S22: The Doctor's Demise Report

General Summary

Ash's revolver cracks and the shot echoes as The Doctor's plush doll is destroyed, spraying cotton and fabric all over The Loom. The wisps of cotton dissolve into smoke before reaching the ground. The smoke dances through the air towards The Doctor. The Doctor's head twists to stare Ash down, and The Doctor looks terrified of what's to come.   The Doctor reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a dagger, shaped like a scalpel, with a few odd carvings behind the blade. The blade slides across The Doctor's chest, gliding through flesh like warm butter. No blood from the wound, but a light coating remains on the blade. The Doctor's Scalpel drinks, and begins to emit a deep black smoke. An arcane rune at the tip of the blade begins to glow, and the smoke takes on a purple-ish hue. The Doctor dives at Todd, cutting him diagonally across his body. The flesh begins to rot away, and the blood begins to pool inside the ditch of rot. The cut throbs with every heartbeat.   Amgil throws a Fire Bolt, and sings a little tune for Todd, granting Bardic Inspiration. Timber takes advantage of the break in action and casts Sacred Flame. The Doctor responds by summoning a Shadow Spirit between the pair, the spirit lunges at Timber and only manages to grab a few feathers. The spirit's head ducks into its body and emerges again from the back, now facing Amgil. A strike with the shadow's claws drops Amgil to the ground. The Doctor's response horrifies Timber. Another slash, under his eye, and marionette strings made of purple smoke appear above Amgil. Amgil lumbers and shambles toward Timber. Amgil draws their Crystal Shortsword and strikes Timber. The forward momentum of the strike topples Amgil to the ground, and Timber looks Amgil in the eyes. They're different. Hollow, and empty like The Doctor's. Faint wisps of purple smoke.   Timber puts his hands on Amgil's unconscious body, giving a little bit of life back, and Amgil springs to their feet. Ash unloads another 3 rounds at the Doctor, 2 misses and one making contact, one of them rupturing one of the tanks, spitting out a white gas into the room. The magical aura from the gas is overwhelming. Todd steps to hide behind the stone bed of The Loom. The cut across his chest ruptures, spraying blood all over the tile floor. Todd swallows the pain and sneaks behind the bed and summons his shadow dog. Todd's Dawg dives at The Doctor, ducking out of the way.   "I intend to finish what I started!" shouts The Doctor, casting Shatter centered on Amgil. Puppeteering Amgil once again, they shamble towards Timber, falling just short of their target. Ash sees the break in The Doctor's focus and fires another volley, with 2 shots making contact. The Doctor sprints toward Ash and makes a cut underneath his own ribs, carrying that momentum across Ash's chest, and a rune appears on Ash's coat.    "You're really beginning to annoy me, this should make you think twice," The Doctor whispers to Ash.   Ash fires a single shot, slamming The Doctor in the chest. The rune on Ash's flashes a brilliant purple. A splitting headache. A nosebleed. Dizziness. Nausea. Ash stops to think. Yeah, I'll be fine. I can take it. I hope. Ash fires again, slamming The Doctor back to the stairs toward The Loom. Ash charges forward with a rage nearly rivaling Toes, kicking The Doctor in the chest and onto his back. Ash presses the hot barrel of his revolver onto the space between The Doctor's eyes. "Leave the little guy alone."
  One final shot. An explosive cartridge. The Doctor's head shatters and explodes as if it were ceramic, spilling heavy smoke onto the tile floor. The Doctor's body begins to crack, pop, and quickly shatter. The pile of shards begins to dissolve further, like white ash floating away in the wind. Ash falls to one knee, his nose pouring out blood.   A ball of tangled black Thread begins to float towards Timber, detangling as it approaches his hand. The Thread wraps around Timber's Dagger and pulls taut, and then dissolves into Timber's dagger, exaggerating the dark markings in the damascus steel making up the blade.   A heavy thunk from above. The elevator again. Ash runs toward Toby's unconscious body and moves it out of the way, and feeds his brother a health potion. On the elevator is Stanlee (Luxieaux) and Tobias Dimir. Stanlee jumps off the elevator, "ASH! Are you alright!?"   Ash responds in surprise, "I'm sorry, since when do you talk?"   "There's really not time to explain here, I can explain back at Castle Dimir."   Tobias walks over to his sons, "I'm glad you're both alright. I knew you two were here but I wasn't able to see anything. I needed to come investigate."   Ash's sending stone begins to ring, like tinnitus in his ear. Ash bonks the back of his own head. 
 

Ash! It's Ula Di'Nok! I'm seeing some strange magic around you, may I come visit? Will explain in person.

"Yeah, sure, I guess."   A golden beam of light appears next to The Loom, growing into a rectangular portal. Ula Di'Nok steps through, and starts to capture the gaseous magic out of the air, slotting them into something around his belt. "Interesting."   Todd winces, as his head feels like it's being split in half. A voice echoes out inside of his head.  

Did you get him? Is he finally dead? We need to talk. Find me.

Todd's legs begin to move on their own, carrying Todd onto the elevator. "Hey guys, I can't really explain why but I really think we should get on the elevator and leave."  Team Hot Mom and Friends all step onto the elevator. A heavy thunk as the stone elevator reaches the lowest floor of The Dive. Todd walks over the dead Overminds straight toward the iron freight elevator on the opposite end of the massive room, everyone following quietly and confused.   The elevator stops on the 2nd floor of The Dive, and Todd walks through the testing facility, to a door painted shut. Todd steps back and charges toward the door, crashing through. A glass tank with the body of an obsidian dragonborn, identical to Todd, suspended inside. Todd knocks the tank over, and the dragonborn sloshes out through the bottom of the tank. Drathar's eyes open and he reaches out to Todd, otherwise totally immobile. "Drathar?" asks Ash.   Drathar's eyes dart to Ash, his hand still outstretched. Todd interprets it as a high five, and goes for it. Todd's fist balls up, thumb sticking out, "Turkey!"   Drathar's body dissolves into a white ooze, and begins to crawl up Todd's arm, over his shoulder, and disappearing into the base of Todd's skull.  

Hey! My Name's Drathar! Nice to meet you! So I wanna explain this REAL quick. Basically our souls rejoined and it's finally a whole soul! Now, thing is, you developed your own personality, totally separate from mine. So think about it like this. We're both riding a horse. You're holding the reins, but I can still see everything you see, but there's a couple things around here we can use to make a potion that lets you hand me the reins. Once we get used to this, we'll be able to trade places just by asking the other guy.

  Ula Di'Nok calls out, "Ash! I figured this stuff out but I have a few questions for you on the way back."   "That's fine, I think it's time to go home now anyway," replies Ash.   A few miles back into town, and along the way Ash explains everything about The Doctor and everything he learned. Ula explains the magic came from a plane that didn't have its own magic until very recently, Nocturne.   Everyone makes their way back to Castle Dimir, greeted by the warmth of a fire and a fresh bowl of tomato soup. "Welcome home, everyone," Alfred says, with a gentle and warm voice.   A hearty meal and some decompressing later, everyone heads to bed. In Ash's quarters, Stanlee curls up in front of the fireplace, and Timber cuddles up with him. As Timber drifts off to a sleep, he sees Stanlee's divine Thread leash shift from Ash to himself, the leash beginning to look slightly frayed. Todd and Amgil stay up, hanging out with Alfred in the kitchen, smoking some of Todd's weed, some of Alfred's. Oz finally reunited with the party, but training with her staff in the basement.