Golden Age: Revival

"Just act casual, okay?" Luna growls at them, before they get into the terago and set off.

*At the cave, there's a slight warping effect, which some of the group might recognize from the South American cave. The sun is setting as the car stops & they get out.*

E"So they're actually coming from another part of the world...I wonder who opened this?"

R"Opened what?"

E"That Longinus guy told us that you could use magic to turn caves into portals to the underworld. That's how Stheno got to South America all the way from Greece."

R"Oh. I wonder how we CLOSE it."

"Magic? I'm a little more worried about what's in here. Last cave had that Longinus guy, a panther, and a goddamn God."

Luna got out of the car, "Dad are you coming?"

"Nah, I'll stay with the car, I've never liked caves... slight claustrophobia, I think" He said with a smile, then Luna kissed him on the cheek and walked over to the others.

"So... what are we going to do here?"

Allina: <Exotic names?>

[Like he's one to talk, calling his daughter Luna.]

Allina: <I'm Allina.>

*She quickly steps back and causes the wings that were starting to grow from her back to fade, staring at whichever of Harley's characters made that comment like "Oops." When they arrive near the cave, Allina just sort of stares around at the group, listening quietly.*

*They hear a horn blaring behind them. Luna's dad has collapsed, his head on the horn.*

E"Don't you think you should have told him about the gun-toting maniac?!"

*Roatha stabs his sword in the ground, a dome of electricity forming around them. A bullet bounces off of it, having been headed for Luna's head from out of the bushes.*

Luna's eyes are wide and she jumps on the ground, her pistol out, looking from the bushes to her dad again and again, a chill running down her spine.

"What... what..." She began firing into the bush where she thinks the shots came from, and gets up to a crouch and begins moving over to the Terago.

Allina: <That weird guy is back?!>

*She looks from Luna's dad to the bushes and then to Euryale, shaking her head like "This can't be good."*

*Mimiru grabs Luna by the collar and pulls her back.*

Mimiru:<Whether or not you can pass through the barrier, you don't want to.>

"Let me get to him! Let me go!" Luna turns and out of sheer anger, terror and sorrow, elbows Mimuru in the side of the face and pulls herself free, crawling towards the Terago.

*Roatha wrenches his sword free, dissolving the barrier, & sends a wave of electricity at the bushes, lighting them on fire. This forces Schwarz to come out in the open. He tries to fire at them, but gets only clicks. Finally, he tosses the gun aside, long blades forming at the end of each finger.*

*Allina wings up and flies upwards.*

Allina: <What can't vampires do, anyway?>

*Mimiru runs at Schwarz, Azuma following behind, sword at the ready.*

Luna runs to the Terago and looks through the window, seeing her dad faceplanted onto the steering wheel.
"Dad...?"
The bullet was firmly lodged in his neck, and there was blood all over his knees and the seat.
A single tear rolled down her cheek, and then dropped.
The moment it hit the ground, Luna turned her gaze to Schwarz and clenched her fists.

The light around Schwarz began to distort, his vision playing tricks on him.
No, shaking your head won't help.

Are you imagining it? Maybe, maybe not.

The next thing Schwarz saw was an endless wheat field, ahead of him stood millions of people, all marching eerily in-sync with each other.
Their mouths were stitched shut, and tears flooded from their eyes.
Their hands boasted great, yellow claws and the reached out for him as their distorted bodies moved closer and closer...

Meanwhile, in the sane world, Luna had raised her pistol and was squeezing the trigger. Her aim steady and controlled, her intent cold and simple- kill that man.
The bullet left the pistol, soaring through the air straight for the head of the vampire known as Schwarz.

*The side of his head explodes in a shower of blood. He takes a few faltering steps backward as Euryale & presumably Mimiru leap onto him. Euryale starts strangling him. A deep roar comes from the cave. 2 large, quadrapedal beasts with red hair, long tails, & squashed faces start walking up. Their backs are lined with large, black spines.*

R"Oh shit. Manticores. How do we close this thing?!>

???<You really don't pay attention, do ya, kid?>

*Two men teleport in nearby. One is a muscular man with his head wrapped in a turban. He's carrying a spear & a pair of swords. The other is a man with dirty blond hair & beard wearing plate armor & carrying a longsword.*

R"King Arthur!"

???<I told you, no one cares about me anymore. Old Gilgamesh is a has-been. Been that way ever since you came on the scene.>

[Damn it, I wanted the neck.]

*Mimiru begins wailing on Schwarz, alternating between his ribs and kidneys. Azuma stops running and spins around on his heel staring at the manticores. Taiyo shrieks and runs over to Euryale and Mimiru.*

"Did you just say King Arthur?"

Allina: <He totally did.>

*Her chin sort of drops as he stares at Arthur.*

Allina: <I watched like all of your movies! I particularly liked the Disney one.>

*She flies over to him, lands and leans forward, staring blankly into his eyes before chuckling.*

Allina: <(Autograph!)>

Seeing as her pistol is now totally out of ammunition, Luna drops it, then drops to her knees and starts crying completely ignoring everything else for just a minute.

Then, after wiping off her cheeks and rubbing her eyes, she stands shakily back up and looks over to see that Schwarz- who by all natural rights should be stone dead- being violently beaten.

She then looks over and sees strange beasts rampaging out from the cave.

What is this shit?

*Arthur kind of pushes past all of them, approaching Nero.*

Arthur<That sword...it may have changed form, but there's no mistaking it...it belonged to one of my knights. It and he got their power from the same source.>

*He points to Schwarz.*

R"No way...that's Lilith's sword? And what is he, like the great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandson of Senthose?"

Arthur<No. Senthose Rasheverek did not yield any heirs. This transaction was more foul than any nature or sorcery.>

*Gilgamesh allows one of the monsters to pass him. For the second, he reels back & punches it right in the face. It roars &, blood spraying from the impact site, swings its tail at him, but before anyone even saw him draw his spear, he sliced all of the spines off & stopped it with his foot. Nearby, the escaping Manticore hops over the car & Euryale loosens her grip.*

E"I want to know...you tell me...why did you attack my sister!?"

<It's a contract killing. Don't take it personal.>

E"Well, I hope the payoff was worth it. You'll never come near my family again."

Luna is lying on the ground with her hands over her head, cowering before the monsters.

*Allina widens her eyes as she remembers Luna's dad, looking at him over her shoulder. She walks up to Luna and crouches next to her, laying her left hand on her right shoulder.*

Allina: <Hm... (I'm sorry.)>

"They look like they have a personal thing going on, you want to chase down the monster?"

*Mimiru stops wailing on Schwarz and backs away.*

Mimiru:<Yeah, good idea.>

*The two run off after the manticore.*

"Idiots..." Luna grumbles as she sits up, and looks at Allina, "Why? Why didn't you tell me not to bring him? You idiots!"
She wacks the hand off her shoulder and leans through the window of the Terago, getting something from the glovebox.

*She widens her eyes and stares at the ground blankly as Luna walks off, taking slow, deep breaths.*

[...I'm sorry. I'm sorry.]

<It's just you & that girl. You call that a family? You'd be better off if I killed you. You don't belong here, death just passed you over!>

E"You're wrong. Our parents may be gone, but now we have Roatha, & Taiyo, & Azuma & Mimiru...Allina...even Nero. You? You have nothing. Do you?"

<What are you expecting? Some tearful confession? If you're going to end it, then end it. I have no more tricks up my sleeve, & if I fail one more time, then I'll become the target.>

E"So fight them!"

<That isn't how it works in the real world. I think you know that better than I do.>

*The manticore spins around, roaring at its pursuers. For Gilgamesh's part, he spins the spear so that it generates a tornado, which pushes the monster up & launches rocks through it like a machinegun. It drops, giving a feeble roar before Gilgamesh drops a black cloth over its eyes.*