New Beginning 23: One for the Record Books

[Celadon's Penultimate]

"Let's not leave me out of the fun! I have red on the inside, too!" Computress bounded forward, "Though, that's probably just the glow of the Quasar Compressor in my core."

She set forth her hand, and from the palm, a sphere of blazing red energy grew, before launching forth as a beam to strike the Chthonic Miscreant.

[Marvelous Miscreant]

The Miscreant disappeared into the cobalt flames as they engulfed him. The Cththonic Miscreant reeled as the flames forced him back. He struggled to fight against the raging inferno. Just as it seemed he may recover, Computress' energy beam collided with The Miscreant's midsection, explosively launching him backwards. He collided with a wall, cracking it with the force of his impact before sliding down it to the floor.

The Miscreant landed on his feet, his head hanging low, hiding his face. With a sickening crack his head snapped up to glare at his opponents. His rocky outer skin and quartz armor smouldered in places from the flames but he did not seem to mind. With an animal like quickness he leaped into the air, trailing smoke and embers. His massive jump sent him soaring over Nano and Computress' heads. He landed his a heavy thud, cracking the floor under his weight and turning to face the would be heroes once more. His black tongue flicked out, tasting the hot air.

"They shout and yell. Food should be seen not heard. Then again...."

Massive quarts spike extended from The Cththonic Miscreant's hands, arms and chest.

"...he likes a challenge"

The quartz spikes erupted outwards, streaking across the room in a hail of sharp crystals.

[The Mediocre Gatsby]

"Oh man, sexy design AND functionality. Look at you Ms.Computress" Nano said, keeping up with the flames on the Miscreant. "Tasha would LOVE to get something made in your image." he said, knowing full well what would end up happening if Tasha had a disguise made too look like the Computress in her skintight blue suit.

[The Mediocre Gatsby]

Nano quickly scanned the speed and trajectory of the crystals and dodged them. "Good, the speed enchancements work like they should. Now, how do I combat rock..." Then, it hit him.

"Hey, Computress, how would you feel if I just FLASHED you right now?" Nano yelled, turning around to the Miscreant and exposing his chest.

 The headlight in the center grew brighter and began to flash in random patterns, creating a confusing strobe light effect, hopefully it would be enough to stun the Miscreant just long enough for Nano to think of how to assimilate new tech into the armor to combat this new rock form that stood before him.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

At the forefront stood Techne and Computress, but the two of them had data-energy forcefields at the ready. It was the Penultimate's human servants at the flank who would have to duck and take cover. It had been ages since even Brutus had taken the Miscreant on, and it was under entirely different circumstances. Not to mention, the Miscreant was going easy on him.

Brutus cursed, "Damn these Tech Elf contraptions! I'd feel much more comfortable if I had my hands on Babaraina!"

Now wasn't the time to pine for the sword, though, and Brutus knew it. He turned to Techne.

"I think you'll do better with this in your arsenal than me." he chucked his blaster to her unceremoniously, and took off, doing the jutsu gestures he'd been practicing just an hour earlier, "One-Second Warp Step Jutsu!"

He was gone, and back before anyone could blink. Granted, he wouldn't be able to make use of it again for another hour, what with the power drain, but Babaraina (the Barbarian) would attune him to the power of nature. He could do without his own chi for now.

"I even brought you all your toys, boys and girls!" As Computress attended to the Miscreant with a few more bolts from the Quasar Compressor, Brutus tossed out the brother and sister weapons to Babaraina--the Bo Staff Victoraiyein (Victory) for Nikolai, the Twin Tessen Perincessai (Princesses) for Terryffinda, the Mace Tereiein (Tree) for Dyndron, and the Mallet Geranfeit'r (Grandfather) for the old man Zei.

Computress put up a forcefield of data energy around the group, as her Quasar Compressor recharged. Some of the energy from the forcefield would be manipulated by Techne sent out as rapid-fire bullet projectiles to strike the Miscreant's tough hide. When the last of the servants was armed with his weapon of choice, Nikolai tapped Techne on the shoulder.

"Kinda busy right now, bookworm!"

"Well, if it's all the same to you", Nikolai ran a hand through brown hair, "Tell Computress she can let down the datastream force bubble. We're prepared to help pull our weight now."

Computress looked over her shoulder, and blinked blazing blue eyes. Her eyes returned to normal, the field fell away, and she turned her attention back to the Chthonic Miscreant.

"Excellent." she replied, "I would hate to make our friend the Miscreant feel unattended to."

She balled her hands into fists, both of which were charging with data energy. With that, she lunged into the air with a rocket-boot assist, to collide with the Miscreant yet again, just in time for Nano's simultaneous light attack.

[Marvelous Miscreant]

The Cththonic Miscreant, stunned by Nano's kaleidoscopic light display, was unable to defend himself as Computress' fists colored with him. The Miscreant was sent careening backwards for the second time. This time he landed on his feet.

Recovering quickly, The Miscreant exhaled a massive cloud of choking black smoke. The smoke coiled and expanded, obscuring The Miscreant from view. After a moment, The Miscreant stepped out of the smoke. Then a second Miscreant emmerged followed by another and another. There were dozens of copies.

"They shouldn't have left the windows open...", said one.

"...Now the vermin have come to play.", a second continued.

Argued pointed behind the fighters, to the large hole in the ceiling The Miscreant had entered through. Monsters were streaming in and charging towards them.

The Miscreants took that oppurtunity to attack.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

With the Miscreant's form multiplied, and the monsters of Niflheim and Tartarus fast closing in, Computress did a quick scan. The number of hostiles surrounding or within the manor was unacceptable. She pinged her internal network.

Her voice boomed from the PA system, "Arming supernova capacitor. Initial charge 50% loaded."

And that was all that enemy forces would be able to hear. Across all ally communicators, though, Techne added on another, more crucial bit.

"Get your last licks in, people. That nova blast is gonna be a doozy."

Forecast assured it would be his pleasure. Held aloft on the winds, the weather manipulator raised his arms and his psyche kept the harsher effects of the Tartarean storm winds and Niflheim cold at bay. Still, his weatherproofing forcefield didn't keep Forecast from sending out a strobe light-show of streaking lightning bolts to defend his comrades.

Just below him, Techne and Computress would lead a brigade of robot fighters on the front lines. In one hand, Techne had a phase blaster, and in the other a plasma shield. Computress seemed to pride herself on just making use of her hands. Even if The left hand was configured into a neutron-disruption bazooka, and her right hand a good ol' fashioned laser launcher.

At the flank, Brutus led Terryffinda, Nikolai, Zei and Dyndron. It had been a while, but the servants were delighted to find that wielding magical nature-powered weapons was a lot like riding a bike. That is, if a bike could be wielded with two hands, and perhaps raise tsunamis and earthquakes.

A one-minute warning came from Computress across the communicators, but that only served to get Brutus hyped. If they were only allotted one final move, before clearing way for the Supernova Capacitor, they might as well go big.

Holding Babaraina overhead, he called out to the others To get into alpha formation. Brutus was at the center, with Terryffinda t the top left, Dyndron to the top right, Nikolai to the bottom left, Zei to the bottom right. Babaraina silently beckoned to its siblings, and with the servants' permission, their five minds linked as one.

He did the gestures, and spoke the words, "Magna Memento Mori Jutsu!"

Their five bodies each emanated a laser-like beam from their chests, which converged into a single beam. It plunged forward as a harmless Ray of light, threading itself through the Miscreant's chest. As they heard Computress call out T-minus 10 seconds, they launched forward.

Bodies and weapons changed in an instant into pure light until they converged on the single point. That matrix of light traced along the line, like thread through a needle. Except the thread was a swirling volley of pure light and chi, accelerating to the speed of light, and would arrive on the other side of the Miscreant's body, to safety.

[The Mediocre Gatsby]

Nano looked around and realized what was about to happen.

 "Oh boy. Yup, okay, that's going to be a huge blast radius. Kinda reminds me of my first date with Tasha... Wait, what am I doing reminiscing?!"

 Nano frantically looked over the interface screen inside his helmet. He didn't see anything pertaining to flight. The fool! He had forgotten to add it in! But he did see something rather interesting "Battle Bike Mode".

 "Battle Bike? I don't remember thinking of that." Aaron said. As if the suit itself had heard him, Aaron found himself ejected from the armor and lying face down on the floor. As he turned around, he saw the suit transforming back into a motorcycle. However, it didn't stop there.

 The bike began to shift and change itself around again. The handles turned themselves inward and upright, not unlike joysticks, as the bike began to elongate itself. On both sides of the single headlight, what appeared to be some sort of laser cannons appeared. The Bike began to bulk up again, armoring itself until it looked less like a motorcycle, but more like a Lightcycle. As a final touch, the cherry red paint job turned a dull white, and just over the headlight, a white Alpha symbol glowed.



 "I didn't design-" Aaron couldn't even finish his thought before he noticed a slight burning sensation over his chest. He looked beneath his shirt and noticed a similar marking as the one on the bike glowing.

 "Ride to safety now, ask questions later." Aaron said. The door to the interior of the Battle Bike lifted upward and outward, allowing him to slide inside. Once he was sitting down, hunched over, the door slid shut, and the lights illuminated inside the  bike.

 "Oh man, this is going to be cool. He revved the engine and took off in the direction that the beam of light was heading. Aaron pressed a button and the bike bounced off the ground and into the air. The back wheel hitting The Miscreant in the face.

 "That's for scratching it, jackass!"

[The Mediocre Gatsby]

As Nano rode onward in the Battle Bike, he noticed how smoothly it could traverse even over rough terrain. He could barely feel the bumps of the surface of this planet. He found that the Bike was fast enough to swerve and weave through the invading beasts. He also found that a single shot from the lasers would be enough to blow a hole through any of the invaders.

 Nano tracked the beam of light that was produced when the group of five beamed out of the The Mansion. His plan was to follow it, and hopefully track them down and get some answers. Suddenly, a small message box appeared on the windsheild interface

 [WARP TRAIL DETECTED. FOLLOW?]

      {YES}                              {NO}


 Nano pressed the "Yes" selection. As he lifted his hand from the screen, he noticed the scenery rushing past him faster and faster, until suddenly, he found himself coming to a complete stop. Nano turned off the vehicle and stepped outside of it, in front of the group where they were standing.

 "Okay, who is the Penultimate. Why does he want me?" Nano said. "I want to know why, and I want to know now."

[Celadon's Penultimate]

Nikolai stepped forward, running a hand through brown hair with a sigh, "I would explain, but Computress has other plans at the moment--"

KABOOOOOM!!!

Even in the distance, the Supernova Capacitor sounded off like the launching of so many space shuttles simultaneously into orbit. It would make use of similar physics as the interwoven planes strewn throughout Celadon's atmosphere.

The final seconds of charging saw to a few mini protocols being put into play, the first of which was raising a barrier all about the Manor. And the barrier was supercharged to double as a portal to a nearby exploding sun. All of that energy would be directed straight at the Miscreant.

The second part of the protocol, though, was the failsafe. Everyone equipped with one of Computress' communicators was jaunted, in a moment, back inside, to the safety of Techne's lab. To the group's good fortune, the barrier soundproofed all external sounds.

After first explaining all of that to Nano, the old man Zei would go on to explain the rest with equally impressive eloquence.

"This planet right here, that you're standing on, is the home turf of one ruler, called the Penultimate. He's a strong and mighty sort, armed with ridiculously daunting levels of power. He's one of a few similar beings, armed with immeasurable capabilities. They call themselves The Forum. As to why he wants your company, simple. You're powerful, and he probably probed some deeper part of your psyche and/or your future, to determine you'd be a good friend."

The other servants shrugged: they had to agree, basically that. Though, Nikolai looked to be mulling something over, and at Dyndron's inclination, he let everyone else in on it.

"All that having been said, Zei, I think a deeper question still remains here: has anybody contemplated, in the midst of all this chaos, just what the bad guys' endgame is? I mean, sure, destroy us, the good guys, but something's not adding up."

At the suggestion of some deeper implication to the villains' scheme, Terryffinda found herself curious.

"What do you mean? Their plan seems cut and dry to me. Overwhelming force until we can't stand on our own two feet."

"I don't think that's all."  Nikolai scratched his head, "If that was the case, then what were the books for?"

Dyndron and Terryffinda raised eyebrows simultaneously, "...books?"

With a scoff, Zei shook his head and snapped, "The 23 books that The Penultimate inspected from the Changeling Praetor, Lady Fl'Orissette Betrozian!"

"Right!" Nikolai picked up from there, "Before the invasion commenced, the Penultimate discovered 23 books, seeming to detail every moment of the Forum's past since the start of the New Beginning. Where the Penultimate left off, there were still pages to go, so it likely contained the future as well, like the 27 Sibylline Oracles. They were supposedly penned by one Itrisa Meriness, which was really an anagram for 'I Am Sister Siren'! So...why the books? I mean, why go through all the trouble of getting a book series into publication, as part of your eeeevil scheme? Any theories?"

[Marvelous Miscreant]

Acrid smoke coiled and streamed from the charred and cracked husk of a thing that slowly staggered down one of the less used halls of The Penultimate's Manor. Crumbling stone and shattered crystals clattered to the floor with each shuddering movement. Red spark sputtered angrily from cracks and broken patches of the thing's skin. It grunted with the exertion of each step.

"...thieves...", The Chthonic Miscreant muttered to himself.

As he staggered, he clasped his hands to a  small hole in his chest. The wound bled glowing white blood and sparked like a live wire.

"...they stole....him....thieves...."

The Chthonic Miscreant continued to creep down the corridor, cursing and plotting revenge.

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Wulf:  When everyone passed through The Miscreant, what's left of Marv's good consciousness hitched along for the ride. He's somewhere in one of the people who rode through him. Or a bit of him is in everyone. A piece may even be in Nano since he trailed the light. If you want Nano to have a piece, let him know whats going on.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

Remnants of the Supernova Capacitor's attack sparked and sputtered from the engine from which the attack was generated. As the automatic Geiger Dispersal Matrix shunted residual Supernova radiation from the blast radius to a safer locale in outer space, Computress was sure to start scans for signs of life right away.

The report came specific to Techne's communicator, "Scans show that the Miscreant still walks."

"Well, I sort of expected he might not be entirely dead." Techne replied, "He's been in scraps with, and against, the Penultimate before. But he's definitely softened up, yeah?"

"Affirmative" Computress responded, before her broadcast expanded to all communicators, "Though, monsters from Niflheim and Tartarus still assault the Manor. We will have to mobilize in two different directions for maximum efficiency. You, Nano, and the X-Fighters--Forecast, Cosmo, Copycat and Mirage here--will come with me to seek the Miscreant, and keep him busy until the next Supernova Capacitor blast can be charged. The Penultimate's servants will mobilize the Penultimate's creatures, to assist with keeping the monsters at bay."

Brutus started off toward the hallway, before Computress called out to stop him, "Stand down. Nikolai will be leading the party this time. He will be far more efficient in coordinating a plan requiring methods beyond brute force."

At the suggestion, Brutus' face curled into something like disgust, misery and simmering wrath all at once. At the same time, Nikolai's face brightened into one of playfully condescending glee. Rare though the occasion was, he rather loved when Computress pulled rank, to keep Brutus in check.

"Sh-should I be worried about this team arrangement?" Dyndron spoke up, "I mean, it's not too late to switch sides and join up with you, is it, Computress?"

Her face was unflinching at Brutus' attitude, "The Penultimate has entrusted me with care of the Manor. He sought my help to recruit you, and to mark your strong-suits, for the tasks to be done. In questioning me, you question the Penultimate, and the Elementals by whom he was assigned care of this world. Needless to say, doing so is most unwise. So run along, humans. My team has work to do...there is still a Miscreant afoot."

Commands had been issued, and so the two companies parted ways.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

At either side, there collided two legions, one of fiery-hot shadow, and the other of breathless and frigid cold. Harpies and minor demons colored pitch-black swooped down from overhead, and struck at cantankerous golems and goblins and gremlins clad in deathly frost. At some places, there came up great plumes of steam, and at others, roiling blasts of hellish smoke, stinking of sickness and brimstone.

Of course, such a spectacle would not take long to gain the audience of the employers who had sent the creatures forth in the first place. From within the confines of Motherboard Prime's compound, Tundra Cryos watched the clash in wrathful disbelief. A servant walked in, and Darkess Faye aimed a dark eldritch blast to dismantle the unsuspecting bot.

"This isn't going as planned, Prime." Darkess hissed, "It's like the Tartareans and the creatures of Niflheim have forgotten the treaties forged by their masters' respective pantheons."

"It is but a small group, Witch." Prime's voice was unchanged from calm, "There is a scan underway to find the source of the chaos. This matter will soon be put to rest."

Briefly, there was a pause, with only the wheezing of the system operator's calculations to fill the tense silence.

Scan Complete.

Location: Lethe Island.

Source--FZZT!!!--Source of--GZZFFZZZZTT--

Source undetermined. Zooming in on locale, in attempt to pinpoint indiscernible source.

Optics across the battlemoon's observatory windows zoomed in, lightyears beyond, until sight penetrated to Celadon, and then to Lethe Island, and then inward, closer and closer. Before they could get in far enough to distinguish individuals, though, there was another abrupt pause in the system, and the system operator spoke again.

Error 404: Foil to Evil Technari Strategy Not Found.

Hearing the words drained some of the humor from Prime's expression.

"Try again. Run the test as many times as you deem feasible, SysOp [5Y50P]! This threat must be annihilated, post haste!"

Confirmed. Resuming tests under 'Background processes'.

That was all Darkess needed to hear. Such infuriating news made patient waiting more and more impossible, and so if anyone needed her, she would be in her quarters, soaking in some unfathomable alchemical ichor. Tundra would likewise retire to her quarters for a liquid nitrogen massage.

Grumbling with begrudging frustration, Prime returned to work, monitoring the progress of the extradimensional monsters.

[The Narrator]

The rabbits continued to pile up as Jabber and Logic struggled to contain them. 

"This is unbelievable, all of these rabbits are..."

"...Making everything fuzzy?" Jabber finished. "You said that last time too."

"Last time?" Logic inquired steadily pouring rabbits into a portal of nothingness. "Spill your secrets Jabber!"

"Well it's a long story, and of course I can't truly finish it until 24...."

"Wait 24?  You're talking about the next chapter?" Logic's instantly became furious. "You worthless nonsensical...."

"Being that is able to remember what happened unlike you oh wise one?" Jabber smiled. "Just let me start and you will all catch on soon enough.  It all started when Narrator was 6—Derek had his powers for years and finally decided to get training. So he traversed the worlds going to the greatest reality-alters, and reality-benders…"

"I'm painting the roses red!  That's right you heard what I said, I'm painting the, painting the painting the painting the painting the roses red!  I'm....."

"Wait jabber, why are you singing?"

"I thought I took us to a flashback Logic, I guess that ellipsis wasn't enough."

Jabberwock waved his hands in the air changing the scene to a rose garden.  Topiaries adorned the garden, all in the shapes of hearts. A young Derek stood the card themed guards hurriedly painting the white roses with a crimson red paint. 

"I'm painting the roses red, I'm painting the roses red, if the queen caught us we'd all soon be dead..." The group continued to sing loudly.  

"Hey we're runnin low on paint...." On of the guards told the others. 

"I got it," Derek said.  He took the bucket of paint within his hands and it was instantly refilled. 

He turned around, to see looks of fear and terror on the face of of the guards.  He turned back around to see fuming women. Clad in all red, with heart emblems, he quickly figured out who she was. The dread Queen of Hearts. 

"Why are you painting my roses red, and singing so loudly!" she hissed.

"We were..."Derek started before she interrupted him,

"We?  You liar!  You're the nearest to these paint brushes." The Queen spoke. 

Derek looked back to see the brushes at his feet. The guards didn't make eye contact with him, whilsting innocently. 

"You bumbling fools, are you going to do nothing?  Take this whelp to the stockades!"

Kicking not and screaming, they drug Narrator away.  

--

[Celadon's Penultimate]

As Philote ascended up into outer darkness, he was perhaps off to see Prime, but he would find a small tic to his plan before appearing just at her doorstep: the divine shadow and cold he had just approached, was just as massive and aimless as the depths of space he had just left, or likely more so.

With neither map nor hint nor slightest sense of direction, he had no idea how to find Motherboard Prime's base within the expanse of Niflheim or Tartarus, or even if she was therein, to be found.

Yet here he was, at the nexus of darkness and cold. If he refused to turn back, as was his bold and brave nature, there still lay three more options from there, but only two obvious: into the cold, or into the dark.

Phi:  The third option is something of a compromise between the cold or the dark, if you're curious. If that's confusing, I'm more than happy to explain...

[The Narrator]

"Wake up Jabber, you just stopped talking..." Logic stated.  

"Oh, I thought we were waiting for the others to write..." Jabber stated to Logic.  "But it has been about a month."

Jabber waved his hands in the air to continue the flashback.  

Back in Wonderland a young Narrator sat in the Queen's stockade.  

Two guards stood near him as he thought to himself.

"I know I can get out of here, but I'm too scared...."

He looked around to see if there was anything he could use as a distraction.  He started to manipulate a rose bush when a crooked grin appeared before him and the guards.  

"My, what do we have here?" the smile spoke aloud.

The two guards looked at each other, and back to the smile.

"This is a prisoner of the Queen caught single handedly painting the her roses red."

"But gentlemen, I'm sure he had help, the Queen ought to know of the guards assisting this child.  We all remember to those who did the same with Alice..." the smile smirked floating off towards the Queen's Castle. 

"Follow those teeth!" one guard spoke running after the smile.  The other guard soon followed.

"I've seen some weird stuff...." Narrator mumbled to himself before a rabbit jumped near him.  The rabbit, brown in color stood up on it's hindlegs and inspected Narrator's face.

"Hatter, you may be right, he just may be more mad than us both!"

A bright eyed, oranged haired human walked towards him.  His hat holding a 7/8ths card, and his smile showing more than a hint of lunacy.  

"I told you March," he said freeing the Narrator, "How about you join us for some tea!"

****************************************

Back on the field Narrator and Mr. Shanti continued to inspect the Hub, hopeing for a way in.  Narrator knew he had to help his comrades.  

[Philote]

With the plane of fire acting as a dimensional buffer to the cold and dark over my soul sphere, I press on. With my path obscured, there was only one clear course of action to take. To illuminate a path, one must first eliminate the dark. I alter my path and fly into the black sky. My eyes scan all the ambient philote particles around me. The outer ring of my eyes scanning out and finding all the data available in the vicinity while the inner ring decodes the data and reveals its secrets to me.

[Marvelous Miscreant]

The Chthonic Miscreant slumped against a wall in a darkened corridor of the Penultimate's manor. His energy was drained and he felt weak. Black bile oozed from his wounds and stone skin, seeping down the wall and pooling about his half-limp form. The dark liquid boiled and bubbled as it spread about the clean floor of the corridor, vile vapors rising from it.

The Miscreant roared, frustrated with his own weakness. His animal-like roar echoed down the hall, taunting back at him. He knew the detestable things that had wounded him would hear it. He counted on it. He was weak, but not harmless....and he was smart. The Chthonic Miscreant smiled at the thin layer of black ooze covering the floor around him.

He would be ready for them

[Celadon's Penultimate]

Seething menace, or its robotic equivalent, built up within Motherboard Prime, as she watched Philote grow ever nearer.

"The Philotic Manipulator approaches much sooner than even I had anticipated." She bellowed, "Fine. If he wishes to seek out a scent, I am obliged to satisfy. SysOp, activate the beacons, as planned."

On which planet? On which plane?

"We shall need three of them!" Prime demanded, "It doesn't matter if they go off in a sequence, or all at once. We simply require what the fleshlings would term, a Red Herring."

And it was so. Within five seconds, the first beacon shouted out psychic noise, a quasar's worth of Philotic Energy spraying out into the void of space like some absurd cosmic fountain. Metal Philotes, Electricity Philotes, Light Philotes, and a myriad of others which simply reeked of robotics. To the most complex technology, such a sudden outburst of Philotic power might easily be mistaken for the residue of a teleportation arrival.

Should that lead the Core User off of our trail?

"It ought to." Prime grumbled, "I did set the specs myself, after all. Just in case, though, be sure to keep a watch on his velocity and trajectory. That one is wily, and is slowly moving up my list of least favorites in this bunch..."

[Philote]

I travel through the expanse of darkness, melding through the planes in my search and expanding my senses to track down the cause of this calamity. When I finally find a source, I hunt it down in a handful of picoseconds, which may have well been an eternity in the hands of a reality bender when I find out that I have been misled.

Two twin trails join the first possibility. Each possessing the same mechanical essence as the first dead end. While they are outside of my initial senses, I abandon dedicating anymore focus on them to crack their secrets and return to the first quasar. I begin dismantling it, philote by philote, finding every strand of data that had made up the entirety of what it was. Philotes dedicated to recording the quasar's history, philotes for each x y and z value of the atoms present within the structure, and philotes dictating the quasar's relation to other beings. The final string of philotes I pull on and read how they have been twined together with the one who sent the signal.

With a new route in hand, I return to the Dark.