Your Best Chance

Zyria took a deep breath, and tried to center the power on one area. Really, it seemed like she was just scrunching up her ability in the one section, completely useless, until she felt a slight give on Tam's mind. As soon as the leak was made, the bond's power seeped into the Kazesqui's head. Zyria felt she was looking at a movie reel in her head, all the different feelings, experiences, moments, the Plutonian could see it all. Goosebumps crawled up the scientists arms as the harrowing feeling of being a parasite took over. Zyria quickly shook it off, though, and tried to focus on practicing. That's all this was, practice. Zyria wouldn't have to invade any friends' minds unless absolutely necessary after this.

"Okay." Zyria felt around a little more in Tam's mind, but only to get more accustomed to the sense. Anymore movement and Zyria worried she'd break something. "I think I'm getting the hang of the basics."

Tam smiled, trying to conceal the slight discomfort, trying to remember that it was only Zyria, a friend who she could trust, inside her mind. It was hard not to remember the pain of the Thel-ghan'che while Zyria was there... but she fought against it, keeping her composure.

"Very, very good," she began, "You're a very quick lear--" Suddenly Tam collapsed to the ground as if struck by some force unseen, with a loud exhale, her mouth hanging open as if in a silent scream. And as Tam went down, she took Zyria's mind with her.

The thing slammed into her mind again. The thing that had sent her the visions before, whatever entity had possessed her before and shut her off to the outside world did so again, but this time there was someone around to watch.

Zyria was trapped. Her power, her mind, was sucked completely into Tam's mind like a vortex and then trapped there, unable to retreat, panic settling in as her power fought to return to her body but was held down forcibly by the entity that had smashed into Tam's head.

And then the blinding flashes and the stream of images began. Zyria was held captive to them as much as Tam; everything that was put there, every vivid picture that burned its image across Tam's mind was also forced on Zyria. It was painful. Not merely shocking.

They saw so many things: death, destruction; faces, people they didn't know, people they did know, but hurt; places they'd never been before, the boiling hot surface of a planet which had nothing but the barest remains of life, struggling to forge on; they saw things of history, things from their pasts and from the long dead past which no one existed to remember. They saw colors and lights and power, raw power. They saw a girl in a mask next to a large man in a red cloak, face obscured; they saw a dark room, completely in blackness, not even starlight from the window shining through, and they knew that a man sat there alone; they saw things that seemed impossible, things they could not possibly understand, things that scared them and shocked them and hurt them and confused them--

And then it was over. It was over and Zyria was back, safely in her own mind, with only the searing memories as proof that it had happened. Tam was on her feet once more, and with a deeply pained look upon her face. Had she seen something, understood something that Zyria had not? Perhaps. There was water in her eyes, Tam thought, but when she raised her fingers to wipe the tears away they came back dyed with blood.

She quickly cleared it, and smeared the substance off her fingers, hoping Zyria had not noticed.

Tam swallowed. She slowly brought her eyes up to Zyria's, and she whispered, "I must go." She raised the hand that had not felt the blood--should any traces remain--and touched Zyria's forehead with a whisper-like, feather-soft touch... and Zyria knew without words that she mustn't think about what she'd seen too much. That she couldn't let the confusion, the overwhelming powerlessness overtake her--that it was better not to think about it, and that it would all be explained in time.

The moment was over in a flash and Tam turned to Drel-Caz, who was still on the other end of the cargo bay but standing now in concern. She smiled softly, with the deep pain still clear in her eyes, and waved her hand at him.

And then she disappeared. She disappeared from the Custodian, from the 12th Dimension, from the known universe perhaps, but certainly from anywhere that she could be found.

When it happened, Zyria felt completely vulnerable. One moment, she and Tam were pleasantly working on the training, Zyria progressing well, she thought, and the next moment, Zyria was forced fully into her friend's mind. Her consciousness and her power were stuck in the Kazesqui's head, with no way out. Zyria could sense her body freezing, stiffening in its standing position, but the Plutonian had no control of it.

Suddenly then, images began racing in front of her mind's eye. Horrible, horrible images. Pictures of incomprehensible things, things that completely drained Zyria of her sense of security, her sense of hope. Some pictures rang familiar, a connection to a memory of her own; others, though, were completely new, unfamiliar,

frightening.

As soon as she had been trapped, though, Zyria was released. Feeling returned to her body, and she felt the tug of both portions of her being pulled together. Her mind was stunned for a moment, but her eyes sharpened as Tam muttered something and touched the Plutonian's forehead. The interaction sent something to her mind, almost a message, but more of a feeling. A feeling telling Zyria to not dwell on what she had witnessed, to wait for the explanations. Tam turned, to look at Caz, Zyria believed, and then disappeared, gone, quite likely for good. At least, Zyria hoped not.

As soon as Tam left, Zyria fell to her knees, crumpling into a resting position, with her hands laying together on her lap. Her eyes focused and unfocused as she tried to look at her surroundings, but only seeing the images. Oh, those terrible images, they would never leave her. Not for a moment.

Oh, please don't let any of that mean something. Please just be some twisted torture meant to frighten us. Please, please.

But Zyria knew that everything that happened to them always meant something. And that's what frightened her the most.

Caz wasn't stupid. He knew something big had just happened. Tam wouldn't just leave like that, leaving Zyria looking so bewildered. He was at her side in a moment, arm wrapped around her shoulders and other hand pressed to the beautiful Plutonian's cheek, looking directly into her eyes. He knew without asking a little of what had happened, saw brief flashes of the visions which had struck Tam and Zyria only seconds ago. He watched the fear and the confusion, the faraway look in her gaze. He frowned, expression full of worry, and pulled her close to him, letting her head rest on his chest.

"Love, love... it's alright... you're okay... it's alright now..." The words were true, if not lasting; he got the impression that things really weren't going to be alright. Still, Caz whispered these things and more into her hair, arms acting like an impenetrable barrier between Zyria and the world. He didn't ask what had happened, or what she'd seen; if she wanted to tell him, she would--Caz didn't want to make her think about it if she didn't want to. He kissed her forehead gently and brushed her hair from her face, because he needed to make it okay. She was the most important thing in the entire universe, and even if he could do nothing else, he needed to hold her close and tell her that everything is alright.



((Ugh.... that's a lot shorter than I'd like it to be... but oh well...))

((As far as I know, it is, I think. -shrug- Sorry for not giving a sure answer, but I'm sure it's fine if you started your character here))

Zyria allowed herself to be pulled into Caz's embrace, her head resting on his chest. Her bottom lip trembled, but she spoke clearly. "It was horrid. Terrible, haunting images, but no sense behind them. Tam...she told me not to dwell on them, though, that they would be explained at some point. But I don't know if I should be anxious to know or fearful to find out." She looked up to Caz, her eyebrows knit together. "We can't worry about them now, though. We don't know anything about them, and there are other problems that are much more important to worry about."

Zyria forced herself to stand, but covered her face with her hands. "Oh, I just feel so helpless. What can we do here? All we're doing right now is sitting around waiting for the manifestation of evil to attack us." She removed her hands and glanced at Caz. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be saying things. It's just that...that little event has taken a lot from me for the moment."

Caz shushed her and rubbed a hand in soothing circles across her back. He could catch bits and pieces of the images still streaming through Zyria's mind, and he knew from the tidbits he got that most of it was nothing good, and all confusing. He knew there was nothing he could do to keep those images from affecting Zyria, but for now there was at least something he could do to help.

"Zyria, love... you should get some rest. It's been too long since you've slept, and with all this stress it would be good to have some sleep to help you manage it." He pulled her close to kiss her forehead, and then used a hand on her cheek to lift her eyes towards him. "I can come with you if you'd like, and then when we wake we can send a message out to the others. I'm sure they would appreciate any help from us, so we can ask them where to go after we get our rest."

He smiled at her and traced some of the lines on her face caused by the stresses of the past many months and by the worry for her people and her friends. He hoped that some sleep would do her good, but he also knew that he'd be key to keeping her strong. Caz was ready for that burden, ready to take it on willingly.

"Come on, Zyria. Let's go rest." He took her hand in his, and started towards the door.

'Rest.' What a foreign word. when was the last time Zyria had slept? She couldn't remember. And who knows how much sleep the others were getting out fighting...no. Caz was right, they would need to get to work--no matter what new hopelessness there was from these visions, they couldn't give up--but getting sleep would make them all the more useful to everyone. "Okay, you're right, Caz. Thank you." Zyria allowed herself to be pulled out of the room into the maze of hallways. How Caz knew where her room was, Zyria didn't know; maybe the Custodian had given him directions, maybe he'd been to her room before and she couldn't remember, or maybe it wasn't even her room at all. Zyria was too exhausted to know, to care. It wasn't until she'd allowed herself to accept a break did she realize just how tired she was. So when Caz gently led her to her bed, his bed, /some/ bed, she was out.

Zyria was out like a light as soon as she hit the mattress in the room that had been set aside for her by the Custodian. Caz knew the way by poking around a little at Zyria's thoughts while they'd worked before, and when they got there he wasn't surprised to see her all but collapse after she'd accepted the need for rest. He smiled and chuckled a little nonetheless, and carefully shifted her enough that he could get her out of her suit so all she was wearing was her underclothes (nobody wears their suit directly against their skin anyways) and so she'd be comfortable before tucking her into the sheets and blankets.

He stripped down to his undergarments himself, then slid underneath the sheets as well. He wasn't tired, really; he'd been sort of sleeping, or at least drifting in nothingness, for so long that he still didn't feel fatigue. He closed his eyes despite, and tried to empty his mind of the thoughts whirling through his head, bringing himself to at least a relaxed headspace where he could drift some more. Caz had simply gotten used to it.

---

The images continued to flash through Zyria's mind even while she slept. Her unconscious brain tried to make sense of them, tried to focus on them at least, and several more images that she had not particularly noticed earlier began to slowly surface.

She saw a funeral procession, and white roses. People standing around a large fire that was only symbolic, some she knew and many she didn't. She saw herself there, with Caz, and she saw the others too. Verax, and Robless. Cassus. Tam's daughter, Ell. She recognized faces one by one, but her eye was quickly drawn to a peculiar rhythm to the flickering of the firelight. How it seemed to reach out, nearly, towards the people who surrounded it, and how it seemed to move much slower than most fires she'd ever seen.

But then the fires changed from a controlled pyre to a blasting, roaring, raging, sweeping fire, and the sound of screams, and blood all over the ground. A figure further off, collapsed against the ground, seeming to ooze black substance. A small group of people huddled together, too far away to make out, no one seeming to notice the dark figure. But there was so much blood.

Then that image was gone, replaced new images. The blood red faded the the color of a man's eyes. He stood with a woman, both of no race she recognized, standing together. Red eyes and magenta. Supporting each other, leaning on each other. Then it morphed, changed to a man in a bright white mask with thin blood red lines, and a brilliant red cape, white staff. He stood tall, and proud, almost arrogant, and at his side was a girl much younger than he and also wearing a mask, though one of darkest crimson. Zyria could not understand what it meant.

Suddenly she was looking at a large triangular table, with a man in gleaming white and gold at one point, a woman in shining black and silver armor at the second, and a woman in purple with silver jewelry at the last. More figures lined the sides of the table and were decorated in many bright and dull colors, but one drew her eye more than the others and Zyria could not quite place why, a woman in bright, dazzling red and gold embroidery.

And just like the rest, that image changed to a picture of several people eyeing an assembled group of the dimensional leaders. It was strange, because the new people seemed almost achingly familiar, but it was not until Zyria compared their faces to those of the leaders who had gathered that she started to realize that each person seemed like a strange and twisted version of one of the leaders she knew.

Then she was staring at a pile of corpses. Blood everywhere, and a burning landscape. But when she looked more closely, she realized that every single body was an exact replica of those around it, with varying fatal wounds, from a slit throat, to an impaled chest, to a singed, nearly unidentifiable corpse, to many with horrible blast wounds. But they were all the same person, if varying slightly in clothing. All the same face, over and over again, but not a face she knew.

More images flashed and Zyria became more and more restless. Caz noticed from where he was beside her, and shook himself out of his trance-like state to turn to her and pull her quickly towards him, pressing his chest against her back and wrapping his arms protectively around her. She quieted down immediately, but Caz closed his eyes and prodded gently at her mind until he found the visions that were troubling her and instantly muffled them down, stifling them until they could no longer bother her. He kept his eyes closed, and listened as her breathing evened out and she fell into deeper sleep, before drifting back into semiconsciousness himself.

So many visions, Zyria's rest will turn into a single night terror. Who were these people, the strangers, the twisted versions of her friends. How many of the pictures that shifted through her mind would end up happening? Whose funeral was everyone attending, and that shadow man, all that blood...that couldn't be Shade, could it? Was someone going to die in their battle against him? Zyria had to try and stop that. All this going on in her mind, though, wasn't helping her sleep. unconsciously, she felt Caz shifting behind her, and his presence comforted her, calmed the terrible visions in her mind, helping her drift into a deeper sleep.

Zyria doesn't know how much time passed, maybe she slept for a few hours, maybe less, maybe more. She didn't completely awaken, but was stirred from her complete unconsciousness when the Custodian's voice softly spoke. Zyria knew she needed to wake up, something was happening, maybe. But sleep was still calling her, just a little more rest, give her eyes a few more minutes....

Caz was already awake, quietly conversing with the Custodian so as to give Zyria a few more minutes of well-needed, well-deserved sleep.

"What's left of the NSI's troops are steadily arriving, led by Admiral Serros. I'm granting them haven just like all of the other refugees, but they'll be the first military personnel onboard," the Custodian told him as he rubbed the last of the sleep from his eyes. He stifled a yawn and glanced over at the lightly sleeping Zyria.

"We should probably leave soon, hm?" Caz paused for a moment, the Custodian's unspoken reply resounding in his head. "I just wish we didn't have to go back into danger so soon."

"I understand, however I have reason to believe that the other leaders may be needing you once my emergency systems are activated. Who knows when that will be. You and Zyria most likely need to be away from here by then." Caz sighed in response, and the Custodian continued. "I have received word, also, that Dreadlord Verax and High-Druid Archelaus have met for battle. This is most likely a sign that the outcome of these events is on the way..."

"I know, I know..." Caz stood slowly, slipping back into his uniform, and looked once more at Zyria. "We should probably go meet this Admiral Serros before we go, as well, since we're the only two leaders currently onboard. It would be polite to greet him and his troops, at the very least... Alright, you've convinced me." Caz made his way around the bed to Zyria's side, gently cupping her cheek and kissing her forehead. "Wake up, love," he murmured softly, "We're leaving soon, so I need you to wake up..."

A soft blip sounded in the room, alerting Caz and the tired Zyria that a message had just been sent. When Zyria sees the sender, she freezes, and Caz gives her a worried look.

She opens the message to read as follows.


"Greetings.

"I have programmed my implant to deliver this message to all of you (Robless, Zyria, and Cassus) as soon as my vital signs have disappeared. This means that when you receive this, I will have died only moments ago. Time is funny like that. I am only glad that I was informed of this outcome before I lost my chance to thank all of you. I have decided to leave this as something of a goodbye to everyone, and as a warning.

"You are probably wondering how I knew to prepare this message. A short time before what will be my death, I started having visions which I believe were thrust upon me by some omnipotent entity, though I have no solid knowledge as to the true origin of the visions. They were not intended to be malicious though they were confusing, and would leave my mind ill at ease for weeks at a time. In the first bout of visions, I saw myself die. I saw myself die in the arms of my love, Archelaus, and I saw Verax beside him. For one moment in the midst of their duel, they have set aside their differences to fret over me in my last moments. This, if anything, is a testament to the goodness in them both, and to the idea that even the bitterest of enemies can share common ground when it comes to the things they care about. I know, but I cannot regret, the last words that left my lips. They probably only worsened the outcome of all of this and will be one of many reasons for the suffering you all will shortly endure. For that I do apologize, but I said those words even knowing what will happen and I would never dream of taking them back. I told them I loved them. Both of them.

"If my speculations are correct, none of you have time to waste. Maybe not even enough time to read this message, so I will keep it short. If I am right, and if I have managed to decode my cryptic visions correctly, my death will trigger the release of Shade. In this case… all I can suggest to all of you is to hide. I will hope that Aya is with you, because it occurs to me that she may be the only thing that will be able to end this struggle with Shade… I know she proved useful to Verax for keeping It from overwhelming him; I cannot know for certain, for my visions have not been so extensive. As for the rest of you… I really cannot advise you all on what to do. I would, of course, prefer that you all are safe… but the only place you could be safe is aboard the Custodian, and that leaves no one behind to fight Shade. So… no matter what you decide, please be careful. I sincerely hope none of you will join be in death before your time.

"I guess you won’t be seeing me again. I don’t know how the afterlife works; I’m not sure if I will be able to watch over you while you go about your destinies. But the best of luck to everyone, and know that I will watch over you if I am able. Please do not despair too much over me; know that my life has been long and fulfilling, and though it has certainly had its abyssal valleys it has also had the highest mountains I could ask for.

"As a conclusion… I would like to leave you with a piece of information that some of you may be aware of but are unwilling to acknowledge. I know it to be true: This war was never us against Verax. It was Verax against a god. He fought as hard as he could, and many of you tried to make that harder for him, whether knowingly or not. I know that he forgave all of you, though, even if he would never himself say it. When Shade came into being It tore Verax apart. As far as I am aware, he is now dead.

"Attached are personal messages for each of you, to express my gratitude for all you have ever done for me, and perhaps a few humble requests that, if fulfilled, would make me much less worried about leaving this world.

"Thank you, all of you, and… good luck in the coming struggle.
Goodbye.

"Eris-Tam, your friend, your sister, your lover."


The message contains an attachment, addressed to Zyria.


"To: Princess Zyria

"Greetings, Zyria. I would first like to tell you that I thank you for many years of friendship, both during the Early Wars and in recent months. I know that your people are what is most important to you, and that they will always remain so. I admire, and always have admired, your dedication to them. The loss of my people is one of my biggest regrets, but no one now can be blamed for the loss of my people, for their innocent deaths.

"However, remembering the past will not help me now, especially now that I don’t have much of a future left.

"As for last requests, I already know that you will protect Drel-Caz due to your new Neiede link (for which I feel so happy for the two of you), so that is not what I want to ask of you. I do not have much left in this world except for my daughters, and so… I would ask that you be something of a mentor to Eris-Ell. She struggles with hatred for her sister, and I fear that it may consume her. If you could mentor her through her late adolescence and ensure that she grows up to be a kind, understanding, and compassionate young lady, it would do so much to ease my mind. Of course, I do not expect you to be able to carry this out until after the issue of Shade has passed, but still… it would make me much more comfortable with dying to know that she will be raised right and will not dwell in her hate.

"Thank you so much, Zyria. I would like you to know that even though we did not have much time to know each other, I consider you almost like a sister and I would trust you completely with anything. Goodbye, Zyria."

Damn it all...

No more crying. Tam's death, the visions, and now this? Zyria blames it on a good rest, but now she's hardened against it all. Maybe that's not the best term, it's more that she has her plan. Following Tam's example, Zyria doesn't dwell on the past, for now. The message mentioned Archelaus's battle with Verax has ended, releasing Shade, so obviously that is the focus.

"Thank you, Tam."

Zyria turns to Caz, and begins straighting up as she speaks. "We have some things to do, don't we? Thank you for letting me rest, Caz, but now we have work that needs done. Have any military squads reached us yet? As dependable as the ships may be, it's still reasuring to everyone to have soldiers in their midst. Zeif is here, but he isn't an army." Zyria brushes off her suit, which has finally begun showing wear and tear, and strides to the door, turning back to wait for her Neiede. "Whatever the case may be, we're going to have to get off of the Custodian and find some way to make it to the others without being caught up in any chaos that might already be spreading through the dimensions. And the Custodian may test our project out while we're gone."

((Sorry for a short post and any typos, did this from my phone while half asleep, will fix anything or edit whatever needs changed when I can actually get on my laptop!))

Caz followed her to the door, mentioning, "The remains of the NSI troops arrived, but they're in rough shape. There is one squadron at our disposal, what's left of the 1st Fleet. They're under the command of recently promoted Admiral Serros. We should meet up with him before we leave. The Custodian will convert as soon as Shade is released, with maybe a minute or two to spare for us." He closed the door softly behind them as they left, turning to catch her hand.

He flashed her a slight smile, and they walked towards the hangar where Serros and his men were waiting.

--

As Zyria and Caz entered the hangar, Admiral Serros looked up from the reports he'd been sent on the conditions of their remaining ships. There were few that were still in operation, but at least one was in good enough condition for use to leave the Custodian.

He examined the two leaders carefully, assessing them and supplying the information he knew of them, their personalities, and their skills for a moment. He scratched the back of his neck absently, then glanced at fingernails that had come back with layers of skin underneath them. Serros sighed wearily.

As the Princess and the kazesqui looked around with some uncertainty, unsure of who they were supposed to be meeting, he brightened his expression to a slight smile--the most he could manage, given the circumstances--and walked over to them.

"You must be Princess Zyria and Drel-Caz. I've heard a lot about you two. I am Admiral Griffam Serros, at your service." He gave them a respectful nod, and promptly brought them to the pressing matter at hand. "Based on my reports and those of the Custodian, Shade is about to be released into the universe. We need to leave this ship quickly, and reach the surface of Vertrus before that happens. Cassus Drugari has been located on the planet, and he is a valuable asset. We must retrieve him, and then retreat to whatever can be considered moderate safety once Shade is fully realized."

Serros flashed them a little lopsided grin, then apologized. "Sorry for needing to address all of this so quickly, but there's no time for pleasantries right now. There is too much to be done and too much at stake, as I'm sure you're aware."

He turned away, beckoning for them to follow, and for the first time Caz and Zyria could clearly see an injury that stretched across the back of his right shoulder. It was a blast wound, and most bleeding seemed to have stopped, but the back of his uniform was blood soaked and ragged. Without even so much as a wince, he directed them using his right arm towards the ship they were to take off of the Custodian.

"This way. Quickly." There was not even the barest hint of pain in his voice.

'What's left of the 1st Fleet'

That phrase rang more significant than expected. It hit Zyria, just how hopeless things seemed right at that moment. The two of them walked down to the hangar holding the remaining troops, and an Admiral Serros greeted them. All Zyria could do was nod as the military leader updated them, then gape at the admiral's wound, still bleeding if only slightly on his shoulder. The Plutonian skipped up to the soldier's pace, her respect for the military increasing more, having seen it first-hand now.

"It's perfectly fine, we understand the need for hurrying. After finding Cassus....what about the others? Archelaus, Robless, Ell, even Aya, and....Tam?" Zyria knew already, but maybe, just maybe if she knew how it happened, the pain could lessen and help her move on.

As the three of them stepped onto the small gunship that awaited them, already loaded with the NSI squad that would be directly lead by Admiral Serros, he gave the Princess a grim look. "Archelaus' status is currently unknown. We knowmhe has remained on the surface, but beyond that our intel is flawed. Search teams are attempting to locate Commander Robless even as we speak; we received an unfamiliar distress beacon from somewhere in the negative sixth dimension and are attempting to investigate, since Robless' last known location was on board the Voyager."

At the mention of the two kazesqui girls, Serros grimaced a bit. "Eris-Aya and Eris-Ell have been placed in our highest priorities, but we have almost no information as to either of their whereabouts. Reports mention a small, armed vessel quietly leaving Vertrus not long ago, and we have only an inkling that Eris-Aya may have been on board. We can also debrief Drugari on any details he might have, assuming he is conscious on our arrival."

Serros sighed, as he settled into one of the troop transport seats and motioned for the two leaders to do the same. "As for Eris-Ell, we really do have nothing. She should have been with the Alteriians, but I would imagine that the High-Druid would have evacuated her before the duel. It occurs to me that she may even be here, on board the Custodian."

A medic approached Serros, fussing slightly, "Sir, your injury. It needs to be treated before your status declines..."

"I'll be alright. It can at least wait until later. It's not a problem." He waved a dismissive hand at the attendant, who at first refused to leave him be.

"But sir, I'm under orders that your health must be maintained when your injuries are noticed! I mean no disrespect, but those orders supercede yours, sir!"

Finally, Serros' gaze became stern. "Well I'm not ordering you. I'm just telling you, I'll be fine. We have more important priorities at the moment. Leave it be, soldier." The medic reluctantly left the Admiral's side, grumbling about being sure to take care of the injury as soon as they had the chance. "Apologies," Serros murmured as he turned back to the pair of leaders. "To finish answering your questions, we aren't completely sure what caused Eris-Tam's death. I wish I could tell you more, but the truth is that the NSI was already too few and too sparing to send men down to the surface to observe the duel." Serros looked slightly troubled.

"I'm sorry I can't tell you more. It sounds as if you were close... I'm sorry for your loss."

Tears pricked Zyria's eyes. "No, no, it's fine, thank you for the honesty. Everyone's defenses are stretched enough; and I'm sure everyone can take care of themselves." Her tone suggested otherwise. "As for Tam...at least she's no longer suffering. She's with her people now, in whatever form it may be. Thank you."

Aboard the transport, Zyria sat silently at first, leaning slightly against Caz while the admiral discussed his health. So many people needing help, all at once. Cassus had already been deemed priority, but then what? Hide? What of the distress signal? If it was Robless, and he really needed help, they would need to travel quite a ways to reach him. And Ell, who Tam left in Zyria's care, should she be the most important? She was so young, but so was Aya. Archelaus was so powerful, Zyria almost felt as though she didn't need to worry too much. If he has a chance of survival, he's strong enough to continue on until they can reach him, and if he's passed....what can they possibly do? Help the rest of his people?

"Uhm." Zyria had to ask. All she seemed to be able to do is ask questions. "Do the search teams need help finding Robless? We could be of aid. But Tam left Ell and Aya alone in the universe, perhaps we should leave the search for Robless to you, and we find them? As much as we should worry about retreating, what will the point be if some of the most powerful beings are left out there to be snuffed out by the chaos?" Zyria just didn't know what to do long-term, she felt she didn't know enough, even though it hadn't been that long ago that she'd met with most of her friends.

Caz placed a gentle, comforting hand on Zyria's shoulder and rubbed in soothing circles.

Watching the display of affection, Serros sighed slowly. "I suggest we take a different approach. When we retrieve Drugari from the surface, we can observe the High-Druid's status. I'm sure someone on the surface, Drugari, Archelaus, or maybe Verax himself if he is still capable of forming a coherent response, can inform us whether or not Eris-Aya was on the ship that was seen leaving."

Tilting his head slightly and closing his eyes for a moment before reopening them, Serros added, "I think it's key that we stay together. Anyone we find, Drugari, the two of you, the High-Druid should he join us... it's important that the leaders of the dimensions remain a team, as you have in the past. The force that once unified you is now gone, but the ties between you should remain. Once we retrieve Drugari and obtain information about Eris-Aya, we will all meet up with the search teams and aid their search for Robless if they haven't reached him by that time."

A soldier approached as Serros finished speaking, waiting for the Admiral's acknowledgement. Serros turned to him, inquiring, "What did you find, soldier?"

The man spoke. "The Custodian has confirmed that Eris-Ell is on board and registered as a refugee here, sir."

"Good. That means one of Eris-Tam's daughters are safe. One less to worry about." Serros turned back to Zyria and Caz. "My recommendation is that she should stay here. If she were to come with us, it would only spell unwanted danger for the girl," Serros added as the three felt the ship's engines engage and rumble quietly.

Zyria leaned back for just a moment, a sigh escaping her lungs. With Ell safe, that was one less person to worry about. But that left everyone else to worry for, so the Plutonian sat up again. "Yes, I agree. Ell can stay on the Custodian, I'll send word to Zeif to keep track and take care of her." In very short-hand, Zyria typed up a little message, telling her Commander to find Ell, and keep track of the Plutonian. If her signal were to disappear, Zeif could track it's last whereabouts and possibly send help. If it would be hopeless enough at that point. "I agree with you about keeping the leaders together, as well. What's left of us is the strongest we have right now. I can only hope our team isn't fewer members it already is with Tam's passing."

"Agreed." Serros nodded slowly, almost to himself. "You and the other leaders are our only hope to overcome Shade. It's a big responsibility, and I don't mean to put pressure on you, but it's simply the truth. You're the strongest the universe has to offer." Serros paused, tapping his fingers against his knee lightly, then added, "However, Commander Robless has previously slipped messages through the Dreadlord's filter that suggest that Eris-Aya may play a significant role in the defeat of Shade as well. If only we could locate her..."

He then shook his head impatiently. "In any case, we won't get anywhere unless we get moving." As he spoke, the gunship's bay doors sealed, and the volume of the engine's rumble rose to a muffled roar. They felt the ship lift gently and start forward, proceeding out of the Custodian's loading bay and into the void of space around the ship. The pilots switched to interdimensional drives once they were a safe distance from the Custodian, and the gunship surged as it left the twelfth dimension and  again as it reached the fifth.

{CONTINUED IN [Only admins are allowed to see this link]}