to calm her down."

[nonvillainouscipher]

Cipher Nine gets it pretty much immediately. "She experienced the same emotions we felt earlier, when we touched the Voices," he surmises.

[kalel_ofkrypton]

Now Clark feels a little guilty for their part in this. They may have gotten their answers, but April felt the effects. He reaches out to her over the bond. Are you all right?

[slayers_desire]

She immediately reaches out for Clark, both physically and mentally. Her hands move slower than her mind, due to the spell Wes placed on her. Mentally, she latches onto the oak tree in their shared mindspace.

I felt what you felt. I saw what you saw

"Angel and Buffy said they were going hunting for Maloker on their own," Wes explains to the others.

"They know how to reach Ember." Spike growled.

[fmalchemist160]

Ed lets out a quiet, sulfurous German curse and briefly rakes a hand through his bangs. "And they're probably not helping for the same reasons we are," he says. "This is going FUBAR, fast."

[big_bad_sheriff]

"Should we track 'em down before they get there?" Bigby asks, already sniffing to get a trace of their scents, which way they went.

[slayers_desire]

Angel has a very distinctive undead scent. Spike's scent is very familiar, but his is mixed with cigarettes. Buffy on the other hand, has a very warrior-slash-athlete smell to her. They had both headed east.

"Just because they know where to find Ember, doesn't mean she will take them to Maloker. He wanted to see me. Not them." April softly replied.

"We have our own clues to finding Maloker."

[nonvillainouscipher]

"They might still be desperate enough not to leave her a choice," Cipher Nine notes seriously. "But we should still see where our clues take us. Lion symbols with shields and spears... A demon boy with a secret passage in his house... and cheetahs racing towards a lake that never gets any closer." He frowns in mild consternation. "Interpreting symbolism isn't exactly one of my strong suits."

[thepizzalord]

"Not mine either," Harry says with a frown. "But detective work's my specialty, so let's put some heads together and figure this out."

[slayers_desire]

"The cheetahs were not a symbol of Maloker. There were three of them. They were a symbol of The Three." April has a lot of experience interpreting the symbols that the voices give her. A life-time worth.

"The lions were holding the shield and the spears, like a Coat of Arms." She draws it out. With the rooster on the shield itself.

"And Clark saw himself in the outback. I think we are talking about Africa."

"Kenya to be exact, that is their Coat of Arms," Wes nods to her drawing.

"The one thing that was common was the darkness. A deep cave. Maloker will only be in the deepest cave."

[fmalchemist160]

Ed leans forward onto his knees a little, hands folded together. "Kenya's a big place. We can't search all of it. We still need to narrow it down. Maybe if we look for that boy I saw?"

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"That'll still be difficult," Clark points out. "There are over forty million people living in Kenya right now. But I agree, he's a clue in this too."

[slayers_desire]

"You said it was a Demon boy? Perhaps there is a species who live in Kenya?"

"I will get my book," Wes stood to go to the library.

[fmalchemist160]

Ed stands to go with him. "I'll help. Research is one of my specialties. And hopefully I can recognize the species if I see an illustration of them."

[big_bad_sheriff]

Bigby scratches at his beard. "How's this gonna help? Can you track down people by species or something?" Of course, if he got a good whiff of the scent they're looking for... but that's difficult when they don't have anything belonging to the kid.

[slayers_desire]

"Some Demon species live in certain countries of Earth, depending on their preferences." Lorne explained.

Wes goes through the Big Book of Demons for Ed. Until a certain type of Demon practically jumps out of Ed. They are summoned by playing a didgeridoo.

[fmalchemist160]

"And there are plenty of reference books identifying various species," Ed adds absently as he pages through the book. He stops when he finds it. "Got 'em. Not even going to try to pronounce the name. ...Apparently summoned by playing a didgeridoo. Okaaay... That's one of the weirder summoning methods I've come across."

[thepizzalord]

Harry looks over Ed's shoulder. "Did somebody just grab a big handful of Scrabble letters and throw them down, or what?" He chuckles. "Digeridoos, all right. I don't have one of those. Anyone else?"

[slayers_desire]

"Well sure, it is with my random musical instruments with no suited purpose closet." Spike shakes his head.

"We would easily find one in Kenya. Perhaps that should be our first stop?" April suggested.

[fmalchemist160]

"If I knew what they were made out of and what they looked like, I might be able to transmute one," Ed volunteers. "But finding one would probably be easier." He makes a mental note to Analyze one if they do go that route... just in case they need one again.

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"Probably wouldn't work," Harry muses. "Musical instruments are tricky. You gotta know how they work and what they look like on the inside, and stuff."

"Anyway," Clark says, "we should head out, before we lose our shot."

[slayers_desire]

"Besides, we want a specific demon, not just to summon someone who might not be helpful to our situation." April stands, taking Clark's arm in hers.

"I can cast you a magical portal for you all," Wes offered.