The heavy orb smashes into one of the side exits, failing to open properly (CG for West exit increased from 30 to 40).  The Soldier reacts with what would be admirable quickness if he wasn't a genocidal ghost, bracing himself with a leg against the wall and letting Lucifer's open-palm strike just hit unyielding soulsteel.  The soldier isn't going anywhere!

Anna is the first to move, jabbing at Lucifer with her soulsteel pike.  The intent isn't so much to hurt him as to channel essence down the pike, hindering his movements.

This buys time for the Leader to snap his gun up and fire a soulsteel-jacketed tankbuster round at Lucifer's chest.

The Soldier, now recovered from the palm-strike, fires his pistols repeatedly at Lucifer's eyes and joints.

The Assassin has finished preparing his spell and thus brings his rifle to bear.  It's just a bit more accurate than the Leader's, but empowered with necrotic illusions that make it more difficult to avoid- and promising dramatic harm to Lucifer's spiritual energy if it hits.

((Defense vs Anna: 10, 9, 7, 6, 6, 3, 2 & 2
Resist Disrupt (Wu Wei): 26 + 15 + 10 + 5 = 56 vs 53, resisted
Block Strike: 22+15+10 = 47 vs 39, Blocked

Defense vs Leader: 10, 9, 5, 5, 4, 2, 1 & 1
Strike Lucifer 36 + Strike 25 + AB 10 + IKF 10 = 81, Better Dodged:  Block -10
1M Chi, 2 Chi on Eternal Temple's God-Armor
1 Chi on Chi Aura if Damage after Toughness >0
Float 1-1
Dodge Strike: 25+15+10 = 50 vs 81; 2 Ripples + RR; Toughness 35

Defense vs Soldier: 8, 6, 4, 4, 3, 1, 1 & 1
Block Strike: Flowed 51+15+10 = 76 vs 70, Blocked

Defense vs Assassin: 9, 8, 8, 7, 3, 3, 2 & 2
1 Chi on Chi Aura if Damage after Toughness >0
Dodge Strike: Flowed 28+15+10 = 53 vs 88; 2 Ripples + RR, Toughness 35

Init: 7, 6, 5, 4, 4, 3, 1 & 1

using Vengeful Titan w/ Manifest Destiny (Ranged/Massive)
1 Chi on Eternal Temple's God-Armor
Sheltering Water Intercession: 49 (24+15+10)
FoB: 46 (21+15+10) / 2 Chi
Initiative: 27 (17+10) ))

Lucifer swats Anna's pike aside, sneering as her corrupt essence assails him but fighting the influence off with a grunt.

As the Soldier tries to capitalize on his supposed weak points his Anima flickers into being, platinum wings catching the bullets midair before bursting with holy energy and throwing the Gunzosha against the Assassin! So much for not going anywhere.

This maneuver costs Lucifer too much effort to do much beside take the Leader and Assassin's shots like a man. The tankbuster strikes him squarely in the chest just as the Assassin's sniper shot catches him right between the eyes ... but as the smoke clears, the Zenith seems more angry than hurt. His shirt sports a giant hole over a bruised chest, however, and the Assassin suddenly seems to have gained a supernatural edge against him.

He's muttering something under his breath, a spell that's at once similar to the Assassin's thaumaturgy and yet completely opposite. While the Assassin's spell hid him from view by blending into the darkness, Lucifer's aims to make him impossible to behold, like staring directly into the sun.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:07, Thu 01 Dec 2016.

The Gunzosha recover from their shock like a well-oiled machine.  Anna almost immediately shuts down Lucifer's spell, chanting a counterspell that breaks it like a pane of glass.

Then she jabs at him with her staff, once again channeling a prodigious amount of necrotic energy into him- not the kind that Thanatos did, hers is much more mystical, spiritual, necrotic.  The shaped charge she throws under Lucifer's feet, on the other hand, isn't.  The charge destroys the flooring under him, dropping him into what can charitably be called the corner of the living room.  That's right onto Trashburnipal's nest.

That was pretty solid bulkhead, too.  She's packing some serious explosives.

With Lucifer unceremoniously dumped on his ass in Trashburnipal's nest, the others open up with their ranged weaponry, peppering him with precision fire.

((https://docs.google.com/docume...4EE/edit?usp=sharing))

((Defense vs Anna: 10, 9, 8, 7, 7, 6, 6 & 4
Float 6-6
Resist Disrupt Toughness w/ Wu Wei: 27+15+10+5 57 vs 55
Block Strike: 19+15+10+5 = 49 vs 38, Blocked
Takes Strike Disrupt @ 77

Defense vs Leader: 10, 10, 9, 7, 5, 4, 2 & 1
10, 9, 8, 7, 4, 3 & 1
1 Chi on Chi Aura if Damage after Toughness >0
Dodge Strike: 20+15+10+5 = 50 vs 64, 1 Ripple + RR; Toughness 35, Reply if Damage=0. Interesting Times?

Defense vs Soldier: 8, 6, 6, 5, 5, 3, 2 & 1
Float 6
Resist Disrupt: 25+15+10+5 = 55 vs 51, resisted
Block Strike: 18+15+10+5 = 48 vs 64, 1 Ripple + RR; Toughness 35, Reply if Damage=0

Defense vs Assassin: 8, 7, 4, 2, 1, 1 & 1
1 Chi on Chi Aura if Damage after Toughness >0
Resist Disrupt: 31+15+10 = 56 vs 48, resisted
Dodge Strike: 18+15+10 = 43 vs 78, 2 Ripples + RR; Toughness 35, Reply if Damage=0

Attack: 8, 6, 6, 6, 4, 3, 2 & 1
1 Metal Chi, 1 Solar Chi on Black Tigers Hunting
1 Metal Chi, 3 Chi on Iron Buddha's Disapproval
2 Chi on Pinning Shot
Flood 6 to ignore Armor, reduce max Chi Aura by 1

Strike Soldier: 111 (Flowed 56 +20 External +20 Internal +10 AB +5 MD +5 Laughs -5 Disrupt). Better dodged (-10 from Massive). Damage +55 ))

While Lucifer easily swats away Anna's staff again, some of her spiritual assault manages to catch him off guard this time and he feels his vision becoming fuzzier. As he groans and tries to regain his bearings, something explosive goes off under him and he quickly finds himself in a pile of trash being peppered with what felt more like artillery than bullets.

Good. A bit of pain was just what he needed to focus.

A brilliant light erupts from the trash heap, singing the Gunzoshas for daring to assail a holy being like Lucifer. While actual damage from the flash is negligible, it was merely as a portent of pain to come: a single massive spike streaks toward the Soldier, burning with Solar Fury.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:24, Fri 02 Dec 2016.

Shots ricochet from Lucifer's body, peppering the Leader (who seems too drugged out of his mind to notice) and the Assassin, who flinches from the shots.  The floor seems to groan and squeal and suddenly all of them are dumped out of the anterminus!  All except for the Soldier, who holds on just long enough to actually mark Lucifer's flesh before the Solar unloads on him, hitting him with one of the massive spikes from the Manifest Destiny and pinning his body to the wall like a butterfly.  The others land around the living room, with Anna closest to the door and the Leader farthest away.

"Situation compromised,"  The Assassin rasps at Anna after flashing a hand sign, "Take it and run!"  He takes a canister about the size of a beer can from his armor and tosses it towards Anna, who gets ready to dash out of the room.

Ilari steps out of the bathroom, his laser pistol raised as he draws a bead on the Assassin.

https://docs.google.com/docume...Vk8/edit?usp=sharing

((Spending 2 ChivJoss. Init: 10, 9, 8, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 5 & 2
using Blue Flame Dragon w/ Unarmed
1 Chi to continue Eternal Temple's God-Armor
1 Solar Chi on Jade Tiger Techniques
Shaping Wave (Might) to prevent exit: 77 (37+25+5+10)
FoB: 40 (15+15+10) / 2 Chi
Initiative: 57 (27+20+10)

Attack roll: 10, 10, 8, 8, 6, 5, 2, 2, 2 & 1
1 Metal Chi, 2 Chi on Black Tigers Hunting
Strike Leader: 16+20+10 = 46, Better Dodged.
Knockback Leader at Assassin (Might): 28+25+10+5 = 68
Disrupt Leader Damage (Inspire): 20 +15 Skill +5 Specialty +10 AB +10 MD +5 IKF = 65. Interesting Times?
Disrupt Leader Toughness (Might): 32+25+10+5 = 72 ))

"NO ONE LEAVES!"

Lucifer thunders, slamming his foot down with unbelievable force and directing the shockwave with his Anima. In an instant every single chunk of the destroyed ceiling, no matter how heavy, is thrown explosively toward the door along with the exits of the anterminus and any other conceivable exit, nook or cranny at the edge of the space. As the dust clears, the combatants are so encased in rubble you'd need a wrecking crew to get out of the space.

There's more to see as the dust clears, though. Lucifer has taken the opportunity to move in front of the Leader, smacking an open palm toward the Gunzosha's head almost weakly. As he connects, though, he grasps at the visor of the enemy's armor, aiming to tear it off.

"Not before I break you", he seethes, filled with such menace that combat drugs or undeath seem like passing concerns - all the more so if he's now seeing the enemy face to face. Finally, he aims a resounding headbutt at the enemy's forehead, packing enough force to send him sprawling.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:10, Fri 02 Dec 2016.

Lucifer falls upon the Leader like a wolf on sheep.  Though it avoids getting hurt by the open-palm strike, Lucifer's able to tear off the ghost's visor.

The ghost is TERRIFIED.  Even with the combat drugs in its system- and Lucifer gets a feeling there's a lot of those- it was terrified before even facing him.  It's a mind in a prison of utter fear, unable to fight against the Neverborn's control.

The Neverborn own the dead, after all.

Then it gets slammed into the Assassin, the two of them letting out grunts of pain.

The Leader recovers, drawing off the rest of its mask to show a skeletal mouth surrounded by rotting flesh.  He draws his head back and spits in Lucifer's direction, acidic poison spraying right for him.  Then he raises the gun and fires a solid shot to Lucifer's torso.

But they forgot Ilari's in the room with them.  The Lunar calmly raises his targeting pistol and fires a scorching beam of light directly into the Leader's ghostly eyes.  Necrotic essence manages to rob the attack of some of its potency but the Leader still has a mildly scorched eye.

The Assassin was only jostled by the Leader, since it's a bit difficult for Lucifer to easily target him.  But the Leader is still in his way.  He tosses Anna the canister and then has to sidestep the Leader to fire- but in this time his chance for a shot is cut short.  Nevertheless, for a snap shot, his accuracy is laudable.

Anna catches the canister and flicks a switch with a thumb.  "We need to get out,"  She tells them, "He's swapping between styles!  Next one he'll go into Destroyer stance!"  She stabs at him with her staff, trying to get him to pause and reconsider his techniques- she's seeing through them and already considering ways to neutralize his advantages.

(( Defense vs Leader:  9, 8, 8, 7, 6, 5, 3, 3, 2 & 1
1 Metal Chi, 2 Chi on Reflective Silver Bell
1 Chi on Chi Aura vs Poison
1 Chi on Chi Aura vs Strike
Dodge Poison: 23+15+10 = 48 vs 90; 3 Ripples + RR; Toughness 35
Dodge Strike: 28+15+10 = 53 vs 72, 1 Ripple + RR; Toughness 35

Defense vs Assassin: 10, 10, 10, 9, 9, 9, 8, 3 & 2
Float 0-0-0
Dodge Strike: 39+15+10 = 64 vs 59, Dodged

Defense vs Anna: 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 2 & 1
Resist Disrupt (Inspire): 22+20+10+10 = 62, resisted
Block Strike: 19+15+10 = 44, Blocked

Initiative: 10, 9, 6, 6, 3, 2, 2 & 1
using Vengeful Titan w/ Manifest Destiny (Ranged/Massive)
1 Chi on Eternal Temple's God-Armor
FoB: 22+15+10 = 47 / 2 Chi
Waning Metal Protection Spell: 26+15+10 = 51
Initiative: 19+10 = 29))

The buried terror in Leader's eyes causes Lucifer's towering rage to falter as the Gunzosha is sent flying. Forgetting the enemy was a puppet to the Neverborn rather than a willing accomplice was necessary mental shorthand for many because contemplating their tortured existence mid-combat was bound to... Well, get you a tankbuster round and faceful of acidic poison, for one.

Lucifer shines with golden-platinum light as he bellows, causing the foul venom to evaporate before it can do too much damage - but as the more conventional projectile bounces off his outstretched hand, there's a loud crunching sound. The enemy's heavy Voidtech weaponry and concerted efforts were finally starting to get to him.

He was far from done, however. Being battered, broken and knocked down was nothing new to him. What mattered was who could take it, get up and keep fighting longer. As he grimaces from the pain in his hand he channels it to his Anima, causing his platinum wings to flicker into being around him and flicking The Assassin's snap shot off-course. As Anna jabs at her, he deflects her staff with his upper left arm and looks her in the eye.

"It's too late for planning. Just because you know what I'm doing doesn't give you any more tools or strength to resist it."

He pushes Anna off, starting to mutter a chant to refresh the protective spell he'd just burned out deflecting the Assassin's shot.

"In some ways there's a way out, Lucifer, but some things can only be delayed."  Anna's voice is sad.

The Neverborn positively glow with necrotic power as they draw upon their patrons, threatening to snuff out Lucifer's light.  The Leader's eyes, while panicked, nevertheless draw upon Lucifer, reading his opponent's movements as he places another round right towards Lucifer's chest.

Anna takes her time breaking his spell.  Then she kicks the thing the Assassin tossed her- a shaped charge- to the center of the floor.  She quickly lashes out with her staff to flood Lucifer's system with necrotic essence, and then the charge explodes.  The floor collapses, sending them down several sections of ductwork, down a tube, and finally spitting them out on the shores of the Overflow.

"Oh, hey there,"  White Arcing Lightning- or at least a reasonable facsimile of her- says as they land on the beach of black sand and glowing molten water.  She floats to Lucifer's side.  "What're you doing here, baby?"

"Suppress!" The Leader rasps.  His skin bubbles as it comes near to the Overflow- replacing itself with wasps.  But the wasps can't stand the contact with his combat drugs and start to die.

"Not- quite."  Ilari places another blast to the Leader's face, but ends up catching the Leader's outstretched right arm.  It tremendously scorches it but fails to put him down.  "Hnnnnnnn."

The Assassin takes his time to line up the shot.  As he does so his armor starts to bulge in ridiculous places, ghost-flesh spilling out of the sides.  He still manages to squeeze off a deadly round before a piece of his armor pings off.

Anna starts trying to run away, but she yelps with surprise as her legs lock together and dump her onto the dirt.

((Mutations:
Lucifer heals 1 ripple/round, starting on his action.  Leader is COVERED WITH WASPS, which die on contact with his skin, taking an extra ripple/round.  Assassin's going to lose his armor thanks to a ton of TOTALLY BENEFICIAL tumors.  Anna has turned mermaid, her legs fusing into one big fin.  Ilari is a boring meanie-head so he gets no blessings.

https://docs.google.com/docume...-4E/edit?usp=sharing))

((Defense vs Leader:10, 4, 4, 4, 3 & 2
1 Solar Chi on Swinging Bell Defense
Block Strike: 34+25+10+5-10 = 64 vs 67, 1 Ripple

Defense vs Anna: 10, 9, 4, 3 & 2
1 Chi on Chi Aura
Block Strike: 19+10+5 = 34 vs 44, 1 Ripple + RR; Reply
Takes Toughness Disrupt at 82

Defense vs Assassin: 7, 7, 6, 3 & 1
2 Chi on Chi Aura
Dodge Strike: 27+10+5 = 42 vs 89, 3 Ripples + RR; Trivial

Attack vs Leader: 10, 9, 9, 6, 5 & 2
1 Metal Chi, 2 Chi on Black Tigers Hunting
5 Chi on Iron Buddha's Disapproval
2 Chi on Pinning Shot
Flood 0 to ignore Armor, reduce max Chi Aura by 1

Knockback Leader against Assassin (Might): 69 (29+25+10+5)
Strike: 90 (Flowed 30 +20 External +20 Internal +10 AB +5 MD +5 Laughs -5 Disrupt). Block -10. Damage +55. Interesting Times?))

The Neverborn energy flooding from the Gunzosha threatens to overwhelm Lucifer, making his head swim. While he'd never show it, the unfortuate fact was he was teetering on the limits of his power.

Anna, much unlike him, was practically unmarred by the battle so far so it was no wonder she could unravel his spell and focus her necrotic essence with precision. He knew he couldn't muster enough energy to fight off her withering energy, but her physical strike was nowhere near as powerful - so as she strikes him, he lets the staff connect with his ribs before locking it in place with his left arm and spinning. Anna smacks against a wall just as her essence crawls under his skin - and then there was a loud explosion, falling...

The next thing he knows, Lucifer is on all fours on black sand. As he struggles to regain his footing, a familiar feeling strikes him. He didn't know where he was exactly, but sensing WAL nearby... It was better not to think about it too much.

"What's it look like?" he grunts in reply to the Raksha's inquiry while balling his left hand into a fist and infusing it with Solar Essence, meeting the Leader's tankbuster round with a punch, resulting in an explosion that leaves his hand sore but intact.

The Assassin, however, manages to catch him off guard once more. Lucifer lets out a yell of intermingled pain and anger as the shot hits him right from a blind angle, ricocheting off of him but not without leaving a mark.

He could feel his right hand throbbing with pain. He felt every muscle in his body drawn taut, not quite sure when they would give in. He felt his head swimming and his Anima muted by the necrotic energies levied at him.

But as long as he drew breath, he was not beaten.

With a strained yell he charged at the Leader as he was recovering from Ilari's assault, dropkicking the heavily armored Gunzosha to smash him against the Assassin. As he lands, he braces the Manifest Destiny on the black sands and gathers every bit of power left in him, shaping it into a brilliant, massive lance of light that streaks toward the Leader.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:21, Tue 06 Dec 2016.

"It looks like you're getting your ass kicked again,"  WAL says playfully, hovering over his head, "Really, more Gunzosha?  Here?  I'm a GODDESS here.  Well.... technically I'm a Goddess everywhere, and not one of those cut-rate goddesses, we're talking the kind that breaks all hearts like Luna..."

The Leader is staggered, terrified out of his mind, and in no condition to deal with a fully armed and operational Lucifer.  The Leader takes the shot right to the chest, driving him into the swiftly-mutating Assassin.  The Assassin's armor fails and with the now-dead Leader driving into him, both sets of Malfeas-hearts try to combine at once.

Squish.

It isn't pretty.  Nor is the basketball-sized lump of Malfeas beating on the black sands.

That just leaves Anna, who's taking a combat knife to her legs to try to split apart the mermaid tail.  She's managing to do a reasonable job of it, since ghost-flesh is more a  suggestion of tissue than anything else.

"You know how I fight", Lucifer grumbles to WAL - or her simulacrum, anyway. "As long as they take it worse..."

...Which they did, apparently. His maneuver turned out even better than he'd hoped due to the Assassin's hearts being exposed from losing his armor; a fact he's very grateful for. He may not have been able to weather many more of those sniper shots.

Lucifer groans as he pushes himself up from the sands, making his way toward the struggling Anna with a gait that seems almost drunken. He gestures Ilari toward the fused Malfeas -piece; the doctor might well want to study it a bit while fresh and before he dealt with it.

He stops a few feet behind the ghost, weapon in hand but not aimed at her as of yet.

"It's over, Anna. You're the last one left and there's no escape. One more delay."

His voice is stern, with an underlying grief that was starting to surface as the battle fury began to die down.

Ilari holsters his pistol and takes a plastic bag out of one of his many pouches.  He stuffs the Malfeas-gobbet into the plastic bag and seals it tight.

"I'm not the last one left,"  Anna tells him, dropping the knife.  She looks up at him, her eyes tired.  "You forgot one."

She was right, wasn't she? There should still be one scout roaming somewhere.

"The last Scout. We'll have to deal with him but he won't be able to accomplish the mission alone."

He kneels down to search and disarm Anna of any weapons before standing back up and offering a hand to hoist her up. Without a functional pair of legs it'd be easier to carry her anyway.

"I don't suppose you'll tell me where to find him."

"I think I'll be able to handle him,"  Ilari says, "I'll track him down for the Ilmorijo.  We can handle that." The Lunar has begun to shake a little, no doubt from the adrenaline.  His voice quavers.  He wasn't even in the thick of it, but then again, who has Lucifer's experience in these matters?  The Lunar's used to tracking down diseases!

Anna's studded with weapons- little explosives, grenades, knives.  She half-heartedly tries to fend him off but eventually just gives up.  "You know I can't." She tells him as she closes her eyes, "No matter how much I want to."

"Eh, I can always go inside her head or something.  Read her dreams.  It's dangerous, but..."  WAL shrugs, "Anything for my hubby!"
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:24, Wed 07 Dec 2016.

"Delve into the dreams of someone with a link to the Neverborn? Absolutely not. I'm not sure which of you the attempt would be more dangerous for, but I'm not willing to risk that for either of you."

Daniel looks to Ilari. Delegation certainly wasn't his strongest suit, but based on what he'd seen in the fight and the Lunar's condition relative to his... He could probably handle it. Tracking diseases? Heh. Isn't that what this mission had been from the start, finding and eradicating a pestilence?

And he had Anna now. Getting her contained was something he certainly couldn't entrust to anyone else.

He nods to the Lunar after a bit of contemplation. "Alright. It's not like me to leave a hunt unfinished, but..."

He involuntarily casts a glance at Anna.

"You're better at tracking anyway. I'll inform Smoker to co-ordinate with you. Be sure to utilize him and the Ilmorijo, there's no need for rash maneuvers anymore."

Heh. Talk about not practicing what you preach.

After becoming reasonably sure he'd stripped Anna of any weapons or - more importantly - communication devices, he checks whether his phone survived the encounter in its protective casing this time. If it did, he gestures Ilari to watch over Anna as he takes a bit of distance and calls Smoker once more. His eyes never leave Anna for long, however.

"Fight's done. Four of 'em. Captured Anna, eliminated the other three. About to purify their remains and bring Anna in. Ilari will be in charge of the hunt for the last Scout."

"Well, dangerous to everyone really." The WALppelganger admits, "But come on, with great danger comes great responsibility and greater rewards and grape jelly or however it goes."

"You can count on me," Ilari tells him with a nod, though the man's certainly looking like 'oh god, what did I get into'.  He keeps his weapon trained on Anna once told to cover her.  The ghost-woman remains silent.

Miracle of miracles, Lucifer's cellphone remains intact!  This is probably because the Gunzosha were committing the cardinal sin of targeting Lucifer's center mass instead of his electronics.

"Good job,"  Smoker puffs out, "We're actually working on that last scout now.  He made contact while you were fighting, scuffed up a few salt lines.  How're you handling?  And I'm texting you the address and map to my special cell now."

"I'm certainly not one to avoid danger but there's a difference between risky moves and stupid ones. Appreciate the offer, though. And the help."

Ilari's nerves are to be expected but he seemed able to handle it. Daniel just needed to make sure he wouldn't bear the burden alone... And luckily it seemed that wouldn't be the case!

"The altercation's still ongoing? If so, where? I'm battered but fine, will need to get my hand looked at - probably broke some bones. I'll start heading toward the cell soon then."

"No, it's not.  They engaged but weren't capable of putting him down quickly enough, so now they're tracking him.  Get your man there and meet me at the cell."  He rattles off the location- which is quite a trip for a man with a ghost on his shoulder- "I can have a doc waiting for you, but you should get moving soon."

"I've got it," Ilari reiterates to Lucifer, "Take her and go."

"Should I come along?" WAL asks him, "I mean I can't go very far normally, but if you let me just latch onto you a liiiiiiiiitle bit...."

Anna sighs.

"Right", Lucifer says with a somewhat defeated tone as Smoker and Ilari implicitly remind him of his priorities. Of course securing Anna was more important, but leaving something like this to others was still something he wasn't used to. Not that he doubted their ability or even wanted to pursue the straggler rather than secure Anna.

"I'm on my way, then. And so is Ilari. See you soon."

He hangs up, puts away the phone and walks back to Anna. After relaying Smoker's information to Ilari he picks Anna up over his shoulder before turning to WAL.

"Thank you for the offer and the assist, but I'll manage. I'll come visit properly when I'm done with this."

"You'd better.  I'm bored as hell in the Reactor and if I don't get anything soon I think I may have to go out and do some fun." WAL turns and walks into the overflow, sulking.

Ilari recovers, then transforms into a bird and flies off into the hole Lucifer made to join the search.  This just leaves him alone with Anna, ghostly Anna, light-as-a-feather-but-heavier-than-a-mountain Anna.

Anna is silent as he carries her through the halls and transports, people scattering from their approach. They know what she is.  They know who he is.  Eventually they reach Smoker's cell, close to the Outer Hulls, a triple-reinforced room nestled in a thaumaturgically warded Faraday cage surrounded by a complex setup that actually rains salt.  If Lucifer could try to imagine a better prison cell for a ghost, he'd probably end up coming far short of Smoker's setup.  It should hold anything short of one of the Deathlords.

As soon as Anna is put in she screams in absolute, soul-shattering pain.  The scream dies down after a few seconds, turning into an extended whimper.

Lucifer sighs as the sulky WAL disappears. Even if she was a soul-stealing monster whose idea of fun would probably cause widespread mayhem, a part of him sort of felt bad for her... But that was a worry for another time. Right now he had another tragic, neglected woman to handle.

It's no wonder the crowds part as Lucifer passes in grim silence. He's in no mood for bullshit and, even more than usual, it is evident in his expression. A part of him is thankful for the pain in his hand keeping his mind from wandering.

As he carries Anna inside the cell, he winces from her screams more than he ever did from any injury, holding the flailing ghost to prevent her from harming herself. As the worst of it passes, he sets her down against the far wall before slumping down to sit next to the agonized ghost.

Did the prison sever her connection to the Neverborn? Probably not, but it might've weakened it enough to allow her a little more free will. It was nowhere close to satisfactory, but it was a start.

Carefully, hesitantly, he lays a hand on Anna's leg, his eyes looking forward at nothing in particular. A good while of silence passes before he musters anything to say.

"You're safe."

She shrinks away from his hand.  Her armor starts to- for lack of better word- fizz, the joints disintegrating as they fall apart bit by bit.  She scootches a few feet away from him.

Anna draws bare legs up to her chin and holds her knees.

"No I'm not,"  She murmurs back to him, "You should know better."

Daniel sighs as Anna scoots away. Not that the reaction was any sort of surprise.

"No one truly is. But you're as close to it as you can be considering the circumstances. You won't be made to hurt anyone here."

The fizzing of her armor makes him shoot a look her way, but as it becomes apparent what was happening wasn't a threat to her he returns his gaze upward.

"I'll find a way to free you. To remove that shard of Malfeas without killing you and break the chains of the Neverborn holding you."

"Two.  There are two,"  Anna mumbles.  "And it can be done.  But it won't be pleasant for anyone."

She looks over his way.

"They wanted to make more.  That's why we have two,"  She tells him. "They spent a lot of time and energy on it.  We were to put one in Alveua, and give her the rest.  Then she'd convert a few of your criminals into Imperators."
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:52, Fri 16 Dec 2016.