No Respite [LOL Thread for Ixis and Schon!]

[smartass_captain]

What a whirlwind nightmare of a day.

By the time Jim dragged himself into Ixis' tower and into Verity's first floor living room, he was utterly and completely exhausted. Despite tracking down a ton of different people facing similar problems, they weren't any closer to getting this figured out and now Jim was facing the prospect of sleeping in Ixis' body and spending yet another day as...not himself.

An unsettling thought.

Still, he's careful as he climbs up onto the couch, making sure to lay on his side so that his tail isn't pinched uncomfortably. Would he wake up with everything back to normal? Doubtful, but he can hope. Despite Jim's usual disdain for sleeping, tonight he cannot wait to fall asleep at even the vaguest prospect of this being over when he wakes up.

At least he doesn't have to deal with Ixis' bullshit when he's sleeping, right? What could possibly go wrong tonight?

Comments

[ixis]

There seems to be an exchange of meaningful looks between the trio before the other two emerge from the dark to stand nearer to Jim. The red spirit is massive; a great, hulking brute with a stern frown and massive arms crossed over a broad chest. He looks distinctly like a rhino, what with the pair of horns sprouting from his skull.

The second glows a sickly yellow, all manic bug eyes and massive ears. Long, spindly fingers with webbing between them emerge from the end of his robes' sleeves; wings. He clearly is some kind of massive bat creature.

And the blue spirit, the first to approach, drifts to the front of Jim once more. His hands are drawn from the folds of his robes as well, revealing that both are large pincers. Explains why he appears to be all whiskers and chitin.

"So you were imprisoned like we are. Trapped in this grotesque mockery of a body."

"We've seen him flit from body to body before, Jim. He forges pacts with witless, unknowing fools, binds his dark spirit to their agreement. And then he possesses them, forces them to do his will and further his plots. Oh, he's a schemer, Jim. He's a fiend with no care but for himself. He's tricked you, Jim."

"Revenge! Revenge! Make him pay, Jim! Destroy him from within! You have his body! You have the power! Just set us free!"

The other two nod, the blue spirit grinning with grim determination. "You can undo whatever sick plan he's orchestrating from your skin. We've seen it for ages, Jim. He's a liar. He's a fiend. Tricks and plots are all he knows and he's going to somehow make you a part of it if you don't act."

[smartass_captain]

"Normally? I'd love to believe this. Mostly because I hate this guy." Jim folds his arms and gives them a long staring over. The horn and pincers he can understand. Does he get the ears from this third one? Is Naugus' body one horrible amalgamation of creature's he's taken over?

Or are they merely parts of a whole? Fragmented from a mind so ancient that it needs multiple personalities to not go completely crazy.

Two things strike Jim immediately. This is a dream, so it's possible his own paranoid mind--upset with Ixis' disrespect of Jim's body--is telling him what he wants to hear. Second....

"It wasn't Naugus' doing in the first place. there was a third party involved, and I have it on pretty good authority that they don't get along, either. So how could he have tricked me?"

[ixis]

The large one grunts in annoyance, a puff of steam erupting from his nostrils. The yellow hobbles closer, grinning manically up at Jim.

"Not his doing, no, but you're a fool to think he's not taking advantage of this. Free passage into another's body without having to forge a contract? He's probably already long since woven his spirit to your body, ready to jump back into it the moment he needs to enact his grand charade!"

The blue one nods, slowly running one claw down the length of one whisker. "We know how he works, Jim. You're not safe. But if you strike first, he'll be staggered. You'll be keeping yourself safe and striking a crippling blow to a selfish, scheming fiend."

"And saving us as well!" chirps the bat. "We're trapped, boy. We've been trapped for as far back as our memory goes and that thing that calls himself Ixis Naugus is our jailer! You'll do the right thing, won't you? Eh?"

[smartass_captain]

The right thing? For all Jim knows this whole dream is an elaborate setup for Ixis to complain to Verity about him being mean for sympathy sweets. And moreover, what could he possibly do to help even if this was true?

"...Who are you?" He asks one more time, this time his voice is soft, sympathetic. "I can't help if I don't know what's going on..." He makes sure to look as mollified as possible to maximize his chances at getting any sort of information out of these creatures.

[ixis]

"We are the Order of Ixis!" booms the large red spirit. "Forebears of a forgotten caste. Keepers and seekers of ancient, forbidden knowledge. Master of our respective elements!"

"Masters until we were undone. Tricked! Trapped! We did all the work and that worthless beast Naugus reaped all the glory and the power!" The bat hisses, the thumbs on his wings tugging angrily at the sleeves of his robe.

"He benefits and works on stolen abilities. OUR abilities. And we are left here to languish as caged and impotent spirits. We have no way out to avenge ourselves, to punish that fraud, unless YOU help us, Jim."

[smartass_captain]

"...So Ixis was once...what, one of you? And he bound you to himself so he could use your powers? Did he kill you all?" Jim's got his arms crossed now, head tilted slightly to the side as he tries to process all of this.

He has the distinct feeling he's going to wake up more tired than when he went to sleep.

"What could I possibly do to help you? I can't do magic." Well, except for the one time apparently, but that was less magic and more RAGE SEIZURE.

[ixis]

The rhino snorts loudly, derisively, uncrossing and recrossing his arms. "As if he could hope to kill one as great as I." The bat rolls his eyes at this bravado but doesn't seem to disagree either. The guy is huge, ghost or not.

The crustacean explains patiently, "You need no magic to assist us. The greatest of Naugus' crimes is that he did this to us and then he forgot. He does not even remember us. But all you have to do is lay the groundwork. Remind him that we exist. Plant the seed of recognition in his putrid mind. And from there, we will break ourselves free from the inside out."

[smartass_captain]

Okay, what? Hold the phone, slam on the breaks.

"You don't just enslave...whatever you are. Mages. Dead mages. Spirits. And then forget about it! That's some hardcore messed up shit right there, and generally people either gloat about that kind of thing, or try to hide it. But they don't forget."

And none of this makes sense.

"How would reminding him help you escape? Would you be able to bring him here then? Wherever...here...is? And wait--how did you bring me here? I didn't do anything to bind myself to you all..."

[ixis]

The bat shrieks a laugh. "This is his mind, idiot boy! His subconscious! It's the only place we can act. The only place we can try and make him remember!"

"For countless years, again and again, we shape his dreams. Try to remind him of the day WE were destroyed and HE arose. But our messages never follow to the waking world. He forgets our lessons the moment he opens his eyes."

[smartass_captain]

"...That doesn't answer anything." Jim points out, but he's nodding along anyway. "Let's go out on a limb and say I'll remember this when I wake up..." Or believe them, but details.

"What do I need to tell him? 'Hey these three guys in your head say you stole their powers and locked them away'? He's not going to believe me. How did he do it? If I bring him details, he's more likely to remember."

[ixis]

The three look between themselves, perhaps briefly at a loss. Or wondering where to start. Eventually, the one who seems consistently good at explanation, the lobster-shaped one, turns to Jim.

"Urge him to remember our names. We hope it will stir lost memories in him. I am Ixis Suguna."

The bat takes a flourished bow, which impressive with those wings of his. "Ixis Nusgau!"

The last, the hulking red rhino simply grunts, "Ixis Agunus."

[smartass_captain]

Remember our names...

Jim has so many more questions than answers. None of this makes any sense. Everything begins to go dark, and Jim reaches out with his hand.

"...Wait!"

Jim sits up and shakes his head. His claw had been raised as if reaching out and...oh. His claw. He's still...in Ixis' body. Well, that's an unsurprising letdown. But more importantly, he's awake.

He's awake, and he remembers.

Jim needs to talk to someone about this. Verity? She'd be able to tell if it was the truth or not. Or...no. She'd be able to tell Jim was telling the truth that he'd dreampt it. That doesn't help at all. And she probably wouldn't take Jim accusing her housemate of capturing spirits and other atrocities well, either.

No, he needs to talk to someone who might be able to make sense of all this. And Jim knows just who to ask. Hopefully he'll be willing to listen, JIm looking like he does currently.

And so, in the dead of night, Jim leaves Naugus' tower again in search of an altogether different magi. He needs to find Schon.

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

The thin man is available at most hours--he has a knack for finding, or being found by, souls in need. He's also heard rumors of the latest LOL to make the rounds (though not nearly as much as he should have, Nekomata, ahem).

That said, an apparent Naugus running through the Nexus in disheveled state, without his staff, piques his curiosity, and Schön places himself in the Mobian's path, leaning against a lamppost. "Experimenting with a new look?"

[smartass_captain]

"Oh my god, Schön. I've been looking everywhere for you." Is...is Naugus happy to see him? Something isn't right. The beams have been crossed, there's a glitch in the matrix!

Why isn't Naugus wearing a shirt? Actually there are so many questions Schön could be asking right now. And would have every right to be asking, even.

"I really really need to talk to you. I know this sounds super weird, but it's Jim. Long story. You're the only one I can talk to about this."

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

Naugus without a shirt. Schön supposes it's educational, but the real insight is in what he's saying. "Jim... Jim Kirk? You and Naugus are among those suffering the latest strangeness, I take it?" He manages, just barely, to keep the laugh out of his voice.

[smartass_captain]

"Y..you believe me right?" Jim swears under his breath before fishing his phone out of Naugus' pocket and producing it as proof. See? Contacts. Verity, Harrowheart, Feli--okay this isn't really that interesting THE POINT IS...

"Yes. Jim Kirk. Naugus and I got swapped. He's been abusing my body like the dick he is but that's not why I'm looking for you." Jim could easily get derailed complaining about Ixis' petty misdemeanors against the wonder that is Jim Kirk's body if he allowed hismelf to.

But now is not the time for that. Not when there is head ghost concentration camps in his head.

"Is there somewhere private we can talk?"

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

"I believe you," the thin man assures him, glancing at the offered phone with only mild interest apparent, "and I know of private places where we might speak." Gesturing invitingly, he sets an easy pace off into the Nexus. Even if it is Jim in control right now, he doesn't want to bring Naugus' body into his office, in case he's able to exploit some accidental flaw in the wards--a hair or flake of skin left behind, or some such.

Even so, he has a great deal of territory staked out in the residential district--he's a veritable real estate baron, and after a bit of a trip, can show Jigus to the door of a furnished and presently-unoccupied brownstone set into the rear haunch of a stone sphinx. They can pull the dropcloths off of some chairs for a place to sit, and once Schön has an overstuffed chair upholstered in dark green leather to offer Jim he removes his hat and gives the Captain a solemn look. "From the beginning, tell me all."

[smartass_captain]

Jim doesn't speak much while they wander the Nexus, too lost in thought to do much but follow. What if he's overreacting? It was, after all, just a dream. But the particulars...no. Jim feels as though there's something more to this.

"Okay so this is going to sound fucking stupid, I'm the first to admit, but I had this dream right before I came looking for you." Jim does a bit of squirming until Naugus' godforsaken tail isn't bothering him when he's sitting but he manages after a few moments.

"There's these three weirdos right? But they all kind of look like Naugus. This rhino looking thing, a bat, and some lobster looking dude." Jim is pointing to Ixis' horn, claw, and ears while he talks. "It's like if you took these three and shoved them into a blender, Naugus is what would come out, right? And get this--"

Jim's leaning forward, looking more serious about any retelling of a story he has ever told in his life. His head might be goddamn haunted. Jim is trying not to freak out right now.

"They all claim to be Ixis. Says he stole their powers and bound them to his bidding. That all his powers are stolen from spirits. And all their names sounded like Naugus'. And--" Jim screws up his face, trying to remember the details. "Fuck...Wait. Can you...can you do a mind meld? I can show them to you that way. Schon I think there are ghosts in my head and I really really don't know what to do."

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

Schön sits back in a chair of his own, a finger to pursed lips as he listens to Jim's account, nodding occasionally.

When Jim reaches the end, he is forced to admit, "a mind meld is not among my talents, I'm afraid, and while I have magic that would let me look into your mind, I don't have it on me. I do know, however, that Ixis is a title accorded to elemental magi of Naugus' discipline."

"Take a moment to breathe. Be calm. Let the details become clear in your memory. When you're ready, you can either take me back through those details, or I can get the magic I spoke of."

[smartass_captain]

"It was worth a shot. I only know what that is because it's happened to me before. I just..." He stops, takes a deep breath and holds it. Exhales slowly.

"Ixis Suguna. The lobster thing. Ixis Nusgau the bat, and Ixis Agunus the rhino. They told me they were trapped inside his mind, enslaved. That Naugus uses them to wield all the powers he has. And that...somehow? Naugus forgot about it? They say they've kept trying to tell him, to get him to remember but he doesn't."

Jim's got his head in his hands now, talking to the floor more than to Schön now, but it's Jim so he's still loud enough to be heard.

"They wanted me to make him remember, so they could be free. I don't...Is there a way to know if there really are ghosts in my goddamn head?! Can you look? Because what if he does the same thing to me? They said he could. That even if we switched back he could take possession of me at any time again. I...fuck..."

There it is, the heart of the matter that is unnerving Jim so.

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

Schön steeples his fingers, brooding for several long moments. There are threads here that are very informative, indeed. They won't do much good, though, if Jim loses them to worry, so he looks up with a smile. "As it happens, I have some talismans against possession, and once you're back in your proper body we can ward you against his tricks and unravel any tie he might have placed on you. In the meantime, though, I fear we may need to learn more. Do you mind if I call in some assistance on this matter?"

[smartass_captain]

"....Oh thank god." Jim rubs at his eyes with his hand. He knew Schön would be able to help clear this up. He has to sort this out before he approaches Naugus on the matter personally. He has to be sure. And hopefully free of head ghosts.

The last thing he needs is an anthropomorphic triad of crazy following him around instead of Naugus. Or to be taken from his body the next time Jim and Naugus have a fight.

"Sure, not a problem. Go nuts. I just...I really want to know if being in this body makes me dream the weirdest things, or if it's true."

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

"Thank you." Schön rises, taking out his phone. Patting Jim on the shoulder, he advises him, "sit tight," before drifting over to the doorway as he calls one of his contacts.

Unless she turned it off, Verity's phone is going to ring.

[brave_heart_verity]

No, it's on. Right now, she doesn't have time or energy for dealing with her own problems.

She doesn't answer immediately because she's staring blearily at her phone and cursing.

"If this isn't an emergency, I swear to god, I will find you and make it one."

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

Schön's tone is light, genial, and pleasant. "I'm sorry to disturb you, and I'm not entirely certain this is an emergency, but one of your brothers is with me, in your housemate's body, telling the story of an extraordinarily vivid experience he had while sleeping. I thought you would, at the least, want to know he is safe and in good company, and might also have some thoughts of your own on the matter."