ic Hell's Strings[IC]

[Ari]

GM

 

The newly confident Mary positively reeled at that attack, the woman striking hard against the invisible deluge of sonic battery that knocked her almost off the backless chair! She struggled briefly to regain her seat, but coughed weakly after a few seconds of effort and mostly collapsed, the well-dressed pianist's outfit decidedly more casual after Riff's onslaught.

 

Slumping backwards in a way that looked nearly impossible given Earth's gravity, as though something had caught her, Mary mumbled weakly "I'm gonna get the Disneyland..."

 

At the edges of their hearing, the heroes heard a faint sniggering "Yes, yes, this is perfect" muttered the whispy voice "More...more...I am so close..."

 

 

[Supercape]

"That doesn't sound good..." mumbled Pitch in return. 

 

"Ok, Lady, the piano recital is over...." she said, dropping her cane and grabbing the woman, without much grace, firmly on the shoulders. 

 

"Let's get you away from the ebony and ivory! I got a feeling that Piano is harvesting your soul!" she explained, and started to pull the woman away. Carmen's disability had given her a fairly strong upper body, but with Tazel bubbling up in her veins, her strength was multiplied, and she was far far stronger than she looked, a match for any man. 

 

It seemed the Lady pianist was stronger than she looked too, either that or she was so desperate to hold on to her piano that her fanatical will gave her the strength to hold on and bat away Pitch.

 

"Oh, come on...seriously?" cursed Pitch to herself her hands fumbling cloth and air. 

[Darksider42]

"Wait, what?" Riff was a little confused when the mystery woman on fire mentioned the pianos demonic power. It did seem to make sense, after all the thing seemed to be doing most of the heavy work while she just played. Eyeing the apparently demonic piano, Riff started playing his guitar. The air around him seemed to whine and scream as soundwaves surround him. "Better watch out. this might get messy." With one last strum, he sent down an avalanche of concentrated sound and music directly towards Mary Venn's infernal instrument. 

[Ari]

GM

 

Despite how unsteady and groggy the young woman seemed, Mary fought off Pitch's attempted grab with a strength far beyond anything her own slight frame would suggest, her face momentarily constricted into a rictus of fury as she spat "Don't touch me, filth! You have no idea how hard I've worked, how that thing's taken over my life and given me nothing, nothing until now, when the true power of music is revealed to me at last! Nobody can take it from me, it's me and mine, nobod-aaaaargh!" her tirade was abruptly cut off as Riff's powers hammered against the instrument her soul was lashed to, smashing the cover nearly in half, snapping wires and sending a wail of agony through the air from both Mary, and the thin voice at the edge of hearing!

 

"No, not this, not when I am almost complete!"

Edited July 6, 2013 by Arichamus

[Supercape]

"Lady, I really don't think that Piano is good for you..." said Pitch, in response. 

 

Something nagged at her though. She didn't trust demons - of course, but they were complex at times. Was this really just a piano parasitically sucking on a poor players soul?

 

"Come on, off that chair...." she said, but her doubt had grown and her confidence waned. This horrible instrument was entwined with the player, and somehow, she felt responsible. It was hurting her...

 

"Errr...I have a doubt about this..." she mumbled to Riff without looking at him...

[Darksider42]

"As a professional musician and superhero, I can tell you right now that what you are using is not the power of music." Riff replied to the increasingly delusional pianist. The torrent of music started to surround the guitarist once more. With another strum it came crashing down again. 

 

This thing needed to get smashed back to wherever it came. That much Riff was certain about the situation.

Edited July 7, 2013 by Darksider42

[Ari]

GM

 

Its sleek and immaculately polished body shuddered under the invisible attack, but for an instant it held together. Riff had an impression that the blank black wood started opening its mouth to grin, only to be showered with splinters as the piano abruptly exploded, cracked and shattered to the floor with a roar of anguish coming from Mary Venn and another, invisible throat!

 

The woman crashed to earth in a largely unconscious heap, and all was still. Before the two heroes could relish their speedy victory however, the air wavered above her and an eight-foot tall monstrous creature of blue flame appeared, a hideous melding of a piano and the denizens of the Lower Hells with twining limbs of ghostly wire, clenched feet and an oblate body that curved at an obscene angle!

 

Its face tore partially out of the rattling cover that swung like a rigid wing, and with a voice like a chaos of harps and destruction of violins it thundered "I am the Infernal Instrument! Besieger of souls that crave glory through music! Prepare yourselves for defeat, man of science and woman on our threshold!"

Edited July 8, 2013 by Arichamus

[Supercape]

"Hey, I should have listened to my gut..." said Pitch, taking a step back despite herself. 

 

That's not you, Tazel...

 

"Mary had it coming, dabbling with you. But I'm not gonna let that stop me from saving her, yer piece of mahogany!" said Pitch, defiantly, at the creature. She turned half-away as if to back away, but instead swung straight back, launching a piece of blacked, barbed metal, like a javelin, at the flame. 

 

The demon might have been pure flame, but Pitch could handle that, her connection to the arcane power of the infernal forge was used to such abstractions. The black and misshapen metal missile may have passed through the creature, but it would damn well rip out the fire of the beast as it did so...

[Darksider42]

Riff froze as he watched the piano reform into a demon of wood, strings and fire. The sound around him seemed to cease as he watched on. â€‹"...Didn't see that coming."

 

He shook his head. This thing was still a threat to him, the woman and May, even if she was dumb enough to bring it into this world. His shield snapped back into existence around him. "I like to think of myself more as a man of music. More since it looks like I with need to smash those keys off of your face." And with that, he let another blast of music directly at the body of the beast. Well, whatever looked solid anyway.

[Ari]

GM

'I just wanted us to get out of here! It's not too late to run, who ever heard of a demon holding a grudge, eh?'

Pitch's hellish lance slammed through the floating demon in a crash of unseen forces, leaving a ragged, sulphurous hole. Its contemptuous laugh at her attack changing to an outraged shriek, the monstrous evil blazed with anger. With a howl of bottomless rage the Infernal Instrument opened another mouth on its twisted underbelly, letting loose a gust of blistering fire on the two heroes!

The hellfire twisted and wreathed around the flammable seats, ignoring everything but the Instrument's enemies, roaring around them as wires sprang from the demon's back to clash in a savage cacophony all around their heads!

Rearing back in satisfaction, the demon of sound saw Riff's attack begin to warp the air, and with a clatter and hiss the piano cover laden with teeth swung up, shielding the monster with a deafening clang.

Edited July 10, 2013 by Arichamus

[Ari]

GM

 

An initial roar of triumph was stopped as the hellish beast realized that his fires simply broke upon Pitch like water on rocks.

Stepping backwards in the air on horned feet, its gaping head turned cautiously to Riff, the Infernal Instrument paused just for a moment. Suddenly its inhuman mind reached a decision and with a howl like tearing violins its wires lashed out from the demon's guts, grabbing one of the opera chairs and tearing it free with a crash of wood before flinging it with a gnash of flaming teeth straight at Pitch!

 

"Suffer at the weight of this material world, wretch!" it shouted as the chair slammed into the young woman like a cannonball.

[Supercape]

Pitch caught the chair on her side. It was only her cane that kept her upright, and then, on one knee. 

 

She felt the bruised flesh down her side and arm. At least no ribs broken...

 

I think...

 

She stood, up, leaning on her cane and redoubling her will. Despite her limp, she was fast and strong, and new how to fight. 

 

Especially with demons. 

 

She thrust the Cantos Cane into the demon's fire. 

 

"By the Cantos name, I quench this infernal heart!" she said, solidly and calmly, as the goat's head of the blackened cane hissed some horrible Latin incantation, and sucked...sucked...eating up the Infernal power that fuelled the demon. 

[Darksider42]

Riff managed to quickly fly out of the way of the explosion of fire, although the canopy of infernal playing screamed in his ears.It did not phas him however. This fight was starting to escalate and he had little to no idea how he was going to bring down this monster. Only thing he could do was continue to smash this thing with music and hope he could knock this thing down.

 

When Pitch started doing...Something to the Infernal Instrument, Riff sent down another blast of sound at the hellish demon. His brain started questioning the wisdom of this action. He wasn't an expert on demonology and there was the thought he might have screwed things up. Oh damm...

[Ari]

GM

 

Hellfire licked at the arms and legs of the heroes as it tore away from the beguiler of musicians, hissing like a snaking whip in frustrated wrath while the mighty beast quavered and groaned as its power was taken from it. Shaking its bulk like a dog drying itself the demon staggered blindly away from the infernalist. Without the screen of hellfire it now looked like a disgustingly-carved piano made from unvarnished wood, its hideous face twisting and contorting as the Infernal instrument struggled to find within itself the power to strike back.

 

A howl seemed to split the air, tearing the great stage curtain into four great red pieces, and claws sprang from the legs...then Riff's sonic strike struck home.

 

Crashing backwards onto the floor, staining it with soot and a blast of sulfurous smoke from between broken boards, the hellish beast writhed like an overturned spider, clawing the air as wisps of black fire trickled from its body. It continued for a while, making an awful noise, before falling quiet for a moment. Both could see some kind of furnace within it, and the fire was slowly going from yellow to white...

Edited July 12, 2013 by Arichamus

[Supercape]

Pitch took a solid stance against the demon, the Cantos devil stick in her hand. 

 

"See this? This has more demon's cut into it than you can count, Piano. I've bitten into your kind before, and I'll bite again. You aren't going to take anything more tonight!" she explained, her eyes and words of solid iron. 

 

With her other hand, a smoking chain gripped and bound her fist, ready to smash into the demon. 

 

She took a step forward, slow..unsteady as she was. 

 

But what about that woman? what connection have they? if I destroy this piano, then...what of her....

 

She was about to throw the chain but paused, her mind twisting around what was happening here. 

 

"What have you done with that woman?" she demanded. 

[Ari]

GM

"I gave her what she wanted," the Infernal instrument replied with a rattle of harpstrings and a grotesque leer, its face sliding effortlessly onto its corrupted belly to peer up at the heroes "I cannot be taken to account for what a human does with gifts from on high!" Despite its cockiness, the demon was still shuddering and creaking from the combined sound and infernal onslaught, and now that its hellish strength was no more wrapped around it the creature seemed much more grounded instead of an ethereal visitor to the world of matter.

 

That wasn't entirely a good thing. The floor underneath the Infernal Instrument was starting to rot and discolor, the wood starting to decay and warp under the obscene presence.

 

Mary Venn was still motionless and unconscious, slumped on the steps. Luckily it seemed that the demon was more concerned with avenging itself than making any moves towards her.

Edited July 18, 2013 by Arichamus

[Supercape]

Pitch gave a frown.

 

"You can't believe whatever lies whistle through your teeth...." she said cautiously. The hairs of the back of her neck prickled. She was as well equipped as anyone, perhaps more equipped, to deal with the infernal - but that was at least in part because she never trusted them, or by default, herself. 

 

She limped back a few steps, slowly and carefully, before pulling forth a spear of metal that she hurled into the demon. 

 

That floor looks in bad shape...she thought sorrowfully. The Opera House was creaking. 

[Darksider42]

"I highly doubt the from high part." Riff said as he strummed his guitar once again and sent more waves of sound right into the face of the demon. He was not liking the signs of decay around the monster.It seemed to be just as vunrable to damage as the next creature of the month. He was hoping that only a little decay was all that was it could cause. 

 

If not. Well, Warren was not looking forward to the repair bill.

[Ari]

GM

 

In a blare of noise like snapping organ pipes and cracking strings, Riff's blast tore through the hellish beast and sent it flying across the hall, bouncing off the floor as it crashed several times before coming to rest against the rear seats, smoking gently. Its face was completely still and staring, a hole was in it the size of Riff and Pitch's heads yet the demon seemed to flow around the wound. From the broken wires and sputtering flame, not to mention the unmoving limbs around its bizarre body, the Infernal Instrument was obviously out of the fight.

 

The icy chain that slid into view, attached to Mary's hands and the demonic denizen's tongue signified all wasn't over. The battle was only half-won.

[Supercape]

"That really don't look good" proclaimed Pitch, observing the situation. 

 

"Who is this woman? What is going on?" she shouted to the Opera hall. The acoustics reverberated her voice well enough, she just hoped somebody would hear. Or, to be more precise, somebody who knew the answers would hear. 

 

She grasped her cane and walked to Mary, wondering what the chain was. 

 

Whatever it was, it wasn't likely to be good. She lifted her cane, ready to smite the thing. But paused. 

 

Wait. Need to know what the hell this is first...

 

Snapping it might to more harm than good. Not snapping it might do just the same. The thing was, she was in the dark. 

 

"Go get that manager! See if anyone knows what the hell is going on!" she shouted at Riff. 

[Darksider42]

Warren sighed as his sound barrier fell, letting a whining sound echo through the opera. He cracked his stiff fingers as he overlooked the scene. Things went better than I expected. Considering the hellfire and all that. The guitarist thought. He looked down at Pitch. 

 

"I'm on it. You try and figure out how to crack Mary out from that chain in the meantime. Demon pianos are not my area of expertise." Riff said as he he slung his guitar over his shoulder and went flying off backstage. Sure she was an idiot to make a deal with a devil. But he didn't like the idea of someone suffering eternal damnation.

Edited July 21, 2013 by Darksider42

[Ari]

GM

 

Celeste wasn't hard to find, at the forefront of the press of stagehands, actors, singers and women and men in suits who exuded money. All of them looked tense, but the Beaudrie caretaker looked close to desperate, a sentiment that rapidly quelled when she saw Riff emerge from the now-smokey stage.

 

Enthusiastically joining in with the chorus of cheers and congratulations that the others began when they realized what an unscathed superhero leaving the battle field meant, Celeste quickly pried him away from the thankful Freedonians and sequestered them both back on the stage, sunnily announcing her intention to 'see how much theatre needed replacing' to the whooping, laughing crowd who only barely got quieter as the sonic champion vanished back inside.

 

Facing him the woman's smile vanished, and the grim Opera caretaker asked tersely "How much did it say?" Glancing at Pitch she added "I wouldn't cut that chain if I were you, young lady. Very unwise to sever a deal without either party's consent."

[Supercape]

"I figured it was a tricky business" said Pitch, who knew a thing or two about infernal contracts. 

 

Don't you just...hissed the Demon in her stomach. 

 

She lay down the Cantos Cane, leaning on it rather than holding it like an axe to a tree. She took a rather hard stare at Celeste. The lady knew a lot, that was for sure. 

 

"So, what's the deal here. I mean, literally, what's the deal? This Mary lady - she have a gripe with somebody, or something? How the hell did she get into this mess? And how come you know about the chain and the Infernal pact?" she asked, a trace of suspicion lacing her voice. It wasn't the average Opera House owner's remit to know about Infernal lore. 

[Ari]

GM

 

Celeste didn't answer immediately, wandering over to Mary Venn and gently sitting her up against a wall, checking her eyes and nodding in satisfaction at their dilations.

 

Standing up she turned to Pitch and explained "Mary used to be one of my best players and a...dear friend of mine. She was already gifted at the ivories, and under my tutelage her skills increased with each year. I mentored her, helped Mary through the loss of her mother, introduced her to the man who owns the city orchestra...and still she thought I didn't love her." She leaned against the wall, looking glumly at the demon "She got desperate, decided after I criticized her playing at a rehearsal that she needed something more. And then the devil started whispering to her. I heard it a few times when I visited her apartment, but my attempts to reach out to Mary in her dark hour were rejected every time, and she made her bargain."

 

Celeste raised her right hand, dropping two fingers "She had to defeat three other musicians and take their souls into the Instrumente Infernale, and the demon would make her the greatest pianist the world had ever seen!" She shook her head, face bleak "She was already so talented...please, can you save her?" the Beaudrie asked with a desperate flash in her teary eyes, ringed hands clenched together "If you can do anything, I beg that you do it! I can see the invisible spirits, but that and the names of a few is all the power I have."

[Supercape]

Carmen listened carefully. 

 

"It's a good old sad story, I'll give you that..." she muttered. She didn't like people who played with demons. Which perhaps was hypocritical, although she justified it as having that fate forced on her. 

 

But, at the end of the day, she disliked demon's even more. 

 

"I'll see what I can do" she answered, without filling her voice with any optimism. "But it seems to me its all about breaking that chain. And that will mean bartering with an infernal beast, which is like playing with dynamite" she explained. 

 

She limped back to Mary and knelt by her, contorting her face when a bolt of pain ran down her leg. She cradled the woman's head, with genuine gentleness, and spoke to her. 

 

"Mary, mary...wake up!" she said, rocking her slightly. "You need to wake up now!"