XianaEvermor

Titan's Fall: The Abyssal Paradox

Yue's eyes snapped open at the question. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled upright and she dropped Archer abruptly. He puffed dramatically and smoothed out his jacket while Yue gazed absently at her hands.

"Oh shit, I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed, blinking rapidly as she snapped back to her senses and started to fawn over Archer.

"Sssh," he smiled, silencing her with a finger. "Hold this," he instructed, pressing the keychain into her hand. She flustered for a moment but her fingers closed around it involuntarily, and she stared off into space with a concerned expression as he spun her around and pressed his hand between her shoulder blades.

The array hidden in her tattoo sparkled to life for a few moments before the [Crimson] seemed to dissipate, calming from the lively and angry coils to a thin and tranquil aura close to her skin, now scarcely noticeable. He sighed, waving a hand dismissively at the words of Zolya and the others.

"Okay what the fuck?!" Yue blurted out. "Is this real?! Am I dreaming? Is that what's happening here?!"

"Things are gonna get weird from here on, hon," he muttered as she turned around to face him. Archer took a breath and huffed, blowing a stray lock of hair out of his eyes. "I'll have you know, the request to keep her in the dark came from her family. I shan't be taking the blame for them wanting her to live a life free of the perils of our world. You put me in a difficult position, Freyja," he explained curtly, turning his head back towards Zolya.

"Not that I agree with the policy or anything, it's just not my place to say anything about it," he said with a sigh, his expression and posture relaxing. "Now that the proverbial cat is out of the bag so to speak (through no fault of my own I might add), however, it's probably better if the explanation comes from me," he admitted. "Why don't we find a place where we can chat comfortably and I'll explain everything... I just have something to take care of first, hon."

Archer stepped past Yue, and between Jemma and Raudd without explanation, the card Raudd had placed on the ground popped into the air and he caught it between two fingers. He stopped an arm's length away and held it out to Jemma casually, one hand in his pocket, his blue eyes gleaming with interest and amusement. Archer slid his fingers apart slightly to reveal two cards: the one Raudd had left, and a Tarot card labeled "7 - The Archer."

"I want to talk to you," he informed, bluntly. "Later. When you're feeling less... 'assaulty.' These people can be trusted," he explained, tilting his head towards Zolya and the others. "When you're ready, I'll come find you. My name is Artemis," he revealed. The name carried a different weight as he said it, resonating through the Astral Sea almost as though it invoked power just by utterance.

Titan's Fall: The Abyssal Paradox

The sizzle of burning tobacco preceded his presence, and though the space next to Zolya was vacant moments previously, Archer now occupied it. His breath billowed in a cloud of smoke and he flicked ash off the end of his cigarette with a dismissive gesture.

"Ayo... Would'ja look at that: all the people I'm looking for in a nice little bundle, what a coincidence," he noted, observing the scene developing at the top of the wall with a distinct lack of urgency. "You came all this way and didn't even stop to say 'hello.' I'm wounded, Freyja," he smirked at Zolya. "Merllwyn," he acknowledged.

"Y'all aren't planning to do anything silly now... are you?" He asked, his smirk widening into a grin as he stepped past her onto the brambles. He took a final drag on his cigarette and put it out between his fingers, stashing the stub with the others in his foil pouch. He made eye contact with the feathered woman as he exhaled, allowing a flash of Mana to escape his Suppression Seal and flicker through the eleven spell arrays tattooed on his person. Besides that momentary flicker, he didn't seem to disturb the Manascape at all, and his expression took a predatory air as he climbed the brambles towards the wall.

"Raudd?" Yue seemed to relax a little, though she didn't turn her head towards him. She seemed transfixed by the void in front of her... or terrified of what she might see if she turned her head. "I had a bad dream. I didn't remember where I was. I get night terrors so... I don't like to sleep," she explained, while flexing her fingers at her side. For a moment it looked like she might say more, but she just slowly exhaled instead.

"Hey, Babydoll," Archer called up softly. He stood at the edge of the ramp of brambles with his hands in his pockets, letting the growth carry him slowly across the last couple meters to the wall. Yue inhaled sharply, and for a moment it looked like she might break down on the spot.

"If I turn around and you're not r-real...," Yue stammered.

"It's safe, I promise."

There was a tangible pause before Yue swiveled on her heels and jumped the gap towards him. She embraced him in a bear hug and lifted him off the ground, burying her face in his chest, her muscles coiling as she squeezed him. He continued to smile, however, after a moment a strained groan began to escape him and the arrays on his body began to flicker with Mana in spite of the suppression as his barriers worked overtime against the pressure.

Titan's Fall: The Abyssal Paradox

The void yawned underneath her. Yue's breath came heavy in clouds of condensation. Beyond the brilliantly lit wall of the settlement was pitch darkness, save the faint glimmer of another settlement in the distance, and the thrust glow of drones patrolling. She'd run across the rooftops clear to the edge of ShieldTown. Her heart thumped in her chest, and all she could hear in the unnatural silence was her breathing.

Her fists clenched and unclenched rhythmically against the pins and needles sensation she'd come to associate with pain. She was banged up, particularly her head and her left side. Fingers ran across the rough texture of of an old(?) scrape on her cheek, and her skin protested as she prodded a tender spot beneath her eye.

Right. She fell.

Yue took a deep breath and tried to relax, though the coiled tension wouldn't release her bones. [Crimson] coiled itself angrily around her limbs, and she tried to brush it off her skin reflexively. Her hands wouldn't stop shaking.

Tragedy. She encountered the masked killer. A teleporter. She'd been translocated beneath the plate surface and she fell.

Yue's heartrate slowed.

Something had happened after she fell... that part was still fuzzy. She met Sir Viking, Runepriest... no, Raudd and Zolya. Murder-Bot... she couldn't remember his name but that probably wasn't it... and Meathead.

Call me Alex while out of costume. Jabbing and banter aside, I’ll make sure you get back topside.

They split up. She went with him. Met his Super-Groupie... Dean. Drove to the Ignis Citidel, or a replica of it at least.

Did my favorite angry kitty ever get that 0.5% epic sword drop?

No. She didn't. Because you were the one that kept us all together... and you Ď̵̪͉͉̈́̈́Ǐ̴͕̦͈͌͝E̶̖̝͆D̴͔̀̃ left.

The Scream.

Yue flinched as she recalled the sound and that feeling like she'd been torn free of her body and left to fall in an endless void. That part she remembered vividly, as well as the dream that had accompanied the sensation. Was it a dream? Dragons weren't real. Or were they? We don't talk about the second moon, her psychiatrist changed her meds last time she tried.

I̶̘͆'̷̙̎m̸̹̐ ̷͓̿n̷͕͑o̴͔̾ť̷̹ ̸̤͆š̵̮ḯ̴͍c̴̗͐k̵͊ͅ

Deep breath. Exhale. š̵̮ḯ̴͍c̴̗͐k̵͊ͅ Count to ten.

Does it kill Kaiju?

Oh, enthusiastically so.

n̷͕͑o̴͔̾ť̷̹ ̸̤͆š̵̮ḯ̴͍c̴̗͐k̵͊ͅ

Right. They fought the Hydra. And then...

"You’re… Panicking. Do you want help?"

Yue flinched, and her eyes flicked towards the source of the voice involuntarily, but her head didn't turn. Every muscle in her body was coiled.

Don't look. You won't like what you [ş̶͝ē̸͉e̶̗̚].

She pressed her palms to her eyes and tried to collect herself, though that just made the threads of [Crimson] coiling around her bones stand out against the black. Coming undone. Yue inhaled and blew a long shuddering sigh as she tried to hold herself together.

"I'll be okay. I just need... a minute," croaked Yue after an uncomfortably long silence.

Titan's Fall: The Abyssal Paradox

---

[ShieldTown - Interior]

---

"DEEEANNN~!" Wolf called after the man as he slammed the door to his house. There was a short moment where it looked like she might pursue him further; instead she broke into a peal of laughter followed by a snort.

She'd fully intended to fetch the physician herself, but trying to get Dean to do things for her was always entertaining. Harassing the lay about was her second favorite pastime; shooting things that didn't belong in the area was her first.

"Speaking of...," she muttered, as a border alert caught her attention. She blew a sigh as she flipped the view of her cybernetic eye over to the Hunter-Killer drone as it swooped overhead from the rear of the settlement. Being the only conscious member of The Den that could operate the drones was taxing her neural net, and she was going to have a hell of a headache in a few hours. It was better than not having the support at all though.

An object was approaching the settlement at high speed, and though the drone's optics didn't have visual, she had radar lock. Wolf rocked her head back and forth in indecision. The Hunter-Killer climbed to get a better angle, and the targeting pod locked onto the object's thermal signature. She very nearly gave the command to launch a Maverick before the Drone's VI identified the object as "The Tumbler." Wolf exhaled and commanded it to Chase instead, causing the drone to perform a Wingover and follow Alex and the Tumbler.

"Oi... coming in hot?" Wolf clicked over to Aegis' radio channel. "Gonna check that speed? Start braking, or you're gonna-" It was too late, the Tumbler slammed into the settlement wall causing Wolf to breathe an exasperated sigh before cutting off the channel. The Tumbler was a sturdy vehicle but... it was gonna need a visit to her Frame Straightener after that impact.

"Big man's bringing in a wounded," she chirped over the settlement frequency. "Nobody's critical at The Den, send the physician to Aegis' guest first, and then shoot me a heads up so I can cover his crossing..."

Aegis crashing the tumbler following a monster attack while the "Spooky Nature Siblings" casually vault the settlement wall with a road of brambles while riding stags made out of dark matter and stars?

Just another day in Shieldtown...

---

[Meanwhile, elsewhere in the settlement]

---

"What to do, what to do...," Archer muttered, exhaling a plume of smoke from his second cigarette of the day. Dawn was going to give him a talking to for sure. The disturbance at the wall had caught his attention long enough for him to notice the arrival of some principal members of the Black Moon Society in signature fashion.

He held his elbow with one hand while tapping his cheek with his fingers in indecision. It probably wasn't a coincidence that their arrival so quickly followed his own, and it was likely that Yue had made contact with them in some capacity, since he had been following her trail in that direction. On the other hand there was the Amalgam Soul: a gross and deliberate manipulation of forbidden dark arts. Levin would have his head if he just turned a blind eye...

Archer had been following the creature deeper into the settlement before BMS arrived. It was fast, and inquisitive and it hadn't presented itself as a danger... so far. His eyes flicked back and forth as he took a long drag on his cigarette and exhaled it from his nose. He turned his eyes back towards the wall.

It would be rude of him to not say 'Hello' after they came all this way... Losing track of the creature now might cause some problems later though.

He flicked a tarot card into his hand after a long moment of thought and etched an improvised spell into the array on the back. [Mark] was an innocuous cantrip that would allow him to track a target that he had touched over long distances. Physical contact was the limiting factor, but by combining it with a 'Null" array that would just hold Mana and not do anything, and a Transference circuit he fashioned himself a little lure that would Mark whatever had the mind to take a bite.

"Now it's just time to do a little fishing..."

---

[Elsewhere...]

---

She knew she was dreaming at first.
The fuzz of the world had faded, and the cold grip of oblivion was holding her lungs still.
It hurt, to dream like this.
She remembered how it always felt too real.
But then her mind forgot itself.

The dream was all there was.

First was the hole. The pit in the earth. Cavernous and filled with static-hissing-dark-sadness. Cold lavender light poured out from it, but only reached the edges of the pit. A broken city surrounded it.

The sky was visible, for just a moment, as a scream poured forth. The light flashed, and then there was the body.

The skin was… Cold.
Pulling at the bone. Cold.
Cracking the lips and face. Cold.
Sucking air out of the lungs. Cold.

The body was cold. It stared up, making eye contact. Pupils blown wide, iris pale gray, sclera so blood filled it was black.

Metallic taste on the tongue; like copper being fused to taste buds.

The body? It was familiar. But the name kept slipping away, like an old memory in disuse. Female. Definitely female.

Was it actually remembered? Or … Maybe from a picture? A long time in the past.

Round nose. Almost button-like. Slightly upturned.
Soft face, no harsh lines or angles. Just barely on the cusp of ‘full’.
Cheek bones unassuming.
Ears, unassuming.
Brows raised, like perpetually somewhat surprised.
Full lips. Naturally dark? Painted a light, almost cheerful red. Smile lines in the corners.

But her mouth hung open, now. A perpetual scream.

The skin-tone was sun warmed, tawny brown in the gray light. Alopecia all over, with a dermal spike just under the left eye. Barely an inch high. Black like a porcupine quill-tip.

Full, thick, hair; black. Silver highlights, almost natural.

Is she old?

Then. Something… a spider? An insect crawls out from under a thick mane.
Marble white carapace, glossy— Made of stone? Or actual marble?
Eight limbs, pushing on cold skin, claws digging in, as it crawls down… And down.
Settles over the body’s mouth, like a shield.

No peeking, no talking.

The body vanishes, and she becomes aware of herself again. She screams against a howling void, hugs her knees to her chest, wailing. A crimson light, oil-smeared with silvers and grays, hovers just out of reach. It’s cacophonous, but safe. Safety guaranteed. If she… could just… reach it!

It lies too far.

The world shifts, filled abruptly with cackling and cooing. Hysterical static snaps over her eyesight; turns everything muddy and fuzzy and out of focus.

Shifts again.

One clear image, like a snapshot of clarity in a corrupted film of confusion.
Looking into one. Great. Eye. Staring into it, as its’ four pointed star of a pupil contracts in agonizing slowness.

Time warps, slows and speeds up in equal measure.

A familiar sensation.

It drinks her in, absorbs her every detail. A scream begins at her throat, presses down around her like the weight of the tides.

Fire ROARS to life, crackling around a sky-blue shield. A blade whistles, cuts through a twisted face.
The eye blinks, taking a thought/eternity to complete.

Abrupt silence. Powdered glass under her feet makes itself known. Lavender-gray light suffuses her. Turns the whole world pale and unsettling. The air does not stir. There is no air! And…

There is no sound.
No Sun.
No Moon.
No fire or strength.
No life.
No death.
No tide.
No stone.
No weight pulling her down.
No shade blinding her sight.
No color. No COLOR.

In the far distance, a scream builds… And builds… And builds and builds and rushes and whorls and slams into her mind. It pierces like a blade through butter, deafens her and blinds her.

Locks her in eternity, frees her from oblivion, loathes that she will not come to it. Follow its source. Find it.
It wails for her.

Cries for no one.

It rises in its volume, intensity growing. Rising like a tidal wave, crushing, all encompassing. The sun formed directly before her, seeking to immolate her! Like the wrath of an old forgotten lover, scornful and hating.
It crawls under her skin, tearing at her, loathing her! She is hated and she knows it, she screams and it screams and it all twists and coils and hurts and hurts until—!

It shifts again.

She watches as a woman’s shape, warped and filled to bursting with ethereal light, twists a sphere of silvery-gold-green-blue-white light. The sphere ripples, warps, and the woman turns to look at her.

Her dream says ‘Mother…?’

Her dream wakes up in a bed, cold and vulnerable. Memories dance and fade, and fire coils everywhere. The sun, in a room.

There’s a brief pain, a spider bite in the palm of her hand. She looks down and witnesses a truer fear than she’s felt.

Her mind slips off of it, like trying to associate it to anything if impossible. It shifts on her skin, prickle crawling like spiders and ants and centipedes and bugs and weakness and—

It looks at her. It loves her.

Yue woke up.

---

[1:18am]

---

Yue bolted upright, clutching at her breast and gasping for air as though she'd been holding her breath for far too long. It was dark. She was drenched in sweat. Her heart pounded, and she couldn't shake the FEAR. Yue was in her street clothes, in a room that wasn't hers. She looked around frantically, unable to find her things.

Door!

She stumbled towards it, trying the handle and rattling the door loudly though it didn't come free. She turned around, swallowed by her anxiety. She spotted a window and bolted to it, scattering a bunch of small slips of paper that had been loosely adhered to... the wall probably.

The unfamiliar urban crush of lights and structures of a foreign settlement greeted her. What was the last thing she remembered... falling?!

Something shot up over the horizon, like a shooting star that fell upward. Shining, pulsing hypnotic [WHITE]. Yue held her breath against the dread that something might happen, and just as she was beginning to relax, an inhuman mass of color and swirling ink streaked up from the darkness and swallowed the star. For a split second all she could see was the eye with the pupil in the shape of a four pointed star. She couldn't breathe.

Air. She needed air.

Yue scrabbled at the window lamely for a moment, and when it didn't immediately open she grasped the nearest object with her shaking hands. Wood, or maybe bone cracked, as her fingers crushed down. The muscles in her arm coiled, and she sent the night stand and its contents crashing through the glass. She rushed to the edge, leaning out in time to see the night stand swallowed by the darkness below. How high up was she??

She reached up, gaining purchase on the lip of the roof. Yue swung herself up, flipping herself up to the roof... foreign lands in every direction. Buildings made of bone, leather, and steel. Was she still dreaming?? She turned away from where she had seen the star get swallowed, running to the edge of the roof and the building and jumped.

The chill air bit her face as she soared across a gap, and she rolled gracefully as she landed on the be adjacent roof and kept running...

On the floor of her room lay scattered the slips of paper, illuminated by the door opening.

Kasha,
Don't panic, you are with friends.
-TT

Kasha,
This room is safe.
Come downstairs when you wake up.
-TT

Kasha,
This door sticks.
-TT

Titan's Fall: The Abyssal Paradox

---

[Templar Tower Interior - Elysium]

[A ZombiesAnHyenas / XianaEvermor collaboration]

---

He needed to get out, it had to happen now. This was too much! This was almost as bad as the— No! Not thinking about that now. Where was the door? Fuck!

"Is this what you felt like, Kassandra?" Dawn muttered, clutching at her heart. Dawn’s eyes flicked past Felix to the bar, which was conspicuously vacant and squinted her eyes at the dubious amusement trailing into the back room. She gulped down the rest of her wine and hurriedly waved her Slatephone over the credit terminal embedded in the table’s edge as she stepped after him.

"Felix, wait!" She called after him, waiting until he’d made it outside. Tears stained her cheeks in dark, ruddy rivulets of ruined mascara. "Take a deep breath. I can’t… purposefully control what you’re feeling."

Can’t… purpose… Feeling. Was all that Felix heard, mind and breath racing too fast even as he stepped out of the building. The air… Maybe it cleared? Maybe it just got more open and he wasn’t in unfamiliar territory. He took a deep breath, registering her words a couple long seconds later.

The knot in his chest kept churning; like coils of acidic snakes chewing his heart alive. He shuddered, gasping once before forcing himself to … to… well. To focus. His mind turned itself in loops as the emotions began to settle, the prickle-wriggle sensation of high flying panic falling away.

So he turned to Dawn, and spoke again after a long moment of calming himself. “Okay! Okay okay. I’m! I'm trying to stay calm. Explain yourself! Please.” The whiplash of his emotions was… Something! Christ.

"I can’t PURPOSEFULLY control what you’re feeling," she repeated slowly, with emphasis, making sure to keep a respectful distance and keep her hands jammed into her pockets. She sniffled and wrinkled her nose. "There is an empathic component; I can’t really turn it off. It’s just a side effect of being… what I am," she explained, dabbing the corner of an eye with a palm in a vain attempt to save her makeup.

"It doesn’t control what you feel: that’s all you. Just encourages people to be honest, both with me and themselves. Just keep breathing, okay?” She took a deep, controlled breath herself and let it out slowly. One thing at a time…

Felix’ eyebrow twitched, anger pulsing up and slamming against the tenuous grasp he had just reasserted over himself. He blinked once, twice, breathed in deep, and spoke.

“Okay. So… You have a component of your power that makes it so… What? People can’t lie to you? You can’t lie either? If that’s true then—”

"I mean… you’re not forced to tell the truth, but you’re not wrong…"

Again, his emotions SHIFTED like a crack of lightning. Whiplash ran through him as his voice uncontrollably grew elated. He was piecing something together, he knew he was, there HAD to be more to this! “If you can’t lie, and I can’t lie either… What's different about me? Emotional response isn’t part of lying… Amplification of it at least… Brain chemistry? No. Well… Maybe? No wait— ‘Goddess’,”

This he said with scorn, clearly disbelieving.

“Of light, truth, arch…ery… Wait wait, if you can manipulate light— Which, considering what you do to my arms— would that have an effect? I’m otherwise normal, and I don’t have any hidden Thinker or Esper abilities so I mean…,” His mouth clicked shut as he abruptly remembered to let her talk. And if THAT wasn’t a lot. Christ. Shutting up was hard!

"Ah shit… I’m so STUPID! I didn’t even think- I’m sorry, I’m sorry, let me-" she stepped towards him and froze for a long moment, biting the inside of her lips apprehensively. "I can shield you from it, but I have to touch you, is that okay? Gods I feel awful," she muttered as she closed the distance, pulling her hands out of her pockets to reach for him.

"UNHAND MY SHORT KING, HARLOT!!"

Dawn staggered back unsteadily as lightning sprang up to separate the two. A sharp blast of wind and thunder. Blue and white tights, tabard fluttering, the Templar emblem shining in the overhead light as he rode a curtain of electricity to the ground and his white cloak billowed. He flung one corner of his cloak behind him dramatically.

Felix’ eyebrow twitched again; relief and exhaustion rising like a tidal wave to drown him. He shook it off and sighed, shoulders coming down from the tense rise they had settled into.

“Ion, I swear to fuck. You just… totally ruined my train of thought, you jackass! She wasn’t even touchin’ me anymore! Sheesh.”

The words were harsh, but the hug he threw at Ion from behind was bone crushing in its sincerity. Almost literally, if the ‘Lightning Rod from God’ wasn’t wearing his field armor. Felix’ arms were… Not to be underestimated.
Oh! His HUD was beeping at him, notifying him of a string of messages from Sovereign, and from himself TO sovereign. … That was a LOT of SOS notifications. Oops.

"Whoah, whoah Night Light!" Ion protested over the creaking of his suit, though he reached back and scooped Felix with one arm off his feet without hesitation, sweeping him to the Templar’s side. His other arm braced between the pair and Dawn, who rolled her eyes and folded her arms. "Ya done did us a fright, Night Light. I ain’t as fast as Fang but, I came as soon as you blipped off the net," he explained, though he visibly relaxed after surveying the location and… the state of Dawn’s makeup.

"Oh… breaking hearts again are we, King?" The smirk in his voice was apparent even through the mask.

“Just because I’m exhausted and exhilarated to see you, I’ll let you have that one… She’s got an aura of truth-telling, low level with the less… I guess… I think my hardlight cybernetics are impacting my susceptibility. … Also I didn’t mean to— She said some intensely upsetting things.” Felix whispered into Ion’s side..

"Not on purpose, jeeze. I’m an empath, not a damn mind reader," quipped Dawn as she wiped muddy streaks from her face.

"Silence, strumpet!"

He lifted his head out of Ion’s chest, shooting a simultaneously apologetic and accusatory grimace her way. ‘Sorry. One sec.’ He mouthed to her, stepping back and heaving a sigh. More alerts from his HUD, Sovereign asking to access his video feed. Felix accepted, and watched as his screen fuzzed for a half second before clarifying.

"Any other day I’d be your wingman, King. Today we got two agents MIA, Sai-Guy off the grid and Chief Lady running interference with the media. Gotta let me know before you jump off the net, even if it’s for a cause I support," he chirped, leaning his head towards Dawn.

"Aw hell, If I’d known I-," Dawn cut herself off as her gold eyes shimmered iridescent for a moment. "Let me help. I’m good at finding things, in a sense."

"THIS IS A PRIVATE CONVERSATION, MISS FLOOZY! Some people. I swear," he muttered. Dawn pursed her lips into a frown, wide eyes flicking back and forth between Felix and Ion..

Felix frowned and held eye contact with Dawn, ‘let me help’ huh…? … Well. A field test first then.

He snapped his gaze up to Ion, frowning harder and cuffing him over the back of his head. “Hey! The first time was okay; I was stressed and I needed it. But she’s NOT a floozy! She’s a bit misguided,” A pause, a thought clicking with others!

“Aren’t you the ladies man? Wow, I guess I’m better at talking than you are mister ‘Lightning Rod from God’!”

Felix looked back at Dawn as Ion spluttered, giving her a quick smile before swiftly slamming his face back into a scowl. She smiled back nervously. Two ideas ran in his head, and idea one required playing on Ion’s pride… Doable! He DID tell Agent… Uhhhhhh… Ducky? Agent Ducky not to scream! 30 minutes ago.

"Uh, I’m an every gender man? Thank you," he quipped, seeming pleased with his recovery. "Listen, I’m glad you’re okay, seriously. I gotta get back to it: we’re super short handed with Fang missing. They’re recalling Mitts and a few others from overseas via Hypersonic, and the entire Cyber division is rolling into town to help. Media spits a lot of hate on her but nobody realizes just how much she actually does around here until she’s not out there doing it," he muttered with a bitter note.

"Anyway… NO TOUCHING THE SHORT KING!" He pointed firmly at Dawn, causing her to flinch. "You. Stay on the net," he ordered, poking Felix firmly in the chest. "Go get her, Tiger," he smirked beneath the mask, and shot into the air with a flash of electricity and thunder.

There was a tangible pause after he left before Dawn slapped Felix squarely on the back. A warm energy pulsed through him leaving an… oddly geometric tingling between his shoulder blades.

He stiffened for a moment, turning to put her on blast before… Noting the relieved sensation blooming in his chest.

"If that’s the company you keep, I’m not sure I feel bad anymore," she muttered, retreating to sit on a nearby bench, before finding his hand in the crook of her elbow.

“Don’t even pretend you weren’t that bad in highschool, lady.” He chastised in return, voice low and below volume as his eyes flicked through screen after icon after notification. He sent off a rapid message to Sovereign, promising an explanation if he could just give Felix a hand.

“Okay so here’s what I’m thinking. One; I need to apologize to you. I shouldn’t— I KNOW powers, right? I shouldn’t blame you for something you can’t control. Especially if… Well, I’m like… sixty percent light based matter, right now,” he paused, mulling that over. One of Dawn’s eyebrows shot up, and her eyes flicked involuntarily down to his belt line.

“That's not an excuse. And anyways, two; how do you feel about fucking with a government agent who’ll be more inclined to not lie to us? … And also help me help your brother's friend? I think? You know light shit, and esper shit, and I— Y’know what? Third and final question!”

He abruptly took a step back, raising his hand up into the air, palm facing the sky. Felix swept low, bowing at the waist and offering his hand forward as he spoke again. “Would you like to work with me in pissing off my boss and also digging deeper into… What your powers do to me and mine?” He asked, face turned away as he swiftly added, “And also because I feel really bad for blowing up at you for past instances that weren’t your fault—”

"Don’t worry about it," she exhaled after a long minute, flicking one of her manicured hands at him dismissively. "There’s nothing to feel bad for, hon: this is definitely an edge case for ability interactions. I’m the one that pulled you away from an important duty to have a bit of fun at your expense, and into an (unintentionally) uncomfortable situation,” she paused, gazing at him with a neutral expression for a long time. Her eyes shimmered iridescent for a moment.

"There’s something else you should know about me: I have… a thing. A hint of Clairvoyance, or whatever you’d like to call it. I’m attracted to people and items of significance that’ll help me or someone I’m close to me ’avert evil.’ Don’t question it, we’ll be here all night. The short version is, we’re supposed to meet, and something we do together will be helpful for either myself, or someone directly connected to me. It’s why I wanted to talk to you privately and candidly without any…," she gestured to the Arcology ceiling.

"I’m pretty sure I can trust you and your… virtual companion with that information. Pissing off government agents, now…," she paused, a sly grin blooming across her lips. "That. Sounds. Like. Fun."

Titan's Fall: The Abyssal Paradox

"I’ll trust in your judgement, as you’ve shown yourself capable! I’ll have some… Discussions… About the details you’ve shared.”

"Of course, Mama. I have a shelter arrangement at ShieldTown, I'll set out first thing after the activity in the Outskirts has settled down," She informed, drumming her fingers on her knees.

“You’ve done supremely well, dear. I’ll have Copper Drake take you wherever you wish to go upon your return to Ichabod. I have to go now! I love you.” ID gasped with audible excitement. An outing with Copper Drake potentially meant a trip to the surface. She could finally see the Sun again, and hopefully not through some crack in the plates either. She still vividly recalled the last time they went, so many years ago...

"I LOVE YOU TOO MAMA!"

She drummed on her thighs and stamped the ground, basking in the glow of praise for a long few minutes before she could regain her composure. She exhaled slowly, still smiling cheerily beneath her mask as she swiped through her contacts, noting the cluster of Zolya's birds crossing the Outskirts in haste. She took a moment to damp her signature and make herself as small as possible. After she was confident she wouldn't be noticed she rapidly tapped out a message.

To: Mithril Giant
On special assignment: Spooky Esper shit over @ Muriel
Could use backup if you're free.
Shieldtown region, probs set out first light.

ID carefully emerged from her hide, keeping her signature suppressed and taking care to give the birds a wide berth, though it did slow her travel. She could run across the outskirts at a fair clip, but it would attract less attention to walk... assuming none of the stray beasts attacked her at least. She thought back to her last trip to the surface. ID had awakened very young: she'd been steeped in the magic world for as long as she could remember, and Mother had kept and educated her at the Menagerie underground facilities to protect her from extremists that might try and take advantage of her. Her sister hadn't shown any signs of awakening, so they'd thought it was safe to let her attend school topside. ID had written so many letters.

The memory was so vivid. She was holding Copper Drake's hand: they'd gone to pick up her sister from graduation. They couldn't make it to the ceremony. She couldn't remember the reason why, probably due to trauma. Everything happened so fast: her sister's limo approaching, ID recalled the nervous excitement in her chest. An armored truck ran the light, smashing into the limo's side. It flipped so many times... people in uniforms poured out of the truck like an organized column of ants. She screamed something, and just as Copper Drake was pulling her away, ID saw her... wreathed in brilliant silver, arm crushed under the weight of her own explosive power.

ID shuddered, recalling the anguished shriek of her sister's Astralform tearing its own eyes open before landing back in Ichabod, recoiling from the shock of having her breath forced out of her lungs. The memory only dampened her mood a little, but galvanized her resolve... those Templar extremists would eventually face a reckoning. She'd deliver their justice personally.

She settled back into her collected stoicism as she approached Shieldtown's walls from the broken Sun Lamp. Crossing underneath The Den wasn't optimal, but the drones that normally policed this area appeared busy farther up the wall. ID leapt silently to the top and slid down the interior side into a shadow, where she vanished in a small ripple of heat distorted air.

Titan's Fall: The Abyssal Paradox

---

[Stoneworks Region - Outskirts]

---

ID walked briskly into the outskirts until the Stoneworks was out of sight behind her, and for some time after... just in case. After a while she found herself kneeling beneath a shelf of rock, observing the flight patterns of the Corvids illuminated by her pact.

"Yareyareda kuso ttare- that woman's vermin really are everywhere," she muttered, half wishing she'd remained ignorant. She sighed and settled down after taking the moment to ensure she wasn't being observed before reaching into one of her insulated belt pouches. ID swiped the screen of her modified Slatephone open. It processed for a moment after she entered her password and it connected to the Menagerie network. She spent a few minutes catching up on notifications and messages before dialing the contact labeled "Mother."

"My brilliant Star! What can I do for you, my dear?" A voice answered after but a single ring. A smile spread across ID's face beneath the mask, she couldn't help it, and she listened to Mother shoo someone out of her office, most likely an assistant before responding.

"Mama!" The tension audibly fell out of ID's shoulders. The mask of collected stoicism melted away. "I know you're probably super busy...," she hesitated for a moment while playing with the end of her braid idly, though she didn't wait quite long enough for a reply. "This couldn't wait though: firstly we need to call Cobalt Weasel off the search for the missing subject," she explained with a note of urgency as she leaned back into the rock to take a more relaxed posture.

"I ran into the Subject on my investigation- I'll get to that- It's powerful, Mama! I mean, I knew it was dangerous, but holy hell, Mama!! It improvised third tier spells at me on the spot!! Rapidly! AND! AND! And it BAMBOOZLED a Templar into protecting it! THE QUEEN OF SWORDS no less! He doesn't even know, you have to call him in. I mean like... he's an incompetent waste of space, but that's not even fair," she urged.

"My dear, let's not meander on too long!" Mother cut in, as ID was taking a breath to continue.

"Right right, sorry Mama. I found a community of mages set up where the Grave Haunt Domain used to be: they re-aspected it and built a rather large settlement there. I bought some good will with them, and I opened up a... pretty lucrative trade channel for enchanted items: One of the principal Awakened on site is a Runesmith, hungry for material enchanting," ID beamed, clearly anticipating the praise she was about to recieve.

"That's not the real reason I called though... I found her," she revealed, in a voice of low excitement. "My... The Night Star, I found her! Mama! We can finally rescue her!"

Titan's Fall: The Abyssal Paradox

---

[A ZombiesAnHyenas / XianaEvermor Collaboration]

---

“I am not flustered! I’m merely surprised! And y’know, on a business meeting with someone infinitely prettier than I expected?”

He replied, and then immediately snapped his mouth shut. Why had he said that? She wasn’t… That pretty? He thought? What the hell.

Usually he kept his words to himself, so what the fuck?

"You’re quite a… handsome fellow? Yourself," she smiled, gently laying her hand on his for a moment with a raised eyebrow that suggested maybe she knew more than she was letting on. “I think something will happen in the future to challenge your beliefs, call it a gut feeling.”

Her words rang about for a little while. Rattling like church bells, or like the knell of a cemetery bell.

‘Something will happen in the future’, said with such confidence, that automatic assurance of self. Why would Felix say no, of course. Wasn’t he so ‘lucky’?! Felix’ eyes darted to their touching ‘skin’, hardlight rippling like water in slow motion; pupils contracting as a memory arose unbidden.

Her voice was coaxing, soft and horrible. “You’re just so pretty! I would love to shoot my shot with a boy like you! You’re just so… Butch, and- and- and so,” she paused to think, “Rawr! you know? Super manly!”

Except ‘boy’ was said like it was an exotic trait. ‘Pretty’ was said like a butcher's knife. ‘Manly’ was said like every piteous, self righteous, bastard—

The memory shattered. And Felix snapped back into the present. His eyes flicked up to hers. He stood. And he spoke. Smiling, becoming terse and bitter, he spoke. Through teeth clenched like gates slamming shut.

“Yeah alright, ahem. Nah. No, no offense meant lady. But, no. I appreciate this! It’s been fun! And it’s been real! But uh… It ain’t real fun to be exoticized.” He stood, stepping out of the booth to stand straight and indignant. “So… I’m going to go now. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t try to stop me. Bye now.”

Some small voice in the back of his mind asked if he was maybe overreacting? Misunderstanding?

The rest of him violently disagreed.

Dawn had raised her glass to her lips, and choked at his reply.

"What?" she spluttered, nearly spilling her drink. "Nono, it’s not like that!" Dawn flustered in a distressed tone. "Wait, wait don’t go, let me explain!" she pleaded, climbing out of her seat awkwardly to reach for his hand.

Felix twitched, darting his hand out of her reach. He kept his smile, though if there was some way for it to become even more brittle and flint…

“Ask! Jesus. Ask before touching me! Please! You can fuckin— You fuckin’ warp the shape of my prosthetics! Of my arms! I can feel that! It’s wrong! My skin shouldn’t move like that! And that’s not even— You CUT ME OFF FROM EVERYONE? Do you even know what your brother does for work?! Do you know how freaky it is? To not be able to reach my coworkers for help?!” He cut himself off. He had gone from hissing to shouting, voice cracking part way through.

Felix’ throat hurt, vocal training and therapy, years of practice, all forgotten in anger.

Dawn flinched hard, as though she’d been shocked. Confidence, playful allure, calculated contact, the word play… she was clearly used to handling everyone in this manner, and had no idea what to do or say now that it wasn’t working. She sputtered syllables at him, trying to find her feet in a rapidly deteriorating situation she was no longer in control of. She struggled to find something constructive to do with her hands as she resisted the urge to make comforting contact, and instead shoved her balled up fists into the pockets of her skirt.

"I know more about what Archer does-," she bit the inside of her lips, cutting herself off. “I-I just wanted you to feel safe talking openly,” she half stammered. “Look, you’re special! I have a feeling about you,” she explained unsteadily.

Her words slammed into the back of his head, and the smile finally vanished. A notification popped up in the corner of his HUD.

Reconnected to the network…?

No. No, it was a heart rate warning.

The emotions were bubbling up now, pulled out of him even if he was doing everything he could to hold them back. His mouth slammed open, and as if the [TRUTH] was yanked out of him, his voice lanced the air.

“No! Shut! UP! I am NOT special. You do not get to CALL me that! You can’t just SAY that and expect me to FUCKING CHILL?! You wanted me to feel safe talking openly?!” He sucked in a breath, trying to hold it in.

What the hell was wrong with him?! This was ridiculous! He was out of control!

“YOU CUT ME OFF FROM EVERYONE?! I DON'T KNOW YOU! I don’t know this place! I don’t know YOU! I don’t just— YOU CAN’T JUST EXPECT ME TO TRUST YOU?!”

Gasp for air.

“Y’all know my favorite fucking drink?! Y’all corner me into a building? Out of sight and out of contact with anyone I know? Then, and only THEN, do you tell me that you’re a GOD?! Do you know how that feels?!”

“How dare you! How dare you?! And this! What are you doing to me?! You’re an esper, that much is obvious, but if you’re fucking causing these- these- heightened emotions?! What the fuck! That’s— I cannot believe you! That’s SO scummy!”

Felix finished with a shout; panting and trying his hardest to wrangle the crazed knot of emotion in his chest.

"I-I’m not…," she stammered. The light began to shudder and cracked around her like a damaged mirror. She took a deep breath to try and get it under control.

He took one… two… three steps back; and then turned. And left.

Titan's Fall: The Abyssal Paradox

"Oh she's the better liar?" Archer's lips twisted into a grin of endless amusement. "Guess that means I have to practice then... you know, sometimes I get the feeling it's her you'd rather see. If you're not careful you'll make me jealous, Mr. Locklear," he prodded, flicking a bit of ash from the end of his cigarette. Archer's glib amusement was short lived as his gaze was directed upwards first by the Spirit, and then by Dean. He just watched in silence for a long minute, gazing into the Astral Sea while he tapped the elevated foot of his crossed legs in thought.

"Someone sure has been naughty," he remarked, placidly as he exhaled a formless cloud. "Guess I better see what that's all about. This is why we can't have nice things."

Archer's gaze followed the creature as it left towards deeper areas of the settlement, and he finished his cigarette with a distinct lack of urgency. He extinguished the butt on the ripple of [Force] that had served as his chair's armrest and then dropped it into a small foil pouch which he stashed back in his jacket pocket... wouldn't do to litter. The tarot cards flicked back to his hand as he stood, and with a flick of his fingers the image on the face changed. A woman in modest dress, drawing a bow and arrow towards the corner of the card flanked by two wolves. At the bottom it was simply labeled "7 - The Archer." He pressed it to Dean's sternum as he passed, his fingers trailing across the man's collarbone and lingering on his shoulder for just a moment as the card stayed suspended.

"Call me if you change your mind about that juice box. We'll make it a date," Archer grinned as he stepped after the creature.

---

Farther in, the sounds of combat began to die down and a few minutes after the final shot rang past from the Den, Wolf swung into town. Pulled by the repulsor sled. She lowered gracefully on a grapple line, which reeled swiftly back into her arm as it detached.

"Rat must attend the deliveries," he notified Maire as he scuttled off to meet the woman.

Wolf unslung a rig from her back and traded two drained Power Cells to Rat for one that glowed and hummed faintly with energy. They argued loudly over price for a long time before Wolf finally relented and handed over two ropes of coins with a sour expression. Rat cackled with glee before scuttling off to make his other rounds.

Back at the wall, the Drive Frame forces more or less had the situation under control. Combat wasn't finished, but they were swiftly and neatly mopping up the remaining creatures they had herded into the killing pens. Although the immediate threat seemed to have subsided, the tension in the air hadn't. Defenders remained on station, and Wolf's drones continued to keep vigil over the settlement while the clean up crews pushed into position to start working.

"Oi! Locklear~! Earth calling! Quit daydreamin', I need the physician at The Den when it's safe to cross. Some of the girls are in rough shape."

Titan's Fall: The Abyssal Paradox

---

[A ZombiesAnHyenas / XianaEvermor Collaboration]

---

He’d never seen Archer— ‘Fabian’— so discombobulated. Clearly this ‘Daphne’ was absolutely interesting enough to … To… … What WAS the plan here? He didn’t have one. Was this becoming a date? Unlikely. Clearly this was a work call, and she was being eccentric!

“, I’ve NEVER seen anyone make, uh, Fabian? So uncomfortable! He’s usually so blasé about sh— Stuff!”

"Yes, so out of character for him. Almost like a different person today…"

"Daphne, I swear-!!" The door shut behind them, and she laughed musically as she walked them briskly towards the elevator, taking only a brief moment to smooth out her blouse.

"I prefer ‘Dawn,’" she informed, as they reached the lift. She primped quickly in a compact mirror before staring at him with a crooked grin for a long moment, her eyes flashing iridescent. "I know just the place," she announced with confidence, and punched a button without looking.

"Technological marriage of [Force] and [Light], projected from a single point with no [Array]," she mused, inspecting his implants closely as she circled him, her fingers tracing the contours of projection, implant, and skin alike. Whenever her fingers touched the light, ripples of iridescence followed in her wake. "Is it always this shape? Can you change the resolution? Can you feel? Oh! CAN I GIVE YOU A TATTOO?! … Will it stick?" She chirped excitedly as she reached his front once again, practically bouncing. Dawn bit her bottom lip in anticipation.

Felix— Lux Discord— felt his eyebrows shoot up at the onslaught of questions. His eyes snapped to the random pushing of buttons, before snapping back to her fingers touching his limbs. She had punched the third floor… Which technically had a vehicle bay… Hm!

She kept touching though, and man... Part of his mind was screaming; watching as his limbs shifted and rippled. He had built in some haptic feedback for his limbs as he had been making them, and apparently the systems were working perfectly. Felix remembered Sai being pleasantly surprised that it had worked with hardlight limbs, but, well, Felix just… Had a gut feeling about it!

Speaking of…

His hand came up after a moment, planting itself shamelessly on her chest as he pushed her back a bit. He smiled all the same, as disarmingly and friendly as he could manage. “Yeah okay hi! So, lil’ space yeah? Just a biiit too close to me! Sorry. Also, maybe, like, stop touchin’ the arms? Kinda feels like my skin is being warped and it’s uh— Nauseating?”

A pause followed his words, before he answered a question she had lobbed. “Honestly? As long as I code in the— Well… Actually— No wait— Wait… Nah yeah, you prolly could? What sorta, uh, ‘thing’? Does your power do, again? You never explained!” He questioned, head tilting as he pondered aloud.

"Oh, sorry, I’m excitable,” she grinned, letting him make some space between them, and then continuing to violate that space by leaning into it to look closely at his arm projections without touching them. "I guess the short answer is that I create and bend [Light]," she answered vaguely. "I can talk about that in a little more detail once we get where we’re going if you like," she said, eyes flicking up towards the corner of the lift where a security camera had been innocuously placed.

Dawn’s balance wavered a little as the lift came to a stop (they slowed down quite quickly for someone wearing heels), and she unsubtly took the opportunity to hook one of Felix’s arms. She briskly walked them out of the lift and down the street to a luxurious looking white building with “Elysium” glowing in tasteful pink neon across its front.

"Ah, the favorite child returns… and unsurprisingly with another conquest," chided a low, raspy deadpan from the bar. The small statured woman the voice belonged to watched the pair enter with her mismatched eyes while cleaning a glass. The gently tinted purple lights at the bar did little to hide the deathly pallor of the woman’s skin.

"Oh shushush, this one is special," Dawn retorted, rolling her eyes as she dragged Felix around a corner to a booth with a bust of Apollo engraved into a table decorated with laurels.

"Aren’t they all…"

"Where’s Dio??" she called back behind them with a note of impatience.

"Running an errand for me," replied the bartender, and though she hadn’t raised her voice, she was clearly heard at the table.

Meanwhile, Felix simply… Stared. He was taking in all the proceedings of his situation with somewhat uncharacteristic silence. His vision swam with information and notifications from his HUD, and although he was half-listening, he still wasn’t expecting the information coming to him.

First was the building; he could see the public record blueprints on file in a small corner of his HUD… Or at least, that’s what he was expecting. Instead, he was given a ‘private property; available upon request.’ notification. Which was certainly something.

Then the woman at the bar spoke, and that nearly threw Felix all the way off his stride. He could hear her, but she clearly wasn’t speaking above a whisper. It was a bit surreal. But… Maybe he was overthinking. He probably was.

Oop— And there was that whole ‘this one is special’ thing. “This one can also hear when he’s being talked about! You tellin’ me you bring all the girls and boys here? I’m not special enough to be ‘special’??? How could you!”

Definitely no uncomfortability there, nope.

Felix chuckled, then turned his attention to Bar-Lady. “Hey hi! Sorry to barge in? I think? Anyways; hi! My name is Felix Lanning, nice to meet you!” He chirped.

He filed the ‘favorite child’ comment away for later.

"Helene," her voice whispered into his ear, and she was suddenly at the table with a Meze platter, flatbread and olive tapenade. She expertly slid two glasses onto the table and filled Dawn’s from a black bottle that was simply labeled “Krasí” in elegantly printed white text. She looked through him for a long minute with her blue eye before turning away, and returning a few moments later with a tall glass of ice water garnished with a lemon wedge, and a bottle of Elysium’s signature pomegranate juice.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance," she replied, raising an eyebrow at Dawn before leaving. "Let me know if you need anything…"

"We can speak candidly here," Dawn explained, tapping her temple with one hand while she grazed delicately on a piece of cheese. Signal Prohibited scrolled across the top of Felix’s HUD.

Felix’s smile never changed, remaining calm and bright as he nodded his thanks. “Thanks Helene!”
He took the drink, watching as his HUD scrolled that deeply unsettling message. Thoughts raced around his skull, but nonetheless, he focused on Daphne— Dawn. He took note that his recording was still ongoing, but if they could close off signal… It’d probably be corrupted by the time he got back to The Tower. Shit.

He screamed internally, forcing his face to remain perfectly still, even as he stressed about the entirety of this… Proceeding. He really really hoped Archer saw where he went before he went offline.

“Can we now? Alright! In that caaaase… Who are you, really? I’ve NEVER seen Archer look so… Flustered. It’s honestly kinda glorious!” He paused, before adding, “Also, just so y’know, I’m not interested in a date! This is purely business and platonic! Like… Ehhh, like a relationship between two separate business people of separate corpo-kingdoms!”

"Really truly? I’m the God of Light, Music, Archery, and Truth," she answered with a sly smile, interrupting the dramatic pause after only a moment with a fit of giggles. "You’re rather flustered yourself," she chided, with her eyes ashimmer. "Relax, I’m Fabian’s sister. We’re twins, Helene is a close family friend, she owns this place."

Felix’s eyebrows shot up at her response, as he waited for the subsequent revelation of her joke. … It never came. His eyes flicked down, staring at the Apollo bust imprinted on the table. He traced its outline with his vision, taking multiple pictures as he stared.

Was… She being serious? No way. Poor girl HAD to be deluded. Probably an Esper, gotta be.

She giggled, and although she kept talking and explaining, his mind wouldn’t allow him to accept it as truth. “Twins… Huh. Huh! Okay, wait though, if you’re ‘god of truth’, then why, uh, tell a lie? Gods aren’t real ‘hon.” He flicked his eyes towards where Helene had walked away.

"Are they not?" She asked, hitting him with a smug grin.