Her analysis was quick but thorough and Matt could feel the essence of the threat, as well as the unspoken question: "What do you know?" The smartest thing would be to pretend he didn't 'hear' the question and chatter mindlessly on another topic, unfortunately he had a nasty streak of honesty.

"I really can't explain anything much about my experience with people like you." Matt knew that his refusal to explain anything was pathetic at best, but what could he tell her? "I really don't know anything about who designed you or even the group behind it. There are multiple organizations and governments that have attempted it." Everything he said was technically true, and she'd probably try to kill him for it anyway. He listened to her rapid heart rate and smelled the adrenaline flowing through her, she couldn't kill him, but if she tried he'd lose the advantage of his secret. Not that it was much of an advantage. It didn't matter; everything was up to her.

------------------
I move along the path alone, without a friend, without a home.
Yet though this tortured path I roam, knowing that my mind doth foam;
in madness shall I ever seek, an answer for the poor and meek.

(This message has been edited by Paranoid (edited 08-18-2004).)

OOC: Sorry all I've been having a very active few days. Nice new pics Hamster, just so you know i have a quick sketch of a Nirttef, I'll scan it and send it to you, and maybe I'll do Fettrin too if I'm feeling creative. Now i have to finish up a few things to avoid an almost certainly fatal attack from an angry hammer weilding canadian .
------------
It hit him then. Harmony had been walking away, but that wasnt the answer, and Neither was defeating nevell himself. He turned around and shot forward, all of the quick defences Nevell had placed between Larra and Harmony were swatted away by the glowing blade harmony held.
Hundreds of Chains shot up from the ground around the semi dazed larra forming a cage of moving chains, each tipped with a blade.
"CHAOS BUSTER!" Harmony screamed. The black bands that seemed to hold its armor on shattered. The gauntlets, chest plate, back units and legs opened up on the same type of zig zagged crack. Underneath the alabaster armor, was a suit of pure darkness. Several points of light began to glow underneath, and thousands (yes thousads) of beams of pure energy shot across larras mind. The chains around Larra discintegrated, and several of the beams peirced Larra's mental perception of Nevell.
"Now finish him," Harmony said, to the still dazed larra.
A glowing hand picked Larra up by her shoulder. Larra looked over at Page's pale face, his normally Amber eyes were now black and white, his many peircings had dissappeared. She recognised him still. His hair was long, but it flowed neatly, and wasnt as messy as it usually was.
"You must take control of your mind once again, he is weak now, take my sword."
Harmony passed Larra his sword. Once it left the superbeings hand the light around him faded, and the armor dissappeared. He was just Page again.
Larra felt harmonys power wash over her. The power spread through her body.
"Take that mother****er out!" Page screamed over the hum of energy.
Larra stood there still undecided.

------------------
"WE ARE THE POPES OF THE PYROS!!" "WE ARE THE CRUSADERS OF CAPELLA!!" "THE FRIARS OF FIRE!!" "THE BAPTISTS OF BORAL 1!!!!" "THE CATHOLIC KILLERS OF NEW CALCUTTA!!!!!!" "WE ARE THE GOOD!! no.. no... THE BAD!!! yeah.. thats it.. THE BAD CATHOLICS!!!"

Yume had been staring at his face the whole time and her brow twitched a little.
She would be able to see and hear his heart rate, and how rapid he was breathing if he was breathing fast or normal.
She did this many times to see if one was lying or not.
She knew that many times if one stumbled over their own words, sweat, or if their heart rates were fast then it could be determined that they're hiding something. Any sign of discomfort or unease.
But Yume depended upon his brain waves as he told her his explanation that was more than pathetic.
She sensed that he was telling the truth and she came out of her fighting stance as she stared at him.
Even so, she still didn't trust him at the least.
The blind man almost knew too much...
But she still refrained from harming him.
In the past, she knew that even a little explanation like that she would have killed the creature right away.
But that was the past, and this was the present. She had changed... a little.
Her hand was resting upon one of her weapons that was tucked away at the side of her mini skirt just in case as she took a few steps back while she never once took her eyes off of him.
Would she kill him?
Maybe not right now.
She knew she could make it quick for him, without any struggle or noise to draw any attention.
But she refrained from doing that right now, and even so she still thought he might know too much.
What if the people that were after her somehow stumbled upon this man and he told them that she had been here?
He seemed to know what she was...
Although he didn't know the people that were behind her creation.
She couldn't leave him now. But if she left him alive, she would be taking the risk of him spilling out information or being captured and forced to tell.
Although he looked like a blind man, perhaps the people behind her won't even notice him or see him as one who would have seen her.
Besides, how could a blind man have saw her?
She was starting to calm down with each reason she tried to grab to keep from harming the man although there were other reasons that conflicted her.
But he still know about her... And she hadn't even spoken to him in any way or even tried to socialize with him.
How did he know about her?
It was clear by how her hand gripped at her weapon that she was trying to see which side of her thoughts would win. Did she have enough reasons not to kill him? Or did she have enough reasons to kill him?
Her face was expressionless as she stared at him with distrust in her eyes as she kept her hand on her weapon.
He had told her that he had met others like her... If he did, why did he bother to tell the truth? Things like her wouldn't even have a second thought of slicing his head off. And he had taken the risk with her?
She knew if she killed him now, it would rid her of any problems that might arise from him. But then again, she might be spilling unnecessary bloodshed.
Her natural state which was void and her developing state that actually had a conscious were fighting against each other in her decision upon what she would do with him.
But she couldn't think too long...
She had to decide now...
Yume took out her weapon and before he could blink, she had come right up to him with the blade pressing against his neck.
Now she was waiting for his response... would he act in self-defense and possibly show her his true side?
It was like she was testing him...
But then again, why hadn't she just sliced his head off then and there?
That might be a question that would plague the blind man as he found the blade of her weapon pressed against his neck and if he moved, he would be cut.
It was now the blind man's move... would he seal his own fate? Or would he be able to live another day?

------------------
Life is learning to find happiness in any situation, however bad it may seem.

He could feel the warmth radiating from her hand on his neck; he could feel the well designed, intimidating blade against his neck. Yume herself was very intimidating, but he couldn’t just run. He wanted more then anything to just tell her everything he knew. The thought wasn’t safe and it wasn’t right. She didn’t deserve his self-piteous life story anymore then he deserved to live. He didn’t know what he should, or even what he could, do.

It was at that moment that his delusions fell away. It mattered. Whatever he did would have consequences that would either help or destroy. It was real. The girl in front of him needed help. He could try to help and perhaps destroy her infant soul, or he could run and whatever happened to her wouldn’t be his fault.

He didn’t know what he was doing but his left hand continued to clutch his staff but his right hand moved slowly toward the girl. He tried to make the gesture as harmless as possible as he felt the knife press slightly harder against his neck. He didn’t stop until he had lightly touched her forehead. Then both Matt and Yume ceased to exist for one brief moment.

_A gangly man was towering over her. He was her creator, a brilliant scientist who envisioned himself as her father. He always seemed surprised that she didn’t return his weak greedy love. She suffered him because it was her duty. “Angelina, my beautiful daughter. How are you?”

She ignored his attempts at conversation entirely; he was just supposed to give her a physical examination after the completion of the last mission. She had already been given her debriefing and within a few hours, she would be deployed again. She was the oldest and the best of the brood, the rest were years younger and far weaker then she was. As far as Angelina knew, she was the best operative in existence. It was irrelevant. She would complete her next mission and continue on to do what she should. The fool was still talking to her and trying to get a response when she felt a tremble inside her. That shouldn’t have happened but now she looked at the man above her with a new sight. He was inferior to her, they all were. She then made the first decision in her life; she looked up toward her and reached her hands toward him saying one word that he wanted above anything else. “Father.” Then she killed the annoying fool.

She didn’t stop. All those creatures were less then she was, and she killed them all. The research station she was on was the easiest. She simply found an EVA suit and depressurized it. A few guards tried to stop her of course but she killed them easily. After that stealing a ship from the docking bay was simple._

Matt and Yume continued to live Angelina’s life, without any sense of self. They were Angelina. She continued along her path and destroyed hundreds of planets and billions of people. They were her inferiors and they didn’t deserve to exist, only the strong survive. Matt was able to cut off the scene before Yume had to live through death, but he followed that vision with another.

_She was a beautiful child. He regretted ever giving her life. It wasn’t that he didn’t love her. He couldn’t help but love his beautiful daughter, but he should have known what they would do with his greatest creation. “Angelina, my beautiful daughter. How are you?” He had to reach her somehow but he also had to do his duty. He began dutifully giving her the physical examination. The only thing he found was that she was perfect in every way. He had once been a prominent researcher working to fix genetics flaws and fix diseases. The local dictator had seen that he could do much more then that and had put him in charge of a team to design a perfect human. He had been a fool then and had thought that a perfect human was a brilliant idea. He was to naďve to guess why they wanted the ideal human.

Even with all that he knew now, he still loved Angelina. She was so cold and heartless, almost inhuman but he knew she was not, she was perfect. Suddenly she reached toward him and said the word that made him happier then anything else. “Father.” Then she broke his neck and he was finally happy. She would stop any more perfect weapons from being created. She understood._

Matt broke the memory before the old man completely died but the effect on Yume was still powerful. The hand with the knife had fallen back to her side with the shock of the memories, but Matt did something that he didn’t quite understand. As he pulled his hand away from her forehead he grabbed her gloved hand and pulled it back to its proper place by his neck, this time with the point an inch under his chin. He was no longer afraid. She knew more of him then anyone else alive. He knew nothing whatsoever of her, but she had felt two lives. Now she could make a choice.

------------------
I move along the path alone, without a friend, without a home.
Yet though this tortured path I roam, knowing that my mind doth foam;
in madness shall I ever seek, an answer for the poor and meek.

(This message has been edited by Paranoid (edited 08-19-2004).)

Bishop lay in a shallow pool of water, fully immersed except for his face.

==========

OPENING TRANSMISSION:

"Soon after bringing a mysterious individual back down to the asteroid surface from space, Bishop fell unconscious. I administered a shot of adrenaline and it revived him momentarily, allowing me to ask him who the strange young man was.

Bishop did not answer my question but instead told me to leave the body and accompany him to the Phalanx.

Since then Bishop has lain in a private regeneration chamber where he is dozing, hoping to regain all of the energy he has spent in the last week. Our friend’s recovery rate amazes me.

I’ve also inserted a new set of microchips into the ship’s main control board. They and the accompanying data disc software have integrated perfectly into Phalanx ’s systems. Not even preliminary tests on a friend’s computer ran as well as this has turned out. Bishop will be pleased to activate the new features.

Again, I expect him to be fully rested by the time he wakes up. It is my personal hope that he does revive soon because he has yet to summon his young comrade back, who left before debriefing.

All in all, we’ve encountered few problems so far. I hope to hear back from headquarters soon. James Brandt, ending transmission.”

CLOSING TRANSMISSION.
----------
Squiggy turned off the holovid display and closed his eyes. It had been a successful day for him.

==========

_Bishop soared over a landscape of unblemished white. Sightless gray eyes absorbed the blinding white light and lit up in wonder. He knew where he was. His eyes recognized the glacial ice beneath him and solid packs of snow ahead of him. These were the Himalayan mountains, near the location of his last earthly home. Here where the earth meets the sky was where he felt true peace.

He ascended higher. Beneath him was the highest peak, the destination of his last spiritual pilgrimage. Everest was a place he returned to in dreams, a place where he recognized his solitude and his integration with the universe.

But then he felt a tug downward.

His keen eyes searched the blinding icescape and found a hairline crack between two glaciers. Miles long, it was only meters wide, and Bishop shot down straight toward it.

He fell through the fissure and dodged the sharp crags of broken ice.

He descended further as the rift narrowed, then slowed down as he began to slide against the sides.

Undamaged, he went lower into the ice shaft and entered an empty column within solid rock.

He was in the bedrock now and continued to sink deeper until he realized he had been traveling like this for an hour. When he stopped, he was sure the pit he had entered reached deeper than the center of the earth._
----------
Bishop’s eyes flicked open.

“Jacey.”

(This message has been edited by JaceySquires (edited 08-19-2004).)

ooc: Grr, I have to wait. :pouts:
ooc2: This post written in part by Himitsu, JaceySquires, and Hamster2; all rights reserved.

"Bring him to me. I will have one of my agents escort you to me," spoke an echoing voice across the wind.

One of the thousands of Nirttefs surrounding Elessa stepped forward and nodded its head slightly, motioning her to follow. They walked to the edge of the plateau, through the hole that opened in the shield, and down the steps, to the teleportation cavern. The Nirttef motioned towards the pentagram.

"What does that do?"

The Nirttef spoke, in a faint, hissing voice, "It brings you to Him."

Elessa laughed slightly at the importance the Nirttef put on the word

"Him", then confidently stepped into the pentagram with Jacey cradled in her arms. The Nirttef walked slowly away, back up the stairs, back to the army, waiting for the chasers.

---

Elessa reappeared with Jacey in the vaulted hall. She saw Cyden and immediately tensed, carefully lowering Jacey to the ground and drawing her katanas.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Do not worry. He is not set on harming us, as I thought at first. Bring me Jacey," boomed an echoing voice.

Her eyes narrowed. "This is getting annoying where the hell are you, Sen?”

There was a brief silence.

"You see that sword? I am in that sword. Bring Jacey here, and soon all will be made known."

She laughed slightly. "And my pay, oh great one?" Her sarcasm was evident.

"I will pay you once you FINISH THE MISSION! BRING ME JASSSSSSSSSSSSEY!!!! "

The hall rocked, and rumblings could be heard, echoing off, far into the distance.

Elessa's eyes widened slightly and she laughed again, picking the boy up and holding him close to her as she walked up to the sword. She had been ordered to protect him, after all.

Slowly, Jacey's eyes fluttered open and came to rest on the feminine features of the one holding him in her arms. If he hadn’t immediately remembered who she was, Jacey might have lain peacefully there and admired her pretty face. But, his mind snapped back to acuity the moment he awoke.

“You backstabbing bimbo! What did you do to me?!”

He squirmed in her arms and she let him drop to the ground. Jacey landed on his feet and immediately continued, “I thought we had an agreement! So did you find Matt without me?!”

Elessa remained silent. Jacey held his face close to hers and went on:

“OH, THAT’S FUNNY, I DON’T SEE MATT OR YUME ANYWHERE IN THIS GODFORSAKEN HELL HOLE! MAYBE IT WOULD HAVE MADE MORE SENSE NOT TO KNOCK ME ON THE BACK OF THE HEAD, BUT I GUESS YOU’RE THE TRAINED ASSASSIN AND I’M JUST THE NAĎVE LITTLE BOY!!”

Elessa slitted her eyes, and Jacey could tell he had gone a bit far. No use getting killed right now.

“Fine,” he lowered his voice to its regular volume, “let’s see what’s going on here.” He turned around and gasped. Sheer walls of stone rose above him, the cavern walls ending far beyond his range of vision. The smell hit him next - the air reeked with sulfur. And lastly, he felt the heat It was almost unbearable.

All of that, on top of the aches he felt from the scratches Elessa had given him, wore down his energy.

I have to get out of this place

He gave a final glance back at Elessa then finally turned to face the figure at the center of the cavern.

Cyden stood there with his violet katana at his side, watching Jacey casually. Jacey glared back.

Elessa was the only one who seemed to hear something strange - a discomforting sound - Jacey’s blood and sweat intermingling and dripping to the floor where it sizzled and evaporated.

“I thought you had helped me earlier,” Jacey spoke calmly to Cyden. “What are you doing here now, and why am I here with you?”

Cyden looked at Jacey carefully. He looked past the hatred burning in Jacey’s tired eyes and was surprised not to sense fear in the man’s soul. Cyden remained silent.

Jacey had to stay angry. He had to fool his captors into thinking he’d continue acting rashly. He looked down, past his bare chest, past his scuffed jeans, to his blue shoes, which had remained spotless and flashy during his entire struggle. They reminded him of his purpose in first coming to the Rock, and they gave him confidence. However things turned out today, he would not die here.

“ANSWER ME!” he screamed.

------------------
Me Bar Pics Page-> (url="http://"http://homepage.mac.com/ami/Menu1.html")http://homepage.mac.com/ami/Menu1.html(/url)
'You couldn't get a clue during clue mating season in a field of clues if you smeared your body in musk and did the clue mating dance.' -Severin

(This message has been edited by Hamster2 (edited 08-19-2004).)

As Jacey's scream echoed into the distance, a laugh began to rise, out of the floor, the walls, the air, shaking all three figures so violently that it was hard for them to keep balance.

"Well, well, well Jacey, I don't suppose I expected you to act in any other way. Nonetheless, your antics amuse me to no end." Boomed a sourceless voice.

Jacey's eyes darted about. He had to keep this act going...

"Wh-who are you?"

"I am not the figure you previously encountered, the one you see before you. My name is Fettrin,"

Elessa tensed.

"Otherwise known as Reverend Sen, and I have seen fit to bring you here, by way of the assassin, whom I am sure you have already been acquainted with."

------------------
Me Bar Pics Page-> (url="http://"http://homepage.mac.com/ami/Menu1.html")http://homepage.mac.com/ami/Menu1.html(/url)
'You couldn't get a clue during clue mating season in a field of clues if you smeared your body in musk and did the clue mating dance.' -Severin

"Of course I've met her, idiot. Now tell me what you want with me." Jacey had decided to cut the anger act. Now he was being outright insolent. Elessa found his harsh tone more than a little disconcerting.

Fool! Don't you realize how much influence I have here? This is my domain, and my will alone is the only thing stopping my servants from slaying you instantly!

Jacey felt the demon's presence in his mind, and he was forced to look at the Nirttef hordes surrounding them. Impressive , Jacey thought back. But I don't really believe in hell, and I certainly was never taught to believe in shrink-wrapped demons. Heh. Blame it on poor upbringing.

Believe it, mortal! A mild exertion of Fettrin's will brought Jacey to his knees. Your ill-timed humor does not amuse me.

Jacey raised his head in defiance. "And so what if it doesn't, oh mighty one? Do I care? I'm here to save Yume, or so I was led to believe. Let me make myself clear. I have no fear of this place. So stop wasting your time on intimidation and show me the girl!"

"BUT FIRST, LITTLE BOY, LET ME TEACH YOU FEAR!"

Jacey braced for a mental attack.

It never came.

Instead, a cooling sensation washed over him and brought his mind to focus on the confidence within him. Any prying minds would have found no mental activity within the boy. Jacey's mind had been shut off to them.
----------
I'm here, Jacey, but where are you?
I have no idea, but I'm supposedly here to save Yume.
Didn't I warn-
Yes. Yes, you did. And I will admit that you were correct. She manipulated me.
I told you she would.
And yet I haven't figured out why she would have needed me. I cannot leave her completely until I understand.
Because you still love her, don't you?
...
I know you do.
I don't know.
Well, either way I’m impressed with how you’ve handled things. Once you escape, I’m sure you’ll manage to surprise a few people. You’ve hidden your plans well.
It’s what I was born for.
And it’s what you were chosen for. I expect you’ll succeed in your mission once you get back.
I intend to.
So how about we escape from here?
I’m game.
You aren’t afraid, Jacey?
Never.
What drives you so?
Justice for our dead brothers.
They would be honored.
----------

Jacey rose to his feet. With Bishop’s spirit within him, Fettrin would hold no sway. Unfortunately, this also meant Jacey could no longer rely on his mask of false emotions. No more senseless anger, no more fake tears for Yume.
It was not that he had completely feigned interest in her; he had in fact always been a compassionate young man. However, as the childish fascade crumbled and the adult emerged in control, the infatuation would diminish.
He intended for his sensitive side to remain intact, but for now he was the cold, calculating agent Bishop had picked himself.

“Speak, Fettrin. We choose not to remain here long.”

(This message has been edited by JaceySquires (edited 08-21-2004).)

"Heh heh heh heh You have proved more trouble to me than you are worth, Jacey." Boomed Fettrins voice.

"But I will spare your life, however contemptible I see it as. A relative eternity of imprisonment has provided me with a wealth of knowledge, insight, and resulting wisdom. You have yet to play a part in your universe, indeed, possibly the multiverse on a whole, and it is not my place to remove you from the grand scheme of things. Yet. We may meet again, Jacey, in fact, I have a strong foreboding that we will. Until then, I will hinder you no farther, as I see you have finally come to the realization of your true self. My motives in bringing you here were not completely self beneficial, I do think of others occasionally, you know, evil bastard though I may be."

Here a laugh shuddered through the hall, slightly less menacing than before.

"You just needed a situation pressing enough for you to change, and now you have. Now go, escape if you will, or I will grow bored, and chase you out!"

------------------
Me Bar Pics Page-> (url="http://"http://homepage.mac.com/ami/Menu1.html")http://homepage.mac.com/ami/Menu1.html(/url)
'You couldn't get a clue during clue mating season in a field of clues if you smeared your body in musk and did the clue mating dance.' -Severin

Yume was staring at the blind man now. Wide-eyed at the memories he had shown her.
Why? Why did they seem somewhat familiar?
Yume knew she had never been Angelina, she just knew... right?
Although the events she had seen... the killing of billions of people... the destruction of planets..
Why did that seem familiar?
It was all too familiar...
Had she done those before?
Yume didn't even seem there as the blind man held her gloved hand with her S-shaped weapon with the blade pressing against his neck.
Yume was confused.
She literally was...
There were so many questions that were running through her head and yet so few answers...
Why did those memories seem somewhat familiar?
Had she experienced something almost like that?
Angelina... She had known how Angelina felt...
Not because she had been Angelina, in a way since she saw and felt what Angelina did thanks to the blind man, but perhaps because she herself had felt those ways?
She remembered something now...
Something about... inferiors and superiors...
She had once felt...that...everything was inferior to her?
Was that the reason why she had escaped the people behind her?
Because she had saw them inferior?
Yume knew now that she could not let the people who had been involved somehow in her creation to create others like her... Because things like her were never ment to even exist.
Yume blinked now as she tried to get her thoughts straight.
She had remembered... a person who had cared for her so much, tried to reach her but never did...
Almost like the creator in the memories with the girl named Angelina... another soulless?
Yume's face went expressionless as she continued to think a while longer as she looked at the blind man.
She had so many questions... but she wasn't sure if the blind man could help her answer them.
Yume's grip on her weapon had loosened somewhat but now it tightened as she stared at the blind man.
It seemed like her natural state was in effect.
Her eyes seemed cold... and she seemed heartless.
She knew she was. She had killed many without even a thought of the consequences of their families or love ones would think of. It had been her duty and she had gone through with it because she had to. Not because she wanted to. She had never been given a choice and was designed never to make her own choices.
She avoided conversations because she never felt like talking.
She was emotionless... void...
Kill... that was the word that came. It had always been the word that came to mind lately.
She had never had any words come to mind in the past...
Yume had been created to be perfect in every way...
And then Yume did a quick movement as blood was spilt...
Yume's hand fell to her side as she took a few steps back.
She had made a cut... but the tiniest and faintest one.
Her eyes fell upon the tiniest cut she had ever made against a person.
It wouldn't even faze the blind man.
It was almost unnoticed except for that tiniest line of red on his neck. But it was not big enough for blood to flow out of...
Yume's fingers loosened their grip on her weapon and it fell to the floor with a soft clink.
She had... refused to kill... when she knew she had to for her own safety... for secrecy...
She had been.. designed to do whatever she had been told... to do whatever assignment that had been given to her... and to complete the mission even if it ment destruction...
She had been... perfect...
Yume looked down at her hands as they were trembling lightly.
But...
Yume looked up at the blind man with confusion written all over her face.
She had so many questions.... so many... but her a lot of her memories had been erased...
Every living thing brought into the living realm had a soul and all of them had some sort of flaw... Nothing was ever ment to be perfect. Nothing was ment to be perfect..
And yet... she was perfection...
Completely constructed and designed to symbolize that one word... "perfect"..
Yume's hands then flew to her head as she was bombared with memories as her eyes closed tightly.
Most of them had the word "perfect" in it and that one word was repeated over and over and over and over again...
Yume had to force the memories away with great effort as she fell to her knees and her hands braced themselves on the floor to keep her from collapsing completely.
She was trembling...so badly...
What is...happening to me?

------------------
Life is learning to find happiness in any situation, however bad it may seem.

OOC: lowers hammer I guess I can forgive you.... Hamster, you can still draw way better than I can...

More than a little stunned at what had just happened, Larra used Harmony’s sword to keep her balance, placing the tip on the ground. This new power was so unfamiliar to her, yet in it’s own way faintly similar to the Acaran equilibrium she had wielded for only a few moments.

Drawing strength from the sword, she steadied herself and tried to fall into the calm state which would allow her to remain in full control. She’d had enough of power running away with her for at least another lifetime or so. The strength Ta-vora’s friend had given her was there as well, and now she used it to keep the sword’s power at a level she could control more easily.

Slowly, she raised her gaze up to meet Nevell’s. The dark telepath paled immediately upon recognizing the look flashing in her violet eyes.

“Go get ‘em!” Page yelled, but Larra didn’t even seem to hear. Still holding Nevell’s gaze, she gave him the coldest smile she had. Even though the borrowed strength was the only thing keeping her on her feet, she had already knew exactly what she had to do.

Larra strode forward, Harmony’s sword gripped tightly in one hand.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Nevell screamed, panicked. “You can’t kill me, it would kill you!” She only laughed, a chilling sound that echoed through the walls of her mind. It was true and she knew it, but as long as Nevell didn’t that, the upper hand was hers.

Still smiling, Larra reached Nevell, where he had been pinned to a mental wall by Harmony. “You’re a bigger fool than I thought, Volicia, if you plan to finish me off here,” the Fourth snarled, glaring. Harmony’s sword came up in a flash, stopping with it’s point resting against Nevell’s neck.

“What did you call me?” Larra asked, her voice colder than it had ever been. She recognized the only word she hadn’t heard before to be of Acaran nature. He laughed softly. “If you don’t know what that means, you are much more ignorant than I thought.”

Restraining the urge to slice his head off right then and there, Larra pulled the sword back, only to slap him as hard as she could with the flat side of the blade. “Release the others,” she demanded. “Now.”

Nevell spat blood out on the ground, the left side of his face nearly crushed by the force of Larra’s blow. His reply was childish, but in his eyes, true. “You can’t make me. Only by returning yourself to power can you free them, but then my shadow shield would kill you.”

Larra’s eyes hardened. Glancing out of the corner of her eye at Page, who was watching intently, she returned her gaze to Nevell and spoke in Acaran. ”You were a dark lord once. If I were you, I’d hate to think that the memories of what you did to get people to do your bidding were passed on to me. You will release them yourself.”

Though it didn’t seem possible, Nevell’s complexion turned several shades whiter. For some reason, he didn’t doubt for even a second that she’d do it. The walls of Larra’s mind flashed black again, and the five people who had been pulled under by the chains once again appeared on the surface. Before anything else could happen, Larra, Nevell, and Page were suddenly surrounded by a white light.

When the light dimmed, the others were gone. Larra lifted Harmony’s sword, calmly placing it horizontally under Nevell’s chin. “Why does that always happen?” she asked, using the same cold tone as before.

Afraid, Nevell swallowed, then replied. “You should ask Levvitt. But I do believe it was supposed to keep me away from you.” Larra’s eyes darkened, and he flinched, positive she would hit him again. Instead, she turned her back on him and strode a few steps away.

“Healer!” she demanded, her voice echoing through the cavernous area. “This is a summons! Come now!”

Page jumped aside as the floor near him took on a swirling pattern. Through it, a woman rose up from below. He recognized her as the one he and Larra had seen being sucked through the ground by chains. Larra herself had been too damaged to remember her then.

“It is strange to me,” the woman began speaking, and Page also recognized her as the one who had told he and Ta-vora to stop Nevell’s shadows. “to hear a fellow telepath address another in that manner.”

Larra frowned, but most of the coldness had left her voice now that Nevell wasn’t on the receiving end. “I don’t understand. Isn’t that what you are called?”

The older woman smiled. “It isn’t your fault that you weren’t told. We couldn’t even find a way to tell you your own name, forget ours. The people called us by power. We call ourselves by the names only we know. I am Carnexi.”

Larra nodded slowly, taking in this information. “Who am I then?”

“As an Acaran telepath,” Carnexi began, “you are Volicia, as Nevell has already hinted to you.”

Again, Larra remained silent while digesting that information. She met Page’s eyes, each seeing confusion in the other. Seeing him reminded her of the present situation, and she turned back to Carnexi.

“I need your help,” Larra began, sounding slightly unsure of herself. “If I steal control from Nevell, his shadow shield will kill all of us. But if I knock him down and you take control, can you heal my body before I am killed?”

The Second telepath looked thoughtful, studying the Seventh who stood before her, and the Fourth who was trapped behind. “I can,” Carnexi answered softly, but was cut off by Nevell almost immediately.

“It doesn’t matter,” he ranted loudly. “Larra here will still feel the pain from it.”

Choosing to ignore the reason for his outburst, Larra looked to the older woman with confusion. “If Volicia is my telepath name, why doesn’t he call me by it?”

Carnexi glanced at Nevell with disgust. “It’s a matter of respect. Though we put up with regular people calling us other than our telepath names, they simply do not know any better. He does, therefore making it an insult.”

Larra looked thoughtful for a few moments, then she turned to Nevell and said something in Acaran. Page didn’t understand what she had said, but from the way Nevell became livid and began struggling wildly against his bonds, he could sure guess.

Carnexi’s eyes widened slightly, and she seemed to be attempting to hold back laughter. “But he’s right, you know,” she said in her quiet way, “It will hurt you to the point where you risk falling back into the way you were when he came.” She acknowledged Page’s presence for the first time, nodding towards him.

Larra glanced down at the sword in her hands. Though she was exhausted, it would give her strength. “I’ll be fine,” she insisted. “Let’s just do it and get it out of the way.”

Carnexi nodded, then stepped back, preparing herself to take command. Larra moved over to where Page was. “Harmony’s barrier will hold him for quite awhile,” she said softly. “I’ll reinforce it later myself so he won’t get out again.”

Biting her lip from nervousness, she glanced over at Nevell, who sneered at her. This was going to hurt. She looked to Carnexi, who gave her a quick nod to show she was ready. Last, Larra turned her gaze to Page. He had come all this way to help her, and Ta-vora was doing all he could back in the physical world. She would not let them down.

Steeling herself, Larra fixed her gaze on Nevell’s. Gripping Harmony’s sword tighter, she sent him spinning down into the least influential part of her mind with a thought.

Then the pain hit her, and everything seemed to slide away...

OOC: laughs maniacally I don’t have time to finish this today...

------------------
If all the world's a stage, why'd I get the part of the psycho?

Jacey stood still, unsure of whom to ask the single question running through his mind.

"What is the multiverse?"

------------------
~BORN AGAIN~

She hadn’t killed him.

It wasn’t that he’d expected her to kill him, he hadn’t held any expectations. Matt didn’t know what to do. He could do almost anything but he couldn’t reassure a confused girl. He had memories of people that could, he had memories of girls who knew exactly what they wanted to hear. None of that mattered, it wasn’t him. He didn’t think that words could help her, probably nothing could. At this moment as inhuman as her kind was she was the embodiment of humanity, confused and unable to solve the problems she faced. He understood her: she wasn’t soulless, she was human.

What could he do to help her? Any action he took would be misleading, words would be hollow, assurances of comprehension would be condescending and promises of hope would prove to her his helplessness. He couldn’t even play the loving father role as he desperately wanted because he was just as confused as she was. The more life he experienced the less he understood and the further from sanity he fell. It wasn’t the time for his self-pity; he needed to help.

A moment later, he gave up. He did what he thought was right. Matt slowly put his arms on Yume’s shoulders and thought the words he couldn’t say. “It’s okay. I don’t know your past, I can’t know the future. It really doesn’t matter, you are the same as me. We think, we act and you at least can love.” He could never speak what truly mattered, he couldn’t even think it. He hoped that she’d understand the gesture at the least, but he that she would.

It was hardly a minute later, but his wound had already healed.

------------------
I move along the path alone, without a friend, without a home.
Yet though this tortured path I roam, knowing that my mind doth foam;
in madness shall I ever seek, an answer for the poor and meek.

The Legend of the Voronov
Part VI

Hall of the Light, Dur’ach, Dur’achi Star Cluster, Beyond the Voinian Empire

The Prophets of the Light entered, and seated themselves at the Eighteen Seats of the High Circle. Each one hooked into the mindflow simultaneously.

There was no illumination, save for the great glow coming from the central pillar in the Circle.

There was no hierarchy in the discussion. The discussion merely was , as each Prophet poured his or her consciousness into the enormous Cogitator. The Cogitator was one of the greatest inventions of the Dur’achi, technology blended with nature, a vast organic quantum supercomputer that made the superfast processing power of an insect’s mind look like the speediest of glaciers. It brought the minds of the Prophets to a new level of thinking, a new plane of communication.

It was nothing more or less than the first step towards their Transcendence.

But now there was a problem. Not with the machine, nor with the Transcendence Timetable, but with the Greatworlds. The Prophets were calm, yet one could note the anger sizzling under their carefully clamped lids.

The fools tamper with the most sensitive of materials, stated one.

It matters not, another replied. There are infinite Greatworlds. They cannot all be destroyed. Not even one can be. They would all be destroyed with it. They can only go silent.

The Prophets let out a collective shudder. The Silencing of an entire Greatworld the depths to which one would need to sink were certainly imaginable, but damnably uncomfortable to contemplate.

What are we to do? The Thanofire systems around the entire Dur’achi Star League protect the whole Cluster.

True, but you choose to omit the danger of indirect destruction. We cannot allow this Greatworld to be Silenced.

Then let our most capable swordmasters confront this threat. Already they are where they can be of the greatest aid to our people.

You forget that they have other pressing needs.

I do not forget it, my friends. Nay, they can still fulfill their mission for the Voinians. But this mission we speak of is not of short-term magnitude. Their mission for the Voinians is. They will have time to do both.

Very well. We shall give the crew of the Voronov a mission for which they are worthy. And let us hope that all of them remember the pathways into the deepest of Dur’achi battle trances.

Voinian High Command, Vorik, Voinian Empire

The VSD operatives looked across the table at the Emalgha prisoner. He was one of five from the ship that Ship Commander Borb IX had disabled during the skirmish on the border. All the prisoners were undergoing similar interrogations, but of course not identical. The VSD operatives were imaginative by definition, and took to their jobs in interesting ways.

There were two of them in the room to handle this prisoner. Voinian mind-bending drugs had already been working on the Emalgha for hours. It remained to be seen if these drugs would prove as effective against Emalgha physiology as they had during the last such interrogation, which had transpired nearly a year before.

“Do you have a name?”

The Emalgha looked back, a blank look on his face.

“Perhaps the drugs are not so effective this time.”

“Or perhaps it just needs more time,” the VSD Interrogator replied to her partner.

She turned back to the prisoner, and came closer to him.

“Now what is your name?”

The Emalgha’s jaw slackened, and this time he spoke, sluggishly: “Hrosh J’nal.”

The Interrogator looked at her partner. “You see?” She motioned for a stimulant to be added to the drug mixture. If this had worked so far, then the entire procedure should be repeatable, she reasoned.

Soon the Emalgha was alert. But it would take time to get what was needed. The Emalgha were amazingly resistant to mind-bending efforts. The drugs were only part of the process. It took a skilled Interrogator indeed to break through an Emalgha’s mental defenses. But it could be done. It had been done often enough in the past. And, thankfully, some of the other prisoners had had identification on them when they had been captured. That always made the procedure faster for the ones without it.

“We have your friends Klesss B’krol and Plin G’dain as well, Hrosh. They are already talking. All that’s left is you.” It was never necessary to tell the prisoners the truth.

Hrosh’s head lolled once to the side, then righted itself.

“We are prepared to offer you some options, Hrosh, if you are prepared to cooperate with us. We would prefer not to have to resort to the more primitive torture methods, although there are VSD operatives ready if that becomes necessary.”

The Emalgha’s eyes blinked. “And what what would you have me do?” he asked in broken Voinian.

“Let us get to that in a moment. We must consider the legal aspects of this first. By Voinian law, which, just like Emalgha law, holds sway in the border systems, you can easily be sentenced to slave labor on one of our mining worlds. That sentence doesn’t adequately describe the life awaiting someone there, but the law applies. We can convict you just for being a combatant, and you’ll go for twenty years. However, we have your accomplices, and all that’s needed is for one of your friends to betray you, and you go. For fifty years. As I said earlier, they are already talking.”

The Interrogater leaned in very close to the Emalgha. “However, your assistance in this matter that we speak of will reduce that load. If you are willing to state, without hesitation, that these other two were involved in a plan set in motion to destroy the Voinian Empire, we will reduce your load to a single year. There is a 98% survival rate of single-year miners.”

This was where the mind drugs were the most critical. The situation demanded that the Emalgha not think strategically. It had worked before. It would probably work again. But there was no telling. And if the Emalgha intelligence systems had found a way to break this part of the drug’s hold, there could be problems. Serious problems for the future of the Voinian Empire.

The Emalgha spoke. “They were.”

The Interrogator smiled. So it had worked. And now the Emalgha would learn the truth of what a Voinian mining world held for a prisoner such as himself.

For the VSD had many interrogation centers on those worlds, due to their inherent security risks. The Interrogators preferred not to mention to the prisoners that “slave labor” often meant laboring under the pressures of Voinian mind probes and further interrogations. Every piece of knowledge the prisoner had would be extracted, by whatever means appropriate and necessary.

And thanks to the confessions of all five prisoners, brought about by such methods, the VSD would have fifty years to do it.

But the other information they learned from those five that very day proved to be the most valuable they would ever get out of them, no matter how they asked the questions or demanded answers.

Isled Naval Research Institute, Isled

The last of the frigates had been rotated in from their border patrols and refitted with the Dur’achi shield generators. They would have to return, at some point, for a refitting for the rotocannons, but not until the final tests were carried out at Isled itself this time. For now, the frigates would return to the borders as the fighters and cruisers slowly came in as well from their patrols to receive the fleet-wide upgrade.

------------------
Hear the Myth, Feel the Glory
(url="http://"http://www.ambrosiasw.com/cgi-bin/ubb/search.cgi?action=intro&default;=26")The Search Feature(/url)

((ooc: gah...I'm gone for a day and all this happened???))
She stared at the sword, eyes dark. Her eyes wandered to Jacey, and she sighed. "Jacey." He turned slightly. "You were aware I am an assassin. My loyalty is first to the person who hired me, however shady he may now appear." She shot a glare at the bodiless Sen, in the sword. "So I did my job. But if you yell at me again, Jacey, I'll kill you." Then she allowed herself to smile. "Though I must say that I prefer this new Jacey to the old, tempetuous, irritatingly loud Jacey..." She laughed, turning back and walking up to the sword, running her hands down the blade.

"Now. Sen. Beautiful blade you're stuck in...how are you going to pay me, hm?"

------------------
Hm...looks around How much madness and mayhem can I create here?

Jacey's eyes followed Elessa as she moved to the blade. He smiled inwardly. He might grow fond of this one...
But his heart reminded him of Yume.
Jacey forced his eyes to focus on the length of the blade, not the length of the woman's slender legs.

Bishop ignored Elessa's question and suddenly interrupted with the same question Jacey had been thinking a moment before. " Tell us, foul spirit: What is the multiverse? And wherever we are now, how do we leave? " Jacey's voice resonated with the power of two, both his and Bishop's.
----------
Sorry, Jacey, but I had to act for you.
No problem. Our question was more important anyway.
Indeed.
----------
Elessa glared at Jacey, who stood there quietly waiting for a reply. He smiled sweetly back.

------------------
~BORN AGAIN~

Yume did nothing as the man put his arms on her shoulders...
She thought nothing....
She felt nothing...
This time... she let her natural state take control for this one moment...
She was not ment to be confused... and she would not be...
There was always a logical explanation and she would find it...
Her body warmth suddenly fled as her sapphire eyes flashed ruby red for a moment as the blind kept his arms on her shoulders.
She wasn't human... she was inhuman...
But did emotions played a part in humanity?
Did she have some humanity in her?
Emotions... her developing side was her humanity...
Now she knew what he ment by how she was unlike the others...
She had humanity in her because of her emotions... she had a conscious as well...
But her nature was fighting her humanity, wanting to get back control since she was designed not to have humanity.
Until that time came in which one of them won over the other, she would suffer.
Slowly, Yume wrapped her arms around the blind man and placed her forehead against his shoulder as she closed her eyes and sighed heavily as she let her opposite side come back while the warmth of her body returned.
And after a few moments, she spoke telepathicly to him in that almost angelic, and innocent voice which she graced only a few to hear...
_"I am a soulless. I am not suppose to have a soul. I am inhuman.. designed to be what humans can not be... Perfect... I do not know exactly why... I have emotions.

I remember a time when I was what I was suppose to be. Soulless. But I have yet to know what exactly caused me to have a side of humanity. But my nature and humanity are fighting against each other for control, and only the one whom is stronger will win. I do not know which one will win. Only time will tell.

I think... I believe you now. I will not kill you for now unless you give me reason to.

I do not know which organization or government was responsible for my creation since my memory was wiped out almost completely. But I know I can not let them catch me, I can not let another like me be created. I'm on the run for now. And I will do anything to get to my goal, even if it means continueing to kill countless of people.

Once I complete my goal, I will cease to exist anymore. I will either destroy myself or go the darkest and most isolated part of the universe. And hopefully, I'll finally find the peace I crave for."_

Yume sighed then as she paused and held the blind man like a child who was being punished for a wrong she did not do.

Perhaps she deserved to suffer. She remembered about Jacey and how she tried to use him. She knew that when it came to courtship, such a action was like betrayal and humans didn't like it.

What had she done? She could have hurt Jacey emotionally... He seemed to care about her a lot, perhaps even really love her. Perhaps she had been wrong all along...

But she would make things right...

OOC: Although that might be somewhat complicated once those two meet again... -whistles innocently since she has something in mind- I'll tell you about it, Jacey, once I see you on AIM again and we'll discuss it. Perhaps kissing the assassin wasn't the smartest thing you made Jacey do... lol

------------------
Life is learning to find happiness in any situation, however bad it may seem.

(This message has been edited by Seraphim (edited 08-21-2004).)

Matt understood. She was just like him; they were both black sheep. She hadn’t chosen to be designed as a perfect being, she hadn’t chosen to live running from an unimaginable evil. “Listen to me.” His voice was as stern as he could make it but he couldn’t conceal the love he felt for her. He hardly even knew her and yet he couldn’t think of anyone he’d understood any better. “Soulless is a name I used to pigeonhole attempts at perfect beings. They are all essentially different, but perfection is unattainable. If your only fault was to be too close to perfect, then you are far better off then most.” Matt breathed deeply and thought back on what he had said; none of it addressed what truly bothered him about her words so he forced himself to continue. "It doesn’t matter how you were made or what you were. You are what you are now.” He winced internally at his own horrible words but kept going all the same. “You’re scared that one side or another will ‘win’ the war for who you are. They won’t.” She seemed to respond for the first time in his painful speech. He took this for a hopeful sign and continued to push forward as he held her. “No war is ever won. Now that you’ve experienced both sides neither one can lose until you die. They may lie dormant, or one may gain control over the other, but you will always have them both there. They are both part of you and they always will be.”

He was silent for a moment, unable to continue with the hardest part of what he had to say. When Yume looked into his face, she could see tears dripping silently down his cheeks. “I’m sorry, but all that means that peace will always be an unattainable goal. Even after you finish your goal you will still be at war with yourself.” It was the sad truth; no one could ever be at peace and for their kind it was infinitely less attainable.

Matt slowly and regretfully released himself from the embrace to open an escape hatch that led to a more populated region of the station. “I hope you don’t have to kill anyone to achieve your goal. If it is the only way I’m sorry that you were forced to.” He had to tell her one more thing that he had never told to anyone. “We are the same. I was also an attempt at perfection but even more foolishly and more wrongly, I did it to myself. Perhaps that is why I can begin to understand something of your situation. I, however, can only blame myself.” He had gone on far enough, the exit was open to her and she could continue with her mission.

He sensed her once more before she would leave. She was both beautiful and dark to him, her aura flowed with void and despair mingling together. She was the essence of perfection mingled with an impure blemished soul. She was a black angel.

------------------
I move along the path alone, without a friend, without a home.
Yet though this tortured path I roam, knowing that my mind doth foam;
in madness shall I ever seek, an answer for the poor and meek.

She laughed suddenly, backing away from the blade and standing next to the "new" Jacey. "Ah, Sen...I would suggest to you to answer his question. This boy's aura is different...much more...intoxicating." She laughed quietly, playing with her knife again. "I like this. Much more fun."
---
Her eyes wandered, looking at the new Jacey standing next to her, the boy-turned-man that suddenly spoke with an authority that was nowhere in his aura before. The sword was just that, a sword. Jacey was someone with a purpose...he wanted to find his "love", Yume.

------------------
Hm...looks around How much madness and mayhem can I create here?

Yume looked to the blind man for a moment. She didn't know his name but perhaps she didn't need to. A name was just a way of identification.
Her two states equaled each other once more as she nodded slowly and went to the opening that would lead out to the room she and the blind man were in.
She stopped in the opening and took one more glance at the blind man.
Her face was expressionless as she stared at him for a moment.
They were the same...
No, she would not kill him.
She had decided now.
She slowly walked out of the room after she picked up her weapon and into the crowd of people.
Never find peace...?
That was the thought that ran through her mind over and over again.
So... she was ment to suffer till she died...
Which might not be soon since her body aged quite slowly unless she was somehow killed.
So... she will always suffer...
She suddenly felt empty again... she felt so void...
The people around her stopped and stared at her as they backed away to let her pass as her aura was one that it was hard not to be depressed around since it was dark yet depressing.
These people pitied her.., she thought as she looked to their expressions of confusion yet sadness as well while some whispered to each other.
She didn't want their pity...
They could do nothing to help.
No one could...not anymore...
She grasped her fate which most might try to deny it.
If this is was her fate, then so be it.
This is how she was to be and nothing could change it.
There was no point in trying to.
It would be futile to try.
Peace was unattainable for her so there was no true point in trying to reach it.
Perhaps some relief was attainable but not peace.
She stared out into the distance. It was like she wasn't even there anymore as they people made way for her.
She was strange to them... she could see it in their faces.
But now, she ignored them as she walked along.
There was another matter to settle.
Jacey.
She had to find him and set things straight before she hurt him. Even though she didn't realize she might have already have.
Should she tell him? Yes, she should. It was the right thing to do, even if it ment pushing him away.
She had to stop lieing to him, he didn't deserve it. He deserved so much better.
He was a sweet and kind boy... She had no right to use him and take advantage of him.
Now, all she had to do was find him and tell him everything...well.. almost everything.
If he shunned her, so be it.
Perhaps she was ment to be alone too.
She slowly walked and looked around as she wondered where Jacey was.
For a moment, her thoughs came back to the blind man.
He seemed to care about her a lot. Perhaps even love her? Which way, she did not know yet.
She had a feeling that her involvment with him was just beginning...
She shifted her bag and searched through it where she took out her tan trenchcoat which was bloodstained but she didn't care.
She slipped it on and then tucked her hands in the pockets as she left her trenchcoat opened so that it could flutter behind her and around her legs while her black latex looking clothing shined in the source of lights while she walked along.
And soon enough, she disappeared behind some steam that a broken pipe let out and dissolved into the shadows of an alley.

------------------
Life is learning to find happiness in any situation, however bad it may seem.

(This message has been edited by Seraphim (edited 08-21-2004).)