John says, "OOC Okay, ready, Alan?  You're getting trumped at
Alarsways."

Motoko pauses as she and Kodachi head to see Morgan.  "Pardon me; a
trump." She takes it.

What you see is one of the most horrible sights of your life.

============
============

You page, "So... question.  What's this gonna do to Kanna events, given she 
got home on day 75 -after- this debacle and stuff? *fwl*" to Akemi.

Akemi pages, "I'm going to have to make sure the news doesn't spread fast 
enough to retcon anything.  As I failed to anticipate the likelihood of death 
when I got you to where you are.  ^^;;;" to you.

You page, "Fair enough answer.  I suppose medical recocery at Alarsways will 
keep things under wraps for a while." to Akemi.

Akemi pages, "Yep" to you.

====
====

[Part of scene desc missing due to Lag due to rendering...]

with blood.  She looks like she's been crying a river.  Over her head,
she's holding a metal platform, on which Keitaro lies barely breathing
with his own clothing stuck to him with his blood.  Shinobu is horribly
burned all over her chest and barely alive.  Beowulf, stands next to her
with hideously charred arms, and Lily, who wears torn, bloody clothing
is next to him.

Mitsune has a logrusfoil hanging from her belt, Morkeleb on her back,
Ilvig crossed with it, and another sword on her left hip.

In fact, she looks rather like a human armory, as she has two pistols
tucked into her pockets as well.

Motoko says, quietly, in a very calm voice, "Lady Kodachi, some of my
relatives and friends need medical care very urgently.  May I please
bring them through?"

And then you see the worst.  Lily is holding the hideously charred body
of Moriya.

Your mind blanked it out on the first pass, but now it hangs before you
like a nightmare.

Motoko lets out a small, quiet sound, like something's died inside her.

Beowulf looks about 200 years older than you've ever seen him, tears
runnign down his face.

====
====

In a page-pose to you, Chris just ... stares ... at the description. "Iya." 
O.O;

You page, "I'd say on Th, me and Bey and whoever get a session together.  as I 
really should punt pretty soon,. (been on to do printing and rendering.)" to 
Akemi.

Akemi pages, "I hope to get them up to you soon.  ^^;;;   As I feel bad making 
you wait.  ^^;;" to you.

You page, "I wouldn't have minded waitin -longer- if less people had died... 
^_-;;;" to Akemi.

Akemi pages, "I know.  ^^^;;;;;;;;;;;;;;" to you.

=====
=====

Lady Kodachi's eyes widen.  "Of course, Motoko.  Bring them through, and
I will help you heal them."

Motoko holds out her hands.  "Come through," she says calmly.

Mitsune reaches out and takes your hand and comes through.  Lady
Kodachi's eyes widen and she pales as she sees the extent of the damage.

Motoko fans out a trump and gives it to Kodachi.  "Please call Davros. 
We will need him.  It is... it is very bad.  Don't let Suu see."

Kodachi nods and moves off down the hallway.

Beowulf wobbles on his feet, looking barely conscious.

Motoko says, softly, "Who is hurt the worst among you?  Quickly.  I only
have so many spells."

Motoko is very obviously trying not to look at Moriya's body.

Beowulf says, "Shinobu or Keitaro. I can survive for now."

Mitsune gently lowers the improvised metal stretcher to the ground. 
Mitsune points to Beowulf.  "He had to thrust his arms into primal
Fire."

Mitsune says, "Although Shinobu as well."  She struggles to not cry
more.

Beowulf snarls. "And Shinobu was burned by the same primal Fire, and is
barely breathing. Do it!"

Motoko puts her hands on Shinobu and begins to recite lynchpins in a
clear, calm voice.

Beowulf looks briefly apologetic, as sorrow washes over his face again.
"I'm sorry for snapping at you. But do Shinobu first. Please. I don't
want these arms to be for nothing."

Pale white light spreads out in slow-moving waves from her hands and
begins to wash over Shinobu's body.

Kodachi now returns with Davros who says, "What has..."  And then he
stares at all of you, and then at Moriya, whose chest is full of holes
and whose left arm is completely gone.  "No.  No.  It can't be...."

His skin turns pale as he slowly walks over.  "Who did this?  _Who_ did
this?" You can see the ring on his right hand is starting to crackle
with electricity.

Motoko says, "Davros, help Mitsune and Lily.  I will heal Beowulf."  She
turns to Beowulf and reaches out her still-glowing hands towards his
arms.

Motoko says, "And Keitaro, too... they all need... they all need
help..." Beowulf looks crushed by guilt. "He died killing the man who
was in charge of this." He turns to Davros. "It was set up by Annadil,
many years ago."

Davros takes a deep breath, then steps over to Mitsune.  He raises his
hand, and closes his eyes and whispers,  touching her cheek with his
hand.  Fire erupts from the ring, and rushes over her, burning away the
blood, and wiping away her wounds.

Mitsune begins to cry.  "I was there.  I should have done something.  If
I'd only not lost myself....dammit.  Dammit."

Motoko lays her hands on Beowulf's arms and the white glow begins to
wash away the charring on his arms, leaving behind new pink flesh.

Motoko then turns to Keitaro and begins weaving a spell from scratch,
moving calmly, methodically, and almost gracefully.

Davros says, "I know you must have done your best, Mitsune."  He
clenches his fists for a moment, then makes them unclench, and steps
over to Lily.

He takes her hand, and releases his spell. The fire rushes over her,
burning away her wounds as well.

Beowulf says, "It was a trap set by Annadil, around the LogrusFoil
Moriya had heard about. He came to me for help tracking it down and
trying to trade for it."

Lady Kodachi now goes over to Mitsune and puts a hand on her shoulder. 
"I know what it is like to lose someone you love.  Do not let it consume
you."

Motoko moves a hand over Keitaro's chest and the white waves wash over
him. His breathing eases and the blood flakes away to dust.

Mitsune says, "If he wasn't already dead, I'd kill that little piece of
shit...if I ever get my hands on Annadil, I'm going to shove him face
first through a fucking meat grinder, then burn his remains, and burn
the fucking ashes."

Beowulf looks over at Mitsune in shared pain, before turning back to
continue the report.

Shinobu and Keitaro sleep peacefully, their chests rising and falling.
Motoko asks Kodachi, softly, "Is there somewhere we may take them to
rest?  I am so sorry to impose like this."

Lady Kodachi says, "I know.  I know the feeling, Mitsune."  She sighs.

Kodachi says, "Yes, we have..."  She winces.  "A lot of empty space
these days."  She quickly guides you down a hallway to a set of
connected rooms.  "I will go and get Hiko and Morgan. They will
want...they need to know."

Beowulf closes his eyes briefly in pain and memory, then follows along.

Motoko says, "Thank you."  She begins getting people into beds to rest,
then finally turns to Lily and holds out her arms for Moriya's body.

Beowulf sits on the edge of the bed, clearly pushing himself but not
willing to rest until he can confess.

Lily passes Moriya's body over to Motoko, then sits down in a chair and
stares at the floor.

Mitsune goes over and quietly casts a spell to fix the damage to Shinobu
and Keitaro's clothing, then stares at them.

Motoko holds Moriya in her arms for a moment, legs trembling, and then
just sort of sinks down to the floor as though collapsing in slow
motion, cradling his head against her shoulder.

Motoko whispers, "Oh, Moriya, Moriya, Moriya, my Sword, my Swords, how
can you leave like this?"

Davros now comes over and kneels by Motoko, wrapping his arms around
her.  "I can't believe it.  It just...it can't be real."

Lily says softly, "I should call Mother, but if I try to tell her, I'm
just going to crumple up in a ball and die."

Motoko says, "If only... if only..."  She begins to stroke her hands
down Moriya's burned body, which start to glow white and restore the
body to some appearance of decency, even if they can do nothing at all
for the true loss.

She looks up at Lily and says, "I will call her.  Don't worry."

Beowulf nods slowly. "And I need to call his mother."

=====
=====

Beowulf asks, "OOC Is Rimruru part of the standard trump deck now? Or has 
Aeris ever seen her?"

John says, "OOC Aeris has, she can patch you through."

=====
=====

Lily says, "She is my mother.  I'm the eldest.  It's my job.  I just..."
 She shudders.

Lily pulls out a trump card and makes contact.

Mitsune goes over and puts her hands on Lily's shoulders.

Motoko says, "We will need to tell a lot of people."  She holds Moriya's
body very tightly and rocks back and forth on her heels in Davros's
embrace.

Beowulf's expression breaks for a moment, then he asks Aeris to patch
him through to Rimruru.

Davros says softly, "We must carry on for him.  But I don't want to have
to carry on without him."

Motoko says, "There is no choice of whether or not to carry on."

Motoko kisses Moriya's forehead and stands up, shakily, to carry his
body towards an empty bed and lay him out.

Davros nods.  "I know.  I know my love.  Oh Serpent...I should have been
there."

Lily takes a deep breath and pulls Yumi through into the room.  Yumi
looks quite shaken.

Motoko asks, "You should have been there.  You should have been there." 
She puts Moriya down and rises up slowly, back to Davros.  "What good is
a Bride who allows her Sword to be broken?  And why..."  Her voice
cracks.  "Why didn't the Serpent protect him like He has protected me? 
Didn't He love him enough?  Wasn't he good enough?"  She begins to
shake.  "What's the good of any of it... what's the good of any of it at
all?"

Beowulf sits for a moment, his face crumpling, before pulling Rimruru
through.

Davros says, "I don't know, my love.  I know he cannot watch everything
everywhere.  I fear he somehow passed beyond the Serpent's gaze."  He
stares at his ring.  "I know he sees through my ring, but Moriya had no
spikard with him...like if I had been there."  He winces again. 
"Damnation."

Beowulf levers himself off the bed and tries to lead Rimruru over to the
body of her son.

Lily says, "We passed into a shadow where the Logrus had no power.  I
fear it was beyond the sight of the Serpent indeed."

You lead Rimururu over to Moriya.  She leans down and kisses his
forehead gently, then takes his one remaining hand.

Beowulf says, "The Logrus had no power there. Magic and Trump had no
power there. And using Pattern or Broken Pattern brought down deathtraps
on you."

She says, "I love you, my son.  Wherever you have gone, know that."  And
then she begins to cry.

Motoko steps quietly aside to let Rimururu by and just kind of stands
there helplessly, looking lost.

Mitsune says, "It was a stinking, filthy pit of evil.  We went into it
after this damn sword."  She points to the Logrusfoil she is wearing. 
"The whole thing was...I'm glad we destroyed it."

Beowulf briefly snarls. "Burned to the ground, like the cesspit it was."

Beowulf says, "I only wish the Primal Chaos bomb had been bigger."

Davros stands with Motoko, an arm around her, looking very sad and
shaken.

Yumi now comes over to Moriya, and stands and stares at him quietly.

Motoko says, quietly, "For a sword."  She looks down at the floor,
helplessly. "All for a sword--"  Davros touches her and she actually
flinches, shaking her head and nodding at Rimururu.  She says something
to Davros too quietly for anyone else to hear.

Beowulf looks like he's finding a bit of strength to continue in his
anger at himself. "I Pattern teleported in there, and my device for
checking Powers was jammed. So I tried Patternsight, and set off a
water-serpent from the river, 40 miles long."

Yumi now puts a hand on Rimururu's shoulder.  Davros lets go of Motoko
and goes over to Rimururu and says softly, "He has gone to the gentle
embrace of the Serpent, to ride with the Unicorn in forests unknown.  I
know he loved you very much.  I was his friend...his...his twin of the
soul.  I feel like part of me has died."

Motoko says, "You do not need to tell this story now, Uncle."  She goes
and sits down beside Mitsune on the bed and just stares at the wall.

Rimururu now turns and embraces Davros and cries on his shoulders.

Motoko says, "There will be time later.  There will be time."

Beowulf looks distraught, but sighs and nods. "I should have done
something better," he murmurs, sliding back against an empty bed. His
expression is bleak. "I should have done something."

Yumi now comes over to Beowulf.  "From what Lily told me, you're the
only thing which kept them all alive, for anyone to come back.  You can
never win every battle."

Motoko says, "It is always a matter of what one should have done, or
done better, but in the end, we must accept that we did what we did,
that what is done is done.  If it has not been enough, then all we can
do is hope we will grow stronger."

Beowulf looks up at Yumi. "Maybe not. But you never stop wanting to
try." Lily comes over to Beowulf.  "At least you got something done.  I
didn't do anything right."

Motoko clenches a fist and stares at it.  "Love is powerless by itself. 
Only strength can be relied upon."

Beowulf manages a weak smile, and puts an arm around her. "You were my
eyes, as Mitsune was... Moriya's." His expression crumples again, before
he forcibly straightens it out.

Mitsune says softly, "Love must guide our strength, as it guided me to
kill Hemingway."

Beowulf says, "You helped convince the people we ran into that we were
escaped castaways. You kept me going. Don't ever think you did nothing
to help."

Mitsune says, "And without love, we can have no strength, only despair."
 She clenches her fists.  "I should have picked someone I could
handle...dammit."

Rimururu continues to bawl as Davros holds her.

Beowulf turns to Mitsune. "You did your best, and a lot more than I
would have imagined."

Motoko puts an arm around Mitsune, then cradles her head against her
shoulder. "Love means nothing if we have not the strength to protect
it," she says fiercely.  "We might as well love dreams and mist if we're
not strong enough to protect what we love."

Beowulf looks very uncomfortable at this, but can't think of anything to
say in return.

Mitsune puts an arm around Motoko as well.  "I wish I could have died
instead of him.  He had a purpose, and I'm just this idiot who couldn't
even save the man she loves."

Lily says, "All strength fails some time.  As I found out."  She stares
at her hands.

Yumi now goes over to Rimururu and says, "I will talk to King Ishmael
and ensure you a visit with Shizumaru so you can tell him.  And I will
see if we can do something to let him attend the funeral."

Motoko kisses Mitsune's hair lightly and strokes her back.  "Moriya
loved you. He died to protect you, as you would have died to protect
him.  Only what we love is worth dying for, though it is always better
that we live."

Beowulf says, "I think... we should see if there's some way to use this
to earn Shizumaru's freedom." He glares at the LogrusFoil. "It's one
thing Moriya wanted, above almost all else."

Mitsune says, "You should have seen him.  He was magnificent.  He was
magnificent."

Mitsune nods.  "If the King wants it to set Shizumaru free, I'll happily
give it to him."

Mitsune says, "It's what Moriya would have wanted."

Davros talks quietly with Yumi and Rimururu.

Motoko says, "I know... I know he would have been... he was always so
brave."

Beowulf nods slowly. "He carried us all, at the end, after I burned my
arms to put out the primal fires in Shinobu."

Lily says, "We would all have died without him."

Motoko whispers, "Why wasn't I there?  Why wasn't I there?  Why did I
let him go away from me, when I knew that we were bound together?"

Mitsune says, "I don't know, Motoko.  I don't know."

Motoko hangs her head and closes her eyes, falling silent.

Rimururu says, "I am going to go with Lady Yumi to see the King about
seeing Shizumaru.  Beowulf, can you ensure that Moriya is taken to Amber
so that he can be prepared for burial?"

Beowulf shakes himself out of his funk, then nods. "Yes. I owe him that,
and more."

Motoko winces as though struck.

Beowulf says, "Motoko..." He sighs, wincing himself, and tries to think
of a way to ask her along without rubbing it in.

Rimururu says, "Thank you Beowulf."  She turns to the rest of you. 
"Thank you, all of you, for ensuring that at least his body was
recovered.  I will want...to talk to all of you later."  She comes over
to Mitsune and embraces her, then kisses her cheek.  "I know he loved
you.  And you loved him.  We must talk later."  She goes to Motoko and
kisses her cheek as well. "You were always his best friend, Motoko.  I
will see you soon."

Beowulf says, "I'm sure... he would be glad to have you with him."

Motoko says, quietly, "Goodbye, Aunt.  Take care.  I will see you soon."

Yumi and Rimururu then teleport away.

Beowulf tries again. "Motoko... I'm sure he'd like to have you at his
side."

Motoko says, "His mother asked you, Uncle.  Had she wanted me along, she
would have asked me as well."

===============
===============

You page, "bailing now.... if bey is synched with Kanna by thurs, I'm
good, fwiw.  All Praise Wonkytime in Chaos. *hugs both*" to Akemi and
The_Prof.

The_Prof pages, "Thanks... take care." to you.

In a page-pose to you and The_Prof, Akemi nods and hugs.

Kanna OOCly decides the he needs must sleep.  G'night.

Ceitidh OOCly says, "Night."