Journey to the Netherworld ((Open RP))

United States Government Office of MAGI. The Modern Arcane Guild of Investigations. June 2010.

Azuria stood in the middle of the MAGI office within the City Hall in Atlas Park. She was surrounded by representatives of the Paragon City Police Department, the Midnight Squad, the Nighthunters, affiliates of MAGI and a few independent heroes, who had all responded to a call for assistance.

"Thank you all for coming at such short notice" Azuria begun, handing out case files. "Yesterday, a police motorcade escorting an ex-felon was attacked by an unknown assailant. MAGI has been to the scene of the crime and our conclusion, as supported by the Midnight Squad mages, is that the front car was translocated to the Netherworlds. The case files being passed to you contain the full details of your quest and your team members, including names, powers and limitations. I cannot emphasise more how important it is that you know the following fact; going down into hell is the easy part. Getting back out is almost impossible but we're working on it. This is a potentially suicidal mission, your task, should you accept it, is to Journey to the Netherworld and bring back Officer James Neil, ex-felon Alicia Barzini and her immortal son Antonio Gar. You will be assisted by Midnight Squad mages and PPD robots. Any questions?"

OOC: This is a short open-RP story for anyone interested.

OOC: It is a continuation of the Revelation of Alicia Barzini plot and discussions can take place on this OOC thread: Journey to the Netherworld OOC

"Oof!" came from the counter not too far beside where Azuria stood as if in answer to Damsel's question, followed by a whiny, "Heeey, not so rough."

The burly, black-clad security officer who'd just slammed the wild-haired orange head of the Vrakht intruder down onto the counter only narrowed his eyes behind the dark sunglasses that complemented his bald head and deep-brown African skin tone well, "Quiet. You're lucky I don't just throw you out by your tail."

The Vrakht called Sage, or rather Kasha Athosien (though no one here knew him as that) only looked back at the officer with a silly, innocent grin. It made for a rather odd scene, what with the man holding the quasi-draconic-reptilian being by both his neck and the heavy chain of the cuffs that bound his hands together behind his back as if he might do something horrible at any given moment - and yet he didn't look even remotely threatening. Clothed in little more than a forest-green sleeveless shirt and a pair of pants that resembled urban combat fatigues (both of which stood in stark contrast with his orange-hued skin and falu-red hair and eyes), and visibly unarmed and unarmored, the chains that bound his hands, feet, and even tail into some weird, restrictive harness looked decidedly unnecessary.

"Aw c'mooon..." he pleaded in a soft tone that suggested he wasn't taking any of this seriously, further estranging the situation, "I didn't even do anything. Can't you just let me go?"

At this, the officer seemed to seize up, his eyes almost visibly bulging out behind his sunglasses, "Didn't...do...anything? You tried to break into the vault! Do you have any idea what we have to do to all those locks now?!"

"Not really no." Kasha shrugged as best he could in his position, "But I didn't actually go in."

"That's because we caught you!"

"Still didn't go in." the Vrakht looked back up at the officer, "But what if I made big cutesy eyes and said I was sorry anyway?"

At that, the officer deadpanned. It took him several seconds to muster the coherence to look at Azuria. The woman in turn gave but a sigh and a wave, indicating to the man that he should let the captive back up. When the officer pointed down at Kasha in a questioning manner, she retorted, "Yes Steve, I'm sure. He may not look it, but he has extensive experience with demons and related matters...and he still owes me for all the things he broke."

"Me?!" Kasha blinked in apparent surprise at this as he stood straight again, "Nuh-uh! That was totally the Behemoth! I didn't have anything to do with that!"

At this, Azuria seemed to lose it for just a moment, shouting back, "You were the reason it got out in the first place!"

"Ahem..." she cleared her throat almost the instant thereafter, regaining her composure, "My apologies. He has that...effect. Don't let him get to you. He is much more knowledgeable than he lets on. I cannot say it will guarantee your safety, but we have an agreement. He will do his best to guide you through hell."

"Um, excuse me." Kasha piped up again, trying to raise a finger, but restricted by the chains, "About that, actually. Which hell is this? 'Cause you know, there's several and all that. I might not actually know anything about this one..."

"Didn't...do...anything?" The officer shot incredulously, "You tried to break into the vault! Do you have any idea what we have to do to all those locks now?!"

Jack "Snaerr" Sharpe sighed and stifled his retort, but he couldn't help thinking it:

Locks? They may as well be doorbells, for all the security they don't have around here.

He managed to prevent himself from snickering at the interchange that ensued, but he couldn't help himself when-

"Me?!" Kasha blinked in apparent surprise at this as he stood straight again, "Nuh-uh! That was totally the Behemoth! I didn't have anything to do with that!"

At that, he had to let one out, but he managed- rather smoothly, in his opinion- to disguise it as a sneeze.

"You were the reason it got out in the first place!"

This time, the laugh was too pronounced to contain, and he promptly doubled over. Azuria shot him a look that might have melted glass, but continued.

"Ahem..." she cleared her throat almost the instant thereafter, regaining her composure, "My apologies. He has that...effect. Don't let him get to you. He is much more knowledgeable than he lets on."

So am I, but I don't irritate you that much- wait, nevermind.

Snaerr calmly waited for them to finish, then turned to Damsel.

"If I know Azuria- and I do- we'll probably be using some sort of portal. Hopefully not one we stole from the Circle of Thorns, but I'm not prepared to make any guarantees, not after that incident in Ouroboros."

"Maybe." the Vrakht gave Pious a suggestive smile before raising the hands bound behind his back to demonstratively move the chain. The smile became a soft, pleading frown, and his eyes sad and soulful, "You know, if you untied me, I could probably just call a Gate. Pretty please...?"

Azuria's eyes went wide the moment Pious entered Kasha's 'personal space'. Still, she wasn't fast enough to save him. Virtually the instant the retraints came off, it was already too late. The Vrakht had made his move and latched onto the Priest with a warm, fuzzy hug.

"D'awww!" he exclaimed happily and with a wide smile, "I knew you liked me! We're going to make a great team, I just know it...!"

Illusionist stood in the doorframe and softly knocked against it. The sound seemed to boom and echo throughout the small room. "I hope i'm not interrupting anything", he said in a calm voice."I heard someone was planning to travel into the netherworld.I was wondering if you could use another mage with you."

"Spoilsport." Sage smirked back at Pious, releasing the man, "And are you sure? If I did, who would take you?"

He turned to look at the newly arrived Illusionist, smiling warmly in his direction, "Ooh, I love magic. Can you make a table disappear? How about a motorcycle? Oh, uh, right - we taking your ride or mine...?"

Azuria was loosing her patience. "Sage!" she barked. "Calm down and build your portal or I'll go with Orabenga instead, understood?"

As she spoke, a smartly-suited MAGI official handed the newcomer a filed documentation of the meeting he had just missed and details of the mission ahead, including names and powersets of his fellow hell-raiders. "Welcome to the team magus" he greeted, offering the mage a handshake. "Tell us your name and powers then fill it all in on this here form. The task force will be leaving soon."

Illusionist shook the MAGI official's hand."I'm the Illusionist", he said."I hope you'l understand if I don't reveal my true name,such things have power and you never know who might be listening."He raised his documentation holding hand and waved it over his head. The papers seemed to vanish into thin air."I major in illusions and I minor in reality warping."He paused for a moment and looked at Azuria."My files should be in the MAGI database."He held out his hand and the papers suddenly became visible. "I'm sure they have records on all present here somewhere.You'l find them misleading I'm sure.",he said as he entered the room,"Where we'r going the line between illusions and reality is quite blurred."

"Fine, fine." Kasha breathed with slight despondence. Why was everyone around here always so serious? Oh well. At least that Illusionist character looked to have a sense of humor. The Vrakht smirked deviously as he took a knee, placing the palm of an orange hand against the floor, "But remember: you asked for it."

Then it happened, from one instant to another. It didn't even look like Sage had done anything, and this did come pretty close to the truth, but regardless of noted action, the reaction stood there plain as day.

The gate.

With a sound of hollow thunder, like that of some titanic bell having been swiftly struck and then silenced just as abruptly, the gate had appeared. At least five stories high and nearly half as wide, it stood right behind Kasha in a space that by all logic should've been much too small for it to fit...and yet it did. Like some terrifying herald of chaos that openly declared defiance against the 'laws' of the physical world, it towered and loomed, the pitch-black wood of its flanks and frame adorned with ornate, golden glyphs that spoke the verse of the traveling word.

And with a mighty grind, the gate swung open.

"All yours." Sage smiled casually to the group with near-closed eyes, standing once again, as if nothing about this was at all unusual. The vapid, whispering darkness within the doorway of course suggested otherwise...

Rachel marvelled at the towering gate with overwhelming awe and obvious trepidation.

"Are we supposed to go in there?" she gulped loudly, "Because I'm having second thoughts."

"Typhon" said Azuria. "Nice of you to join the party. You and the Illusionist's profiles shall be pulled and included in the mission files. I'll need you and Sage to guide the party through the Netherworld and extract three persons; Officer James Neil, ex-felon Alicia Barzini and her immortal son Antonio Gar. Damsel, don't be afraid. You will be assisted by Midnight Squad mages and PPD robots whose primary jobs are to keep you safe and alive. Get on people, time's against us."

As she finished her prep talk, the Midnight Squad mages filed in through the giant dimensional portal, flanked in formation at the sides by the PPD policebots.

"ZOMBIE!!!" The yell came from up the steps as a civilian spotted him walking into the City hall building.

"yeah, yeah your a sharp one. Never mind calling for a hero I am one. I even been on T.V. you know I was big news when that Freakshow cut off my head." Rotten waved to the city official and then walked his way into the MAGI office.

"So what's this about a dangerous mission and life threating doom?" he asked as he shoved the remains of a triple decker cheese burger in his mouth. He looked around at those gathered "What is this some kind of Task force operation?"

Illusionist pulled his eyes away from the unholy gate and shuddered. He had traced its contour with his eyes but his mind rejected what he saw. It was taller then the room it stood in, yet it did not reach the ceiling. When he had looked at it, the walls around him had seemed to stretch. It had been as if he was a tiny thing, looking at the gate from below it. No matter from what angle he examined it, the gate showed him that same trick of perspective, and that made his head hurt. Students of the mystic arts are often told that the more powerful of their magics hint at the true strangeness of the world around them. One cannot truly appreciate this fact until one has seen a gate stretching into some strange 5th dimension and tried to interpret it as a thing of only 4 dimensions.

It was as these thoughts whirled around in his head that Illusionist saw the zombie."Nice to meet you.", he said as he grabbed the zombie's hand and shook it,"I'm Illusionist,agent of MAGI.As you can see we've got a portal into the Netherworld here."He waved his paper holding hand in the general direction of the ornate gate as his zombie holding hand absorbed a small amount of negative energy."The short of it is that some people got themselves trapped in this hellish other dimension and we're going to go rescue them. You in?"

"P-shaw." Kasha snickered at the Illusionist, "I never have any thoughts at all."

Whether that response had been meant to reassure or frighten was uncertain, as either ay Sage's attention was drawn by by mages entering the gate and vanishing into the whispering darkness inside. He turned to Azuria, though adressed the gorup at large as well, "Uhh, wait - you guys want to walk through Hell? Padron the pun, but hell no. That's just not done. Okay, we're taking my car."

A snap of his fingers later, a downright demonic roar bellowed forth from the blackness in the huge doorway, though those present would find it had much more in common with some monstrous engine than a monster. Of course, the two might well have been one and the same, namely in the form of the jet-black Lamborghini Diablo that literally leaped from the gate and came down on the floor of the MAGI office with loud report, tires screeching as the car skidded sideways to a stop.

Sporting a modified layout of four seats, the car may have looked normal enough, even the seemingly fluid flecks of silver chrome that decorated its chassis here and there possibly being of this world, but just about anyone able to sense it would undoubtedly know it was not. It may have looked like one, may have carried oversized exhaust pipes, but there was no doubt about it: there was nothing in those pipes; at least nothing of the physical world.

"Hop in." Sage gave an inverse nod toward the vehicle as he stepped toward the driver door, "Trust me, you don't wanna walk through Hell. You'll get the foot burn..."

Snaerr stared at Sage for several long moments, gave Azuria an accusing glare, then sighed and floated a few feet into the air, a thin sheen of chilling mist emanating from his body.

"I can fly faster than a car, and I don't trust you behind the wheel of a pair of sneakers, much less an actual vehicle. Shall we?"

Illusionist stared at the car. He could steal speed and endurance from his foes and run forever. He could make himslelf as light as a feather and leap tall buildings in a single bound. He had a photo ID card which could tear a hole in space. He had a watch that could tear a hole in time. He still found the pitch black sportscar that stood in front of him very impressive, and more then a little intimidating. It was the lizard man that had brought him to this meeting. He had seen him dragged in chains by an armed gaurd and had followed him out of curiosity. He had assumed the lizard was simply a prisoner, a small time conjurer. With growing horror he realized he was wrong. Whomever this man was, he was powerful.

Illusionist tried to move towards the vehicle. He realized he had forgotten to let go of the zombie's hand and promptly did so. Looking at the paper he was holding in his other hand he noticed it had magically changed to reflect the current party. His own name was on there, as was what little MAGI knew of him and his history. The lizard man was Sage, he was a Vrakht. He had also stolen from the MAGI vault, an impressive feat for any being.

Illusionist walked to the car and put his hand on the backseat doorhandle. The Lamborghini glowed for a second. Its motor now sounded a bit different, it's roar had a slightly higher pitch."This should make it go faster", he murmered. This day was quickly taking on a certain dream like quality."Lot of tar traps in the Netherworld,if you get caught in one you might drown." He got into the car and fastened his seat belt.Windowseat, in the back, side opposite the driver. For a moment, Illusionsit wondered what he was getting himself into.

Pious and Azuria shared a look and then both looked from the car to Sage and back to the car with painful regret. Pious just sighed and floated upwards and into the portal. "Rachel" called Azuria, addressing the one named Damsel. "The mages will keep you all magically networked for communication and monitoring. Once everyone is on the other side it's probably best to do a roll call, read out everyone's names, powers and limitations as collated in these mission files. I know you have photographic memory but just take the folder with you anyway. Typhon, Sage, you two behave yourselves and lead the party straight to wherever it is the Priest wants to go, no detours! Snaerr..." Azuria peered into the monstrous all-terrain vehicle, "...Illusionist, be careful down there."

Azuria marched out of the office and passed a familiar zombie on her way out. "Well who do we have here? Ron 'Rotten Luck' Bolton, aren't you a sight for sore eyes" she joked, just as an agent came running down the hallway brandishing an additional folder. "Man, you were big news when that Freakshow cut off your head. I'll never be able to forget seeing that on television. Listen, on behalf of MAGI, it is an honour to have you here helping us. The party are just leaving, please go catch up. Wouldn't want the portal closing down on you only halfway in. Little behind stuck out here, torso in hell, not what you'd call flattering, huh?"

"wouldn't deram of misbehaving" Typhon said giving his best puppy eyes, kinda freaky for a person from the underworld but he gave it his best, he even threw in a flaming halo

"Yeah I dowbt I could handle having pawts of me in other realms." He blinked and looked at his hand wondering if that fellow absorbed some of his magical energy. with a snort he took out a bit of beef jerky and ate it.

"Alright I go on foot. Taking point and triggering any traps in our way. Not much can really harm me so best that way." He nodded and then walked into the portal. Once on the other side he looked around and moved to the side so not to be hit by the car once it comes through.

Then remembering his Arachnos training he started making out a perimeter moving in a steady cricle. He wasn't walking blind either he was looking at where he stepped watching for any reaction that shouldn't be.