<Snipped quote by Heroic>

Physically? Why?

Black-
*Winces again*
... Mail. I see this through to the end, or I face... Consequences.

<Snipped quote by Webmaster>

Black-
*Winces again*
... Mail. I see this through to the end, or I face... Consequences.

By who? What consequences?

<Snipped quote by Heroic>

By who? What consequences?

*Looks incredibly hesitant to speak*
Ex-Family... Execution.

<Snipped quote by Webmaster>

*Looks incredibly hesitant to speak*
Ex-Family... Execution.

That's... horrible! Why would they do that?

<Snipped quote by Heroic>

That's... horrible! Why would they do that?

Because they’re horrible. You hit the nail on the head, chief.

<Snipped quote by Webmaster>

Because they’re horrible. You hit the nail on the head, chief.

What can we do about it?

---

---

*Hours pass before I painstakingly rise from my wallowing in the ash covered earth. My legs tremble for naught but a moment before my power takes over, invigorating my body and returning it to its prime state. With a silent determination I make my way back to the entrance of the ruins, my eyes narrowing as I stare out into the devastation that lay beyond*

Devastation I was ultimately responsible for...

*Glancing about, I readjust my crown so that it rests squarely upon the top of my head before striding out into the wasted expanse*

<Snipped quote by Heroic>

What can we do about it?

Nothing. And it won’t be worth doing anything about it if Nemid wins anyway, so let’s stay focused.

<Snipped quote by Webmaster>

Nothing. And it won’t be worth doing anything about it if Nemid wins anyway, so let’s stay focused.

What can we do, then?

<Snipped quote by Heroic>

What can we do, then?

Find them? I dunno how to do that though. And you’ve better hope Isaac’s not alone with him, because as much as he knows about countering Nemid, he does not have what it takes to stand against him alone. If that's what happened, then you won’t be counting on him anymore, ever again.

<Snipped quote by Webmaster>

Find them? I dunno how to do that though. And you’ve better hope Isaac’s not alone with him, because as much as he knows about countering Nemid, he does not have what it takes to stand against him alone. If that's what happened, then you won’t be counting on him anymore, ever again.

Maybe he has some kind of plan?

<Snipped quote by Heroic>

Maybe he has some kind of plan?

Better hope so. You trust him more than I do... I actually think we should regroup. See if the fighters from the Robyn side of it are fit enough to keep going.

<Snipped quote by Webmaster>

Better hope so. You trust him more than I do... I actually think we should regroup. See if the fighters from the Robyn side of it are fit enough to keep going.

I'll meet you there. I need to analyze some... data first, which might give us an advantage.

<Snipped quote by Heroic>

I'll meet you there. I need to analyze some... data first, which might give us an advantage.

*Raises an eyebrow*
Sure. Hope you’re onto something.
*Takes a second to prepare myself before taking flight once more toward the others*

<Snipped quote by Webmaster>

*Raises an eyebrow*
Sure. Hope you’re onto something.
*Takes a second to prepare myself before taking flight once more toward the others*

I do too.
*Dematerializes and reappears in my private room in SciLab's network; after looking back and forth for anybody else, I fall to my knees and grab the counter, shaking and gasping*
Please... please, oh please...
*Opens and reaches into a dark hole, pulling out a damaged prism of data that I gently feed into a tubular device that begins piecing together what remains*

---

---

*I wander for days, months, years. Time in the surreal hellscape that was the world I used to know barely flows, and when it does it is generally in jumbled bursts of random scenarios and events. Not nearly enough to keep track of anything by, let alone how long my journey actually lasted. At length, however, I find myself face-to-face with... it*

The fabled Gate of Estorath... I'd heard talk of such a construct during my darker days, but I never imagined they'd actually found the time or resources to complete it.

*Plants my hands on my hips as I stare up at the monolithic stone edifice*

Yet here it is. Their final failed attempt to escape me.

...

....

..........

I don't know why I bother hesitating. It's not as if there's anything left for me here anyway.

*Steps forwards but stops when I feel something grasping the heel of my boot. Lowering my gaze, I recoil in shock*

G-Ghatia?!

*I try to pull myself free as her broken and bleeding hands claw their way up my side. My breathing becomes panicked and labored in spite of my knowledge regarding the situation. Knowledge that this grim spirit, this accursed simulacrum slouched before me is nothing more than a mere fantasy.

A figment of my tormented mind*

Gah!

*My expression hardens while my lips flatten into a razor thin line. Raising my hand, I strike the vision across its face, sending golden ichor and brittle bone flying every which way*

Begone spirit! Though you may have her face, you are not her! You have no right to torment me! No right to judge me!

*I squeeze my eyes shut. When I next open them, the phantasm is gone. Dusting myself off with a huff, I turn towards the gate and step on through, eager to finally be rid of this place*

Be it heaven or hell, a Tartarus bleak and unending or an Elysium eternal, whatever lies beyond the gate is undoubtedly better than that which lies here.

*Takes a deep breath before crossing over to the other side*

*A small virus, a black sphere with obloid feet and a yellow half-sphere helmet, waltzes next to me*
You're...
*Smiles halfheartedly when I see the small tag that adorns its helmet*
Bear, you shouldn't leave the others like that. You could get in trouble.
*Pulls the figure into my lap, and watches the data zip by and continue reconstruction attempts, while tears drip across the dome of Bear's helmet*

It was horrible, Bear... Hundreds of our brothers and sisters... Deleted.
*Holds the small virus tighter, and then the machine emits a handful of unnerving tones*
No... no no no no!
*Lets go of Bear and runs toward the device, which is displaying a 34% data corruption level from foreign objects*
...I... I can...
*Hesitates, but reaches toward my heart*

*In a tearing motion, rips a white customizer program from my heart, shaped like a plus with branches on its outer edges, creating a target-like outline, and then looks down at the program, and then to the wall as if looking at something that's not there*
...I would... everything. Everything for this illusion. Install Soul Cleaner 2!
*Shoves the program into the machine, which then grapples onto the emulation engine and begins filtering the data, gradually reducing the corruption level by 15%, the machine indicating that the level is low enough to restore the remaining data with checksums and heuristics*
It worked...
*Tears stream down my face and well along a forced smile*
It worked, Bear.

<Snipped quote by Heroic>

I do too.
*Dematerializes and reappears in my private room in SciLab's network; after looking back and forth for anybody else, I fall to my knees and grab the counter, shaking and gasping*
Please... please, oh please...
*Opens and reaches into a dark hole, pulling out a damaged prism of data that I gently feed into a tubular device that begins piecing together what remains*

*Once you’re gone, I let out a quivering breath, staring off to an arbitrary point in space while zoned out*
Tch...
*Stops and starts shaking, rubbing my arms, face and legs profusely*
What did you do to me?... Everything burns...
*Every muscle in my body tenses up greatly, like a full-body cramp, and I speak through gritted teeth and a tightened jaw*
Stop!