filtered to Lupa and Thorne, double protected

[claudiometer]

[After herding Raidou to her rooms, it quickly became clear Claudia's not gonna snap him out of this on her own. She needs help. Thorne's talked to him a decent amount, she knows, and... she's not entirely sure who else, kid keeps so much to himself that it's hard to say. She doesn't really know the redhead from the dungeon, the kid with the gryphon's gone--

--Lupa. God knows if they're as close as Grisha and Kumiho were, but he does care about Raidou, so it's a place to start.]

Uh, guys? I need some help. Raidou... bluescreened himself.

Bad enough that he didn't ask what bluescreening is. I think Grid-him Interfaced the Moebius terminals. And I'm out of my depth as far as snapping him out of this goes.

Comments

[thornsofmalkav]

Oh, Jesus fucking Christ.

[claudiometer]

Yeah. I got him to my rooms - with a portal because guess where genius here put the door - but he's. Still in pretty rough shape.

[thornsofmalkav]

I need to tell Sabetha, but then I'm coming.

[claudiometer]

Okay. He's at least physically safe now.

[papacerberus]

[There's a sense of urgency in Lupa's mental voice, and the words are clipped orders rather than his usual softer style.]

Get him somewhere protected immediately. Send your location; I will portal there.

[claudiometer]

Step ahead of you, dude.

[Fortunately, she can do sensory livestreaming now, so a quick shot of her rooms is easy to pass along.]

Genius here put the actual door in the Moebius room, but I also didn't know this was gonna happen.

[papacerberus]

I will be there in a moment. I need to--

[He trails off there, and about a minute later there's a knock, again hurried, at Claudia's door. Lupa's outside, quite literally half dressed. He's got a lungi half falling off (looks like he was in the process of dressing when he got the mental call and decided to come as is, really), and his usual jacket hanging off one shoulder.]

[claudiometer]

[When Claudia opens the door, she has to suppress a laugh.] You coulda put your clothes on first, dude.

But... yeah. I'm not sure how to get his mind off this crud long enough to help him either process it or put it away. Or how you might 'put it away,' for that matter.

[papacerberus]

Raidou is more important.

[Lupa peers past her inside.]

I'm not sure I'll fit; maybe I can cast from out here? How large is your space?

[The tattoo on his stomach is already glowing red and bleeding red circuitry lines over his abdomen, in case Claudia is wondering what he's talking about.]

[claudiometer]

...Not dinky? How big do you get?

[She's just glad she knows what Lupa's talking about.]

[papacerberus]

Large enough to swallow you whole.

[Lupa says that dryly, coming back onto an even keel himself now that he's got a plan for what to do. If Salvation doesn't work, perhaps he can help Raidou recover the will to push back against whatever horrible information he's uncovered.]

Casting from out here will probably work, as long as Raidou is close enough to the door..

[claudiometer]

...Point. There's head clearance for you but I'm not sure about clutter clearance. As for 'close to the door,' I guess the question there is what your spell radius looks like.

[papacerberus]

I've never thought about distance; in battle all parties were generally in the same area. A safe minimum would be within five meters or so, I think?

[claudiometer]

That's... fifteen feet, ish? Should be fine, I think. Go for it when you're ready.

[papacerberus]

Then...

[Lupa takes a breath, letting the transformation wash over him. The light starts at the brand, spreading out rapidly over his body in red circuitry-lines, and then expands to a white cocoon for a split second before a much larger form is in his place. Lupa's voice comes from the center of the three massive, eyeless heads, and the finned tail lashes slowly.]

This might take a moment.

[Patra would probably work, if it's simply panic or something similar, but Lupa wants to make sure this has the best possible results. That means something stronger, and out of all the mantras he's discovered he's still possessed, even if not completely mastered, since his dungeon, there's one that he's been working diligently on mastering. Vicious God is not a simple mantra to master, and Lupa has had to devote time and energy to it since his dungeon. Using the skill he wants from it for the first time ever requires spending time looking for it in his memory and focusing on it to make sure he's got it perfectly. But with concentration, Salvation does come to him, and the drain on his reserves is a hefty one. Lupa finally lifts his right head and casts, light flashing around him, and then again around Raidou inside Claudia's rooms. When it's cast, he lowers his right head, and stretches the center one out worriedly.]

Did it work?

[claudiometer]

I dunno. Raidou? You a little more with us, buddy?

[She hopes so. She really, really hopes so. It'll be easier to help him figure out how to at least wall this shit off if he's talking.]

[capital_asset]

[For a moment, the relentless flow of data seems to lessen and he can finally breathe... only for a particularly horrific image to set it all off once more. The small part of him that's not completely overwhelmed almost wails in frustration as he's buried again.]

[claudiometer]

Balls. [It's not directed at either Raidou or Lupa - IOUHEI, maybe, but Claudia's not mad at either of the other people here.]

I think it did for about a second, and that's probably not something you can keep spamming. Thorne said she's grabbing another friend of his and then on her way, so... maybe they'll have something.

[She hopes.]

[papacerberus]

There is one thing that I might be able to keep doing, if it works.

[There's a flash as Lupa changes back, and he goes to sit in front of Raidou. And then, he begins singing a particular song. He's got a nice voice, albeit untrained. Lupa doesn't stop when he's gone through the verses, but does look to Raidou and Claudia both, hoping for confirmation that it's doing something.]

[capital_asset]

[It's helping a little, but not enough.]

[claudiometer]

Come on, dude. You can do it.

[capital_asset]

[He is trying to.]

[papacerberus]

[Not knowing what else to do, Lupa keeps singing Sera's Prayer, and reaches out to gently put his hand over one of Raidou's. He hopes the touch won't backfire, but touch can be such an important and steadying thing.]

Double Protected Private Message to Sabetha

[thornsofmalkav]

Sabetha? Raidou's in a state of shock--like, Claudia describes it as close to catatonic--and Claudia's pretty sure it's because Grid Raidou interfaced the terminals in the Moebius room. I need to you to come with me to her rooms to see if there's anything we can use True Bond to help with.

Re: Double Protected Private Message to Sabetha

[amadine]

He's what?

Where did she set her door?

Re: Double Protected Private Message to Sabetha

[thornsofmalkav]

Computer room. I'll meet you there.

[amadine]

I'm on my way.

[This may or may not be better translated as "I'm teleporting in as close as possible".]

[thornsofmalkav]

[Well, Thorne will be waiting when she does get there.]

[amadine]

[The telltale flicker of a portal heralds her arrival almost immediately. She drops down onto one of the walkways, searching the strange landscape until she spies Thorne.]

[thornsofmalkav]

[Thorne waves to her.]

Claudia's room is just along this way!

[amadine]

After you, then.

[Never mind that, despite her carefully calm voice, the quick clip of her steps as she approaches Thorne threatens to break into a dead sprint.]

[thornsofmalkav]

[Once she sees her sprinting, Thorne breaks into a run toward Claudia's room.]