[b]Skotos![/b] "Ahhh, at last," said Aphrodite. "I thought I was going to die of old age before you got there. But then, I've always had trouble with time. Did you know, I used to reign supreme across the whole cosmos? I did not need thunder, or warfare, or virtue to do it. No, I needed merely two things: desire and time." He gave a wry chuckle. "And then daughter dearest over there cut one from the other. Now I still have that supreme power over desire, but I'm... stuck... waiting. I'm stuck waiting for everyone to realize that I am all that matters. I'm stuck waiting for everyone to find their matches. I'm cut in half, like the galaxy, like you and Bella. Tick, tick, tick, I've waited for you to ask me for something. For you to realize that I've got the only thing that matters." He rolls his shoulders. Straightens his tie. He looks younger. Not a lot, but the dust seems to fall away and there's a new health to him now. A streak of black amidst the grey. "All my children only had claim to you before you realized it, before you said it. Now they command you no longer. Now you are mine. But... hmm, no girl of mine can be a mere shadow. Let me fix that." He pulls a silver casino token from his pocket and gives it a fond flip. "You can borrow this," he said, tossing it over to you. When you catch it - [b]Skotia![/b] You are a shadow no longer. That silver token was a name, one of Aphrodite's. Where Skotos is a shadow, Skotia is the [i]Dark One[/i]. The night-time stranger, dressed to steal dances, roses, hearts. An edge of danger. An edge of passion. It comes with a wardrobe change, worthy of a formal Azura party. You must look the part, after all, Aphrodite would allow nothing less from himself. [b]Alexa![/b] "Oh, you betrayed him? Interesting," said the Azura, though he didn't sound in the least bit interested. He made a note in his notebook regardless. "He didn't mention that." The Shahrak keeps you waiting for a moment as he adjusts the magnification lenses on his glasses. Age is a tricky thing in a galaxy where eternal youth was mastered many aeons ago. For a creature such as he to appear this old implies one of a number of tales; it speaks of poison, the sacrifice of his beauty and strength to the Gods, or having reached an age where Hades' pull begins to outweigh even the gene-alchemy of the Splicers. "It's a fair question," he said. "But the Eater of the Dead believes it is precisely your increasing irrelevance which will allow you an outsize impact on the game being played. Precisely, the deal is thus: Emperor Molech, if you bring me the head of the Ikarani adept operating on this world, the Skies will provide you with a new body and a one way trip to lands beyond Our sight." "A body of my choosing," said Molech sharply. "Oh, really now?" said the Shahrak. "You believe this is a negotiation?" "You taught me to watch my words around you, snake," said the Emperor. "I told you to learn some manners," said the ancient serpent. "And the correct protocol when your betters offer you charity is to smile and say 'thank you'." The mad emperor seethed and ground his teeth. The Azura scientist waited for a moment, and then turned back to his book. "I accept your terms," said Liu Ban. The Azura kept reading. "[i]Thank you[/i]," Molech spat. "Better," said the Shahrak. Without looking up he raised one withered hand. "Alexa, I bind you with this command: Do not harm me or my property," he thought about it for a moment, and you're surprised when he leaves it there. No additional qualifiers. "Secondly, obey the commands of Liu Ban. That is all." "My first command," said Molech. "Is not to harm me either." [b]Vasilia and Dolce![/b] Thelis Thist held up a hand, looking away in faux hurt disgust. "Woah! I'm sensing a lot of negativity flowing my way, a lot of questions, a lot of [i]equine dentistry[/i] if you catch my drift. I'm [i]hurt[/i] - but you know what, I get it. You've been through a lot, so, cards on the table," she raised her hands to either side of the two Tunguska tickets. "A few quick answers and then we have to get to work. Hmm?" "So, to cut a long story short, I am that rarest of breeds - a predator that preys entirely upon other predators. And you are, and forgive me lady for so saying, [i]prey[/i] creatures. Sure you might have a little cat in you, but that's not the same thing as being sweet enough for my fangs. I wouldn't eat [i]you[/i] if the sheep did you up in herbs, no offense. Instead... well, I reckon two well traveled souls like you might know that there are two paths to wealth. You could sweat and slave over the chisel for years to make something new from nothing, or you could arrange for a little hostile redistribution, am I right?" She took a deep inhale of her cigar smoke. "So it is with the gifts of Artemis. And I'll swear in Artemis' name that my only interest in your lives is to catch the ones trying to end them, may my fangs fester if I lie." She leaned back, pulling a large mechanical pocketwatch from her toga pocket and glancing at it. "There should be two assassins arriving around now, one you know and one you don't. Distract them for a bit. Make them feel at ease. And listen closely for further instructions, the lives of everyone you know will depend on your swift obedience." [b]Bella![/b] "Yes, you know where you belong, and it is to my [i]mother[/i]," said Redana, passion ice cold. "Of course you are not loyal to the Empire. Nobody could look at the wretched hive of Tellus and call it good, especially after seeing the stars beyond. Of course you are not loyal to your friends, for they are simply tools to get what you really want. No, loyalty to me, the Imperial heir, because I have no power yet. You only worship at Nero's feet. You only care about [i]power[/i]." Her teeth clenched, and then relaxed. There was a distant, angry sympathy there. "And of course you do. Only power can keep you safe, after all, and that's what you really want. You're so afraid and I'm so..." Redana's cold anger hesitated, trembling, lost. A dark shiver ran through the hall, the rattle of wine glasses. And then, more from decision than passion, she froze over again in your arms. "But I am trying to actually wield that power," she said, though there was no conviction in those words. "To change something. Because I'm loyal to something even more distant than power."