Writer: Barb
When: Day 2, morning
Character(s): Kel, Grace, the Guide's Council
Location: The Manor, The Guide's Council Chambers
Kel walked to the front door of his home, a slightly distracted air about him. That Purgatory Central wanted Theresa to monitor Gus rankled and upset him, and he was not a man easily upset. The fact that they declined to bring this to her themselves was telling, and he thought that perhaps he was being used.
Jessup stood by the door, Kel's duster in his hand. He held it up so Kel could slip his arms into the coat, then held out Kel's Guidewatch. As soon as Kel touched it, it started beeping. "Brilliant," he muttered. "Thank you, Jessup." Strapping the watch on his wrist he pressed several small buttons on the sides, silencing it. He opened the door and stepped out into the carpeted hall of the Manor, then began walking briskly to the elevators.
Once he was outside and following the wide pathway to the turnkeys, he restarted the Guidewatch and it resumed its frantic beeping. With a quick glance he read the messages and reset it. They wanted him at the Council, and that was perfect because it had been his intention to go there first. He stepped into the turnkey. "The District," he said.
The world outside the turnkey paled, swirled, and then resettled in the form of the turnkey park in the District. Kel stepped out and turned up the Street, bootheels clocking on the cement, eating up the space between himself and the Council. In under a minute he was standing in front of the building, entering. He walked through the scanners with no problem and took the lift up to his floor. Lily was standing outside his office. He smiled when he saw her.
"Where have you been?" she asked, holding out the paper bag from Molly's. "They've been looking for you."
"I know. My watch has been squealing since I put it on. Can you put the bag on my desk? I'd better go down." He shrugged out of his coat and handed it to her. She took it with a wary look in her eyes. "Don't worry, Lily."
She tried on a smile, but couldn't keep the concern out of her eyes. "It's about yesterday, isn't it? I don't know why I made you get involved. I don't know why I got involved."
Kel smiled at her. "You didn't make me, and you got involved because it was the right thing to do. I'm not sorry for it, Lily, and you shouldn't be either. Never regret doing the right thing."
He turned and left her standing there, got back on the lift and took it down to the lower level. The doors opened to solid rock wall. Undeterred, Kel placed his palm on the rock and waited. There was a sensation of searing heat but he didn't flinch as the Council scanned his essence; he just closed his eyes and opened himself. Opened his mind and soul. The scan took a good long time, almost two minutes, and he stood stock still throughout. When finally it was done he removed his hand from the wall and waited. The doors closed again and this time the lift didn't go up or down, but seemed to move forward. Kel knew that wasn't quite right but in his corporeal form he couldn't come close to describing it. It moved through space and time in an incomprehensible way, speeding through it. It was like travelling at the speed of light while at the same time not moving at all.
Finally it was over and the car settled; or he did, he wasn't sure which. He had a moment to be thankful that he didn't suffer from motion sickness like Lily did. She'd only had to see the Council once, and she'd puked right in the lift. He'd have to remember to mention that to her when he got back to work.
The doors opened and he stepped out into a dim chamber of stone and steel.
Writer: Barb
When: Day 2, morning
Character(s): Kel, Grace, the Guide's Council
Location: In the Guide's Council Chambers.
Kel stepped out of the elevator and into a wide corridor. He followed the winding path for what seemed like an eternity before it opened into the Council Chamber. The ceilings were high, the walls a mix of smooth steel and jagged outcroppings of rock and stone. It should have been dark but it wasn't. The quality of the light seemed ambient although there were no doors or windows. Light seemed to emanate from the Chamber itself, flowing out of the very walls.
There was a circular stone table here, so large it filled the chamber. It was open in the center - there was a portion of the circle missing so that a person could walk through it and stand in that open space like a specimen under a microscope. Kel did this. He'd been here before and knew what was expected. What he didn't know was why he was here.
From his vantage point now, in the open center of the table, Kel could see the shadowy shapes seated at intervals around the stone circle. There were eight of them. He'd never seen their faces, so he didn't know who they were. But it hardly mattered - when you got right down to it, collectively, they were his boss. He stood erect and unflinching, and waited.
"Greetings, Kel," a voice said.
"Greetings," he replied.
"We've called you here about your activities yesterday." "You saw something unjust taking place and you stepped in." "We are not troubled by that." "In fact, we'd be more troubled if you hadn't stepped in."
It was weird - it was like talking to a group of people simultaneously. They spoke in short bursts, each picking up the thread as though it was one thought. He couldn't tell who was speaking from one sentence to the next. A couple thousand years ago this had been disconcerting. Since then Kel had learned to just listen.
"However, the Council must look out for their own." "And that doesn't include involving them in the plottings of the unascended." "You must realize this, of course." "The Council must remain neutral in matters of the unascended." "It is the only way to protect the balance."
There was a pause, and Kel nodded. "Of course," he said.
"We are aware that an entity at Purgatory Central sought to involve you in their machinations." "Machinations even they shouldn't be involved in." "That situation has been resolved."
Suddenly they fell silent, and Kel looked around. Did they require a response? What was there for him to say? Then Grace appeared at the head of the table, and Kel smiled broadly. "Grace, a pleasure as always," he said, bowing.
"And to you, Kel," she said. "You're looking well."
Kel laughed. Appearances never altered. "Thank you. As are you."
Grace smiled at him briefly, and then the smile faded. "Purgatory Central should not have attempted to involve you in what was essentially revenge. Please accept my apologies for that."
"Of course," he said, then asked, "Revenge?"
"It appears that Luci had something of a hold on JT. The purpose of Purgatory Central is not to punish those who have made bad choices. No matter how embarrassing those choices may have been. Purgatory Central was not privy to the larger view, and there was no reason for them to be. This Gus made the correct decisions right down the line, although even he was unaware he was doing so. Regardless of the obstacles Luci threw in his path."
Kel only nodded his understanding of the conversation thus far. He still didn't understand what this had to do with him.
"JT sought to use you as a spy of sorts, to keep him informed on Gus's movements this time around. That an unascended soul would even attempt to use an ascended one as a tool made it obvious he was under Luci's thrall."
"Ah," Kel said. He was beginning to understand.
"Indeed," Grace said. "I cannot tell you what to do. I can only show you the choices."
"There is no choice," he said. "I have no wish to be involved in a soul's process in any official capacity."
"Then we agree."
"That we do," he said grinning. "As usual." She laughed, a musical sound that brought a flush of joy to his soul. "I'd like to have Theresa pulled from this process also," he said.
"I'm afraid I cannot unilaterally do that. Theresa must make her own choices. You know that. As must all the unascended."
He sighed. "Yes, of course you're right."
"Theresa belongs to Thanatos and he's left it to her discretion."
"Oh, that's a relief," he said mockingly with a chuckle, "for we all know that Theresa always does the right thing."
Grace smiled at him. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
"As you wish," Kel said, and bowed again. "Thank you for seeing to the matter personally. I appreciate it."
Grace bowed in return, and vanished. He looked around and found he was alone in the chamber. The Council Members were gone.
Writer: Barb
Characters: Kel, Lily
Date: Day 3, afternoon
Location: The Manor, #1001
"Do you remember the day we met?"
Lily turned her head to look at Kel. She was laying on their four poster
and he was on his side next to her, looking down at her. They'd been there
in the quiet for over an hour, since he'd appeared in the Infirmary and
carried her home despite her protestations that she was fine now. She knew
him well enough to see he was troubled - besides, she could feel it coming
off him in waves.
She answered at once. "I was waitressing at Jack's, and Eric introduced us.
I spilled a drink on you."
A faint smile curved his lips. "You spilled a tray of drinks on me."
"And how galant of you to remind me," she said dryly.
Kel was silent for a few moments, then said, "I was so angry when I saw you
at the Infirmary. It was the first time I ever considered hurting Eric."
"Kel..."
"But I didn't. And after what I saw today I understand that nothing I could
have done would even come close to what he's lived through since the last
time I saw him. There was a Predication today."
"What does that mean, 'Predication'?"
"You know, a Hunting pair share a special bond," he said, appearing to
side-step the question. "It's not a bond that's easily broken. And in
spite of the fact that I'm Ascended now, we're still partners."
"How can..." she started, but he took her hand and silenced her.
"Hunter partnerships are based on essence similarities; you could say they
are predicated on them. A functional pair are so closely matched that they
can almost read eachothers thoughts. I never dissolved the partnership,
even though I should have when I Ascended. I didn't because I knew this day
was coming, and I'd need that bond one last time before it was severed.
Eric couldn't sever it while he was exiled, and I never did it myself." He
turned to look at her. "You see, the first part of his punishment was
exile - the last part was the stipulation that he has to relive those lives
annually for another thousand years after his return."
"That's awful."
"You have no idea. But there is a section of Hunter Law that deals with
the partnership itself - that allows for a Hunter's partner to take the
second half of the exile onto themselves, taking that burden from their
partner."
Lily paled. "You didn't."
"Oh but I did - that's what the Predication is about. In front of all
Hunters, I accept custody of the lives he lived while in exile, and I take
on the remainder of the punishment. I had to - there is no other choice.
By doing so, I made a statement; I made it clear that our partnership wasn't
a mistake and that I didn't regret it. By invoking the Predication, I
validated both Eric and myself, our partnership and everything we've done
since it started.
"So you can see, I did it as much for myself as for him. It seemed like a
good idea at the time," he said with a sickly smile, "but that was before I
saw the lives. There are no words for the atrocities I saw today, Lily.
Even Luci... well, she'd dish that out if she had the power, but all she can
do is inflict. This was different - no matter what choice you made, it was
the wrong one. It was like you only had wrong choices to pick from. Some
worse than others, I'll grant you, but all of them terrible. It was a harsh
lesson in Free Will - the value of it, the meaning of it, and the
consequences of it.
"We stood in there and watched these hideous lives pass before us as Eric
relived them. He was bleeding from a hundred wounds before it was done, in
addition to the damage he'd already had when you got him to the Infirmary.
His form wasn't ready - when you are gone that long, the true form goes
unused for too long - you need to have it maintained before you take
possession of it. The problem with that is, when you're gone that long you
can't remember simple things like that. If he'd have ran into a demon on
the Street this morning, he'd be a ghost now."
He fell silent gathering his thoughts, and then continued. "Everyone was
there. Theresa was crying by the time it was done; most of them were - the
ones who weren't retching. And at the end of it, when the Tribunal asked
who stands for the accused, I spoke for him. At first I thought he'd shake
me off, but he didn't have it left in him - besides, I don't think he
believed I'd do it. It's amazing the things he believes me capable of
now..." he trailed off. "Well, that's neither here nor there. I stood for
him and I thought that would be the end of it. But it wasn't. I spoke, and
then everyone else did too. When they asked who stands with him, the whole
chamber spoke for him. And then Grace appeared."
"Of course she did. Such a display of loyalty wouldn't go unnoticed."
"Exactly. And that's almost exactly what she said. She appeared, she spoke
for a few minutes, she stood with Eric as I did and let everyone see that he
had her blessing. Then she negated the second half of his punishment, and
took the lives from me. She took them, then she touched Eric and they sort
of ... rippled... I guess - that's the only way I can think to describe it.
Something passed between them. Then Eric fainted and Grace was gone."
"That's weird. I wonder what happened."
"I don't know if we'll ever find out. He's not the same soul he was before
this. I know you were trying to help him this morning..."
"And I'd do it again," Lily interrupted.
"...and I'm not saying you shouldn't," he finished. "But have a care. He
might seem the same to you but he's not. He couldn't possibly be the same.
I thought exile was too harsh when they sentenced him and I still think it -
but I never got the chance to say so. Now I don't think he'd believe me if
I told him."
"He's got to know how you'd feel about it. From what you've said, I can't
believe he'd think you meant for him to go through that."
"My relationship with Eric is alot more complex than yours, Lily. And it's
clouded now by this business - and he's had a millienia to nurse his
grudges. He should have Ascended with me like Hunters do. I wish he would
have. I wish we could erase this whole thing and pretend it never
happened."
Lily wrapped her arms around him said nothing.
Posted by Barb. Copyright © 2002.
Purgatory RPG - http://www.afterhourspub.com/purgatory.htm