[sermon 4] i got caught up in nowhere again

[asipofbride]

WHO: nicholas d. wolfwood, the cabin/auguries alliance, and you
WHERE: the network, the auguries of innocence, and the mean streets of kaisou
WHEN: 8/1 + 8/3
WHAT: at the beginning of the month, wolfwood runs into the strangest part of god's plan.
and then two days later his boss is kidnapped in broad daylight and it's all his fault (except for the part where it's the evil organization's fault but tomato tomato, you know?)
WARNINGS: cw for krusnik subplot (kidnapping), potential claustrophobia/children experimentation mention in the locked logs, otherwise wolfwood is just... kinda dumb and that's his cross to bear.


[a.] 8/1; a post to the network; text; un: ndwolfwood
so my apple exploded what the fuck?

[ attached is a picture of a happy little Appletun with a peanutbutter cup balanced on the top of his lil' apple cap ]


[b.i] 8/3, action; there's no way out of here [before]

locked to vergil, kni, eve; cw: kidnapping

[ it's supposed to be a routine job.

life can't stop just because there are threatening things in the background; so things continue as they are with some... concessions. the buddy system is in full swing, and the children can't be left unattended, so that's how Wolfwood finds himself being delivered in his boss' car--hilariously a beater this time, to Vergil's prissy displeasure, but Eve and Kni seemed content enough in the backseat.

it's a routine delivery job; Vergil conveys Wolfwood to a location, and then Wolfwood is responsible for pulling the fairly big piece of merchandise out of his who-knows-what-the-fuck-it-is space to manhandle it into the client's home to their satisfaction, putting his superhuman strength to use and earning his paycheck. it's normal. they're being smart, there's two of them, the monsters hiding in the shadows should be brave enough to jump out, and yet.

Wolfwood is in the building, and the coin of God's indifferent bullshit lands on tails. ]

[b.ii] 8/3, action; in the labyrinth i disappear [after]

locked to kni, eve, dante, nero, vash, libra; cw: kidnapping, claustrophobia, potential mentions of experimentation on children

[ "Hide the children!"

for a heartbeat, Wolfwood is frozen--he hears the screaming, sees the blue streak racing towards him with Kni and Eve under its inhuman arms, sees the edges of Vergil's frilly blue coat where there are people trying to pin him and hold him under some shadowy piece of bullshit, and he goes in two different directions--

he should pull the Cross Punisher and open fire, but Vergil's right there in the line of fire and the kids (or is it just Kni?) are screaming, and Vergil is yelling for them to go and Wolfwood's never been one to be too attached to standing his ground. the Doppleganger shoves the children into Wolfwood's arms and then it flashes back towards its master, and Wolfwood breathes out and steps back even as Eve begs to wait, to help, but Wolfwood is stepping back into his spatial closet and slamming it shut. the Cross Punisher is at his back and he shuffles the kids together on his left, arm around them as he rips the cover loose and engaging the Punisher, the green lights bathing the inside of the space in a green glow as Wolfwood braces it on his leg, pointing at the place where the closet opened from.

he breathes out, slow, fishing for his phone in his pocket, squeezing the kids tight as he taps his phone on and thumbs through his contacts with shaking fingers.

he squeezes his fingers tight, holding down on Dante's ring with a steady, unrelenting pressure; he swallows the guilt at abandoning Vergil to whatever's happening outside and locks it away in the deep, quiet place where he stores his emotions when he's got work to do as he adds Vash and Dante to a call and waits for it to connect. ]

It's gonna be all right. [ he murmurs, as the ringing tone sounds, impersonal beeping ] You guys are gonna be all right. I promise.

Comments

UN: shinope

[killerapp]

evolved

text; un: ndwolfwood

[asipofbride]

[ so we meet again mr never answering that guy's questions again ]

what do you mean evolved

[killerapp]

[Look this one should be straight and to the point.]

most Pokemon will grow into another Pokemon after a while

[asipofbride]

i
what
i didn't see him grow legs or a lump or fuckin fancy baking stuff
why does he have a latrice
i don't know what vash calls it

[killerapp]

yeah we dont know how or why they do it just what causes it and what they grow into. it happens

[asipofbride]

he's
he's still my same little guy, right
he sounds different now when we talk

[killerapp]

yeah. think of it like Pokemon puberty or whatever. its still them, they just grew up

[asipofbride]

is he gonna get bigger
he went from apple sized to pie sized
do i need to be worried that he's gonna be table sized or some shit in a month

[killerapp]

no Applins only have two evolution options and you got Appletun

b.i

[kowase]

[ it's supposed to be a simple delivery, but truth be told--he's dealt with this client before.
They usually ask too many questions, ask his delivery persons to move the antique piece of furniture thisway or that way, in this room or that to see where it looks best.

he's not at ALL surprised when he checks his watch--noting it's been at least eight minutes since wolfwood was supposed to do a simple drop off. And for all he knew, the woman would keep him for another twenty. He glances up in the rearview mirror of the car, at the two bored looking kids in the back, and then out the window. ...There's a cafe, just a few doors down, so... he's going to unbuckle his seatbelt. ]

I do not know about you two, but I think I need a coffee. Doubtless, Nicholas may be quite busy with this irritating client I sent him in to see.

Come with me, I will purchase you both a drink for your troubles, as well.

[playtag]

[Eve doesn't know Vergil as well as the others in the cabin do. Mainly he's just the fellow who owns the shop they've been brought to a couple times. But he had seemed content to leave her to her reading while visiting there, which has put him higher in her regard.]

[She probably does look bored, watching outside the window. People watching as she often does. Eve could keep it up, honestly (though twenty minutes would be pushing it). However, she wouldn't mind a change in scenery. Getting to stretch her legs again. So at Vergil's suggestion, she looks away from the window towards the other two, then nods.]

Okay.

[Seems fine, they've got more than enough people for the buddy system, right?]

[ornamentals]

[for kni's first ride inside a car, it could have certainly been worse. it was easy to keep whatever excitement he felt from showing outwardly, without vash nearby to see through the impassive airs he put on around others. yet it was impossible to hide the way his eyes darted around the interior as they seated themselves, mentally comparing the differences to the few examples he remembered seeing in the old movies he enjoyed watching.

the novelty wore off pretty quickly the longer they sat there, kni joining eve in people watching out of his own window. his own patience was pretty stacked, but the high temperatures outside seeping in through the windows coupled with the AC offering only the lightest breeze made kni feel like he was melting against the seat. when the offer of something to drink arises, kni is quick to sit up and unbuckle his own seatbelt.]

It's hot.

[and he'd really love an ice water right now.]

[kowase]

[ he's never been the best with kids--his failed attempt to be a teacher had made him realise he didn't really have the patience for children--but these two had pretty well been the most model type that he had once wished were students of his. Quiet, easy to get along with--none of the bratty juvenile attitude that came with not wanting to do things like read and learn.

kni was right--it WAS hot, and that makes him consider getting an iced coffee instead, perhaps-- clicking the little button on his keys that made the car lock up once eve and kni were out and following him.

He does his usual sweep of the street--making sure noone was looking weirdly in their direction, making sure noone was hiding just out of sight.
Needlessly paranoid? probably. But he was here to do a job, and he'd do it.
He gestures at the kids to walk just in front of him so he can keep a full eye on them. ]

Some ice will do us all good.
Weather like this is set to boil one's brain poorly.

[ ...and maybe that's why he hasn't noticed the way the shadows twitch, just ahead of them yet. ]

[playtag]

[Oh, they both could be bratty when they wanted to, but over learning? Very little chance of that. Books were Eve's bread and butter.]

[She follows the other's lead, closing the car door behind her with a soft click]

Mmhm. This heat is almost enough to miss the rain.

[Eve's more used to walking behind than in front of a group. But she's fairly obedient (old habits) and takes his cue to begin towards the cafe.]

[Something in her feels tense, like she's being watched, but after the many days of vigilance it's hard to say if that actually means something or just her imagination.]

[ornamentals]

[kni moves to walk in front of vergil alongside eve easily, gaze darting around as he takes in the other citizens decorating the area. being around others, strangers, was still a hard pill to swallow on his better days. he still couldn't shake the feeling of being watched, paranoia prickling his senses until the pressure threatened to crush him.

he was getting better at lasting longer, holding out against the inevitable crash of irritation and a soured mood that took hours to bounce back from.

but this heat was draining. kni sighs, brushing his knuckles over a heat-flushed cheek.] My brain is boiling, I'm sure of it.

[kowase]

I cannot say I am a fan of too much rainfall, but heat like this has never been something I have been a fan of.

[ even if he came from italy--which arguably has hotter temperatures than this--he was a rich kid, through and through. air conditioning was something you didn't really realise was a luxury. ]

Hopefully, this fool client will not take much longer--

[ and that's it. That's all the words that Vergil gets out of his mouth by the time he truly realises there's something wrong, the way the shadows shift and move like they're alive. Curling around himself and the two children--before rising up out of the shadow, like a living net of--

He doesn't have time. He doesn't have time to think about what's happening; only for the primary objective that's in his head: protect Eve and Kni.
There's a flash of memory behind his eyes. A fearful child with a group of beings bearing down on him, as noone heard his cries for help.

There's a flash of blue, and in the same moments that it takes for those shadows to start to surround him and the pair, there's a second Vergil appearing. Except this one is much bigger--translucent, blue in colour--and it's taking no time to grab both the kids in its arms.

Vergil's sword is out a moment later, swinging in a wide arc to cut a hole big enough in the shadowy net that's starting to close in. Enough so his doppelganger can burst out and start running in the opposite direction.
Moments later, the net comes down onto him--and despite his strength, he feels muddled--held down by the sticky shadowlike strings that wrap around him, pin him down.

Run. The doppelganger needs to run. Where the hell is nicholas. ]

[asipofbride]

[ Wolfwood is in the last place you saw him.

it was irritating, moving to the left, then the right, then the left, and then more left, and then no the other left--but when enough shifting and tweaking and twitching and smidging had been offered at the altar of Needing Things To Be Just Right, Wolfwood was released from his eccentric rich asshole prison and sent on his merry way (with no tip, because assholes), hands in his pockets as he joneses for a cigarette and contemplates the merits of hanging half out of Vergil's dumb car to get one--

but Vergil and the kids aren't in the car, and something wriggles up Wolfwood's neck, uneasy, Vash and Dante's adamant buddy system sitting uneasy on his shoulders, and he thinks for a moment of reaching back and pulling his gun out of the space between where it's sitting

but then the Doppleganger is in front of him, children in arms, and Wolfwood's eyes are locking on the distance, on another familiar blue shape swinging like a madman, fighting in a writhing cluster of shadows, of men, and he steps up as if to meet the Doppleganger or go past it. ]

b.ii

[doubledollar]

[ he's working, of course. Otherwise he'd have been there, with the group. Libra is standing near the entrance of the bar, and he can hear Zulius out in the theatre, shouting cheerily as he directs the people on stage for tonight's show.

His phone rings with a colourful rock tune, which he recognises it to be wolfwood, cheerfully picking it up to raise it to his ear.

Calling to ask about dinner plans, maybe? it was getting close to them being off for the night, so... ]

Yello! Not often you call instead of text. Got your hands full? [ ...wait. He looks at the screen. ....Dante? ] --Eh? A conference call?

[ hold on--

his ring is glowing. immediately, he starts to panic, actually. ]

--What's going on??

[playtag]

[Eve's finally unfrozen from the initial shock and fear, now struggling to break free. Not that she's really succeeding in going anywhere with Wolfwood's super-human protective grip. The... room? The room's so dark, there are no windows-]

[But more importantly...]

But Nico! What about him?

[Is that the first time she's called Wolfwood that. It may be. Eve's too focused on the buzz in her brain that things are wrong, wrong, WRONG to notice. She cuts off once she hears other voices faintly on the line.]

[advivo]

[ it's the warmth from the ring that gets dante first, that stop him dead in his tracks, followed up by the call that immediately springs to life with vash's voice, then eve's. what about him? his feels his muscles lock up, jaw tightening, and he glances over to where nero is before moving a few feet away. something is wrong, something is wrong, something is wrong, something has happened, something has happened, what happened, who is it, who ─ ]

What about who?

[ there is already a crack in his voice as his mind wirrs and races with the possibilities. ]

[ornamentals]

Let me out! We have to go back-!

[kni's voice is pitched, shrill with panic and disoriented by everything that had just happened. his fingers clutch at wolfwood's side, he can't see, wherever they were now feeling too tight, too dark, the air thinning as he tries to breathe around the tightening noose around his chest - ]

It's not okay, it's not! [he wants to let go of wolfwood and find the doorway that led out of this room, this closet, but instead his hands just shake. playing over and over the sight of vergil growing smaller in the distance as they were forced to run away - run away, kni could never and yet - his ears still ringing painfully from his scream.

he can't breathe. they were losing air the longer they sat here doing nothing.]

[sassery]

[He’s found he’s spending more and more time at Auguries as of late- a connection made in the past two months that’s solidified the shop into a second home for him. It’s a place to keep himself busy- either bothering Dante with his bullshit, having a discussion with Vergil, or just fixing one of the antiques in need of care from storage.

Today isn’t any different, and knowing that Vergil’s left for a while for something in regards to work, Nox is keeping his hands busy, vaguely recalling how the handle of the hilt goes, leaning against one of the chairs in Dante’s office.

…and then there’s a phone call. Nox hears it before the sudden tension and worry from Dante nearly hits him square in the face, causing him to almost drop the hilt in its entirety. Barely grabbing it at the last second, he places it on the table, attention directly aimed at Dante, noticing how he moves away from him.]

What happened? What’s going on, Dante?

[There’s no way he mistook Dante’s emotions. Something is wrong and his uncle is acting up because of it.]

[asipofbride]

[ there's a lump in his throat, as Kni and Eve both protest, struggling against him; their hearts are going so fast, but he holds tight to them in the darkness, barely illuminated by the Cross Punisher's glow. his phone is a light beacon in the dark when the call connects, and he breathes out slow, aching for a cigarette, but he has to have priorities.

he swallows the lump and raises his voice to be heard over the children as he clicks the phone over to speaker mode.

he rattles off the address of the delivery in a firm, steady tone. ]

Vergil and I were doin' our delivery. He and the kids were outside. Didn't see what happened. The kids were delivered to me by some sort of blue--manifestation. He was being pinned in by a group of men. [ ... and the firm, almost dispassionate report breaks a little as he licks his lips, sucks in a breath, digs his fingers into the edge of kni's shirt. ]

I don't know his current status. I ducked next to the delivery house inside of my closet space. I have the kids. I'm not coming out until at least one of you gets here and confirms it's you.

[ at least the kids can't see the way Wolfwood doesn't look at them when he speaks, acting like he can't hear their begging, eyes fixed on the space where his door manifests from. if Krusnik can break through--however the magic works, Wolfwood is going to be ready.

the Cross Punisher hums in anticipation. ]

[doubledollar]

[ there's terror settling in his heart as he realises what Wolfwood is saying. Eve and Kni crying out in the background about 'him', going back, going back for--?

Wolfwood's words fall heavy like kicks to his chest: they were attacked. By Krusnik. Kni and Eve were in danger--
And while Wolfwood had them in the most safe place imaginable...
What about Dante's brother?

...What about... ]

I'm on my way. [ he's going to go tell zulius he has to leave early. And He's grabbing Libra on his way out. ] Tell me where you are.

[advivo]

[ dante doesn't hear nero, he doesn't even hear vash as he talks, all he hears the wolfwood's words repeating in his head again and again and again. kids were delivered to me by some sort of blue--manifestation. he was pinned in by a group of me. ordinarily dante might question when his brother got his doppelganger back, but he can't even hear his own thoughts right now. they came for the kids, the fucking came for the kids, and vergil ─

not again, he can't do this again, he can't lose him again. ]

I...

[ breathe in, breathe out, think before you act before you rush out the fucking door ─ ]

Vash, if you're gonna get them come to the Auguries right after. It's safe here.

[ he shoots at look at nero, eyes narrowed into a glare that all but dares the younger devil to walk out those doors - they can't right now. they have to make sure the kids are safe before anything, before they even begin to figure out what happened to vergil. if he is really...

dante breathes in sharply and a hand goes to the bracelet around his wrists, fingers pressing tightly against the red gems encrusted in it. ]