middleofsomewhere | Enemy Unknown: Conclusion

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Enemy Unknown: Conclusion

The third night is as long and creepy as the others...

It might be that they found the engine room, solved the puzzles and found themselves in the hangar bay with no way out. It might be that they were still in the station hiding from the invisible monsters. Or it might be that they had been plucked from the mission and were waiting in their holding room.

Either way morning dawns on the fourth day...

ENEMY: UNKNOWN

DAY FOUR

the trapped. THOSE WHO SOLVED THE ENGINE ROOM SPENT THE NIGHT IN A LARGE HANGAR THAT DOES NOT SEEM TO HAVE ANY DOORS. Their SCA's are working, so they can still communicate with those in the station, perhaps talk them through the engine room puzzles or tell them to stay clear. As morning comes all the lights in the hangar come on. Brighter than any lights so far in the station, harsh white light after the eerie red of the rest of the mission.

Everyone still in the station wakes where they fell asleep - if they slept at all. It's not long after most people are up and about that they will hear a high-pitched beep from their SCA, and then a blue light will envelop them and those around them. It might be they spot their friends vanishing before they too disappear.

They arrive in the hangar, reunited with those who spent the night there. All their gear is with them at least, but that doesn't solve the problem of being in a hangar with no obvious way out. Nor are any of those who vanished during the last three days here, their SCA's still go unanswered.

the vanished. FOR THOSE IN THE HOLDING ROOM, THEIR NIGHT HAS PROCEEDED MUCH LIKE THE NIGHTS BEFORE. One of the screens showed the hangar, and those that had succeeded in completing the engine room task. The lights had dimmed for sleeping and turned on again bright in the morning. For those watching the screens they will see those in the station vanish in blue light and turn up in the hangar.

Around half an hour later a voice sounds in the room. "Please gather your belongings and prepare for release."

It's another ten minutes, allowing them to make sure they have all their things before their SCA's beep. They are then surrounded by a blue light, taking them from the room they had spent the last few days in.

REUNITED

reunion. AN HOUR PASSES AFTER FIRST ARRIVALS PASS IN THE HANGAR. Suddenly, there is another flash of blue light, and the missing eighteen Voidtreckers appear with the rest of their crew. They will find they had all their gear as well, including their missing weapons.

They are left to their own devices for a small while, a time for reuniting with friends, but not long enough to exchange stories before a voice rings out in the hangar:

"THANK YOU CREW OF THE VOIDTRECKER EXPRESS FOR YOUR COMPLIANCE. YOU MAY RETURN TO YOUR CRAFT."
There is a loud mass of beeping as everyone's SCA's flashes at the same time, holographic messages popping up too fast to be able to read them in their entirety.

Voidtreckers come in.

All Voidtreckers return to the Voidtrecker Express
Voidtreckers evacuate now

Voidtreckers do you read?

Layers of holographic messages pile on top of each other but a moment later everyone's SCA's glow gold and everyone vanishes from the hangar...

LUGGAGE CARRIAGE

return. EVERYONE ARRIVES INSIDE THE LUGGAGE CARRIAGE, PACKED LIKE SARDINES BETWEEN SUITCASES AND TRUNKS. There is no announcement, no warning of returning to the void; just a lurch that is likely to throw anyone on the train unaware of what has just happened off their feet, no matter the carriage they're in.

They return to the void at what feels like breakneck speed. Colours fly past the windows, and it is a good few hours before they seem to slow to their normal travel speed.

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The image of the first Warrior of Light should ring a bell from memories of the false Diagad at least. A certain clash of a retired villain's son and the resident poster hero of D-FORCE ring any bells?

There is a phantom pain. Unusual. Familiar? That would be hard to say. So many of his own memories are still missing or in fragmented pieces. And perhaps that is a reason for the scattered experience Zagreus catches. Maybe not.

It's virtually unheard of for an adult of their kind to have lost control of this particular gift. Children? Yes of course, as they learned to master any of their skill. But someone as old as Elidibus had long been past such young fumbling. The 'yank' suggests it was not something he was at fault for. No, something about the connection he used to the memories he wished to witnessed had... something similar to this birthright.

But not quite as much control. And that power had caused a shift. Elidibus begins to seek to regain control and steer matters back to what he had meant to witnessed- he'd had no intention of prying into any other matters, after all. But he hesitates, grows curious. And as the gift seems to cycle back onto itself, it seems better to allow it to play its course to the end.

It's not as if names are mentioned. He knows Zagreus of course. But the location, the other god; other than the word Father, it all has no real meaning. Yet the words and the impression of an effort at escape. It lends some insight to why Zagreus so often seems in a rush.

In truth, Elidibus had at least an expectation he would receive a visit sooner than later. As he is released from the vision and hears the approach of the godling, he takes a moment to compose himself. While it would surprise him that someone with Zagreus's talent would not be able to perceive him without aid, if that seems to be the case, Elidibus does put in the effort to be seen.

But if distance still remains between them, the Ascian obligingly closes it, with a short teleportation between the back of the stores carriage to the spot Zag has chosen to glare in his direction. There he is, clad in white robes and a red mask. It could be evident this is his natural state; gone is the mortal vessel and with it any hiding what he really is. But maybe the godling had always known.

"I'm here, Zagreus." He doesn't bother to ask what they need to speak of, nor does he take the initiative. The Ascian leaves the floor to the godling.

It's perhaps the only reason he knows to seek Elidibus, other than the faint trace of energy it left behind when he accidentally used the Echo. Because he's met Elidibus' alternate form before, on another world, in another time.

Zagreus' tenseness eases only slightly, seemingly due to the lack of a stolen shell, of a body no longer attached to its soul that doesn't belong to its inhabitant. He does glance over Elidibus' true form for a moment for a moment, the strangely discorporated but obviously solid form in the white robes and the crimson mask giving him only a moment's pause. But his indignance wins out in the end, and he huffs out a bitter breath, stalking up to Elidibus and glaring up at him without getting too far into his space.

"Why did you try to peer into my mind, just now? I know it was you, I saw... well, I don't know exactly what I saw. But somewhere in there I saw that other you, from Diagad, so I know you had your hand in whatever just happened, back there!"

His laurels are actively churning on his wreath now, despite there being no wind. They are turbulent as the prince continues to stare down Elidibus without flinching. Still, his voice is still its usual soft tone, despite the anger in it. "I thought we were friends, Elidibus mate. You could have just asked me, you know. Whatever it was you were hoping to find, I could have told you."

"I've no intention of denying it," Elidibus answers. Same voice despite the lack of body. "What I witnessed was not what I intended to see." There's even a small trace of confusion present, suggesting the depth of surprise hidden under the generally calm facade. When the young godling approaches, he won't find his target flinching away or uncomfortable in the presence of such justified outrage.

Though he'd momentarily seemed lost in thought- the mask making expressions difficult to see- the Ascian looks up again and focuses on Zagreus's presence. What follows is absolute sincerity, both in explanation and apology.

"I was endeavoring to witness your interview with the Inspectors. Since the place it occurred is no longer available to me, I had to touch upon those present at the time. What I'd not intended was to see anything else. Pray forgive me. The fault lies with me. I was not expecting the shift of aether and lost control for a moment."

It may gloss over whether they're friends or even suggest he doesn't find anything wrong with what he'd done; Elidibus is certain this would have been the best path to gaining the information that would help them all.

Though he's brought back to what the godling mentioned; witnessing the form that had been known as the Lightwarrior. This Elidibus had not been unaware of it, nor had he missed the connection at the time.

"So you saw some of my memories when I lost control?" Well he sounds interested but at least he's not outraged. That would have been hypocritical and he's wise enough to realize it. Besides as Elidibus said, the fault for losing control is on him. If Zagreus saw something because of that, he only has himself to blame.

"May I ask what you saw?"

Zagreus huffs and tugs at the buckle on his SCA, practically tearing it off his wrist and shoving it into Elidibus' hands. "I recorded most of it as text, in the notes, once I knew they were threatening us. Just read it. But I am going to need that back in about... oh, ten minutes, or else you're going to have to deal with a very angry Than." Already he can begin to feel his life thread beginning to fray, but he's not feeling sick yet; it shouldn't alert Thanatos to danger until near the very end of the ten minutes without his SCA. "Or, you could just... I don't know, ask me to recall the interview so you can see it for yourself. Like mates are supposed to do."

The prince gives Elidibus a moment to read in silence, but the memory that Elidibus saw is one that Zagreus feels deserves an explanation. "Well what you witnessed was my routine, back home. I'd escape the House via my bedroom window, then I'd be stopped by my Father or his forces in the Underworld, and be sent home the hard way. I didn't start beating him in our fights until more recently." It's something he knows mortals are touchy about, particularly the thought of father killing son, of son killing father. But it's always been that way between them, hasn't it? Killing one another is their lot. A statement Zagreus is vehemently against, still, but he hasn't had to think about his situation back home in months. Not until it was dragged back to the surface by the power of the Echo, though the prince has no name for it yet.

"I don't... I don't know what any of it means. I saw your form on Diagad, the one that was supposed to be you, but wasn't you, exactly. And then I saw this form you were in now, or maybe it was before the other form. I heard something... beating, like a drum, or... no, like a heart beating, like an impossibly loud sound." He strains to remember the rest, his brow furrowing now in concentration rather than anger. "And I saw this sigil in red, complicated in design, lots of curves and circles, but with these wing shapes around the outside. And then I saw what looked like a Shade of a child grasping for these oddly shaped stones in different colors. Maybe they were some part of a game? I got the impression that there was one extra, that someone cheated." It's not a wholly correct impression, but enough of it is close to the truth, despite Zagreus not knowing the truth at all.

Zagreus gets what might amount to a sidelong look of curiosity about that totally out of place comment regarding Thanatos, but he doesn't question the godling handling over the SCA. Having some experience working with him and Jingyi, it doesn't strike Elidibus odd at first that the godling would just hand over the device instead of trying to transfer the data or some other, sensible solution.

So he doesn't immediately address the question in the air out loud; why would Thanatos be angry the SCA is removed, even on the train? It is mused while Elidibus looks for the information Zagreus recorded and the young god explains what was viewed and what in turn he saw.

The figure doesn't seem disturbed by the tale of Zagreus and his father. He'd witnessed a piece of it after all and he was not ignorant of what it entailed and what it implied. What he thinks of it is not something he would judge so quickly. Though granted, Elidibus hasn't been 'mortal' in a very, very long time. And even then their lives were not measured in the way most mortals would think of it.

"What were you trying to achieve?" he asks without a hint of judgement. Through the routine, through...escape? What purpose did the cycle serve?

As Zagreus is giving detail of the memory witnessed, Elidibus deems it only a fair cost to explain some things in kind. His free hand raised briefly, the sigil in question appears before his masked features. A redundancy in his mind, but one identical to what the godling witnessed.

"This is the symbol of my seat of office. Elidibus." It's gone again after a moment. "It is most oft used when we have neither robes nor mask but wish to reveal our identity." So, when they possess vessels such as the one Elidibus is most commonly in. But it is the easiest to explain. The other parts that were witnessed? Behind the mask the man closes his eyes momentarily. The beating of a heart. There's possibilities but no certainties; this is left unaddressed. But other matters?

"Ah yes, the Warrior of Light. Such was the form I made manifest in an effort to defeat the Warrior of Darkness. Created with the hopes and desires of those who struggled against the end with all their might and fought for salvation." One could say 'and then someone cheated then as well'. But what is cheating, really, in such battles? It'd be petty to call it that. Though it had stung to watch that figure walk away with naught but a flippant wave of his hand.

"I was defeated by my enemy and through a trap lay by his ally I was diminished. The 'child' you saw was the manifestation of the freedom I clung to before my imminent sealing." It would certainly explain that 'child' having white robes and red mask in retrospect. "One could say the intervention of the Voidtrecker express was timely. And I have since recovered." Thankfully, or he'd be at the mercy of quite a few comments about his appearance in aetherical form, wouldn't he?

Elidibus does not talk about the stones, save one brief comment. "...There was one more than ever intended. Not... given to me at that time. But I know it exists. And I don't blame the person who made it for doing so." How he has since learned of it or whether he knew at the time it was used as an instrument of his defeat is all left unspoken as well.

"It's an ability akin to viewing recordings and I'd intended to secure knowledge of these Inspectors and their true purpose swiftly, rather than wait for those affected to recover and risk another move by this potential adversary before we had time to prepare." The question of being mates is given consideration. Friendship? Comrades? Elidibus seems to focus on the godling as he lets out a sigh. "I deemed it better to take the ire of my fellow passengers than risk being without this vital information. But perhaps it would be better if--"

The Ascian meant to explain himself. That it would at least be better to not risk another misunderstanding because of the unpredictable aether of people from other stars. Jingyi, Zagreus. Perhaps there'll be others. But it's at this point his earlier musings and study bear fruit.

Whether it's the train's allowance or some innate trait of Elidibus himself, the godling may be about to learn that 'aetherical beings' can in fact touch corporeal forms as the Ascian seeks to reach for Zagreus's arm and return the SCA to its rightful place.

....It seems the time for memory lane is at an end. Back to present problems.

"I'm not sure why it's any of your business," Zagreus spits, his anger still bubbling beneath the surface. "But I was trying to find someone. Someone my Father didn't want me to find. And yet I still pressed on despite that, because I needed to learn the truth--" He cuts himself off, hands clenching. Saying more could put his Mother in danger, and he was not about to do so. "... as far as you, or anyone else from my world is concerned, I was doing it so I could meet my Godly relatives on Mount Olympus. What you saw - that was the first time I ever saw the surface world for myself." A lie, but a necessary one. One that he'd kept up with the help of Nyx and Athena, one that he intended to keep when he returned. At least until he convinced Mother to return home.

Zagreus examines the seal, and nods when he sees it's the exact same. "Right, so... if you're inhabiting another corpse, you'll wear that to show your allies it's you and not someone else?" A bit morbid, and still unsettling for one whose culture dictates burial practices as essential to peace in the Beyond. But logical, in its own way.

"... you died, didn't you? While you were young. That little child was your Shade. Your ghost, I suppose others might call it." The realization hits Zagreus hard, he who loves humanity, and their potential. Such potential snuffed out at such a young age is always hard, but to then have the soul of a child trapped between this world and the next... it's unthinkable. His latent anger changes to horror, and his laurels still, flickering only barely, the intangible gust propelling them dying down along with Zagreus' ire.

Something peculiar happens when Elidibus returns Zagreus' SCA to his wrist. It's so subtle that Elidibus surely didn't notice it among his many reminiscences, but the aetheric signature of the godling has started to fray at the edges. Upon the return of the SCA to his wrist, his aetheric signature instantly stabilizes, as if a flickering lantern has just been given the fuel it needed to keep burning. Zagreus, too, seems to feel a little more comfortable with it on, as indicated by the tenseness in his shoulders lessening slightly.

"I think your powers didn't work as you intended because... well, I wouldn't call it my power, exactly, but I can borrow power offered freely from the other Gods of my world. Take on some of their aspects, if only at a fraction of their full power." Zagreus' brow furrows as he tries to follow through with his own train of thought. Being one of the newest Gods, he's still not sure his domain, or what his powers do precisely, or why his powers work the way they do. And adding in the powers from the false Diagad only complicated his abilities. "Maybe that's what I was doing, without realizing it. And that might be why you could only see what I was thinking about at the time."

"I've no reason to pry further," Elidibus replies calmly over the matter of what exactly Zagreus had been doing. Why he asked at all isn't further elaborated on either. There's more to cover and, by what follows, mildly correct.

The Ascian offers a shake of his head. "My brethren would recognize me regardless of the vessel." Which need not be a corpse for the Unsundered like himself, but it probably wouldn't make it any better to mention that. So Elidibus doesn't. "For my kind the display is something... different." There's only a second's falter. Uncertainty. But he recovers quickly enough. "Yes. But for the most part, such displays are to allow mortals to know who we are."

But that bit, where the godling theorizes that the Shade was that of a child... Elidibus frowns for a brief moment. Not in irritation, but with a slight struggle to recollect something; though much of this effort may be well-hidden under mask and cowl.

"Young? I.... yes. I was young. Young to my office, though full grown. Younger than the others of the Convocation I'm... sure." There's that faltering, obvious musing as though he isn't quite sure and is piecing together fragments of knowledge from long ago with recently regained memories others had of him. Elidibus shakes his head and focuses on Zagreus. "No matter. There's no need for misplaced remorse. The manifestation you witnessed was not my actual age, but a remnant of my soul that had been greatly diminished by the trap."

Elidibus considers for a moment before offering another small correction. "To say we died in the wake of the Sundering is also not correct. We ascended, leaving behind our bodies so that we could achieve our Great Work and travel between the shattered echoes of our Star to accomplish what had to be done."

There will be a moment in which the Ascian does finish the conversation before addressing the matter of the SCA and the godling's fraying aether, though Elidibus too seems to relax after snapping the device back on Zag's wrist.

The intriguing issue of their clash of power briefly proves itself the priority. Could his gift had been equal to these divine boons Zagreus speaks of? Though his power was not 'freely offered', it seems evident their respective birthrights did clash on contact. Perhaps caused feedback.

"There was a surge of aether I wasn't expecting," Elidibus slowly admits. "And it's possible strong thoughts of your world at the time, combined with your nature, caused me to witness those events." Which he did apologize for earlier. "Though I can't be certain, it seems the most logical answer for now." Well he could test it again but this is probably not the time.

"Though turning to present matters. While I was interested in what you'd recorded, I didn't intend it to be at the cost of your existence." No wonder he'd mentioned Thanatos would get angry. "I or someone else can teach you ways to transfer the data recorded to another."

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Enemy Unknown: Conclusion

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emerges from the abyss of ugh I LIVE

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Enemy Unknown: Conclusion

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*emerges from the abyss of ugh* I LIVE

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emerges from the abyss of ugh I LIVE