O Brother, Where Art Thou? (SSoDI-G)

[ParamountKeymaster]

Paul trudged through the hotel, eyes staring solemnly at the floor, the police officer's arm draped over his shoulder. Scott's eyelids were heavy with exhaustion, and neither he or the dragon man had made eye contact with each other since leaving the church grounds. Close behind them, Kelsey shuffled along with her hands in her pockets, clearly on edge about something as she stared anxiously at the back of Paul's head. In typical fashion, Kenny's eyes were the only things visible through his parka hood, and they were having a hard time focusing on any one thing. None of the four felt especially talkative, and with the exception of the boy in the winter coat, all of them had been pretty thoroughly soaked by the storm they got caught in on their way over.

After a quick ride on the elevator and another sluggish trek through the hallway, Paul unlocked his and Kenny's hotel room and pushed the door open unceremoniously. Once he had guided his brother inside, he looked around at the modest living room, took a breath, and finally mumbled, "It's not much, but... it's a nice enough home away from home."

"Yeah, it's... it's nice," Scott muttered, nodding as he soaked in the sight for himself. And that was pretty much all he had to say on the matter.

Following a long, awkward silence, Scott lowered his arm while Paul simply ran a hand through his damp mop of blue hair. Eventually, the latter pointed down the nearby hallway and choked out, "The bathroom's attached to my bedroom. I-If you wanna use my bed too, that's fine."

"Yeah... I think I'll need that..." Scott sighed as he started to remove his vest. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it..." Paul murmured, still staring at the floor as Scott disappeared into his room for a much-needed shower and nap.

After kicking her shoes off by the door, Kelsey hesitantly walked over to Paul, offering him a gentle nudge on the arm. "Hey... you alright?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine... It's just..." Paul bit his lip and stared at the closed door. "I don't know how to feel about him being here."

Kelsey glanced down the hall, then back up at Paul, concern and empathy evident in her eyes. "You guys... didn't part on good terms, I take it?"

"Not exactly..."

Kenny simply let out a sigh as he hung his dripping parka up on a nearby hook. He was already in the know. He didn't feel like adding to the drama. Instead, the ten-year-old turned his attention on the... ahem... other members of their party...

[DanteMGalileo]

"Ugh..." On the way over, William had gotten soaked, hair clinging to his face and perpetually fogging up his glasses. "I regret leaving my raincoat back home. If I had known it rained this hard..." Once they were inside, he walked out from under Jordan's cloak, his younger brother only allowing him to duck under it when they had been about five minutes from the hotel. "Thanks for the hiding spot, Jordan..."

"The only reason I did so was because we don't need you developing pneumonia." The younger blonde, upon arriving in Paul's hotel room, rushed over to the bathroom and began wringing out his cloak. "Son of a fucking bitch, this thing takes forever to dry!" With a frustrated sound, Jordan simply hung it over the shower and made his way into the main room, jumping and plooping down on the sofa. "Ah. This is MUCH better."

William sweatdropped and moved his brother on the sofa, allowing for more room, causing the younger blonde to frown. "You be nice and watch your language, and don't you DARE light up a cig in here, I've told you at least four-hundred ninety-three times to quit! That's gonna put you in an early grave, and that's assuming your job and attitude don't first!" He turned to face the others in the room. "In advance, I'm sorry about my brother's attitude..."

Once Jordan had adjusted to his new position, he looked up at the dragon man. "Not bad, not bad. Looks like a fancier version of our room back home, stud."

"JORDAN!!"

[ParamountKeymaster]

"It's okay..." Paul sighed halfheartedly, raising a hand and casting the bickering brothers an awkward look. He gazed up at his bedroom door again, then he let out a long breath and sat down in the nearest chair, his whole body slumping dejectedly. "Guess there's not much to do besides hang out for a while."

Kelsey shrugged and pulled up a dining room chair next to him. "Sure is a lot going on at once."

"You're telling me..."

"So..." A quick glance at the door, then Kelsey stared worriedly at Paul and asked, "Last night, I... remember you telling me that you left your family when you were about fourteen. I know you were kind of an outsider in your own house, but..."

"Yeah, Mom was really the only one who ever treated me like I was... at least SOMEWHAT normal..." Paul muttered, raising his hands for emphasis before plopping them back down on the arms of his chair. "The general atmosphere I got from everyone else was mostly just apathy. I more or less learned to live with that, but... my dad, my younger siblings, they never actually attacked me..."

On the other side of the closed door, as Scott removed his rain-drenched uniform, he couldn't ignore the rising shame as he listened in on the conversation.

[DanteMGalileo]

"Hang on, you were attacked by your own brother?"

William pulled himself up from his position on the sofa, surprised at the statement. "Seriously? Your own blood attacked you? Damn, man... That's rough. I... I don't know what else to say about that..."

Jordan pulled his bandana over his mouth, as if trying to cover up the expression he was making. "I'd say you didn't part on good terms... is an understatement." Making sure his bandana was secure, he continued. "Shit... I can't imagine what it's like to be rejected by your own family. The three of us, well, we've always had each other..."

William nodded. "Yeah, we bicker all the time, but we've got each other's back, man... Damn. I can't imagine what would have happened had you not left..."

Jordan glanced in the direction of the bedroom, frowning.

"Do... do you want to keep going? I'm not gonna force you to if it's uncomfortable..."

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Not much else to tell..." Kenny grunted as he took a seat in one of the last remaining chairs. "The guy was a dick butt who responded to his brother turning into a dragon man by blaming him for his own unexplained metamorphosis and threatening to kill him."

"K-Kenny, c'mon, he might be able to hear us..." Paul nervously insisted, eyes flicking between the door and his roommate. He then shrugged at William and Jordan and continued, "In all fairness, Scott wasn't that much worse than most other schoolyard bullies. ...M-Most of the time. Granted, I was homeschooled for most of my life, so I don't know if I could make an adequate comparison."

His sensitive ears picked up a low sigh, followed by the sounds of the bathroom door closing and the shower starting up.

"I spent much of my life trying to rationalize his feelings towards me. Like, if it wasn't me, if it was one of my siblings who was turning blue and growing a tail, I'd probably freak out too."

Kelsey raised an eyebrow. "Well, yeah, but that's still no excuse to be a... ahem... 'dick butt.' Especially for something you had no control over."

"I know, I know..." Paul rubbed his neck. "I'm not saying it is. I'm just saying... I don't want to be mad at him... but..."

"But you can't separate this adult man from the angry teen who treated you like a mon...?" Kelsey bit her tongue, cutting herself off before she could finish that last word, shamefully averting her gaze for fear that she had struck a nerve.

Paul, however, cast her a knowing look. He knew she didn't believe that about him. She was just analyzing the situation, and in doing so, she had pretty much hit the nail on the head. "You can say it. I've been called it plenty of times."

[DanteMGalileo]

"A monster?"

William gave Paul a look of what was presumably sympathy. "Hey, dude... I'm not sure if it helps, but I don't see you as a monster." Pausing to think of the rest of his words, he continued. "I mean, you crack jokes, get annoyed at foul language-"

"Dickbutt. Heh."

"Jordan, I liked you better when you were going through your mute phase. Now, where was I...? Oh, right! You're definitely not a monster. Don't think that about yourself." The older blonde hoped his words weren't coming off as insensitive. "Kelsey's right. You need to separate the man from the arsehole that tormented you. But I can understand why it's hard. Family reunions like that tend to be."

A pause, then Jordan broke the silence. "What cereal box did you steal that from?"

This was followed by a slap to the back of the head. Clearly, William was annoyed with the peanut gallery.

[ParamountKeymaster]

Paul smiled a little, letting out a stiff but amused exhale through his nose. "Thanks, Will. If it puts anyone's mind at ease, I can't say I've ever thought of myself as a monster. My transformation didn't change anything about my personality, and the things it did change...? Well, I always thought some of the perks were kind of cool. I try not to make matters like these a self-esteem thing. In my position, it's so easy to be all 'oh God, why did this happen to me,' but you know what? This is who I am. No sense in complaining about it."

"Well, good." Kelsey grinned and nodded in agreement. "That just makes things easier when you're comfortable with yourself."

"A little bit, yeah."

"Yeah, besides..." Kenny chuckled. "Dragons are f***ing awesome!"

"Thank you, Kenny," Paul grunted with a playfully deadpan smirk. Then he stared at the floor. "I just wish it was that easy to apply the same mindset to Scott. I've spent all these years trying to forgive and forget how he treated me. Now that he's here... I just... I don't know. It feels so much harder to ignore all that bad blood."

"Well..." Kelsey inched forward in her seat a bit, reaching over to place her hand atop Paul's. "Considering the way he greeted you today, I think it's safe to say he wants to move past that as much as you do."

[DanteMGalileo]

"Yeah, dude." William reached over and ruffled Paul's hair. "I think this is a good chance to... well, if not forget, than at least forgive, yeah? I'm no mind-reader, but I think your bro wants to make amends with you. Hell, you could be buddies! Like me and Jordan!"

His attempt at ruffling Jordan's was greeted by a smack. "Ow! ... Okay, maybe you'll be a bit more functional than our's at the end. Quit smirking, Jordan! You're not funny!"

Jordan rolled his eyes, stretching himself out on the sofa despite the glare he was getting. "'Sides. You're better than the dragon we usually have to deal with."

"He especially likes to make jokes about eating ME!"

"That's because you keep flirting with his sister, you boob."

"I can't help it, it just comes naturally!" And then it was William's turn to get a smack to the back of the head.

[ParamountKeymaster]

Again, Paul let out a snicker as he observed the brothers, offering them a warm smile shortly thereafter. "Thanks, guys. If anything, it'll be interesting to know what he and the family have been up to since I left."

"And who knows?" Kelsey grinned and shrugged. "There's a good chance he can help us out."

"Yeah, maybe..." Paul leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees, his expression turning serious and solemn again. "But I can deal with that as it comes. We probably should figure out what we're doing here."

"Regarding the whole apocalypse cult?" Kenny questioned.

"Yeah. Not sure how much is worth analyzing while Percy, Ranuen and the others are off doing their own things. And Kendall..." Paul trailed off and raised an eyebrow at Kelsey. "Where did Kendall go, anyway?"

Kelsey could only rub her neck and shrug. "After he got done talking to Tri and me, he just kinda vanished."

Same old enigmatic a**hole...

A roll of her eyes, then Kelsey added, "He did offer me... um... let's call it a side quest. But like you said, maybe that's best discussed once we have the whole group together."

Paul nodded, then turned back to William and Jordan. "I know you guys don't have much on this cult, but is there anything you do know that's worth telling us? The cat demon, the monster in the plaza, all those characters we met last night... there's gotta be some connection, right?"

[DanteMGalileo]

"Ah, that... thing?"

Jordan spoke up, surprising William. "Was it that giant grey thing? Yeah, I saw it fly off. I decided to trail it, see where it was going..." Something seemed to be bothering him. "I followed it for a few minutes, tops. It just suddenly... vanished. I tried to find it again, but... nothing."

"Uh... it vanished?" William seemed confused. "Are you sure you actually didn't just lose sight of it?"

"It was a giant thing from what I'm going to assume is another galaxy that was glowing. You don't just fucking lose something like that." Jordan seemed to have snapped, before taking a moment to calm down. "It's bothering me. I don't know where it went..." He sighed. "It just... It just doesn't add up... It was massive, how the hell does something that big just disappear?"

"I, uh... Yeah. That is weird..." William conceded, before addressing the topic of the characters. "I don't know much about the cat demon, and I can't get a good reading on Lark, but I know about Seeker, Flint, and Val." He said that last name dreamily, prompting Jordan to slap him back to reality. "Ow! Okay, okay, I get it!"

"You think you would have gotten that she's just not into you years ago."

"Shut up, Jordan... Anyways, where was I? Oh, yeah. Those three have... something out for Lark, I dunno why. Seeker also has something out for Mort Isaac- Percy's foster dad. Apparently, those two have a history together... Pretty close back in the day, from what I can tell."

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Interesting..." Kelsey leaned back in her seat and rubbed her arm, gazing nervously at the floor. "I'm honestly kinda worried what'll happen if it turns up again. I still don't know what that winged guy's spell did to it, and I'm not looking forward to another confrontation with it. That first one scared the hell outta me, and somehow I doubt it'll be happy to see me again."

"After turning it into a rodeo bull and trying to rip out its brain stem, I can't say I'd blame it," Kenny offered with a blunt, albeit chill tone. To Kelsey's credit, she didn't respond to this comment negatively or otherwise.

Paul nodded and contemplated William's brief descriptions of Seeker, Flint, and Val. He was already somewhat familiar with them from last night, but the additional information on Seeker and Percy's foster father piqued his interest. "I see... Wonder how being stuck in the middle of that conflict would've affected Percy."

He tapped his chin. "What's giving me the most trouble is figuring out where everyone fits into this. Lark's a strange one for sure; I can't quite read him, but from what I've seen, I honestly don't think he's a bad guy. Don't know what the deal between him and Seeker is, so I can't judge how right they are to be angry with him."

"I think it's safe to say we're a melting pot of cluelessness right now," Kenny muttered.

"Basically... but hey, that can't last. We just gotta get more of a feel for these guys and the situation we're all in," Paul mused, clearly having settled down enough to take his current state of confusion in stride.

"Well, no matter what part each player has..." Kelsey stated, "I think the majority of our efforts would be best spent looking into this cult. They seem to be the most obvious threat we've been presented with so far."

"Uh, yeah, wanting to stop time is kind of a big f***ing deal," Kenny agreed.

[DanteMGalileo]

"Yeah... we've got nothing here."

Both the brothers looked at each other, not knowing how else to add to the conversation. "This cult that wants to self-destruct essentially... This is new to us as well. Yeah, Honni's a weird place, but the weirdest things are usually some song that makes no sense at all or the occasional demented artpiece." The older blonde looked down. "I wish I could tell you more... But..." William's head sprung up. "Hang on, that cult has probably been around for ages, if what Imago and that cat demon said are true!" And then his body sprang up.

"Ugh. You just realized this?"

"We could just see if we could pry some information out of Imago!"

"I hate to burst your bubble, but..." Jordan's expression indicated he wasn't actually sorry. "I don't think Percy's demon knows much more than we do."

"Ugh..." And William fell back onto the sofa. "Wait." Spring number two. "Loba and Lobo! They're pretty old- they could know something!"

"... Meh. Worth a shot, I guess."

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Well... Good! We have some direction. Always good." Paul smiled and nodded, genuinely cheered up by William's burst of enthusiasm. "I'm keen to start digging around whenever you guys are. Not sure if you wanna wait out the storm or see where Percy and the others are first, but hey, I've mostly been a tag-along this whole time, so I'll go when- and wherever you do."

"Oh the subject of people who have been around for ages and might have useful insight on all matters time-related..." Kenny spoke up. "...we have a dang time angel working with us. Why don't we just pry some answers outta him?"

"HRK-!!!" Kelsey suddenly, violently convulsed. All at once, her claws, fangs and horns grew out and her eyes turned ice blue...

She pointed to Kenny, her expression firm, her voice gruff but still her own. "Easier said than done, kid. Not only does that craven bastard only show up when he feels like it, but only rarely does he offer any useful exposition. Most of the time, ya ask him a question, and he's all, 'Can't tell ya! You have to figure that one out for yourself or else the timeline will implode or some such bulls***!' Trust me when I say we're better off without him."

Kelsey's form shook again, her demonic traits receding, leaving her stiff and dazed for a moment. Then she grabbed her head and let out a low growl. "For f***'s sake, Tri, WARN A GIRL NEXT TIME!"

Kenny and Paul could only stare blankly at Kelsey.

[DanteMGalileo]

The sudden appearance of demonic traits on Kelsey was met only by a small "goodness" from William, and a simple blink from Jordan.

"Uh... Kelsey... you okay, man?" And then, after that outburst, the features retreated. "... I take it that's a no?"

"Call me crazy, but I'd rather take the advice from... I'm going to assume that's a demon. Kinship and all." Jordan shrugged. "But maybe it's just the fucking time angel. Apparently, people who have dominion over shit like that have to be cryptic, if all the old comics I've read mean anything."

"I said, be nice." A smack to the back of the head. "But... I guess we can wait out this storm and wait for Leanne. I'm not sure if Perce is gonna be back for a while, even if he gets soaked. 'Sides, I highly doubt Loba and Lobo are going anywhere."

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Y-Yeah, that's fair," Paul awkwardly mumbled, still thrown off by Kelsey's brief possession. "Might as well take a breather while we all have the time."

"I still don't understand why he would think we're better off not knowing what the f*** is going on," Kenny grumbled skeptically, shrugging for good measure.

"Eh... I can see it," Paul replied. "Knowing certain details too soon could potentially alter the timeline in ways he'd want to avoid. And it could rob us the opportunity to learn and grow on our own. I see no reason to complain, considering what's gonna happen is gonna happen regardless." He mustered a smile. "Besides, I honestly think it's nice to have an angel on our side in all of this."

Kelsey cringed when Tri started gagging in her head. Kenny, meanwhile, didn't respond to this. He simply tapped his chin, glared at the floor and pondered. He understood what Paul was getting at, but it still felt unfair, letting Kendall take on such a passive role when he initially seemed so willing to help. The way the angel spoke to him the night before, it seemed like he had so much planned for them, Kenny specifically. If anything, he wanted to know what the angel had hinted at...

In the meantime, Paul turned back to Kelsey. "So... that was your demon, huh?"

"Yeah. Sorry." Kelsey bashfully rubbed her shoulder. "He usually doesn't do that. I don't think he likes being in my body."

Despite being lost in thought, Kenny couldn't help but snicker.

Kelsey rolled her eyes, then turned her attention on the younger Lowe brother. "So... Jordan, right? Never really got the chance to get acquainted since that whole thing at the church. Sorry again for that bit of weirdness. Being in a blood pact with an archdemon tends to create a lot of awkward moments."