Voodoopunk [Closed- Goibniu/Claes the BEST COP TEAM EVER]

Seeing the people downstairs, Arabella pinched her chin.

"I'm...I'm honestly not sure," she whispered as she pulled Goibniu behind a couple of barrels. "Let's see what they do first. If it turns out to be immediately harmful to your friend, we go in. If not, we sneak her out and you can inform the officers and they can raid the place perhaps?"

Before Goibniu could get a word in, the singing would stop and the two would hear loud tapping on the metal platform.

"Greetings, brethren!" a loud and confident voice said from below.

Arabella and Goibniu would see a man wearing a metal skull mask standing next to Claes on top of the platform. He had what looked to be a microphone in front of him and he wore a beaten up top hat.

"Today we successfully shook the Stahlmin streets!" he said. "The Expiate are at a loss and none the wiser to our little plan! In fact, we have one here today!"

The group below started to cackle and jeer as the man pointed at the tied up and unconscious Claes.

"Yes, she's pretty pathetic, isn't she?" the man on the stage chuckled. "And she'll make a lovely first experiment for the next phase of our movement!"

Hearing this, everyone started to cheer. Steam and fog shot out from the vents beneath the vents and the orbs began to move around in a fascinating light show. From the fog emerged what looked to be a large metal automaton, towering at least three times the height of the man created from iron and bronze and brass.

"Today we take our first steps towards Utopiosphere!" he announced. "And we offer our first soul to possess this, our very own homunculus!"

People began to cheer more.

"How ironic would it be that the first of our dolls is to be one of the very people that has been oppressing Stahlmin from the day they arrived? The damn Expiate?"

People cheered and booed at the same time.

"Now, it's just a matter of preparing! Hoist her up, boys!"

Several men would start propping up Claes' body and place her against a horizontal wooden board, strapping her onto place. Meanwhile, a man wearing a large mask decorated with feathers and holding a staff danced onto stage, his hands and legs moving erratically.

Once again, people began to sing.

"Anwen open, Anwen open to me
Anwen open, come oh Sidhe

Doll-ay doll-ay, doll-ay doll-ay
Doll-ay doll-ay, hey!"

Next to Goibniu, Arabella looked pale.

"Homunculus...?" Arabella said, her eyes wide in what looked like repulsion. "McCrae, are they going to do what I think they're going to do?"

The dancing man with a staff drew closer to Claes, and his staff started glowing. Cartic runes began to surround it and he pointed at the girl, as if ready to cast a spell.

Admittedly, the thought of just staring and not doing anything didn't suit Goibniu well, but he had to begrudgingly agree with her. He was going to mention how going towards the Expiate right now might not be helpful due to needing a very speedy reply, but the chanting below was replaced with one voice addressing the cult, causing him to turn back to it. They began talking about the situation earlier, as well as taking the opportunity to throw jabs at both Claes and the Expiate. Should Arabella pay attention, she would notice one of Goibniu's hand clenching into a fist, not looking very happy about such besmirching.

But eventually, the talk would shift to the closest thing he can get to a manifesto, as the cult's apparent goal was to reach something called the "Utopiosphre", as well as making Claes a homunculus. That made Goibniu do a silent gasp of surprise, turning to Arabella as she spoke. "I can only hope it isn't want I think it is." He said, as he suddenly held his gun. "But I am not going to wait to find out." There was a clear tone of indignation in his voice, as he began to take aim at the staff getting closer to Claes. This was the only chance Arabella had to stop him, and should she opt not to do it, the loud bang of his pistol would echo across the area, the bullet piercing the air as it went straight towards the staff. Unless it was made of sturdier stuff, Goibniu believed the bullet would shatter it mid incantation.

Arabella definitely noticed the anger in Goibniu's tone and gestures. She bit her lip, unsure about what to do.

"McCrae, hold on," Arabella said, her hand reaching out to grasp Goibniu's wrist. If Goibniu turned to her, he'd notice her looking worried. "If you attack randomly now, it might just jeopardize not only our safety, but Claes'. A crossfire won't guarantee that she won't get hurt, especially in her unconscious state.

"Listen, I have an idea to distract them, and I want you to use that time to get down there and pull Claes away. Then I can handle it from there while you take Claes to safety and call the Expiate to come here. Do you think you think you can handle that?"

The people were still chanting as the orbs got closer. Arabella had no time to wait for Goibniu's response.

"Be ready." It was a command more than a request.

Just as the glowing orb was approaching Claes, Arabella would raise her walking cane before tapping it hard against the ground. Goibniu would feel a wave of force reverberate against his ankles before it swept across the area.

All of a sudden, the glowing lights around the room dulled and the room turned pitch black. There were gasps all around.

"What's going on!?" someone demanded.

"My magic! It's not working!" another said.

"Dammit, someone hurry to the generator!"

"Go!" Arabella whispered.

She hoped Goibniu's eyes would be able to adjust to the darkness, but just in case, he'd feel a small glowing stick in his hand. It was only the slightest bit bright to see his pathway and head downstairs as everyone started standing in a daze.

But, no bullet would ring across the area, as Arabella managed to stop him just seconds before pulling the trigger. "Huh? What is it?" He turned to her in confusion, almost as if he was trying to hold back a look of annoyance over her interruption. She mentioned that direct confrontation at that moment was still just as dangerous as not doing anything, as starting a battle would put them at risk, as well as exposing Claes to more dangers. There was logic to her words, and it made Goibniu look rather conflicted, between his staunch desire to rescue Claes, the urgency of the situation, and the need to remain underwraps. He would ask her if she had something in mind, but judging by the way she kept going, she seemed to have an idea in mind.

But something stood out to him. "Wait, what do you mean you will 'handle it'? But are an outsider just like me." However, he wouldn't get a straight answer right away, as she urged him to get ready. He wasn't sure what she had planned, but it wasn't like he had much of an option. Waiting for any signal from her, what he received was instead a sudden shockwave coming from her. Due to being close, he wasn't so affected by it, but as it expanded across the area, the lights turned off, and everyone was startled out of their ritualistic trance. "Magic?" He muttered, before Arabella prompted him to get going.

Moments like this made him wish his goggles had some sort of mode that'd allow him to see in the dark better, as the pitch darkness of the area made it harder for him to find his way. That was however, until he sense a slight coming from his hand, and instead of questioning it, he opted to just accept it and keep going. Maybe another one of Arabella's tricks. Making a mad dash towards the center of the room, he crashed into the stage and quickly picked up Claes, taking this opportunity to shove the main orator out, before running all the way back to where he was. Hopefully this would help them get away of this weird sect.

Claes would feel light in Goibniu's arms, though he'd also feel that her skin was cool to touch. Just as he was about to get off the platform, he'd find one of the people in skull masks in front of him holding a glowing neon green tube. One difference was that this man stood at about eight feet, his shoulders were broad, and he had what looked like ring gauntlets hissing with the bright light of Cartic runes.

"And where do you think you're going?" the man growled.

"McCrae! Duck!"

Arabella's voice came from above him. Once again, Goibniu would see a bright green orb of light, but this time it was aiming right for them! If he ducked, the blast would hit the man and Goibniu would notice his body slowly turn into stone.

"RUN!"

The people at the bottom would start looking at Goibniu and rushing towards him and Claes.

"After them!" someone yelled.

The lights would start flickering on again. From here, Arabella leapt off of the stairwell, her body twisting as she raised her walking cane and pointed at the ground. From out of nowhere, the ground crumbled and from it emerged a giant rock golem of twelve feet high. The cultists around them would gasp in surprise but start trying to go for it, giving Goibniu time to rush upstairs.

As he did, he'd hear Claes mumble.

"Mmnn...McCrae?"

"Oh no..." When she was in his arms, Goibniu felt that Claes felt... awfully light. And cold. Admittedly, he didn't make it a habit of carrying the officer around, but he was sure that despite her lighter build, he expected that he would be a bit heavier. Or maybe it could be his admirable physique. But what concerned him was the temperature he received from her, something which he knew damn well was not right. Once he was out of this mess, he needed to take her to HQ to tend to whatever was afflicting her.

Of course, the cult was going to put up resistance when he and Arabella tried their daring rescue. Before he could properly get out of the platform, a man stood in front of him, with a very big body and a menacing gauntlet at his power. Even if he were to be with his hands free, fighting this bulky man would have been a daunting undertaking. But the warning from Arabella made Goibniu quickly duck, allowing her to successfully hit the man and miss him. "Ah, many thanks!" He said, as he continued his run.

She continue distracting them summoning a large golem right behind them, something which surprise Goibniu as he took one quick glance behind him, being surprised by the sheer power she had. Nevertheless, he had to take this chance and make the best of it by running away. And as he began running upstairs, he heard something faint under him, the voice being none other than...

"Officer! Thank god you are still with us." He announced, as he kept running. "Fear not, we are getting you out of here. You'll be right as rain in no time!"

Claes' eyes opened and would try to look up at Goibnu. She would, however, ultimately fail due to exhaustion and her head would drop back down.

Meanwhile, Goibniu would hear shouting from behind him. If he turned, he'd see the golem flinging cultists left and right. It was, suffice to say, not a pretty sight. He'd have little time to focus on that, however. Up ahead, a few of the spectators started gathering around the stairs. Three, to be precise, with bats and other bludgeoning weapons. They glared at Goibniu and were blocking his way to the exit.

Even with the small moment she managed to open her eyes, it was enough for Goibniu to remain confident. Claes was still with them, she still drew breath, that's all he cared about at the moment. As he ran away, he could hear the golem fighting the cult members behind him, the sounds of the conflict sounding rather perilous for those standing against the giant. But of course, there were some that didn't engage with the monstrosity directly, and instead tried to block his pathway.

Some members were waiting for him, holding rather dangerous weapons, and Goibniu began to worry not only for his own safety, but of how Claes' would be compromised if he confronted them directly. He still had his gun at the ready, but given how close they were, it wouldn't advisable to fire at all of them as he was right now, he could only count with one hand to prepare each shot and fire, much slower than using both hands. He could try shooting above to try and weaken the structure of the ceiling and cause a small cave in, but that would be risky as it would cause everyone to be trapped. Perhaps it was time for him to use... Pulchritude

And so, he held his pistol in view, and began spinning it with his finger. What followed was a small show the Enkidu put up for the cult members in front of him, his plan being to dazzle then enough with his dexterous showcase of gun showmanship to distract them, and then use that moment of distraction to make a break through. Doing trick with only one hand was not easy either, but doing some swift moves and some light throwing and catching was still within his grasp. It took him years to learn how to perform these tricks, and he hoped it would be enough to save his hide.

As Goibniu spun his gun, the members in front of him would flinch, fearing that any moment he was going to shoot them. The ones who held bludgeoning weapons stepped back, but one of them holding a bunch of metal orbs would toss one at Goibniu. Unless Goibniu covered his eyes, he would temporarily be blinded by a flash.

At this moment, one of the members with a metal pipe would charge at him and try to whack him in the head.

Of course, it was one of the benefits of having a single-action revolver; without a cocked hammer, he was free to do all kinds of tricks with the pistol, as no matter how much pressure he put on the trigger, there was no risk of accidentally firing the weapon. He was ready to use this moment to charge ahead, when he saw one of the cult members throw some sort of pebble at him. Quickly, Goibniu deduced that they could be either smoke balls or flash balls, as he was well aware of possible contraptions like this. He tried making small pebbles into smoke bullets! To some degree of failure.

Quickly, his tricks caused his gun to be right in front of his face, his eyes remaining close for a small moment, until the flash was faintly visible through his eyelids. "Oh no! My eyes!" Of course, to keep the ruse, Goibniu 'recoiled' in surprise, his finger still making the gun spin, only now in a more erratic manner, as he looked like he was confused over his surroundings. "You are all fiends!" He yelled, until he opened his eye very slightly, enough to see someone charging at him.

And then, his gun stopped spinning, suddenly opening his eyes as, with a quickl flick of his thumb, he prepared his gun and fired at the charger's leg. Such an action would most likely throw him off balance, and giving him an opportunity to make a break through it, the Enkidu charging back and aiming to get through the people standing in the way. Surely his plan left them in awe.