12142/Ever Merry the Night Hag

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Ever Merry the Night Hag
Date of Scene: 24 July 2022
Location: Outside Laramire Township, NJ
Synopsis: When Phoebe Beacon is tasked with investigating a possible malevolent spirit, she's limited by her inability to speak to contain it. She calls in Red (Hellboy) and Gabs (Gabby Kinney) to help her turn a Hag to Rags.
Cast of Characters: Phoebe Beacon, Gabby Kinney, Hellboy




Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Nightamres are a funny thing, sometimes it's just your brain misfiring on something you ate, a little undigested cheese or dairy before bed making your old business partner appear before you for instance. Sometimes it's repeated, like showing up to school without pants on, and then your teeth falling out.

    Sometimes it's something a little more out of the ordinary.

    Phoebe Beacon was reachable by folks outside the normal routes of communication when the normal failed to provide answers. She gladly had come to investigate something on an old account of her once parent, and had found some items disturbing -- so a text had gone out to two people she knew she could trust to lend A Hand.

    And now, in the evening, Phoebe leaned against her motorcycle, her pack on, outside a house in a rural part of New Jersey. She must be stressed about something as she glances at a pocket watch, because she's doing something out of the ordinary.

    She's smoking.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
That WAS unusual to catch Phoebe doing. It's something which causes Gabby to stare openly as she pulls up alongside on her own motorcycle. Hers was a bit more ... trail-oriented, but it suited for street travel as well. It was hers. Red, and clunky, and perfectly sized for her. Coasting to a stop she cuts the throttle and leans forward on the handlebars to regard Phoebe quietly.

"That bad, huh?" She inquires uncertainly as she reaches up to pull off her Rebel tie-fighter painted helmet.

The house is looked over while she smooths her hair out of her face. "Do we know what to expect? I mean it's cool if not," she reasons while reaching inside the collar of her shirt to pull out the amulet that she'd gotten from Phoebe recently. Never hurt to have a little signal declaring "MAGIC HERE" for someone that couldn't really sense it well in the first place.

Hellboy has posed:
    Hellboy doesn't usually drive himself anywhere. I mean, firstly, it's New York, who has a car? Secondly, the BPRD is always driving him places. Thirdly, even being a public figure, Hellboy is SUPPOSED to keep a low profile. Low profile in this case apparently means an Uber.
    The demon gets out of the back seat of a Toyota Corolla from the late 90's. The car rises slightly in visible relief from the weight of his frame. He stretches, his back popping as he straightens up. He closes the door carefully, as if the whole car is made of glass. "Thanks, kid," he says to the guy driving. The guy just does a quick U-turn and zooms away. "Aw crap," Hellboy says, mostly to himself. "Is he pissed because I forgot to tip?" He turns to the two familiar faces. "Are you supposed to tip Uber drivers?" he both says and signs.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Is there magic here? Well, that little bauble would be reacting to Phoebe and as he arrives, Hellboy as well, glowing a cheery sea-green to Gabby's eyes.

    As Gabby pulls up, Phoebe pulls a last drag off the cig, then removes it and tosses it to the street while pressing the cherry dark with her boot.

    It's bad, because when she looks to Gabby there's just a mouthing of 'Don't Tell Tim' before she breathes out a cloud of peacock blue and shimmery gold through her nose as the Toyota Corolla pulls up, and she tilts her head.

    And as Red steps out of it, she visibly just both relaxes and looks Very, Very confused. She opens her mouth, and then just gives a mute nod to Hellboy. Then signs: 'It's on the app.'

    She can't blame the poor guy in the Corolla. Hellboy is a whole lotta person to cart around.

    She takes a breath, and then motions to Gabby and signs 'G A B B Y - friend' to Hellboy, and motions to Hellboy and 'thinks' to Gabby <Hellboy - friend of mine.>

    Because how is she supposed to know they know each other? Magic? Pfft.

    She signs and 'thinks' the next bart, her face turning to one of concentration because it's two different languages at once, and she knows she's going to have a Hellacious headache later.

    -Have a possible malevolent draining spirit. Affecting whole family inside. Frequent night terrors, bad vibes in the house- she both signs and thinks, stumbling on some of her sign language.

    -Wojcik family has history back in Poland with some hags taking tips from banshees. I could try to force it to manifest, but I'm at a loss without a larynx.-

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney regards the not-normal smoke coming from that cigarette warily, especially after Phoebe indicates not to tell Tim. A deep breath of her own is drawn trying to smell the smoke as much as she could. Maybe it would seem familiar, later. Maybe. "Fine, but don't do it often. You're supposed to be *healing*," she points out with a wag of her finger making a 'swish' gesture across her own throat pointedly. Smoke and lungs and esophogus wasn't a good mix.

The approach of the Corolla is watched with great amusement. Her smile only grows broader once Hellboy steps out of the tiny thing, and she has to laugh. "How did that thing even manage to fit you?" As for the question of Uber? She can only shrug. "Think so? Never used them." She was too young to sign up for an account with them yet.

The signing goes over her head, though she does glance back and forth watching the exchange. At the mental introduction she nods with another grin. "Yeah, we've met. Nice to see you again, Red," she calls out while swinging her leg off her bike to put it properly in park.

The topic at hand gets a thoughtful frown from Gabby. "It starts when they fall asleep, right? Would it work to manifest if one of us fell asleep?"

Hellboy has posed:
    Hellboy watches Phoebe's hands while she signs. He verbally responds to Gabby, "There's only one of me," he says, cryptically. He nods when she greets him. "Hey, kid," he replies.
    Work, though. Red signs as he speaks, doing his best to make the meanings line up. "Not it," he starts. "Gabby--" He waits verbally until his Red Right Hand's fingers finish finger-spelling her name. "--has a voice, but I'm not putting her in that position. We got other options? Hard to punch the incorporeal."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe gives a pointed look to Gabby.

    -You are not falling asleep for this one, your other friends already dealing with nightmares.- she signs and thinks, and then she tilts her head back, and signs to Red 'You can just talk. I'm not deaf. Just missing my vocal chords thanks to a wrong number' she signs to him, and then she goes back to trying to do two communications at once.

    -I can force it to manifest on our side, I just need someone to make sure it stays on our side and gets pummeled to a pulp.- she signs, and then looks between Gabby and Red. -And I think you two will do. I can have a circle drawn up in a minute or two. Otherwise I'm going to have to go Astral and that's going to suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.- she holds out the word for awful, stretching out her arm a moment.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney glances over to Red, then back to Phoebe, when they both shut down the idea completely. Her hands spread in a helpless shrug as she's teamed up on. "Oh come on, it's the simplest option--And hey, their nightmares aren't gonna be related to this. Completely different bogey." She was pretty sure they were at least. Still, she lets out a sigh and nods.

"If it manifests, yeah I'm pretty sure we can keep it here." Her gaze tips over toward Hellboy as if seeking confirmation on this. "But--I can hit non-corporeal things now, too."

Holding up a fist she lets one claw pop out from the back of her hand. It glows with pale moonlight glow to demonstrate. "Helps having a sorceress as a sister."

Hellboy has posed:
    Hellboy raises an eyebrow at Gabby's glowing claw. "Huh," he lets out, not having much more to say about it than that. He turns back to Phoebe. "Okay, you," he says audibly, not signing, though it's clearly awkward for him not to. Like speaking English to someone speaking French back at him. "Gabby can pin it literally down and I'll...what, stand here and look intimidating?" A beat before his poker face faulters. He smirks and waves a hand, "Naw," he says, reaching into his nebulous coat under his right arm with his left hand and pulling out a truly huge revolver. "I brought ghost bullets." Ghost...bullets...Hellboy, learn the right names for things!

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    -Ghost bullets are handy.- Phoebe signs and thinks, and she breathes out a moment as she looks to Gabby's glowing claws, and she feels her shoulders sag a moment. -Wouldn't know.- she signs and thinks back, and then gives a nod of her head towards the side yard, grabbing her backpack and picking up a white can of spraypaint, giving it a shake.

    The work she does is quick, and it's clear she knows her stuff when it comes to circles and symbols. White spray paint on grass, the twenty-foot wide circle takes shape, invoking spirits with Egyptian heiroglyph, forcusing ambient energies and working in a ward to stop the hag from escaping once she's forced to manifest.

    Phoebe's fingertips are white from the paint before she's finished, and she steps back to take a look at her creation. Start to finish the circle took maybe three minutes.

    She looks to Gab and Red.

    -Ready?-

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"Bullets work too," Gabby assures with a broad grin. The claw retracts fast enough it's just a matter of 'not there anymore', and she offers a fist out toward him to bump.

Whether it's taken or not her gaze fixes back to Phoebe with a little frown. "Hey, it's a recent thing," she explains quickly. "An eighteenth birthday present so... I mean. You didn't really miss much," she stumbles over trying to reassure her friend as much as she could. Of course she was utterly failing. Instead she rubs one hand over her elbow awkwardly watching as Phoebe sets up the circle.

"Right. Ready when you are." A thumbs up is offered along with a reassuringly cheery smile.

Hellboy has posed:
    Hellboy hasn't put his gun away, so he crosses his right hand over to bump Gabby's fist with a Fist Bump of Doom. He doesn't blow it up, however. He's not reckless. He points his pistol down at the ground, straightening his arm, bracing his left hand with the Right Hand of Doom. Doom makes one a better shot, apparently. "Do it," he insists.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe gives a nod, and she goes to the side of the circle, and she sits down, assuming a Lotus position with her back towards the family pool. She looks around to Gabby and Red, and then she reaches into her pack, and she takes out a water bottle. She untwists the cap and makes A Face -- Gabby might be able to smell how awful and bitter whatever is in the bottle is -- and she tilts her head back, and downs the contents.

    She closes her eyes, and her head pitches forward a little bit, her hands drawing onto her lap, palm-up, and cossing at the wrists.

    There is a low electric hum, something that might cause the back of the neck on more sensitive people to tingle.

    There is a soft growl, like a cat about to strike.

    The circle lights up, illuminating the ground around it before the scenery around Hellboy and Gabby changes.

    They're in a classroom. There's open windows to the side. There's ghostly students in their Sunday best about, unreal.

    And towards the front there is the Hag. It looks like oily cloth draped over a wire frame, with long, grasping arms and hands curled into cruel talons.

    True to form, it's physically manifested, even if the school around them has not.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney grimaces at the smell from the bottle that Phoebe drinks so readily from. Some part of her mind tries to figure out the smell, to put a name to it, before she forces herself to focus on the more important matter at hand: The newly lit circle.

The emergence of the classroom around them might bring back bad school memories for some, but to Gabby it was just another room. Even when she had attended classes it wasn't one of these public school looking areas. There were no bad memories of showing up without homework to be triggered. Likely what the Night Hag was attempting to do to one of her victims inside the house, though.

"You go high, I'll go low," she states simply to Hellboy as she takes off to leap INTO the circle, claws coming out. Taking his words earlier to heart she ducks low to swing out attempting to literally pin the Hag down with her magically imbued claws. If she could hold her still long enough for a few of those 'ghost bullets' to hit then this might be over quickly. Might.

Hellboy has posed:
    "Aw crap," Hellboy says as the scenery changes. He raises his weapon, aiming it at the head of the hag as Gabby offers tactics. "What was directly behind where her head is now?" he asks. "If this is an illusion, I don't want to kill someone by shooting into a house!"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Behind the hag SHOULD be the pool -- and unfortunately, Phoebe.

    The hag gives another hiss, its head tilting a moment -- its 'head' being a good eight feet off the ground and not where the current acting medium at large is at, and then with a blood curdling shriek, the creature launches itself at Gabby, assuming the younger, smaller creature to be easy pickings.

    It wasn't to be, however, and as Gabby pops claws and takes on the hag, the supernaturally glowing clas come down on the sheet. She screams, an unhuman wail of misery and icy cold grips of death, and the undead spirit attempts to bring its own claws and talons out, a second set of arms errupting from its back as it tries to latch onto Gabby's face and steal some of her energy!

    It doesn't seem to pay much mind to Red at just this moment, since guns *normally* don't hurt it -- several has tried!

Hellboy has posed:
    Hellboy pulls the trigger. That huge gun makes a huge noise, but more importantly, the blessed mixture of components are all designed to be anathema to spectral types like ghosts and poltergeists and spectres and what-not. Hellboy is a good shot, and the bullet goes through the hag's eye. Whether or not destroying the hag's brain is a thing that will hurt it, or whether the bullets work at all, is a question answered a fraction of a second after the firing pin strikes the cap at the back of the round.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
What was behind... Gabby clues in on what he means by that question by the time her claws sink into the Hag that was attempting to come at her. Tiny she might be, especially compared to an eight foot magical hag, but she had her tricks.

The claws slice downward snagging and cutting into the fabric of the hag itself. Even as she does her mind works to fill in the blanks. House there. Pool there. Phoebe THERE--It was too close to be entirely safe.

So she shoves into the hag even as the creature reaches for her to move her to the side. It was all about placement after all. She only had to get it to where he could get a clear shot...

That's the thought at least when the hag grasps hold of her face earning a scream from her throat as she feels the tearing pull of it's magic peeling energy from her. It was something she could actually FEEL if only because it didn't affe4ct her physically. It hit deeper. And she doubles down, pulling her arm back to punch one claw into the thing's stomach tearing downward even as Red's bullet works on the topside of the creature.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    BOOM! The massive gun with its ghost-bullets strikes, and rips apart the head of the Hag, the greasy sheet-like material splitting as it screams again.

    The claw to its stomach also rips and rends, spilling black, greasy substances that smokes into ashes before it even hits t he ground.

    The hag begins to give ragged snarling sounds, now less 'Hag' and more 'rag' as it tries to scuttle itself to the side of the ring, but is kept in by Phoebe's bindings.

Hellboy has posed:
    "Well," Hellboy says. He rushes the ragged remnants and grabs at them with his Right Hand of Doom, pulling back on the cloth which tears in his grasp. "Damn it!" he swears, taking a few steps back. He raises his gun, making sure to aim over Gabby's head, and fires thrice more, trying to hit as much meat as possible that isn't his friends!

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney doesn't stay standing long. After that gore spills out and ashes, she twists away with one hand raised to cover her eyes grimacing. The pain from the hag attacking is redoubled by the sound of the gun going off over her head. Dutifully she ducks low, crouching on the floor with one hand bracing herself, to be as out of the way as possible. Nevermind her ringing ears. It would heal.

"Please tell me that thing is down!"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    And hit the meat he does; the Hand of Doom rips and rends, the Gun with the Ghost Bullets tears and harms, and the creature takes itself down to bare components, its screeches fading slowly, until the whole of the cloth and wire frame of the Hag melts to ashes.

    Ears ring. The classroom bell rings. The breeze outside on a Gotham street in the mid 2010's carries with it the smells of the city, recalled through the dreamscape.

    ... but the dreamscape's not ending, in spite of the fact that the Hag is gone.

Hellboy has posed:
    Hellboy flips his weapon open, brass casings flying out and clattering to the ground. He hands the large revolver to his Right Hand of Doom and pulls a speed loader from somewhere in his many pockets. Reloading, he flips the barrel up, latching it in place. He puts a cigar between his teeth, unlit, and huffs out a sigh through his nose. "Okay, kid," he says to Gabby. "Either we've been transported to a mystical world, and we gotta do something symbolic to get back home, or this is all an illusion, and whatever we do here will have consequences in the world around us. I don't suppose those claws have a magical non-lethal enchantment?"

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney reaches up to pinch the bridge of her nose a moment, taking a deep breath. "Nope," she states simply as she risks opening her eyes again. It was easier now, the light wasn't so stabbingly bright. Pushing to her feet she dusts her handsd off on her thighs only to glance over at the emergence of the cigar. Boy that was familiar.

Taking a look around and outside the window she frowns thoughtfully. "Oh. Oh that sneaky... I think I know what she did." Stepping toward the window to peer outside at the image there she gestures. "Remember how you guys didn't want ME to fall asleep? Someone had to. That crap Phoebe drank, I think it put her into a trance. And we're INSIDE the circle now so I don't think we can get out so easily." A huff of annoyance comes.

"I mean. I could try to smell out where she is compared to here... Maybe shake her awake?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Or you could, y'know, ask where I'm at." comes a voice, "Morning glory seed tincture. I over-did it a bit. Hard to calculate exactly how much to take when your body heals on its own." Phoebe's voice is coming from the intercom system. It gives a tick.

    "Pleasure to meet you now that I can actually talk in here, Red. I apologize. I'm trying to work out how much to push to get the tincture out."

Hellboy has posed:
    Hellboy narrows his gaze and tries to peer out of the 'dream'. "Yeah," he says, hesitantly. He swipes his arm around, finding nothing manually. "Yeah, I give up," he says. "You have a pretty voice," he tries. He swipes again. "Marco?" he attempts.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney glances upward at the sound of Phoebe's voice. The first response is simply, "Cheater," though it's with a bit of a friendly amusement. There was no real avarice behind her words. At least she can relax a bit now that she knew there wasn't any sudden need to race out of here. Instead she crosses her arms and leans back against one of those desks.

"At least you can control your healing. Mine just does it's own thing. I mean. I guess it's good in a way." Lightly clearing her throat she asks, "So is there anything we should do while we're piggy-backing your dream?" Grinning over at Hellboy's flailing around she adds, "Don't get too flirty with her, she's got her eyes on someone."

Hellboy has posed:
    "Yeah, me, too, but it's not nice to insult somebody else in their own dream," Hellboy says. He swipes at the air again.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Polo." Phoebe's voice answers good naturedly.

    "And Red's right. Otherwise weird stuff happens. I once turned someone from an exorcist into an insurance salesman. It was a weird Tuesday." Phoebe answers back. THe dream begins to fade a little, and Phoebe can be seen sort of... sprawled out on her side, arms around her stomach.

    There's indistinct voices in the background. Gabby might recognize a couple of them; memories seeping through into dreams.

    A screechy voice echoes after a moment, and then with the sound of a bubble popping in reverse, Gabby and Red find themselves in the side yard of the house again, with Phoebe on her side, against t he pool, looking.... not so hot.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"I didn't say insult her," Gabby responds with a little bit of her tongue sticking out oh-so-maturely. He did have a point though. When the voices start her head tips as she strains to hear those ghostly voices. Some familiar. Some not.

Then the bubble pops, almost literally, leaving her to stare at the lounging Phoebe. Without a word she moves over to crouch by her side.

"Need some water? I've got some on my bike. We can just sit awhile if you need to recover, too."

Hellboy has posed:
    Hellboy moves to Phoebe, kneeling beside her. "Hey, kid," he says with a gentle smile. "You want me to carry you to a hospital? I'm not fast, but I don't get tired."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Jon, Chas, some Scouse-accented fellow, Conner Kent and Tim Drake and all manner of others from various memories.

    -Water. Yes.- Phoebe signs as she pushes herself up, and gives a wave to Red. -I'll be fine. The pool? Not so much. Don't look in it.- she signs, and then gives a grunt as she leans her head back. -First lesson I learned I keep repeating-.

    Morning glory seed tea was NOT stomach friendly.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney didn't know much sign language, but she did know a few basics. Enough to know a 'yes' when it was given. She nods a single time and stands to step away, reaching out to lightly touch the back of Hellboy's shoulders as she passes. "I'll be right back," she assures even as she starts to jog down to her bike.

It had a little rack on the back with a bag of STUFF that she thought might come in handy. Fishing out a water bottle only takes a moment. Soon enough she returns to hand it over to Phoebe.

Hellboy has posed:
    Hellboy stands with the much smaller woman and prepares to catch her if she falls. However, she seems to be recovering remarkably quickly.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Welp. The Tincture was out of her body already. First rule she was taught about magic is that throwing up is OK. And expected. And sucked.

    Phoebe accepts the water bottle, and unscrews it a moment before she signs and thinks -It's gone. Nice job. Totally wasted out of existence. Can't sense it any more.- to the two of them, giving a smile. -Sorry you had to see Sister Agnes's classroom.-

Hellboy has posed:
    Hellboy shrugs. "I've seen worse," he alludes, calmly. "You, uh..." He hesitates. "You girls want to go out for ice cream? And...maybe give me a ride?"

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney hands it over easily with a backward glance to where the circle had been, and the creature now wasn't. "Good. It was pretty easy all things considered. But it DID hurt when it tried to eat my whatever. Face?" It's shrugged off. It's only Hellboy's question that earns a chuckle. "I can get you a ride back I guess? I mean, my bike can hold a lot but you ARE a lot." She muses while rubbing her chin and looking him up and down.

"And there's always room for icecream."