It’s Safe Now (MK, Kujo)

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#1
Four hours after the events of “Beyond The Bounds”

“We’re here.”

The trek into the jungle was comparatively uneventful. Given the scenery’s prospensity for shrinking away from Derrick, whatever fauna that lay in ambush only needed to sense the presence of the young Psychodriver to reconsider its appetite.

The forests eventually cleared into an outcropping, one that overlooked both the tall, gleaming buildings that grew closer with every step, and the very heart of the Swordian, nestled in the distance, and lit by a pulsating cerulean glow.

Before them; low-set, squat buildings that were decidedly unlike that of the alien architecture lay shrouded in thick curtains of vines, half-buried in creepers.

“This used to be a Directory outpost.” Explained Hana as she led the way, stopping to push aside yet another curtain to expose the faded, yet distinct logo of the Terran superpower.

“Scientists and doctors would come to study this place... Not any more, though.” She said, quietly.

“Not for a long time.”

For Romme at least, here there was no sense of any of his kind nearby - none beyond Velvet, whose empathy for the world around them seemed to be of a similar kind to his own.

Perhaps here, they could at least get some well-deserved rest.
 

MKR

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Aug 19, 2018
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#2
His unique presence had made the journey safer, that much had been clear. Then again in an eco-system such as this he wondered what predator would feel inclined to take on two 'Eaters' as they called themselves. But if they saw fit to view him as the apex predator then all the better, meant that the beasts foolish- or strong enough to try their luck against the other two wouldn't.

He noted the glow in the distance and the distinctly human made houses. Given the surroundings and his own nature it would be rather easy to make camp here. But at the same time he knew that any area previously occupied by humans would play home to other beings in due time. Yet no greeting party had come to receive them unlike the appearance of Volhazard and Eater Velvet prior.
So the question was-

"So what makes its home here now then, if anything?"

Given the variety of critters he got a glimpse of in the forest behind them, if she answered 'nothing' that was as much if not more of a worry than the worst answer she could have given. In all his journeys over the surface of Earth itself he never encountered an area that all animals avoided so while he was not a biologist he knew that any area animals avoided they did for a reason, human civilization on Earth being the first and foremost example but even that held rats and birds.

"And what," he pointed towards the light in the distance "is that?'
 

GEAR

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#3
At the suggestion of other inhabitants, Hana just laughed and raised an arm, showing off her muscle while giving him a wink.

"Nothing an EATER can't handle!" She laughed - but at his other question, she gave an affirming nod.

"Here, let me show you."

Hana walked with Derrick to the ledge of the outcropping. She fished into the small bag on her hip, producing a pair of compact binoculars for his use, if he so desired. If the Lunarian were to peer through them, he would see that surrounding the pillar of light was a metallic structure of sorts - set both into the floor and, if he squinted - the distant "ceiling" of the Swordian, concealed behind its artificial sky. Arrayed around it, just barely visible, were metallic thorn-like structures numbering in the dozens, shaped almost like pins, standing motionlessly on their ends.

"That... Is the heart of the Swordian." She explained, "Those structures, the "Daggers"... They control who enters and who leaves. Oh and, around there.."

The girl otherwise known as Eater Velvet gestured to around the device.

"...Volhazard has been building something."

Around the structure, at precise intervals, something had been erected that did not appear to be part of its initial design, or the landscape at all. Vast tablets of grey, each easily over forty meters high, standing tall, each facing the inside of the "heart", forming a massive ring. Perhaps, at the base of his skull... a certain, familiar sensation might have started to prickle.

"I'm not sure what, exactly... But he has been incredibly persistent about it."
 
Nov 14, 2018
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#4
Having gotten more comfortable with the environment, Romme had since reverted to his human shape; however, his previously stiff and ragged movement were no longer forcibly slow and limited, though they were now equally as irregularly quick and snappy in some situations. A dark fluid faintly hung about the hems of his clothes and similarly black veins raced across his skin on occasion, but for the most part the Scholar was honestly more human than he had ever been publicly. Keen hearing picked up his companions' conversation while the man himself fussed over a particularly interesting patch of lichen that was creeping up along one of the old buildings.

Romme perked up slightly at the mention of 'daggers' and he turned to face the structure in question. Rings, circles, cycles; such things always perturbed the Scholar, especially when this particular subject continued rearing its esoteric head. Romme's forehead opened once again to reveal his third eye peering warily at the odd structure for some Astral insight, though the man himself hardly expected anything noteworthy to be noticed even with further gleaning from the Astral Plane. Hence, Romme now approached the others. "I suspect such secret rituals shall remain so. That 'Volhazard' shall take it to his grave no doubt," the Scholar said abruptly. "Hm, at least that's what he's lead me to believe." A strange, rasping hiss came from the man before he continued. "Frankly, to even my surprise, I abhor such arcane mysteries. If I were not a dignified man of higher learning, I would dare to refrain from learning its secrets." As he went on, it seemed more like he was speaking to himself.
 

MKR

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#5
Looking through the binoculars Derrick suddenly froze up. Watching the structure through the lens his heartbeat picked up ever so slightly. The structure had left an impression on him and it was not a good one. He lowered the binoculars and watched the area, gritting his teeth as he was reminded of the words used to described the beings he had caught glimpses of.
"He's constructing a prison." He answered, pausing "No, that's not fully right... He's making the key and he is inviting the prisoners in."

His venture with Gail while getting pulled into these pathways from life before anything, the roads paved by the first to walk and the last to stand. And likely not the sort who would be appreciated by his new sixth sense as such never dealing with them in the first place seemed best. So Volhazard was a direct obstacle now.
"The architects of life, I know not their crimes or their sentence. But I know they were sealed and now are awake once more."

Considering these beings knew him and were part of Ze'ev's plans and he did not have the Astranagant with him currently making sure Volhazard did not complete the structure seemed something of great import to him. He once more gazed through the binoculars towards the thorns, the question was how to disrupt Volhazard's construction without accidentally letting the architects in. The daggers it seemed were key, if they decided who could enter and leave. They simply had to refuse the architects.

So now the question was, how to do that. The simplest solution was to kill Volhazard and destroy the Swordian for good it seemed.
"It is a ritual whose secret you do not want to learn." he stated to the high scholar "Out of personal experience, it is not worth the debt. Even if knowledge may be power, it sometimes is also one's greatest weakness."

That was something he was woefully aware of currently.
"You aught to be glad if you never see the end result of that ritual and let Volhazard take it to his grave. Because we will have to put an end to it before something worse than either Eater, DAMON or Lamalice comes through that."
 

GEAR

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Jun 15, 2018
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#6
"Worse than DAMON...? Architects of life...?"

Jargon-filled as Derrick's explanation was, Velvet seemed to at the very least understood where he was coming from and gave a determined nod in response. Whatever was here, threatening her home... She would put a stop to it. Yet, as she opened her mouth to speak, something caught her eye in the sky. There was a distant ringing, like the clattering of a silver bell, and a form pulsed into being in the sky above.

"A dagger...?" Said Hana uncertainly. "This far out...?"

The strange object wobbled in the sky uncertainly - and then plunged, slamming into the ground a short ways away. The young EATER bounded down the cliff face towards it, and the dark smoke billowing from the landing point into a rocky plateau-

It was only there that she noticed not only that the Dagger appeared to have been sliced in two, but that it had brought new visitors as well, causing her to pause and let her jaw slacken, her body instinctively starting to sense that these... people were different from her.
 
Nov 12, 2018
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#7
As the Dagger seemed to make the jump to... wherever, the loud roar of tearing metal was not a what Vulyn was hoping for. Something had happened, and now she was laying on the floor of an alien ship, staring up at an alien sky through a hole in the wall. And as another realization came to mind, she just groaned, pulling herself off of the ground and looking around.

That was the wall that Eris was attached to.

"This is not what I wanted."

Still sitting in her seat, strapped in and facing downwards, the File Data woman was looking rather dejected. Vulyn groaned as she tried to help her out of the seat, but the woman wasn't really being that helpful. "Everything is in a much worse situation because of my failure. I shouldn't have rushed attaching the Dagger to that suit." The woman just sounded entirely despondent, falling out of their chair as Vulyn got her out.

"Well... Let's go figure out what's happened then.."

Vulyn was just trying to keep her head about her as she pulled FD along with her, exiting the ship through the slit. They were here, and here felt... familiar.

Almost like she was back home...
 

Kujo

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Nov 14, 2018
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#8
Through half lidded eyes, Romme listened to his colleague's explanation. His look was neither of disinterest or inattention, but it was clear that something was keeping him mentally occupied on something else to a degree. However, the distant flash of light and odd ringing accompanied by a minute spasm in his arm pulled Romme from his thoughts. He watched the ship's appearance and subsequent descent curiously. As Velvet rushed forward to investigate, Romme instead chose to remain on the cliff for a few moments as he surveyed the impact zone.

Romme's third eye opened once again as dark veins snaked across his face; he stared intently at the smoldering crash site, his vision seemingly only partially obscured by the flora surrounding the target.

Surprisingly minimal damage was done to the surrounding environment despite the crash, as if the trees and plants simply moved out of the way before anything substantial was done. This observation was cut short as movement came from the ship. The two figures that shambled from the wreckage evoked some sort of mental activity, though Romme couldn't place what it was meant to convey.

Stepping slowly but confidently towards the edge of the cliff to follow Velvet, Romme turned back to Derrick for a moment as his face returned to normal. "Our tour here seems to get more complicated by the minute, doesn't it, Sir Derrick?" He said before simply stepping off the precipice and casually sliding his way down. As he would finish his descent, Romme would trail his fellow Eater rather distantly.
 

MKR

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#9
As the sound of a silver bell drew the attention of Derrick and everyone else in their merry band resulting in Velvet running off and Romme calmly followed. Derrick, as of currently the only person present incapable of turning himself into a organic combatant capable of downing fighter plane drones opted to stick to the rear of the group. As he followed in the footsteps of Romme he would leave prints in the grass, not of dented in soil or plant life no the local flora here would see to that being amended, but instead small patches of dying grass. The footsteps not enough to do irreparable damage but the place where he had stood during his remarks prior was notably blackened.

His hands went into his pockets as the crowd of plans parted to let him through, not intent on touching 'death' for themselves. He would step to Romme's side as he gazed over the wreckage, it seemed a more efficient way of entering this place was possible, and maybe even out. Seeing as there were no noises of a machine moving prior to the crash itself.
When addressed he calmly retorted
"So it seems indeed. Lets hope things do not escalate much further."

For his part Derrick did not slide down, if he had a guess for how this place worked he would rather not be near the two new entries when they inevitably mutated into more Eaters, and at that point given the reaction Velvet had to him they would rather not be near him either. So for that purpose he simply seated himself on the ledge, overseeing the happenings below as Death cast a shadow onto the crash site. He however, did not have the same instinctive reaction as the two below him. So he instead called out to the people just involved in a crash.
"Are you okay?"