Something Wicked This Way Comes

[oleaeuropaea]

Who: Vash the Stampede, Kiera, Passenger, Wolfwood, and Zahilya. Plus some others if they want
What: It's time for a homecoming. Too bad the greetings won't be so warm.
When: End of September
Where: Around the Grove
Warnings: Gore. Character Death. Possession. References to holy imagery.

[As September draws to a close, the woods seem eerily silent. It seems almost as if the birds have stopped singing. They hold their breath, fearful of a predator stalking amidst the woods. Through the brush, maybe you’ll see it — feathers that stick up like blades. Once bright white plumage has been tarnished with dirt, debris, and perhaps even blood.

But you’ll have only a second to see it. For just as soon as contact is made at the edge of the woods, the creature bursts out.

Vash the Stampede has returned to Aldric’s Grove.]

Comments

Kiera

[oleaeuropaea]

[Kiera happens to be the closest to the woods. The unsuspecting fool was only there for a drink. And yet before she can reach the door, Vash is upon her. His claws try to dig in to the space near her ribs, while his teeth seek out the tender area of her throat.

The good news is that while he’s quick, he’s clumsy too. His body is larger, more unbalanced by his feathery adornments. So though he may try to strike true, there’s plenty of room for error.]

[cryopathy]

[oh, you have GOT to be fucking kidding her.

kiera's senses are well above those of a human's, and her instincts are sharp thanks to decades of living in terror. still -- the pickle split-loving plant's strength seems to be more on par with someone bearing a far more potent blessing than kiera. pair that with the corruption, and, well...

he has claws in her and her back on the ground, easily. not that kiera will actually go down without a fight. even before they hit the dirt, her hand arcs, throwing a gust of biting, icy wind in the face of her assailant. the goal is to cause enough pain and temporary blindness to scramble away and to her feet. if she stays on the ground, she knows she's as good as dead.]

[oleaeuropaea]

[The wind is a good call. Vash rears back with a hiss, clawing at his eyes in an attempt to clear the icicles weighing down his lashes. He backs off for the time being, slinking back toward the woods, but not yet disappearing. He, instead, watches the dhampir warily, searching for an opening or another attack.

After a few seconds, he charges in again, this time lower. If he can take them out at the knees, maybe they'll be less likely to hit him in the face with the damn ice again.]

[cryopathy]

[those precious seconds aren't wasted. kiera straightens up just as quickly as the corrupted vash finds his own footing once more. maybe the clawed punctures in their side are dripping a little more blood than they'd like [ie: any] but they can tell it won't be fatal. not alone, anyway. and if it causes a sharp pain when they draw their sword, they ignore it for now.

again, they manipulate a veritable gale, bursting outward in a circle, centered on the spot the two bodies were to collide; this is both to try to push vash backward from kiera and to propel them farther away. hopefully the wind catches on all of those extended wings.]

I'm not like your friends -- I won't hesitate. [this is assuming there's any sense left in vash to reason with, but... despite her exact words, kiera would prefer to give him the chance to back off before she aims to kill. if only to keep the others from condemning her for lack of trying.]

Passenger

[oleaeuropaea]

[Regardless of how things go for Kiera, Vash leaves them before long. Now out in the open, he must be quick if he wants his hunt to be successful. He can hear the whisper of the Forest in his ears, telling him to kill, to destroy. By now, the voice in his own head, the incessant natter trying to convince the Corruption to stand down, has fallen silent.

There’s nothing to stop him as he comes up behind Passenger. There is no attempt to stalk the man. In one second, Vash spots the man. And in the next, he is upon him, jaws snapping as he seeks out tender flesh.]

[forwander]

[On a normal day, Passenger does not expect to be attacked. The monsters are predictable; they come in droves, in patterns. The Forest feels off when it happens. Vash... is not. Vash is someone who, despite Passenger's general quiet, the man considers a friend. Something like it, anyway, in his own twisted definition of it. A friend is someone you sometimes speak to and nothing else, right?

Vash's insanity-addled brain forgets one thing, though: Passenger, for all his supposed weakness and inability to do anything other than war crimes in Sargon, is a trained Rhodes Island Operator. He's far from feeble.

...which means Vash will immediately feel electricity spark around the Liberi with defensive intent as teeth sink deep into his shoulder.]

[oleaeuropaea]

[The electric shock is an immediate deterrent, that much is true. His body tenses, teeth digging in that much further by instinct alone, before loosening and throwing himself off. He spits and snarls, head shaking his way and that. Bits of blood and spittle land in the grass as he adjusts his posture, then locks eyes on Passenger again.

There is no recognition there. There is simply wild anger and hunger. Those eyes dart this way and that before settling on the man once more.

This time, when he charges forward, its with the clawed fingers of his hand aiming for Passenger's throat.]

[forwander]

[Ordinarily, he might've asked if Vash is in there. At least, Little Elliot does, equally injured as Passenger is for obvious reasons. But his brainghost goes ignored for now; Passenger recognizes the look of a man too far gone, and didn't the Guardians agree that people in this state should be put down?

It's a shame, but there's a chance he'll come back, Passenger thinks. He doesn't have his Arts Unit on him, so his casting is severely weakened, his body itself a conduit. That's fine, as long as he can deal with this. As long as he doesn't take a hit.

Passenger extends an arm toward Vash, who at the same time manages to hit him, though a swift dodge makes it so that the claws scrape across his chest instead. At the same time, Vash will have to dodge several bolts of golden lightning from the skies, all hitting the ground in quick succession. If he can just fry him a little...]

Wolfwood

[oleaeuropaea]

[With two bodies (dead or alive, they matter not) in his wake, Vash stalks toward his final target. The first victims were simply warnings to the Grove, a reminder of the power of the Forest and the corruption. But this? This is personal.

The voice in his head always thought of the Priest. Of how he screamed his name. Of the guilt. It seems the perfect way to end this hunt, then, to take out the last vestige the little voice has clung to.

Wolfwood’s only warning may very well be the sudden way Angelina sniffs the air, or perhaps a growl from her. Or maybe there’s no warning at all as the Beast behind him lifts up and prepares to strike.]

[lupusxylem]

[What a time to be outside, just taking the dog on a walk. A normal walk, one of the first really normal and mundane things Wolfwood has done since waking from his coma. He's usually paying more attention to his surroundings for danger, but he's so exhausted and jaded that his mind is only half there, the other half on other things. He walks slowly behind the larger husky as she plods through the dead grass, sniffing here and there as she seeks a place to do her business.

But then, she stops abruptly. Not unlike her, when seeing an animal or something she wants to chase. But it's when her hackles raise in a way that's totally unlike her that gets Wolfwood's attention, a deep growl issuing from her chest that causes him to lift his head.

It's lucky. He happens to look up and see the long shadow cast across the ground behind him, and that is perhaps what saves him from getting killed before he even knew what hit him.]

Ange-!

[Angelina yelps as Wolfwood suddenly shouts, pivoting quickly on his heel and literally diving sideways to scoop the dog up underneath her legs, the momentum carrying them both forward and out of the way of Vash's initial strike. Neither are hurt- Angelina is more confused than anything- as Wolfwood lets her scramble out of his arms and growl at their assailant again, giving Wolfwood a chance to actually look-]

......Vash.

[He speaks his name breathlessly, the name breaking on the end of it. He was almost giving up hope he'd ever see him again. He thought he just...fully succumbed to the corruption and disappeared, and maybe if they were lucky he just went back home entirely.

But no. He'd recognize his face anywhere, even so wholly corrupted as he now suddenly is. He still doesn't understand how such a thing could happen, but he doesn't have the time to turn it over in his mind now. Not when he's reliving Livio being torn apart in his mind's eye, realizing that he is seconds away from the same fate.

There's a beat of a pause before Wolfwood takes off running in a dead-sprint towards the house, as hard and as fast as he can go with his prosthetic. His Punisher is there, but even if he can't get to it, he has to at least lead him away from the Grove proper.]

[oleaeuropaea]

[Is there a brief moment of hesitation? No. There are, in fact, multiple. The first comes when Angelina yelps, Vash's movements briefly staggering. He regains his composure, arm lifting into the air to strike —

only to stop short when his name is spoken aloud. Something stirs within him, a voice he'd thought long dormant. He lifts his hands to his head, clutching at skin and tearing at feathers, all while he whips his head this way and that.

It gives Wolfwood a halfway decent head start, at least. It's only after his ragged breathing turns into fervent growls that he whips around after him. He chases after Wolfwood on all fours, the guttural noise in his throat growing now into a roar as he slams into the side of the house, then scrabbles along it in an attempt to cut Wolfwood off at the pass.]

[lupusxylem]

[This wouldn't be the first time he's been chased by a homicidal beast, but it would be the first he could say it's been this personally charged. He's going through so many emotions that settling on just one would be impossible, so he clutches at "will to live" with both hands like a vice. You will do, in this moment.

Thank God he had the foresight to leave his gun on the porch when taking Angelina out. If he'd left it inside, he thinks he wouldn't have it at all for this. He manages to duck past the front railing just in time for Vash to come slamming into the broadside of the house, giving him a fraction of a second to swing the cross up into his arms. Angelina bolts into the house a second later so Wolfwood can kick the door closed with his heel, safe where she'll bark at the top of her lungs from inside.

It's likely Wolfwood only has a second to jump off the porch and throw the cross up to block whatever attack Vash launches at him next, because shooting him at this range isn't happening. Even he, for as dead of a shot as he is, can't line up the shot this quickly when he's mere feet away.]

Vash, stop!!

you said i could visit and that you weren't exhausted of this bitch therefore-

[eidxiety]

["Vash is back" would ordinarily be good news! Except! Ain has to face his demons about this, because he can practically smell the El coming off of him. And Pure Vanilla weirdly absconded when Zahliya came in with the boys...? Which left Ain to deal with the healing and oof. Oooh he thinks he fucked this up, giving Vash the El.

Which, if he can get that pendant — find it on his person somewhere, rip it off his neck, whatever — he is taking it because there's no way him holding onto that is doing him any good right now.

Whether it takes Vash a few days to wake up or he wakes up instantly after being Zahliya'd, he's got an explanation readied. Just... don't look too hard at his face. He's exhausted after all these ordeals, between Wolfwood disappearing and Ain himself dying and the El and Vash's everything right now and aaaaugh he is three seconds from vertically shifting to the yandere route. He's living his worst life.

Anyway point of this is: Ain is hovering. And also tired.]

THEREFORE I LOVE HIM

[oleaeuropaea]

[The pendant is indeed still on Vash's neck. Perhaps it stuck around by some small miracle, never once plucked off or ripped away by an errant branch. Or perhaps it was the Forest's doing. Combining with the El to corrupt Vash anew had been particularly effective, after all. Why would it pluck away such a helpful power source.

Removing it doesn't do much to help. While some of the more obtrusive feathers do seem to fade away, and the more horrific and biblically accurate traits at least seem to reduce, Vash is still definitely, and possibly permanently, impacted by the El. Sorry about that, Ain.

In any case, it takes about a day or so for Vash to properly awaken. Unfortunately for them both, it's with a violent start. He know the second his eyes open that he's back in the Grove. And after everything that's happened, he knows he shouldn't be here.

So, uh. Watch out, Ain. This man is jumping straight to his feet and about to tear out of the clinic if he isn't stopped.]

[eidxiety]

[Pendant: Stolen. At least Ain will have a mini-battery around for next time he decorporializes... ha.

Vash wakes up and tries to make a mad dash out just as Ain is coming back to the infirmary room proper to check up on him, having not sat there the entire time because there was other work to be doing and he'd be a vibrating, anxious mess otherwise. This means, however comically, that they're probably going to run facefirst into each other. Maybe Vash will bowl Ain over on the way.

Either way, he's glad to see the man awake, and it might be jarring when he entirely drops the nickname just to say—]

Vash! You're awake!

[oleaeuropaea]

[Well, Ain more or less being in his way does manage to stop Vash in his tracks. He stares at the man for a long moment, almost wild-eyed. He takes a step back, lifting his hands up in an attempt to ward the man off.]

Please, you shouldn't -

[He stares at his hands, still feathered and clawed. He's still a monster, which surely means it's only a matter of time before the corruption takes hold once more. He quickly thrusts his hands down once more, as if it might keep him from lashing out wildly.]

I need to go.

Wolfwood

[oleaeuropaea]

[It takes a day or so for Vash to finally claw his way back to consciousness. If Wolfwood is anywhere nearby, he won’t miss it. In one moment, Vash slumbers peacefully on his back. In the next, he draws in a gasp and begins wildly flailing. He knows he shouldn’t be here in the Grove. Even if the Corruption had temporarily abated, it’d find it’s way back. He couldn’t be trusted around anyone, not after -


He has one leg out of the bed, tangled in the blankets, before the weight of the memory flattens him. He falls to the ground, barely catching himself. A shuddering, heaving sob leaves him. He thinks of Kiera, wounded severely, and of Passenger who had begun to crack. His mind drifts to the gore left of Livio next, and finally to Wolfwood. It’s hard to remember much after the flames began, but the Punisher had been an absolute mess even by that point. There was a chance that he had…

A glance to the side quickly answers that question, at least. Wolfwood was still alive, and probably three seconds away from scolding Vash for flipping out. The Plant only wished that provided some amount of comfort.]

[lupusxylem]

[Wolfwood had been in and out of sleep for a while, himself. Using the serum for the first time in many months had taken its toll, pretty much knocking him down into hibernation for a bit as it slowly stitched up his wounds. Other than the light bruising and dried blood that was missed in places, he looks like he never received a scratch. This will come to rear its ugly head later on, but for now...

For now, he's trying to get some kind of rest. His body is sore and his brain feels like it's been dehydrated, yet he doesn't stray far from where Zahliya placed him and Vash. It isn't until he sees that Vash isn't waking up any time soon that he'll pull his bed a bit closer, so he's more at his side than across the room from him.

Well. He wakes with as violent of a start as Wolfwood was expecting, yet he still finds himself jumping violently and cursing as Vash all but catapults out of bed. He's ready for almost anything, especially if Vash wakes up wanting to shed more blood, because even if he doesn't have a gun on him, he is willing to throw one of these beds at Vash to pin him down until help arrives if need be. Fortunately, that doesn't end up happening.

He's lucid. Wolfwood can tell just by looking at his eyes, and the way he immediately begins to cry. He doesn't interrupt or approach initially, waiting to be noticed. He's bandaged all over even if it wasn't completely necessary- the wounds have long closed- and his expression is...hard to read.

Blind anger would be easier to deal with than what he feels right now. He'll continue to think this as long as Vash makes him feel things.]

...sleepin' beauty finally joins th'rest of us.

[oleaeuropaea]

[Vash doesn't have the energy to even crack a smirk. He glances back down at the floor, unable to hold Wolfwood's gaze any longer. He doesn't like what he sees — or doesn't see — in those eyes. His stomach churns anxiously, waiting for something, though he doesn't know what.

Maybe he should speak first, he wonders. Unfortunately, even as the thought comes on, Vash realizes that he... simply has no idea what he might say. An apology would never cut it. Not when Vash had killed the person most important to Wolfwood and then tore off into the woods. And it isn't like he's going to make an excuse for what he did, either. Maybe it was the Forest, but Vash had been the fool that had let it get out of control.

The idiot who had been converted in the first place.

In the end, he doesn't say anything. He remains hunched over on the ground. He focuses on willing his tears to stop, because who was he to be so sad and miserable when he'd been the arbiter of grief in the first place. This was shis fault, and so he needed to swallow it.

Swallow it like everything else he had.

Eventually, he manages to find the strength to get back up. He gathers the blankets and puts them back on the bed, before finally forcing himself to sit. He doesn't want to. He wants to run away and never look back. He can't deal with the grief, and as far as he's concerned, no one here wants a monster as corrupted as him. Not when he could easily snap once more.

But he'd promised to stop running from Wolfwood. So at least for now, he sits and waits for his condemnation. His head is bowed, as if in prayer, and he stares down at the feathers still lining his hands. After a moment, he shifts his hand and — plucks one clean out.

One down, hundreds to go.]

Sesa

[oleaeuropaea]

[Needless to say, Vash is under heavy observation for several days. Outside, the world continues one. Strange things begin to happen around town, but Vash hears only snippets. By some miracle, the curses at least seemingly avoid their cabin.

Eventually, though, Vash finds the time to sneak away. He’ll surely be scolded later, but he has to do the right thing. He has to apologize. The odds of Passenger being back yet are slim, yet he nevertheless checks outside the cafe. He doesn’t dare step inside, for fear of intruding on a space he no longer belongs to. Still, whether or not the employees of the cafe have kept up on its hours in Passenger’s absence, it’s clear that the proprietor is nowhere near.

If he’s noticed, Vash doesn’t seem to pick up on it. Instead, he turns away and begins to make back toward the cabin. Wolfwood would notice his absence before long, after all. Better to not continue making messes.

Too bad it’s a little too late for all of that!]

[sesa]

[Haha...unfortunately, Vash is going to be noticed, actually. Because where else would Sesa be right now, if not tending to his late-partner's pride-and-joy in his absence? He isn't much of a baker, nor does he know the first thing about properly attending to a cafe or serving people, but alongside the Grove residents under Elliot's employ, Sesa is trying. He'd much rather be laying in a ditch somewhere, instead of Elliot, but he is trying.

He isn't back yet. But the fact he comes around regardless is what coerces Sesa to leave the building just as Vash is trying to sneak away without being noticed. Vash may pick up on the sound of a gun's hammer being pulled back, even if it's a grenade launcher and not the type of pistol he's used to.

If he looks back, he'll see Sesa standing some distance from the building, his gun held up and pointed at Vash.]

Stop where you are.

You do not get to just walk away.

cw: suicidal ideation, vague self-harm

[oleaeuropaea]

[Vash doesn't need to be told to stop. He knows the sound of a gun being readied, and doesn't dare try to take another step. Though Vash believes anyone in the Grove had a right to aim their guns at him, he doesn't need to turn to know who this particular person is. This close to the Cafe, it can be only one person.

His hand lifts, revealing their partially befeathered appearance. He hasn't had much luck in removing them himself, though he still tries more out of habit than anything. He spreads his fingers wide, showing that there's nothing hidden.

But he doesn't turn.]

I don't. You're right, Sesa.

[Whatever Sesa wants to do, Vash will not fight. If it means a bullet to his head? Well, no one would ever claim that he didn't deserve it.]

once zahliya is gone/visit

[purevanillacookie]

[ Once Zahliya has left, Pure Vanilla is quick to resume occupancy of the clinic, and it is most certainly not to fret by Vash's side. Even if he spends a large amount of time doing just that.

He's just checking on the man, that's all.

Of course he gives him plenty of time to rest, making sure Wolfwood is tended to as well - and everyone else Vash has injured in his fit of madness - and leaving them alone so Wolfwood can have time alone with the sleeping plant. As such, Vanilla won't be there when Vash first awakens, but the next time Vash opens his eyes? He will find the Minotaur sitting in a chair by his side, the soft click of crochet hooks filling the silence as he works on something while keeping Vash company.

Perhaps its the way Vash's breathing changes when he awakes that clues Vanilla in, but he will stop crocheting suddenly, his closest ear twisting towards him before the Staffs eye swivels. ]

... Vash?

[oleaeuropaea]

[Vash, as of this point, has been in and out. He's tried to escape twice now, each time awakening and believing himself to be still corrupted, to be a danger to them all. This time is different, at least. When his eyes open, there is no frantic intake of breath. He doesn't jump to his feet. He simply... stares up at the ceiling. There's a new weight on his shoulders, worse still than the last time he awoke and remembered how many lives he'd taken.

Does that make him selfish, he wonders dimly? As consciousness flutters gradually in, he can't help but wonder if he's more of a monster than ever, for being more devastated by the loss of two lives. Maybe he'd finally convinced himself that it wasn't actually his fault, what happened in JuLai. But the same couldn't be said about this.

Needless to say, he doesn't immediately notice Pure Vanilla. He lifts his hand, palming at his eyes as they begin to burn. He doesn't deserve to cry, he's always said as much. And so he won't here and now, either.

It's only once he lowers it once more that he realizes he isn't alone. He finally processes that someone has called his name, and glances to the side.]

Pure Vanilla.

[He almost sounds... ashamed. part of him wants to cower away.]

[purevanillacookie]

[ The shame in the plants voice makes him sigh softly and offer a softer smile. ]

Don't do that, my dear.

[ He knows you, sir. Knows you well enough, at any rate. As much as anyone knows Vash the Stampede after watching him for a while. He puts his knitting aside and turns himself more towards the bed, reaching out gently to lay his hand on Vash's forehead. Then softly brush the bangs aside. ]

How are you feeling?

[ Physically... he knows well enough that Vash is in misery otherwise. ]