Scene #9911: Path of Glory: To Its Setting

Owner	Pose
Chas Chandler	The Gate of Blood, the final gate before the Halls of Judgement, stands ominously before the living travellers of the Duat in this field of blood staind cobblestones. The guardian beast, a hippo of blood, stands before them blocking their path. Already it has proven that physical force--strength of the body--will have little effect on it, and it claims that strength of the mind is not its test. But if neither of those are what it claims to test, then what -is- its test? What will force it to stand aside and allow the bloody-haze filling the archway to fade allowing passage to the great doors and the ritual of the Weighing of the Heart.
Lydia Dietrich	Lydia manage to get to her hands and knees, still struggling to put the beast to sleep. She needs to remember what Hatshepsut told her. The beast is part of her, she needs to accept that. Once she does that, calming herself will calm it, and then from there, she can coax it to sleep. Easier said than done, though. The smell of blood is nearly overpowering. But, she has to accept that, too. Blood is part of her as well. It's food, it fuels her. This is nothing more than being a kid in a candy shop. She just has to master self restraint. Lately, she's been practicing mindfulness when it comes to these things. This is blood. This is the smell of blood. It is making her hungry. The beast is hungry. This is the wetness she feels with her hands. This is the clammy feeling of her blood soaked jeans. This is her finally taking a breath, and this is the feel of air filling her lungs. There. Better. If the beast hungers, then she will feed it some of her own blood from her reserves. Slowly it's pacified, and she is able to use the technique to put it to sleep. "Okay," she says with a steady breath, finally getting to her feet, and picking up the revolver out from a puddle of blood. Holstering it she says. "I think I'm good now." She, then, walks up to the hippo, fearless. "Let me pass," she demands. "My soul is worthy."
Cael Becker	As the blood washes over her - Cael falters. The axe falls from her fingers, disappearing before it hits the ground. The wings beat once, then twice - weakly as she rapidly begins to lose altitude, then they go limp, and she crashes heavily to the blood soaked ground. For a moment, she's still - hear head cradled on her arms. The past several months have been hell - and it would be easier to lie here. To lie still, and close her eyes, and rest. To stop struggling - but under the fingers off her right hand she feel leather. Leather with holes cut in it. Butterflies. Jon. She forces herself to her feet, turning towards the hippo, and starting towards it, each step an effort of will that seems almost impossible - here breathing heavy and exhausted, as if the air is thing. "You won't keep me from him."
Phoebe Beacon	"Well. If not needed, I'll just be on my way." Phoebe states, pulling her hood back up, hoisting her leather pack, and giving a nod to the guardian of blood, she also goes to pass.
Caitlin Fairchild	Caitlin licks her lips, gaze flicking from Cael to Phoebe, back to Lydia-- she's got one woman on the verge of giving into her bloodthirst, one woman stubbornly walking at the hippo with cool lack of concern, and a third shambling at it as if she's prepared to go in through the mouth and exit the other end-- with her bare nails and teeth, if necessary. "Hooooly smokes I hate working with newbies," she says under her breath. She just shakes her head, steels her shoulders, and starts walking towards the hippo as well-- though maybe not as fast as the other two. Cael has the heart, Phoebe has the light, Lydia has the fire. One of them is the key forward. The question is-- which one?
Chas Chandler	The hippo glances at those before it and huffs out a breath. "You claim worthiness and yet you stand before me a living vessel who straddles the line of life and death." More blood drips from it's form, seeping in between the stones of the temple of its domain. "All of you claim to be worthy to pass and yet you still live." It glances over the gathered. "I will impart wisdom to those who stand before me. Understand, the gate of blood is a test of that which connects you to life. For the dead, it is the final test before the Weighing of the Heart. The detatchment of the living from all that they did in life." There is amusement in the deep voice of the creature in his next words. Dark amusement. "For you that connection is greater than most souls who pass here."
Lydia Dietrich	Lydia scowls at the hippo and folds her arms. "We /can't/ just leave our life behind like that," she argues. "Not for what we must do. We're not going in to have our hearts weighed so we can pass through to whatever final fate might await us." "The future of our existence is at stake," she tells the guardian. "Surely you must know this. Balance /must/ be restored, and we will need these things we are attached to to restore it. Let us pass. Please."
Cael Becker	Cael's step falters for a moment as she tries to think through the creature's words, but her mind feels as sluggish as her body. Blood drips from her hair, momentarily stained a messy maroon, and into her eyes, which she tries to blink away. It drips down her cheeks like tears, as she moves forward again on leaden feet. "You won't keep me from him," she repeats, even as Lydia attempts to reason with the beast. Cael is not feeling particularly reasonable. "I made a promise." And she always keeps her promises. She doesn't offer promises she doesn't mean to keep. "Get the fuck out of my way."
Caitlin Fairchild	Caitlin chooses to keep her counsel to herself as Cael and Lydia argue their case with the hippo. She hasn't quite donned her pack yet; she's carrying it in one hand as if the hundred-plus pound container is packed with styrofoam. Her drone flits down and lands on a pauldron, insect legs clicking on steel for purchase. She takes a second to feed the drone a sugar cube, which it laps up eagerly and with no significant concern for the metaphysical implications of dealing with a gatekeeper to the realms of Duat's afterlife. But from the calm self-assurance on her face, Caitlin is not letting the lack of clear options deter her. The towering Amazon can exhibit the patience of a boulder if she has to, and right now it looks like she's electing to follow a 'silence is golden' mentality until a question is put to her directly.
Hope Svelgate	The sound of footfalls echo upon the cobblestones as heels clack against the floor. Slowly a figure cloaked in dark purple hooded robes comes into view from beyond the entrance. They walk confidently into the space, naught visible beneath their hood save for the swinging of a single large Ankh necklace. Midway through the chamber, the figure stops and surveys the four travelers from the world of the living from beneath their hood. First the head turns towards Cael as she rails against the Blood Beast, only to have all of her power sapped from her. Then it watches Lydia and Phoebe too rebuffed by the hippo creature each in turn. The head tilts slightly when it gets to Caitlin as only she holds back. The forward march of the robed figure resumes as it begins closing the distance towards the Blood Hippo and the gate beyond it. "You're never going to get through that way." A familiar voice tells Cael and Lydia. "You can't reason with it, it is bound to its purpose and its rules are ironclad" The cloaked individual turns and faces the Blood Hippo directly. "Isn't that right? You can no more change than the Sun can stop its journey." A beat. "What he requires is a sacrifice," And all at once the cloak vanishes, to be replaced by a black leather jacket, like one might see at a heavy metal concert, adorning the form of Lady Death! "And a sacrifice he shall have!" Holding one hand high, the air seems to shimmer, swirl, and bend as a wicked looking scythe radiating the power of Death incarnate manifests and is gripped in her hand. "Judge this." She tells the creature before bringing down the Death Scythe upon the Guardian.
Chas Chandler	The guardian only has a moment to react to the woman before the Scythe comes down on it. It still doesn't quite react as one would expect it to. The blade of the Scythe pierces the bloody fluid that is the creature's body sticks in place. A beat passes. There is a hissing sound as if water is boiling. Immediately following is a high pitched whine and steam starts to pour off the creature before bubbles form and pop all over it's surface. Another beat passes. Then the creature -explodes- in a shower of blood in all directions. The gate, the stones, the walls and--most importantly--those gathered before it are coated in the thick, almost viscous, fluid. The red haze that blocked access through the gate shudders and then fades, and the Hall of Blood falls away into darkness. Before them is a pair of massive double doors of stone, a myriad of pictographs adorn the doors. Some look like maps of this realm. Others look like the tales of a story of the journey of those who make it this far. A single phrase is etched into the doors at the standard height of a human man in Ancient Egyptian (which Phoebe no doubt provides translation for): "As for anyone who knows this spell, he will be like Ra in the east of the sky, like Osiris within the Netherworld, and he will go down to the circle of fire. There will never be a flame against him forever. It has come happily to an end." The doors of the Hall of Judgement stand monolithic and closed to those gathered before it.
Cael Becker	Relief fills Cael as the creature explodes - even as she's showered in more of the viscous blood that comprised it's form. She offers Lady Death only a simple nod, and the words, "You died. ...again, I guess." She can feel her strength seep back into her, she lets out a heavy sigh, before shrugging her shoulders, and almost shaking off her body. That's- "God that's better. Fucking hippos, man. Jon was right." She starts towards the massive doors, looking towards Phoebe as she reads off the text, then looking towards Caitlin, and nodding to the doors. "Shall we?" she asks. Her strength isn't as mighty as Caitlin's - but it's still considerable, as long as she wears her amulet. She could give Cap a run for his money. So she digs her feet into the slick ground - and she begins to push. Jon waits on the other side.
Caitlin Fairchild	Caitlin had taken a step or two back when Lady Death crashed to the ground. Her surprise at the woman's arrival is quickly overridden by the sudden aggression against the blood golem. The winding tension of heat and pressure building is unmistakeable-- and for lack of a handy poncho, she at least turns and shields her face from the impending explosion. "...Gross," is all she gets out, and wipes away as much of the bloody morass as possible to whip it off her fingertips and on the ground. There's not enough water in the world to wash her clean short of a dip in Duat's spirtual Nile; she settles for upending her water bottle on her face to rinse away what she can't wipe off. Caitlin nods at Cael's invitation and moves to the other door, putting a palm on it and applying a modicum of pressure. Massive, yes, but they are fortunately not fighting physical factors like the friction of rusty hinges. "Any ideas what we're gonna see in there besides Jon?" she inquires of the other women.
Hope Svelgate	Being drenched in the blood of the fallen beast only adds to the generally sinister demeanor Lady Death tends to exude. Particularly with that jacket, she looks like she is about to drop the sickest Heavy Metal album of the year as she turns to Cael. "I have never died, not really. Death is not so kind as to allow me that mercy." Walking forward, with Cael on the one door and Caitlin on the other, Lady Death raises one booted and thrusts a kick straight at the center of the doors with all of her considerable might behind it to help shove them open. "You get used to it." She informs Caitlin regarding being drenched into the blood of supernatural creatures.
Chas Chandler	The combined might of those gathered is more than enough to open the doors. Lady Death's kick added to the mix is enough to send the doors off their hinges. The stones topple to the ground inside with a resounding crash. Within is a lit hall that seems more like an auditorium than anythign else. A multitude of tiers rise above the central floor filled with a multitude of faces: 42 in total. Two figures stand in the center of the great hall upon a raised dias. One is the Jackal headed figure with the scales: Anubis. On his scales is a feather and a heart. The feather has tipped the scales in its favor. The other is the feather crowned woman in the red sheath dressed: Ma'at. Behind the pair is a mummified form on a massive throne. The Lord of the Underworld, Osiris presides over this ordeal before accepting those who have died into his embrace. A lone figure stands before the dias. Osiris is speaking to this figure. "You have been found worthy to pass into the the next world. The circmstances surrounding your demise force me to present to you two options. You may join with the pharohs and move into paradise. Or you may take another path with the Truth and continue your journey, perhaps even finding the rebirth of your body in the process."
Jonathan Sims	The figure before the dias is a little over six feet tall, wearing traditional ancient Egyptian clothing. A sheer linen shent, the wraparound skirt that was the most common item of clothing in ancient Egypt, is accessorized in ways that the knowledgable would know indicates that he is a pharaoh, a king. He wears a leopard's skin draped about his torso and over one shoulder, the striped nemes headdress seen on statues and sacrophagi, a wide gold collar embedded with emeralds and turquoise and lapis lazuli. There's a matching belt, just as ornate, and worn over that a much simpler sword belt, the case adorned with golden gilt. There are a couple of oddities, however. Though he wears the rearing cobra and vulture of the kings, he also wears the ostrich feather of Ma'at. And attached to armbands and wristbands and the wide collar is a feathered cape, gold and teal and blue, that flutters as he moves. His right arm appears to be made of glimmering emerald light. He also glows, the soft glow of sunlight coming through a window on a summer's day. Bright, but the hall is well-lit and so it's not so bright as to be overwhelming. Jon steps forward as Osiris speaks. "I have already made my decision, Great King. I have left behind that to which I was attached in life, and--" He turns as the door crashes open, and his face... he has no eyes. The sockets are empty, scarred as if the eyes were melted out. And yet he seems to recognize those he faces. "Ah!" he says, smiling. "Excellent, you made it! We can conclude this business with Ammit and restore balance, and then you can be on your way." Without him, evidently, by the tone. He recognizes them... and yet the expression is that of someone looking at acquantainces, or colleagues at best, not dear friends.
Cael Becker	"Well - it's like a court? That's how Jon described it. A court of 42 people he has to speak to. He has to, uhh... avoid confessing his sins? Or prevent his heart from betraying him? It's a whole thing. And Anubis, and Osirus, and Ma'at, and they weigh Jon's heart..." And they crash through the doors, as Cael takes it in, in an instant. Jon's heart - lighter than the feather. She knew he would pass. And Jon's attire - ridiculous to her eyes. The way he... glows with warm light. She starts towards him, her steps faltering as his gaze, his sightless gaze, turns on her without any real comprehension of why she's come. Left behind his attachments? Left her behind. Her, and Martin, and Agnes - but that's why she's here. Right? That's what she tells herself, at least, as she starts forward once more. "Jon... I came, like I promised I would. Like you asked me too." She tries to wipe the blood from her face, and push her blood-dripping hair back and out of the way. "You do remember me, don't you? Mariposa?" She extends her hand - reaching for Jon's left hand, a cautious and uncertain expression on her features as she tries to judge how to handle the moment - when all she wants to do is wrap him into her arms, and kiss him.
Caitlin Fairchild	Caitlin puts a fingertip on Cael's shoulder. No real pressure; she's not trying to actually halt the woman. Just to root her feet a little closer to earth while her head goes swiming in the clouds. "Easy, Cael, easy," she murmurs in her most soothing voice. "Let's... just take it slow while we figure out what's going on." She clears her throat and lifts her chin at Jon. "Dr. Sims, I presume?" Her tone makes it a greeting. The redhead ventures a friendly smile, though the blood spattering on her armor makes it harder for even the cherubic Amazon to look wholly reassuring. "It's good to see you on your feet. Er, again. ... So to speak."
Hope Svelgate	Ever one to make an entrance, after the doors fly from the hinges and crash to the floor Lady Death steps into the chamber drenched in the blood of its Guardian. "Is this where I say 'Objection'?" She asks the others present as her eyes fall upon Jon and the gods. Was that a joke? Does she joke? "The world isn't done with us yet." She calls out to Jon, slamming the butt of the scythe into the floor. "I told a nice woman I would prevent the extinction of humanity and since you're required, you'll be returning with us." Energy Arcane flares in her eyes.
Chas Chandler	The crashing of the doors draws the eyes of all in the hall save one. Ma'at smiles softly as if expecting the occurance. A great murmuring begins among the 42 assessors on the various tiers. "There will be order in the Hall of Judgement!" booms the voice of Anubis. "What purpose do you have to disturb this affair? Speak quickly or incur the wrath of Osiris." His dark eyed gaze shifts between Jon and the gathering approaching him. Ma'at speaks as if to answer, "Did you not hear him?" she says gesturing to Jon. "They seek to fix the imbalance that plagues the world of the living. We have the means to allow them passage to the Devourer of Lost Souls, where their ultimate goal awaits."
Jonathan Sims	Jon turns to Anubis and bows slightly. "My apologies, Lord Anubis. These people have come at my behest. They come to fix an imbalance in the universe, as Lady Ma'at said." He turns back and looks them all over... or seems to, anyway, face turning toward each of them, projecting a feeling oddly like being looked at through those empty sockets. "I remember you, Becker," he says, blissfully unaware of how much pain he might cause with a single word. "I remember all of you. Cael Becker, Caitlin Fairchild, Lady Death, Phoebe Beacon, Lydia Dietrich." A pause, a frown. "Not... /quite/ the right names, for some of you, but..." He shakes his head. It's not important. "It's good to see you all again. I'm glad you're well. You particularly." He nods to Caitlin. "I am glad to see that my actions were not in vain." He looks, then, to Lady Death. "Actually... no, I won't be. What is needed to prevent humanity's extinction should be here with you, so long as Fairchild brought the leaf. Once I am joined with Osiris, I should know where to go, and we can carry out the plan to fix the universe. After that, I'm hardly needed." He can't quite keep the irritation out of his voice. "Useful, perhaps, but /required/? You can handle Saint Michael, can't you?" He actually a quirks a brow at her, rather ghoulish over that empty socket.
Cael Becker	Cael turns to shoot Caitlin a momentary look of fiery annoyance as she shrugs out from under her grasp, and looks back to Jon. Being called 'Becker' cuts - but it's when it's Caitlin, in particular, that he's happiest to see... that she feels the deepest stab. She ignores the Gods as she approaches Jon, capturing his left hand in both of hers. "You're //wanted// Jon. You're loved. There are people waiting for your return." She lifts Jon's hand to her lips, kissing it softly, then lowering it to hold against her heart. "I've never loved anyone like I've loved you. We have a family vacation planned - remember? You, and me, and Martin, and Agnes? You want to take Agnes to Quito - to be near the sun. "Besides," she adds, "don't you still have to teach me how to make tea properly? Before I somehow prompt Martin into a murderous rage for my crimes?" With a wry smile she adds, "Martin sent some, you know. For you. Who else gets Doordash in the afterlife?" He's still in there, isn't he? The man she loves? Holding his hand to her heart still with her left hand - her right hand reaches for his cheek, slowly and cautiously, as she stares into those empty sockets, tears brimming in her own eyes.
Caitlin Fairchild	Caitlin presses her lips together at Cael's fierce expression, expressing apology but no remorse. Her palm lifts and fingers spread in a silent reassurance as Cael insists on wrestling herself clear to move towards Jon and speak with him. Once more she elects for silence, and her only response to Jon's greeting is a polite nod and a friendly, earnest smile from the redhead. Cael is the one reaching out to him; she's the one most likely to touch his soul, however abstracted and removed they are from it.
Hope Svelgate	Lady Death watches Jon with eyes ablaze in fiery Energy Arcane. "Oh is that so?" She asks in an almost sarcastic tone, as if he'd just said something quite novel. "I suppose your daughter will be glad to hear it." Her gaze follows Cael as the woman goes to Jon, and then drifts to the gods in the room taking their measure, for now She Who Reaps waits to see if 'Love' of all things can fix this. Needless to say she remains skeptical.
Chas Chandler	Under normal circumstances the approach of the living to one of the dead would arouse an uproar from the presiding forces of the Hall. It should be noted however that for some reason they are allowing this interjection to continue. The 42 assessors and the trio of the presiding officers watch on with dark painted eyes their expressions a mix of curiosity and apprehension.
Jonathan Sims	Jon furrows his brow as he peers down at Cael. "That all sounds... I remember that, yes." His voice is soft. "And it sounds lovely. But... I'm /dead/. Why should I get a second chance, when so many do not? What have I done, that's so special, to earn that? Why should I--" "Wait. Martin... sent tea? You... you brought... a thermos of tea all the way...?" He looks down at his hand, held to Cael's heart. At the way it glows. At the ring on his finger, at the butterfly cuff on her wrist. There was a reason he did this, took this path. Does he want to merge with Osiris because he's become so attached to Ra that he thinks it's the right path? Really? Is it /really/ just that he's tired, that he longs for rest? He felt something, down in the dark, cut off from Sia. A truth he needs to remember. "Sia," he murmurs, "close your eyes." It's as though he's closed his own eyes, and he stands there for a moment, feeling Cael's heart beating beneath his hand. "Oh," he says in a choked voice. "I'm still holding on to the old ways of thinking. All that guilt and shame and /sin/." He shakes his head. "What am I saying? Of /course/ I deserve this, if I've /earned/ the choice." He leans down for a moment to enfold Cael in his arms, kissing her as if they aren't standing there in front of the entire court of the Hall of Judgement. Then he breaks away and turns to Ma'at and Osiris, opening those mystical eyes again. "If I have the choice of a body to unite with, then..." He squeezes Cael's hand, then drops it and holds his left hand out to Ma'at. "I choose Truth, and Balance."
Lydia Dietrich	Lydia has been watching this whole time. When the hippo exploded she had thrown up her arms to shield her face which managed to keep her from getting the worst of it. If she hadn't put her beast to sleep, she surely would have lost it and gone into a blood frenzy. Once they got into the chambers of the Hall of Judgement, and Phoebe turns off her light, the relief she felt is visible as she let out a sigh of pleasure. Once again her skin is porcelain and flawless, her beauty is returned, and the little fireflies of her ectoplasm float about her. She's about to speak when Jon asks why he should get a second chance, but silences herself as he continues to speak. Good. He figured it out. She grins, silently cheering Cael on. She's doing wonderfully.
Cael Becker	"You've earned it," Cael breathes back at him - before leaning into that kiss with relief, tears spilling down her cheeks. She's hesitant to release his hand - but she uses the opportunity to reach for the thermos, freeing the lid, and opening the top of the thermos to pour some of the tea into the plastic mug. "You have to drink at least some of it, Jon - or Martin'll have a piece of me," she remarks in a wry tone. She remains beside Jon, turning her attention towards Ma'at as well - something in her posture and expression seeming to relay that getting her to shift from where she stands would not be an easy task.
Caitlin Fairchild	Caitlin exhales a carefully held breath. So much balanced on so fine a knife's edge. It could have broken badly in so many directions. But the reconnection between Cael and Jon is the most essential of human bonds, and it's enough to bring a tear to Caitlin's green eyes. She wipes it away, sniffles, and manages to compose herself while they have their reunion. Sue her, Caitlin's a softy at heart.
Hope Svelgate	Lady Death expression quirks with something resembling amusement when Jon refers to 'Sin' as an old way of thinking, she of course agrees. Or rather believes the notion so subjective as to be irrelevant depending on who is deciding what sin is. "Not everyone is afforded the chance to come back." She comments as she leans on that wicked looking scythe, that is definitely new. "All do return to her eventually though. Best to take advantage of what time you're allowed." For whatever reason she glances briefly towards the undead one in their midst as she says this. If she is moved by the display of human connection between Jon and Cael, Lady Death doesn't show it outwardly, but somehow she isn't wearing her usual scowl either.
Chas Chandler	Ma'at looks at Jon and nods. "Done and done" she says and grasps Jon's offered hand and draws him -into- her body. For a moment he is simply gone, merged with the goddess of Truth and Justice. A moment passes and then he steps out from her form. There is a subtle difference in him. He's not -alive- yet, not fully. But he's not entirely dead either. "Welcome back, my Avatar. I feel that you will need this for your encounter soon so allow me to lend them to you" she says and she covers her eyes. There is the sound and smell of burning flesh and a pair of eyes start to form in Jon's hollowed eye-sockets. They are not his eyes, but the dark--almost black--orbs of Ma'at herself. "A loan, at least until you return victorious. Think of it as... incentive to win. I would hate to have my eyes lost to Oblivion forever." She turns her head to look at her dias partner, Anubis. Anubis looks as close to appalled as a stoic god of death can be as he stares at what Ma'at has just done. Given her own eyes... to a mortal. He clears his throat. "Very well. If you are... finished with the reunion I will open a gateway to where Ammit, the Devourer, is held. I do not envy your mission, and I hope you do not underestimate the task at hand. Power or not, Ammit is a creature who destroys all equally." He waves his free hand and a parallel line of darkness forms beside the group. It turns nd reveals an open portal in a perfect rectangle high and wide enough for the tallest and widest among their number. "By your leave, Jonathan Sims."
Jonathan Sims	Jon comes out the other side... changed. Gone is the garb of the pharaoh, save for the sword still belted around his waist. Instead, he wears something more like a kurta, a long red tunic that reaches just below his knees, with gold trousers beneath. His multicolored wings are back, and the feather of Ma'at is upon his brow. It's fairly simple, but then, Ma'at is usually depicted wearing simple clothing. His arm is still gone, but he still looks somewhat different. More slender, maybe, a slight difference to his jaw. Filled out again as if he's had enough to eat lately. It's something like his own ideal image, the way he /thinks/ he ought to look, with subtle differences probably only he will notice. He blinks those new eyes a couple of times--that's /weird/--and then re-summons his glowing emerald arm. He takes the plastic mug from Cael and drinks the tea in one gulp. "Alright," he says with a cheerful grin. "Caitlin, can I have that leaf? We've got a crocodile-lion-hippo cross to wrestle. And I have to shove that thing down her /throat/." He looks over to Lady Death, still grinning. "I definitely plan to take advantage, now that I /remember/ myself. The mechanisms of death really are meant for people to /stay dead/. Oh, nice scythe!" A beat. "Wait. Is that literally...?"
Cael Becker	Capping the tea once more, Cael remains by Jon's side, while gesturing towards the waiting portal that Anubis had opened. She sees little reason to delay, though she does spare a brief, curious look for Lady Death's new weapon, something she'd paid little attention to until now. After studying it though, her attention returns to the portal - the sooner they can deal with these things, the sooner they get Jon home to Martin, and Agnes, who still wait in uncertainty and pain. "Well. Little reason to delay the inevitable, right?" She starts to move forward, glancing to Jon at her side, clearly not willing to move far from the man's side, at the moment.
Caitlin Fairchild	"Yeah, I've got it," Caitlin promises Jon. She unslings her pack and reaches for an exceptionally sturdy, small case on her belt. The interior is packed with shock-absorbing foam and there is a little spot exactly the size of the vial carved out. With a care bordering on reverence, Caitlin extracts the vial from the container and offers it to Jon. "I hope it's all in one piece. I kept the container safe as I could in a hermetically-sealed environment. Just in case." She takes a few moments to dig a few other things out of her backpack-- notably a towel and some wet wipes. It's at least enough to get the worst of the gore off her face and hands, and wipe down her bare skin so she doesn't look like a slasher-flick victim. It's also time for a snack; Caitlin digs out a single-use wrapper around a particualrly dense-looking biscuit. The snack is held between her teeth while she gets the pack slung back up, and catches up with the others with a hopskip stride that carries her last through the portal.
Hope Svelgate	Lady Death nods as Jon seems to regain himself. "Remember the lesson of that agent." She says likely referring to one of Jon's subordinates she once ressurected on a whim. "What makes one life more worthy than another to come back? Find that meaning. Though I think we both already know what it is." She glances towards the Death Scythe as she straightens up again stretching her neck to one side and then the other. "Souvenir. Something that I'm borrowing for awhile, to see how I like it." Her mouth curls into a grin. "It is exactly what you think it is." A final stretch and she is walking towards the portal, Death Scythe resting against her shoulder. "That may be." She says to Anubis as she passes. "But all are equal before Death. You of all people should know this." She winks at him, the Ankh around her neck catching the light, as she laughs and strides through the portal.
Chas Chandler	Once the others are through the portal they find themselves on a rocky plateu. The sky is filled with striations of a number of patterns and colors. The air is filled with the sound of a rushing waterfall. Not far from where the portal opens in this highly inhospitable land stands their quarry. Ammit is massive. The head of the crocodile with glowing golden eyes on the being is easily ten feet in length and blends seamlessly into a furry mane of an adult lion. The armored carapace runs down the length of its spine and along the entirety of an easily fifteen foot crocodilian tail. The body of the beast is another fifteen feet in length (bringing the creature to a total of forty) and resembles a mottled skinned hippopatamus. The girth of the hippo body, combined with the sheer size of the creature put it's mass to close to 10 tons easily. Small lights--souls of the dead--flicker around the creature and in a display of agility it snaps those jaws at one, snatching it mid-flight and swallowing it whole. A gutteral hiss that shakes the rocks beneath their feet is expeled after the creature's meal.
Jonathan Sims	Jon smiles down at Cael, wrapping an arm around her shoulders for a moment. "Hey," he says softly, "it's okay. I'm coming back. I mean... it's not /guaranteed/, there's still six hours to get back through and a big nasty serpent to fight and dismember, but now I've got the /chance/ to come back, alright, love? You did your job perfectly. Let's save the universe, hmm?" He squeezes her, then drops his arm to step forward toward Caitlin. He seems to be ignoring all the blood and gore on everyone for the moment. He takes the vial reverently, and smiles gratefully to Caitlin. "Thank you," he says. "I'm... not certain what we would've done, without this." He eyes the pieces of colorful hair stuck to the vial for a moment, glances at Cael, then opens the vial and takes out the leaf. The vial he places back in Caitlin's container. No need to leave things in the underworld. Holding the leaf in his real hand, he follows Lady Death through the portal. He replies to her as he does, brow furrowing. "Nothing in particular, I think, beyond the fact that one has the chance and seizes it. Whatever one's station in life, every soul is the same at its core. A piece of the universe, seeking experience. That this particular piece of the universe gets to keep seeking experiences with the name Jonathan Sims is... circumstance and choice, but nothing I deserve more than anyone else in the same place would have. But also not any less." Any further philosophical speculation is cut short as Jon gapes first at the sky, then focuses down on the being across the plateau. He clutches the leaf in his hand and narrows his eyes. "Here's hoping my trip back to the surface isn't cut short by those jaws. Caitlin, Lady Death... I think you're here to help wrestle her down so I can feed her the leaf. And she does need to /swallow/ the leaf, it's going to re-route her digestive system to the Tree of Life, so souls sent to her go back into the cycle instead of being snapped up by the Old Ones. That's where this leaf is from; I've been carrying it on me to every wellspring, so it's soaked in Gaea's power and the energy of the physical plane. Fixing Ammit's connection should yank all the others that the Old Ones hijacked back into place as well."
Cael Becker	"I'm fine, Jon," Cael answers the man, leaning into him momentarily, as she feels that arm wrapping around her left shoulder. "We get this done - we go home." It may be subtle - but her words convey her intention, and her desire. We go home. ...together. She stays at his side as her moves forward - a slightly wry smile crossing her lips as she catches his look towards her. "I wanted to feel close to you," she admits quietly. "I was... struggling. Your words were, uh... they were well received. You've always known what I need to hear." She rolls her eyes as Jon talks about the nature of the universe, and the souls in it, but her expression grows more grim as he gives instruction to Caitlin and Lady Death. "I have your back - as always," she promises - her tone determined.
Caitlin Fairchild	Caitlin hunkers down in a squat, adjusting her armor greaves and making sure the leather straps are tight. It also buys her a few moments to stop and think, evaluating the monstrous creature and looking at how it moves and shifts on the terrain. Nothing that big should move that gracefully, but all the same, it is clearly playing by its own set of rules. "Well, it's not the biggest thing I've had to punch," Caitlin concludes. "I don't know much about hippos, but I know crocodiles have vulnerable eyes and ears. They can't open their mouths easily either. Of course, that's assuming this thing is playing by any internally consistent rules at all." She digs in her packk and comes up with a bundle of tightly-packed rope. The Amazon looks to Hope. "You've got better mobility than me," she suggests. "If we stay in front of it, we can try to lasso the snout shut. Go for the eyes. Once it's bound and blinded, we might get it to retreat-- or at least it'll be easier to hit the weak spots behind the arms and legs. About the only other thing I can think to do is heat and chemical irritants aimed at the nostrils. We might be able to choke it out."
Hope Svelgate	Stepping from the portal, Lady Death releases her grip upon the Death Scythe, it floats in the air for a moment and vanishes back to wherever she summoned it from. They don't want to kill the poor beast after all. She glances at Jon and then glances at Caitlin and then looks towards Ammit. "I don't know about you, but I was expecting bigger." She asides to Caitlin. The suggestion that Lady Death has more mobility is met with a simple nod as she begins to glow with the fiery blue light of the Energy Arcane and rise off the ground. "It needs to swallow the leaf, I do not think choking it out or tying off its mouth are going to be options. No, we may just have to beat it into submission. There is a gleam in her eye as she says this. "Blinding it though, taking out its legs, these are all wonderful ideas!" As if to emphasize this point, her hands come up and fire wild chaotic blasts of barely controlled Energy Arcane towards the creature's eyes, before lunging forward through the air and lacing her fingers together and raising her hands above her head attempts to bring a double handed hammer blow down upon the top of the creature's skull.
Chas Chandler	It could be the light or the energy itself but Ammit snaps it jaws at one of the blast of Energy Arcane and eats it. It then swells in size. Adding another 15 feet to its length (bringing it to a total of 55) and a good 1000 pounds to its weight. The second blast strikes true and burns out one of the creature's golden eyes, elliciting a grumbling hiss of aggitation. The hiss is cut short by the (usually) skull crushing hammer blow delivered to the creatures head. There is no sound of a skull cracking this time, though the legs buckle a bit and the massive maw digs a furrow into the rocky earth, but the creature is still on it's feet. With lightning swiftness the tail swings around attempting to knock the pale woman away from it in a purely defensive manner adding a snap of its jaws toward her to emphasize its warning. It crouches low and turns its flank to her, hissing and growling in in throaty vocalizations.
Jonathan Sims	"Oh good lord," Jon mutters as Ammit gets /bigger/. He spreads his wings and crouches, then launches himself into the air, flying in to be nearer to the creature. He grips the stem of the leaf in one hand and uses the magical hand to send a blast of energy at the thing, to try to wear it down. "Maybe wrap rope around the top of the snout and hold it /open/?" he calls to Caitlin. "I have to get in there to shove this into her throat, my biggest /personal/ concern is that she doesn't snap her jaws shut and try to eat me." He's got much better mobility in the arm than he did before, darting back and forth looking for an opening to dive in.
Cael Becker	"I can try to help hold it open from above," Cael remarks, taking to her wings along with Jon - her axe momentarily appearing in her hands. The twirls it experimentally, as she approaches the beast from its blind side - and then tries to deliver an unexpected blow with the flat of the blad towards the remaining eye - opening that if she injures it, it might temporarily swell up, and blind the creature. She has no desire to permanently blind one of Jon's Gods. Though likely the beast would heal on its own....
Caitlin Fairchild	"That's the parietal spur!" Caitlin shouts up at Lady Death. "Thickest part of the skull! Go for soft spots!" Hope's massive blow does rob the beast of its focus, and Caitlin takes the shot to run up to its blind side behind one arm. Like a true professional she takes half a beat to line her feet up, sinks her hips, and throws a heavy underhook with a twist of her shoulders and waist. The blow hits Ammit like a freight car shunted into the ancient old monster. "Do you guys have any idea how much bite force a crocodile has?!" she bellows. A clawed foot comes back at her, lashing; Caitlin checks it with a right cross that crashes directly into the bone under leather skin, and knocks the beast's balance out from under that limb. She takes a few seconds to do the math in her head. "Scaling logarithmically, probably something like fifteen to twenty thousand PSI!" she informs the others, helpfully. "Or... uh, three million joules, something like that!" Caitlin eyes those snapping jaws. The redhead's pretty strong... but crunching the numbers in her head, holding those snapping teeth at bay would at best stretch her to the absolute limits. "I can... I might be able to hold it! Not for long, but--" she grunts in pain as that tail whips around and hits her in the hip, sending her flying backwards. Caitlin rolls twice and pops to her feet, looking little the worse for wear. "But long enough!"
Hope Svelgate	"Oh fun! Get her excited and she swells right up!" Lady Death grins fiendishly as the challenge increases, even has her hammer blow doesn't fell the creature. She's, she's not going to feed it more right? Right?! There is that gleam eye though, the thought was definitely there. That is until the tail slams into her side and sends her flying back a ways, that'd probably bruise, if she was able to bruise. "I like this creature, I want one!" The thrill of the fight is making her feel alive, but that carries its own risks as her blood starts to run hot. Still Caitlin's idea is not lost on her as she rises back into the air above the beast, even if the real meaning of the numbers is. Dropping out of the sky, Lady Death aims a vicious double stomp kick at impaling Ammit's back attempting to grind the creature down into the ground again in order to facilitate what's coming next. "Well then, let's make sure it's long enough!" She calls out to Caitlin, now straddling Ammit as if trying to ride the creature bareback and drawing a rune-forged Asgardian short sword from beneath the leather jacket. "Though do be careful, this will probably make you delicious to her!" Pointing the blade at Caitlin, a torrent of Energy Arcane issues forth to consume the Redhead's body within its glow bolstering her strength far beyond what she even thought was possible!
Chas Chandler	Ammit hisses as Jon's blast lands just shy of its remaining eye. It belches forth a blast of hot air that catches on the man's wings and sends him high into the air, leaving it open to Cael's strike. The flat of the blade crashes against the socket and there is a crunching impact as the orbital caves it on itself. It's completely blinded when Caitlin shatters its forelimb sending it into the ground hard. It rises and snaps at the area where the woman was jaws closing with force enought to send a shockwave from its mouth. Another hiss rises out of it as the Avatar of Death hops atop it forcing it to thrash and shake violently. Just as Lady Death sends power into Caitlin it rolls with alarming speed, hoping to crush the woman under it's massive bulk.
Jonathan Sims	"Yes, that bite strength is why I would rather like to /not/ have those jaws snap on me while I'm force-feeding her!" Jon replies to Caitlin. "But watch the--" He winces as she gets sent flying. "...tail." Oof. Then /he's/ sent flying, tumbling head over heels through the air, a dizzying and disorienting ride. He finally rights himself some ways away and grumbles, "Right. More than the jaws to worry about." He considers for a moment, calculating whether he's going to be able to fit into that mouth with his wings. Then he decides to focus his magic on surrounding himself with a shield. Who knows what Ammit's saliva is made of, and he's really not keen on getting swallowed by Ammit when he /just/ decided that, yes, he wants to keep on living. The moment there's an opening, he's going to dart in and shove that leaf right down Ammit's gullet.
Cael Becker	It's a good thing that SHIELD tactical gear comes so well equipped - as Cael pulls a rope from her waist, and manages to tie a slip knot in the end of it. It takes her a few tries - but she manages to get it slipped around Ammit's upper jaw, catching it on the creature's teeth. The question was - how many pounds of pressure could she hold back, and how many was the rope built to withstand? With the rope in place, she searches desperately for something to wrap the rope around to give her more leverage - and the best she spots in the brief time she has is the creature's own legs. This could go very bad. Darting quickly, she tries to fly under the massive beast, to wrap the rope around a hind leg - and try to haul the jaw up, and back... In the hopes Jon has the opening he needs.
Caitlin Fairchild	Caitlin looks up and blanches as the crocodile rears up above her. "Oh crabapples!" is all she gets out-- and then vanishes underneath the creature's bulk as it crashes to the ground with a thunderous amount of noise and fury. It tries wiggling back and forth, rocking and rolling, but something prevents it from doing so. That something proves to be Caitlin, flat on her back and using her legs to hold the monster off of her. It doesn't even look as if she's trying particularly hard. Then she starts kicking it. Fast. Repeatedly. Each blow makes the whole skull shake and rattle despite her awkward position. It rolls away from her and Cael lassos the beast quite deftly. The redhead dashes up and kicks the croc right under a forward nostril, upper jaw swinging open. "Jon! Now!" is all she can get out-- and she jumps INTO the croc's mouth as it kicks and thrashes, bracing one foot in the gap between teeth and looking upwards with steady determination, ready to catch and halt that maw before it can crush Jon.
Hope Svelgate	The fiery blue energy around Caitlin flares and brightens as Lady Death focuses on continuing to augment the redhead amazon's strength. The good news is this makes it easier for Caitlin to hold Ammit's mouth open. The bad news is that when Ammit attempts to crush her into the ground with its roll she cannot simply fly away as that power is tied up elsewhere. Fortunately for Lady Death however she is not some frail mystic completely reliant on spells, indeed her inhuman body was forged on some of the most brutal battlefields in the cosmos. Leaning back, the Hellish Valkyrie rolls into a backwards somersault. Once her feet touch the earth, she digs into, both lowering her center of gravity and digging her clawlike fingers fiercely into Ammit's scaly sides as she attempts to hold the beast in place and prevent any further rolling, leaning into the beast with all of her own considerable might. "DO IT NOW!"
Chas Chandler	The idea of Cael's is a good one and it's also good that SHIELD tends to carry the most state of the art equipment for their operations. The high tensile strength nylon rope has a test weight of 10,000 lbs. Even so, Cael can feel the sheer power of the creature's jaws as she tries to use it's own body against it. Hooking the rope around the creature's leg earns her a almost horselike kick (magnified a thousand fold) for her trouble, but the loop is secure and the rope holds, though the high pitched whining sound coming from it is a clear indicator that it might not hold for an incredibly long time. It's the opening that Jon needs and he darts in to one side and shoves his real arm into the beasts gullet from the side. There is a moment where all might be lost and then Cait is there beside him, assisting in holding the beast's maw open with her physical body. Jon can feel as the throat attempts to close on him and at this proximity there is a strange sense of a great void opening up just beyond the bony palatal flap inside the chimeras mouth. Jon releases the leaf and it is sucked into that great vast void within the creature. There is a burst of energy from somewhere deep within the creature that sends a shockwave out that forces Jon back. The shield on his arm presses against one of the lower teeth and it's all that saves his remaining arm. The shield is shredded as is the top layer of skin opening a deep and messy cut on the underside of his arm from elbow to palm. One hopes that Caitlin has been working on her core muscles as the shockwave takes her full in the gut and sends her out of the crocodile mouth. Her hairline scratches against one of the teeth and a minor gash opens up there, but it's clear its only a bleeder and not anything serious. Her internal organs might be another matter if her endurance isn't up to par. Cael and Lady Death manage to be on the safer side all things considered. Another tail slap catches Cael in the side just as the burst of energy lances out of the croc and the rope snaps letting the jaws come down (luckily nothing is within the maw at this point.) But the armor clad agent is sent flying and slides across the rocky plateu fetching up against a boulder to stop her momentum. Lady Death and the monster struggle for purchase against one another and it's an even stalemate. Niether moves until the shockwave pulses out, the Hell Lord is powerful but the forces within the beast are -reshaping the nature of the universe- and she too is sent across the plateu, ripping scales and flesh from the beast's hide as she departs in a gout of gore. She slams into a rock and it's possible the rock got the worst of it as it crumbles to gravel upon the woman's impact with it. Ammit thrashes once, twice, and opens its mouth as a scream of terrible madness and rage is released. The scream is not from the beast itself, but from something deep within the void of it's gut. One of the ancient creatures that men do not speak of. The beast shudders and sniffs at the air before turning and fleeing, scaling down the plateau and into a hole in the side of the great monolith that serves as its domain. They've won. That much is over.