ic The Meadows Of Plenty

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

The trapdoor spewed red mist as Ronove was lifted up. He sat in his plushy red chair, his cane across his lap, in his best business suit; charcoal black, a red tie and vest, a red and black scarf around his shoulders. He definitely seemed to like this, a small, calm grin on his face; even demons loved the spotlight. Or maybe, 'of course' Demons loved the spotlight.

 

A variety of questions spewed forth from the audience clamoring over each other.

 

"Is God real too!?"

"Where is my missing wallet!?"

"How much does it cost to become Famous!?"

"Do you cause Wars!?"

 

Ronove chuckled and tapped his cane on the floor, enjoying all the questions being directed at him but refusing to answer any right away. He looked at Zombo instead.

"Well, summoner." there was a touch of a taunt in that voice of his; He didn't think Eric was much of anything, since Eric had bluffed him. He was sure that Eric was his man, under him, and thus he was likely underestimating him. "What question do I answer first?"

[Supercape]

Lament

 

"Behold.... THE DEVIL!"

 

Luther twirled, mumbled and did some hocus-pocus nonsense with his fingers and arms to protect him from evil spirits. About as useful as a chocolate teapot, but it adds to the ambiance!

 

Now, he needed to keep the demon off balance, get his guard down, and then - well, suck the life out of him!

 

Easier said than done!

 

"The devil has come to our mortal realm, summoned by voodou magics! And, yes, ladies and gentlemen, he is here to answer your questions and tell his story! Tremble, and mind your souls, for even my ancient sorcery may not suffice!"

 

Cue dramatic music. Cue smoke and pryrotechnics

 

Cue spotlight on the devil. 

 

"What question to answer first? Well, you are the master here, oh Satanic Fiend! First and Wisest of all angels! You chose what to tell, what to answer - tell us your story!"

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

Ronove chuckled. He really did seem to be having fun. Especially here. Maybe he was really enjoying getting to pretend to be a devil while showing off his devilish powers on stage.

 

"Oh yes, Oh yes. I am Lucifer Morningstar, the greatest of all fallen angels, the mightiest of all demons. I was the right hand of God, and when I rebelled I took a third of the heavenly host with me. My tail is as long as the galaxy, my mouth is the darkness between stars. I have reigned in hell rather then live in heaven, betrayed all and any. I will give you your hearts desire, and all you must do is make a deal with me. And with each deal I grow stronger and stronger." he smiled, gesturing with his cane.

 

"I am here only because I have been asked so politely by Zombo to appear, and here I offer you all happiness, without fail, without strings. I bring Joy, so that you may have happiness unending." he laughed, and threw a handful of brilliant vials into the stands. "Drink up, drink up, be happy and joyous. Satan Himself, Lucifer Morningstar, long may he reign, gives you happiness and joy." he smiled and leaned back in his chair.

 

"I've brought joy and misery in equal measure, but I find in my old age I seek only to bring happiness."

[Supercape]

Lament

 

Distributing joy? 

 

That wasn't good. It was a note of chaos in a chaotic situation, but that was the stage for you. It was done, all that a good showman could do was roll with it. 

 

Joy was a plug and it was leaking out. 

 

"You hear that, folks? The Devil wants you to be happy! BUT! What price, hmm? The Devil strikes all the best deals! What does happiness cost? Eh? What discount deals can our friend offer us?"

 

He swept his arms to Ronove, and let the spotlight fall on him once more. 

 

Lets see how he deals with that one. 

 

Meanwhile, Zombo started circling the stage in half-shadow, waiting for his moment....

 

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

"Haha, that is how it works, right? That the Devil's always got a deal with a cost, that the Devil is always trying to trick you, that there's always a trick to be done." Ronove nodded, chuckling along.

"But the truth is, the Devil is like any person making a deal. When you make an agreement with someone, you want to benefit as well, right? You don't make a deal where you don't benefit at all, if you do, it's just a gift, which is very different from a deal." he noted, tapping his cane on the ground again.

 

"So yes, if I want to make a deal, I'd have to benefit as well, that's simply the way the world works. And tell me this, my captive audience, what would you trust more; the man who offers you a fair bargain for a good or service, or the man who offers it 'for free'. After all, I think we all know in this wonderful world that we live in that there is nothing that is truly 'free'; if something was truly free, it would have no value, and if something has no value, why would you ever want it?" he reached into his jacket and pulled out another vial that he twirled between his fingers.

 

"These have value, these cost money; Happiness always has a value, Joy always has a cost. That I offer it for payment is more honest than giving it away for free."

[Supercape]

Lament

 

"What do think, Ladies and Gentlemen? Does the Devil lie, or does he speak the truth? Perhaps he lies by telling the truth, or perhaps he tells the truth by lying? Mmmm?"
 

"A round of applause for the Devil!"

 

Cue fanfare, pyrotechnics!

 

And cue Lament sneaking up behind the devil and placing two hands on his shoulders. 

 

"Enjoying yourself?" he whispered in Ronove's ears. 

 

And letting the Void ooze out of his fingers as the pyrotechnics flew. How would Ronove react to the infinite emptiness of the void?!?!

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

"Oh, I am indeed." Ronove said with a chuckle, grinning at the audience. He stood up using his cane, leaning on it as he stood up. "This is almost...fun." he mumbled. "I can't say I've...ever had fun before."

 

Then he stumbled a little, leaning heavily on his cane, and caught himself. The cane bent, pushing deep into the floor as Ronove was forcing the demonic artifact to take his entire weight.

 

The Void had latched on. It had been asleep, content, on Joy. But Ronove tasted of Joy; the scraps of happiness that clung to his body from the seal, the dregs of exultation from where he was halfway stuck in the seal- metaphorically at least-, and The Void latched onto it like an octopus. Ronove groaned, gripping his heart like he was having a heart attack.

 

"What...is happening...?" he gasped out. The viewers of the show had no idea what was going on, not quite able to see the trouble Ronove was in at this moment behind the pyrotechnics and the smoke on the stage. But the demon was staggering.

[Supercape]

Lament

 

"Begone! Begone, Devil! The Great Zombo is master of magics, thane of thaumatergicals, prince of prestiginations! Begone!"

 

Cue> Trapdoor

 

With a nod to the stage hand, Zombo/Luther/Lament indicated the trap door open. 

 

Cue> Dramatic music! Cue Smoke!

 

Keep him disorientated, weak, confused. This was the art of magic (the pretend kind, not the real kind). 

 

As the trap door sprung open, hopefully taking Ronove to the stage floor below, Luther prepared to jump in after and finish the job. 

 

And with a bit of luck, all to the sound of applause!

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

Ronove stumbled as the trap door, trying to get out of the trap door, to stay on the stage; he might not know what was going on, he might be disoriented, but he understood well enough that he was safer in view of others- or at least safer in view of possible hostages-.

 

But a zombie's hand reached out and grabbed him, keeping him on the platform as it descended. When Luther leapt into the pit, Ronove and Zander were already struggling; despite Ronove looking like a frail old man, despite Zander being a strapping youth, despite Luther having already dragged him, Ronove had the upper hand, his cane lashing out like the whip of a balrog or the claw of a demon and scouring Zander's flesh under the makeup as they rolled around on the ground.

 

"Get him, Eric!" Zander yelled as the trapdoor finished closing, leaving the two men struggling for life and death while Luther watched.

 

"I'll get you both for this!" Ronove responded

[Supercape]

Lament

 

"Oh will you now? That's very confident of you. Hubris! You are a demon, my friend. You should be used to knives delivered to your back, betwixt your ribs!"

 

Lament's eyes turned black from the Void. 

 

"Hell! What do they say about it? ABANDON ALL HOPE, YE WHO ENTER HERE?"

 

He could project his voice with the best of them. Booming, melodramatic. Hopefully effective. 

 

"You should be used to despair, too! Lets see, shall we?"

 

The endless infinity of nothingness, the void. Psychically projected into a demon's head. How would that work.....??

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

The ground struggle continud as Luther talked, but Zander finally wrenched his hands around Ronove's neck.

 

"I don't know what he's doing, but why don't you take a look!" Zander screamed at Ronove before twisting his neck, making him meet eye first with Luther Lament, and The Void. There was silence for a moment as Ronove went slack. But it was a long, slow silence despite the short length of time.

 

"No...no. Not That. Not that being! Why is it here!? Why are you here!? This is the end of the world!" he railed, grabbing at his own eyes as he backed away from Lament, his face ashen white and sweat beading down his brow.

 

"The world is dead and it does not know it! Gaia takes her last breaths, unaware that the knife is in her lungs! You are all doomed, you are all going to perish! I must get back to safety! To my domain!" he screamed, attempting to crawl-hobble away from Luther. Zander had rightfully been aware he was not  going to look at Luther doing whatever he was doing, so he had been shielded, and he seemed more confused than anything, watching Ronove hobble away. He stood up slowly and grabbed the old man's cane, wielding it like a weapon of his own. It seemed to agree with his Demonic Nature, glowing red in his hands. 

 

"So should we finish the job?" he asked Eric, still not looking at him.

[Supercape]

Lament

 

Luther raised an eyebrow at the two of them. 

 

Zander is a little too keen for my liking, and has that same oily slyness as a demon. But...

 

"A deals a deal, my friend. Time to put this devil where he belongs and seal him up with joy! The audience might be enough, thanks to his sterling performance, eh? He really engineered his own prison, if you come to think of it!"

 

Luther did a little tap dance of victory. 

 

"Lets finish the job! Take it away!"

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

With a resounding crack, Zander slammed the cane on the back of Ronove's head and the big demon went down, not moving.

 

"There we go." Zander said comfortably. With that, he hefted the unconscious Demon on his shoulder.

 

While the audience was leaving and the stagehands were preparing for tear down, Zander shoved Ronove's body in the back of one of their heavily armored SUVs. Zander rode in the front seat, and Luther was given the express spot in the back seat as they traveled. This time, there was no bag over his head as they left the sphere and drove out to LAX, where the driver handed over an ID card and was let in the back. Even at night, the airport was bustling with planes taking off, a beacon of burning light even in a place where the lights never go off.

Ronove was bundled up, then, with the subtlety of a brick, Zander carried him inside, then hurled him into the pit. The Oil Wells had stopped, and the lights of earthmovers and bulldozers started up, beginning to refill the hole with rock, dirt, and stone; a physical barrier to go with the Joy that was stoppered up down there. Each Oil Well was being pulled down, to make sure they couldn't be started up again, and Zander, leaning on what was now his cane, was watching over all of this impassively.

[Supercape]

Lament

 

"Its always good to plug a show," quipped Lament as Ronove fell into the hole. 

 

"However, it somewhat perturbs me that he may well crawl out of their one day. I just hope this plug stays solid, hmm?"

 

He cast some shifty eyes to Zander. 

 

"And what will you do with your freedom? And that... ah... cane. Up to mischief, I hope. But please let it me be the good kind of mischief, eh? I wouldn't some superhero punching you in that magnificent mouth of you. How about going into showbiz? Demons are quite the hit, it seems!"

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

Zander smiled as the whole thing was finished up.

 

"Well, we're gonna hope for the best. But if he comes back, we'll need to see if we can't get the band back together; Zombo and Zander, kings of the underworld, one night only." He spun his cane around in his hand. "But yes. We're gonna do out best to make sure this place stays down and forgotten. I'm gonna buy it, condemn the building, leave it be." He explained. Then he cast his eyes northwest, and his grin was devilish indeed.

 

"As to where I'm going, my friend. Well, I think I'm going to a place where you really can find The Greens. The streets are yellow, the city is emerald, and there's always another mystery. If you find me in Emerald City, my good friend, I'll take up the mantle of Old Z, the Great and Powerful."

 

He tapped his cane on the ground and laughed.