And All Join Hands, As You Are The Damned

[trixie]

Dahlia crawls next to Blackworth and reaches out for his hand. She stares quizzically at his face and tries to understand his rambling and humming, but it's hard.

"Are you ok?" She asks him simply.

OC Psychometry rolled a 23 on darkandmoody.com

[Mr. Handy]

"Thank you, Brianna, that must be it!" says Sarah. "Daddy, what could connect both times for you?"

"Brianna..." says the younger Lionel.

"That's right!" says the older Lionel. "Brianna, you were always my constant. And I missed you so much, Sarah. I have to pull myself together for you."

"Try singing along, then, both of you - just like back in the bomb shelter."

The older Lionel nods. "There was also Big Rock Candy Mountain. That's the song Ronald was singing when the boundary between both times blurred. We'll try that one next."

The younger Lionel nodded weakly. "Yes...I saw through your eyes then. I saw Dahlia and the ash."

"We were in the chemistry lab. Brianna was there too."

Both Lionels close their eyes and sing in unison as they think about Brianna being there, that time in the bomb shelter, and about how much they missed Sarah, and they concentrate on breaking down the barrier between them and becoming one so that they can stay with her. "Is the water warm, is your mama home, with you so happy?"

[trixie]

Dahlia stood next to Daniel and held his hand, murmuring to him lightly. "What do you see Daniel? What is it?" She closed her eyes and concentrated, and fell into a zone, appearing to have been pulled far away from where she stood. The pair of them for a moment became very quiet and Dahlia's face contorted into a pained and terrified expression. "What is that!" She shouted suddenly, her face pulling into a fierce grimace. "It's staring at me....what is it Daniel!" She squeezed his hand tight and yelped a bit, as though fighting a demon only they could see.

The flash was there, and then gone, and she opened her eyes quickly after and sucked in a deep breath. "You guys.....it's awful!" She shouted to the rest, relaxing her hand and slumping down next to Daniel to the ground, resting her head in her hands. "The ash....its a monster....there's a monster hiding in it!"

OC Sanity rolled a 7, pass,Sanity lost 3

[Mr. Handy]

"What did you see, Dahlia?" asks Sarah, concerned. "Was it the Hound...or something else? Either way, we need to fly away from here fast! There are only two locations that we need to visit. They're on the laptop over there." She points out the one that older Lionel had brought onto the helicopter. "If you bring it to Cael, maybe he can work out how to get to them. One of them is the hospital, but several of us are not eager to go back there...myself included. The other is some house somewhere. I'm not sure where it is, but maybe the computer will have the information. We've never been there before, so we should check it out and see what we can find. Maybe it's the house where the Sleeper Device was found."

Both Lionels continue to sing and concentrate: "When it's dark, you're home and fed.
Curled up snug in your waterbed.
Moon is shining and the stars are out.
Good night, little whale, good night."

"I don't feel anything happening yet," says the older Lionel. "Ronald, Brianna, we need to sing Big Rock Candy Mountain. That's what you were singing when it happened before. I used to sing it to Sarah when she was little. Remember, Sarah?"

"I remember, Daddy," says Sarah wistfully. She puts an arm around the younger Lionel and helps support him.

[kabukiman]

"Singing songs in a hour like this? So they become one? This is really strange!"-thinks Agnes.

[Laraqua]

Blackworth rises abruptly from his seat and stares out through the helicopter window. His face is slack, expressionless, his breathing slowed. The ash outside seems to swirl thickly around the helicopter, buffeting it, making it difficult to steer. Inside the helicopter, the air is cold and thin.

[Mr. Handy]

"Cael, get us out of here!" cried Sarah, clutching her father's hand.

"Brianna, Ronald, we have to sing," says the older Lionel. He and the younger one start singing a new song, and Sarah sings along and joins them: "On a summer day in the month of May a burly bum came hiking
Down a shady lane through the sugar cane, he was looking for his liking.
As he roamed along he sang a song of the land of milk and honey
Where a bum can stay for many a day, and he won't need any money "

As the Lionels sing, they remember being in the bomb shelter and how they had felt, their sorrow at losing Brianna and their joy at being reunited with her. They think about how they had missed Sarah so much, and how delighted they are to have her back at last. They remember the good times they had raising her, singing this song to her. Sarah also concentrates on trying to join both versions of her father together, recalling how she had saved him when he was at the cinema and from the Hound, the comfort he had been to her after she had failed to save her mother, and all the wonderful times they had had together when she was growing up.

[DSIGFUSS]

Ronald's eyes widen with terror as the Ash begins to encircle the helicopter. He cries and whimpers squeezing Brianna's hand.

Close your eyes Brianna

Still, He was a motivational children's singer and these children needed motivating.

Ronald sings in a croaky whiney voice, praying that Cael could pilot them through this nigthmare.

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains there's a land that's fair and bright
Where the handouts grow on bushes and you sleep out every night
Where the boxcars are all empty and the sun shines every day
On the birds and the bees and the cigarette trees
Where the lemonade springs where the bluebird sings
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains

[Mr. Handy]

Sarah grins reassuringly at Brianna and Dahlia as she continues singing, remembering a simpler, safer time:
"In the Big Rock Candy Mountains, all the cops have wooden legs
And the bulldogs all have rubber teeth and the hens lay soft-boiled eggs
The farmer's trees are full of fruit and the barns are full of hay"

"Sing along, Brianna," says the older Lionel. "Only you can do this. I need your help!" He and the younger Lionel keep up with the song:
"Oh I'm bound to go where there ain't no snow
Where the rain don't fall, the wind don't blow
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains "

[trixie]

Brianna sings along, squeezing her eyes shut in determination. If Ronald thought that was for the best, then so be it.

She reaches out and grasps both Lionel's hands while she sings.

[trixie]

Dahlia starts screaming in a terror filled voice, "The ASH IT'S A MONSTER!!!!! IT'S A MONSTER INSIDE IT!!!!" She claws at the walls of the helicopter madly.

[Mr. Handy]

"Don't be afraid, Dahlia," says Sarah. "Cael will fly us out of here, and I'll protect you from the monster until we get away from it, just like I protected you from the Hound. You can sit on my lap if you like."

Both Lionels close their eyes too, reassured by Brianna's hands and the sound of her voice. The younger Lionel is still in pain, though the painkillers and the presence of those he loves are helping him. They continue singing the next verse:
"In the Big Rock Candy Mountains, you never change your socks
And little streams of alcohol come a-trickling down the rocks
The brakemen have to tip their hats and the railroad bulls are blind"

[DSIGFUSS]

ronald starts to cry....

Please help us!

Every so often he chimes in sobbing with another verse of Big Rock Candy Mountain.

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains the jails are made of tin.. sniff!... sniff!
And you can walk right out again as soon as you are in
There ain't no short handled shovels, no axes saws or picks... sob!
I'm a goin to stay where you sleep all day
Where they hung the jerk that invented work sniff...
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains. Bwaaaaah!


Oh my god! The horror! Somebody help us for fudge sake!

[SuAside]

"Shut up!" Charlie grunts "Let the pilot do his things and PRAY..."

[Laraqua]

Blackworth turned towards them and held out his arms as though imploring them. His eyes were pits of pure darkness that fluttered away like motes of ash. He grinned, his lips pulling back from his teeth and gums to an inhuman degree, as the yellowed teeth began to pit and crack. "I am what you are and you are what I am. Welcome to becoming me." His voice was harsh, it buzzed and howled in tones not meant for mortal ears, and to hear it brings pain and dizziness.

[Mr. Handy]

"Wh-wh-what?!" says Sarah. "Who are you that you say we're becoming, and what have you done with Daniel Blackworth? Are you the being responsible for the sigils? Annie, what's going on?" Sarah has no idea, but she's certain it can't be good.

Both Lionels aren't paying any attention to Daniel. They're busy concentrating on becoming one and humming Big Rock Candy Mountain. "Keep singing," says the older Lionel. "It's working!"

[kabukiman]

-What is that?- Says Agnes opening her eyes.

[DSIGFUSS]

Ronald leans on his Banjo and stares in horror at the new Blackworth.

His naive mind couldn't wrap itself around what the black eyed spookey demi god was talking about. But it scared the beejesus out of him.


Oh my g... What do you want from us?

[SuAside]

Charlie shifts his weight, wieldly eyeing everyone in turn. He fails to comprehend what is going on...

[Laraqua]

Blackworth throws back his head and screams so hard the helicopter shakes from the vibrations. Pain blossoms behind your eyes, the sound setting your teeth to chatter. Ash pours out from Blackworth's mouth, first in a trickle, than in a rush.