Scion – Petro Campaign – Session 45
This account was originally found on Livejournal, I am not the original author—I am just a fan of the journal and have found reading it on livejournal clunky to navigate and rife with errors/instability (such as having to refresh multiple times due to the page in questions becoming unavailable often requiring multiple refreshes. The original post can be found here, published by DJ-Yomi, and was published on Feb 21st 2009
Step one of our master plan for dealing with Pika Don is complete. We managed to find the first of his eyes in Nanjing and have safely hidden it away in Yomi. So far, so good, right? Of course, a lot more has happened than just that. I mean, I’ve just gotten another wave of shikome-related drama thrown in my face…but it’s all good because now I think I understand my shikome (and maybe myself) a little better.
Okay, first things first. We landed outside of Nanjing and T-Bone managed to get us a limousine to the Xu Gardens, which is where the eye was supposed to be. Ray had finally gotten my messages, and so he actually met us at the airport! ^_^. All together again, we headed toward the gardens, Pierre, T-Bone, Tabby, Audrey and me all crowded into the limo’s built in jacuzzi. I have to admit, I’ve really been abusing my ability to shift into new clothing whenever I want…but it’s so fun!! ^_^
The Xu Gardens were beautiful. There’s a lot of elegant architecture there, and a lot of history, much of which was fortunately left untouched by Japanese depredations during WWII. I talked to one of the caretakers, a very pleasant elderly gentleman, and got him to show us some of the more significant tombs, especially those with a bit of mystical background. Meanwhile, Pierre used his Echo Sounding power to scope out the ground beneath us. We eventually zeroed in on the tomb of an ancient empress. After investigating the building’s exterior a bit, Adam said it had been opened a few hundred years ago and then resealed, and Pierre could sense some open chambers below it.
I offered to check the subterranean chambers out since I can move freely through earth. After all, there’s no sense in defiling a tomb if it doesn’t hold what we’re looking for, right? So I sank gracefully into the ground and emerged in the chamber below. Inside, there was a heavily warded door guarded by two celestial dog statues (yeah, they were animate). I tried to bypass the warded door by going around it through the earth, but the wards protected the whole subterranean area, so I couldn’t get in without breaking the wards.
Meanwhile, the others noticed Xi Wang Mu hanging around and watching us with great interest, and while I was still scoping things out they approached and talked to her. Apparently her shadow still wants to eat T-Bone’s. >_< They asked her if we had her permission to open and explore the tomb. She never actually gave permission…but she did say that she wouldn’t interfere. Knowing that was the best we were likely to get, we took it as tacit approval and after I emerged from the earth and reported my findings, we broke into the tomb (as gently as possible).
The celestial dogs agreed to let us pass, but warned us that the wards imprisoned several chaos-corrupted demons and two dark celestial dogs, the corrupt equivalent of the guardians dogs and very dangerous creatures indeed. If we opened the door, they would be free to escape, so it was on our heads to make sure that didn’t happen. Okay, no problem.
We opened the seal and entered the twisting passages beyond, all of which ultimately led to a final chamber that contained the sickly yellow eye of Pika Don, which rested on a crystalline pedestal. On the way there, we fought two of the demons the guardians warned us about, one a horse-headed monstrosity and the other an ox-headed beast. They were flanked by several roiling serpent-like creatures known as hoh-sheng (black calamties), which are some sort of embodiment of chaos. I didn’t really get directly involved in the violence of the fight, but Adam warned us that these creatures, being entities of chaos, could only be truly harmed by striking their eyes, much like Pika Don, as that is the only part of them that’s truly “real.” Fortunately, hitting small targets like eyes is barely even a challenge for us, so we were able to destroy the titanspawn handily.
The corrupt celestial dogs awaited us in the chamber that held the eye, and they were accompanied by two more demons and more hoh-sheng. This fight was almost disastrous for us because the celestial dogs mastered the ways of health and infection. Not only had they bolstered their allies, but one of them unleashed a miasmic cloud of poison that very nearly killed both T-Bone and Audrey and badly injured Adam. Most of the rest of us were able to withstand the poison fairly well, though, and the others were able to kill the other dog before it did the same thing and finished what its companion had started.
Both Pierre and I rushed to T-Bone’s aid while Ray, Elisa, and Adam finished the fight and Tabby carried Audrey safely away from the fight. I couldn’t resist…I changed into a sexy black and red nurse outfit as I dashed across the chamber to T-Bone’s side and woke him with a kiss. He was very appreciative. ^_^
Once the corrupted beasts were dead, we grabbed the eye and Ray suggested taking the pedestal too so that we’d have something to store the eye on in Yomi (I mean, it was kinda gross and oozy, so I really didn’t want it just sitting on the tatami mats in my chambers in mom’s palace). Actually, grabbing the pedestal was a good idea in more way than one. We found an Ainu necklace in it that we believe belonged to Coppa Kamui, Pika Don’s dead sister. It must have been used by the mystics to help pacify the power in the eye. In any event, Ray and I agreed that it should be returned to the Ainu people to help redress some of the wrongs the Amatsukami committed against them I’m especially interested in doing so as an expression of my desire to become something of a bridge between gods. T-Bone disagreed…he wants easier access to the powers of illusion that the necklace would let him channel. But in this case I think the needs of celestial diplomacy outweigh our individual wants.
Oh yeah, speaking of T-Bone. He actually apologized to me about the “father” comment. Apparently he was feeling a bit angry with me…but not really with me. He was annoyed with someone or something else and I kinda reminded him of it and so he took it out on me. He still won’t talk about what’s been bothering him, but I offered to listen whenever he’s ready to share. Anyway, I’m glad to have smoothed that over. ^_^
Let’s see, we were also able to keep some of the glassy eyes left behind by the hoh-sheng. Apparently they can absorb the powers of chaos…for a short time before they break, anyway. That will be helpful, given what we’re ultimately going to face during this mission. ^_^
As so we left Nanjing and headed to Izumo in Japan, where Pierre and I led the others to the main entrance to Yomi, the same place we took Miyako’s friends when they were looking for her. The trek in was pretty nice. I always enjoy the mixture of restfulness and dread that accompanies the transition from the World to Yomi. Our way into Yomi was unobstructed. In fact, aside from a few wandering ghosts, the only thing we encountered was a unit of about 40 shikome guarding the way into Yomi proper. They were spoiling for a fight, and seemed disappointed that we weren’t enemies.
I asked what had them so agitated, and their leader, an elite named Ochie, said that a part of Suku-no-Kuni had invaded Yomi and stolen Daitokuji’s soul. Dammit! t >_< t I thought we were done with him, but chances are Mikaoboshi is going to resurrect him. I guess we haven’t seen the last of Daitokuji after all. And that’s why the shikome were on alert—to watch for more invasions. Of course, now that Mikaboshi has what he wants, he’s not likely to come calling again anytime soon…
Oiwa met us at the base of Yellow Spring Mountain and escorted us to the top. It was wonderful to see her again. I always enjoy her company…and, well, she always calls me “mother.” In a way, she makes me feel more like a mother than Rose does, I guess because I actually did give birth to Oiwa, after a fashion. She was very glad to see me and kept going on about how much she wanted to meet her sister. She really is eager to meet Rose…but I think she was also feeling a bit jealous and neglected. After all, she’s my daughter too, and she wants to make sure I don’t forget that. Maybe it was a bit petulant…but it made me feel loved and needed, which is something I’ve needed lately. ^_^
Izanami couldn’t see us immediately, so we all got settled in rooms in my section of Izanami’s palace. I enjoyed showing people around. I think Adam commented on how familiar the furnishings looked. I mean, sure, the rooms themselves are old-fashioned Japanese-style tatami rooms, but a lot of the decorations are more modern. I explained that I’d actually had most of the furnishings moved in from the ghost of my house in the Ten Thousand Palaces of War district…the house that Daitokuji’s robots blew up. My cute little chibi Kayako doll with the draw string that makes her do the choking noise from The Grudge movies drew some attention. I think the others were a little freaked out by it! ^_^
While we were waiting, I asked one of the shikome servants to summon Miko. I wanted to check on her since she’d been attacked a few weeks earlier by the Tallyman’s macout. She was pleased to see me in her sly, catty way. And I was finally able to introduce her to my friends; I was reminded that Adam, Ray and the rest had never met her! Anyway, she’s doing fine, though she’s a bit eager to return the world.
Unfortunately, her interests there do not bode well. I don’t think she’s given up on turning me into her shikome goddess…but she’s been exploring other options. Apparently she’s been seeing Hinako. They’ve even gone out on a few dates. I was shocked to learn this, but Miko seemed upset that Hinako hadn’t mentioned her. I’m not surprised, though. Hinako’s rather conservative, and doesn’t talk about her relationships much. And…well…she’s still romantically interested in me, and tends to make sure I know that no one else is in the way…should I decide that I’m interested in her. Which I am, of course, but only as a dear friend, not romantically. Besides, I really don’t think Hinako’s cut out for same-sex relationships. Honestly, much of the reason she’s so interested in people like me, Sayuri, and Miko is because she has a sort of fatal attraction to people who are somehow tainted.
You know, Hinako’s attraction to other women probably also has a little to do with her fear of the violation and pain she might see in a sexual relationship with a guy. A lot of women are nervous about sex for reasons like that, and after being violated spiritually by the titanspawn, it doesn’t surprise me that she’d have issues along those lines, even if it is a bit paradoxical, what with her attraction to tainted women.
Anyway, I was pleased that Miko was doing well and was glad to see and chat with her again. Now that I have a better handle on what she’s after and how she operates, I’m not as intimidated by her as I once was. My decision to redeem her rather than accept the poison she offers has something to do with it as well, since I’m not as worried about succumbing to temptation. But if she’s working on seducing Hinako as well, it means she might pass the taint on to Hinako and make her into a shikome goddess with which to taint Amaterasu…basically what she’s always wanted to do with me. It’s sad that her affections for me, which I know to be genuine, are so warped and twisted by the severity and madness of her taint.
And that’s why I’ve decided to go ahead and redeem her ASAP. When I brought the idea up, Ray and Adam encouraged me to go ahead and do it. We’ll have the perfect chance if I can convince her to accompany us to the Shrine of Ise when we take the ghost of Little Boy there. In addition to purifying the bomb, I can have Miko cleansed and returned to the good graces of Amaterasu. Chances are she’ll become a sort of minor kami, and her connection to me will remain strong. The only trick is getting her to come with us with my mother’s blessing…or without my mother knowing.
Chances are I’m going to make my mother extremely angry in the next few days >_< …but I am her rebellious child, after all. ^_^
Eventually, my half-sister Miyako came to fetch us for an audience with Izanami. You know, Miyako doesn’t like me very much, but I’m always so glad to see her. She doesn’t really show it, but I know she’s happy in Yomi. And I did enjoy introducing her to Adam and Elisa (she’d already met the others, of course). She was her usual gloomy, hateful self, but I thought I saw a spark of respect for Adam. I guess great minds think alike. I haven’t had much of a chance to talk to her yet, but I need to do so before we head into the Poison Sun Ward, since she’s one of the only people I know who’s been there and lived to tell about it.
Izanami was willing to let us store the eyes in the palace. And she even offered to provide us with transportation to Di Yu via a boat she once used when she needed to go meet with Emma-Oh. Since the Japanese occupation of China, the boat hasn’t been used, but Izanami and Emma-Oh always had a pretty good working relationship, so hopefully we’ll still be well received in Di Yu. And if not…then I’m sure diplomacy will win out. ^_^ Ray and the others were eager to get underway immediately (you’d think they didn’t like being in the Underworld! ^_^), but mom insisted that we stay and rest for a day while she drafts a formal letter of introduction to Emma-Oh and his servants.
For once, I wish we could get a move on, because we’re now working under time constraints, thanks to my mother. When I was talking privately with Izanami, she told me that Miko was eager to return to the World, and that she was thinking about releasing her to see Hinako again. I had to think quickly to forestall Miko’s release. I mean, I can’t have her biting Hinako before she’s redeemed, and she needs to be in Yomi so I can convince her to come with us to the Shrine of Ise. I told Izanami that it was dangerous to let Miko go right now. For one thing, Hinako is stronger than she seems, and if she were to realize what Miko was really after, she could badly hurt or even kill Miko. I also reminded her that Hinako is helping to keep Pika Don from breaking free of his prison by blocking the flow of chi to his realm, and that if that work were interrupted by Miko, then Pika Don might free himself before we can gather what we need to stop him, which would be disastrous!
Mother considered for a moment, and then agreed to keep Miko in Yomi…but only for another four days. Four days. That’s all the time we have to get the other eye from Di Yu and gather Little Boy from the Poison Sun Ward. I’m not sure if we can do it in that time, but we have to, for Hinako, for Miko, for Amaterasu, and for me.
Miko and Hinako’s relationship kept gnawing at me, so I actually left the palace with Oiwa and my shikome and exited Yomi briefly so that I could call Hinako. We talked for a bit about Miko and what she means to Hinako. They’ve been on a couple of dates, and things got a little steamy between them once, but they haven’t actually been intimate yet (thank the gods!). I warned Hinako about what Miko’s really after, and did my best to convince her that Miko’s dangerous and should be avoided. I definitely made an impression. Hinako doesn’t want to become a weapon against Amaterasu any more than I do, but like me, I know she’s tempted by the lure of the taint. I’m reluctant to admit it, but I think I came across as a bit possessive of Miko. I can’t deny that I am possessive of her. She’s bound to me by fate, and has been since I was a child. She’s also the one who made me a shikome, so there’s definitely a strong recent connection between us. I guess I’m not just worried about Hinako, I’m a touch jealous of her. Sadly, that may have intrigued Hinako all the more. I have to do something about her lingering attraction to darkness. I mean, I’m a daughter of Izanami, so it’s natural and fitting for me. But it’s not for her. It never was until the titans tainted her. >_<
She agrees that she needs help, so she’s going to meet us at Ise and undergo another purification too. Hopefully that will help her overcome this dark desire she has.
Anyway, while I was outside of Yomi, I gave Jacob a call too. I figured he and the rest of Storm’s group needed to know about Daitokuji’s soul being stolen from Yomi. He promised to spread the word. If a resurrected Daitokuji shows up, we might have to join forces again to deal with him. Jacob also reminded me to see what I could find out about something called Radio Free Death. It’s apparently some sort of organization Storm’s group has run across. I haven’t heard of it, but I’ll see if Miyako knows anything. After all, she talks to ghosts all the time, so maybe she can find something out.
Later, when I was back at the palace, Robin knocked on my door and asked to speak to me privately. To preface this, I’ll remind my regular readers that Tabby and Robin have always been really close, and Tabby dearly wants to cement their relationship by marrying Robin (I guess she was inspired by me and Echo ^_^). But she’s not sure that Robin really, really loves her in return. Robin’s a bit sociopathic, after all, and has trouble feeling or expressing happier emotions. Anyway, Robin asked me to tell Tabby to stop delaying and to go ahead and propose to her. I was delighted. It showed me that Robin wanted to formalize their relationship as much as Tabby did! ^_^ I suggested that Robin turn the tables on Tabby and propose to her. After all, wouldn’t that prove her love to Tabby? Robin wasn’t so sure at first…but she eventually warmed up to the idea, and proposed a bit later that night. So, as of now, Tabby and Robin are officially engaged to be married!! ♥ ^___^ ♥ I’m so happy for them!! ^_^
In talking to Robin, though, I learned more about some of the tensions within my band of shikome. When you get right down to it, the sort of issues that plague my shikome are really no different than those that would crop up with any group of girls. The situation’s exacerbated a little by the passionate nature of the shikome and the rather intimate relationships they sometimes share (to put it delicately), but really they’re not much different from any other young women of their age.
First off, I discovered that my dear cannibalistic Sophie really, really hates Tabby. She and a number of the others also hate Robin, but that’s mostly because Tabby dotes on her so much. Robin is worried about Sophie’s antipathy, so I agreed to talk to Sophie about it and find out what the deal is. Personally, I’m worried that the other shikome might decide to do something rather drastic to Robin out of jealousy over Tabby’s attentions, and I’m going to find a way to remedy that. It doesn’t help that the others are jealous over the fact that Tabby sometimes shares Echo and my bed.
To be honest, I don’t think Sophie really hates Tabby. I think she’s in love with her, but since Tabby blatantly ignores Sophie, Sophie has responded with hatred toward both Tabby and Robin. It’s not quite that simple, of course. She’s also angry about the way Tabby treated Audrey at first, and upset that Audrey and Tabby eventually became good friends. And she’s upset over the heavily abusive way that Tabby treats Kaori. Basically, Sophie actually cares a lot about her friends, and hates seeing them abused or used by others…in this case Tabby.
I think Sophie’s also felt a little neglected lately. As busy as I’ve been with Echo and Rose, I’m not surprised. I promised to take her out clubbing as soon as we get back to Boston, just the two of us. She was excited about that, and I’m looking forward to it too. Sophie is one of my favorites, after all. Maybe I can find a way to give her a special treat…like some street crime lowlife to eat. It should be too hard for the two of us to attract a mugger or rapist for her to kill and devour. ^_^
Anyway, I’m pretty upset by Tabby’s treatment of Kaori, especially now that I know how bad it is. I know Tabby is very fond of Kaori, but apparently she expresses it in a physically and sexually abusive manner. Part of the problem is that Kaori wants the attention from Tabby. But it has to stop. I had no idea it was as bad as it was until I talked to Robin and Sophie.
Fortunately, Sophie isn’t completely neglected. Audrey is quite fond of both her and Steph and spends a lot of time and attention on them. Sophie likes Audrey a lot as well. She actually thinks Audrey should be in charge of the shikome. And she has a point. Audrey has a much less emotional approach to things and the social skills to make others do what she wants. She really would be a much better leader for the shikome than Tabby. But Sophie’s worried about Audrey. She feels that Audrey has a sort of self-destructive outlook and thinks Audrey’s trying to punish herself for all the evil things she did in the past. Instead of seeing her life as a shikome as a new start with a clean slate, she sees it as a chance to pay for her crimes.
I haven’t talked to Tabby yet because I didn’t want to upset the joy of her engagement, but I will within the next day or so. I did talk to Audrey about all of this, and she more or less confirmed what the others said. And I think Sophie’s right. She is trying to absolve the guilt she feels over her past, but I don’t think she’s going about it in a healthy way. *sigh* I tried to convince her that her past was behind her and that she was free to make a new start, but I don’t think she’s really willing to accept that yet. Her outlook is still very selfish, in a way, just selfish in a different way than it once was. Maybe some day she’ll come around. And in the mean time, she needs to learn that she’s responsible for more than just herself. It’s yet another reason to try and give her more control over the other shikome.
As I said, I need to get Tabby’s side of things, though I know the others have been honest with me (being able to detect lies is pretty useful). But I think I’m going to have to find a way to prevent Tabby from lording her privileges over the others while allowing Audrey to assert more control. But don’t worry; Tabby’s marriage to Robin might give me the perfect angle on this too. I’ll convince Tabby that she needs to devote her attention to her wife now, and should stop exploiting her authority over the other shikome. In fact, I’m going to convince Tabby that I need her at my side (along with Robin) more than I need her commanding the other shikome. If she’s going to be my bodyguard and aide, then I need someone else to take over some of her duties…namely managing the other shikome. And I’ll leave that to Audrey. ^_^ The trick will be convincing Tabby to accept this without feeling that she’s being slighted.
You know, one other thing that my discussion with Audrey revealed, though, is that the lesbian tendency of the shikome is apparently a part of the taint itself. I mean, sure, partly it’s because they’re so voraciously passionate and surrounded by other women most of the time, but there’s more to it than that. It seems to be a function of the shikome desire to reproduce. They can only create more shikome by biting other women, and so it is to women that they are attracted. Audrey’s not completely happy about that because she doesn’t feel the same desire for men that she once did. Honestly, she’s still as attracted to men as most other women are, which says something about how much she was attracted to men as a form of approval before she became a shikome. *yikes* That annoys her, but at least it explains a lot of my girls’ behavior. I should discuss it with Adam. He’d likely find it interesting…for a few moments before his mind moves on to something else, that is. ^_^
Anyway, as soon as we receive the letter of introduction from my mother, we’ll be on our way. I suppose I’ll write again after we’ve retrieved the second eye.