earth_367 | Under the Moonlight

AN UNWELCOME VISITOR

Despite her intense fascination with the team's marks and the magical forces woven through them, it's been some time since Margali Szardos darkened the door of the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning.

So, perhaps, they should've predicted her eventual return.

On Wednesday evening, when the sky is finally dark and the full moon hangs high overhead, a powerful spell falls over the Institute. Within minutes, every resident falls into a deep, magically-induced slumber. Even those that normally can't sleep or don't require sleep, even those with potent magic of their own, fall under the sorceress' thrall. None of them stir until just after midnight, when they awaken to the sound of someone screaming. Emma Frost is the first person to follow the voice and finds Ambrose in hysterics. It doesn't take long to understand why: the broken mirror, the physical manifestation of the Siege Perilous, is gone. Not long after [Character B] calls Blue Team and Gold Team together to assess the situation...only to realize that Kurt Wagner is gone too. Like the mirror, he has disappeared without a trace.

All signs point to the involvement of Margali.

The teams quickly begin trying to figure out next steps with the aid of Ambrose, though the man is obviously under physical and mental strain with the mirror out of reach. Scott Summers remembers that he has Jimaine Szardos' phone number (looks like she was right about him needing it, after all) and contacts her as well. Alarmed by everything he has to tell her, the sorceress-in-training rushes to their aid. Through this collaboration, Margali's path begins to come into focus...

AN UNWELCOME SURPRISE

Unfortunately, just as Jimaine, Ambrose, and Illyana Rasputin have locked onto Margali's path and are on the verge of finding a way to pursue her, there's more screaming. This time, coming from the students upstairs, who have spotted enormous, monstrous worms burrowing up all around the Institute's grounds. These are the creatures that followed Margali's arrival several months ago, having grown to what they are now after months buried beneath the earth.

Immediately, the worms attack Manuel de la Rocha and [Character D], who had stepped out for a breather, and begin trying to break their way into the mansion. The pincers around their mouths are massive and slathered with caustic venom. Their bodies are large enough to act like a battering ram against doors and windows. They're quicker than they have any right to be. The team jumps into action, fighting off the threat and keeping the students out of harms' way, though some do their best to jump into the fray.

By the time the worms are handled, it's almost 2AM and the trail is fading. They need to act quickly.

AN UNWELCOME INCURSION

With the immediate threat handled, Margali's destination is finally pinpointed: a small pocket dimension crafted from her own will and magic. Ambrose, increasingly weakened by the absence of the mirror and whatever Margali is doing with his other half, opts to stay behind and warns the teams that his protections over them may begin to falter. They may feel the connections to their other selves more acutely, like before. Just...something to keep in mind.

With Ambrose sidelined, it's Jimaine Szardos that guides the way. With her help, Illyana is able to teleport all of them directly into the pocket dimension. Once there, they find themselves in a disorienting dreamscape of moonlight and shadow. The air is cold and misty. The ground is covered in gnarled vines and blooming moonflowers. Visibly shaken by the dark and the uncanny magic, Jimaine urges them to stay together. She would not want to lose any of them in this place.

Moving forward, the team soon finds Kurt Wagner, still in a deep sleep and seemingly in the throes of a terrible nightmare, with a hulking shadow looming over him. The shadow is monstrous and almost invisible in the darkness but bears strange similarities to Nightcrawler, with large golden eyes, three-fingered hands, and whipping tail. Jimaine asserts that the shadow is connected to him somehow...but that doesn't stop it from attacking when they attempt to get close. Worse, they quickly discover that harming it seems to harm their still-unconscious leader. Delving into the minds of Kurt and the shadow, Emma Frost is able to determine that the creature is a manifestation of Kurt's guilt over the death of Stephan (his adopted brother and Margali's son). This is a punishment.

Armed with this knowledge, Scott Summers and a tearful Jimaine manage to talk the creature down instead. It dwindles with each reassurance and reminder of who he is, eventually disappearing and allowing Kurt to wake up. While shaken, he rejoins them, and the teams keep moving, passing through the flowers and onto a winding path.

Eventually, the path brings them to Margali. They find her standing in front of the Siege Perilous and attempting to reassemble it with powerful magic. Each shard that she fits back into place unleashes a wild burst of magic that she absorbs into herself. The look in her eyes is ravenous. Jimaine yells for her to stop and the two have a brief back and forth, during which Margali reveals her intentions: if she can unlock the power of the Siege Perilous, if she can become the judge, she won't need the Otherworld. She'll have all the magic she needs to do anything she wants, including moving between realities. Jimaine protests that she'll be trapped, but this doesn't seem to sway her. Having heard enough, Anna Marie LeBeau attacks and the situation quickly devolves into all out combat.

The battle is a difficult one. Margali's magic is empowered but uncontrolled, causing unpredictable chaos as she fights with the force of elements, attempts to turn their senses against them, and distorts the dimension around them. Eventually, though, the teams bring her down and Remy LeBeau breaks her staff in half, further reducing her power. This seems to leave the pocket dimension unstable and they quickly flee, bringing the Siege Perilous with them. Unfortunately, Margali does not reappear in the real world them, having managed to slip away, much to the chagrin of everyone. Even Jimaine.

In the days that follow, Ambrose gradually recovers his strength and spends a lot of time examining what Margali did to the mirror. Unfortunately, he was correct and until his strength returns, the marked members of the X-Men may experience the influence of their alternate reality selves.

...His bad.

He does apologize for the inconvenience and express his gratitude for the return of the mirror, at least.

AN UNWELCOME VISITOR ⮾ AN UNWELCOME SURPRISE ⮾ AN UNWELCOME INCURSION ⮾ AFTERMATH⮾ OOC

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Where was your character when Margali's sleep spell fell over the school ~9PM? What were they doing? Who were they with? Did anything unfortunate happen as a result? Did they have any weird dreams?

Edited (For the sake of the plot's narrative, let's assume nothing catastrophic happened...) Date: 2025-06-12 09:15 pm (UTC)

Emma fell asleep painting her toenails in her room and made a mess :( She had a dream about Oscar Philip Flushing being a cowboy with little kitty chaps and a cowboy hat. He was very bad at his job (cattle rustling).

The full moon's still shining on the real world when they're spit back out into it. It takes Rogue only a moment to ascertain the totality of their situation. Margali didn't come with them. The pocket dimension is, probably, closed and inaccessible. Kurt's back safe, and they'd taken the Siege Perilous. So there was success, tonight. Still. Her initial impulse is to punch again. She finds a nearby tree, and mimes the same swing she'd thrown at Margali's face. It doesn't hurt, but some leaves fall off, which still seems to add insult to the situation.

Paige is shaking off the last of a shed when she sees Rogue punching a tree. She understands, even without having the exact same investment in the situation, and makes her way over to her team lead with a little frown. There's always some amount of deference to the way she interacts with her older teammates, but a lot of that goes out the window when they're upset.

"Hey. It's... Need to vent?" Rogue doesn't seem like she'd want a pep talk about how everything will turn out fine right now.

Rogue starts a little at being caught. She grins, automatically appearing cheerful and easy, because Paige shouldn't have to worry about her reaction to this situation.

"Oh...no, darlin'. Thank you. Greenery around here's pretty and I don't think I should subject it to anymore venting. How are you?"

AFTERMATH: Rogue & Paige

shake_it_off Paige Guthrie 🌻 Husk - Date: 2025-06-15 02:05 am (UTC) - Expand

AFTERMATH: Rogue & Paige

glovedup rogue - Date: 2025-06-15 03:11 am (UTC) - Expand

AFTERMATH: Rogue & Paige

shake_it_off Paige Guthrie 🌻 Husk - Date: 2025-06-15 07:40 pm (UTC) - Expand

AFTERMATH: Rogue & Paige

glovedup rogue - Date: 2025-06-17 01:16 am (UTC) - Expand

AFTERMATH: Rogue & Paige

shake_it_off Paige Guthrie 🌻 Husk - Date: 2025-06-17 02:19 am (UTC) - Expand

AFTERMATH: Rogue & Paige

glovedup rogue - Date: 2025-06-19 12:26 am (UTC) - Expand

AFTERMATH: Rogue & Paige

shake_it_off Paige Guthrie 🌻 Husk - Date: 2025-06-19 01:28 am (UTC) - Expand

Manuel can't dull his empathic awareness, but the keen focus that he's had on Kurt ever since returning from Margali's grim little hellscape has been intentional. Invasive, perhaps. But warranted, he thinks, given what his friend has been through. Being abducted. Being trapped in a purgatory of nightmares, reliving one of the worst experiences of his life. Being forced to confront all of that in front of his teammates and then having to fight off that vindictive witch he'd once called 'mother'. It would be a lot for anyone. And, based on the tangle of pain and guilt and anger radiating from the room just down hall from his own...Kurt is still trying to process it all.

He's been keeping tabs on him while others have come and gone, some staying to talk and some just coming to check in throughout what remains of the night. It's just after dawn when the empath finally makes his way to Kurt's room after a stop at the front door to accept a delivery from a truly perplexed bakery employee. Hopefully, Emma will forgive him for tossing around her name at their favorite local bakery to call in a favor. Balancing paper cups of hot chocolate and a bakery bag, he quietly knocks.

"Mi amigo. I know you are still awake. May I come in?"

Edited (RIP to the bakery Emma has a speed dial.) Date: 2025-06-13 03:25 am (UTC)

Kurt is staring at the ceiling as the television in his room plays the familiar intro to Captain Blood, starring Errol Flynn, 1935 (x). He's not a musician, but he has every note of this opening medley memorized. When he was a child, he watched this movie on repeat. It was one of a handful of tapes they owned. Stefan would complain, insisting they put on something that wasn't old as dirt. Margali had always told Stefan to wait his turn.

He jerks back into reality at that knock, sitting up so fast he feels a little dizzy. He's not quite himself yet, but that familiar voice eases him back to earth. He's surprised, and yet not surprised at all.

"You don't even need to ask, Manuel."

"Ah, sí. But unlike some people in this house, I have manners," Manuel returns wryly as he carefully opens the door and slips inside, "So I always will. And I come bearing gifts." He holds up the bag so Kurt can see the bakery's logo, closes the door again with his hip, and crosses the room to sit on the edge of his friend's bed.

While this is all delivered, performed, with casual ease, the empath's senses are attentive and focused on Kurt. His gray eyes flit briefly toward the black and white film playing on the television, then back again. He's never actually watched it himself, but he recognizes it. One of the classic swashbuckling adventures that his friend has always been drawn to. Stories in which dramatic flair and heroism and romance always win the day despite overwhelming odds. It's escapism, of course. But everyone is entitled to that.

"...I thought you might want some company. Beyond Señor Flynn, of course."

He sets the bag on the bed between them and offers one of the cups to Kurt.

AFTERMATH: Kurt & Manuel (Thursday Morning)

blauerdamon kurt wagner ⚔️ nightcrawler - Date: 2025-06-14 03:40 am (UTC) - Expand

AFTERMATH: Kurt & Manuel (Thursday Morning)

empata Manuel de la Rocha (Empath) - Date: 2025-06-14 04:46 am (UTC) - Expand

AFTERMATH: Kurt & Manuel (Thursday Morning)

blauerdamon kurt wagner ⚔️ nightcrawler - Date: 2025-06-14 05:08 am (UTC) - Expand

AFTERMATH: Kurt & Manuel (Thursday Morning)

empata Manuel de la Rocha (Empath) - Date: 2025-06-14 09:20 pm (UTC) - Expand

AFTERMATH: Kurt & Manuel (Thursday Morning)

blauerdamon kurt wagner ⚔️ nightcrawler - Date: 2025-06-16 04:03 am (UTC) - Expand

AFTERMATH: Kurt & Manuel (Thursday Morning)

empata Manuel de la Rocha (Empath) - Date: 2025-06-17 12:40 am (UTC) - Expand

AFTERMATH: Kurt & Manuel (Thursday Morning)

blauerdamon kurt wagner ⚔️ nightcrawler - Date: 2025-06-18 02:59 am (UTC) - Expand

There's a lot Kitty doesn't understand about magic. Most things, actually. Her mind is more attuned to facts, figures, concrete things she can pore over and erase. So this whole thing's been kind of a challenge to wrap her brain around. But she, hovering around Illyana's door, isn't looking for those answers. She just saw that the newest Blue Team member looked out of sorts and retreated immediately. This warrants her very first unrequested room invasion, Kitty thinks.

She doesn't go through the door right away, just sticks her arm through and waves, which is honestly very restrained and kind of her, but really, it's testing for any spells that would render her immobile or worse.

Jono doesn't know where he is. The building around him is calm and quiet compared to the raucous arenas and crowded underground cells of Mojoworld that've been his home for most of his life. So much is unfamiliar, bringing back distant memories of his childhood in the United Kingdoms (or something like that?) and filling him to the brim with uncertain curiosity. He stops as he passes a large window, all but pressing his face against the glass as he looks out on the acres of sunlit greenery and the expansive blue sky.

It's beautiful.

He touches his hand to the glass for a moment, transfixed, before his mind slips back into place. Everything is normal again. Familiar again. Unexceptional again. He doesn't know how he could've thought that it was anything else and in a moment he's forgotten that he ever had. He straightens, briefly touching a hand to the side of his head and turning his eyes from the glaring brightness of the sun.

He's felt off all morning in a way he can't put his finger on, unable to focus and mentally drifting. He can't even remember what he's doing here or why he'd left his room.

Edited Date: 2025-06-14 09:51 pm (UTC)

When Emma happens upon Jono, he's looking out the window. She's not really sure what to make of it — the way he holds himself, presses his face forward, hand to glass, is unfamiliar even though she doesn't know him that well. And, because she'd said she wouldn't, she's trying to mostly stay out of his mind. So with no additional information and no reason to be concerned enough to break her promise she just watches, silent, until he seems to come back to himself. Her lips pull into a tight frown after a moment. She can guess what this is.

"Are you feeling alright, Jono?"

An X-Men GPSL (IC)

Under the Moonlight

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