Title: The
Homecoming
POV: Jocasta
Timescale: During
Episode 16 “Rescue Me”
Written by: Voirrey
NO!
NO! NO! SHIT!
BUGGERING DAMN! This is just NOT
fair! I have arrived back in a
recognisable universe, in a recognisable time, from a Hell Dimension. I am uninjured apart from a few
scratches. Everyone else is alive and
uninjured. We have rescued the person we
went to rescue, and a few others we didn’t even intend to rescue. It is just NOT fair!
Dawn opened the Hellmouth
as we had hoped she could, and when we were met on our entry into the alternate
dimension by a patrol of the uber-vamps, we managed
to overcome them fairly easily. I even
managed to shoot one of them with my cross-bow just before it could damage
Roxy.
Of course the discovery that we humans burnt
in the sun there in the same way that vampires do at home was a real downer, a
good job Roxy wasn’t badly hurt.
Meeting a unicorn –
now that was unexpected, in a nice sort of way – even if it turned out to be
true that they are happy to be ridden only by maidens. Dawn fighting on Unicorn back was really good
– I wish I’d had time to take a photo!
The fight with the second patrol went our way
– even if I did get rather badly clawed. Although Ampata was
badly hurt, as she is able to heal by power draining anything, she was able to
restore herself enough by draining an uber-vamp. No problem with that –
drain or be drained! One way or
another anyway!
Getting to the ‘guard house’ wasn’t too bad,
and overcoming the third patrol group was achieved with only a couple of small
mishaps, although it could have been very different when the phosphorus
grenade bounced back into us. Spike’s
instinctive ‘header’ back was very effective, and also very brave, as it leaked
phosphorus on him, and so HE could have gone up in vampiric
flames himself. Thank goodness Roxy was
so quick witted in smothering the burning with his coat. Mind you her invention of a suitable ‘healing
spell verse’ for Anita to try on Spike did have an odd repercussion!
Discovering that there must have been either
human, or at least humanoid, inhabitants at some time was rather disconcerting,
and rather sad. Being able to clear an
airway enough to make one of their dwellings re-usable was a God-send, but I do
wonder what ever happened to them.
Something not good, I fear.
When it came to the attack on the step pyramid
I was just so grateful to my ‘special subjects’ tutor at university for
all those evenings playing “Watchers’ D&D”.
(Very similar to the Gary Gygax original, but
fewer spells, more demons, and hit point adjustments in line with observations
made by Watchers over the centuries!)
Although realizing that you may come eye-ball to eye-ball with a real
basilisk is more than you ever hoped for – not!
Basilisks, Minotaurs,
AND later a mind-flayer, the First is quite a Dungeon Master! We nearly lost Ampata
for good there to none of the exotica, but to the bowmen – firing arrows
containing soul-eaters – now that is a really nasty mind at work! Removing her ring to desiccate her before
catching the soul-eater was a really good idea of Roxy’s. Although it was a bit touch and go when she
crumbled so much there were no obvious bones, but luck was still with us, as we
found one bone in that tunnel, and it was a bit ‘just add water for instant Ampata!’
Ampata is a very brave
fighter, she feels that she is finally fulfilling her destiny, as she says that
she thinks the original priests were right when they decided that she was a
Chosen One, just that she is now sure that she was a Chosen One in the same way
as Manuelita, or possibly even Roxy – she is sure
that she was a Potential Slayer at least.
She certainly did a good job of slaying the basilisk, and the mind
flayer.
Discovering that Roxy’s
‘poem to cast a healing spell’ for Anita to use on Spike had not achieved quite
what was expected, as Spike began to develop his own, unicorn-like spike was
almost funny. It came in useful as well
– very few vampires can have attacked by plunging their horn into the
opposition!
We won, we beat the vamps and the monsters, we
saved a whole bunch of captives, and probably ensured Spike and Dawn a few free
pizzas. Even if we had met more of the
same vamps and monsters, we would probably have overcome them as well – we were
really on a roll.
As it turned out, The First admitted defeat
and more or less gave us Kat on a plate.
Hurrah for us- let’s get home – or at least to
Oh how beautiful it was to see that final Hellbeast! Well, it
was beautiful to see it go ‘whoof’ as Spike bowled a
phosphorus grenade straight into its mega toothed mouth! Just as beautiful to see Cyan waiting in the
park, and realise that we had re-emerged in the right time as well as the right
dimension. (Could this also be a part of
Dawn’s Key skill? Perhaps she will
always arrive back the right length of time after she leaves. That would be excellent, but I’m not sure
quite how we test it!)
We are
the Champions, we won, and everything has gone more or less according to plan –
well totally according to plan really as the only defined plan was ‘Go in. Find Kat.
Bring her back. Do not get
killed.’ It is JUST NOT FAIR! I have just checked my e-mails from home, and
now I really don’t know why I didn’t spit in the eye of The First when I had
the chance. HOW DARE HE?
Come on Jack; answer your phone, pet.
……………
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