She looked up, her eyes glassy with unshed tears. "That's what Krays said you'd say. I wanted to believe him, but...."
She looked away again, trying not to start crying because she needed to talk about this and she wasn't sure she'd be able to get the courage together to bring it up again. "It would be convenient to say I had a bad childhood, but it would also be a lie. I mean, yeah, I was raised by demons, minions mostly because evil foster mom wasn't really the nurturing type, but I didn't know anything else so it was fine. I had Jiminy. The two of us didn't need anybody else. And yeah, the experiments sucked. I could get away from time to time. Literally, from time to time. I went everywhere and everywhen. But Jiminy was stuck there. It just got worse as we got older. That was why I went looking for power. That's how I ended up with the strongest weapon hell ever produced under my direct control, not to mention substantial real estate at the junction between hell, the abyss, and abaddon. I looked everywhere for ways to take out evil foster mom. I did things...a lot of bad things. The kind of things you'd expect from a demon lord. Trust me, no one is ever going to question my qualifications for that job. But I could have done it. I could have saved him. And that's when your daughter kind of took over my brain. You know how that ended. Saved the universe. Killed my brother. He was all I had, and I did it myself because I promised him that I would never let him become just that woman's puppet." She brushed away the tears that were dripping down her cheeks. "I know it was a long time ago for you, but it's only been a year for me. After....you know what I was like right after. But I didn't get better for a long time. I sort of curled up inside my own head and just hid for...I don't know. Weeks at least. When I woke up from that, I was smack dab in the middle of Andromeda's life. Her family, her friends, her things. Somehow she had got it stuck in her head that her death would be okay if I just sort of stepped into her shoes. Like she wouldn't really be gone. And I tried. Memorizing all your names and histories was....not easy. Especially with James in my face all the time. He looks like my brother. He sounds like my brother. He even uses the same nickname. But that's as far as the resemblance goes. I can't imagine two more different people. Actually, I think James is a lot like you. Maybe Jiminy would have been like that too if we'd been raised by our birth parents. I guess we'll never know. And after her ghost was gone....I've been turning myself inside out for months trying to be her, all while trying to untangle me from her. I can't do it anymore. Even if I wanted to. She's back now, and I can finally be just me. But..." She stopped to take a deep breath. "But I don't think any of you are actually going to like just me."...
"Those memories are always going to be fresh - time doesn't do anything for them, I promise you. But wallowing in them to punish yourself does no good either. We care about what you choose to do now, and what you choose to do going forward," Tamrin replies, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.
"And let us be the judge of whether we like the new, 'just you', neh? Besides - you've got all of us to lean on if you have a bad day. Always."
"Now - no more being a worrywart, no more tears. Deal?"
"No deal. I can't keep bottling up my emotions, and that means I'm going to cry sometimes. Probably a lot. Especially now. Losing another someone who was important to me brings up a lot of painful feelings that I didn't really face the first time around. So you're just going to have to deal with the waterworks," she said, a little defiantly, obviously testing her boundaries. "But I guess I can work on the worrying thing. It doesn't seem to help much. I'm basically the physical embodiment of the law of unintended consequences," she added with a sigh.
"No deal. I can't keep bottling up my emotions, and that means I'm going to cry sometimes. Probably a lot. Especially now. Losing another someone who was important to me brings up a lot of painful feelings that I didn't really face the first time around. So you're just going to have to deal with the waterworks," she said, a little defiantly, obviously testing her boundaries. "But I guess I can work on the worrying thing. It doesn't seem to help much. I'm basically the physical embodiment of the law of unintended consequences," she added with a sigh.
"That's what I wanted to hear. Good comeback...I can work with that." (^-^)
"Fortunately my shoulders are very absorbent," he says with a smile as he moves his arm and puts it around her shoulders to hug her.
With all of the reunions and sorting out of emotions going on around him, he excuses himself, and ports to where his children are, and spends some quiet time there with them, awaiting Ephebe's return.
"No deal. I can't keep bottling up my emotions, and that means I'm going to cry sometimes. Probably a lot. Especially now. Losing another someone who was important to me brings up a lot of painful feelings that I didn't really face the first time around. So you're just going to have to deal with the waterworks," she said, a little defiantly, obviously testing her boundaries. "But I guess I can work on the worrying thing. It doesn't seem to help much. I'm basically the physical embodiment of the law of unintended consequences," she added with a sigh."That's what I wanted to hear. Good comeback...I can work with that." (^-^)
"Fortunately my shoulders are very absorbent," he says with a smile as he moves his arm and puts it around her shoulders to hug her.
She started to laugh but then it turned into a sob as she put his statement to the test by crying on her dad's shoulder.
They stay in the garden for a good long while. True to her dad's word, Ephebe doesn't have to deal with a soggy shoulder. Tamrin works the weirdest magics into his wardrobe.... ;)
In their room, whether they share it or not, Andromeda and Ephebe will find a package for each of them. Both have a note on them.
"Welcome home, sis. -T&K."
Upon being open, both girls will find a doll, simple in nature save for the purple eyes. For a moment they become small amethyst dragons, cut from the gemstone of the same kind, and then back again.
SIM Room 3 -- Summarizing
"Just tell us where to go. I...don't really understand the magic stuff. I don't understand much," she added dejectedly. "But I'm willing to help," she added squeezing Rena's hand.
The short version is: Lure Tryko'Sam, where upon, Maya will slip his mind, and thus body, into a mental illusion so he doesn't decide to leave. She mentions that he does have innate barriers against this happening, but since his personality and thus defenses are 'offline' they won't apply. Her tone is an odd combination of concern and glee, as if she were cycling through jaded girl friend and protective mother in the conversation.
If Asha and Rena are open to it, the initial build up to get to the teleporting and then retrieving takes some time, where Maya has to ensure that the SIM matrix has SIM Room 3 on maintain status, pending her return, for inserting Tryko'Sam's personality back into his meaty self. This would allow some discussions, to which Maya is extremely polite and professor minded after a just a few moments of discussion. No further 'gene' speak happens, but it's clear that Maya's a empowered female that doesn't hesitate to point this out as a strength and encouraging same of others.
The actual retrieval goes without issue.
SIM matrix arranges teleporting, Rena brings along a 'return to school' casting device, likely a scroll, and they are away. Once there, Maya encourages the girls to go forth and get Tryko'Sam's attention-- which is easily done, regardless of how, unless they spook or attack him. Clearly, they don't do that.
After a moment, though, he's crouching in place, breathing and staring off at something not seen by either of the girls, when Maya walks up and gently puts a hand on his head saying, "Forgive me again, Trkyo'Sam, once more into the breech, old friend."
At this point, Rena is requested to return them, and they re-appear at the appropriate teleporting location, to simply /shift/ to the SIM Room 3, where the procedure will be completed.
Maya let's the girls know if they wanted to stay, it's going to be a lot of waiting, which would give them time to talk further if desired, or she will definitely let them know when he's restored to his original state of mind.
Regardless of their choices, she is very cordial, strong willed, and to a certain extent-- a juxtaposition of fellow young lady and professor. Perhaps lonely is another way to describe it, while hampered by the barriers of duty as a facility member.
If they do stay with Maya and Trkyo'Sam while he's being 'uploaded' again, Maya provides snacks and conversation.
Phaezeriel wakes to an insistent knocking on the door to Ginni's recovery room. When he answers it he finds one of the orderlies there, and a small mithril shape darts into the room and up onto the cot where Phaezeriel had been sleeping. The demon's head swivels around after the flash of silver and his thoughts are crystal clear and precise, ::Wha-::
The orderly's voice follows the shape inside, "Sorry, sir. It has been scratching at the door for most of the morning. We thought you would-" He cuts off as Phaezeriel raises a hand in his direction, never taking his eyes off the mithril dragonling golem sitting on his cot. His thoughts are a barely noticeable, almost hoarse with disbelief and emotional pain, ::Thank you, Wilkins. I will take care of it.:: Its presence here, and the desultory way it slumps on the cot can mean only one thing.
As the orderly turns away, Phaezeriel gestures to the golem and steps out of the room. The wyrmling flies to his shoulder wrapping its tail around his neck as he shuts the door, reactivating the highest level of security measures the isolation room can manage. His left had reaches out and clenches on three links of a black crystal chain that was not there a split instant before. As he begins to walk down the hallway of the isolation ward, the chain links continue to appear, growing out of both sides of his fist. Once the Chainstaff has finished materializing, Phaezerial takes to the air.
He makes a beeline for Aananda's lab, passing over the heads of Ephebe and Tamrin sitting on a bench nearby. Their body language, and especially her sobbing, only confirm to Phaezeriel what he has assumed.
His access code opens the lab, and he walks in, the very image of angry sadness. Then complete confusion. Ephebe was right over there in the middle of a mob of happy people surrounding ... Vai!
::Vai? What happened? Are you okay?::
Phaezeriel makes several abortive gestures with his free hand. It is not really clear what they were going to become, but it is clear than he is floundering and entirely off balance. Finally he takes a deep breath, but his thoughts are still full of a nearly panicked and utterly confused feeling, with an oversized helping of rage, ::But. Your wyrmling. It came back to me today. There is only one way it could do that. I mean, I passed out after working on Ginni this morning, but I would have thought someone would tell me if something bad happened to you, but something bad did happen to you didn't it? That is the only thing that explains the wyrmling. How are you alive? I mean I am glad you are alive but how? And who killed you? Who do I get to tear apart if there is anything left after Lady Aananda gets done with them?:: He shuts the telepathic message down with an effort, much like a person realizing they are babbling and placing their own hand over their own mouth.
He glances at Andromeda, noticing her odd look, ::And why are you staring at me like you do not know me, Ephebe? And how did you get in here before I did? You were just outside with Tamrin...:: His thoughts trail off as if thinking takes too much effort right now. His odd silver eyes slide back toward Vai. Normally rather perceptive, he must be pretty rattled to not notice the obvious differences between Andromeda and Ephebe.
His thoughts are a tiny, hollow thing that only Vai can sense, ::You died, Vai. Why did you die?::
"I'm not Ephebe. She's talking to Dad right now. I'm Andromeda. It's kind of a long story. Which you don't care about right now. I'm guessing you're a family friend?"
"His name is Phaezeriel," Jiminy piped up, finally drawing some attention to himself. "And yes, he's a friend. Of Ephebe and Vai in particular."
"I'm not Ephebe. She's talking to Dad right now. I'm Andromeda. It's kind of a long story. Which you don't care about right now. I'm guessing you're a family friend?"
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Phaezeriel nods absently at Andromeda, content that he was not going crazy and that this mystery could wait a bit.
After Vai finishes explaining, he stares at her for a minute, then launches into the air in a blue-scaled, demonic streak ending with Vai staggering back a couple of steps as he crashes into her. Arms, legs, and wings all wrap around her. :: Never do that again. You are almost my only friend, and I would lay waste the world to save or avenge you. I love you, Vai.::
Floating in the air behind him, the Chainstaff disappears link by link from both ends.
Though he is by no means fully satisfied with the explanation, he will be satisfied for now with the fact that she is alive.
-Posted with Wayfinder
After a while, Andromeda and Jiminy left the lab.
"You still have your room and all your old stuff at the house," he was saying, "so you can stay there while you figure out what you're going to do little sister," he said.
Andromeda rolled her eyes. "You are never going to let that go, are you? Just because I didn't physically age while I was dead doesn't negate the time I experienced as a ghost, you know. You are always gonna be my younger brother."
"You just keep telling yourself that. Hey, you go ahead, I'll catch up in a minute," he said, catching sight of someone else waiting in the hallway.
Once Andromeda was out of sight he walked over to Fei. "Hey. Vai's okay now. You can go in if you want to talk to her. Just go easy on her. After Mom's lecture and Phaeze's freak out, she's drowning in guilt right about now. But she insists that she wasn't in on the plan to kill her. And I'm pretty sure that she would have cracked by now if that wasn't true. Mom totally went ballistic on the girls."
After a while, Andromeda and Jiminy left the lab.
"Hey, you go ahead, I'll catch up in a minute," he said, catching sight of someone else waiting in the hallway.
Once Andromeda was out of sight he walked over to Fei. "Hey. Vai's okay now. You can go in if you want to talk to her. Just go easy on her. After Mom's lecture and Phaeze's freak out, she's drowning in guilt right about now. But she insists that she wasn't in on the plan to kill her. And I'm pretty sure that she would have cracked by now if that wasn't true. Mom totally went ballistic on the girls."
Fei, who had his head bowed in some quiet contemplation, looks up at the sound of James' voice.
"I...am not sure I wish to know what you are referring to, James" the young monk says begins cautiously. "As long as Vai is back and free of Lumos, that is all that matters."
He bows thankfully to James, and then walks purposefully back to the laboratory.
"I will, however, do my best to not bring her any more undue stress," he adds, looking back to him with a smile as he reaches the door.
After a while, Andromeda and Jiminy left the lab.
"Hey, you go ahead, I'll catch up in a minute," he said, catching sight of someone else waiting in the hallway.
Once Andromeda was out of sight he walked over to Fei. "Hey. Vai's okay now. You can go in if you want to talk to her. Just go easy on her. After Mom's lecture and Phaeze's freak out, she's drowning in guilt right about now. But she insists that she wasn't in on the plan to kill her. And I'm pretty sure that she would have cracked by now if that wasn't true. Mom totally went ballistic on the girls."
Fei, who had his head bowed in some quiet contemplation, looks up at the sound of James' voice.
"I...am not sure I wish to know what you are referring to, James" the young monk says begins cautiously. "As long as Vai is back and free of Lumos, that is all that matters."
He bows thankfully to James, and then walks purposefully back to the laboratory.
"I will, however, do my best to not bring her any more undue stress," he adds, looking back to him with a smile as he reaches the door.
He enters the room as Aananda is talking to Vai.
"There's still the nanite option. It should work if you want to be free of it. I know it's a big decision and you've got kind of a thing about experimental procedures. You don't have to decide anything now. Just no more drastic options.""I know, Mom," Vai says quietly. "I promise, I didn't plan it. I didn't even know."
The first thing that Fei notices when he sees Vai is that her champion aura is still active. Lumos has not given up his control over her at all it would seem.
Aananda looks up and notices Fei standing there. "I think there's someone else who wants to talk to you, sweetie. Come on, Phaezeriel, let's let these two have a minute of privacy," she says, ushering the healer out the door, and shutting it behind them, but not going far. Just in case the conversation ended in tears and Vai needed her mom to be there.
::Indeed, Lady Aananda. I'll see you later, Vai; we will need to get the wyrmling re-bonded to you.:: Phaezeriel leaves the lab with Aananda, his thoughts directed solely at her.
::Indeed, Lady Aananda. I'll see you later, Vai; we will need to get the wyrmling re-bonded to you.:: Phaezeriel leaves the lab with Aananda, his thoughts directed solely at her.
** spoiler omitted **
He enters the room as Aananda is talking to Vai.
"There's still the nanite option. It should work if you want to be free of it. I know it's a big decision and you've got kind of a thing about experimental procedures. You don't have to decide anything now. Just no more drastic options."
"I know, Mom," Vai says quietly. "I promise, I didn't plan it. I didn't even know."The first thing that Fei notices when he sees Vai is that her champion aura is still active. Lumos has not given up his control over her at all it would seem.
Aananda looks up and notices Fei standing there. "I think there's someone else who wants to talk to you, sweetie. Come on, Phaezeriel, let's let these two have a minute of privacy," she says, ushering the healer out the door, and shutting it behind them, but not going far. Just in case the conversation ended in tears and Vai needed her mom to be there.
Had he thought to sense for it first, Fei might not have been taken aback so sharply by the presence of Lumos' aura. All the young monk can do is stand there and bear mute witness to the total failure and utter futility of his mission to free Vai. Everything he did....[i]the dark, terrible thing he did...served no ultimate end other than the tarnishing of his own soul. There will be not be another dawn that is not corrupted by this power-mad being...[/i]
Fei drops to his knees, the act sending tremors throughout the floor of the laboratory and beyond. The blazing emerald glow from his nanosuit casts ominous light and shadow across the room as his haunted face disappears behind the rapidly spreading nanite helm...
The tremors stop as the glow's intensity levels off. The figure's head bows, arms hanging with the fingers scant inches from the floor.
Fei stands, his motions sudden, smooth and almost mechanical.
His hands clench into fists, and the emerald light from the nanosuit pulses slightly, as if in time to a heartbeat.
After an awkward moment of this, the visor begins to recede...
...and Fei's face is (somewhat) visible once again.
"I.....am so glad you have returned to us, Vai. And I am....sorry that I am ....compromised....in trying to come to terms with what I have done to....try and keep you....from that," he says with a strained smile, looking down directly at Vai's pendant. Vai notes the faintest bit of trembling in the young monk's arms as his fists clench even tighter (most likely in an attempt to keep his energies in check).
"I...must go and center myself so I may be....safe to be around you. I will find you....once I have done so."
Frustrated as all of her attempts to speak with the Headmaster were rebuffed, Nanami stormed through the hallway only to run into Kitty and Michael. There was a great deal of hugging and rapid talking in language that is unfamiliar to Michael. He can maybe pick out one word in three. But eventually learns that Nanami is now the PE teacher here, that she was sent by the Tanaka family to protect Kitty, and that she is very, very upset to learn about the murder and wants to know who she needs to kill in retailiation.
adon cracks a smile as he wanders into the library, a dark aura surrounding him. He whistles softly, as he disables magical sensors, if there are any, on the way into the restricted section, slips in, and runs his fingers over a few books, a few magical, living ones recoiling in horror from the contact and fleeing. He doesn't seem to care, as he looks for anything that interest him- mostly looking for anything that might help explain his condition. Instead, however, another book catches his eye. He takes it, opens it, reads a few pages, and snaps it shut, slipping out just as quickly as he got in.
Vai felt the twist of bitterness in her gut as this was one more thing that Lumos was trying to take from her. But she did her best to keep her expression calm. This was hard enough already.
"Then I will wait for you," she said softly.
Fei nods, then carefully backs out of the threshold to the laboratory, the door closing behind him.
He uses his laceto open a communication channel to Aananda.
"Sabumnim, I need to....use the excess energies I have built up, and the school's batteries are still almost full. If you can send me the schematics for the portable versions, I can use what I have to start manufacturing them and seeding them toward Kuros."
"I am going to the shop now."
"Yes, alright, I'm sending that information to you now," Aananda says, pulling up the holo display from her wrist unit and inputting commands. "If there's anything else you need, don't hesitate to ask. You know we will help you however we can."
And with that she slips back into the lab to comfort a now crying Vai.
With Fei already on board, Jiminy approaches Ghalen about also joining the planetary protection force as a pilot.
He also spends some time designing a special work study class to get Raelle and Arthur to be able to spend some time each day at the factory helping with design work. In the course of that process he also finds some more candidates for the pilot program and extends offers to join to Ardiente, Etain, Alev, and Elektra.
Andromeda spend the next few days trying to reacclimate to a life that she had left in a bit of a mess really. She had experienced three years worth of time after she died, most of it horrifically traumatic, but she had come back exactly the same age as she had been when she died. There was a big disconnect between what she knew and where she was. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do now that everyone had moved on without her. She spent most of her time at the house, trying to decide what to do next. It seemed strange to go back to being a student, but she had no idea what else she even could do at this point.
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Arthur tries to insist on makeing some kind of mining drone to get more metal, as these work conditions were extremely frustrating for him.
Over the course of the week he reads the datapad melody left him and mostly runs through whatever was going on with his head. He also works long hours and mostly has to be carried to bed by Hermes to avoid hurting himself in his sleep as he continues attempting to work.
Ephebe tries to get back to 'normal' as much as possible, spending as much time as she can with Krays and the babies when she's not dealing with school administration, student crises (getting Ignace back to class proved particularly problematic), and working out some organization issues in hell as she tried to sort out exactly what treaties she currently has with who. All of which was intended to distract her as much as possible from her constantly overflowing emotions, made all the more difficult by both the sudden arrival of her 'twin', the loss of Lysander, and her no longer being the champion of Time. The last part was perhaps the most difficult adjustment as being free of Kronos's influence kept bringing up new thoughts and perspectives she hadn't really been able to consider before. This tended to leave her agitated whenever the subject came up as she was still trying to process through all of it.
She did make time to go and see her little cousins to break the news about Lysander as gently as possible if they didn't already know.
Vickory doesn't help Arthur's sleep issues at all given her lack of any need for such things. She suggests incorporating the mining ability into the seeking drones and to simply make the lead drones able to produce more regular drones with collected resources.
She also takes lead on programming the drones as she finds electronics being merely binary to be a bit inferior, but also because it seems that base 60 mana computing seems to be unheard of and thus less likely to be hacked.
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Taron gets two very different reactions to his gift.
Andromeda sends back a note saying 'Ha ha. You think you're so funny.'
Ephebe ends up in tears. Again.
Continues to help with the sorting of the refugees with Repp, and when Jiminy approaches him to be a pilot, Ghalen tentatively accepts, saying he needed to speak with Tyrrin. Assuming she agrees it's a good idea, he accepts.
Settles into his new role as a teacher in the elementary wing, helping out Mrs. Del Sol as much as possible. Sends word back to his tribe that he will not be returning, that he has chosen to remain at Avalon as an administrator of young students.
Spends as much time as he can with his wife and children, helping Ephebe adjust to her post-champion life as much as possible, giving her space when needed and comfort when needed. He crafts a simple medallion* for her, of silver set with a polished amethyst. Inscribed in draconic in fine characters, it reads "Never doubt you are loved - Krays".
Dave actually goes to his meditation classes, as much as he complains about how it's a waste of time and he could be off learning how to actually do things instead of navel gaze
In his free time he vents his frustration trying to be productive and isn't found outside his room or the ship hanger nearly as much as he had been before the incident.
His room is cluttered with balled up papers with half written songs, design schematics and magical diagrams scrawled across them in uncharacteristicly sloppy handwriting.