Your Best Chance

Immediately Zyria was enveloped with the same pleasantly exhilarating tingly feeling that she used to get whenever Caz touched her. Now it was everywhere, stronger than ever, as she could feel him all around her. There wasn't any physical evidence that he was there other than that; since this was his mind and his punishment, he was unable to do so.

But still, he was there, and it was clear to Zyria that it was certainly him. His voice was slightly clearer now.

"Zyria... Zyria, I'm here... god... it's... s-so good to be near you again..." Caz didn't wait to say, "I love you, Zyria, so much... But--how are you here?"

Zyria's entire body shuddered at the sense, and she smiled, loving every second of the feeling she'd been without for what seemed like forever. The smile turned into a goofy half-smile as she replied.

"You didn't think I'd let you go that easily, did you? I'm a scientist. If there isn't a way, I find one myself. I love you too, Caz, so it was certainly worth the risk."

Zyria glanced around the large expanse. The thought of Caz being alone here for so long made her stomach twist. "I'm sorry I didn't come sooner, there have been...well, a lot has happened. Even more than I know. Oh, Caz, /so much/ has happened." Tears brimmed in Zyria's eyes as she thought of her poor abandoned planet, the one thing nowhere on any leader's lists of losses but her own.

Caz knew how she was feeling simply from her presence, and his own stomach lurched a little to see her pain and sadness. Zyria's tears drifted out into the gray nothingness, and Caz whispered, sounding pained, "I'm sorry, Zyria... I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you... I..." guilt filled his tone, "What I did... it was... it was selfish. I shouldn't have left you alone... but I didn't want to hurt you, a-and... it was so hard to keep my feelings away like that, as much as I wanted to... I'm sorry, my princess... I'm so sorry..."

Zyria smudged a tear away, her hands tightening into fists. Her voice wavered due to the tears, but the strength could be sensed beneath the pain.

"No."

"Caz, what's happened while you've been gone couldn't have been stopped. I'm thankful that what remains of my people are still alive; but I'm going to be hurt. Whether I'm a ruler or not, I'm going to be hurt in this universe. Everyone is, that's just what this universe is like. Goodness, Caz, I can't even imagine the pain you've had as of late."

"No. Don't be sorry. It wasn't kind of you to leave us like that, true, but I should have been more outspoken. I knew you'd have to leave. If I'd been more assertive, maybe you wouldn't have been so worried about me. If you hadn't chosen to leave us, maybe we would have found another way." Zyria chuckled once, grimly. "We're just a mismatched pair that happens to love a little too much." She smiled softly, liking the idea, both its good and bad sides.

She shook her head, realizing that she might be wasting time. For all she knew, her body was rejecting the transfer. "Caz, what if I told you there was a chance for you to leave this limbo, to return, with a new bond, instead of the Neiede bond with the Alteriian?"

"You could come back."

Caz's mind struggled a little with the idea.

"How, Zyria? Is that possible? And... what sort of bond? Nothing like with Ma'at, right? I want to be with you, not anybody else. What do you mean?"

Caz also vaguely wondered what all had happened while he had been trapped here, because it seemed to have been quite a lot. Caz also happened upon a strange sensation: time seemed to have returned with Zyria. Or maybe it was only that because she was there, but still operated on a linear timeline, he felt that same flow of time that she would. Again, it was a strange thing after so long.

Zyria looked down at the ground, wondering if not wanting the Neiede bond applied to her, considering his statement/question seemed slightly contradicting when it came to the solution.

"W-well...it /would/ be a Neiede bond, yes...but I learned that....apparently, any NegaDimensional race has the ability to create a Neiede bond. It was sort of...a fail-safe, I suppose, if either of the two races got into trouble. Zyria looked around the grey area, not sure where to look, considering she was speaking with, well, /everything./ "So..well, I know you say that you don't want a Neiede bond, but...would it possibly be all right..to have one..."

"with me?"

Caz's heart lept with joy. If he had even thought it possible, it's what he would have wanted from the start. The tingling feeling around Zyria returned in full force, and she could feel his joy and his excitement and happiness.

"It's all I've ever wished was possible, Zyria... god, it would be... s-so perfect... to be able to share that with you... it's like nothing else, and... if we both could experience that, together... I think it's how things were meant to be, Zyria. If it really is possible... god, I love you. Of course it's alright. Of course it's more than alright, it's wonderful... I can't even believe it, hardly... it's... if it really is possible..."

Slowly, a smile grew into a grin on Zyria's face. A blush crept over her cheeks, but she knew they needed to get back soon, so she got down to business. "Then....ahem...then you'd need to do as you would if you were to renew the bond, I think, but towards me. Because of my NegaDimensional heritage, it should work."

Caz seemed a little anxious and uncertain, then.

"But... Zyria... I can't. I can't renew it myself. It's supposed to be done by the other partner, the other half of the Neiede bond. It's not something that I can do alone... And I don't know how to teach you how to do it, either... I've... never done it before..."

Caz worried that he wouldn't be able to help Zyria complete it. The Plutonians were not a mental or spiritual race, so she had no preexisting skills with which to try it.

Zyria began pacing, thinking hard. "Well, I may have an idea. It's going to be.....unconventional, but I thought ahead with this plan. And, well, if it doesn't work, then I'm not leaving. Zeif has my people in safe hands, and I've already named him my heir. My planet is gone, and I have already helped protect the innocents of the universe by aiding the ship that saved us." Zyria stopped walking, and sat down cross-legged. She held her hands palm-out, and curled her first finger in an 'O' with her thumb. "This is an Earthan form of meditating, I've used it during times of stress, and, well, it's seemed to work out there, so maybe it will help in my mind. Just.....keep your mind open to anything, don't become distracted by what I do, you need to be ready in case I do this correctly."

Zyria began humming softly, her chest rising slower with each breath. Her entire body relaxed, but her inner-inner mind was working overtime. 'If I can somehow use the energy that I've been using as Life Support, perhaps it can open a channel if done correctly. That liquid Life is as spiritual as any form of being I've met, it connects with my body /and/ my mind, so there must be something it can do. Maybe, if it enhances my sword and my body, it can enhance my mind and spirit.'

As Zyria continued meditating, she felt her being spread. Maybe it was a spiritual thing, maybe it wasn't. Nonetheless, Zyria felt it was time. Slowly, without breaking concentration, she reached for her leg, specifically for the imaginary knife strapped to her side. She unsheathed it, and opened her eyes until they were half-lidded. She gradually pointed the tip of the knife onto the inside of her forearm, and gently sliced it along the length, cutting it just barely. Then she changed hands and did the same to her other arm, humming the entire time, and closing her eyes again.

Her face crinkled slightly at first, as her arms began bleeding plain blood, almost like she was cutting her mind itself. Then, slowly, she looked relaxed again, and with it, a light blue glow began seeping from her arms, matching the colour of the Life Support energy. Zyria felt something...she wasn't sure if it really was mental and spiritual open-ness, but Zyria knew it had to be /something./ In a place of nothingness like this, 'something' was never nothing.

Zyria just hoped Caz sensed it too.

((Lol, if that doesn't work, I got nothin'))

Caz did sense it. He sensed it and he reached out to it. It wasn't like the energy of the Alteriians or the kazesqui, but it acted like an enhancer, like a bridge, Caz supposed. And this glowing blue bridge seemed to lead straight to Zyria's mind.

But still, Caz could not do this alone. He needed her to feel the empty bond, and choose to repair it. So he reached out gently towards her mind, being as careful as possible, and tried to find whatever small part of her mind that would be able to do that. Once he felt he'd located it, he made every attempt to coax it out of hiding, to promote its growth. He poured some of his own energy into to try and strengthen it, make it more prominent and more obvious to Zyria; though, if Zyria was to be able to access the power a Neiede bond brought, then this solution would only be temporary and she would need to exercise this part of her mind like any muscle to make it stronger.

But for now, the surge of energy and power to Zyria's mind was enough for her to feel that the power was there.

"Right there, Zyria... that's the part of yourself you need to use. If... if you love me, reach out with that part of you and try and find the part of me that is broken. Once you find it... you'll know what to do. You just have to stitch it up, like I know you can with any physical injury. You can do this, my love. I believe in you."

Zyria could feel in her subconscious, something. It was as though she was discovering another part of her. A raw part of her, never explored by anything conscious. Her eyes flew open, glowing light blue with her 'blood.' Her pupils flashed quickly, moving from side to side quickly as if she was looking at something. Her face didn't show if she registered what Caz said, but suddenly, she stopped bleeding. Her eyes remained light blue, though, and continued to swerve side to side. She could feel it. Caz, all around her, yet, in one pinpoint location. She could 'see' the hole ripped from him, tearing him apart, and Zyria was drawn to it. Her subconscious self saw the broken bond in the one way her scientific mind could see it: a broken link, almost like a ripped cord. And the only way to repair was to add her own.

So without a moment's hesitation, she did.

~~~

The change was far too much for her current self. Her mind was torn from her body already, and it was unprepared for the onslaught of new senses. Zyria could feel herself slipping away, and while she suddenly felt all the more powerful and connected to Caz, she couldn't fight an involuntary action. All she could do as she was pulled from Caz's mind into reality was tug the new link along with her, and whisper to Caz,

"Come with me."

And suddenly the room filled with glowing light- Zyria's light blue energy and Caz's dark blue, mingling and swirling and shining with all of its might.

When it dissipated, they had both been jolted back to reality. Caz sat up immediately and stumbled over to Zyria, his eyes filled with an intense need to hold her, to protect her, to be with her always. But he stared helplessly and in pain down at her body as it spasmed, rejecting the new bond, the necessary parts of her mind too weak to cope. He pulled her into his arms, though, and cradled her close to his chest, pouring as much of the new energy from the bond into her as he could, putting it to use inside her, to heal her in ways that she hadn't yet learned how to. Slowly, her body relaxed and her eyes flickered open.

Caz kissed her. It was the most passionate kiss they had ever shared, because now they were each others' worlds. Now they were everything that mattered. Even if everything else was gone, their bond would keep them whole, keep them strong. Caz smiled then, and muttered into her cheek, "You're going to need some practice, hm?" It was a teasing remark, but full of so much love and hope and passion that it just as easily could have been a declaration of love.

As Zyria felt her mind return to her body, she realized something. She wasn't waking up. Her head was filled with the chaos of the new power, the return of her mind, and her body's turmoil from her conscious leaving in the first place.

She struggled with connecting with her body again, and Zyria saw a short future of her mind slowly draining from her physical form. Suddenly, though, she felt a surge, almost as though something were...fixing her. Zyria stopped shaking, and she felt her eyes open. It wasn't for a second or two until she could see, though.

The darkness cleared to reveal Caz over her, looking at her worriedly. She slowly smiled, tears once again in her eyes, but she was cut off as Caz kissed her. Zyria's arms wrapped tightly around his neck, and she could feel the difference in the world. She felt more solid, and could sense Caz entirely, spiritually, physically, possibly even partly mentally.

As he broke off the kiss and whispered against her face, she laughed shakily. "I missed you too." Zyria pulled back slightly to hold a hand against her head. "It will definitely take both time and practice to adjust to this. I suppose cutting my mind's self didn't help with the headache." Then she looked down at her physical body.

"Oh."

Her suit was sopped with blood from her abdomen, staining the cloth dark red no matter what colour she made it. "Um, ow." She moved her hand from her head to her stomach, but didn't feel any pain. It took her a moment, but she realized slowly that there wasn't /any/ pain internally. Zyria was completely healed, even the long-term wounds Robless had inflicted on her hundreds of years ago.

As she came to understand that, Zyria looked at the band on her wrist. Her ally through all the years of near-death. Her Life Support. Slowly, she let go of Caz to reach for it with her other hand. Zyria glanced at Caz again, then pressed a couple buttons on the bracelet. With a soft click, it extended, allowing her to remove it.

As Zyria pulled off her Life Support, a long needle that appeared to have been inserted into her inner forearm slide out from under her skin, making her gasp sharply at the change. Though many didn't realize it, that needle had been continuously injecting minuscule amounts of the energy, keeping her alive. The other needle had merely been the backup in case she was in trouble.

She couldn't part with the band, of course. The remaining energy would be a part of her as well, when she needed it. Zyria merely pulled off the other needle, and adjusted the wristband slightly. With a content sigh, she replaced the bracelet on her wrist, feeling herself fall back into her regularity.

Well, as regular as it could get now.

Quickly, Zyria tried to get up, only to feel woozy. She continued hurriedly, though, pulling Caz with her. As she tugged Caz out the door with her bag, she called to her friend, "Dreston, come, we have to help the Custodian again. I feel as though time is catching up with us. We can help you get up-to-date while we're working, Caz."

Caz smiled happily. He didn't even have to speak, not anymore, because he knew that Zyria could feel the emotions radiating off him, the happiness and the love and the joy... all of it surging forward at once. He let her pull him along, and he was proud of her strength. His mind embraced hers gently, softly enough that she would notice but would not be made uncomfortable by the intrusion. He knew he'd have to teach her how to start using her mind to hear and feel, as well as how to manipulate it. With such a fantastic, genius mind as hers, Caz knew she would be a fast learner.

He was so happy. He'd spent so long in that endless grey... that Ma'at was just a distant memory, clouded and forgotten like a dream. Zyria was his everything now. Nothing else mattered.

But Caz knew he had a lot to catch up with. He still had no clue how long he'd been there, in the grey place; he knew that he was aboard a ship he had never seen before and certainly never been aboard. It didn't seem to have been built in the style of the Plutonians... he wondered who it belonged to. Upon closer look, it seemed characterized by the patchwork-quilt nature of the Somnis empire... but after it was all but destroyed he didn't think they'd have the materials to build a ship this large.

Caz knew Zyria would explain everything that had happened to him, so he tried not to worry about it. Instead, he gave Zyria's hand a little loving squeeze.

Zyria checked the time. They'd been busy for longer than it had seemed. Hopefully the Custodian had gotten somewhere with the info Zyria had left. If they could just finish this project, they could all finally rest. Completely rest. I don't think I've ever completely relaxed. I don't think I even know how. And for all I know, there could be dangers on this ship. The Custodian is trustworthy enough, but could anything slip past her sensors, possibly? No, I don't think I'll ever be relaxed so long as I care for others, or my life.

Zyria felt all the new senses around her, her conscious feel of Caz running behind her, the feeling of new power. This will take some time to adjust to. For now I need to focus on my mind, on the science of the task at hand. She bolted into the room where scientists worked over computers. "Custodian, please tell me you all have gotten somewhere with the new equations....?"

The Custodian noticed Zyria, "Indeed we have, Princess. Your equation has worked like a charm on basic materials, converting them effectively into our specified carbon compound. Thank you so much for the equation and your help... we have not been able to reconstruct any living organisms, though the deconstruction of even those worked fine. We have been working with bacteria to attempt the reconstruction, and so far have not been very successful."



Drel-Caz was out-of-the-loop, and had no idea what was going on or what all of this talk of deconstruction and reconstruction could possibly mean. After all, Zyria was the scientist--not him. That was probably for a good reason. Caz's mind was more strategy-oriented, not scientific. He just stayed close to Zyria, listening but for the most part not understanding.

Zyria nodded approvingly. "Good. I'll set to work on figuring out the next step. Hopefully I can at least give another point of view on it, and maybe we can solve it." With these strange new powers and feelings, Zyria could sense Caz's uneasiness. "Custodian, do you mind explaining to Caz how we plan to escape our enemy, as well as what you are? You can explain your purpose and ally ships better than I would be able to. I can go into detail about our enemies after this, but we can take advantage of my short distraction here and try to get him up to speed to a small extent."

With that, Zyria began her work on the new information. The deconstruction seemed to accept the organisms well enough, but the system could not identify the life force of the different material. She would have to find a way around that.

((Obviously I don't expect you to go over the info on the Pentad, if you didn't figure that; you can just add some filler, Caz's reaction, etc, whatever you'd like (duh). I just didn't want to go over Zyria starting /and/ finishing working all in one post))

Caz raised a hand in the air, towards the disembodied voice that had spoken, who Zyria had referred to as "The Custodian." From that name, he figured it was some sort of AI who ran the ship.

"No need, Custodian. I can get all of the information I need through a different way... it'll take less time, anyhow." His voice was soft and full of emotion.

And he stepped a little closer to Zyria, standing quietly behind her, and he closed his eyes, reaching out with his mind towards his love's. He used the ways that Eris-Tam had taught him to use his abilities, using the feather-light touch that she used to warn people to her presence, grazing the surface of Zyria's fathomless, beautiful, wonderful mind.

The touch was almost like a physical touch, with the same little pleasurable tingle that was left by touching Caz's skin. Then he reached deeper. He gently worked his way through Zyria's mind, making sure to be careful not to do any damage, and also trying not to make her uncomfortable.

And within moments, he found her memories of everything that had happened since Caz had broken the link with Ma'at. He felt her devotion. He felt her despair. He felt her love.

He saw them rescue Tam from Crenel. He saw Verax save her life. He saw him help her. And he smiled inwardly. He knew Verax was not all the evil that he pretended to be. He continued to sift lightly through Zyria's memories. He saw Tam's two children and could not help the feeling of hope, hope that his race was not dead, hope that everything might... be okay in the end.

He knew what had happened to Verax. He saw Zyria at the meeting. He saw that Verax had Shade trapped inside him. He saw Aya, with Verax. He saw the Custodian rescue the Plutonians. He saw everything. And he knew. And he was ready, for whatever they needed to face. Whatever he needed to do to protect his friends, and the woman he loved.

Drel-Caz, one of the last five kazesqui in existence, smiled, wrapping his arms around Zyria from behind, only briefly, and kissed her on the cheek, with a gentle softness that was full of love and happiness and strength and confidence and certainty.

"I am here, love."

Zyria's head snapped to attention as she felt the jolt of energy suddenly flowing into her head. It took her an instance to realize that it was Caz standing behind her, but she was too busy seeing what he was doing with her mind's eye. As he carefully maneuvered through Zyria's consciousness, her memories were brought to the forefront of her mind, allowing Caz to experience them.

Unfortunately for Zyria, she had to relive each moment, and even the lighter memories seemed dreadful. Looking back, the Plutonian realized now how alone she'd been. Sure, there were distractions for herself, priorities she had to deal with each moment; but overall, even without her knowing, Zyria seemed lonely. Maybe it was because of the difference between now and then; she hadn't had a Neiede, so anytime she was without the bond would seem lonely now, or maybe..

...maybe it took something as powerful as a Neiede bond to allow Zyria to see her isolation.

Zyria has never had a family. Her father died when she was young, barely old enough to take on the responsibility of the throne after his death, and her mother died due to disease after giving birth to Zyria. Sure, there was Boggs, her stand-in grandfather, but now even he was gone. Zeif was a kind enough friend, but he was innocent, so Zyria looked down on him, had to teach him, as though she was his parent, which the scientist did /not/ need. The other leaders had been growing closer to her: Tam, D'garar, Robless; but even Zyria's older associates, Archelaus, Emerik, they all seemed to be drifting off, losing their friendships in the chaos of the new enemy.

Now, though, Zyria was growing her close circle of loved ones. Tam would always been included, even once her mind had finally lost itself, and forgot Zyria, and soon enough, Zeif will be Zyria's equal. Hopefully Boggs finds his way back to Zyria, she could always use the guidance. She could even see Dreston added to the group; someone that cares enough about her to choose /her/ as his master, to know he would have to deal with her constantly, Zyria was sure that Dreston was a part of her little 'family.' And then, to top it all off, Caz was back in the picture, stronger than ever. And he wouldn't leave it this time.

All of these realizations came to Zyria at once. She was no longer alone in the world. Even if she lost friends, there were people in her life now that wouldn't leave, not as long as both they and Zyria continued living.

As Caz sped through her memories, Zyria had to try to control her feelings when they relived Zyria's loss of her planet. Her mind's eye saw Pluto, barren, abandoned, left to be exploited by whatever parasites would find their way to the small planet. She turned in Caz's arms to face him, burying her face in his chest, distractedly-but-lovingly accepting the gesture. It was just a hunk of rock, how could Zyria be so weak, crying over a lost planet? But no, it wasn't just a planet; it had been her people's savior. If she hadn't stumbled upon the small-but-powerful orb, none of the Plutonians would exist now, her NegaDimension citizens would have died, herself included.

"Caz, my planet. Pluto is gone. What's left of my people remain, as you saw, but oh, Caz, my Pluto. We were selfish, my people and I, we saved ourselves instead of staying and keeping our planet alive. We're not even Plutonians anymore..." The horror hit Zyria like a slap to the face. "We-We're no longer Plunonians. If we're not NegaDimensional, or not PLutonian, what will my people be?" This seemed to worry the Princess much more than it should have. "My people...my people and I, we're a faceless race...."

All the while, a small brew mixed nearby Zyria's lab area. The container seemed to hold a variety of things, ranging from chemicals, to buffers, to organisms. Slowly and surely, the recipe continued through time, mixing and bubbling, a witness to the ordeal occurring just a couple feet from the table it resided on.

Caz pressed his lips to the top of her head, his arms holding her close as if to protect her from it all. He felt what she was going through, what she had gone through. He felt her pain, her loss, how lost she felt facing the realization that her planet was abandoned. That her very world, which she had fought for through the years of her life, was dying and lost without its people.

"We're all orphans now, Zyria... but that doesn't mean you have to forget. My people have... been dead since before I even lived. Our planets were lost centuries ago... Tam was all I had of my race. She's the only one... who can remember what our planet looked like. Only her. And... she might not make it through all this... With her, everything we know about our people will die. But that does not mean that we are not still the Kazesqui. We are still us... and your people will always be Plutonians in their hearts. They will, Zyria."

Then something occurred to him. Maybe Pluto hadn't been lost as completely as she thought. If there wasn't anything much left on the planet's surface, then Verax would have left it alone... it hadn't been long enough for anyone to become established there. Maybe they could protect it yet. Maybe the Plutonians could return after this was all over...

"If Shade does come into being... It'll want to destroy life, and hope, and goodness. But... since there are no people left on your planet... It probably would simply dismiss it. Your people could yet return to Pluto, Zyria..." He put his hands on her shoulders, looking into her eyes, his own full of passion and full of fight. "Pluto will be safe yet. I know it. And we can protect it... even if something has come and tried to take it by the time we come back, we can fight off anything. Now... anything is possibly, Zyria. No one could get in our way."

Caz had always known that Zyria felt that she was weak. That she couldn't protect her friends, or those she cared about. That the universe could take them all from her, one at a time, and that she couldn't do anything to stop it.

But now... things were different. Caz knew that Zyria had always been strong... if Caz could teach her the ways of the mind, she would no longer feel powerless. She would be able to protect people, her people, the people she loved. She only had to learn, now. Caz could start that teaching, but after that... Tam would be the best person to make her as strong as she could possibly be. Tam and Zyria were close... and if they could convince Tam to teach Zyria the ways of the mind then they could only grow closer.

Caz's mind whirled through everything, and he smiled. "Zyria, you were never weak. You can protect them. You're the only one who can. All you needed was a way. As soon as you learn..." He brushed her hair back over her ear, and wiped away her tears softly with his thumb. "It's going to be okay. Everything is. I promise."

Zyria's shoulders drooped as she realized how selfish she was being. She was crying over a planet, but her people were still alive; and here was Caz, his home gone, his race dying before his very eyes, and he was comforting her.

She had to calm down. Caz was right, there was a chance that they could go back. But even if not, she had to move on. Besides, it's only a planet. Zyria has cried enough for it. Her home is with her loved ones, not an orb floating through space. She will always carry the love she had for her physical home, but she won't be unhappy without it.

Zyria smiled softly at Caz, loving him, his care, his comfort. Now, without the fear of his former Neiede tinting their being together, they could completely focus on each other.

"Thank you, Caz. So much." She wrapped her arms around him for a moment before pulling away. There was so much to say, so many words to express her care for him. But instead, she did not hide her feelings, letting them wash over her, feeling--rather than knowing--that Caz could understand. Before they could go off and start working on their own skills, though, Zyria had to finish this project.

Turning back to the lab, Zyria inspected the mixture. She magnified it using an advanced microscope-like tool, and watched the organism. It had completely absorbed the mixture. "Here." Zyria handed the mixture to a scientist. "Test this." If Zyria's theory was correct, the organism would be just fine.

As the scientist walked off, Zyria explained. "See, what I have done is soaked the organism in a mixture of mine. It's not anything complicated to make, but it is very strong, and should allow the reconstruction to work around the organism's molecules. The solution adds a tinge to the cells, allowing the reconstruction to think that the living organisms, well, aren't living organisms. So, because the living cells are protected by the mixture, they'll merely be deconstructed like any common object, and the reconstruction will build it back as it were, without realizing that it is creating a living being. The mixture doesn't do any damage; in fact, it more or less becomes part of the being. It mixes with the organism enough that the construction process recognizes the parts it needs to to rebuild it correctly, but a part of the solution forces the process to overlook the complication that the being is alive."

Zyria shrugged. "So, yes, it's a loophole. If we had the time, I could find a way to do it differently, more abiding to the laws of the universe, but we don't. That project would take months, at the least." She tapped a finger on her lips, thinking. "There is a strange thing to consider, though. Because the molecules are not but to rest, there's no telling whether or not we will remain conscious, but that would go for any way, whether it was this loophole or the correct order of processes. Maybe we have to consider putting everyone into a state of hibernation. The consciousness should be stretched enough to not cause any problems, but there really is not sure truth to anything on the matter."

((EDIT: I got up today and finally typed up a better ending, sorry about that @_@ ))

((Sorry for choppy ending, had to rush to finish before I had to leave for another thing I have to do))

The scientists in the room nodded and looked to be considering the implications of what Zyria had just proposed before resuming their own work. The scientist who took the mixture moves over to the other side of the lab, where a team analyzed the substance for a few moments before carefully aligning it beneath a small prototype of the device they were to use for the disassembly. They did some adjusting with the values of the device, and then they initiated the deconstruction process.

The material was successfully deconstructed, and stored in a small chunk of matter of approximately the same mass as the container and the organism it contained. Then they placed that small matter inside another machine--the rematerializer. It took a few moment to warm up, and then slowly recreated the dish and its original contents. A scientist immediately carried it to a microscope, examining it for any damaging effects on the organism. The scientist pursed his lips, and then said in a quietly astounded voice, "No changes. It's still alive, and healthy." He looked up at Zyria. "Miss, you are a miracle worker. I don't know how you do it. We've been studying this process for weeks, and you did what we couldn't do in so much time in mere moments. Would you mind writing down the steps to creating that mixture? I'd like to do more tests, with larger, more complex organisms. I imagine your substance could be injected into a host with similar effects?"




Caz had started to ponder all this. If everyone on this ship--what, a few hundred thousand people? Maybe a few million?--was to be dematerialized and reconstructed, atom at a time... well, Caz wasn't sure if people had souls, but he wondered sometimes. And assuming that people did have souls, what would happen to them after this process? Would they just instantly return? Or... would something bad happen? It had begun to trouble him, but he kept it to himself; he was probably just being silly anyways.

On another part of the Custodian, Eris-Tam appeared out of thin air, holding her half-human, half-kazesqui brother close to her. She rushed him to the Custodian's mostly unused medical wards, fighting the whole time to keep herself together. But she didn't let herself cry until Cassus was taken care of. The doctors kept him under, wheeled him into surgery to repair the damage caused by the spear, and then pushed him into a quiet little room to sleep for a while and recover.

Tam sat by his side, mostly, but she only cried when she was away from him. It was so much. Too much. Verax had wiped out her people. Killed them. Verax had destroyed many of the Alteriian forces. He'd taken Crenel. He'd captured Robless, and killed most of the rest.

The feeling of being utterly lost was starting to close in on her again. It crept and slithered up her spine to her neck, constricting and choking, choking out what new strength, hope, passion she had found again. Ellowy's words echoed in her mind. She fought to keep the dark feeling at bay, fought to keep it from submerging her completely, from stifling her, forcing its way down her throat and reaching inside, extinguishing her heart once more.

It was a tough battle. Most of the time she stayed in a random room, alone, unable to bear being around others. She was only there a few hours, but it felt like months had passed. Eventually she became aware that both Caz and Zyria were aboard the ship.

She told the Custodian what happened at the Second Battle For Crenel. She told her that Robless had been captured, that they had lost, that there was not a single survivor of the Somnis army left. She told her that there were escape ships belonging to the NSI in the Interdimension, and that they should go and offer to pick them up.

The Aegis, the Accomplice, and the Vigilante arrived during this time. Tam proposed that they go after the NSI ships, and that they be on the lookout for their first possible brush with Verax.

And eventually, very eventually, as it took a very long time for Tam to work up the energy, courage, and fortitude, she went to see Caz and Zyria.


The door to the lab slowly opened, and an exhausted Eris-Tam entered with a dull look, one that only faded slightly when her eyes landed on the faces of her friends. She tried very hard to smile, and the result was an odd half-smile, half-grimace. She was glad to see them, but the pressure of past, current, and upcoming events had started to weigh heavily on her shoulders.

"Hey."

Zyria first watches anxiously as the scientist worked over the bacteria. Sure, she felt her theory was correct, but there was always that feeling of doubt. Her shoulders relaxed when the man called out that the organism was alive, and she smiled modestly.

"Oh, it was nothing. It just takes a little unconventional thinking, I suppose. And, here." Zyria pulled out some paper from her bag, and scribbled down the ingredient to the mixture, then handed it to the man. "As for injection, well, that works for whatever testing you do. If we end up using this mixture for everyone on board, though, I suggest we use a gaseous method instead. Evaporate the mixture, then send it through the vents throughout the ship. It won't alter anyone, the atmosphere won't even seem as though it's changed. Of course, we'll want to tell everyone, but I can explain it to them. It will take longer for the mixture to become incorporated into beings of our size, so we should start as soon as everyone feels the project is ready."

Zyria held a hand to her head, thinking. It really is troublesome, though, the thought of everyone's consciousnesses deconstructed. Will we still be conscious? Will everyone's minds still be intact when we are reconstructed? Or, will our minds be deconstructed, but not reconstructed? It's all unknown... She turned around slowly, facing Caz agani. Zyria's mind blanked with surprise when she saw Tam walking in behind them. She smiled slightly, and Zyria took the last few paces to stand in front of her friend.

"...Tam? Is...is everything all right? I mean, I'm glad to see you, but I didn't think you would come here until it was absolutely necessary..." A smile flashed across the Plutonian's face, but Zyria felt a smile wasn't needed at the moment. By the looks of it, Tam wouldn't be here if she just wanted to stop by to say hello.