stealth_andsecrets | Where the Wicked go after Death

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Where the Wicked go after Death

Purple leans against a wall, inside the back-room of the Caritas. For the last hour or so, she has watched Winston (War) tend carefully to the ailing Lorne. Many of her siblings were around the bar, as one of Lorne's requests was for them to get acquainted with the business (so they could run it once he was gone from this world.).

It was almost too much to bear at times, to watch Lorne get sicker and sicker... and feel so helpless to help him. There were so many times when she was so close to tears... sick to her stomach with the thought of losing him.

Winston came to sit beside her. He smiled softly, looking at his younger sister. "Where is your boyfriend today?"

"You need to speak to him?"

"Yes. I do."

Purple pulled out her PINpoint, sending Niverian a message, asking him to come to the Caritas as soon as he was available.

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"That is why I am here... right?" Lindsay can't seem to recollect being transferred to the Ninth Circle at all. And so it bothers him that pieces of his memory are missing.

"Well your parents found Eve... she was in Limbo. Her only reason to exist was to see me again."

"And I remember being upset... learning that she really never had a human body... or true spirit of her own until meeting me. And wondering about how could I help her..."

"I saw a Lethe Flower... one that would have great power in the Underworld. And they are just so rare... that I guess I left my post."

He arches an eyebrow, frowning slightly. "Where would those flowers usually be found?" he asks, wondering if it should really be considered an escape attempt when Lindsay didn't actually want to escape, only to see a rare flower.

"Along the Lethe River... a dangerous place to travel."

He nods gently. "That is very odd," he murmurs. "Finding something like that so far away from where it usually grows." He looks up at Lindsay solemnly. "Can you think of anyone here who might have a vendetta against you?"

Lindsay laughed, darkly. "It is a long list. I was a lawyer... for Demons and Vampires."

"I recall," Cipher Nine replies wryly. "Are any of them here in the underworld? Or have you made any new enemies since coming to Hades?"

"The Demons and Vampires would not get access... but the men and woman who were on the other side of the court room would be. Then there is the Senior Partners themselves... who have their own pull."

"New enemies? Not that I know of..."

"Ah, the Senior Partners," Cipher Nine muses. "I faced them once before. Hopefully it isn't them, since I'd rather not have a repeat experience." He exhales gently. "Suspect pool's a little larger than is useful, but... I do have some new information to bring back to Lord Hades. This shouldn't be treated as an escape attempt if you weren't actually trying to escape."

"Well, honestly I can not remember what happened when I reached the flower... I could have tried to escape for all I know."

Cipher Nine arches an eyebrow again. "If you can't remember... you may have been under duress of some kind. A spell, direct mind control... Something."

"The Lethe Flower..." Lindsay stated. "I thought I could handle it..."

"It enhances a person's emotions. It enhances their wants. Their desires. But it also makes you forget. It is quite powerful."

"You wouldn't have been thinking rationally," Cipher Nine surmises, nodding. "The fact that the flower was someplace it wouldn't ordinarily be is very suspicious. Someone may have put it there deliberately. The question is, who would have the ability to do so?"

"There is only one person in the Underworld who knows about flowers... and who can handle them."

"Persephone?" Purple assumes.

Cipher Nine hisses out a quiet breath. "I knew it," he says. He looks at Lindsay. "Would you be willing to testify to Hades about this?" He knows Hades will be able to tell if Lindsay is lying, and it is best if Hades hears the story from Lindsay himself.

"I will come if I am summoned... but I dare not leave without Hades permission first." Lindsay answered.

"Of course," Niverian assures him. "I won't ask you to jeopardize yourself further." He rises and lets out a quiet breath. "I suppose it's time to report in now. We should get going."

They return back to the throne room of Hades. He is talking to an older woman, who's skin and hair seem to be an Earthy-Moss color. She steps back, noticing the new arrivals.

"Ah... back already Guardian?" Hades smiles softly.

Cipher Nine smiles and bows his head to both Hades and the newcomer, whose identity he can guess at. "Yes, my Lord," he answers. "I spoke to Lindsay, and I think you'll want to hear his testimony from his own lips, so you can be sure of the truth." He regards Hades' guest for a moment, and asks, "Lady Demeter, I presume?"

"Yes. The Dark Lord has spoken to me about the situation, and the concern... I am here to represent my daughter, if you are building a case against her."

"You both would be allowed selection of a jury if you so choose. Or abide by judgement as Judge alone." Hades is already in professional mode. Dealing with this, as he would any accusation in his Underworld.

He considers for a moment, noting that Hades has already put on his Ruler of the Underworld hat. "Given your reputation, my Lord, I believe I can trust your judgment."

"My Lady?" Hades looks at Demeter. She smiles, "I trust your judgement too, Hades."

"Then we shall commence with our proceedings." With a wave of his hand, the Throne Room gets a court-like appearance (with many touches of the Underworld). Lindsay, as the defendant, sits at a table, where Niveian stands. Persephone sits with her mother, across from him.

"Call your first witness, Council Guardian." Hades gestures to a chair (made from skulls) next to him.

Cipher Nine looks over at Lindsay, then turns back to Hades. "That would be Lindsay MacDonald, my Lord."

Lindsay MacDonald stands, and goes to sit at the skull chair. Hades then turns back to Cipher Nine. "Go ahead with your questioning."

((based on the conversation with Lindsay, feel free to answer for him, to speed things up))

((Actually, I would prefer not to play out the trial at all, except to just... go over the key points. I'm not sure what about the prospect is causing it, but it's really nerve-wracking for me. >.> Which should serve to speed things up even more.))

Cipher Nine nods and begins questioning Lindsay about the 'escape attempt' and the events leading up to it. His argument hinges on the fact that Lindsay did not make a conscious choice to escape—rather, he was lured away and placed under an intoxicating influence, something that essentially amounts to entrapment. The argument to consider the 'crime' entrapment is based upon the fact that the Lethe flowers are extremely rare and don't grow outside the banks of the Lethe River, and it is therefore extremely suspicious that one suddenly appeared right near Lindsay, in the first circle of Tartarus—presumably far from its natural environment. If someone made it appear there, they would have to know about the flower and know how to make it grow and blossom. So far as anyone knows, the only person with that knowledge and ability is Persephone.

His heart is fluttering nervously the whole time, though he keeps the nerves off of his expression and outward demeanor—he isn't usually involved in anything like this. Spies don't handle trials, so he's a little out of his comfort zone. That doesn't stop him from arguing the case as best he can, laying out, through his questions, each step in the chain of logic. Hopefully... it'll be enough.

((eep. Sorry. Didn't know it was nerve-wracking for you. I had a hidden twist planned, but can abandon it))

Demeter keeps her questioning simple. She asks Lindsay if he left his post, which he admits. Then calmly explains to the court that it should not matter if he was lured away or left on his own choice ... the fact was that he had left without permission. She also stressed that what happened to Lindsay once he left his post could not be controlled or should have any bearing on the case. After all, the souls are under protection at their post. But there are dangers everywhere.

She also asks Lindsay if he has any proof that Persephone placed the flower there. Which he does not.

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