Possession is 9/10 of the law

[raavashing]

Characters: Anyone helping Wan attempt to counter-possess Asti; Malicant
Date: Sat. 10/25
Location: Various TBD
Situation: Wan is attempting to possess Asti; others are acting as distractions/helping power boost
Warnings/Rating: Will post them in subject lines when/if needed

The log is going to be broken up between the following Event 'points' just to manage them easier:

Pre-Possession Power-Up (Mingle for those powering up Wan before his group heads to the Turtle's Head)
Pre-Distraction Meet-Up (Mingle for the distraction teams to finalize tactics or throw caution to the wind)
Possession Attempt (The actual possession attempt)
Distraction Group One (Headed up by Dante, this group is going to be dealing with the cultists directly)
Distraction Group Two (Network distraction group and/or different group of cultists)
End of the Day (for people to deal with the fallout of the event if they want to do so in this log)

ANYONE can tag in and take part in any of the threads except the Possession Attempt itself - that's closed to Wan, Valdis, Zuko, and Katara so the group is small and less easily noticed.

Comments

[raavashing]

[Their attention snapped to the source of light as soon as it blossomed. They launched themself, power flaring, toward Valis. Her voice, her light, her soul an invitation for them to enter. And enter they did, crossing the boundary and combining their energy with hers in the way of her world. Were this their world and were they possessing her, Valdis's body would surely be glowing white and be marked with blue lines as she grew several sizes.

Wan thought that perhaps they should try it. But the idea was shelved for now. They had something more important to attend to.]

[redlightgreenlight]

[She felt them merge with her soul and the light became so strong that the darkness shrieked and retreated from her. It felt strange to share her soul's space with two others, but they were safe from the void and that was all that mattered.

She knew they didn't have much time, so she didn't bother moving back into the physical plane. Valdis could already feel the great turtle beneath her paws, feel the endless, vast energy that was Tu Vishan. And she hesitated]

Are you certain about this?

[raavashing]

Yes

[There was no heistation from their joined soul. Their determination had not wavered in any of the moments between being given the extra power from the others and this very moment. This was something that had to be done and they would not back down.]

[redlightgreenlight]

[She called on the void once again, and it refused to come, displeased at being summoned so soon after being denied. She leaped into it, grabbing it with her teeth and dragging it out. She had no time to play with her darkness, their allies could only hold their enemies's attention for so long.]

Very well

[The void reluctantly obeyed, reaching out into the vastness of the turtle and trying to open the backdoor to allow Valdis and her companions entry.]

[ironwood]

[ The air, such as it was in a place like this, began to constrict around the pair, even though the very definition of their physical selves here was muted. A voice that was like the grating of metal upon metal came from all directions at once. ]

HOW NICE TO HAVE VISITORS.

[raavashing]

Ignore him. Find Asti's soul. It's his we have to touch.

[Wan's mind called out to Valdis, urging her to push past Malicant's influence if she could.]

[redlightgreenlight]

[They were within the turtle when the surrounding essence constricted around her, slowing her movement. The voice sent chills running through her soul, but Valdis pushed forward, trying to go deeper at Wan's urging.]

[ironwood]

YOU WILL FIND THAT IS NOT SO SIMPLE.

[ The space becomes tempestuous, trying to toss them around. ]

COULD THEY HAVE CHOSEN TWO LESS LIKELY CANDIDATES? ONE DAMAGED AND PRETENDING TO NOT BE, AND ONE DAMAGED AND NOT KNOWING IT.

[raavashing]

[[Wan could feel the pressure of Malicant around thief joined souls and he feared more for Valdis than he did himself. But that didn't mean he was going to retreat so easily. The light within him, the light of Raava flared brightly, attempting to push back Malicant's darkness and, hopefully show the path into Asti's soul. But locked within Valdis, there little more he could do save share his power with her, possess her in truth. It was not a option he wanted to resort to. Yet.]]

[redlightgreenlight]

[It felt as though she were trying to walk on ship being tossed by the stormy sea. Each step was uncertain, wobbly. Malicant's taunts were disturbing, but they were just words, not weapons like what her allies were probably facing. She felt Raava's light flare up, and the darkness was briefly lit. She though she saw something to her right and turned in that direction.]

[ironwood]

[ Instead of repelling the darkness, the light seems to be swallowed, drawn away like water into a sponge. ]

IS THAT SUPPOSED TO INTIMIDATE ME?

[raavashing]

[Wan growled at the taunt and did his best to continue ignoring Malicant's words. It was difficult when it was accompanied by a darkness so strong it could swallow their light. He was sorely tempted to turn his focus away and try to face Malicant directly. But that wasn't the goal. Not here, not within Asti.]

Hurry Valdis. Please

[He didn't want to rush her, but staying in the Avatar state as long as he was and with the darkness absorbing their light, Wan was definitely feeling the pressure beyond even the near-physical tossing about.]

[redlightgreenlight]

[Valdis was growing tired, it seemed as if the darkness was sapping away her strength and will along with the light that Raava had tried to provide. To make matters worse, the void seemed to sense that something was wrong.]

I'm trying.

[Malicant was cocky, but she had no power to put him in his place, and what power she did have was rapidly seeping away. But she had to hold on.]

[ironwood]

[ However their persistence seemed to be paying off, for the more focused that they remained, the less the continued effect of Malicant's buffer began to hinder them. To their "vision" there appeared not one, but two faint lights in opposite directions, each the same dimness obscured and Malicant roared in anger. ]

I WILL DESTROY BOTH OF YOU, LEAVE YOU AS EMPTY SHELLS.

[raavashing]

[Wan had a moment of smug satisfaction at Malicant's anger. Brief, but enough to spur him on. To tell him they were getting somewhere.]

I cannot give you power without possessing you.

[He called out to Valdis, apology in his voice.]

Get us as far as you can and release us. See yourself to safety.

[Whichever light she chose to carry them toward, that would be the one Wan threw himself at.]

[redlightgreenlight]

Lyset skinner i mørket, og mørket har ikke overvunnet det.

[Despite her fading strength, Valdis laughed at Malicant's anger. If the enemy could do such a thing, then he would have already done so. She threw herself forward, her own light blazing, she would not yield to her fear. She chose one of the dim lights and headed toward it.]



[ooc: The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.]

[ironwood]

[ The resistance around them doubles, but it's only a brief surge before it slakes again, allowing them to draw near the one light. Both will receive a flash of an image in their minds, of a crystalline stone, deep blood red. Surrounded by strange, floating blank faces which fade away, leaving only the stone in a low pool of what looks like tat or black oil. A flash of a curved ceiling overhead, the telltale blue luminescence of Tu Vishan's shell.

The image fades and is replaced by what looks like the ruins of Valishaera, of the white marble and black obsidian stone arches that lead into the Dreaming. And through one of the arches is a great form, obscured in the vision but a hulking behemoth that is Malicant himself. ]

[raavashing]

[Wan barely understood what he was seeing and the sudden flash of - insight? Memory? shattered his focus. He didn't know if they were going toward the correct light or if they had touched upon something in whatever they were pushing through. Raava's light flared, trying to bring his mind back to the task at hand.]

[redlightgreenlight]

[Valdis floundered as the strange visions filled her mind, throwing off her focus. The images meant nothing to her, but she was certain that they were important. If it was a message from Tu Vishan, then the enemy had not extinguished the turtle's essence as he had said. The void surged against her as the final image flared in her mind. Malicant.

Valdis struggled to regain her focus as the visions faded. Raava's light flared, and the void quieted]

[ironwood]

[ The last thing they will see before the vision fades is the stone falling out of its resting pool and falling as if from a great height through the dual stone arch, passing through the portal. Where it seemed to strike Malicant's shadowed form, which shattered and dispersed like shards of ice under a blast wave. Then darkness surrounds both Wan and Valdis again, but this time it seems empty. ]

[raavashing]

[Wan's vision swung around, trying to find the light of Asti's soul within the darkness.]

Valdis! Can you find him? We don't have much more time!

[redlightgreenlight]

[She was so confused. That stone had shattered Malicant. Was it an image of the past? Or was it the key to defeating their enemy?. Then the darkness surrounded them once more. The light she had been heading towards was gone and everything was empty. She ignored Wan, focusing on the darkness, searching for her enemy.]

What is it that you fear, Malicant?

[ironwood]

I FEAR YOU ARE BOTH VERY OUT OF TIME.

[ With that they are aggressively shoved back to their own bodies with the force that will leave them with physical symptoms -- bruises, bloodied noses, etc. ]

[raavashing]

[Wan's body appeared on top of the Turtle's Head, forced out of Valdis and Asti. The shock brought him out of the Avatar State as well, his spirit slightly out of sync with his physical form for several excruciating seconds. Bruises blossomed on his skin, hidden by his clothes everywhere save his face and neck. He could feel blood starting to trickle from his nose and one ear, but he was otherwise disorientated.

Weakly, he called out:]

Raava... Valdis...

[redlightgreenlight]

[Valdis lay on her side, gasping for air, sharp pain accompanying every breath. She rotated her body and slowly pushed herself up, wincing with each movement. She spat out the blood that filled her mouth and waited for the regeneration to begin.

She hung her head, exhausted to her very core. The souls giggled, commenting on her weakness, but soon the pain faded. She turned her head toward the direction of Wan's voice.]

Wan?

[Relieved that they were alive, Valdis walked over to him and gently poked him with her nose]