2013.07.14 - Burnination

Kurt's been gone several days, now. If Amanda's worried about him -- and somewhere in the back of her mind, she always is -- she gives no sign of it now. Indeed, at the moment, she stands in the middle of the ruined stage of the old Majestic Theatre and looks around at the piles of rubble and the work that still needs to be done on the place.
"This is ridiculous!" she growls, her hands coming to set firmly on her hips. "We are never going to get this place cleaned out properly in our lifetimes, at this rate."
She glances over to TJ, her lips pressing together, though the corners of them curl up somewhat. "You up for a bonfire, tonight?"
TJ's gone through so many pair of welder's gloves that she's gotten to be fairly handy with a needle and thread. She's also scrubbed her hands clean so frequently that her fine blue fur is probably starting to look a little bleached out. Nasty doesn't begin to describe it.
Now, hunched upon the stage in typical gargoyle fashion with a look of utter dismay about her, she thinks. And ponders. And listens.
That the stage is completely ruined is partly her own fault. (Okay, maybe a lot her fault for dropping the ceiling on top of it.) It was a legitimate strategy, but having to clean up after it? Slightly less awesome.
To Amanda's inquiry the first heart-felt grin to cross TJ's face in days slowly begins to blossom.
"They had this one show on TV... Ever hear of 'Extreme Home Makeover?' He even left all on his own, that's half of the work right there!"
He's going to hate them both, but which two ladies are left behind to clean up this landfill while he gets to play on an exotic remote island?
Amanda flashes TJ a real grin, her blue eyes sparkling. "I love that show," she admits. Her guilty pleasure. Go figure?
And the blue woman's right. Kurt's gone. That's half... if not three-quarters of the battle done right there. (Because, were he here, the battle would be much, much fiercer.)
The witch smacks her palms together, dusting them off against one another. "Right," she says decisively. "It's time for a little magic."
She walks slowly around the hole in the stage floor, considering how best to do this. A bit of slime mold can be seen trying to inch its way around the bottom lip of the pit. She swears in German and blasts it off with a magic bolt. The moulds have been the one creature type in this gods forsaken place that simply will not die easily. They need to be burned out. And she's just the woman to do it.
"I'm going to need a full casting circle," she tells the girl. "Eldritch flame will burn away most of this crap -- the magical refuse, anyway. But, if I'm going to save the building at all, I'll need a whole lot more control over it than spouting off the cuff."
She turns herself in a small circle. "That's going to require some spell components, too." Ingredients. Yum!
She smiles at the young woman she by now considers a friend. "You up for this? Your Dad will likely be very, very pissed with me, once he sees it."
A few thoughts quickly enter TJ's mind with the idea now taking root between the two. The first is perhaps the most important one of all: "You sure you can do this?"
Confidence. She's feeling some confident vibes coming from the magic-user's corner of the stage. This is good. This is very definitely good.
"I feel like the Mary Poppins song should be starting about now..." she mutters aloud.
The mold..doesn't stand a chance. At almost the same instant she launches a hex bolt at the offending thing, calling out "Back, vile creature! Back, I say!"
Shudder.
The next question that comes to her mind originates with a thoughtful look toward the other woman. "This theatre is yours, right..? And you'll let me stay here?" Nod. "Yeah, I'm up for it. Tell me what I can get for ya. The marshmallows are a given."
Amanda laughs lightly. "Yeah. It's mine." It took a little bit of hypnotic whammying of some city officials and a bit of a magical deed search, but she managed to square it away. The place is hers, now. How she'll afford property taxes on it is a problem for another day. Currently, the challenge is just getting it cleaned out enough that it can be renovated and brought back up to code.
She looks around, particularly up at the hole in the ceiling where the moonlight filters through. "This is as good a spot as any," she tells her friend. "If anything goes wrong," and no, she seriously doubts it will, but there's a lot of magic in this place, so you never know, "we've got a quick out." Yes, she thinks about these sorts of things regularly.
She considers what materials are available. "Okay," she says, looking in her satchel. "I have chalk and some salt. I'm going to need some items that are representative of this place and speak to each of the five senses..."
TJ is quick to look relieved, breathing a silent 'Oh good' when it's fully confirmed that the property itself is taken care of.
That still doesn't excuse them from literally burning the place to ashes, but that's not one of their many problems yet.
A moment later and she's also looking skyward, doing so with another thin grin. "Don't know about you but I kinda like the natural lighting that provides." She improved the place, really she did. The bill's in the mail. Next up: Ejection seats. Or would that be an ejection stage?
Now that would be a hoot to watch. Curtain calls, a thing of the past. Paratrooping actors, the new hotness.
"Okay, wait right there," she says in protest with a hand held up and everything. "Things that speak to the five senses? Not it on finding 'taste.' Smell..I think anything here would do just fine for that, or do we need to narrow it down to the worst offenders for each category?"
Pause.
"How do we find the worst sounding one..? My god, you must be a real winner at Easter parties."
Again, Amanda chuckles. "Think symbolic, rather than literal," she suggest. Yeah, some can be literal, but yeah. Some of those are tough.
She considers what's here. "Grab a piece of the building with some stained parts to it." There's lots to choose from. "Find some charcoal out of what's already burned." Because she certainly already lit fires in here on the stage during the battle. There's no question about that.
She pulls a small phial out of her satchel. "Here. Hold this upside down over that refuse pit down in the carpentry shop and cork it." That would be the living mound they destroyed. God knows it stinks.
Meanwhile, she'll try and snag some of the other stuff they need.
"Well, this greatly simplifies things," TJ says in her usual springy, upbeat attitude. A stained piece of building's a no-brainer, "Have you seen the bathrooms in this place? Got it covered." Charcoal, simple. Check. Phial and fume-trappings, easy. (She won't even have to touch anything icky for that one!)
The girl snaps off a ramrod-stiff salute, turns, and--
-Foomp!-
Crash!
"I'm okay, I'm okay..! That's an odd place to put a chair--Hey! Charcoal."
She opts to walk the rest of the way, soon peeling the single foulest hunk of tile off of the bathroom wall that she can find, and not have to go spelunking for. "This might have been white in a former life... Or an alternate timeline. And I would know! Or one of me would. Maybe."
Down to the shop, and "Whoa..! Man! You never get used to that smell, do you." Holding the phial in place seems like it's missing something. It's not like she can see it collecting any of the odor. After a little consideration she 'dips' the phial mouth-first down toward the pit then fans her other hand toward it as if herding the stink inside before quickly capping it off.
Then getting the heck out of there.
"Here, these oughta knock the socks off of this place."
Amanda startles at the sound of the crash. Then, however, TJ's calling out her reassurance and the sorceress laughs. "Hey! Don't kill yourself over this. Or your father really will kill me." It's funny to call Kurt TJ's father, on some level, even now, since they all know he's not the girl's real father. But, somehow, it still fits.
While the Blue Foomper is off collecting those bits and pieces, however, Amanda fishes an old light bulb from a ruined footlight and a ruined buzzer button from the backstage stage management position.
She then sets about clearing a sufficiently large area wherein she can begin to chalk out her casting circle.
"Figured I'd save Dad the trouble!" Of killing TJ, that is.
Yeah, he's not escaping the 'father' badge so long as she's around. He can try. It just isn't going to happen. She's been through this too many times. Heck, even Kurt's been through it a time or two before she showed up! This version of her.
Maybe she should write The Multiverse for Dummies one of these days, practically need a flowchart and a scorecard to keep up anymore.
An expert on magic TJ is not. Still, she gathers that when someone else is drawing out a circle, you don't cross that line. Not unless you're supposed to. She probably will be invited through before things get started (maybe?) but she can be patient in the meantime.
"Kinda glad we took pictures a while back, the before and after evidence should help him chill out when he gets back. Hey, maybe we should get him a bunch of that German beer he's so fond of before we tell him?"
Tipsy Bamfer. It works in the movies!
"Oh, yes," Amanda agrees with TJ. "And Copenhagen ice cream." Because sometimes the simplest offerings are best. She pauses in her etching and beckons the girl inside the yet open circle. Once TJ is within its confines, Amanda closes it. If the girl's at all sensitive to magic, she might feel a soft metaphysical 'click' as the invisible power of her will causes it to close.
She then sets about laying out the various materials she's gathered at regular intervals along the inside edge of the circle. She smiles to TJ and indicates she should do the same. "These pieces will function as both a representation of what needs to be burnt, and a representation of what needs to be left intact." Sounds conflicting? Yes. "I don't actually want to burn away the whole building. I want to burn away the darkness and bad magic. The good stuff -- if there's any left -- we can use to help with the rebuilding."
Theoretically.
"We'll be safer inside the circle than anywhere else, however. I expect the fire to get fairly intense before it's finished consuming the garbage."
Beckon, and TJ shall approach. It might seem curious that she's not sensitive to magic, despite both of her parents having some manner of connection to such energy or another. She took away a lot of winning cards from their union, yet some of their tricks still managed to slip by.
That's cool with her, though. The two people she spends the most of her time with are both tuned into that sorta stuff. She doesn't have to be! Power delegation.
Once inside the circle she spreads out her 'offerings of sacrifice' then hunkers down once more, both feet and one hand pressed flat to the floor. In case the stage tries to eject her, or something.
With the description in mind she cants her head to one side, peering back to the other woman with those solid eyes she's probably so unbelievably familiar with seeing by now, between the lot of Wagners in her life.
"Sounds kinda like doing brain surgery with a hedge trimmer. Hey..this might be a really stupid question, but bear with me for a second. This building exists on something of a focal point for magical energy, right? I'm sure it existed for a long time before all of this gunk came in and took over. Do you think there might be any chance of any good energy being left, or even nearby? Maybe if you could find some of that, help encourage this place to go back to how it used to be... Former glory, and all. Remind it of what it used to be?"
She's seen stranger things happen.
"The nexus itself is actually neutral," Amanda tells TJ. However, the question is a good one. "But, you're right. There's a lot of evil, here, but there's good lingering, too. It's just in a smaller amount."
She considers the girl's idea. Her nose wrinkles faintly. "I may be able to effect a state-change. Restore the place at least somewhat. It'll depend on how easy it is to tap into the nexus energies... and that will depend on how much energy I need just to control the fire."
She gives a wry smile. "There's a lot of crap here."
Like TJ needs to be told that? The pile of dead welding gloves speaks for itself.
She crouches and starts to draw symbols between the offerings, and then another circle closer around just the two of them.
"You'll need to keep your tail tucked," she notes. "At least, don't let it breach the circle, if you can, please. Otherwise, you may find it gets a little crispy."
"Oh..." TJ starts in before catching herself, reconsidering, then adding "Nature's all about balance. If this place is neutral, wouldn't it want to be neutral?"
That's as much as she's got to offer, which is a good thing in itself or they may never get started with this.
A lot of crap. Yeah, her expression of the moment is in full agreement there.
"You would know, girl. Hit the ignition and let's see what happens from there."
Tail... "Oh yeah! Sorry. Thing has a mind of its own sometimes," she offers with a sheepish grin while drawing it around and going so far as to lightly stand on it, just in case. Crispy tails make for unhappy Wagners. Like that one time she almost got her real dad's spade caught in the toaster. Man, was he pissed.
"Alright, Amanda. Stage is yours! I'm here for ya." Physically, at the very least.
"Neutral sites can be balanced for good or evil," Amanda says, giving TJ a smile. "The only reason the nexus hasn't been completely claimed for evil is, I think, because there was no coherent effort made to solidify any sort of hold here. It was nothing more than an open door and whatever happened to walk by crossed over -- good and evil alike. But, I think, if something a little more sentient than what we faced had decided to set up permanent shop, we'd be in a lot more trouble."
It also, perhaps, explains why she's secured the property for herself. Because under her control she can influence the disposition nexus energies. At least, she hopes she can.
Once she sets the last of the circle energies in place, however, she gives the girl a grin. "You got it, Teej. Let's do this..."
She then begins to chant softly, her hands making small gestures as she does, indicating the various bits and pieces surrounding them. The magic is subtle at first. No huge whoosh of fire. Merely a bit of a spark here and there.
But, as Amanda's eyes begin to glow green with power, the sparks begin to scatter. They float off the edge of the outermost circle and fall onto piles of refuse and other material. Slowly, those piles begin to smoulder. Shortly, small tongues of flame lick up in shades of green and violet. The flame begins to spread and gain power.
Amanda breathes out, spreading her hands and blowing the air out between her lips as if she were fanning a small fire. The result is a powerful gust of air that swirls around them and rolls out of the circle, fanning the flames so that they quickly leap up the walls and spread throughout the entire building.
Once more TJ looks thoughtful, dipping her head in understanding. "You know, that makes sense. Not neutral out of desire so much as that nothing's tried to lay claims to it any sooner. So what we have here isn't a concentrated effort so much as ..evil run-off. Kinda like the crap that builds up in gutters." Another pause, another nod. "Yep. Fire's the answer. My Dad's a twit."
Grin.
In her mind, it's kinda like the Fourth of July display. It starts out nice and easy, gives the audience a chance to remember what they're in for, then it ramps up for the finale. Anything worth doing right is worth taking the time for, and really she'd prefer it take a little bit of time so nothing gets screwed up along the way. This is a little more involved than programming the TiVo.
The glowing eyes is pretty cool, TJ suddenly struggling to keep herself from laughing and voicing her thoughts. 'Now you've got eyes like the rest of us!'
Then it gets a little creepy. It's fire, but not as she knows it. The coloration's all wrong, yet she can't shake the feeling of being ..well, stuck in the middle of a burning building. She didn't think this part through before diving in.
Once the flames take hold she makes a show of rubbing her palms together and making like she's holding them toward a campfire, though on the inside she's ever so nervous. Open ceiling, newfound powers of teleportation. She'll be alright.
"Well, it certainly is a pretty fire..."
If Amanda weren't so focused on controlling her spell, she'd laugh outright at TJ. She's right. Kurt is a twit. A loveable twit, but a twit nonetheless.
As it is, however, there's a lot of fuel for that fire. So, all too quickly, they're not just standing in the midst of a burning building. They're standing in the midst of a raging inferno. A green, eldritch inferno that feeds on magic.
Fortunately, however, since it's her creation, it won't feed on Amanda's magic. Thus, the circle holds. And, indeed, within its confines, the fire can't be felt. There's no sense of excessive heat, though there is the subtle feeling of pressure, like a change air pressure on account of depth or altitude. If nothing else, it's encouragement to keep arms and legs (and tails!) inside the vehicle at all times.
The fire swirls around them, licking at the walls, burning away the mould, the slime, the grime, the blood, and shit. Old bones disintegrate and become as ash that also burns away. Soon enough, all that's left is the bare bones structure of the theatre itself. Aside from the lingering collapsed materials from the roof and other natural damage, the building is all but pristine.
Slowly, Amanda lets the fire gradual die, receding slowly into green and violet embers that, eventually, fade away.
The woman stands there for a few moments, unwavering. Finally, however, she drops her hands, resting one on TJ's shoulder for a bit of support.
Because, wow. That took energy.
She hasn't even begun to contemplate rebuilding the place, yet. That will take more energy. And a different spell with different components.
Meanwhile, TJ's mind is trying to come up with fun little comparisons for what she's witnessing. Like witnessing the theatre's life flashing before their eyes, but in reverse. Or a time-lapse presentation where it goes from old and decayed to new and original (and half destroyed.) It's just..just so...
"Coooool..."
This is working out tons better than she ever would have expected, which quickly begs yet another question to be answered.
Why the freaking Hell was Kurt so opposed to this idea?! The original walls are right flippin' there, man!
"The next time he yells at me to clean up my room? So calling you." The need to pop her ears is but a small price to pay for greatness. And cleanliness!
When Amanda's hand drops upon her shoulder she reaches back without looking, gently patting the top of her hand then holding it there with a slightly weird looking three-fingered one. "Constructive uses for magic in your everyday life, trick ninety four: Spiritual incineration. I swear I even detect a pine-fresh scent."
It's because Kurt is a sentimental old traditionalist who will never entirely trust magic, despite his heritage. Or maybe because of it.
But, nevermind. Amanda knows better.
She inhales a deep breath and reaches out to smudge a portion of the circle, breaking its power and providing a natural 'ear pop' as the pressure releases. "Not bad," she says with a grin. And then laughs at TJ's assertion, essentially, that magic makes a great maid. "Yeah, dream on, kid."
She turns slowly in a circle and steps out of the chalk confines. "C'mon," she says. "Let's take a quick look around before we think about rebuilding anything." Mainly because she needs to really see the place to be able to put anything coherent together for it.
Pop!
"Ow."
TJ makes a goofy face and wriggles a blunt finger in a long, tapered ear as the final pressure difference corrects itself. "I know, Fantasia..."
Just like that she's all back to idle smiles, hopping out of the circle before bringing herself fully upright beside the other woman. She, too, is looking around in admiration, thinking aloud "Hello, Majestic. Nice to finally meet you."
With the notion to have a proper look around she dips her head and falls into step alongside Amanda. She only gets a few steps in before passing the other woman a quizzical look. "Do you think he'd believe us if we told him we did this all by hand?"
Amanda laughs outright at that, now. "Not a chance in Hell."
But her blue eyes sparkle, nonetheless. "But, the way I see it, he has nothing to complain about." She flashes a grin and points to the pile of rubble in the center of the stage. "There's still lots of work for him to do." She's done the heavy lifting, as far as she can tell.
She looks about the place. Sure. It's shabby and run down. 70 years of neglect will do that to anything. But, the bones are lovely and there's definite potential.
"I think we can make something of this place, Teej. I really do..."
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