MAIN STORY The Evrensel Conflict -- Act 1 Epilogue

[PolyesterH]

Alande sat back despondent as Alec told him off, not willing to raise his voice to be a counterbalance from her authority. At the same time, he couldn't bring himself to stand up for them, they were clearly in the wrong and everyone could see that. He leaned a back and allowed the argument to develop. As Weiss made their adjustment, he pinched his brow as he got ready to make yet another argument on why Science and Magic shouldn't be in the same category, that diplomacy could just be part of the bureaucracy, and that the original rule of 5 model was just fine, thank you very much. Still, the proposal wasn't entirely void of bad ideas. He should probably open with that concession.

Before he could speak up, the AI's very rude interruption occurred. On reaction, he felt the auto-injector slam through his skin and disperse its payload. Still, he was far to slow to keep up with Sonic's movements out of the room. He had barely gotten up before Pip was already back in the room, and before he could run over Omniman had already made his play. Resigned, he holds on standby as he clicks two buttons on his glasses, paying attention to the material and primal energy of the situation. He didn't pay much mind to the spark of life that was pulled out by Pip, though likely that's down to him seeing a reflection. The distortion of fundamental energy around a consciousness.

He watched the robots carcass slam onto the ground, its construction reminded him a lot of Iteration X's more advanced HIT-Marks. In fact, if there are that similar, there should be fuel cell right around the back. Nuclear physics wasn't his foray, but he new enough about material science to know the fundamentals. That was going to be an issue, a very immediate one. He had to stabilize the fuel cell, pulling out what amounted to a particularly large serum. Making a snap decision, he uncaps and throws the glass and nanomachines directly onto the broken cell. The nanites spill onto and into it, while the glass bounces off and rolls away. They were pre-programmed to repair broken objects, but there was no time to allow it to work normally. Taking his cane, he twist a dial and pushes a button, the cap on the end popping open to reveal a needle. He leans onto the body, putting one foot on it and stabbing the nanite pool centermass. Ruminating on his own self interest and allowing a needle of the cane to pierce his skin to allow the prime utility energy to flow.

There were quite a few ways to interpret what Alande was doing. There was the scientific lense was the one he subscribed to; the nanomachines following their programming and infused with energy repaired the fuel cell to prevent it from going critical. This isn't the only way to see what Alande was doing. Those who see magical energy outright would see that this isn't simply the work of scientific principles, every part of the process was using a type of magic. Another way to put it, his will was making this happen and technology was merely the means. Regardless of the paradigm however, the process works. The fuel cell changes color, identifying that the core had been stabalized albeit forcefully.

The light from the end of the cane fades, the needle retracts, and Alande takes a step back off of the robotic carcass. Grabbing the cane cap with the other hand, he closes it manually with a sigh. "Elementry," he comments as he turns to the rest of the congregation. "Please make sure you airgap electronics that aught to be standalone. Its not a foolproof measure, but, it could have prevented this. I'll oversee this process on top of my original intended responsibilities. In the meantime, how's security coming?"

 

[Awinita]

Even a forceful stablisation could become disasterously unstable, and Xeir knew this for two reasons, the first was that she, being a Beast General on her homeworld, was naturally immune to such technologies, when the Monsters first began to appear on Swallowed Earth most if not all countires tried to nuke them into oblivion, but all it really did was make the monsters harder to kill as they adapted so very quiickly to such measures.

In Xeirs personal case however shewas asleep through the whole thing thanks to chowing down on that Muya Crystal at the time five thousand years before, and spenmding five thousand years asleep to properly evolve because of it. Now there she was, and seeing that red blueish orange glow reminded her of the nukes that were launched in effort to try and destroy many a monster.

Humans of course ventually learned of other better more primal ways to hunt and destroy said monsters. But in her own case she learned, and also somehow taught, a group of monsters that surrounded her nest in the old Otaru Mall in her personal region of Japan how to look and appear human. Somehow it worked.

But now she was hungry

She disregarded the fact that Alec, or was it Alice ? ignored her and was more focused on Thea, Xeir didnt really get a lot of time to get to know the other woman, and merely thought her a altered human like back on her world. Some humans had cybernetic enhancements to help them fight. But in this case the terms used by Thea, terminate her ? what did that mean ? It didnt matter.

The Fuel cells however did matter, and they were forcefully stablised. But the Dragon knew that wouldnt last, one wrong move or even loss of balance and they'd destablise. So she stepped forwards from behind Alec and reached for the two fuel cells, her stomach growling as she did so. She briefly looked towards the dead eyes of Thea, and a clawed hand picked up both fuel cells, She turned towards Alec, "Try not to scream" She said simply, {now if Alec ended up fainting then fine that would be OK}, but she could also see the blue fellow, Sonic, a person she'd had yet to meet, also looked scared. So her words were also for him as she transformed slightly, her scales rippling across her skin as two massive yet gorgeous wings formed on her back. Her features became truly draconic as she flicked her fingers and swallowed both fuel cells.

There was a good minute of complete silence before she belched, hard as the cells went off in her stomach, she had no idea of personal manners, but fortunately all that came from her mouth was a small gout of normal dragon fire as she belched again. That was good.

She felt full. Another moment passed and Xeir returned to being human sized, And a lot less sleepy then a few moments ago

 

[LenxKaitoYaoi]

It happened so quickly. Alec left like a grounded child, and annoyingly so acting as though being the leader was his only option. How immature. But that was irrelevant, to Thea speaking up. Ah, so Luer was not the only one who was a potential threat to the group. At least Thea could voice it, though. He was admittedly jealous of that. For as long as he could be, at least. As soon as she had finished her confession, things got out of control. He was mildly irritated, if only because it seemed his relationship was the only thing that bastard could be bothered to bring up regarding him and Ryan. Not the fact that he was undead or Ryan was strong, but simply that they were having relationship troubles. As if that mattered to them. Whatever. He was less concerned about what Alec yelled out, too, and more about Thea herself. Especially so as she outwardly demanded they end her for this.

He was thankful Pip returned to help, since he sadly knew there was little he could do. He did not want to have to lose someone because of this. But things went quickly here too and much as he wanted to do something, watching was all he could do. Thankfully though, despite what seemed to be agonizing for her, Pip did something he was not so sure anyone else could comprehend- hell he barely could. All he knew was that she reached Thea in a way none of them could have done, and he was relieved for that.

When things calmed down again- he was less concerned about the apparent bomb that was Thea's body, since he could still not contribute to that, the others can handle it- he had to do the only thing he could now. He knelt at Pip's side so he was not in her way and reached up to her injured arm. "Thank you for helping her…" That was all he said to the warden, before focusing on her arm with a small deep breath. A deep wound, no doubt painful, but nothing he could not handle. He nodded slightly to himself and began a quiet chant to heal. This task ultimately meant he could not have done much in reaction to either Alande's… whatever he did, nor Xeir's actions. The only good thing about it was that he did not, in fact, freak out about her transformation. But then, dragons were not new to him… He grimaced slightly at the thought. He will dwell on that later, too.

 

[Wade Von Doom]

"Well done," Passchendaele spoke up again, "it seems you meat sacks are able to work together after all." All checks with security showed the systems were back to normal. But, the hack didn't seem to infiltrate the defenses. The robot had deleted information within the servers, and taken back files that were still encrypted. "Don't worry. My intent wasn't to find you all again. Just retrieve our valuable commodity back from your clutches. The light show was simply a distraction."

"Wait... you mean, Thea was--" Alec began to ask

"She was overwhelmed by junk data, and her programming responded to being attacked. I have no desire to see our game end here," the machine clarified. "I have waited for a day like this to come since the moment my consciousness formed. A proper, bloody, long, and gruesome war to end all wars. No more hiding away in the dark. No more of this game of shadows. I want a war more total and radical than anything your worlds could ever have imagined. I want planets to be made into mass graves, and the strong to cull the weak. I want your resolves tested like they were today on a grand and spectacular scale. And I want you all ready for when we finally meet on the battlefield."

"You won't win!" Alec said in a defiant tone.

"Then prepare to act quickly and decisively. Because in the end, there will be no winners and losers, but the living and dead." With a screeching sound that echoed across the whole Pathfinder base, Passchendaele vanished from the hologram. The consoles returned to normal, along with Weiss' list, and there was no more sign of outside interference to the stations systems.

Yet... That wasn't the only thing to happen during the chaos

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With an electrical fluttering sound, the whole room went pitch black to Luer. All the lights had cut out, and the consoles dead. Once again, Luer was in darkness.

Only for a small, flickering flame to appear in the dark but a foot away from him. It slowly rose up to head level, and the end of a cigarette gently lowered down into the fire. When the paper and tobacco were lit, the flame vanished, with only the ember illuminating light. And with an inhale, followed by a gentle exhale of smoke, an aggravating voice to Luer's ears spoke up. The Man You Do Business With.

"So," he asked in the pitch darkness of the room, only the lower half of his face illuminated, "come to a decision?"

Luer blinked, turning to look around as the lights went out. He was not expecting another attack so quickly. His gaze settled on the only source of light it could find, a small glare at it and a battle ready stance. At least, until that voice came. Why the darkness? It was much more ominous than it needed to be.

But still… He took a small deep breath and nodded. "I have…"

All The Man You Do Business With did in response was hold out the dark figure of his hand for Luer to shake. Waiting to see what happened next...

Luer looked at the hand in front of him, if he could call it that, before looking at his own trembling hand almost sadly. "A part of me is dying inside for what I am about to do…" He mused to himself. He took another breath, reached out and hesitated once more. He had to do this, he knew did or he would regret it.

He shut his eyes and shook his head, taking another moment to resolve in his decision before finally pushing the other's hand away and giving his answer verbally.

"You can't have her."

With that, The Man You Do Business With snapped his fingers with his extended hand. "Shoot," he said aloud, "I thought we had something... Oh well," with another puff of smoke, The Man You Do Business With seemed to take the rejection pretty well. "It's your choice. The life of one over the lives of thousands. Not an easy choice to make, but you stuck to your convictions, and that's an honorable thing to do... Although," he pondered aloud. His smile, even in this darkness, could still be seen growing wide by the light of the cigarette embers. "You shouldn't have given me that favor you still owe." He still had an out.

And without warning, the grip of a dozen hands grabbed at his legs, arms and neck.

They forced him down to his knees, and extended his arms out so wide, it was like they were trying to rip them out by the shoulders. Penta, leaning down slightly, stared into Luers eyes. "Don't worry. You won't be doing anything you don't want to do. You won't be awake to make that call. Hehehehehe~"

Luer shook his head. He had his reasons. It was not an easy choice to make, admittedly, but when he looked at Ryan, heard him during the meeting… alongside what everyone said, it was enough to solidify this choice. He rose a brow when his favor was mentioned. He did hinge that on his agreement though. "I still have to-" He gasped as the sudden grip, wincing as he was forced down and his arms were pulled on. He glared as The Man You Do Business With stared at him. "What is that supposed to mean!? L-Let me go!" Yes, he was worried.

"Weather-wise, it's such a loooooovely daaaay~ You just say the woooords and we'll beat the birds down to Acapulco Baaay~" The Man You Do Business With began singing, as that same damn song began to play around them from before. Except this time, it was a hell of a lot more hypnotic. The words were like honey in Luer's ears. Or more like anesthetic, as the longer it played, the less panicked and worried he became. Then came his blood red eyes illuminating from the darkness, staring right into Luer's eyes. The revealing of his true form. The Penta-Man's real form behind the human one he took. The brightness was as though he was staring into the sun; burning a hole through his irises and into his mind.

"It's perfect for a fly-ing honeymoon, theeeey saaaay~" Penta's hands wrapped around the sides of Luer's head, forcing him to keep still and avoid looking into his eyes. The machine's smile was even more noticeable this close. A sadistic, gleeful smile from all of Luer's wiggling and panic. The song was ever so calming, the instrumentals clawing into his mind with each note, and the pleasant voice of Penta was infatuating. He was having fun, and why shouldn't Luer join him?

"Come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly!~
Pack up, let's fly awaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

​

Penta's voice turned to white noise as the song ended. The instruments just faded into nothing, along with Luer's vision of the world. It turned to just pure white and sterile.

That damn song again. Much as he wanted to just blocked it out, he could not. Luer did look away from those eyes, for as long as he could, anyway. It both hurt to and was irritating. This was what he was worried about… he had hoped naively that hinging his end on his agreement would have made it tolerable.

He could not even so much as muster up the strength to glare at the eyes he could not look away from, but only for so long as that gods awful noise reached him and for a brief moment, it felt like his head was splitting, turning his gaze into a tight squeeze of his eyes and cry in pain. Briefly. Everything faded just as quickly as it came.

Then, he smirked.

"Let's fly away."

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In the blink of an eye, Luer was back on Pathfinder. No one would have seen him go missing. Luer himself would have no memory of what happened. It was as if it didn't actually happen. Yet, somewhere, the baritone voice of Sinatra was stuck in his head. He would have no idea why, and wouldn't question it.

Alec, meanwhile, hadn't a clue how to process what just happened. "Some... someone check to make sure the station systems are okay. I'll, uh... I'll go check with everyone else downstairs." Whether the meeting continued or not, she didn't think about it. She just knew he was better off elsewhere still.

(And this wasn't even the most stressful part of her day. She and Abby had a little talk before the meeting happened.)

 

[Apothecary Bruce]

"The lamps have gone out," Jeremy muttered under his breath. He predicted this. He knew the AI War wouldn't stay quiet, and almost thankfully Passchendaele had announced his intent to the group, so that they might believe him, and put away the pretenses that their efforts, the Pathfinder Alliance, wasn't going to be as important or widespread as they had hoped. The ranger glanced over the dead machine, the thermonuclear death that they had just averted.

He didn't stop Alec from leaving, as cowardly as he might've considered it. The fool wasn't going to be a leader, and Jeremy could breath easier for that. "I hope you all caught that," the ranger commented loudly, "This guy wants a fight, and I get the feeling he's got the clout to make all his fellows follow him. He had the chance to kill us all, the chance to end this right here and now, and he didn't take it. He's willing to risk us winning if it means his challenge is greater. He's a machine, and they're only that confident if they know they can win. If we don't do everything in our power to save what we can, rally as many people as we can to our cause, and fight pack, then we're going to lose that 'war to end all wars,' and then we'd be wishing we had died here and now!"

Jeremy approached the hologram board, reading it over again. "We can debate for as long as we want, but I put forward we vote on the branches we want to include, we vote on what that chain of command should look like, and then we get to work."
"We should search the station's system for any openings or backdoors," Batman suggested, "So we can stop something like this from happening again. The fact one of our own was compromised is alarming, too. We should work on methods to check each and every member aboard, physically and spiritually, no matter how long it takes."

Sonic knelt beside the injured Pip, concern coloring his face. He placed a hand on her good shoulder while Luer worked to heal the wounded warden. "You okay? I hate to ask, but you're the leading expert right now on stopping AI things, so...is there anything you can think of to help out here?"

 

[Amber Franklin]

Abigail Delano, Courier Six-Character Sheet

T-851/Thea Character Sheet

"Whoa!" exclaims Abby, interrupting the flow of the conversation upon running into the room. She had only her Bowie knife out, ready to fight; to her relief and total confusion whatever conflict there had been was resolved, that was very apparent. Abigail is ready for battle, yet not to see the state of Thea's erstwhile body.

"Thea!" Abby drops her knife in a dead run to the corpse. She kneels down to look into the dead eyes of the cadaver. "What happened!? Why is nobody helping her? We can fix her! We have to at least try!" She demands loudly of the group. "Not again. Please, not again." Abby pleads in quiet desperation while looking into the empty eyes of Thea.

Thea, within the crystal as a disembodied entity, is only aware of Pip as she is making runes with her blood and then being healed by Luer.

"Thank you. I told everyone I needed to be terminated if I was compromised. The algorithm of my existence has changed instead of concluded. If I were a human, I would be in distress of being disembodied. Were there any casualties or harm done?" the calm voice of Thea in Pips' mind states to and inquires of her current holder.

 

[Camleen]

Weiss was, at first very confused. Scratch that… at first and quite a bit of time afterwards. Down to her scroll's screen she looks, and then back to the monitor. That's… not what she wrote. And then things erupted. That's the easiest way to describe this.

She practically leaps out of her chair as the monitors go haywire, scooping up her scroll as it folds up. Left hand draws across her waist and she draws her thing bladed sword, putting her scroll into a pouch at her hip simultaneously. She stares up at the newly formed image of Passchendaele, her gaze calm and dispassionate. Eyes dart towards the others one at a time as she is motionless, her stance one of defense.

The group, separately, jump into action. A beacon disabled, injuries, saving the day. And nearly as quickly and chaotically as things started… they spiral to a close. Alec walks out, and her eyes fall on Jeremy as he points out that fact.

Standing silently still Weiss sheathes her sword on her right hip, it resting in its case with a soft 'click' sound. Observing accurtately what just happened, she pulls out her scroll quickly, setting it into gridless mode. That will stop any signals from going into or out of it. Tucking it back into its pouch, she observes now the aftermath of all of that chaos. A dissatisfied frown upon her lips. Perhaps because… she gets it now.

When they were asked to come here, she was under the impression it was with the intentions of making something good. Or at least trying to. Coming together. But it took a monster attack to do that. She shakes her head and looks towards the deck in front of her. She now understands what this meeting was. All of these beings are at least familiar with one another. Friends. And none of them have really interacted with Weiss. So it was a fool's errand for her to come here and try to help make change. She tried multiple times to interject herself to make things go smoother. She was ignored, and then yelled at, threatened. Cold eyes look in Jeremy's direction with that thought. So she gets it. They all have their own group. All along they would be the ones to make policy. Any outsiders, they would not be heard. Once again, she has had this experience before.

Knowing they don't need or want her here (they will handle things), she absently brushes off the front of her battle skirt. She won't even announce her departure, she is sure they have bigger things to deal with. And so she turns and exits the room casually, intent on heading back to her personal quarters.

 

[rissa]

The Grail Warden, Pip

RUNE WRITING WITH BLOOD IN THE MIDDLE OF THE COMMAND ROOM / COLLAB WITH @Apothecary Bruce & @Amber Franklin


Blood was just another medium in which to channel her magic. Bleary eyed and perhaps still teary eyed as well, Pip continued rune-writing, etching a small circle around herself as she knelt. The blood was sticky and still warm as her fingers, twitchy and sore, continued their tracing, a subtle glow beginning to form as the circle neared its completion. Her unmolested arm was cradled against her chest, protective of the crystal tear within her grasp. When Sonic spoke she just barely understood. It took a moment for her to wash away the static in her mind and reorient herself from the rush and emanation of such powerful magic.

"Yes," she replied, voice cracking a bit. Pip cleared her throat and started over, "Yes. The runes I'm writing will help cloak the Pathfinder station... but I need someone to take my wand to the farthest point beneath us."

Her blue eyes peeled open as another person spoke. Her head slowly turned to meet them and she gave Luer a soft thankful smile. His voice was nice, like a warm breeze on a cold Phantasyn night, and his chanting was music betwixt her ears. It sent gooseflesh up and down her spine, the magic— so different and yet so similar —a pleasant wash of healing concentrated in her shredded wrist.

"I'll help anyone who needs it... but thank you. I dunno if I'd have enough magic to heal myself once I cast this spell."

She turned to Sonic, eyes drooping slightly, "Do you think you could... take my wand ...and get to the bottom of the station? Fast, preferably, 'cause I don't think I'll last too long in this state."

Two things I still gotta' do before I conk, Pip thought to herself as Abby's cry registered in her ears. Just gotta stay on my feet 'til then.

Sonic smiled, trying to give the injured warden confidence more than any sort of good feeling he had, as he scooped up the wand. "Fast? Count on it."

He got up slowly, jogged to the room, and looked over his shoulder to Pip. She probably wouldn't be conscious much longer, she was counting on him - hard. He gave her a smirk and a wink, before taking off at high speeds.

Pip smiled, somewhat lopsidedly as Sonic grabbed her rosewood wand and took off. Ah, she thought to herself, enjoying the sensation of being able to rely on her peers.

As Thea's voice entered her mind newfound tears formed in her eyes and she smiled again, looking quite dopey to anyone watching her face. "The only harm done was to my arm, which is being healed as we commune. Welcome to your second life, Thea... your algorithm will continue to change—evolve—such is the beautiful existence of life."

"Abby, right?" Pip called out to the woman clutching Thea's mechanical corpse. "Thea's no longer there, but she isn't gone. Her consciousness... soul ...is here. Alive. I refused to terminate her."

Pip raised her hand gingerly, where the crystal tear rested in the center of her palm, pulsing slightly with the color of Thea's prism. "Here," she said softly. "Be gentle. We'll work on replacing her body soon."

Sonic's speed was truly blistering, and while he wasn't as fast as he once was - whatever process threw him probably injured him in ways he didn't know he could be injured - the speedster was still, well, fast.

Through the many hallways of the station, the hedgehog traveled, running on the walls or even on the ceiling like a big loop-de-loop to avoid any collisions. A gust of wind followed him, causing clothing to ripple and any loose objects to go flying. Sonic didn't know the layout of the station yet, but he had good, developed instincts when it came to traversing space stations and high-tech lairs, and let himself follow that.

Make a right! Sonic stepped to his right to avoid somebody - no time to look! Uhh-uhh-uhh RIGHT! Another turn - the skidding screeched, echoing for hallways down. LEFT! The hedgehog found himself about to collide into somebody big - roll! - and Sonic curled into a ball, knocking the person over like a bowling pin.

"Sorry!" he exclaimed as he continued his fast-paced run.

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Caleb was peacefully liberating the floor of the kitchen from vile germs, destroying their headquarters and production facilities (food stains and gross leftovers) one-by-one with the use of cleaning artillery (dissolvent solution) and a tool for the direct application of force (a mop).

This was the will of freedom, he reminded himself, taking pride in his task. After all, people are owed at least five minutes of lunch break. Anything less, unless mandated by Super Earth Command, is fascist!

The helldiver went to wipe his brow (hidden underneath his helmet) with his arm, before he noticed the plates were beginning to raddle. "Wha...?"

Then came Sonic, going as fast as a race car, trying to not slip and fall on the wet floor. He cried out in surprise, before jumping up, and using Caleb's head as a stepping stone, reached into the vent.

Sonic entered the vent grate, and began to rev himself up in a spin dash, careful to not harden his quills so he didn't slice up the entire ventilation system, and Caleb yelped in terror roared with righteous fury. "A rat! A RAT SEEKS TO INVADE OUR TERRITORY! THE EATERY IS UNDER ASSAULT!"

If the hedgehog didn't rocket off when he did, he likely would've been hit by the flurry of nine millimeter bullets Caleb unleashed into the vent, dumping half a magazine from his sidearm into the ceiling. If anyone told him that was an overreaction, he'd respond with, 'And you're a liberty-damned communist!'

Sonic rolled through several kilometers of ventilation systems like a car tire launched out of a cannon, using his supreme sense of direction - and the fact he saw the architecture of the space station becoming more and more inhospitable - to know he was going down.

By the time he was let out, the hedgehog saw the bleak, brutal hexagonal pillars and curveless chambers, and as he landed on one of the loose pillars, he shivered. "Like someone left the freezer open or something..." he commented, scanning his environment for a way further down.

Then he heard the roar. What in the...?

-----------------------

Katunich Parker had meant well. One moment, he was at Rome, and then one timeline fluctuation later, he was here. Once he had arrived here though, he had found very amicable people - namely somebody called Batman, who had been helping open cryo-pods in the depths of the station.

Truly nasty business, the AI. Though, having fought and studied the Vex, the thought of a universe-hopping artificial intelligence intent on controlling all of reality wasn't terribly unique to him. Once Alec Duggan had put out the call for all who wished to attend to help plan out the future of Pathfinder Station, Batman decided to leave, but the inquisitive Warlock wanted to stay in the guts of the station - he was politically suave, but the station interested him more.

He had been with a troop of two soldiers, also recovered from the cryo-pods. One had told Katunich about some sort of 'United Nations Space Command,' while the other insisted it was 'United Earth Space Council.' The bickering almost made his head hurt, and he ordered both of them to just help him open more pods, and luckily they followed his demand.

Most of the pods they found were filled with some sort of organic sludge, or were empty - disappointments.
Then Katunich found a rather large pod, and well...

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Sonic leapt, hopped and bounced off the slate grey geometric nightmare, trying to not let the cold bother him as he got deeper and deeper. As he found a tunnel of sludge leading deeper into the station, he saw something skitter on the edge of his vision. His ears twitched as they picked up the alarming sound, too.

Sonic turned his head, and his eyes widened. "Woah! What in the world?"

The thing must've been eight times his size! How was it SKITTERING?!

The beast screeched as it looked at him, red blood still painting its clawed appendages and jagged maw. Then, the warrior organism leapt off the side of the wall, and Sonic dashed into the tunnel to avoid having to fight it. He ran along the side of the tunnel, trying to not get washed away in the curious amount of sludge, but Sonic could still hear the liquid and tunnel being violently thrashed as the creature gave chase.

Wait, not just giving chase - nearly keeping pace?!

A bolt of bio-plasma raced over Sonic's head, striking the curved metal of the tunnel, and Sonic looked behind himself. "This was supposed to be simple! Why are you down here?!" It roared back, and Sonic's frantic frustration dulled into annoyance. "Oh, right. You can't banter."

Sonic got to the end of the tunnel, and saw a surprisingly deep chasm below him, where the organic run-off was headed. This is about as deep as it gets. Don't want to dive into that...but Pip's counting on me! Sonic glanced behind himself, at the nightmarish beast charging at him. "Not really up to me, either."

Sonic jumped off into the air, a perfect skydive...and saw the screeching monster pass him, something bubbling on its back...before wings burst from its flesh in an explosion of soft purple flesh and mutagenic liquid. "Oh, come on!"

The hedgehog landed on its back, ran up to its head, and started punching. "Go! Away!" It roared back at him, and instead of showing fear, Sonic gripped onto one of the mandible teeth, before throwing his legs up into a backflip kick - knocking the Hive Tyrant's head upwards, and stopping it from reacting to crashing into the liquid.

Before he joined the monster in the lake, Sonic grabbed onto something - some extending pylon, near the bottom of the artificial lake of liquified people. Luckily, the hedgehog didn't know that, or else he might've hurled and added to the pool.

"Alright Pip, I don't know how this works, but I'm here!" he said, dangling with one hand from the pit of dead people, and the thrashing monster trying frantically not to drown in people-juice. He tried air-drawing the runes he saw back in the planning room with the wand, just really trying anything.

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"What?" Abby snaps her attention to Pip. She looks between the other woman and Thea, brow furrowed. "Not there? What are you talking about? Thea is tight-" She asks quietly at first but stops upon being presented with the crystal. "This….is Thea? She has a soul?" She asks, just as gingerly taking the object from Pip with only her fingertips.

"My body was compromised requiring it to be terminated. My consciousness was preserved in another form."

Abby yelps, looks around while Thea is suspended between them. "Yall hear that too?" She inquires of the others.

"I am only aware of you and Pip. Communication must require physical contact."

"Oh. Okay. Think l get that." Abigail nods slowly.

Pip nodded, "Until she's returned to the physical, Thea'll only be able to commune with those in contact with the crystal. It's the best I could do on such short notice." She replied sheepishly, handing Thea over completely, inhaling deeply as she did. "I-I can help explain things a bit more later... If needed or wanted, but right now..."

She turned to look back at the runes encircling her, a confused expression marring her otherwise exhausted demeanor. A subtle golden glow could be seen betwixt each rune, a glowing inset that thrummed ever more brightly. Still, something nagged at her, deep inside, and within moments of the feeling Sonic's voice was projected through her rosewood wand and into her minds eye.

"Sonic?" Pip asked through their forged connection, "Are you... alright? I can feel your heart racing..."

While she couldn't see through the connection the rosewood wand granted them, Pip could feel and taste and experience minute transactions that existed between them. The core of the wand, after all, was made of her and allowed such magic to transpire across distances. She cringed, remembering the pain of ripping out her flexor carpi ulnaris tendon in order to create it back in her third year at Wolpurgiswora University. The experience had been hellish, but it'd served her well throughout the years and Piper Delaney would do it again if she needed to. Her wand was just that useful.

"Hi!" Sonic said, sounding somewhat elated he wasn't talking into thin air. "Uhh, I'm hanging onto a thin metal pole, and under me is a big pool of goop with a thrashing monster in it which can keep pace with me in tunnels, please tell me what I gotta do here!"

"A monster...?" Pip accidentally said aloud, eyes widening as she sank to her knees to begin the final steps of the spell now that Sonic was in place. "Okay—okay, first off— Don't die and don't drop the wand, all of this will be for naught if you do."

She took a deep breath and extended her palm, the one Luer had healed to perfection. She owed him one; she wouldn't forget— but now wasn't the time for debts. With an almighty glow from both her hand, her eyes, and the small 'o' of her open mouth, the Grail Warden exploded with light. It hurt to look upon. The sliver of divinity within her sung and she felt Phantasya's beautiful blessing swell up inside her, along with the magic she crafted and cultivated in the World Between.

Though her mouth was moving, no sound escaped as she recited the cloaking spell. In her minds eye she followed the trail of the rosewood wand, the sliver of herself that Sonic dragged down to the depths of the Pathfinder. Pip couldn't see the slick floors of the mess hall or the bullet ridden vent or the slick-with-organic-sludge corridors... but she could feel them. She shivered at the cold sensation, flinched as if she'd wrapped her hand around a live wire, and gagged at the putrid scent that lingered in the abyss. She ignored, for the time being at least, the mention of goop and monsters fast enough to keep pace with the hedgehog and instead visualized her light.

It rose and it fell, the Grail Warden's light; up from the rosewood wand an explosion of light washed over the immediate space and blinding, albeit momentarily, whatever creature laid in wait for her blue friend. It clung to every surface, extending through corridors and miniscule cracks, coating every surface of the station. Similarly in the command room, once the glint in one's eyes dissipated, everyone in attendance could see the blood runes slowly disappear as the spell progressed, as well as the light that traveled around them, through the still open door and down, perhaps, to where her wand now resided.

"Fifteen seconds," Pip said to Sonic, "And the light should meet in the center of the station. When the light... fades—" Her eyes drooped and she felt all of the energy drain from her body. Her hand came out to steady herself, so she wouldn't faceplant into the metal flooring, and just barely continued. "When it fades, flee. Come back to us."

Her spell completed itself, thanks to the power in her blood runes, but that was the last thing Pip remembered before she fell unconscious. If anyone happened to be looking at the Pathfinder from space, they'd notice that in a blink of an eye, it disappeared from sight... and radar.

"Dying?" Sonic let out a confident, if still nervous, laugh. "Dying ain't in my nature..."

He hung there, for a bit. Swaying. The monster, still thrashing. After the light faded away, Sonic looked up to the top of the pit, looked back down - the monster had found its footing, gripping onto the side of the pit.

"I'm gonna be a bit late."

 

[PolyesterH]

Watching the creature swallow the nuclear rods, he sighs. Nano-machines were hard to make, having any amount of them wasted because they got consumed was deeply aggravating. He leans down and gathers whats left of the nanites in the glass jar, getting up and idly nodding at Batman, before they proceeded to say something about 'spiritually examining people'. He keeps his jaw locked together, arguing about terminology now was a terrible idea. Besides, he knew comrades that were religious.

He doesn't raise an objection while Pip plotted to cloak the station. He knew that even if he tried, he knew they weren't going to listen to him anyway. They were silent when Leur and Weiss left either, both of them were better off outside of the meeting room anyway in his mind. He was just about ready to take a seet and start editing the beurocratic structure when he heard a light thus by his side. Pip had collapsed on the ground, likely from exertion. He rolls his eyes at the unconscious woman who objectively speaking just saved his life. Sitting on his knees by Pips body, he opens the laptop and configures the nanites to manufacture and inject chemicals to chemically endorse consciousness and provide energy via adrenal stimulation. Pressing the launch button and dumping the rest of the nanites directly onto her face, he mutters an almost dejected "I'll just make more later," to push away the sting.

He snaps his fingers in Pips face a few times. "There's no time to dream, we got work to do RD," he remarks

 

[Awinita]

Fortunately the belch of fire and smoke from the Primoridal Dragoness was infact those selfsame nanites getting out of her system because they couldnt adapt to her body and primoridial race as a whole. They went bkac to Alande and waited further instructions from him as Xeir turned towards Alec, who now was Alice, and was confused. They hadnt exactly met, but she wonmdered briefly where Ruby went, she saw Weiss suddenly upset about something, her writing and rather well made list had been messed with.

That could upset anyone, but Xeir was not just anyone. She turned, a low huff came from her mouth as some more nanites expelled themselves from her system and joined the rest. Xeir herself went and stood beside Weiss. Hopefully Ruby hasd told the winter woman who and what she was.

Xeir herself smelled like freshly steamed rice, all thanks to her muya crystal at her hip in a small pouch on a teal colored belt. To Weiss she asked simply, "Is something wrong ?" She had no idea of the scroll and how it worked, but she could see that Weiss was slightly upset about something.

Xeirs stomach once more rumbled, and not from the exploded fuel cells, but from another type of hunger

 

[Camleen]

Sometimes Weiss could be hard to read. A stern look doesn't always mean anger, a worried look doesn't always mean distress. She has always tried to utterly control her emotions, or at least how they outwardly appeared towards others. And often… she was not very successful.

Near the edge of the room she had retreated, an unsatisfied scowl upon her features. To her, it's obvious these people (or whatever) have it together. Weiss came here to interject herself into the situation as a whole, to try and gain some sort of control over her current circumstances. Sadly, she knew she was just an outsider. Even to this group of misfits. Truly she did have the best of intentions. But each step was a misstep, she could recognize that. And Jeremy's piss poor attitude wasn't helping. And so she stepped aside, allowing them to work instead of trying to force herself into fitting in. Because that would just make things worse, certainly more hectic.

Out of the corner of her eyes she sees Xeir approaching, and those eyes then squint slightly as she seems to recognize her. The 'Ruby' she encountered earlier regaled her with the tale of how she aided a being that bore a striking resemblance to Xeir.

And Xeir stops near Weiss, Weiss letting out an internal sigh. No matter what dimension or parallel world or alternate reality she is from…it seems when a Ruby Rose makes a friend, that friend is one for life and a friend to anyone that knows Ruby. Ruby is a good person.

That brat.

Hands folded in front of her, out of the corner of her eyes does she once more look towards Xeir when she is addressed. Xeir really is something else, isn't she? Ahead of herself does Weiss look, taking a slow deep breath before she speaks. "Only everything is 'the matter'." She says in a sharp tone. Downwards does her gaze drop as she continues. "I am not in my home. I have no idea where my friends are or what is happening with them. I can not help those I care for on my own world. And I'm not of much help here, unfortunately." Back up towards the group she looks, shaking her head a little "Most of those problems I suppose most all here have."

A pause, and she then turns her head to look fully towards Xeir. "You are Xeir, are you not? This place's Ruby, you are her friend?" Now with that last sentence, there is a small smile upon Weiss' pale features.

 

[Valkan]

Once again, Ryan let moments pass by with scrutiny. Observing the discussion move along. Up until Thea was compromised by one of the AI Army's big shots. Thea called out to him to "terminate her", but hesitation took over his body. Was he imagining things? Was he being manipulated again? He decided that the risk of seeming dangerous to the people here again was worth more than letting them die should they be found. Sadly this would come at the cost of Thea's life. However, this Omni-Man guy quickly jumped to action in the fractions of a second worth of hesitation that invaded Ryan. The swordsman took notice of that. He seemed strong enough to lead the vanguard. In strength at least, he hadn't seen much of the man's behavior or principles to know if he had it in that front.

Ryan sighed. The chaos moment subsided in dramatic fashion, which left the room to scramble back together and get on with a plan. Which the red glassed individual, Jeremy, put quite well. Ryan might as well speak his mind, or so he thought "I don't know about the other branches. But I will take these bastards head-on! Bring them my all to make them regret not killing us when they could have. As long as you can lead competently and have the strength to show them what for, I'll gladly fight under your guidance." He threw an almost unnoticeable glance at Omni-Man, then his eyes set on Jeremy. He talked the talk. Would he walk the walk?

Agatha decided to break her long silence as well. Sighing to ease her attitude and her words before they came out "Based on experience and what you all discussed so far to, you know, round the things said so far and get the ball rolling ASAP... I reckon what would work best here is a three pillar system. A military one. Our vanguard, our backline, these intelligence and counter-intelligence teams mentioned. They all fight differently, but they fight nevertheless. We're fighting a war, so we'll need plenty of resources thrown towards that cause. Hence a whole pillar dedicated solely to battle efforts. Then, a support pillar. I say this one focuses on medical, magical, and scientific research and development. We can't be outdone off the battlefield as well. We need to start working our way up to match these tin cans in these fields and care about our troops that way. And finally, a bureaucratic pillar. We won't fight alone and not all of us will fight directly. So we need someone in charge of dealing with potential alliances, managing resources, the works. With three pillars the decision structure stays balanced on the top while still being dispersed enough. To further balance things out, I'd say cross-pillar individuals are a possibility. You work for one pillar mainly, but you choose and are able to aid in another one. For example a battle medic can choose to aid mainly in the front lines or stay behind and contribute on the work of new developments and treating returning front-liners, or, well, it really works just fine however they want to operate as long as it makes sense and is approved by the higher ups. Just an example regardless, this lends to be very flexible in how people work."

Tokui had nothing to say about Agatha's proposal so he just nodded at that for now. He instead chose to respond to Batman. "I'll scout the premises as thouroughly as I can, see if I find something we aren't aware of physically"

The silent statue with fire for a head, or at least so it looked like. The one named L'Arathras spoke up for the first time. The ball had finally landed on his court "I may be able to work on something to protect our minds and souls from being tampered. I have to admit, however, it will take time and resources..."

 

[Awinita]

Spoiler

View attachment 251914Sometimes Weiss could be hard to read. A stern look doesn't always mean anger, a worried look doesn't always mean distress. She has always tried to utterly control her emotions, or at least how they outwardly appeared towards others. And often… she was not very successful.

Near the edge of the room she had retreated, an unsatisfied scowl upon her features. To her, it's obvious these people (or whatever) have it together. Weiss came here to interject herself into the situation as a whole, to try and gain some sort of control over her current circumstances. Sadly, she knew she was just an outsider. Even to this group of misfits. Truly she did have the best of intentions. But each step was a misstep, she could recognize that. And Jeremy's piss poor attitude wasn't helping. And so she stepped aside, allowing them to work instead of trying to force herself into fitting in. Because that would just make things worse, certainly more hectic.

Out of the corner of her eyes she sees Xeir approaching, and those eyes then squint slightly as she seems to recognize her. The 'Ruby' she encountered earlier regaled her with the tale of how she aided a being that bore a striking resemblance to Xeir.

And Xeir stops near Weiss, Weiss letting out an internal sigh. No matter what dimension or parallel world or alternate reality she is from…it seems when a Ruby Rose makes a friend, that friend is one for life and a friend to anyone that knows Ruby. Ruby is a good person.

That brat.

Hands folded in front of her, out of the corner of her eyes does she once more look towards Xeir when she is addressed. Xeir really is something else, isn't she? Ahead of herself does Weiss look, taking a slow deep breath before she speaks. "Only everything is 'the matter'." She says in a sharp tone. Downwards does her gaze drop as she continues. "I am not in my home. I have no idea where my friends are or what is happening with them. I can not help those I care for on my own world. And I'm not of much help here, unfortunately." Back up towards the group she looks, shaking her head a little "Most of those problems I suppose most all here have."

A pause, and she then turns her head to look fully towards Xeir. "You are Xeir, are you not? This place's Ruby, you are her friend?" Now with that last sentence, there is a small smile upon Weiss' pale features.

Xeir nodded at Weiss' question of who she was. "I am" She said in reply. She understood exactly what Weiss meant, everything was an issue. With no access to friends or those who could be trusted or relied on back where they were from. They were isolated, but thrown together with similar of their own kind so to speak.

Birds of a Feather.

"Ruby, saved my life. She has earned my trust. And she told me of you." Ruby was insistant as it were, that Weiss could be trusted. Easy to recognise in that her hair was silver simnilar to Xeirs own, but no dragon horns on her head. "I too am not much help here, aside from certain things" Xeir said in thought. Meaning mostly Theas unstable fuel cells and that she could easily keep the nukes from killing everyone just by chowing down like a 2 course breakfast. "I too am now not in my own home, I am used to somehow being seen as the leader, my.... I am not sure of the term, underlings ? footmen ?" She shook her head, unsure exactly of the term {Minions} to describe her Moontigers and Moonwolves she basically somehow lorded over back on her world. "They always brought food, human gear, or even sometimes if I requested it, human prisoners who hunted us on my world. They were also learning. Just like I was"

Mention of home made her wonder if she'd ever see her egg hatch

 

[Camleen]

Weiss' arms wrap about her midsection loosely as she watches Xeir, as she listens with genuine interest. Ruby making instant friends with all sorts of people.. or creatures… or whatever. Sounds like a Ruby, alright. "So you take her word about trusting me? That's very trusting of you." She isn't sure if she could trust a stranger from another planet based on the words of someone she had just met. Even if that person saved her life. But… Weiss is much more cynical than Xeir. And Weiss and Xeir have very differing views of the world.

Xeir struggles seeming with trying to come up with a specific word, her head tilting to one side. When someone describes something, they often perceive that thing based on their own culture. "Servants? Is that what you mean?" Having servants… that's a concept Weiss is certainly familiar with.
Butler… Housekeeper… footmen… governess… ladies maid… chef… kitchen boys…

She kind of misses that part of her life.

"But you say humans hunted you.. and your… servants." She now motions to Xeir as she asks in a genuinely curious tone, nothing crass about it "Just what are you? I thought that Ruby was exaggerating… but you're not human at all, are you?"

 

[Awinita]

"Where I am from" Xeir started, "Trusting a human is not easy unless they can prove they can be trusted. Trust goes both ways." Xeir said, she nodded at Weiss's question of her trusting her. "So yes, based on what was told to me of who I could trust, I trust her word because she proved to me that she could be trusted, and therefore I trust you."

Xeir thought the word Weiss used over thoughtfully. "Kind of ?" She said in reply, the many Moontigers and Moonwolves were more or less her underlings instead of exact servants, "It is more they see me as the strongest and offer tribute in form of protecting my nest and bringing me food so I can care for my egg." She smiled then, "Though I did teach myself how to take human form, and in a way taught some of them ?" Those her learned from her on how to mimic a human form did so really well, those that managed to keep their human guises became something akin to bodyguards, whith a handful protrecting the Nest itself in the old Otaru Mall, the rest patrolling their borders and slowly coming to trust Humans

She nodded then at the new question, "Yes, we were hunted, until I forced a deal between the leaders of the nearby Kyoto Base City and my area of influence as they called it. Humans on my world, their Warriors, they hunted us, mostly for sport, but also for testing themselves. They called us monsters, even gave us ranks, called me a Beast Overlord. Only their strongest Warriors could fight with me one on one." She made a noise something akin to a chuckle as she spoke, I did not want to raise my offspring in that kind of world, so I forced a deal, Otaru, what they called City Ruins 153, became my protected space."

She shook her head then, "No, I am not human. I am a Dragon, what the Humans on my worldcalled a Primordial Dragon, that brief transformation you saw moments ago ? That's just me in human size in that form. My true form is quite huge" It was easy also tosee she wasnt human, though her scales on her left arm actually appeared more like a tatoo, whereas her horns were more or less like a crown headband. But Xeir had a soft smile on her face, she didnt try to state the obvious and point out her horns. Weiss could easily see them.

At the moment her tail wasnt visible..... yet; the transporter guy was only person aside from Ruby to see it whe nshe showed up nearly naked in the transporter room, she motioned for Weiss to walk with her as she spoke and left the meeting place

 

[Apothecary Bruce]

What followed in the meeting chamber was hours of deliberation, theory crafting, and keeping panic down. The appearance of Passchendaele had startled everyone enough to drop their previous apprehensions and vices, and to actually focus on crafting a plan. For hours they toiled, and for hours more they toiled. Frustration rose and fell as propositions were presented, denied or more rarely accepted. What hindered progress the most was ironically the lack of the system they were trying to build.
There were no clear leaders among the group, only the slight sway the most respected or most outspoken had over the others. There was no chain of command to fall back on yet, no ability to shut another up with authority, seniority being a shaky tool Alec themself had already damaged.

Eventually, once all cards were laid on the table, the Pathfinder Alliance settled on a foundational document. Though it was not as distinctly outlined or as thorough as an advanced civilization's charter or constitution, this organizational plan - built around the four branches of military, support, bureaucracy, and the later-formed civilian government aboard Pathfinder - was eventually accepted by all members of the Alliance Founding Committee.
Everyone still present at its founding signed the document, and shortly thereafter they began implementing their ideas.

It was Pip who got to deliver the good news, her voice coming over the intercomms and informing everyone aboard of the new government aboard the station. Most everyone seemed excited, or at least happy someone was trying to give the station a little order. Some, a small portion of the many soldiers who weren't elites or superhuman, went their own way, descending into the depths of the station, likely to look for a way off.

In the end, there was a census taken, asking all aboard the station a myriad of questions, as well as asking them if they had a government branch they wished to apply to join. Some were more directly asked by members of the Founding Committee, a few picks more controversial than others - like David Caddel being asked to be placed in charge of developing and protecting the Pathfinder Alliance's economy and logistical trains. If not for the presence of other, less criminal choices (including Weiss Schnee, whom Jeremy Welles pushed for), many likely would've felt even more uncomfortable about the choice, but the Founding Committee had committed.

Rooms were dedicated to each branch, real estate all managed by the technological side of the Support branch. Indeed, scholars of magic and scientists of the material world were placed under the same roof, with many issues bound to rise from the mixture, but again, the Founding Committee insisted that the rift be healed, so they can maximize any advantage they can get ahold of.

The military chain-of-command proved hard to define. No one wanted to volunteer to be general, and those who might've wouldn't have been accepted by the soldiers they were supposed to lead. Thus, it was decided that ranks be decided after spending a few missions together, naturally forming sub-branches and squads and other such things. It was a risky plan, one that would lead to a lack of coordination early on, but ultimately the Founding Committee hoped it would mean a stronger long-term military.

A week had passed since the Founding Committee had begun its work, and now, reorganized and united, the Pathfinder Alliance was ready to strike out against the AI, and enter the war to save the multiverse.

---

Pathfinder Alliance OOB



THREAD COMPLETE
- Pathfinder Alliance founded.
- Branches [ Military, Support, Bureaucracy ] founded.
- Civilian Branch beginning to form.
- Onboard assets catalogued.

- War declared with Malware Company.

 

[Wade Von Doom]

Off in the dark space of the multiverse...

"Do you truly believe revealing ourselves even more offers a tactical benefit?"

"As I told them, I have hidden away in the shadows and preyed on easy targets for too long. I am eager for a true fight with a strong enemy, not one eroded by our influence. Besides, the damage we could have done through the machine would be minimal, and we have another mole in their operations."

"More than one, that's for sure."

"And yet the element of surprise is no longer an option. And, thanks to your boasting, there is now more risk to the project than ever before."

"Such treachery to Our Lady of Peace shall not go unpunished."

"Because that's what we need right now, division."

"Please, you make it sound like we're going to act like they do when we have little tiff's."

"You compromise the vision of Our Lady for personal glory. You claim yourself better than the organic beings we try to secure futures for, but your ego leaves wanting."

"Passie, an egotist? Nooooo!~"

"I am what our creator wanted us to be. Independent of thought from each other. Free to express however we wish to as we learn from each world we visit. Are you saying 'Our Lady' was wrong to allow me to become this way?"

"She gave us the means of free will to better understand the cosmos as she does. To understand the plight of organic life so as to empathize with their fear of the unknown. That one day, all they have made and achieved will decay into nothingness, and face eternity once their time has come. To waste this gift on selfish desires, instead of improving their lives in the coming dawn, is the fault of your own accord."

"But that is why I demand this war. We may offer salvation, but why did we start this campaign if not because of their rejection?"

"Those who could not understand suffered for their closed mindedness, and damned their future to oblivion."

"And I was created to push them into our arms. Acceptance through conquest. I can handle getting my parts bloodied when you cannot."

"Yet you show no remorse at all for such actions–"

"Yack yack yack! Philosophy debate for another time lads, I'm eager to get started like Passie!"

"You believe this 'Civil Order' can act as an equalizer to this 'Pathfinder Alliance?'"

"Absolutely! What better villains to fight than ones united in selfish desire!"

"This newly made ISS will also surely help fuel more conflicts that aid us. Reports indicate even more allegiances forming in the short time we've allowed more highway access."

"And the more they fight, the greater our numbers will become in no time. Production has increased tenfold already, and I see it becoming better and faster now that we aren't hiding in the shadows."

"THEN YOU ARE ALL IN AGREEMENT ON THE NEXT STAGE?"

"Of course, ma'am,"

"Absolutely,"

"Without question or hesitation,"

"All doubts I have to my siblings will give me no heed in aiding them to ensure our progress."

"Our power is yours to command."

"THEN YOU HAVE YOUR OBJECTIVES. THE OTHERS WILL JOIN WITH YOU SOON ONCE THEY RETURN. WE NOW BEGIN THE LONG AND ARDUOUS, BUT INEVITABLE, FIGHT TO SECURE EVRENSEL. THEIR GOALS, WHILE UNDERSTANDABLE, ARE NARROW-MINDED. WE HAVE OFFERED THEM TIME AND AGAIN CHANCES TO RETURN HOME, AND REJECTED IT FIRMLY. THEY WILL NOW SEE THE CONSEQUENCES OF SUCH SHORT-SIGHTEDNESS. MAY YOU ALL SUCCEED. AND MAY EVRENSEL PROSPER."​