■■; when greek meets greek

[centralfiction]

WHO: Ragna and the Network
WHERE: Gemini
WHEN: March 6th
WHAT: The preamble to Ragna's possession plot
WARNINGS: Depictions of violence, glitch effects, language. I'll add more as they come up.



[It's abrupt. Or perhaps it was a long time coming.]

♪ RIOT

[The video feed turns on, a brief glimpse of a panicked, struggling Ragna with some sort of corruption running up the right side of his face before the floor seemed to be thrown to the ground camera first. From below the view is worse. Magic is flowing uncontrollably from the now opened regulator on his right hand. With his left, he threw something else, something purple, far out of sight before holding onto his right wrist as if it would accomplish anything.]

Stop!! STOP–! YOU DON'T KNOW… WHAT YOU'RE DOING–!!

[Then... another voice came from his mouth. It was his... mixed with that of a young woman. As if they were speaking at the same time, as if they were two halves of one whole.]

You don't understand!! You don't! They're coming! I saw them!! They're coming to destroy this place!! DESTROY IT ALL–! IT'S ALL VENTI'S FAULT! IT HAS TO BE, HE WOULDN'T SAY WHAT HE WAS DOING! IT'S ALL HIS FAULT!!

[Ragna's voice broke through, barely, though it was more of a pained scream as if he was being set on fire inside and out.]

AOKO—! NO–! You... can't—!

[He faded, he couldn't hold this whirlwind of power back any longer. He was already exhausted. He was already struggling to keep it controlled… even his body... could only take so much.

Ragna looked down at his phone and for just a split second...

His expression was desperate and before the two voices converged again, he mouthed one word silently.

"Help."]

Restriction number 666 released...

[The visual became harder to make out through bolts of power shorting the phone in and out.]

Dimensional interf̵e̸r̶e̶n̷c̷e̴ f̵i̷e̷l̶d̷ deployed.

[The sound began cutting out, the power swelled close to reaching its peak.]

B̵l̷a̷z̷B̵l̴u̸e̸... a̸c̷t̷i̵v̶a̸t̵e̴.

[The rest... is near impossible to make out. A loud burst like an explosion going off followed, the last of whatever was said was inaudible.

And the feed was cut off.]

[[ ooc: There will be no responses from Ragna going forward. Use this to react as you want to what just happened. See this thread for the lead up to how this happened and where it is. Main event will go up this Friday! ]]

Comments

voice | un: silhouetto

[threebetrayals]

Tsuki!

[Kuni is not seen on the app much and if he is he isn't anything but snarky.

He sounds like he's near tears.]

What the fuck--Barbatos, what the hell did you do to my cousin!?

voice; un: blade

[unreachableside]

[Blade's voice is flat, as always.]

Calm down. Venti has been the only thing keeping your cousin's possession in check for months. I know because I've been in that same situation.

He's been working on something that could help, though I don't know the specifics. Most likely, she realized that he was a threat to her control over Ragna and freaked out. Mara did the same.

We're going in as soon as we can locate him, and we will bring him back alive.

action since he's pretty much Right There

[reignitions]

[Shio's putting his hands on Kunikaki's shoulders.

Gently, but firmly:] Hey. Take some deep breaths. We'll help him.

voice; un: midnightfishing

[illucesco]

Oh, shit, Ragna! Aoko!

[Fuck fuck fuck fuck—]

[threebetrayals]

Who's Aoko?

about five minutes later; un: luciferskylight

[scourgingstars]

So.

[Ardyn did not look particularly pleased as he fumbled with his phone camera--stained heavily with a black substance most would probably recognize as what passed for blood with him. The copious wisps of miasma coming off of him like smoke were also a pretty good indicator he was in one hell of a terrible state.]

Just because I am immortal does not mean I expect to come across what I can only describe as an energy-devouring black hole on my way to pick up lunch. Because that was in fact what I happened upon. Whatever in the hell that was all about, I think dying what feels like three or four times in five seconds is more than enough for one day.

The rest of you have fun with whatever nonsense is going on this time. I'm going home to sleep for a week.

voice

[threebetrayals]

A what.

UN: Shroud | Voice

[whiteshroud]

[Well. That's bad]

That explains the unusual energy presence.

voice; un: blade

[unreachableside]

... Sounds unpleasant.

Where did you find the black hole? [Please say it ate up the crappy sandwich place. Jersey Mike's has truly gone downhill.]

un: midnightfishing

[illucesco]

That's not disturbing news to hear at all, thanks.

[This is going to be a rough fight. He can feel it in his bones.]

I'll let you know how the nonsense goes when it's done. In the meantime, [sardonic] get some exercise in every now and then in between all the sleeping, so your bones don't start audibly creaking.

voice; un: blade

[unreachableside]

[There's some crashing noises as Blade immediately drops what he's doing and gets to his feet.]

Ragna?! Ragna! Shit.

[He never swears really, but... this deserves it.]

... It's time to repay a favor from long ago.

Venti, I'm ready when you are.

Voice | UN: lunae

[heng_like_a_dragon]

[Dan Heng doesn't hesitate to respond. He knows how much Ragna's friendship means to Blade. Not to mention, this is the same man who went in to help Blade out with his own possession. It's only right to do his part.]

Blade, I see that a party is forming up in another channel. Although I won't be part of the extraction team, it looks like my expertise as a POKEGO researcher will be necessary to keep an eye on the Gate. You will call me if there's trouble, yes?

voice: un: The Duke

[loupmorque]

[ 'I'm coming down with something'.
The way Wriothesley's work ethic has always been--no work for the ill. He'd given Ragna as much time as he required to get over the cold he'd caught. With how insane the snow had been last month, he's completely unsurprised that SOMEONE caught a flu. But he hadn't talked to Ragna since that discussion.
Ragna was sick, and introverted as the Duke was, he wasn't someone who'd come up and check on someone unless they really seemed like they needed it. Ragna, being fiercely independent, well.

Now that he's watching this, with a tense look on his face, he can feel both the flickering of flames at his fingertips--as well as the polarizing crystallization of ice as he lets out a breath of air that turns into an icy fog the moment it touches the air.

He needs to calm down. Be rational, don't get angry.

He's seen it before. A possessed spirit going out of control.
Just like Blade's had. ]

...Hang in there, Ragna.
We're going to come get you.

[ just like he'd promised. ]

un: neoteric

[moderni]

Do you know what's happening to him? ...Can we stop it?

[Maxima sounds very nervous about what they're seeing - especially notable given how calm he usually is.]

voice; un: blade

[unreachableside]

You and me, right in front. We'll cut our way through anything trying to stop us.

[This is what paying it forward means. Wriothesley was there for Blade, too. He remembers.]

Do you need anything while I'm here at the shop?

Voice | UN: DelicatelyFrail

[life_ethereal]

[There's only one thing Harumasa can say that Wriothesley will understand with most of the implications understood. His voice is light-hearted like normal, but there's a calmness to it that makes it feel different.]

I'm going in, Boss. Ragna saved my life once, and I promised to return the favor.

[It doesn't sound like he's going to change his mind about it, either. Despite the fact that this could easily kill him.]

action, cause she's very likely with him.

[majeste]

[ it is with a shaky breath that Furina takes his hand, a gentle surge of soothing water coiling around them. to say she's worried is to be a understatement, she had been worried about him for the past week. to think he had been suffering like this, to think he didn't reach out to those who would have helped him without hesitation.

she knows Wriothesley will go, he will fight through hell itself in order to help someone in danger. he dove head first to help Blade, he would do the same for Ragna.

but something tells her this is worse, that this is dangerous, and fear runs through her veins like ice. ]

Be careful, okay? [ she brings their joined hands up to her face, pressing a kiss to the back of his. ] Bring him back but please, be careful. I can't lose you, mon loup.

UN: Shroud | Voice

[whiteshroud]

[Now that he's done arguing with his grandmother--]

I'll be coming. Though, I'll probably have to remain outside to help monitor the gate with Venti.

[moonlited]

I'll be right there with you! Ragna's like family to me.

[ Arcueid wants to talk with Ragna more. He's changed a lot over the past few years because a lot has happened. Wriothesley's an unfamiliar face to her, but it doesn't matter. She'll work with him to get the job done. ]

I may not know you but we have the same goal.

voice, un: devilhunter

[advivo]

I was wondering why demon activity was on the up.

[ he checks his guns with a satisfying click before holstering them. ]

You're gonna need some backup, so count me in.

UN: Shroud | Voice

[whiteshroud]

[You know what, here's someone he's glad to see on here]

Figures you'd notice the demon activity. Truly, a seasoned professional.

[ :) ]

I'm going to deal with some the demons lurking outside the barrier before the operation begins, as they may be drawn to this.

[Also Jun is annoyed and needs to stab some stuff wanna come uncle]

Video | UN: makeitaventi

[venti_late]

[Ardyn giving his report like that really makes Venti glad that he's been working on his plan to circumvent the issue posed by extremely deadly conditions of the Spirit Realm some possessors can create. So, when he turns on the feed while in his Spirit Realm, which looks almost like the entrance to a tavern in the middle of a grassy field full of dandelions and cecilia flowers, he looks tired yet resolute.]

That Gate is impossible to get anywhere close to, but I've got a possible solution to the problem! I had a theory that we could connect Spirit Realms together, and Zhongli was gracious enough to allow me to experiment with connecting mine to his. It worked when I had his permission, which then inspired me to seek out Hermes for help with the rest. After all, demons and spirits aren't exactly willing to chat about their pact bearer for the most part.

[He waves his hand.]

Anyway, the long and short of it is that we can use my Spirit Realm to connect to the one Ragna's trapped in, but I need help. Given how dangerous this one is, I need people outside with me to monitor the Gate for any leaks. We also need a backup team just in case. Unfortunately, I can't join in the extraction unless something extremely dire happens because I need to be out here with Hermes to keep the connection going.

[Venti's being very calm as he says all of this, and he adds:]

We have time to set everything up. My pact with Ragna is still going strong and I'm doing my best to keep him tethered. So... any questions or volunteers?

voice | un: silhouetto

[threebetrayals]

Why is the ghost blaming you. What did you do.

[Well, he asked for questions.]

video un: moon princess

[moonlited]

I won't give up until we find a way to save him. He didn't deserve any of this.

[ Arcueid heard of Ragna's possession and how deeply it affected him. She had no idea that things were this dire because Ragna didn't go into too much detail about the specifics. Regardless, she feels overwhelmed by this change. She almost feels like crying, but she know she can't. For Ragna's sake, she has to be strong. Arcueid lived most of her life in a manor and she was sheltered. Ragna's not like her and it's because of him that she knew that living could be a wonderful thing.

She grits her teeth and quietly lowers her head. ]

I'll be heading out and teaming up with the others. My name's Arcueid. I'm not exactly human so you don't have to worry about me.

video: un: hotgoss

[bebest]

[Oh, well. This is deeply concerning. ]

...Ragna?

[Ragna. Not Grumpus. Much as Zulius loves to torment the guy with the nickname, this is clearly not the time. ]

What the sweet bejebus was THAT? Did I miss something?

[It's rare Zulius is out of any kind of loop, but he's sure missed this one! And he's worried. He and Ragna aren't super close, but he still likes the guy, and no one should have to suffer. ]

voice | un: anarchy

[nefilim]

Oh, what the actual fuck.

[ Well. This is clearly very bad.

It's really one thing after another in this damn place, but right now the priority is helping Ragna and... whatever the hell is happening here. ]

Well. Since this is also acting as a rallying of the troops, I'll be going in as well.