Chapter 21: A Roman Holiday

[††Venice "Cephrien" Ashgrove††]

It wouldn't be very safe to stay in Helsinki anymore.. and going back to his hotel room would probably be a bad idea as well.. that would just be a perfect recipe for trouble. But where was he to go? As it stood, going back to Violette wouldn't be very smart either on the chance that he may accidently blow her cover. He would need to wait for things to cool down before he could see her again..

He moved down the street, making sure to stay along the sidewalk as it got dark. He didn't feel like running into anymore Invisible Hand members. Come to think of it.. didn't Sidapa nab someone earlier..? A woman. She didn't look like she would last very long in the Temple of Terror. The Temple was located in Rome..

"Rome.." He whispered to himself.

That flower woman's shop was in Rome.. Yes. That would be a fine hiding spot.

Eventually, Cephrien reached an undamaged teleportation booth and punched in the coordinates for Rome. He would teleport by the flower shop and let himself in. Maybe he could just stay in that Green House she kept all the flowers in.

Within seconds, he appeared in Rome in a flash and immediately began his brief walk to Ophelia's Flowershop. Without stopping, he phased through a shadow and got inside without any trouble. He stopped and looked around the inside of the shop, noticing that no one was here.

That was fine too.

[Archer Aylmer]

I follow Bonifaz to the door and stand a few feet behind him, gazing blankly at the group of Socialists. I know Bonifaz doesn't like Armin, and well, I don't like most anyone really. So having a group of strangers just drop by isn't exactly my idea of a good time. Also, it's strange to have to interact with the people you were only moments ago discussing giving a terrible disease to. I remain silent and detached. It's Bonifaz's house, and ultimately better to let him handle this however he sees fit.

[Horacio Hatfield]

Horacio feels comforted by Ophelia and a little less afraid of the city. He does see how the whole city is geared up for the holy week. There is more activity than there normally would be, he assumes. They walk together to the flower shop, and Horacio remains silent. He feels afraid to talk too much, and as she said, do as the Romans do. Well, it seems they are keeping to themselves, not talking, and just going about their business. After a while, they finally arrive at the flower shop and finally, Horacio feels ready to talk.

"I can say....I am so glad to finally be here." He says with great relief. He notices Cephrien is at the shop as well.

"Ah, hello. I see you have come to Rome as well. Well, good day.." He says to the demon.

[Tristan Tuzanic]

Tristan saw the orders to catch the rebels in Helsinki, but since he had a visitation with his son, we was not able to assist this time. After the visitation, he attends some of the ceremonies and speeches in Rome. The whole thing annoys him. He hates going to ceremonies and all of the extra crap he has to do this week. But, he is looking forward to the gladiator fight. There is something about watching the poor prisoners fight to death that excites him. He won't admit it though. For now, he walks through the streets of Rome, looking for any sign of trouble, and taking in some of the celebrations.

[Armin Lehrer]

Armin steps up to the door when Bonifaz answers. He notices Archer behind him and gives him a nod. "Hey fellas. I was wondering if we could stay here for a while. You see, we sort of got attacked in Helsinki by the Invisible Hand and need a safe place to stay. I got shot in the arm...so, I kind of...need at least some anti biotics. I thought, maybe you could help us out....we wouldn't get in your way, and we could even do chores or things to compensate for the trouble." Armin says to his brother. He offers a friendly smile and shrugs his shoulders.
"What do you say?"

[Sidapa Amparo]

Sidapa returns to the house in Helsinki, but when he arrives, it is empty. There is no sign of Darian and anyone. He searches the house but there is nothing and no one. He feels he is too late.
He goes outside and notices the broken teleportation booth. He figures maybe the rebels were able to escape. But...what happened to Darian.

In his search of the area, he notices Lucio. He quickly gets behind the lilac bushes and waits for him. Once Lucio is near, he jumps out from the bushes and puts a knife to his neck.
"You....where are the others?" Sidapa asks. He pulls Lucio into the lilacs so they are out of public view.

[Li Violette]

"I will be sure to look it over." I reply to him in my mind. With everything that it meant to be secret out of the way, I decide to start talking out loud to him. After our silent, mental conversation, I find it is actually hard to readjust to speaking.

"I must head to Rome so that I can participate in the celebrations there. I will be giving a speech later this week, but I will try to mention Genetech's contributions." I state. I nod my head and head for the door.

"Maybe I will see you in Rome."

And on that note, I leave his lab and take the nearest teleportation booth to the Highest Temple in Rome.

[Eun/Aoi Kiriyama]

"Because it felt like a second to home. I can't go to my school mainly because I was dislike...." Eun explain. "I don't want to be rude but jow come you grab my hand?"

Not many people would simply grab her hand, espically from strangers. She kinda remembers her dad gave her comfert when she was little. Same goes with her mom even though she didn't show it with the past year or so.

[Master Scrag]

The first day or so of the holy week is filled with speeches from various priests representing all of the major temples of the world. The priests vary in race, power, and style of leadership and it is one of the few times that so many High Priests are together. For most of the year, they are busy running their local temples and district of temples.

Finally, on day two, there is a ceremony, as Scrag promised. The Master appears again before a large crowd of people.

"Today, you will have something that is normally restricted to the everyday people of the world. But, this is a holy week and there is cause for celebration. In this time of celebration, we will extend to you one of the great gifts of Father Manala. A gift that came from God to enhance our senses and spirits."

As the Master speaks, priests and other religious workers pass out a single red leaf to every single member of the crowd. This is something rate indeed, since only priests are allowed to use Red Leaf.

"Take this, the gift of Father Manala. Chew the leaf so that it will release its powers into your body and that you might have higher understanding of your great purpose in the pursuit of perfection."

When everyone has taken their leaves and put them in their mouth, The Master reveals the next stage of the ceremony: human sacrifice.

Near him, on the balcony, three women are brought out. They have brown bags on their heads made of sackcloth, and their hands and feet are tied.

"Father Manala is a violent god. To appease him, he wants sacrifice. When he sees suffering, he smiles. He smiles at the suffering of women. This is because women are naturally weaker than men. We must rid this world of weakness..."

A priest pulls the sacks from the heads of the women, who look somewhat terrified.

"How shall we kill them?! How shall we please our Father?" The Master calls out to the crowd.

[~Ophelia Vespera~]

"You're telling me.." Ophelia breathed, taking out the shop keys and unlocking the front door. They entered the shop and turned on the lights, illuminating the dim room. The only inhabitants Ophelia expected to find in her shop were her flowers, and upon seeing Cephrien standing in the middle of the room, she just about had a heart attack. She slammed back against the doorway like an alarmed cat, clenching her chest, while Horacio on the other hand moved forward and greeted Cephrien warmly.

Ophelia shook herself out of her stupified state and pushed away from the doorway, marching straight over to Cephrien.

"Wh-what are you doing in here?! How are you in here?!" Ophelia questioned, stopping in front of him.

The greenhouse door was still locked, so he didn't come through the back, she knew she locked the front door, the windows did not open and they were not broken in. Was there some kind of entrance she didn't even know about? Did he know how to unlock doors? What kind of houdini was he?!

[Kasper Schultz]

Kasper explains the story the miners, who are still angry that he broke the teleportation booth, but at least decide not to harm them. However, it is 300 km to the nearest city and there are no miners leaving the mining community this week. Without a teleportation booth...he is on his own to get to the nearest city.
Kasper buys a used bicycle from one of the miners and sets off on bike. He brings some granola and beef jerky with him along with some water, which he knows will only last him a few days. Hopefully he finds a well or flowing steam by then. Kasper sets off on bike for his long journey to meet up with his friends again.

[haakon]

Finally the day had arrived, the day Haakon had been preparing for single mindedly. He had been warned countless times to not let it consume him, but Haakon was sure that he didn't listen and devoted himself just for this. Many of his people were just to willing to roll over and let the monkeigh continue poisoning the planet and the minds of their fellows. No matter the efforts his people did make in trying to save the planet, Haakon was convinced that it wasn't enough.

After the crowd accepted their Red Leaf, Haakon finally seemed to emerge out of thin air and made his way through the crowd toward Master Scrag. Haakon personally had no problem with seeing humans kill themselves off, but symbolicly the notion simply disgusted him as he nudged his way through the crowd ever closer. As he neared the front of the crowd, Haakon blocked out the mindless chants of the Manala drones until finally he could take it no longer. His eyes suddenly radiated an unearthly glow as the air whipped out around him, an eldritch blue energy started to rise from his body and into the air where it bent the light itself around it.

This feat surely did not go unnoticed and everyone near Haakon started to move, some began to panic moments before Haakon's body flashed with a brilliant blue light as a powerful shockwave of force was released, knocking everyone within a good several yards around him backward into piles. "Sacrificing those that give birth to your own species to please a blood thirsty deity that actually takes enjoyment in seeing others suffer? What kind of a god is that?" Haakon called up, a few temple guards rushing toward Haakon only to get plucked off the ground; a strange blue glow surrounding them moments before they were sent flying off into the distance.

"That is either extremely arrogant or extremely ignorant- how do you or your 'god' measure strength? Is this strength?" Haakon bellowed, focusing his mind onto the ground itself, causing it to glow blue like the guards moments ago before Haakon willed the ground under his feet to rise. Tearing a portion of the pavement up and levitating it up into the air. Shapening the blue glow around himself, Haakon swung his arms and flung a series of sharp, crescent shaped waves of eldritch energy hurling toward the front of the temple; crashing into the front and slicing through the black stone causing much of it to collapse.

"Your days of tyranny on this planet will come to an end!" Haakon went on, tearing off pieces off his floating platform, reattatching them together in the shape of a sharp spike made of concrete which he sent hurling toward Scrag at high speed.

[Will Bonacelli]

Will felt slightly bored since he came Rome during Holy Week. As usual, his son and daughter did not bother come because they need to watch over the temple back in Manchester and do their studies. Anyway, he was with other priests when they gave out the Red Leaf to the crowd. Will did wonder why he and other priest SHOULD pass out Red Leaf to the crowd, but he doesn't questions Master's intentions. Will sat behind Master when others took out the sacrifices when he and other Priestsheard panics and screams from rgw crowd.

"Just great..." Will mutter as he stood up.

Will quickly notice that its Haakon was causing the havoc. As soon as Haakon create a spike concrete and aim ai Scrag, Will quickly turn into his troll form and punch the concrete in pieces. The concrete did broke Will's right knuckles, but he'll live.

"Do you mind? We were having our holy week..." Will says to Haakon as he transform back to his human form.

[††Venice "Cephrien" Ashgrove††]

When the lights turn on, Ceph is standing there like a statue until he turns around to stare at Ophelia and Horacio. His red eyes flash for a second before he casually raised a hand to return a greeting towards Horacio. "Yo." was his simple and flat reply. Horacio's physical deformity didn't seem to bother Cephrien at the slightest. He glanced at Ophelia with the same, emotionless expression that he always wore and put his hand down.

"After that ordeal in Helsinki, I'll be needing a place to lay low for awhile." He says.

He isn't asking, he's pretty much telling her that he'll be using her Flower Shop as a temporary hideout.

"-Hope you don't mind."

[haakon]

Haakon doesn't change his facial features, not revealing whether or not he was annoyed by Will's interference or pleased that it wouldn't be that easy to destroy the Manalists' master. "How does it feel to be a slave, troll?" Haakon inquires simply, folding the essence of his mind on his makeshift platform. Making it crumble and fall apart leaving Haakon to levitate himself; rearranging the pieces of the platform so they they too become incredibly sharp pieces of rock. Without even a movement of his hands, Haakon wills them to hurl themselves down at Scrag and the others.

Haakon follows up by igniting his aura, the blueish flames rising high into the air as Haakon guided it with his mind; sending a giant wave of the radiant, blue, unearthly flames hurling down at the Manalist priests below him. Not actually fire, the blue flames had the same burning properties, but with Haakon's mind to give them strength, the heat from the flames started melting the pavement at their feet.