Okay so I got bored and my inspiration died for some stuff and suddenly I've got the weirdest crossover and pseudo SI I've ever conceived. Sakarias, Lael, Aydan, and Isolde are mine, but Raleigh belongs to a friend. Two thirds of the crossover are Worm and Bloodborne. Kudos to anyone who can name the fandom Sakarias and Raleigh originate from.
Working title is "Squid Out of Water"
"Who are you?"
The pajama-clad young lady stood from her chair, hugging an arm to her abdomen as she hobbled over. "Well, I guess you could call me a lot of things. Nory's what my friends call me and what you'll be calling me. The names that matter though are OedonWrithe and Anti-R.O.B."
"You can't be Oedon. Aydan's Oedon... or at least a piece of her. It. Whatever," I protested.
"It's a username, numbnuts." She flinched, face scrunching up. "Ah, fuck, moved wrong. Okay, Lael, darling, light-of-my-life, I love you, but I'm bored as all hell. Never thought getting my spleen taken out would be so dull. Surgery's got me on the bench so I'm putting you and my other gay son into... something. I haven't decided yet."
Somehow, I only picked up one thing from that. "I am not a homosexual!"
She snorted, "I made you, kid. I know where Aydan puts her tentacles. Anyway. Destination? I don't know, both of you are too weird to make any sort of decision, but I might as well let you pick." She pulled out a stack of thin rectangular boxes. "Choose your favorite."
"I still don't understand, I-"
"Shhh. Less talky more choose-y."
I gulped. If this woman was capable of ripping me from my world and into this pocket dimension, I had no idea what she could do if I didn't obey.
"Oh, suck it up, Laely-poo, you're like twenty-five percent space squid. Just choose a game."
I stared. "You can read my mind?!"
"I am your mind. Can we get on with choosing your fate now?"
"No! I don't understand any of this! Who are you? What have you done with Aydan?! What do you mean to do with me?!"
Nory sighed. "Okay, I'll make Sakarias choose instead. Good job, you want to leave your fate in the hands of a drug-addled half-demon, be my guest."
"Fine!" I snatched up the boxes and fanned them out on the table. Each was different: some were books, others were strange flimsy cases with empty slots for some sort of disk. One stood out as just a bunch of hasty drawings of people with capes and the word "Worm" on a piece of paper taped to a sheet of cardboard.
I pointed at an oddly bound book with the image of a blond boy with a metal arm. "What is this?"
Nory grimaced. "The arm? It's a prosthesis. Or are you asking me about the world? Because I'm not giving you freebies. I will say that Sakarias would thrive there, but you would probably end up a neurotic mess the moment you stepped into Central. Philosopher's Stones and all that. Too many tortured souls."
Perhaps it would be best to not ask questions when I already knew the answers would be nonsensical. "I see."
There were more. One had a white-haired warrior brandishing a blade, another had some sort of masked assassin with a glowing symbol on his hand, and one had an orange-haired boy with a vastly oversized greatsword.
"Shit, that shouldn't be there," Nory muttered, grabbing the book with the orange-haired boy and tossing it behind her. "Kubo stopped making sense with this latest arc and even I can't keep track of the plot anymore. Everyone's just showboating and suddenly having power reveals. And dying. It's getting old fast. Though I could plop you in earlier but the setting is just on so many different planes and the rules are so out-there... shit, Bleach is just too small-time for you. You're a baby Great One and Sakarias is... well, Sakarias is his father's son," she concluded dubiously.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. If this girl was so willing with useless, nonsensical information, maybe I could squeeze a coherent hint out of her. "Which options would allow myself and this 'Sakarias' fellow to blend in?"
"You forgot I can read your mind. No hints."
"Damnable woman..." I glared at my options. Only one appeared to show a world that wasn't about warriors and monsters. I slid the cardboard rectangle with the caped characters towards her. "This one."
Her eyes went wide. "Oh no, I'm gonna-" she laughed, pain flashing over her face as it devolved into little hiccoughs of pain. "Fuck. Okay. Ow."
"Do you require assistance?" She might be some sort of otherworldly psychopath, but she was still a lady in need.
Nory waved me off and hugged a throw pillow to her stomach. "No, no, it's just the abdominal stitches and stuff. It's you who might need help." She pulled out a coin. "Heads for Aydan, tails for Isolde." A flip later and she chortled. "Looks like you get Isolde as your starter companion. Oh well, at least Mollie will be entertained."
What? She was sending me off into Blood knew where without Aydan? And with that Vileblood or Crow or whatever she was…?! "I don't understand. Who is Mollie? Where are you putting me?!"
She tsked and ignored me. "To make up for the lack of firepower on your team, I'm gonna give you a sliver of Oedon. Sight, probably, so you'll at least know what you're dealing with. Okay, listen, while Isolde is your companion and you have some control over her actions, Sakarias is just a party member. He's going to have his own things to deal with, but he'll probably lean on you a lot. Boy's a powerhouse but most of that strength is used up carrying his baggage. He'll need you and his companion for emotional support or Brockton Bay may get their own personal Heartbreaker. Don't worry, it will all make sense when you wake up."
"When I wake up… what are you talking about?"
[CONFUSION] [ANNOYANCE] [IDENTITY]
What. "Who the fuck are you?"
[INDIGENCE] [PRIMACY]
"I asked you second!"
It began to reply but the connection broke when something jostled me violently.
"Oi, tosspot."
Roused by Isolde's incessant prods, my eyelids creaked open. "Wha- What's going on?"
"I don't fucking know. Some bloody lady-cow up and started blethering shite and now we're in some jigger with gangers all about and ehs startin ta get a wee bit frit. Some shady neds 'ave been through an' they peeped at me all funny--"
Ugh, what the fuck. I flailed tiredly, trying to figure out how to use human limbs again. I would have clamped my hand down on her mouth, but my fingers hit ivory before they got that far. Crowfeather gear. Right. "Shut up. I don't understand a thing you're saying."
Isolde wrung her hands. "Come on, les gid ye ow o' tis pill o' tremmel. Feck." She pulled me up from where I was lying, which turned out to be a pile of garbage bags. Ew. I'd have to pull out an extra set of my clothes. Hopefully the being who dropped me here had deigned to allow me access to the messengers.
"Um, excuse me."
I turned to the hesitant voice, resting a hand on a rusted trash receptacle to steady myself. Standing a cautious distance away were two near-identical young men. One had his carnation-pink hair cut short and unruly, while the other had his tied back. They were tall, scrawny, and short-haired one was thin like he rarely ate.
The thin man gave a hesitant smile. There was something off about him. "Hi. Are one of you guys named 'Lael?'"
"Who's asking?" I huffed.
"Casimir Sudou -- ah, no, she probably didn't give you that name, did she?" the thin one began before stepping forward and giving a noble bow. "Sakarias Casimir Ichirou Venomania, botanist, scholar, and magician."
I narrowed my eyes. "She talked to you, too?"
He straightened and shrugged. "Of course. A muse must be on good terms with their mun, after all. I'm used to this, though Raleigh's a surprise. So I am to assume that you're Lael?"
If he was going to be all enigmatic and prim about it, so would I. My chest inflated. "I am Lael of Yharnam, Lord Executioner, Consort to the Moon, Slayer of Beasts, and son of Logarius and Iuliana. You'd be that woman's 'gay son,' then?"
The other man -- Raleigh? -- snorted. "Is that it? Bit of an understatement."
Sakarias smacked his double playfully on the arm. "Knock it off. Anyway, since we're in the same boat, I figure we should stick together. Though, you're going to need to blend in better… especially your birdie friend, there."
Isolde crossed her arms. "The only other garb I've got with me is a set o' Cainhurst Knight regalia." At least she'd calmed down enough that her accent diminished. "It's all frills and puffs."
I possibly had a solution to our problems. Experimentally, I reached out for my messengers, asking for a pair of simple Yharnamite civilian clothes. I knew I had some stored away. Thankfully, mist formed at my feet and the little hideous shriveled men held out a parcel of folded clothes.
Taking the package, I thanked and dismissed them.
Sakarias whistled. "Neat trick. Teach me how to do it, sometime?"
I shook my head, distributing the clothing between Isolde and I. Something about Sakarias's mannerisms still bothered me. "Unfortunately, my understanding of the arcane comes from blood transfusions from my… benefactor." Yeah, that was a safe word to use to describe Aydan. Others would have been 'girlfriend,' 'deity,' or 'crazy pet squid.'
The scholar nodded in understanding. "Ah, the real esoteric stuff. Haven't had anyone to talk to about such advanced topics since Elluka was last around. I think you and I will get along well, Lael of Yharnam."
I disagreed but held my tongue. The two pink-haired fools kept watch while Isolde and I changed into the old, ratty civilian clothing. From what they were wearing, we still wouldn't blend in but it was better than my Executioner robes or Isolde's Hunter of Hunters uniform. Isolde's dark hair was cut short and ragged, like she'd done it with her Blades of Mercy or something. I hadn't seen her out of mask since... since before I'd met my Aunt Maria, actually. I'd never seen her without her full crowfeather garb after she'd made her pledge to Eileen. Her eyes were still as red as a vicious Yharnam moon, however.
We got out on the street. Isolde was jumpy as fuck and kept staring at things. Raleigh, once I got a closer look at him, had a few telltale signs of shock. Meanwhile, I figured out what was so strange about Sakarias. The man was peaked, like, he couldn't seem to focus his eyes on anything and twitched occasionally.
Isolde was actually the first one to say anything about it. "You okay, mister?"
Sakarias blinked a few times before he actually processed what she'd said. "Oh, yes, I'm fine, thank you."
Raleigh grabbed his arm. "No, he isn't." The man sighed. "It's getting dark. Let's find someplace to lie low and figure out whatever in the name of Levia-Behemo we're supposed to do here."
For once, I actually agreed with the pink-haired man.
We found a place Raleigh called a 'nightclub.' The sign out front said "Palanquin." We got in line and I immediately realized this wasn't going to work. A large man stood at the door and inspected each person's plastic square -- a card of sorts, I assumed -- and decided whether or not they were let inside. None of us had these cards. A looming apprehension came upon me as we reached the front of the line and the guard crossed his arms expectantly.
"Tell Gregor you need to see Faultline."
I jumped a little at the sound of the voice in my head. "Hello?" I asked out loud. You know, like an idiot.
"Shut up, darling. Now, I need you to act confused say these exact words--"
I looked up at the large man and swallowed. "We were told to speak to Faultline. My companions and I… I woke up in some alley and I asked some guy and he said that this Faultline person helps people like us."