CotB 46: Abandoned

Cult of the Bay

Chapter 46: Abandoned

<<<Lamb>>>

Splitting her attention felt very, very strange. Cool, but being able to hold a conversation with her girls and with Hero and prepare her church for… a lot of new arrivals at the same time was… A trip.

That said, she was slightly worried about the malice she felt from one of the… pilgrims? Eh, she couldn’t think of a better term for them. She’d just have to keep an eye on them as she helped them settle, though hopefully they had the forethought to make living arrangements. Though given how… zealous they felt Lamb wasn’t going to hold her breath.

But refocusing on Hero, Lamb pulled out her cell and decided to call Becky; after all she did promise her she’d do this. Though there was a good chance she, and probably the rest of the world, knew about Hero’s return.

Honestly, she was already dreading the drama her casual resurrection would stir up. Never mind the religious complications along with philosophical and ethical debates that would spawn from this.

“Contessa already told me, you really don’t do subtle do you? I hope you’re ready for what comes next.” Though her empathy didn’t work over long distances… through dimensional boundaries at least, Lamb could tell that underneath the dry snark was genuine gratitude and a sense of… dread?

“Well, that’s for her to handle.” Lamb decided that whatever caused the dread she wasn’t going to stick her nose into, but she regardless answered, “Already dreading it. I miscalculated and put too much power into the process and well… you know.”

Lamb pointed ignored the snort on the other end of the call, “Anyway I’ll get Hero to the safehouse. I need to get back to address a sudden slew of worshippers anyway…” She said before ending the call and putting the cell away.

Not that she really needed to vanish, but… something told her that revealing she could be in two places at once like that would spark more than a small amount of panic.

“Hero? We’re going to take you somewhere safe, okay?” Lamb asked, not wanting the resurrected cape to panic.

He nodded and asked, “Teleporting?” He didn’t seem too shocked by her variety of powers, but then he’d also been working with Eidolon and he almost had her beat in that department.

“Yep!” She replied with a smile, taking his arm and falling backwards with him. She felt his biology as they did and it was… not human anymore.

“It was either that, or he was a dust man. He died too long ago for anything else,” Selene noted, Lamb could practically feel the shrug in her words, “His libido will be higher, but you knew that already.”

“Fair enough. Besides, when he gets to experiment I imagine he’ll make whatever lucky lady or guy very happy,” She thought, “You might want to close your eyes, it’s pretty disorienting.”

Lamb wasn’t entirely sure he caught that, either way she gave him a few seconds before they finished teleporting.

“Oh, Alexandria will be very happy about it,~” Selene purred. Indeed, the woman seemed overjoyed when they came out of the portal, half launching herself into him and- Eidolon was there, his powers seemed stronger but…

“Why does it feel like he has two drains on him?” She asked herself, ‘tasting’ the energy on instinct. “Psychic and… water… why does that feel familiar?”

Selene just giggled, but remained silent.

Knowing how her goddess got at times, she barely stopped herself from huffing, “Fine, keep your secrets…”

“I shall, besides I’d hate to spoil any surprises,” Her goddess retorted teasingly, “It’s not like you have no capability to figure it out yourself. I’ve given enough hints and, besides, you need to learn how to handle the bigger things yourself. You’ll rule this multiverse, after all.”

Lamb just blinked, “... So unless you all need anything, I believe I should let you reunite in private…” She said looking to the other heroes curiously, “Actually where is Legend? I thought he’d be here as well?”

“Villain attack,” Eidolon replied as Alexandria fussed over Hero, “That part was dealt with quickly, but the paperwork… he can’t hold a pen when he’s at light speed.”

That… that made too much sense.

“... Truly, paperwork is the ultimate Supervillain…” Lamb only semi-joked.

“You should ban it as one of your first decrees as goddess,” Selene stated, voice serious, “When I did that, my stress levels went down considerably.” That part… was probably a joke. Probably.

Still, it revealed something. Maybe, or she could possibly just be overthinking it.

Still her retort got a snort from Eidolon, which Lamb took as a victory in itself, “Well if any of you need me Lexy has my number. Or you could ask Fortuna,” Lamb said before ‘teleporting home.’

She’d stalled for long enough, and that’s what she’d been doing; stalling to avoid dealing with… whoever’d just arrived.

After quickly appearing, and assimilating, the clone she left behind, Lamb decided to approach the group that had been meandering around her church. The sheer worship and devotion she felt from them all… unnerved her. Whenever one saw her they fell to their knees in supplication.

“Praise the Lamb!” And other variants of the prayer were often uttered.

When she got to one man, however, she didn’t feel the same level of… abject worship. Not really. There was some there, and it felt genuine, but… it was weak and covered in malice. His sunglasses would have hidden his eyes from almost anyone else.

But not her. Nothing could hide eyes so filled with… insanity from her.

And power, he had power. Not just as a parahuman, but over everyone around him. Over all of the people that were… loving her.

“You know who that is, my Lamb,” Selene whispered, time seeming to stop, “And so, you have a choice. Sacrificing him is obvious, he’s a true monster, no?” Her Goddess’s voice was… so reasonable and seductive, but she was being allowed to think. She was allowed to forgo the sacrifice his soul represented.

It would just mean he didn’t get what he deserved.

“But what would it mean if I just… sacrificed him?” Honestly, she was leaning that way regardless, but… what were the possible ramifications if she did it while all these people were still under his thrall?

“Oh, they’d simply believe that you had found a wolf amongst their sheep,” Selene replied, “The effects on their minds would stay unless you decided to undo it yourself.” The goddess paused as the knowledge to accomplish that flowed into her. “But… why would you? They’re happier this way, aren’t they? Many of them are Fallen already, if you unleash them… well, they might go back to old habits, right?” More reasonable comments, so painfully reasonable.

Lamb thought as she walked among the pilgrims, greeting them and welcoming them all the while considering her goddess’s words. If she kept them as is, that’d remove a small chunk of Fallen support and prevent them from lashing out. If anything it would do more good than harm, besides she’d heard horror stories about the Fallen.

The kidnappings and indoctrination camps, breeding stations, parahuman conservation ‘programs’ and other horrid ethics and humanitarian violations. She’d just be giving the poor broken souls a place to rest and worship in peace. That wasn’t a bad thing, after all.

So why was it so hard to just… do it?

“They love you,” Selene whispered, “Would you spurn that? Even from those that weren’t Fallen before, from the children… Would you cast off their love? The source was corrupt, but the Love is pure, isn’t it?”

Ultimately what helped her decide wasn’t her Goddess’s words (not completely, anyway) but the fate of the children if she rejected them. The thought of them returning to their Fallen brothers and sisters and willingly returning them to the abuse and dehumanizing actions… she couldn’t do it.

Valefor would go to Selene, and she would keep the Fallen… no, her Cultists. A fair trade in her mind.

Segregating the Wicked one, no, Wicked ones, from her new Flock was simple; the Church (though recently christened) was the center of her Power. Locking them down and denying their power any further purchase on her Cultists was child’s play. 

Then she just… killed them. It was so, so, so easy, dragging them into the abyss, snuffing their lives out with just a twitch.

“I’m… not really human anymore, am I?” She thought, not even feeling an iota of anything beyond… the satisfaction of protecting her worshippers.

They were hers, no one else.

And she would have a Reckoning with the rest of the Fallen eventually. They worshipped engines of destruction as gods, and she would give them a proper one. And they would either repent and submit or they would join Valefor and others in damnation.

She felt something slipping away from her, something ephemeral coming loose from her soul. She could have grasped onto it, held it tight and refused to ever let it go…

“But why would you do that when you could truly join me?~” Selene purred, “It’s just your anchor to mortality. You must abandon it if you wish to be like us.”

“I’ll still be able to be a goofy Lamb?” She tried to hide her fear from herself.

It didn’t work.

“Of course, my Lamb,” Selene purred, honesty in her tone.

At those words Lamb… let that ephemeral feeling -her Mortality- slip from her soul. And while the praises from her new Flock members were a balm, praising her for freeing them from the malicious ones, she couldn’t help but feel… unsure if she made the correct choice.

But it was one she made, and she would simply have to live with it.

Information started to flow through her, not from Selene but from her flock. Lamb truly, completely, understood and Saw their lives. All of their pains, their loves, their dreams. Everything that defined them.

And Lamb was at the center of them all now. Their love pouring into their image of her, their idea of her. It was nebulous, but it was there.

Lamb smiled, “My Children, let us properly welcome you into your new lives.” She said.

The others were there too. All those connected with her: Taylor, Tammi, Emma, Lisa… everyone. The emotions there were different, of course. They all felt something at least akin to love and worship, with Taylor being foremost of them all, but not quite to the same level as her new members. Still, she saw them for all that they were.

And, of course, she saw why Selene pitied Fortuna so much.

“I’m not a monster… am I?” Lamb wondered, directing the question to the most important women in her life.

“Why would you be?” Taylor asked in confusion, “What happened? I felt something change, but was it bad? If you killed a guy, did he deserve it?”

“... Yes, yes they did…” Lamb said, “I’ll talk about it later…”

“Then I don’t see a problem,” Tammi noted, sounding amused, “I mean, the last people you killed were, uh, monsters. To put it nicely.”

Lamb faintly smiled, “Good point, just some… existential dread I suppose. Now… after all this, is anyone up for a group date? I don’t think we’ve ever done one yet.”

“Not since the ‘group’ got so big,” Lisa agreed, “And I think I have an idea for it. How about a ‘welcome back to life’ party for Hero? In Italy.”

“Still on that Italy thing?” Taylor asked, amused, “I know you didn’t come up with it, but still…”

“I know a good idea when I hear it!” Lisa mentally pouted at them.

Selene whispered something new for her to hear, and her alone, “You could make Bakuda an Angel for you now. It would simply exhaust you but, well… we know how to fix that, don’t we? The end of a pleasant group date would be suitable…”

“Sounds like a date!” Lamb replied while silently ‘nodding’ to her Goddess.

Truthfully, since Baduka had been ‘transferred’ to another lair to tinker; Lamb had been keeping a watch on her. Why, she didn’t know, but now she’d made her choice. The tinker was simply too large a risk to leave her be.

And with another twitch, Bakuda was forever changed.

And when the Slaughterhouse inevitably came for her… more would join Bakuda as Angels, while others would go into the abyss.

The new angel, which needed a name, gave her no power. No excess energy. All of the faith, the devotion, the lust, the desire, the love… the energy generated went into fueling itself. Her shard had interacted with the change, or the change had interacted with the shard, and resulted in… an interesting being.

She’d certainly never seen a mechanical woman that looked so attractive before.

“Actually, Beatrice should join as well. Despite her original nature, she’s one of us now.” Truthfully, she regretted ever even considering sacrificing her for more power, and honestly, she needed to get to know her better anyway. At least, knowing her reactions to things. She knew everything else about her being now…

Whether that ended with her being fucked into the ground or not, she didn’t mind regardless.

“Ah… that’s why I felt that from Eidolon,” Lamb sighed to herself, “Crossing that bridge… later. Too tired to deal with that now.”

Even as she thought that her angel floated over to hug her and it felt…

Like all was right in the world.

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