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

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"Shouldn't we talk about it first?" Bigby growls uncertainly.

"Ed has a point," Clark reluctantly admits.

[slayers_desire]

"At least it only has to be one of us. The rest of us can make sure the hallucinations don't overwhelm him." April knows the strain of 'seeing' things.

"Find the boy." The Priest uses the stinger to inject the poison into Ed's skin. His surroundings become murky and cloudy almost immediately. But he sees Al, as a child, at the edge of the village. Gesturing to him.

"Come on brother! I found something!" Only Ed will hear the voice too.

[fmalchemist160]

Ed's faith in his brother, even when he knows he's only hallucinating him, is so unswerving that he immediately steps to follow Al. If Al weren't appearing and sounding as a child, Ed might actually think he was here, connected to events via their soulmates' bond. By now, though, the real Al has started to hit puberty, and his voice is changing. He doesn't sound like a kid anymore.

"Of course I'd hallucinate Al," Ed notes in a half-amused, half-distant tone of voice. "Come on, this way," he adds to the others, though he has to pause to try to reorient himself.

[thepizzalord]

"What could possibly go wrong?" Harry mutters, but they have no choice, and he follows their hallucinating friend.

[slayers_desire]

Al leads Ed through the darkness of the Keyna outback. It is a twisting path, with it almost seems to the others that Ed is circling the village that they just left. Every now and then, Al stops, and warns his brother. "We have to avoid the cheetahs. They are watching."

But the circling path soon leads them to a cavern, that will seem very familiar to Ed because of his previous vision.

"We can not let the cheetah know he is here." Al whispers. He guides Ed to a door (that is a rock-face in real life), and knocks on it. "Our special knock."

[fmalchemist160]

Ed sticks close to Al, and replies, "Avoid the cheetahs. They're the Three. Got it." The cavern does indeed register as familiar to him, which helps reaffirm that they are on the right path. Upon arriving at the 'door', he mimics Al's knock as best he can.

Cipher Nine frowns and squints at the rock when Ed knocks on it. "Edward? That's a rock."

"Showing up as a door for me. Could be both."

[big_bad_sheriff]

Bigby takes a big old sniff, trying to smell any sign that it's anything but a rock. "Magic can be weird that way."

((Apparently I muck up posting order when I get tired...)

[slayers_desire]

Indeed, there is magic to this rock-face. And when Ed knocks... the rocks move, forming an opening into the cavern. A 'door' in a fashion.

"Hide the boy. Hide the key. The cheetahs can't know." Al heads into the opening, knowing that his brother will follow him.

People will have to crawl to get through the paths. And once everyone is inside, Al knocks on the wall again. "Close the door. No mud inside."

To Ed's hallucinations, Al is getting older now.

[fmalchemist160]

Ed crawls inside, watching with a little pang as the hallucination of Al starts to age. He's already seen Al start to grow up. In particular, he acutely remembers the first time he saw Al after his brother decided to grow his hair out. But he hasn't seen it all at once like this. Once the hallucination of Al reaches his current age of 13, he'll probably be a couple of inches taller than Ed, broader in the shoulders, but still dressed in a similar fashion. Red and black—one of Al's ways of helping to keep the connection between them alive.

Once everybody's inside the cavern, Ed mimics Al's knock again, first checking behind them to make sure there are no cheetahs in the vicinity, or any trying to follow them inside.

[kalel_ofkrypton]

This whole thing is weird, watching Ed talk to and interact with someone and something that isn't there. But it's not the strangest thing to ever happen, so Clark takes it in stride, sticking close to April.

[slayers_desire]

April is trying really hard not to feel claustrophobic right now. Something about crawling in this cave, in the darkness, reminds her of the small and tight places she used to have to go to as a child. To escape the demons.

She clings tight to Clark.

When Ed mimics the knock again, the rock-face closes, removing any natural light from the cave. April slows her breathing, to keep calm and centered.

For Ed, it is less like crawling through a tight cavern, but more like crawling through a bright portal. One where his brother is getting further and further away. Yes, his hallucinations are going there.

Bigby and Clark will soon hear crying at the end of the tunnel.

[fmalchemist160]

Ed's heart starts to beat a little louder the farther away Al's hallucination gets. It doesn't matter that it isn't really Al, it still feels like being separated from him all over again. "I'm losing Al," he manages, his voice a little hoarse, squinting against the bright light.

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"There's someone there," Bigby says, on the verge of rushing ahead of the group.

"I know, I can hear it," Clark says. He's torn between needing to stay near April for support, and finding out who is crying and why.

[slayers_desire]

"You... can... never... lose... Al." April says, in between her slow and steady breaths. They soon emerge out of the tight tunnel, into a small open area. One where they don't have to be so tight to each other.

The Demon boy is sitting there, wiping away tears quickly. The imaginary Al, at his current age, is sitting beside him. "One last door. Have to leave you here."

[fmalchemist160]

Ed lets out a quiet sigh of relief as they emerge from the tunnel and find the demon boy, promptly heading right for them. He addresses Al in a whisper, an expression of quiet sorrow on his face. "I know," he breathes. "Thanks, Al..." Then he turns to the boy. "What's wrong?" he asks, even though he already knows the answer.

[kalel_ofkrypton]

Clark gives April a bit of a hug. She's under so much stress right now, and there's nothing they can do about it at the moment.

Harry's gaze sweeps over the kid. "You all right?"

[slayers_desire]

April leans into Clark's support. His gesture is keeping her balanced, in a difficult moment.

"Sielewi?" The boy moves back, backing up against the cavern wall. They weren't so lucky to find another person who could speak/ or magic English. "Nimepotea."

Yep. It is Swahili.

[fmalchemist160]

"Yep, we had to run into the language barrier issue eventually," Ed sighs.

[thepizzalord]

Harry tries not to make a face. Lash, I think you're up. "I think I can help." He looks at the boy, and lets his passenger take control for a moment. "Samahani. U hali gani?"

[slayers_desire]

The boy calms down slightly, and looks more comfortable. "Ninaomba msaada. Nimeumia." He moves, so that a long bloody gash on his side is revealed.

April is starting to sense something through her voices. "I think he is a Key."

Meanwhile, since Ed has not yet received his antidote, his hallucinations are going to take a turn for the worst. He gets the sensation of a woman sitting beside him. When he turns to look, it is Drusilla. She presses up against him, running her hands up his chest. When she speaks, only Ed will hear her. "Yummy little lamb. You were my favorite. So I am going to help you..."

She leans closer to whisper in his ear. "When the eyes go red... fill with dread, not all is right in the world. When the monster claims what is his, remove the whispers to remove the control."

((edit since I almost forgot an important plot point))

[fmalchemist160]

Cipher Nine takes a cautious step forward when he sees the gash on the boy's side. "I have medic training," he tells Harry. "I can treat that wound for him."

Ed hasn't noticed any of this. He's too busy scrambling backward, trying to get as far away from Drusilla—who has always creeped him out—as possible, letting out a raspy 'Gah!' noise. "Don't touch me," he says, a little bit of a tremor in his voice, shuddering a little as Dru runs her hands along his chest. Part of the squick factor is that she isn't Winry. Most of it is that Dru is April's mother.

His words should be an immediate red flag to anyone who knows Ed well. He would never say something like that to his brother.

[thepizzalord]

Clark takes notice immediately. "Ed's hallucinations are getting worse. We need that antidote, now."

Harry makes a face, and asks Lash for a specific translation. "We can help you," she says to the boy in Swahili, sounding exactly like Harry. "But we need help too. Our friend is sick and only you can help."

[slayers_desire]

The Demon boy nods, moving his hand, so that his stinger pops out from his wrist. "Bring me his arm."

"Please little lamb. Tell me you understand. All will be lost if you don't understand." Drusilla whispers to Ed.

[fmalchemist160]

"In case you haven't noticed, it's kinda hard to think rationally under these circumstances," Ed grits out, his words definitely directed at Dru and not at the others. "The fact that you're speaking in riddles, as usual, doesn't help either! I'll figure it out, just GO AWAY!"

Cipher Nine hurries over to Ed and gets a shoulder under his arm to bring him over to the boy, as gently as such a thing can be done while also being done quickly.

[thepizzalord]

"The kid's gonna jab ya, hold still," Harry tells Ed.