He nods to Akainu. "You would do well to act decisively."
"It was. One could have called it the creator god."
Cyrus and Amalthus appear to have reached an understanding. No matter how they feel about the other's methods or ideologies - they are of another world. They shall find their own path, and not step on each other's toes.
/\。。/\They continue forward into the base.
"Okay, you can talk now."
"Why did you invite me here?"
"There's something I want to tell everyone, and I think you'd like to hear it too. But here, privately."
"Away from prying eyes and ears..."
"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."After watching as Hisoka departs from the premises, Pietro looks back to Seras.
"Remember our plan for Weaver? It turns out Polyphemus can create something from his world that he really wants, so I called in Oca - he's the other mad scientist who helped us through Rin's body - to see if he could make it instead," he explains. "Weaver decided to to give him a chance, and when they left, Hisoka turned up. I guess he must've really been itching for a chance to fight Weaver, because he was ready for one before you turned up. Don't get me wrong, he probably thinks of me as a friend in his own weird way, but it's... complicated."
He lays a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"That said, thanks for getting him to back off before I had to beat some sense into him."
Edited by IchigoMontoya on Aug 20th 2021 at 8:39:22 AM
The alarm would soon cease, and once they get to the end of the hallway, they'll find Vahki
◊ waiting for them.
... they don't really do anything but stand there, but do stand there oh so menacingly.
They can just walk past them though, and see Botar speaking to Helryx
◊.
"Ah, that's good news! Already making some progress! ... Well, if that Oca guy comes through of course."
She then shows a mischievous smile.
"Is that what would have happened? He seemed to have the advantage from before the fight began." , she teases.
She doesn't tease him for too much though, looking more serious right after.
"I found my way back to Sir Integra about an hour ago. She said your sister needs the Ouija board, right?"
Edited by DevilPsyco on Aug 20th 2021 at 5:55:54 PM
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay."Hey, maybe his bungee gum has the properties of both rubber and gum, but I'm full of surprises myself," Pietro replies with a teasing smirk. "And don't forget that I'm fast enough to keep up with you in a race."
He then answers Seras' question with a nod.
"Yeah, she's got spirits to contact, just like we did back when you stopped me from going crazy trying to find Rin. Integra said you had it on you."
Helryx now turns to 42.
"Greetings, 42. It's been a while."
And then to Kulve.
"You are our guest, correct? Botar gave me a brief explanation of the situation. I thank you for the aid you've given us. I am Toa Helryx, leader of the Order and temporary leader of this organization while our regular leader is..."
"Under the weather."
"I guess that's fair." , she giggles. She then does a half-nod.
"Not on me directly at the moment. But I can get it to you in a few hours from now. Is it for something urgent? If so, I'll try to go as fast as I can."
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.42 looks at the Order members. "Assuming you saw all that, Helryx, you might believe Roll to be well and truly dead. If she was truly 'just a machine', then she had no soul to serve as an 'anchor' for respawn, and if she did have a soul, it would have been claimed by the Assassins curse. That's it. She's gone. The bad guys won."
Her face slowly spreads into a grin. "But what if I told you..."
She holds her hands in front of her and at her sides, palms up as if she were presenting a box or a sword to them. "... She's not?"
Light flickers between her hands, and a very tiny holographic form of Roll.EXE, lying unconscious, appears floating there.
"You... saved her!"
"Her memories and personality - everything that made her a person - were transferred to me. Due to Mara ripping out my Soul Gem and holding it away from me for some time, I've been running on emergency power - I can't devote extra energy to 'waking her up'... but she has been preserved, at least."
"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to.""What!?", Botar asks, both he and Helryx surprised. "When did you..."
Realization.
"When you went to her as she faded. You saved her without Mara noticing."
"I admit, that is impressive. As well as kind."
She looks at Botar.
"Go get one of the boys with the glasses."
"Lloyd and Jeff?"
"Yes. They seem good with technology. Perhaps they can find a way to transfer Roll to another place. Then she can wake and 42 does not need to preserve her energy anymore."
Botar nods, then warps away to find them. She sighs.
"It is a shame that Pseudo has not yet recovered from his... how did Ninten call it... 'probably temporary dip'. I'm certain he'd be just as amazed as us."
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.42 nods and waits patiently for the nerds.
Kulve, meanwhile, picks up on the scent of food and idly wanders to the cafeteria, somehow finding her way there on her own, where she will eat until she realizes she's been there for 3 hours and needs to get back to knight stuff.
"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."Meanwhile...
Wibbly-Wobbly Timey-Wimey Stuff
Seliana Gathering HubMegan and Nyr were relaxing in the gathering hub. Nyr seemed... fairly restless, with his tail swishing back and forth with an unintentional spray of green sparks as it moved.
"... You good?"
"Yeah, just... kinda restless. Roth should've made a move by now. What is he playing at?"
Megan shrugged and said, "Dunno... Maybe he has his hands so full dealing with the craziness of the general Arena that he hasn't been able to focus on us or the others."
"Maybe..."
"Tell ya' what, how about I find a sparring partner for ya? You're not exactly on my level these days for sparring, but I think I know someone who could be a hell of a fight for you."
"Do tell...?"
"Gimme a sec..."
Megan pulled up her old BLADEs communication gear, and dialed up...
Oca?
Yup, that seems to be Oca's face on the communicator...
"The Stick has sentimental value. It's like an enormous, hideous teddy bear we can kill things with." -rikalousBotar brings Lloyd
◊ back with him, not having immediately found Jeff and figuring one will do just fine.
Lloyd would get to work, briefly connecting 42 to the main monitor and setting up a transfer program.
It would take a long time with this technology. Hell, by the time Kulve gets back he's still busy. But if there's one thing Lloyd is when it comes to his work, it's determined.
—
Darkness.
More darkness.
Oh. Wait. A small light in the distance.
The light is growing.
It's enveloping all!
It's everywhere now!
Color starts to show.
Forms start taking shape.
Sounds start being heard.
A few blinks, getting used to it.
"-ll? Roll?"
Wait, the form speaking sounds familiar.
Vision gets more clear.
It's Helryx? Wait, what happened? When did she get so small?
"Can you hear us?", Botar asks.
"Yes, I can-whoa! Whoa, wait, what's up with my voice? I sound weird."
"Well... it's a bit of a long story...", an exhausted Lloyd says as he practically hangs off of the chair. "But... you, well..."
Explanation.
"I am what!?"
"Alright. I'll be back before you know it then." , she says, after which she leaps back into the air, the red streak moving through the sky rapidly.
Assassins Base
"Gee, that's a lot to take." , Mr L
◊ says to Mara, the latter of which is leaning against the wall.
"He'll get over it." , Mara says, but Mr L looks unsure.
"Doesn't-a look like it." , he says, looking to his left. Mara looks too, them now both looking right at a still shaken Hub.
"He's going to have to be in top condition very soon, but he can't go out like this. His clones won't be of much use either if he can't control them."
Mara sighs, an aura forming around her.
"I suppose I'll solve this one too."
"Huh?" , Mr L asks. Mara then points at Hub, who then gasps. His eyes briefly shine purple before going back to red. He puts his hand on his head a little and shakes his head.
"... odd... I... feel better actually..."
"Good to hear." , Mara says, dispelling her aura. "Now, how about you go get things ready. We ought to actually starting doing things again any day now."
Hub turns to her.
"Normally I'd make some witty remark I guess, but... I dunno why, but I feel really happy." , he says, after which he wanders off, whistling a little. Mara chuckles.
"In a few days, he'll have forgotten he was ever sad about his girlfriend in the first place."
"Wait, what the heck did you do?" , Mr L asks, a little concerned.
"You know I can manipulate dark emotions, you dolt. That's not a one-way train. I can strengthen them, but also weaken them. Even outright mute them. And when there's no dark emotions active, you're just plain happy and excited."
"... wait, is that also what you did to-"
"Yes."
"... that's-a pretty fucked up, Mara."
"Yeah, well..." , Mara says, no longer leaning against the wall, instead starting to walk down the hallway.
"This whole plan was fucked up from the beginning anyway."
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay."Ayyy, Oca, good to see you!" Megan replied, reciprocating the high-five.
"Oca...? Oh shit, haven't seen you in ages! How've you been?"
"I was wondering if you'd be willing to help Nyr here work out of the funk he's in... like with some sparring, maybe?" she asked, entirely unclear on the undoubtedly vast power discrepancy between the two.
"The Stick has sentimental value. It's like an enormous, hideous teddy bear we can kill things with." -rikalousNyr shrugged a bit, and grinned.
"Eh, this places makes death a bit less terrifying for me, so I should be fine."
"Aside from the occasional deranged post-death vision and the terror of being roasted alive, that is," Megan said, making a bit of a joke at her own expense. "Though I have gotten a lot better about both of those since then, actually."
"... You okay, Meg?"
"Yeah... being back here at Seliana and working on my shop has been a welcome break — though I would like to watch you two spar, could be really interesting!"
"The Stick has sentimental value. It's like an enormous, hideous teddy bear we can kill things with." -rikalous

Once a certain distance through the hallway, suddenly alarms start blaring. Botar looks up, surprised, then turns back to look at Kulve and 42. At first he looks suspicious, but then he seems to realize.
"42. You took the base data for Hub's chips, correct? Does that mean you also have his Dark Chips?"
"I haven't seen her in a while, so indeed."
He ponders.
"Maybe I should go pay her a visit~"
With a trollish chuckle, he leaves the area. Seras looks at him leave for a bit until she looks back to Pietro.
"There's not really anything important in terms of details, just that Shrodinger won't cause any trouble." , she says.
"Now, what was going on here anyway? Aren't you two friends?"
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.