groovygamers.com

The boys had agreed to meet an hour after school.  Colin had given them the address of the boy they were going to see.

They set their rendezvous not far from their target's house, and Colin is the first to arrive. He chains his bike and waits for his friends, taking a look at where Leland Palmer lives.

Kel slips out of some bushes as Colin chains up his bike, and gives a half hearted wave, "Hey."

Donnie gets off the bus, a block down from this Palmer kid's house. A few minutes later, he jogs up to the meeting place, a little out of breath. "Hi."

Colin leads them to the hiding place he thought of, then shows them the house.

"I've got his number if you want to check if he's at home. Otherwise, we've got to wait, and hope we're lucky."

Kel nods, "Waiting sounds like the best idea we got, maybe try to get a look inside through the windows."

"Pip will do that." The jade dragon shimmers into existance on Donnie's shoulder, leaping into the air. and winging towards the house. Donnie waits patiently, then tells the others what the dragon sees.

Pip can see Leland in the living room watching TV and his mother in the kitchen cooking.  No one else seems to be home.

"So he's already home. Any idea how to get him out?

Otherwise, if we have to wait, I brought sandwiches. Would you like one?"

"Sure thing," Kel says as he bites into the sandwich, then gesturing with it, "Maybe we could give hima call or something, I don't know it'd be kind of hard to convince him to get out if he knows he's never met us."

"Pip could ring the doorbell and bolt before it's answered." Donnie waves away the offer of the sandwich.

"It's better than nothing, though it might not get him to come out, his mom could answer it."  Kel takes another bite, chewing as he thinks.

Colin thinks about it, his sandwich untouched.

"Truth. I call him. I tell him I know what he did, and to come out if he doesn't want me to tell."

"Might work, plus might get him worried since people know what he did.  Stop him from thinking he was invulnerable."  Kel smirks, then takes another bite of his sandwich.

Colin dials Palmer's numbers on his cellphone. He hopes Leland will be the one to answer, he wouldn't like to have to lie to his mother. He doesn't have the heart to talk to her.

After Leland gets the phone, he says quickly, struggling to keep his nervousness at bay.

"I know what you did to those girls. If you don't want someone else to know, come out and down the road, behind the trees, and we'll talk."

A few minutes after the call Leland is at the spot he was directed to.  He's dressed for the weather, with a hat and coat.  He doesn't look terribly worried.

"Please, be ready, but stay hidden for now." Colin whispers to his friends.

He steps forward to meet the boy, his hood covering part of his face, but his sleeves already rolled up. His eye shine with the ghost light as he looks upon him.

"Why?" he only asks.

Kel nods, and quickly assembles himself within the trees.  He feels his muscles knot up as he gets ready to pounce on this guy, one hand forms into fist and the other palm open in a karate chop style position, his body falls into combat mode.  His stance is beginning to look different, a mixture of kempo and boxing.

Leland looks at Colin, a slight smile raising the corners of his mouth.  "That's complicated.  Suffice to say that it fed my inner sociopath."

OOC: Nothing strange with ghost sight about him?

OOC: He looks percetly normal, except he has no aura.

Colin grits his teeth.
"Really. Then show me your inner sociopath... and the rest of your soul!"

The Spirit Dancer closes his arms in front of himself, forming the Eye, and he lets his heart and tongue go, letting his anger tear away any illusion, any disguise, so that the monster Samantha sensed is revealed.

Kel's eyebrows raise as he hears the boy refer to an inner sociopath.  Then he sees Colin try to go all magical mojo on the guy, and Kel gets ready to pounce, either there would suddenly be a demon in front of them, or there'd still be just a straightforward rapist who had admitted to his crime.

Before Colin walks out to meet with Leland, Donnie whispers strange siblant words, and disappears from view. "Ok, ready." He says, voice coming from where he was just standing.

Pip waits, hidden in the foliage of the tree above the boys.

Words of power roll out of colin and he struggles to bring his arms together.  when they finally close, the Eye lights up and a wicked wind tears loose form him, blowing the flesh and clothing off of Leland, and revealing somthing neither man, not ghost.

"You little shit."  Leland yells, and stomps his foot on the ground.  There is a clap of thunder, and a bolt of lightning.

OOC: Colin make a toughness Save DC 21, Donnie and Kel make Reflex Saves DC 19.  Fail the Reflex Save and be blind.

OOC: Toughness Save (1d20+2=7) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=875284)
Ehm... ouch. At least it's just enough to stay conscious.

Kel still standing there gets blown away as light overcomes him.  He then stands there in total darkness, well he thinks he's standing there, this feels like standing.  Then he nearly screams, "You jackass, what the hell did you do!?"  His breathing speeds up as he stands alone in the emptiness, he's seen movies about this stuff right, blind swordsman and all that, wasn't there a blind superhero or something.  Slowly he brings his breathing under control, concentrating on what he can figure out, letting his ears do the work.

((+3 Reflex is useless when you roll a natural one: http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=875289  Kel will at least try to listen to what's going on: http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=875290 ))

Donnie grits his teeth and says nothing as the crack of thunder and the flash of lightening explode in front of him.

Donnie's Reflex Save (1d20+1=10) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=875303)

But he was blind. PIP! Can you see? The little dragon hisses in fury, and leaps from the tree towards the revealed form of Leland.

Pip's Reflex Save (1d20+5=25) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=875309)

Round 1

Need an Initiative Roll for everyone

Then Tell me what you're planning on doing.

(( http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=875317 ))

Kel is trying to figure out what is going on about him.

Donnie's Initiative (1d20+1=6) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=875323)

Donnie will be standing very still and preparing to call Uther, once Pip reveals to him what Leland has become.

Pip will be divebombing Leland from the treetop, telling me what has happened to Leland, then trying to do a bite (Nauseate).

If things look very dire, Donnie will Summon Uther and the following round get the hell out of there.

Initiative (1d20+1=18) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=875325)

Colin recoils in pain, wondering what hit him. He gasps for air, trying desperately to speak again, to send back this beast to whatever realm it came from.

OOC: I am stunned this round. Was that Lethal or Nonlethal damage?"

OOC: Non-Lethal

Pip tells Donnie that the boy has turned into a monster, maybe a demon.

OOC: Need an attack roll for Pip and an initiative unless he goes on your. Also, tell me the DC Save for his bite.

Ooh... blackbird, what is this thing? Colin thinks, shaking his head, still dizzy for the thunder that struck him.

I expected him to go on my initiative.
Pip's Attack

Pip's Attack (1d20+5=20) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=875985)

Nauseate 5  DC 15

Leland screams as Pip sinks his teeth into his arm.  The sound of his scream is like nails on a chalkboard, a hundred of them.

Initiative 18 Colin Recovers from being stunned but can't take any actions until his next initiative.  Make a Fort Save DC 20 to recover from blindness.

Technically Pip acted in the "pre-round" because he made his Reflex Save and wasn't blinded.  He was sort of "Ready" as it were.

Initiative 14  Leland cocks his head and opens his mouth, letting a jet of flame issue forth and washing over Pip.

OOC: Pip needs to make a Toughness Save DC 19

Initiative 8  Kel hears Pip screech, and the sound of the flame.  He might be able to make a move against Leland if he wanted to attack.

Kel, make a Fort Save DC 20 to recover from blindness.  If he makes the Save he will be able to see enough to act with no penalty, if he fails he sufferes all the effects of being blinded.

Pip: Pip's Toughness Save (1d20+5=17) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=876432)

Donnie's Fort Save: Donnie's Fortitude Save (1d20=20) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=876434)

Holy Crap! What a time for a nat 20!!!!!

Donnie shakes his head, vision coming back from a blur of white. He hears Pip's screech of pain, both audibly and in his head. UTHER! Uther shimmers into being behind the bushes, and prepares to leap an an attack.

Fortitude save (1d20+2=9) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=876721)

As he gradually regains his bearings, Colin sees only the shape of of the lightning bolt that struck him. He can hear the crackle of flames and Pip's cry. He feels his anger rising and burning, threatening to overcome everything else, when suddenly, he finds himself in the eye of the storm, and, for a moment, there is calm.

(( http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=876799 boo nat 1s))

Kel still can't make out a thing, but if Pip's screeching is any good indication, he could probably get one good hit in.  He mopves in and throws out his fist in a solid right hook.

(( http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=876799 and of course he does...))

OOC: I think Kel's second roll is this one: http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=876805

((Heh, oh yes it is sorry..))

Kel connects with a solid hit, which dosen't seem to phase Leland.

Initiative 6

Pip failed his toughness by 2, he's hurt but still in good fighting shape.

Donnie needs to make a For Save DC 20 to recover from blindness.

OOC: Let's hear it for Nat 20s (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=876852)

Sorry, I posted my actions for the round earlier..
(reply No. 37)  :scared:

Ok, so you're vision comes back and you see Leland, with red scaley skin and pale yellow eyes.  He's looking over at Kel, who is obviously blind still and just planted a fist in Leland's face.

Donnie summons Uther behind the bushes, and prepares to step forth and give the demon Leland a taste of my Ray Charles spell. Still Invisible, by the way.

Pip will fly high, and next round dive back down to distract Leland when I try and touch him to release the Ray Charles spell.
(Aid Action-will roll when I try and touch Leland for the spell next round)

END ROUND 1

Round 2

Initiative 18

You have unmasked a demon half-breed.  He was probably summoned by the boy Leland and he was not able to contain it, so it possessed him.

EDIT: Added color codes to top text.

If he summoned it, I'll send it back. I can't see, so I need your guidance more than ever.

He can hear the demon, and his friends fighting him. He can smell his foul breath. Colin staggers to his feet to face it. He concentrates and reaches into his heart.

There is his pain, and Darla's pain. There's his fear, but even more than that, there's his anger. There's the promise he made to Samantha. There's the fondness for his friends, that are at his side as always. There's love, a lot of love, for his mother, who is waiting for him, always worried, for his lost father, for Sarah, who would never forgive him if something happens to him because he faced a monster without inviting her. And there's this new thing. He's not sure if he's allowed to call it faith yet, but it's there.

No matter what happens, it's part of the plan. Just do your best.

He reaches for all that, and throws it at Leland. His voice gets hoarse, and he wills the magic words of the One Tongue  to reach into Leland and tear the demon away from him, to exorcize it, to banish it back to where it can hurt no one else. Tears start falling from his eyes as he puts all he has behind this attempt.

God and Great Spirit help me! You are not allowed here anymore!!!

---

OOC:
I have no idea how this is supposed to work, so I can happily edit everything above if it doesn't make sense.
Colin's staggered, so he can only use a standard action or a move action every round. If this is more than a standard action, I'll throw my hero point at it. It is also likely that it takes more than one round. In that case, consider I'm trying to remain concentrated on this.
I'm also using extra effort on this. It makes Colin fatigued, but whatever power this is (if it's a power at all) is considered two ranks higher.

Donnie watches as the sky fills with blackbirds, a swirling fractal of entities, all individual but moving with a harmony that is only found in nature.  They turn as one, rise as one, and dive as one.  He sees Leland look up as the sun is blotted out by the mass of birds, and he yells.  "Don't even think about it little man!"

OOC: Colin spend your hero point, Make a Will save DC 20, and a Toughness Save DC 19.

Donnie can spend a hero point to act NOW, which would be after Colin but before Leland if he wishes, or wait until his initiative to act if he wanted to save the hero point for what might come.

Will save and Toughness save (1d20+4=23, 1d20+2=16) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=877565)

Donnie leaps forth, running past Leland and grasping Colin's shoulders, willing him all his power and energy, focusing it on banishing the demon in Leland.

Pip cuts his loop short and latches onto Leland's back to distract him.

Pip's second attack on Leland (1d20+5=15) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=877700)
ooc: Hero Point to act now, extra effort if necessary.

Power begins to build in the air between the two forces.

Pip swoops down and attacks Lelan, drawing the demon's attention for a split second.

Initiative 8

Kel, Make a Fort Save DC 19 to recover from blindness.  If you make it you can see and attack with no penalties, if you fail your actions will have the penalties for blindness.

(( http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=879370 Damn another one on my fort save))

Kel in his blind rage let's one of his fists just fly off in a ridiculous back handed swipe.

(( http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=879371 ))

Kel connects with Leland's face, knocking him back a few steps.  There is a shockwave of air that blows Pip and Kel several feet away, and a pillar of flame roars up from the ground, engulfing Leland.  He roars in anger, and the blackbirds dive into the fire, forming a swirling tornado of ash, spinning furiously around the demon, comsuming him and being consumed.  There is a strained whistle of air and then the last filaments of ash float to the ground slowly in the still air.  It's as though nothing had happened, with only a few bits of ash as evidence that there had ever been a Leland standing there.

END COMBAT ROUNDS

Colin falls on his knees, feeling drained of nearly all his energies. He's still seeing only bright spots in front of his eyes, and in the sudden silence after the tornado of fire he can't hear his friends.

"Kel? Donnie? Is it gone? How is Pip? I can't see anything."

"Wow. Just. Wow. Yeah, it's gone Colin. The demon has been banished, it's vessel gone to ash. Tornado of black birds and a pillar of fire. Wow."

Donnie helps Colin to his feet, as Pip alights on his shoulder. "Good dragon, Brave dragon. You did so well. He's a bit singed, but otherwise ok. Here Colin, sit." Donnie leads him over to the grass.

"Kel, can you see yet?" At his negative reply, Donnie goes over to him. "Don't hit me, it's just me." He reaches out a hand and clasps Kel's forarm, leading him over to sit next to Colin. "My blindness faded rather quickly. I dunno it is my magic or what, but I can see fine. Hmmm. Maybe if.."

Ooc: Since Donnie has a blindness spell in memory, can he formulate a quick reversal spell for the condition?
Donnie's attempt to reverse the blindness. (1d20+11=19) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=879613)

"Its vessel gone to ash? What do you mean gone to ash? Didn't he turn into a boy again?!!"

Colin's eyes can't see, but they fill with terror all the same.

"W-what have I done?"

"No Colin. There is nothing left. I don't think there was anything of Leland left after the demon consumed him. Leland likely tried to summon a demon or devil, and couldn't control it. It possessed and consumned him from within, and all you did was destroy that which should not be here."

Donnie sends Pip back into the dragon realm, with a promise of a special treat after he had healed.

Hmm, I have no holy oil or chrism, I wonder if the ash would do as a regent for the reversal..

Colin is trembling. If it can still be called that way. A little more and it would be called convulsions.

Blackbird, tell me I didn't kill him. This is not what I wanted to do. Tell me I didn't kill him!

OOC: Sure, I'll let you do that.


I can't tell you that, but there was nothing of the boy left.

"Keep your eyes closed, fellas. I think I can reverse the blindness" Donnie crouches down and after licking his finger, covers it in ash. He then turns to Colin, and speaking strangely liquid syllables presses the ash on Colin's eyelids. They burn for a split second, then warmth spreads out from the center of his eyes. "Okay, open."  Colin opens his eyes and everything is a white blur at first, but quickly shapes take form and he sees Donnie's face, looking critical and concerned. "Can you see now?"
At Colin's assent, he repeats the process on Kel.

Colin's eyes can see now, but they are still empty. What happened is too big for him.

"I didn't want this. I only wanted to get the demon out of him. Like I did with Rob. I didn't want to kill him. His mother has just seen him go out, and now he'll never come back. Who's going to tell her? I... I should go to the police. I killed him."

Donnie goes back to Colin and places his hands on his shoulders, looking him in the eye. "Dude, the demon killed Leland a while ago. All that was left was a thin shell hiding the monster beneath. Leland died when he summoned a demon. Don't blame yourself for ridding the world of that foul thing. It raped and mentally damaged several girls, and you, we, have prevented it from doing it ever again. Besides, likey his mother has been wondering what happened to her son long before we came along. Likely she's been crying herself to sleep, wondering why her son was acting so strange, being so cruel. Buddy, we banished a demon. We killed nothing."

A big tear rolls down Colin's cheek, followed soon by many others, as his lips tremble. His eyes go from Donnie to the remains of the boy that was once Leland Palmer.

"Why?" he blurts out suddenly. "Why?!! You stupid shit, you bloody idiot!!! Why the hell did you have to throw your life away like this, and ruin it for all those you touched??!! WHY??!!!"

He wriggles away from Donnie and jumps up to kick a small mound of Leland's ashes.

"I hope you had a very good reason, you stupid stupid shit!!!"

He stops panting, realizing what he's doing, and falls to the ground again. It takes him a while before he's calm enough to talk again.

"I have to call Chris. Somebody must know what happened and what to say to his family. Please, go. Leave me alone. I'll be all right, and I don't want you to get involved with this. Please, just go."

He stands up and look at his friends.

"Thank you. Without you, I would be dead. I'll remember it. But there's nothing else you can do here. Please, go."

Donnie sprawls on the grass near Colin. "Sorry. Not going anywhere. I'm already known to Chris, so me bing here with you won't need any more explanation. Not leaving. You don't get to be the marytr here." Donnie smiled a crooked smile at Colin and crossed his legs in as close to a lotus position as he could.

"Besides, the next bus pick-up isn't for another forty minutes."

Colin has got no strength left to fight with his friend.

"Ok. But let me talk when he arrives."

He takes out his phone. And looks at it for a moment. He just used it to lure Leland out. It takes him a moment to get over it. Finally he dials Chris' number.

"Chris, it's Colin." he says with an unsteady voice.

Chris is not a fool. That's enough for him to tell something is wrong. Colin explains him where he is.

"I... I have to tell you something. But not over the phone, please. I'm not in danger but I... I did something. I don't know what to do now. Please come here, and bring Ms. Kellogg too. She may be needed. And... please, don't tell my mother yet. No, I'm not going anywhere."

Chris agrees and thirty minutes later he and Blaire Kelog are on teh scene.  Chris is obviously worried and a little shaken when he comes over to the boys, "What's going on Colin?"

Colin has been hit by a lightning bolt, so he likely has scorch marks on his clothes, and wild hair. He's quite pale, and looks like he's been crying a lot.

"I... I came here... following a vision, and we met a guy... who was possessed by a demon. So i tried to banish the demon. But there was nothing left of the boy, so when I banished it..."

He's looking at the ash on the ground.

"This is all that remains of him. I didn't want to kill him, I only wanted to send the demon away. This boy had a family, someone who should know what happened...."

Donnie looks over at Colin, shaking his head. "Sir, the guy was one of those responsible for the rape of two girls at two seperate party incidents. One was the firestarter you already know about, but Colin found out another girl had been a victim too, and saw Leland's face in the nightmares and memories of the second girl, who is at a local institution. Colin has helped her break out of her shell all staring at walls and not talking, and when he left her they were calling the girl's mother to tell them the good news. We had to confront this guy and see if her vision of him was true. It went kind of south after the guy blasted Colin."

Donnie was determined to make Colin see the positive side of things, and not take the blame for this all.

Colin looks angrily for a moment at Donnie. The last thing he wanted was for him to mention that Leland was one of the rapists. At least not until he was done with them all.

He turns back to Chris.

"When I made him reveal his true self, he attacked me. I think the threw a lightning bolt at me, I'm not sure because it blinded me. What am I supposed to do now?"

Chris looks at Blaire, and she goes over to the pile of ash.  Chris gets his phone out and calls the dispatcher.  Within a few minutes the area is turned into a crime scene and there are people examining evidence and taking pictures.  The paramedica examine the boys, and Blaire does as well.

A few minutes after the crime scene team arrives Inspector Kiernan arrives.  Chris and he talk for a few minutes and then Chris comes over to Colin.  "I'm going to have to take off.  If you need to talk later, I'll be there for you, okay?"

"It's because you can't be on this case? You're too closely involved?"

Chris nods, "I don't want you to get fouled up because of our relationship.  Kevin is a good cop, he's honest as new snow.  You can trust him." 

Chris leaves the scene.  A few minutes later Kevin and Blaire go up the street to the house where Leland Palmer lived.  The boys can see his mother in the door, and then see her collapse when they break the news to her.  Blaire tries to comfort her, and the two officers take her inside and out of sight.

They take statements from Colin, Donnie, and Kel, and then drive them home (making sure to collect Colin's bike).

OOC: Jongluer hasn't really got the chance to say if Kel would stay or not. I'd say he could have gone before the police arrived. Colin would actually be glad if he did.

Colin remembers perfectly a very similar scene, men in uniform knocking at a woman's door, about ten years before.

He stares blankly in front of himself. He doesn't even weep anymore.

And now he has to face that woman, and tell her what happened.

How can I tell mom?

OOC:If he does, we'll edit accordingly.

((Kel would've slipped away once they talked of getting the police involved and giving statements.  He'd have walked off letting Donnie and Colin do their discussion while he watched perched from a tree.))

From where he sits in a tree limb, Kel smiles as they give the police their version.  A harrowing tale of visions and magic gone awry, people playing with demons.  No talk of demonic battles in other planes of existence, of underage drinking, of real investigations and talking to people.  Thus, Kel smiles to himself, no one would expect anyone but the spirit dancer and the mage to be involved.  When the police are gone Kel slips off his tree branch and wanders off, pulling a ski mask on, and beginning to remove his patches as he heads out onto patrol.  No one will ever know that he was there, that Devil Dog fought tonight, and that was how he liked to keep it.