"I'm ready," you say. "Gotta go make sure the posse is, too. Think it's time for a group meetin' at the chapel."
"I'll join you," Yurie replies. "Ebrietas and I can provide more technical details."
"And yer decision has nothin' ta do with finally gettin' out o' this well-respected academic institution?"
"Perish the thought."
Brushing aside some splinters and weaponry you didn't manage to dislodge, she removes a panel in the nearest wall to reveal a bug-out bag big enough to serve as an effective blunt instrument. Ebrietas helps her adjust a couple of the straps as she un- and refurls her cane a few times.
"You alright with carrying a third passenger, Ebrietas?" Simon chimes in, smoothing a few wayward tatters of his cloak back into place. The ensemble actually looks worse afterwards, but you've never been a dedicated follower of fashion and so you let it slide.
Yep!
She gives a quick flex and Simon nods approvingly.
After being firmly assured that Annalise is happy where she is, the four of you soon gather outside and take to the skies. The other two vertebrates are slow to join your parting middle finger, but eventually do so with gusto. It's another pleasant flight on Air Ebrietas, bereft of errant gargoyles or, despite your fears, several Amygdalae stacked on top of one another in an ingenious anti-air platform. You even remember to give Yurie a cross well before you land; don't want a repeat of the time you forgot to tell a visiting diplomat about the jury-rigged flamethrowers you keep pointed at the orphanage's back door.
The Byrgenwerthian (Byrgenwerther?) fits right into your menagerie, unfazed by Liam's hugeness or the array of injured Churchmen down below. Eileen and Djura, now awake and mobile, help you gather the squad on the ground floor while Fiddle and Emma get some tea going. Arianna makes an effort to stand before being forcefully remanded to Djura's old bed.
"Get some rest this time or I'll use the straps," says Iosefka with uncharacteristic steel.
With Agatha's guidance, Alexandria and Todd scrounge up a chalkboard from the depths of a storage closet and wheel it out. You put it near the door both to maximize seating room and ensure that Ebrietas is close to the action. Once your throat finishes regenerating from overeager tea consumption, you get started.
"So it turns out our entire reality is a lie."
Gotta hook 'em with the first sentence. That's the trick.
The lecture goes rather well, you'd say. Yurie and Ebrietas take over for the complicated bits, leaving you to perform informative pantomime as needed. When the time comes for questions, quite a few raise their hands; Todd picks up the intricacies of dimensional manipulation much more quickly than you'd have thought. Just goes to show that you can't always judge someone's worth by their competence in their current profession.
"We're trapped in the dream of an unfathomable creature," says Eileen, "and your solution is to stab the problem until it goes away?"
"I'll stop usin' rampant violence ta solve my problems when it stops workin'."
"As much as I'd prefer some complicated plan that demanded all of our unique skills, stabbing is honestly the easiest way to go about it," Yurie confirms with a shrug. "Trust me, I'm every bit as disappointed as you are."
"You're a harbinger of something, Father Anderson," your fine feathered friend continues. "I'm still not entirely sure what. So what should we do while you're off saving the world?"
"Batten down every hatch ye can find. Everyone either inside or touchin' the ward at all times. Shit's gonna hit the fan and, with the way things've gone tonight, that might wind up bein' literal. I'm gonna stop by the Nightmare first, so there's a bit of a grace period, but we can't dally for long."
"I'm willing to join in your attack," says Jonathan. A few of his fellow Church Hunters nod in agreement.
"Need ye here ta protect the place," you reply with a shake of your head. "Also, be honest; wouldn't ye rather be here in a fortified position with a Goddamn minigun than in some horrific nightmare plane?"
They seem unsure.
"Within' strikin' distance o' me?"
They seem more sure.
You adjourn the meeting with a reading of Psalms 144. Everyone's a good sport about it, bowing their heads and everything, and quickly get to work once the group Amen dies down. Doors are barred, gunners take their places at windows, and noncombatants begin organizing weapons and ammo. Liam carries the one-legged Steffon up the stairs, a beast of a scoped rifle in the latter's hands. Djura marches towards you.
"I'm coming with you back to the Nightmare."
"Wouldn't ye rather stay with Steffon?"
"I'm not sitting in a tower while the world burns around me again. I spoke to him and he understands."
"Fair enough. Simon, comin'?"
"Wouldn't miss it. Yurie?"
She shakes her head. "I need to stay here and make sure your 'ward' is up to snuff. Ask me again when it's time to hit Rom."
With three-quarters of the original Nightmare Squad in tow, you head outside, though not before you tell Emma and Fiddle your best potato casserole recipe and gather up the necessary ingredients for them. It'll be a fun project while everyone's getting ready to rumble. Ebrietas sends you down the metaphorical yellow brick road and Maria rises to meet you.
"Father Anderson. What do you need?"
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