A Slight Chance

Don't do anything. Robless would kill you with his mind if you tried to pick around in it. You've been very helpful Aya. Thank you, very much, Aya. I don't know where I'd be without you. You are a very important part of this family. Now, are you ready to do a little bit of theatrics? Part of being one of my family members, or as everyone else in the universe calls us, 'villains', it's a requirement that you can find refuge in the most audacious behavior imaginable. Verax thought back. Nrgh..... I'm sorry Aya, but it's becoming increasingly difficult to use mental abilities like this. It's getting stronger. You can still talk to me in my mind, but I'll have to start verbally responding. That was a blatant lie, but Aya could feel the truth conveyed through the words. The truth was, every time they communicated, Shade tried to tear who ever he was talking to's mind apart, and while Verax had no problem holding It back, he was worried what would happen if he slipped up.

Alright, now lets have a little fun. Verax input a few things into the panel next to his chair and a hologram of Zyria's vessel. Putting on his best pilot voice, he hilariously directed her.

"This is Voyager-One, we have you on our sensors Princess, repeat, we have you tagged. You are clear for landing, proceed to the following coordinates and follow the red-arrows to your imminent doom! I mean meeting room. There is cake. Thank you." And he closed communications. He turned to Tam, quickly calming down.

"Tam, I have to ask like this, because of my..... affliction...... do you think I should brief my guests once Zyria gets in here, or do you think I should wait for Archelaus? Or do you think that secrets not one I should share at all? I'm asking because you know everyone here better than I do. ALSO! Robless! Why are you so mad anyways? What'd someone do to rain on your parade?" The Dreadlord, though he didn't show it at all, was afraid. He was in fear of how things would play out from here.

Well, at least things can't get much worse, right? In response, Shade laughed.

Robless sighed. "You know quite well of your assault on my tenth dimension outpost. The self-destruct sequence was of my own design, yet it was still a direct assault on my territory." He nodded to Verax and straightened out,. "However, now is not the time to make war, it is time for peace; there are bigger threats than you at this moment."

The commander relaxed a little, but still remained a bit tense. Although it was a peaceful meeting so far, there was no telling what would happen, especially with the Alteriians watching them from afar.

Tam sighed a little, thinking while Robless spoke. "I guess... well, everyone should probably know. I feel like maybe then they will be a little more receptive to you taking over? Knowing that you're doing it for the greater good and all... I mean, if I was still really in control of the Empire I'd probably have waved my little white flag a long time ago and let you occupy our space for the time being. But I'm not." She shrugged, feeling no reason to keep up any sort of dramatic, authoritative, leader-y manners, since she didn't really count as a leader any more anyways. "Though..." she paused, a thought occurring to her, "Don't tell Archelaus. He doesn't need to know. He hates you enough as it is, and your secret probably would only make him more determined to destroy you. Please understand... he feels that it's his duty to the universe. Noble intentions, really, just... a bit misplaced, in my opinion." That was the truth, and despite all of Tam's still-regrowing love for Archie, she disagreed strongly with him when it came to Verax.

---

Aya sighed a little, but accepted Verax's words because she knew, even if she didn't know the word-for-word truth, that he wouldn't tell her such a thing if there was not a reason. Many things Verax did seemed pointless, but Aya was beginning to suspect that it was really only to develop a cover for the times when his actions were actually important.

Archelaus had never responded well to threats, and Verax's latest had the same effect on him as all his others. Nothing.
Verax's annoying mind games had never truly affected Archelaus' in the first place. The dreadlord had no need to guess at what Archelaus was thinking, for he usually displayed his thoughts when in close proximity to Verax with weaponry.

Even his "mind thread" had been a dismal failure. One did not simply worm into the mind of the Alteriian High Druid without him noticing. Archelaus had easily kept Verax's mind trapped in a tiny dark corner of his mind without barely a thought, for he was too far away to engage Archelaus in a mind battle without losing utterly, and his worming antics could get him nowhere. It almost amused him that Verax thought he could manipulate and outmaneuver him, when truly, it was Archelaus who had outmaneuvered Verax.

Not that it mattered anyway.


The entire universe it seemed, besides the Alteriians and the Martians, saw Verax as some kind of demented hero. Someone to praise, for reasons he simply couldn't fathom.

He was a murdered, who used his own pathetic internal plights to justify the death of millions he had caused. He demanded fiefdom, and servitude from the nations he sought to conquer to avoid more death. He asked for rationality, when he himself had none.
Asked for civility, when he had attacked the 5th dimension without a declaration of war, or any other declaration except that of insanity.

He had brutally murdered two of Archelaus' closest friends, and several thousands of Alteriian in the 6th fleet, he had killed so many BILLIONS of Alteriians and Kazequi alike with his betrayal during The War.

How could Aurora possibly even speak to him, very much less trust him, considering that he was the reason the parasite had eaten away at her mind for as long as it had. Somehow even though she had a thousand years of unrequited love for Archelaus, she trusted this fiend more than him. He somehow raised a huge, gaping, horde of an army, and two fantastic ships the size of planets, yet preached peace.

That anyone else was "misguided" enough to give him any sympathy, any respect, any title, or even the time of day was beyond Archelaus.
He was evil, no matter what buffoon he pretended to be elsewise, no matter what games he tried to play, no matter how flip-flopped his character was.

Talked of respect and peace, when he had none of his own. "Let us make peace, when I bring war!" He says, and somehow he tries to paint the Alteriians as the bigots of the world.

It was utterly ridiculous.
Verax was utterly ridiculous.

But Archelaus would not destroy him while Aurora was still aboard, so he headed to the launch bay...

((Ha ha... maybe they should have a fight over this. They certainly have extremely different opinions on the matter...))

((Ooh, ooh, and...! Well... actually I'll just ask "Verax" about it when I get home.))

Tam remained halfway connected to Cassus' mind, because she wanted to talk to him, or just... try to reconnect with her brother, if nothing else. Once she felt Aya withdraw, she silently asked Cassus... How are you, big brother? I feel like we've never gotten the chance to... just talk. About our lives, about... anything. I know this might not be the best time, but... we never have any time. We barely even realized who each other were, and then I had to leave and go to Crenel. I remember that, now. And when I was rescued... I didn't mean what I said then... I mean... at the time, I believed what I was saying... but... I was wrong, and... I guess all I'm trying to say is... I'm sorry. But... I never see you. You never visit me, even though things are less crazy for me now... I guess things are just as busy as ever for you... I just want to get to know my big brother again. I'm sorry if that's... too much to ask...

Zyria rolled her eyes. The situation with Verax was a weird one, to say the least. She refused to reply and nodded to her pilot as he began aiming the ship toward the landing bay.

Quickly, she began pulling on her 'conference clothes.' It was a tradition begun after arriving in the Dimensions that Plutonian leaders would, unless with acceptable reason not to, meet rulers dressed fairly well, not in armor, or a warrior's attire. It was meant to calm others, to show that Plutonians trusted them, to give at least a slightly more welcoming presence. Of course, in this situation with Verax, Zyria wore the suit Boggs made her underneath, just in case. She slightly trusted him (trust used generally)--at least, a side of him. His personality was so sporadic, though, that there was no knowing if he'd feel violent or peaceful. Zyria knew there were many reasons to his acting, but nonetheless, she was going to take precautions.

The outfit she wore, a pale blue, casual-enough, floor-length dress, hung on Zyria loosely, allowing her to move freely (and rip free if need be). She stepped to the door as the ship landed, and looked to her pilot. This man had been highly recommended by Zeif; why, Zyria wasn't sure. He just seemed like your average pilot, no special skill. "Sphar, was it?"

"Yes, Princess?"

"Will you stay here, or come with me? I give you the choice. Verax may be a little...intimidating."

Without hesitation, the soldier replied, "If you'll accept, I'd prefer to keep you in my sights, Lady."

Zyria nodded, smiling, yet a little surprised. "Of course. I appreciate you coming." Zyria walked off the ship, looking around for her welcome to lead her to the meeting room.

Maybe there IS something special about this pilot.

((Yes, Sphar is the guy that stayed with Zeif, if you read about Zeif's intro thread.

Also, lol, Zyria has no idea what's going on, really. She's been away from her people forever, so they haven't been able to keep her up-to-date))

"So all we have to do is wait for our Plutonium Princess, no? Then this should be-" Verax had begun. Krakot broke in, reading some alerts and notifications, the backs of these rapidly popping-up squares of text visible from inside his visor.

"Sir, Archelaus was identified heading towards the launch bay. He's currently hot on the Plutonian, Princess's heels." Verax turned forward after that and gazed off. Try as he may, he failed to find better words to describe his feelings towards the situation.

"Well. Crap." Just after sharing his sophisticated and deep words on the matter, Zyria walked into the room. "Oh hello Zyria. Just sit anywhere you'd like." As the Princess sat, Verax mumbled. "Could this possibly get any worse?"

"Sir, Archelaus is-" Verax responded to this answer by blasting Krakot into a wall with darkness.

"A simple 'yes' would have sufficed, Krakot. Okay, lets see here.... preparations......." Before visible and audibly running through a checklist, which quickly made the situation take on a whole different shade. "Cake.... check. Drinks.... check. Sealed launch bays after all guests are accounted for....? Check. Mobilize assortments of mooks? Check. Hold guests at..... oh how could I have forgotten? I forgot to hold you all at gunpoint. Well lets fix that up right now!" And on cue, 15 separate turrets popped out of the walls and each took a target. Verax himself held is arm out, hand opened, next to Aya's head. Fire and lightning were already dancing on the edges of his hand. "Now then, once our dear friend Arch gets here, I assume we can begin the diplomatic process."

Aya didn't have to fake it when her mouth dropped open momentarily in shock and her eyes widened, before quickly closing her mouth and swallowing hoarsely. She stared at Verax's hand out of the corner of her eye, and it was really quite unnerving to have that much raw energy that close to her head, even though Verax didn't intend to hurt her... he didn't, right? No... he was unpredictable sometimes, but he wouldn't...

Aya swallowed again. The uncertainty did its job at keeping her on edge, and her slight tremble wasn’t really forced. In her mind she was actually at war with herself; instinct made sure she was afraid of Verax, or at least afraid of the power he held over her. Rationality said that he needed her, or at least that she helped him keep Shade in. But instinct was hard to overrule. Aya bit her lip and tried to keep her composure. If Verax didn’t know how she was feeling then he would at least think she was doing a more subtle, more believable kind of acting, despite the fact that she wasn’t entirely acting.

---

Tam sighed at the theatrics, setting her forehead against the table for a moment before silently informing Verax that Archelaus would not be pleased. He just decided to hold her and her daughters, well, under a threat, and as much as Archelaus disagreed with Tam he would be nothing but set off by this most recent development. Tam hoped that whatever it was that Aya and she could do to help Verax would be enough…

It took Cassus only a split-second to pull himself from Eris-Tam's mind. Beside him, Robless freed himself from his chair quickly and drew his own heavy sidearm. One of the guards standing near his table tried to stop him, only to crumple to the ground as the butt of the pistol smashed into the back of his head. Cassus himself raised the rifle in his hands and took aim directly at the "hostage" that Verax held. Something in his mind told him that the target was absolutely necessary to Verax's plans, and that a threat such as this would probably bring the Dreadlord to his knees.

"You call this diplomacy?" Robless said, in his quiet, intense voice that he had when something truly upset him. "What a joke." A flash and boom lit up the room as the scrambling guard on the floor took a shell through the helmet. The commander doubted there was anything left inside.

The tension in the room was growing, Cassus could feel it. Verax's antics had crossed the line with the Stalker leader. Cassus channeled his thoughts and contacted the Kazesqui that Verax held hostage. I know this seems like a bad idea, but please, you'll have to trust me. Verax needs you, doesn't he? I won't harm you, but I hope you can put your faith in me.

With his last thought finished, an energy bolt shot across the room from his rifle, searing the wall right behind Aya. "I know you need her, Verax. What do you want? We can reach a more peaceful conclusion if you would disengage your turrets." His words rang out through the silence. "Please, Archelaus will be here soon. Do not give us war if you what you want is peace."

"Says the men who knowingly set a planet into a super-nova to kill me. Oh, and while I'm at it let me add says the man who came up with or approved the plan that wiped out my race. Peace, Commander Robless? Peace? I have but one goal at this point, the universe." At that instant he changed stance, his hand now outstretched towards the leaders, crackling with even more energy, a wild and deranged look in his eyes. Zevon pulled out his spear and faster than the eye could follow fired a high-powered incendiary round from the tip straight down the barrel of Cassus's rifle.

"I am corruption, evil, darkness, malice, deranged! My cure.... the hope for the universe, is that I take the universe whole." Without even bothering to check whether Cassus was injured or not.

"And do you honestly think, Commander, that you are in any position to make demands? You are in the center of my army! You stand before a Dreadlord! All it takes, is but one whisper from my lips, and your worlds will end up without a ruler! So, how many Dimensions are we willing to fork over now, and how many will I have to pry from your grubby little hands once you escape me and my army through some weird coincidence?" He laughed a hollow laugh as Krakot and Vabin both rose from their seats.

"You're in my world now, Commander. And sorry to say it, but around here, there is only one rule, and that rule is followed with or without consent; I always win."

The power went out in the meeting room. The projector in the center of the room lit up the faces of those gathered around. "Have you forgotten me? Your world is my world, and in my world, the rules are all the same." As if it were nothing but a mirage, the lights turned back on and the projector faded to nothing before anyone had enough time to look and see whose voice it belonged to.

It took Verax one second flat to come up with and yell his perfect and uncontradictable response that would explain this event and the person who did it. It would convey, through the most simple of ways, the explanation of how it was done and what Verax thought of it. The response was so well worded, no on could argue with them, because the were the truth.
The words Verax defiantly yelled were as follows,

"Verize! YOU BASTARD!"

Aya... didn't see the lights go out. Didn't hear the voice, or hear Verax's words.

Pain.

Pain knifed through her body.

Shrapnel. A fragment of Cassus' gun, ripped to pieces by Zevon's attack. A piece, driven into Aya's side. Pain. Pain.

All Aya had time to think was.... So ths is what pain feels like.

And then she collapsed, blacking out.

---

Eris-Aya slipped quietly from the chair, and her limp and unconscious form slumped down to the floor. The pain had overwhelmed her; Aya had never felt true physical pain before and this particular kind of pain was bad. For a more corporeal being, maybe not a bad as for one such as the kazesqui. Because the kazesqui are mainly only psuedo-mass, objects that become suspended in their bodies slowly rip down through them, pulled by gravity. Someone like Tam or Caz would withstand this pain much better, as they are forced to become accustomed to it by the ever present implant. But Aya, in true form, was completely vulnerable. It had been an accident, yes, but... now Aya was unconscious, and her wound was still gradually getting worse, as the gun fragment tore its way down through her. She could not contact anyone for help in this state, and with the sudden confusion and anger no one really noticed immediately...

Zyria was led into the room, and sat at the table, Sphar moving into the background, invisible to those that considered him insignificant ((So, most everyone. Not like in a negative way, more like they just saw your every day pilot.)).

When the guns were aimed at them, Sphar tried to reach for his pistol, which Zyria had managed to sneak off of him and leave in the ship. If he threatens anyone, he'd certainly be shot. I can protect him easily enough with my sword, he doesn't need to be armed. Sphar looked frantically around, but as he caught sight of Zyria sitting there, bored, he came to realize that, apparently, all was well. More out of disbelief than relief, Sphar stayed put.

As Sphar had his mini panic attack, Zyria rested her elbow on the table, and covered her eyes with her hand. Of course. Well, this is more peaceful than I expected, at least. There's a different feel to Verax this time, maybe he won't kill one of us, actually. Whatever it is he wants to talk about, it must be quite serious.

Robless reacted violently, of course. It seemed as though Cassus was trying to hold Tam's daughter hostage. That has 'bad idea' written all over it. I'm actually surprised that they're so angry. Tam looks bored--other than the fact that Aya is held hostage currently--and well, I've just grown tired of getting mad at Verax. He'll kill me, or he won't. My people are safe with Zeif, and I've been at peace with death since I left the Third NegaDimension. Or, maybe it's just that there's no ominous feel to Verax at the moment. It's all acting. Violent, demented acting, but not....deadly? Is that how Verax seems right now? Maybe. But that's not the right word. He'd surely kill us if he felt like it, but right now, there's just a sense that we won't die so long as we don't deliberately make him mad.

All of this was thought by Zyria as Cassus, Robless, and Verax argued. Caught by surprise as much as the next person, Zyria looked up when the lights went out, then back on. What...? Now, who was that? Verize? -sigh- I can't keep up with Verax's 'friends.' The outcries were of anger and confusion, so Zyria looked back at Sphar, silently asking him to stay calm. With the chaos that could happen around Verax, we'll need at least one level head.

((I didn't know if you wanted someone specific to notice Aya. I dunno, it just didn't seem like Zyria was meant to find out about her first.))

((Yeah, it's fine. You didn't have to notice first. Actually, it's probably Verax who would notice... anyways, not a big deal. I just wanted to throw in some random chance thing because... well... some things are just a little too planned and plotted.))

(Not deadly? Which is why so many people die around Verax constantly? Lol?) (anyway)

Archelaus sighed, sensing emotions spiking in the room he was about to walk into.
"Why do I even..." He shook his head, steeled his nerves, and walked into the room, which was annoyingly about a foot too short for him, so that he could not stand straight.

<<Unless, actually, the room is huge. Which it might very well be.>>

As Archelaus stepped into the room, several things happened in close proximity to each other, all within a second or two actually.

First, Archelaus saw Eris-Tam, sitting annoyed in a halo of orange light. The sight of her caught in Archelaus' heart, and sent warm little vibrations through him. She always did. It was like being caught in a warm ocean tide, sweeping and washing through you, bright, happy, fluidic.

Secondly, a second went by, and suddenly a metallic tone rang across the room, the mysterious voice of Verax, screaming at someone or something unknown, as darkness descended briefly upon the room, combined with a flash of light as something exploded, and a wave of panic that besets mind speakers when they feel pain. It was Aya's pain. Hot, lancing, and unbearable.

Thirdly, Archelaus saw a whole bunch of turrets, a dozen or so, or more, pointed at the members of his immediate family, and others standing in the room. While Archelaus held no illusions that Verax would dare attempt to hurt anyone within the room, this did not send bright and warm vibrations through Archelaus, this sent harsh and cold thunder rampaging through Archelaus. "Some peace talk this is." Archelaus' eyes narrowed like an executioner's.

"Two can play at peace."

Calmly, a second went by, and then Archelaus fired a bolt of the Rolxan, a streak of Chain Lightning, amplified by Aurora's proximity, which sent thunderous shockwaves throughout the room and resulted in several crushed turrets, and several inoperable turrets. 15 broken pieces of machinery groaned weakly, for an insufferable second, until they automatically turned off to avoid system damage to other sections of Verax's ship.

The air stood for a second, filled with acrid smoke and wide open eyes.

Which brings Archelaus to the 4th event, setting his eyes upon Verax, somehow glowing black in the semi-darkness. Tiny evil shades radiated from the space around him, and shards of black seemed to slip around him in the gloom.

Suffice to say, it does not need to be written here, what Archelaus' thoughts were for this person.

"What else have you to clown about, Verax?" Archelaus' menaced, his voice rich with rage and disgust, power and honor, sourness and bitterness.

"I have battle plans to prepare."

(It does seem to be a very large room, befitting a dreadlord on the scale of Verax. If I'm correct, Myrioniths are about on the same scale as Alteriians.)

For a brief second, Cassus looked up in horror to see the laser blink across the room from the sudden spear strike. A wincing pain struck through him as he tried to reach out to his accidental victim before he felt the superheated rifle get blown out of his hand as a stray bolt caught the weapon, flinging it to the wall like a child's toy. The momentum threw him to the ground, leaving him to recover from the daze.

Robless was much luckier, as neither Verax's retaliation nor Archelaus' Rolxan bolt had much effect on him. His armed hand took aim at the Dreadlord; fear was no obstacle for the hardened veteran. A flash of steel later and his shot roared into the air above him as Cassus deflected the sidearm.

The lieutenant wielded his ancient Khvir swords in his hand, lowering it as he walked across the room. "Calm yourselves. All of you. How many more innocent victims must we take before this conflict consumes us as well?" Cassus leaned over the helpless Kazesqui that he had injured. Her eyes widened to see a stranger in combat armor above, but the soldier simply put his finger to his lips. "Hush now, I know it hurts. Maybe I can help."

He looked at her sorrowfully before standing up again. The searing pain seemed to radiate from her, channeled through his connection. Trying to feel the pain for the Kazesqui was difficult, but he managed to compose himself for the rest of the room.

"What the hell just happened? Verax, Archelaus, Commander Robless, all of you. Your antics have caused the loss of my respect, for now. Show me peace and you'll earn it back."

Verax stood, his mouth gaping open. Then in a sudden burst, It made It's move. Shade's form was far more solid now, still only visible to the Kazesqui members of the group and to Archelaus. It looked as if it was composed of tar as it struggled, flailing about the room, the piercing red eyes of damned wailing souls clearly visible swirling about in the semi-matter that composed of this semi-physical form.

Verax instantly sat down, his eyes closed and sweat quickly streaming down his face. "Arch.... h-how good of y-you to ma-ake it....... s-sit, p-please.... I... I insi-sist. And b-battle planning can... CAN WAIT, for just... just an hour or two. T-trust me, I want as little do with your insig-significant existence as you want to do with mine." He stuttered. Ar....Archelaus! Soon.... so soon... I will have my revenge.... Soon... but not yet..... not.... quite... yet.... He may have looked tired, if not for the frequent muscle spasms of his face. His lip continuously quivered, his brow constantly twitched.

"T-Tam..... Aya.... hurt..... h-help... her....." He hissed in pain. "N-now... on to-" He was interrupted by a sudden sharp breath, it almost looked as if from the moment Archelaus entered the room, the moment Aya lost consciousness, that Verax was suffering from a heart attack. "To business..... a-as you all k-know......" He doubled over in pain, and groaned, "ZEVON! E-explain to them... NOW!" Verax placed his hands over his temples, his fingers clawing into his scalp. Zevon hesitantly nodded and stood, walking around to in front of the Dreadlord.

In his greenish, bizarre armor, and his nightmarish helmet, Zevon looked more ready to kill the leaders than talk to them. Until he pulled off his helmet, then his childish eyes and playful disposition quickly calmed down, at least some, of the worry. "Well, yes! Hello! I am Zevon, second in command of the special ops of the Myrionith Empire. As our Dreadlord was just saying, you have all undoubtedly noticed his advances on territories. We have our reasons, as we are an officially recognized Dimensional power. However, any bids at expansion have been, without fail, challenged"

He took a quick pause to survey the people watching him. "This is to be expected, however, the reason behind stating this, is that in the majority of cases, not only are the natives resisting, we have found all of your Empires, the Somnis, the Plutonians, the NSI, directly and indirectly aiding them. In particular, the Alteriians intervene in cases in which they are not even allied, or in some even remotely affiliated with the natives."

Zevon's eyes suddenly took on a murderous glare, one that instantly washed away any notion that this man was harmless. Those eyes spoke of unending wrath for those who wronged him or the people he cared for. He looked into the eyes of each of the being before him. Then they lit back up to their light and cheery kindness. "We simply wish to clear up any misunderstandings between our people, and, if you would oh so kindly, return the Dimensions that we would have gained if you had not intervened, so we can avoid an inter-Dimensional incident." He tried humbly say, adding a little bow.

"Unless, of course, you wish to proclaim your opposition to the Empire. Unless, right here, right now, you want to declare yourselves our enemies. But we do not want this to be the case, we favor peace as much as the next person." He had hoped at least one of them knew of Verax's colonial planet policy, which was conquered realms kept their current leader, government, currency, laws... basically, their system was unaltered and they lived just as they did before they were conquered, except that they were to be officially recognized as part of the Neo-Myrionith Empire, and that the Dreadlord could, if he so desired, assume total and absolutely complete power over them at a moments notice. Shortened story, all systems added a branch of power, The Emperor.

Zevon prayed they knew this policy, otherwise, much like Zevon guessed the Alteriians all assumed and treated as truth, that Verax treated all colonized realms as slave-nations. Zevon prayed they weren't ignorant.

Tam worriedly hurried over to Aya, crouching down on her knees and pulling the girl into her arms. She looked up at Verax with concern and glanced to Cassus with gratitude. And then she kisses Aya's forehead, and gingerly touched the edge of the gun shard with her fingertips. Three quarters of it were already completely embedded in the girl's side, and there was hardly enough protruding to get her hand around. But she managed it, and she closed her eyes as she slowly tugged the piece of shrapnel from Aya's body. When it was halfway out, the young kazesqui jolted awake with a heart-wrenching scream that made everyone in the room wince and look away. Tam clutched Aya close, holding her tightly in her arms while the girl sobbed and shook from the pain as her mother pulled the rest of the shard from her body and dropped in onto the floor. There was no blood, as kazesqui didn't have hearts, but there was still the pain. Aya's sobs finally reduced to quiet whimpers as Tam moved to sit against the wall with her daughter curled up in her arms, stroking the side of her face and looking up at the group with sadness and accusation in her eyes, and care for her daughter.

"Shh... shh, it's okay... I know it hurts, but it's okay... shh..."

---

Kenzeron really hadn't acted much in the previous part of the conversation, and he didn't do much now. He simply replied, "I am completely sure that I don't know what you mean. If you are referring to my movement of my people to a safer location, then I'm afraid you already have claimed the dimension in which they previously resided. I have no other dimensions to surrender to you. That was the only one. My people and I will stay out of your way, for now. No open declarations of war will come too soon." Kenzeron sat back again, his mind still fixed on the plans for the Pentad.

(Heh. Not sure if this is a good time, but I suppose Bane wouldn't care or know if it was or not...)

The screen built into the table in front of Verax flickered to life and Bane's mildly familiar blue-black, scaly face appeared. His voice was low as he said, "Verax. Is this a good time? I have found most of what you asked for." He spread a few documents before him at his desk, looking at the image of Verax and realizing that something was wrong. But he still had a job to do, regardless of Verax's position and mental stability. It would probably make Verax happy to know that the job was nearly done.

((Uh.. hehe, I can't exactly respond, Verax is kinda, y'know, fighting to not be possessed right now. Please your plot development, after the tone. BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.))

(I know what's going on. >.> Bane doesn't though. If you want to just ignore him, then fine.)

As the reactions continued, Zyria finally caught sight of the injured Kazesqui. She stood abruptly, her hands flat against the table as she watched Tam help her daughter closer to the wall. One of Verax's men, Zevon, began prattling off about how each of them had been aiding Verax's prey. Halfway through, though, Zyria couldn't help her worry; she hurried over to Tam and her daughter, keeping a wide birth between Verax and his men (sure, Zyria continued telling herself mentally that there was most likely no intention to kill anyone at this meeting, but it's hard to go against one's instincts. Besides, Verax was beginning to look.../off/.)

Zyria kneeled down in front of the two Kazesquis, her worry cutting through her forehead. Keeping her voice low, she asked, "Is there anything I can do to help? To ease the pain, at least for a short while?"

(Alteriians know perfectly well. And Myroninths are a little bit smaller, more like 10 feet instead of 14 if I recall correctly. I put that in there for fun XD)

Archelaus looked up briefly at Cassus, annoyed. "I'm not here to please you. I'm not here to please anyone. I'm not hear to be menaced by boys wearing men's armor, or decadent warlords pretending at peace. I'm not hear to listen to idiotic proposals of Verax's idiotic plan to conquer the universe for our own benefit, doing whatever he would like whenever he would like, no matter how rarely he chooses to exercise his insanity. I don't care if he thinks he has the birthright to the universe sitting at his feet, I don't care if he doesn't expect Alteriians to stand upright for justice and self-determination, truths we hold self-evident, and I don't care if the darkness at the core of his soul consumes him."

He paused for a moment, then continued on, hotly.

"Anyone else have something intelligent to say?"

He paused again, briefly.

"No? Good. I'm here because Aurora is here. So by all means continue..." He frowned wryly and sarcastically, vehemently glaring at Verax, "oh great and gracious soon to be Lord of us All if your inane babble of a plan works for some horrid god-forbid reason."

Archelaus sighed. He had been doing that a lot recently.
He bent down toward Aya, who lay in pain on the floor. Not a life-threatening injury, but a painful one to be sure...