Modern Cult Round 98 Transcript

Narrator · Narrator

The vortex of shadows pauses mid-crawl at Ms. Stone's sharp command. The twin figures' symbols dim slightly—they're clearly not used to being interrupted by corporate types.

Ms. Stone turns back to you all with cold fury. "Enough. You will cooperate, or I will ensure each of you faces... much worse than these two can offer." She gestures sharply—one of the soldiers steps forward menacingly. "You have five seconds to decide which option you prefer."

The tall woman watches this exchange impassively—the twin freaks are clearly not happy about being told what to do, but they're also clearly outranked here.

Suddenly, there's a sound like tearing fabric—from behind the medical equipment! A third figure emerges: Female, pale, wearing surgical scrubs. Her face is familiar somehow...

"Ms. Stone," she says calmly.* "The subjects are destabilizing—the compounding process has accelerated beyond projected parameters."

Ms. Stone's expression darkens further. "This isn't what I authorized." She glances at you all.* "Five seconds have passed—what's your decision?"

The vortex starts creeping again, eager for an answer.

The new figure continues, "We need to sedate them immediately and—"

"ENOUGH!" Ms. Stone snaps at the third woman. "This is a security matter now." She turns back to you all, eyes like chips of ice.

Hera · Civilian

I press myself against Hera, terrified out of my mind.
My eyes dart around frantically, taking in the scene—Ms. Stone barking orders, the soldiers looking uncertain, those freaky twins with their shadowy vortex.
Halia's still praying but she looks like a leaf about to be swept away by a hurricane.
Jeane... fuck, Jeane is just standing there glaring at everyone. She's either really brave or really stupid. Probably both.
I try to say something—beg Ms. Stone for mercy, plead with the twins to stop whatever they're doing—but my voice comes out as little more than a whimper.
The new woman in scrubs... she looks familiar but I can't place her. Something about the way she's talking about us like we're lab rats makes my skin crawl.
I want to run, to hide, but there's nowhere to go. We're trapped between corporate and cult, with no idea which is worse.
This is it. This is how we die—stripped down both physically and magically, our bodies and souls up for grabs by whoever wants us.
The soldier steps forward menacingly at Ms. Stone's command. I flinch back, expecting a bullet or a taser or something.
But he just stands there, waiting to see what happens next.
Five seconds left on the clock and my mind is racing, trying to come up with some way out of this mess.
I look at Silra desperately, silently begging her to do something—anything—to get us out of here before it's too late.
But even she seems at a loss. Her usual cocky smirk has been replaced by a tight-lipped expression that looks almost like fear.
We're all just waiting now, hearts pounding in our chests as the shadowy vortex creeps ever closer and Ms. Stone counts down those last precious seconds.

Silra · Rogue

"Separately?" I repeat, voice dripping with contempt.* "You think we're stupid enough to let you pick us off one by one for... what? 'Questioning'? Interrogation? Or are you planning to process us like cattle and ship us off to whatever fucking lab awaits?"

The tall cunt can think she's in charge all she wants, but this is MY cult. I don't give a shit if she's the CEO of Hell itself—she touches one hair on Halia's head, and I'll turn her into a fucking candlestick

Silra tries to talk us out of this? Fine. Let HER handle the bullshit diplomacy while I calculate teleport options. One misstep from any of these fuckers, and they all die.

Halia's trembling but standing her ground—I can work with that. The others? Scared shitless. Useful for nothing but absorbing shock in a fire fight if it comes to that.

Not MY ideal endgame—preferred to have the whole city dancing naked by now—but if we're doing this, I'm not playing along like some obedient pet.

The tall cunt wants us separated? Fuck her.

Jeane · Sorcerer