Athena leaves her classroom and shuts the door, leaving Alexis to experiment with his new Shift idea alone. As she turns, she spots The Awakener wandering the halls. "Ah, Awakener. I was about to come find you." The Awakener stops when it sees Athena, and says "How curious. I was about to come and find you." Athena smiles gently, and says "I suppose that means you have time to speak then." She looks at her door, "Alexis is training both knowledge and power in the class right now, do you have another place youd like to speak?" The Awakener then shakes its head, and says "Wherever you would prefer to speak is acceptable." Athena then gestures for the Awakener to follow it, saying "I have just the place in mind. Follow me; this is a place new Arbiters don't normally go, so try not to touch to anything." She leads Awakener out of the dorm areas and through the main hallways.

The Awakener walks silently behind Athena, through the halls, and the other Gods walking or meeting within them. A lot of gods tend to skitter to the side when Awakener passes by, and the Awakener looks around it, occasionally noting the gods darting away from it. "I was not aware my appearance was so unusual," it states. "I would say it's less appearance," Athena says, "and more the fact that you are the embodiment of Ending. Many fear ends." Athena stops at a track and presses a button, she waits. "And you are not an ordinary God... I found something out going over my book and watching the battle between you and the Golem... you two are the same kinds of creates - Runic Magic bound to a body. It may even have something to do with the Demon that created you."

The Awakener stops as Athena does, looking silently at the wall, until she says what she believes the Awakener's origin is. At that, it turns its head towards her, and after a second, says "You believe that I may be a Rune bound to this form?" Athena nods, "I've done many studies of such things in my time. Magus himself has examined the footage of your battles on Ryuseii's world and he agrees with me. I think you are a Rune given so much ether, so much power, that you have gained sentience. Someone bound you to the current form you are in, which is why Magus thought you were a Shell at first."

With her pronunciation of the Awakener's origin, it stops, taking it in. "I did not know such a thing was possible," the Awakener finally says. "Yet, if the creature that we fought on Utopia was of similar design, then it stands to reason that it is indeed possible." She nods, "Know that is does not make you any less real. It is if you are an assended Elemental. Your soul is just as complex and has just as much room to grow - the difference is? It may become possible, with time and growth, for you to freely jump into a new body if you'd like."

The Awakener seems unsurprised at her revelation. As a a honk rings out, and the wind picks up from inside a tunnel connected to the tracks as something approaches, it says "I had not believed this was my original form to begin with. However, I am now curious - before I had a body, what was I? Merely a Rune, enchanted with Ether? Or had my Weave already begun to form prior to being sealed in this shell?" Athena turns back to it, and says "I believe you were forming before being sealed in this Shell. According to what records I could pull from your world, of which there were few left, you had an original body. Where it is, and if it is still alive... I don't know." A train shows up and stops at the tracks, it's empty and seems automated. Athena steps on and beckons Awakener to follow.

The Awakener follows Athena silently. "I do not recall having an original body," it says, after a bit. "I had believed I was a being without one - a spirit without form. I wonder what has happened to make it so that I cannot remember." Athena presses a few buttons on the console to start the train moving, and says "That is where I was going with this... The Runic Arrays... the concept of Runes becoming so powerful... the way that planet ran... in watching you battle and watching you grow, there is now a suspect and he may even be related to the Black Crystals... tell me, does the name 'The Professor' mean anything to you?"

The Awakener shakes its head. "I am aware of the definition of that word, and have heard of mortals using the title in lieu of their own names. However, I have never heard of a God going by that name." Athena looks grim as she says "He is an old god... very very old. He served on the first Elder Counsel here over 3 billion years ago... and then his ideology changed. He became corrupted... started experimenting on Souls, Memory Magic and Runic arrays. He was exiled from the Elders and the Arbiters... he is the most dangerous and oldest Demon on our list. We hadn't heard hide nor hair of him for almost a billion years now... until Ryuseii." The Hollow God fixes its gaze on her, and asks "He was the one responsible for giving Ryuseii the Memory rune - and erasing his mind with it?" Athena nods, face still grim, and says "All evidence points to his array style and magic, yes."

"I see," the Awakener says. "Do you know what his purpose in providing the rune to Ryuseii was? Or, for that matter, the purpose in creating my world?" She shakes her head, and says "If his methods remain the same? Experimentation. He did it to see if he could and recorded the results. To him, all of existance is one enormous laboratory." The train makes a turn an heads upwards into a level of the school where Awakener has never been. It looks at the new area around it, then continues. "But to what goal," the Awakener asks. "You said that his ideology grew corrupted - what end does he seek in this?" Athena shrugs her shoulders, and says "We don't know... all he seems to want to do is gain knowledge, collect runes, and gather data." She ponders a moment, "However, if I had to hazard a guess? If it was really he who created that world, then he may be trying to create a universe without Arbiters. When he left the Elders, he had gotten into many an argument with Elder Solarius about the way the the Universe should be ran. He favored existance without guidance, without Arbiter rules... which also runs along the path of chaos and inbalance. Elder Solarius stood firmly against his ideas."

"The design parameters of my world would suggest such a possibility," the Awakener says. "It was a world without Gods, one designed to be regulated by s- by living Runes such as myself, without divine intervention. Even in cataclysm, no God intervened. If that was his goal, my world would have been a reasonable experiment towards it." The Awakener ponders for a moment. "Did you realize something?" Athena asks. You stated that you had heard nothing of him until Ryuseii, correct? Yet my world remained, undetected, until it failed - even then, in the grasp of disaster, it took a long time until the Arbiters discovered it. Ryuseii," it continues, "was not the first activity. Ryuseii was simply the first time his actions were detected. "I wonder how many other worlds out there now are hidden from us, under his control, simply unknown and unseen." Athena looks troubled, and says "That is a... disturbing thought to say the least. Be wary in your travels. If he has anything to do with the Black Crystals then we have a powerful enemy indeed."

" ...However," she continues, "that is not the only reason I've come to you today. You witness a planet meet a very bad end... so I want to show you something." The Awakener's hollow gaze seems more intent, but it says nothing - it waits for her to continue. The train enters an open area... it's huge, miles and miles of nothing but cloud structures and Gods sheparding souls of Mortals around. The train slows to a stop and Athena steps off, "This? Is where we reincarnate souls that have passed on. This is where an End becomes a beginning."

The Awakener steps off the train after Athena, looking around it. Many of the Gods wave to Athena and dont seem to pay any mind or fear towards Awakener. "When a soul dies, most Gods allow it a choice - to remain in a heaven on thier world, or to be reincarnated - be it on thier world or someplace new. This is the learning station for those souls who wish to travel the universe and try life as a new species, on a new world." The Awakener can feel a huge sense of calm and joy coming from the countless souls floating about. "This is also where we sort out Souls from a Leyline collapse. We'll be bringing in the corrupted core from Utopia once we finish examining it and pulling out the souls of the Mortals who died there - we shall also tend to the Goddesses caught in the collapse as well." She introduces Awakener to a couple of technicians, "You'll find noone here fears you... instead this is a place where death is celebrated as the start of a new life."

As the Awakener takes it all in, it turns back to Athena. "Was my world brought to this place," it asks. Athena smiles, "Yes it was. All those souls were sorted here and placed on new worlds, where they could live normal lives without any looming disasters." The Awakener pauses for a bit, and says "That is good," After a bit more, the Awakener speaks again. "It is Right. This place," it continues, "is Right."

Athena smiles, "I assumed you would like it here... which is why Im going to offer you something the others will not get for a while." She turns and takes Awakener's hand, "Would you like to apprentice here in your off time? Any of the technicians here would be happy to take you under thier wings. You would help send Souls that have Ended to a new begining. I think it will help you as well... The End is never the true End, but just the start of a new chapter." The Awakener looks to the place, then to Athena, and finally nods. "I would."

After looking around a bit more, the Awakener speaks again. "Tell me, do you know the source of my name?" Athena tilts her head politley, "I do not." The Awakener then turns back to its teacher, and says "You are aware that most of my world believed that I was an evil being - a being that intended to kill, that relished in killing, that birthed death, fear, and pain. Even those who worshiped the being they believed I was did so either believing that I would spare them, or that I would consume their enemies." Athena, a compassionate look on her face, says "Hence my reasons for bringing you here." As if she had not commented, it continues, saying "However, there was a single sect that did not hold that belief." Athena folds her hands in front of her robe, saying "Please continue. I am curious." At her request, the Awakener says "They believed that Death and Sleep were one and the same - to sleep was to die, to awaken was to return from death. One day, when they were sick, or old, or hurt, they would fall asleep, and they would never awaken. And so, they prayed to me that their sleep would end each night, until the time came for them to sleep forever. I was not their killer - I was their Awakener. It is the sole name from my world that was not an epithet. It is the sole name that I could take from it."

Athena raises an eyebrow, "That gives me an idea. You have yet to fully form an upgrade for your Shift am I correct?" The Awakener nods. "After what you have told me, I believe it may be best for it to develop on its own." She smiles and says "Agreed... however? I'd like you to keep it with you at all times working here. You may start here tomorrow morning. I will take care of the paper work and set you up to apprenctice someone here." She steps back towards the train, "You may stay as long as you like, just hit the button at the station to summon a train and press home to return to the dorms. Your Shift will absorb the peaceful endings in this place as experience and I belive it will turn in a good direction."

The Awakener nods to Athena's request, and says "I will do so. Until then, do you remind if I remain here for some time? I... would like to witness the fate of Utopia if I may." Athena nods, "You may stay as long as you like, but I don't think Utopia will be coming in for a few days. We need to make sure it will not pose a danger to the school or the headquarters. Once it does however? You may help them sort it out." The Awakener then says "Thank you. Please advise me when Utopia does come - if I am not on mission, I would like to be here when it does." She smiles once again, and says "I shall. If there is nothing else Awakener, please enjoy your stay."

At her request, the Awakener pauses as if to speak once more, but then shakes its head. "There is, but it can wait. Thank you for this, Athena. I will use this opportunity wisely." Athena then steps to the train, and says "Come talk to me anytime Awakener. And you are quite welcome." She then steps aboard, and scoots off. The Awakener watches her departure, then looks back towards the technicians and the souls, remaining there for quite some time.

A day passes, Shifts are worked on, ideas and bonds are formed and strengthened. The weight of the tests is beginning to lessen on the Arbiters. Bodies recover, Souls recharge.

The day begins early with a bit of a ruckus, students from all over the school pouring into the corridors early in the morning as a medical team rushes by with a sustained God-Soul sealed into a glass tube - it appears to be leaking.

"Out of the WAY! Get out of the way!!"

"What's going on?"

"...that's a soul scar..."

"Who is that?"

"Go back to your dorms! Leave the medical team to work!"

"I wanna see!"

"BACK TO THE DORMS NOW!!"

Aside from the early noise, the morning is uneventful save for tiny envelopes slid under Athena's class' doors overnight - invites to an official graduation ceremony tomorrow. The rest of the day is free until then.

Alexis is in flight before he's even awake, the nervous habits of a life growing up near the bottom of the local food chain not yet outweighed by the last seven years.



Those same habits bring him to full alertness quickly. A quick scan of his environment shows nothing out of place.

Through the door. Something's happened.

Alexis heads to the door of his room; a door floating in space, with no apparent means of support. He goes around to the other side, grabs the pullbar with his tail, and opens it - noticing immediately the envelope that his action dislodges, as it flutters down in the start of a very long fall with no clear end.



Two different curiousities go to war in Alexis' head. What is the emergency? has a headstart, but What is in that envelope? has a time limit - if he doesn't catch the envelope now, there's no telling where it might end up.



A moment's hesitation - then Alexis dives after the envelope, grabbing it in one foot.

Serpico walks into Athena's office, showing few traces of the infirmity from the day before.

Athena sits at her desk, covered in papers and holds her eyes in her fingers. She doesn't seem to notice Serpico at first. Her office is covered in bookshelves endless, with quite a few decorative clocks on the wall. She breathes a deep sigh and looks up, spotting Serpico - her eyes are sunken and dark. "Serpico... good morning. What can I do for you?"

"Looks like you had a rough night. Anything to do with that triage that ran through the halls earlie€r?"

"You saw that then?" She tries to put her hair in order and fails, sinking into her chair, "Everything. Keep this between you and your classmates... but Shin's 'best friend' and I use the term losely because its more like bully buddy... just had his Soul Scarred on a solo Mission."

Serpico tries to keep a straight face, but can't help but let his smile widen a bit. "Which one is that again? I can't keep track of his little clique"

Athena scoffs despite herself, "Beast. Delightful name that... a brute. Charges in head first, breaks skulls, sorts it out later. Just the kind of buddy for Shin... Shin hasn't left his side since it happened." She sighs, "Aparentley he does have an emotion aside from popping the heads of little mortal girls." The venom in her voice is unexpected.

Serpico nods tightly. "Nothing but contrasts, that one. So few of them good. That'll occupy him for a bit. Might give these poor fools a chance to be forgotten. Any idea what did it?"

"A rogue God. Or maybe a mortal that is near assenstion... the details are still being uncovered." She closes her book and looks at Serpico, adjusting her half smudged glasses, "What can I do for you Serpico? I appologize for the depressing morning talk."

"Depressing. Right." A muffled sound that might have been considered a laugh by an ungenerous observer. "I've been trying to figure out what to do with this." He places his pen on the table in front of Athena.

Athena glares at Serpico, "Nobody deserves to get thier soul scarred." She then considers his Shift, "Haven't figured out a suitable upgrade yet?"

Serpico forces a very innocent look at first, then continues. "Not just the upgrade. It feels like its underperfoming."

"Underperforming?" She picks up the pen and twirls it around in her fingers, "You have created some incredible things with this, including the key to freeing Harmony and those sister Goddesses. How is it underperforming?"

Serpico shrugs. "What is it doing that I can't already? Watch." He draws an object, a knife, which forms easily. Then he casts two runes, and an object forms in the air next to it. Another knife, identical, and this one colored blue. It gives off a bit of cold air as it falls to the desk.

"Hmm..." Athena touches the knife that was cast via rune - it glows red and shatters. She does the same for the drawn knife and it glows, but does not break. "The items you draw are durable... and you have the ability to re-absorb your ink, but I understand the dilemma." She purses her lips in thought, "Your color rune gives you a lot of versatility... but you are limited to drawing on the surface of things." She notes a bit of torn paper caught in the pen tip, "Artist's block?"

"Nah, I did what I wanted with it." Serpico thinks quietly. "The color is the element. The element changes with the color. That must mean something."

"Curious..." Athena dots the pen on a blank peice of paper and writes a sentence, "The pen is mighter than the sword." She then hands it back to Serpico, "I've always loved that saying... if your Color Rune is your sword, what does that make your pen?"

"The color rune is the sword? I can't say I've felt that. its more my swiss army knife. It lets me change the features of things or create new ones."

"Yet your pen is able to do the same thing... there has to be more to it, your soul wouldn't allow for such redundancy..." She ponders a moment, looks at the ink on the paper, the bit of paper stuck in the pen, and back to the paper. She lifts it and notices she's scorred the saying into her desk, "...the tip of that pen is very sharp..."

"Yeah. I could probably do damage with it. Not sure why, though. It wouldn't do as much as an elemental weapon."

Athena's face goes blank... "Serpico... do you remember our sparing match before you went for your testing two days ago?"

"Yeah. Bit of a mess, that was. Got me down with a slight case of exploding from the inside, as i recall."

"Correct." She grins, "That explosion would have just burnt the surface of your skin had I set it off on the outside... like your color rune can stain the surface of things to change it's attributes. But what if the reverse were true?"

Serpico thinks for a second. "Do me a favor. Hold up something solid." )i assume he can work on items to some degree to?)

Athena waves her hand and summons up a large wooden block in the middle of the room, "That do?"

Serpico casts a color rune on the pen. "Ok, you might want to stand back. The color's on an attack setting, to put it simply." Athena raises a barrier around her possessions and herself as Serpico stabs the pen deep into the wood. The Yellow ink in "cutting" mode is injected directly into the center.

From the side of the wood facing Serpico, there is a tiny pentip sized hole... on the other side of the wood is a hole about the size of a basket ball. Athena walks around it, "...now try modifying your Shift. Have you ever seen those pens that have a lever to forcibly eject ink? Try adding that to your Shift and do that again..." She regenerates the block.

Serpico looks at the pen carefully. A small lever, with a ball at the end, appears recessed in the pen, resting next to his thumb when he grasps it. "Ok, I think this can still work in assault and modify modes."

"Heh, fond of the invasive buffs? Try assault mode on the block... then inject me with a modify. Despite it all, I trust you Serpico."

Serpico looks at the pen again. "Well, fire won't tell me anything. Hmmm, I wonder." He changes the pen to purple mode, pure electricity. Then he stabs the wooden block once again, and thumbs the lever forward, emptying the entire pen. There is a pause... and then the block explodes in a brilliant flash of purple lightning, detonating a shrapnel bomb of wooden splinters that casts out an eletrical net that discharges on impact on the sheilded items -- it makes quite the mess. "...that would of destroyed this entire room had I not put those barriers up..."

Serpico picks bits of wood out of his hair. "Interesting. Might have been the amount of ink too."

"And will you try it on me?"

Serpico refills the pen, and casts a Red Crystal ink on it. "Well, we have to test it on something. So I think it's safest to..." He stabs the pen into his palm. "just do this." He injects a small amount of the ink into his palm. The hand feels rather warm... the injection is not painful, it in fact feels rather nice, like hot water washing under his skin.

Athena comes over and examines it, "Interesting..." she snaps her fingers and Serpico's hand is suddenly on fire... but the skin doesn't burn, the flames cause no pain. "So... it seems that you gain a high level of defense from that element..." the flames shortly die out and Athena summons up another block, "Go ahead and give that block a pat..."

Serpico balls up his odd feeling hand and gives the wooden block a punch. As he hits the block, it goes flying across the room in a reaction that suggests to everything else, Serpico's hand weighs a lot more than it feels to him. Athena nods. "So internally... it grants protection against opposing elements and boosts your natural powers... in this case, dense crystal protects against fire and makes your arm a lightweight battering ram..."

"If I added more, I bet the crystals would have broken right through the skin. Wonder what the more metaphysical concepts do. Like Traps, or Defense."

"I would experiment during the downtime for sure. I can imagine some pretty potent counter-defenses. Nothing says 'dont hit me' like your face exploding with acid when it's touched. Well done Serpico, you've just increased the versatility of your Shift well beyond created weapons."

"Heh. I'll need to get the others to hold still to try it on them, though."

"They seem to be a bit more trusting of you now... for some reason." She grins.

"I know. I've been trying my best. And yet still....." Serpico chuckles. "I think that's it. I need to get something out of the rustbucket."

Athena nods, "I need some breakfast... I ended up pulling an all nighter... Have a good day Serpico."

The envelope contains a sheet of smooth paper. To echolocation, it looks blank; ink and paper are equally flat. It is only when Alexis takes it out into the light of the corridor that he can see what's on the paper.

Let's see... picture of me, map of the corridors with that room marked, picture of a crowd of people, picture of me wearing a square hat with holes cut for my ears, picture of me being given a scroll... some sort of formal event. When? ...ah, tomorrow.

Alexis ducks back into his room in order to put the letter (and the envelope, you never know) into a handy basket. Then he heads out again, looking for the medical wing. He flies easily over the groups of other curious students heading the same way; but he, along with the other curious onlookers, is soon stopped by a very firmly closed door. It's quite clear that the medical arbiters have more important things to do than answer questions at the moment (things like trying to save some god).

Alexis contemplates the closed door for a minute, then turns around and heads the other way. Athena will know what's going on. Athena always knows what's going on.

Serpico, walking through the halls, finds himself at the door of the Awakener's room. He knocks on it roughly. "Hey, Clanky, you in there!?" The Awakener's voice once again rings out from the door. "I am. You may enter, Serpico." Serpico enters, and promptly stumbles in the sudden void. "Oh, right." He looks at the darkness all around him, and says "You know, you really put the word "sparsly furnished" to the test." Standing in the darkness, in the middle of the room, the Awakener turns its mask to him. "There is a table and there are chairs," the Awakener says. "This is sufficient." It then heads over, and places a hand on the table. It then turns to Serpico, and says "how may I assist you?"

Serpico manages to find his way, slowly, to one of the chairs, and then lowers himself in. "I have to say, either you're completely oblivious, or you're even better at this sort of joke than I am. Anyways," he says, "I need a hand with something." The Awakener's mask turns to Serpico, waiting for him, and he continues, "I think I need another edge, particularly in combat. It takes me a while to make something new, after all, and sometimes that leaves me exposed. I think I need to start carrying more pre-prepared gear, and I think you can help. I don't really get all the things you can do with that odd rune, but you're good at changing limits, and my problem is mainly...storage."

"Assisting you would be possible," the Awakener says. "If I use a similar enchantment to the one I used on my grip, I should be able to expand the storage capacity of any carrying device that you create. Would that be sufficient?" Serpico then drops a blue cloth bag on the table, and says "This is the only thing I had to bring. I didn't want to risk it being something I drew, wasn't sure how the rune would affect that." The Awakener takes the bag, and looks it over. "I will do what I can. However, in exchange, I would like to ask you for your assistance as well."

Serpico leans back. "Normally I wouldn't be surprised, but coming from you? You never seem to really want or need anything. You never took my suggestions for a paint job, for one." Ignoring Serpico's remark, the Awakener says "I have noticed a flaw in my combat capabilities. This body is strong and durable, but it is slow. This weakness has affected my ability to fight, to chase, and even to react. I wish to eliminate it." Serpico shrugs, and says "Well, I can manipulate things involving speed and momentum, but thats just a runic enhancement. Not all that permanent at all." The Awakener turns its hollow mask, and says "However, you can create items with elemental attributes, including conceptual ones. If you create such an item, enchanting it with your rune as you create it, it should serve to increase my speed sufficiently to eliminate this weakness. Just as my power is ideally suited to assisting you, yours is ideally suited to assisting me."

"You'll need to find a way to make it permanent," Serpico replies, "not relying on my pen to hold it together, I might add. So, what are we looking to make to contain this?" The Awakener nods, and says "I should be able to use my rune to make it permanent, and to end its connection to your pen so that it will not serve as a drain on you. As for what to create, I have no preference. The function is what matters." Serpico grins, and says "Perhaps a nice hat?" His grin fades when the Awakener doesn't react, and he says "You aren't much for fashion, and I guess it'd look odd to add more to that form, I guess."

It continues to look at Serpico, the same blank expression as always, and asks "Do you have a suggestion?" Serpico snorts, shrugs, and says "Plenty, but it's too easy. You wouldn't even recognize the joke. I don't get what to do with you, Clank. You hardly respond to anything." In reply, the Awakener only says "I am aware of the concept of humor," which just merits another shrug from Serpico. "Yeah, but you seem to have decided that you want nothing to do with it. "Honestly we might as well just enchant a part of your form. Are any of your parts non essential and removable?"

Without responding verbally, the Awakener reaches down and removes its left greaves from the knee down. It remains standing there, one-legged, and looks silently at Serpico. Serpico looks back, forlorn. "You depress me sometimes with these easy moves." He takes his pen and carves a mark that resembles his speed rune, to some degree, on it. He then focuses, and his rune forms inside the wide indentation, and then fills it in with a yelloish color similar to the Color he creates, which fades to a clearly lined discoloration. With a nod he places the leg back. "That's embedded the rune, best as I can tell, into the piece. It should, for now, function as a connection between the rune power and your body, much like any of the magic equipment some use. You'll need to extend its length, of course." Awakener removes its other leg, and then offers it to Serpico. "If you have the Ethereal power, I would prefer a symmetrical enchantment. Once you have completed it, I will head to the Ether Labs, and reinforce the enchantment, and begin your project."

"I suppose." Serpico focuses for a second to recover. While he does, he cautions the Awakener, saying "I don't think it'll double the power. The Speed rune works best in non-direct ways, as far as my experiments suggest." The Awakener replies "I am aware that it will not increase the power, but it will likely result in a more-balanced increase in power. Enchantment over one limb could cause difficulty." Accepting the Awakener's reasoning, Serpico then recarves and enchants the other leg. He passes the cloth bag to Awakener once the second leg is finished. "You really don't do anything by halves, huh? Don't take time off from being so efficient..."

"What do you mean?" the Hollow God asks. "Humor is one thing, but to me, it seems you just choose to ignore everything that isn't a task or an extremely simple concept." Serpico stands up, and carefully heads out of the tomb room. "It seems to me, that even to the moststraightforard mind, that would be a dull way to be." as the Awakener follows him, it says "I do not feel boredom," "I am aware of the concept, but I cannot experience it the same way that you do." Serpico then glances back, and says "Well, I wonder. Cannot? Or are more comfortable not trying?" The Awakener looks at Serpico, and says "I do not experience emotions unless they are forced upon me, as by the Blight. I do not have a brain, or a glandular structure. It is no different than my inability to feel pain, heat, cold, or touch." Serpico grins tightly, and replies "You think without a brain, talk without vocal chords, move without muscles."Evidence doesn't support you there." But with that he seems to lose interest and, expression leaving his face, he just continuies to walk towards the lab.

The Awakener follows silently, then after a minute, says "Tell me, what is it like?" When no answer is immediately forthcoming, it continues, "to be bored, to feel emotion." Serpico snorts. "Kinda like having a second person in the head shouting for attention, but they're just you, again. " The Awakener's mask stares emotionlessly, as it continues to follow. "You describe them as a mental illness," the Awakener notes. "Some people think so," he admits. "Otherwise? It's a tool. In a way, it gives you a second perspective all your own. When bored, the mind looks harder for something to notice. When emotional, it focuses all its energy on either pursuing or rejecting it. Much more energy than you can get in the typical analytical sense. Even Miss Detective relies on emotinal response for her little theories," Serpico finishes by noting.

"I see," the Awakener says. "Do you see me as deficient for not having this second perspective? Serpico shrugs. "I don't know. You don't seem like someone..thing? that is reserved or inwardly focused. If I had to put a word to it, it'd be... unfinished." After a bit, the Awakener says "That may be apt," but no more is forthcoming from the armored God. The two finish their journey to the Ether Labs without further event, and the Awakener heads over to one of the lab's platforms, placing the bag on it.

The Awakener then extends one of its gauntlets, focusing the power of the Final Rune - its own soul - into it, and summons forth its power to control Limit just as it had when it first called it. A focused, coherent light pours from it, then begins to radiate overwhelmingly, as the concept of Limitation is pulled from the bag, erasing the ordinarily-strict boundary of the bag's surface on its internal volume. Just as the Awakener was able to increase its grip far beyond the mere stretch of its hands, its carrying capacity has been increased far beyond that which its size should suggest. Yet, the rim of the bag's edge is no larger than it ever was, and it closes just as easily as ever. The Awakener then continues focusing its rune into it, and the rune becomes coherent once more, this time imposing a Limitation. The bag's mass is now merely that of its own material - the mass of that which is within the bag does not "exist," as far as the rest of the universe is concerned.

Taking a moment to draw power from the Ether Lab, the Awakener resumes its enchantment once more, filling the bag with a clear, vibrant light - the power of Certainty. It is now Certain that, when Serpico reaches into it, or causes another to, that whatever he is looking for will be exactly at the opening of the bag, right in the postion he needs to grab it quickly and easily without any fumbling or searching. Similarly, it is now Certain that, should anyone besides Serpico or someone sent by him reaches into it, nothing will be present to meet their grasp - they will be elsewhere in the bag, well inside its widened depths. The Rune then becomes dark, burning with an eerie color that seems to consume light the same way that the Awakener's soul does - the power of the End. The bag will now End any attempt to damage it, either by its own contents, or external attacks. Finally, the Rune flares with one last light - the strong, unwavering light of Finality. All enchantments on the bag are now Fixed - they will not decay or fade, they cannot be corrupted or changed, and they will resist any attempt to End them without the Awakener's consent.

The Awakener's work finished, it takes the bag, and opens it up. It then extends its arm into the depths, which swallow the limb without complaint, and then pulls it off. "It is now bigger on the inside," the Hollow God states simply, as it tosses the bag to Serpico. Serpico catches it in mid-air, then says ""Right then. I'm off." The Awakener waves farewell as he exits the ether lab, then removes its greaves once more, and begins their own enchantment process.

Lumina sighs into her mirror one last time before giving up on trying to get the smiley face out of her favorite outfit, so she walks to her apartment's closet and pulls out a carbon copy of her old Miko outfit and changes into it instead. Doing her hair up into a cotton candy colored ponytail, she grabs her backpack, leaves her dorm room, and makes her way to the teleporter.

Lumina gets a few looks with the new pink hairstyle on her way out, but finds the teleporter clear and ready to go. The tech, who happens to be the same one who taunted Chandi, asks, "Destination?"

"Send me to the world formerly run by Ryuseii, if you would be so kind," Lumina asks, bowing her head in a quick gesture of respect to a fellow Arbiter.

The tech types in a command and Lumina is off in a flash - she lands in an open field - its sunset in the area where she lands and she sees the glowing of a rather large bonfire in the distance.

"A bonfire? Some sort of festival, I guess," Lumina ponders out loud. Interested, she makes her way over to the bonfire.

There she finds Fangris curled up around Casey and Duo, they are smiling and talking as if the events of the other day never happened. They are happy, but the moment Lumina comes into view they all spring up, "LlLl... LADY LUMINA?!" They all drop into a deep bow.

Without even stopping, Lumina moves up and wraps Casey into a great big hug. "No need for such formalities! I was mortal once, too." Pulling back and releasing Casey from the hug, she holds her at arms length and gives everyone a closer look to see how well they seem to be. "I absolutely must know how things have been since I was away! Tell me, how is the baby?"

Duo's jaw drops, "You... were once human?!"
Casey doesn't have any idea how to respond and just returns the hug, then stands there trembling.
Fangris stands, "But you're so powerful... why are you... like we're old friends... I thought you would all be like Ryuseii after dropping your acts..."

Lumina looks at Duo. "It happens, sometimes. People who perform great and heroic acts in life are sometimes able to grow in power enough to ascend themselves. I'm not too sure about the specifics myself, though..." Turning her head to Fangris, she continues. "Everyone behaves differently. Mortal or God. Sometimes... Sometimes people let whatever power they have go to their heads... It's never a good thing when it happens, and I've never liked the idea of people lording themselves over everyone else. It's... distasteful."

Noticing Casey, Lumina lets go and takes a couple steps back. "Casey? Did... Did I startle you?"

Casey grabs her own arm and blushes, "we.. well how would YOU react if you were a person and a Goddess just showed up and hugged you!!" She seems a bit more playful now.
Duo wraps his arms around her from behind, "Forgive us Lady Lumina. It was a bit of a shock..."
Fangris purrs and nuzzles her side, "The baby is doing very well. Lord Magus... erm... he doesn't like us calling him that... Magus said that in a few months he'll be ready to remove her and bring her into the world."

"Sorry," Lumina starts scratching her cotton candy hair in embarrassment. "I spend all day every day around my peers. I sometimes forget myself. It's good to hear the baby is going to come along fine." Lumina looks around for a seat and settles down. "How have things been here for everyone since we left?"
Duo responds first, "A little bit chaotic... hence why we're taking a break. Trying to get a truce between the three races is a little bit tougher in doing than just saying. There's a lot of people who were involved in dragon hunts and kidnappings that have yet to come forward... but we're making progress."
Casey takes a seat against Fangris, "Do Goddesses change their hair color often?"

Lumina starts blushing even more profusely. "What, this? No... Serpico pranked me while I was on my way here. Changed the color of my hair and my clothes to something completely ridiculous..."

Fangris blows green fire into the air, "I like it!!"
Casey nods and Duo plops down against Fangris as well, "So what brings you to our little world Lady Lumina?"

"We finished up all the missions our team had assigned to us, so they've given us a couple days off before they give us anything else to do. I... I wanted to come down here and see how things were progressing. See if everything was alright. We had to leave in such a hurry last time."

Fangris grins, "And Magus said we'd likley never see them again! HAH!"
Casey smiles and asks, "We're doing wonderfully. Our parents are old and stubborn, but negotiations are going well. Magus is making sure a war doesn't start up again. We're happy, for the first time openly happy."
Duo pulls Casey closer, "So Lady Lumina... you were once mortal? Where did you come from?"

Lumina looks down for a moment and thinks about her answer for she replies. "Well, I was born on a world called Neo Gaia. It's a nice place, with lots of tall towers made from rock, metal and glass where we all live and work. It also has almost as many gods as it does people. We called them spirits, and we honored them with a religion called Shinto."

Lumina has the trio's full attention.

"The spirits themselves aren't individually powerful. So instead, they worked together in one vast community and held dominion over all sorts of things. One spirit might be dwelling withing a park where children would play, while another spirit would dwell within a nearby building where food was stored. Together, they'd work to answer the prayers of the people and make sure everyone was as happy as possible."

Casey's eyes are wide, "Really? That sounds wonderful... so much better than a tyrant messing with our memories..."
"She's got a point..." Duo ponders, "We've been toying with a like idea, give everyone a job to do that supports the other two races, but not thier own... let people work for each other, and not themselves. Your spirits sound like they did something simalar."
After taking a big sniff of the air, Fangris spots Naomi, "Is your little foxy-snack there a Spirit?"

Naomi lets out an adorably tiny growl and ducks behind Lumina at Fangris's words. "Yes, Naomi is a Spirit. Around the time I was born, the Spirits of my world could sense a brewing evil. Wanting to respond to possible threats, they bound a Single spirit to my soul as I was born to grant me a small measure of power. Power I could use to defend people who couldn't defend themselves." Naomi crawls back out from behind Lumina and nuzzles herself under Lumina's arm and into her lap.

"So you've been a hero as a mortal and a Goddess?" Casey is nearly bouncing in her seat, "That is just... AWESOME!!" Her firey legs flare up, the fire responds by twisting into a torrent. "Hey... Duo?"
"Hmmm?"
"I think I've figured out a name if it's alright with you and Fangris?"
Fangris snorts a green fireball and Duo nods, "I think I know what you have in mind."
"Lady Lumina?"

"Yes? What is it?"

"May we name our child after you? I want to call her Luna."

"That..." Lumina laughs, a grin spread wide across her face. "That would be fine! I'm honored that you would think so highly of me."

Casey squeals and this time she's the one to hug Lumina. "Thank you thank you thank you!!"

As the bonfire roars and the son of the world begins to set, the group continue their talk throughout the night.

The Awakener, now alone in the Ether Labs, begins to focus the power of the Final Rune into its own new enchantment. Gathering up all of its power, it focuses the overwhelming energy of the Rune's power into them, transforming the Runes into the greatest possible expression of their potential that they ever could be - their Ultimate form, their Crowning glory, their Supreme power. Now in this perfect form, the Awakener begins to cut away their Limitations, first stretching them across its entire body, then cutting away any limit on speed that would ordinarily be imposed by simple concepts like friction, drag, and the like. However, the power of Limit itself is not enough for this enchantment, and so the Awakener calls upon a new power, making the Speed runes Definitive - serving not simply to act as an enchantment on physical speed, but to embody the very concept of speed. The Awakener now not only moves faster, but thinks faster, reacts faster - it simply IS faster now.

Finally, satisfied with its enchantment, the Awakener draws upon its power thrice more: First to make them into a Certainty - a constant part of the Awakener's armor, which cannot be removed from it, and which will return if even if the Awakener is reduced to metal scraps; second, to grant them Finality, so that no force but the Awakener's can ever change them from their current state, and finally, to End their connection to Serpico now and forever. He need no longer maintain them with his Ether, nor will their ink ever again be a part of his pen, for good or ill. Now thus severed, and thus bound, they are a permanent item - as long as the Awakener remains in this body, they will serve as its enchantment, until such time as it carves them away with its Rune. Its work completed, the Awakener then walks - at a far faster pace than before - from its laboratories, seeking Athena to discuss its new duties and see whether it may begin its duties.
---
Having successfully seized the letter, Alexis decides that his first curiosity has won out, and goes to meet Athena. He flies along the hallway, over the heads of everyone else, until finally, he reaches her office. However, the Awakener's own wanderings have taken it there as well, and the moment it sees the bat, its mask fixes on its companion. "I would speak with you," it intones.

Alexis comes to a sudden stop, backpedalling with his wings, and loops back. He comes to a landing next to the suit of armour, and looks attentive. Seeing Alexis stop, the Awakener continues, "It has been suggested to me that we may face difficulty if we are to remain Arbiters, and that I should attempt to resolve this now, before it manifests in our battlefield interaction. Are you willing to speak with me, and would you prefer a moderator?" Alexis looks vaguely mystified. "Difficulty? ...why wouldn't I want to speak with you?"

The Awakener pauses, and says "During the course of our missions, I have noticed that you maintain several persistent negative attitudes unique to your culture which I am concerned may make it difficult, if not impossible, for us to continue working together if not resolved." Alexis looks over The Awakener again; a large suit of armour that contains neither fire nor light. "Oh. Um," he mutters, as he thinks for a bit, and then asks "Does this have to do with MUSE?"

The Awakener nods, and says "In part." It then continues, saying "I would prefer that we talk in private, however. Let us head to one of the classrooms, if you would not mind." The bat responds, "Sure, if you want." Alexis heads into the nearest open classroom, and sits himself on a desk, allowing him to look The Awakener in the eye without craning his neck. The Awakener follows Alexis within.

Once he is seated, the hollow god turns to him and says "First, you are correct in that I am concerned with your interactions with MUSE, and your prejudice against users of fire. However, this is but a minor concern of mine, as I do not use either of these elements. My true concern runs on a far deeper level." The Awakener pauses a moment, as if trying to choose the right words, and says "I am aware of what you believe about your Eater. It is a being which devours all beings, and originated the predator species of your world. It seeks to annihilate all creation, consuming it to sate its endless hunger. In the end, it will consume life, and then consume itself. Is that correct?"

Alexis nods, and says "Yes, that's right. It's the original fire."

The Awakener pauses, and says "I do not believe it is fire that you truly fear. Fire is only a symbol - a symbol of what the Eater is. Fire and Light are elements of nature, utilized because they are obvious and visible. The Eater's true nature," the Awakener continues, "is Death."

"No," Alexis responds instantly, "There's an important difference. The merely Dead continue to exist. The Consumed have no further existence. The Eater is utter, complete cessation. The ultimate destruction. The end that does not, that cannot lead to a new beginning." The Awakener listens, and nods. "That is a significant distinction, although I now question the association with fire and carnivores in those cases. Both lead to transitional states, the dead becoming something new."

"Fire doesn't just kill." insists Alexis. "It Consumes."

Ignoring this interruption, the Awakener continues. "Regardless, I am certain you can see my concern." Alexis nods. "Your Ending rune." he says. "You're worried that I'd associate it with the Eater."

The Awakener shakes its head. "It is not the Rune of Ending. It is the Final Rune. It is the rune of Death, the rune of Ending, but also the rune of Finality. The Ending that Ends forever, that nothing may grow from. I encompass all of these things."

Alexis looks confused again. "That's not how you've been using it." he says. "You've been using it to help things to continue. You used it to save Harmony from the Blight. To stop hostile effects, To grab a spaceship and prevent it crashing. To save lives, not to eliminate life." The Awakener waits until Alexis' analysis is over, then provides its own. "I have used it to shatter magic. To rot Xeno's blood. To corrode Ryuseii's scales. To destroy. However, all of this is irrelevant," the Awakener says. "Though I have not used my rune to Annihilate in the past, I may do so in the future, if it is necessary. I have the capacity to do so."

"Everyone has the capacity to be destructive." replies Alexis. "Consider Shin, for example." However, the Awakener immediately shakes its head at that. "Shin has the capacity to slay," the Awakener says. "I have the capacity to destroy."

"There are ways," responds Alexis. "But it doesn't matter what you can do. It matters what you actually do. Yes, you've used your rune destructively; you shattered Ryuseii's scales. But that was to stop a great evil; to stop what Ryuseii was doing. Simlarly for the other cases. Yes, you might one day change; but I don't think you're at all evil now."

The Awakener stares into Alexis' eyes, and says "If, then, I was to use my rune in the same capacity as your Eater - to Annihilate, to bring the Finality that leads to nothing else - you would not fear me as long as I did it for a good purpose?" Alexis frowns, and tilts his head to the side. "It's kind of severe." he says. "I think there would have to be, really, very good reason." The Hollow God instantly follows up, asking "Such as, perhaps, the end of your own Eater?" Alexis ponders for a second, and says "That kind of thing, yes. But that would lead to a new beginning in and of itself; the Mother would be able to finally land, and rest Her wings. I don't know what would happen after that."

The white mask maintains its eyeless stare, and the Awakener says "perhaps the Eater believes the same about its actions." Alexis looks down at the ground at that, and only mutters, "Hmph." He frowns, and stares down for some time. Then he looks up, and frowns at the ceiling. "Hmmmm..." After some thought, he finally follows this up with "...Maybe it would be better not to do that for a bit, then."

The Awakener, remaining silent until Alexis thought things through, then responds "Perhaps." After a bit more thought itself, it says "If you believe that my concerns are unwarranted, then I will continue to work with you. However, I would ask that you carefully consider your fear, and how it may impact our ability to battle alongside each other. In the past, people with fears similar to yours formed beliefs about me very similar to those of your Eater. I would not desire such a thing to happen again."

"I can see why you wouldn't." says Alexis. "I think... I think that there's a big difference between being able to do evil, and actually doing evil. And yes, I can see that you're able to do great evil... but you haven't been doing evil. As long as your purposes remain good, I don't think we'll have any problems working together."

The Awakener looks into Alexis' eyes carefully, and says "Very well. Please alert me if you have further concerns."

Alexis nods. "I will do so."

The two then exit the empty classroom, heading back to meet Athena, each for their own purposes.

Chandi rises slowly from her luxurious bed, eyes still closed, and stifles a yawn. She throws her legs to the side, and gets off the bed, stumbling through a tired haze to try and find her outfit for the day. She finally manages to crack her eyes open, examining the room. "Whoever cleaned this place up doesn't understand controlled chaos." She mutters to herself, as she passes by Ajagara's brand new dragon-sized palatial bed. The dragon is still curled up and snoozing, as Chandi opens an armoire that hadn't been there the day before, and picks an outfit at random. She takes a few minutes to wrap the dark blue sari around her form, wind tugging at the golden trim to hold it where Chandi's single hand cannot. When she's finally dressed, she snaps her fingers, and a single archway opens to the main room. As she enters the room, she notices that the usual sounds of her temple are different. The voices are somber, the songs are louder, and, she finally notices, the prayers themselves are different. She approaches the crystal ball, knowing full well what is to come. A pair of eyes appear within the ball, focusing directly at Chandi. They flash for the briefest of moments, and the room goes completely dark. Chandi finds herself in a black void, with a feeling akin to the one produced by the Awakener's room filling her body. Chandi drops to her knees, and bows her head. "Lord, you grace me with your presence." Chandi says, almost mechanically.

A figure cloaked in black robes raises a scarred hand. "Rise, child. You asked for me, and I have come to answer."

Chandi rises to her feet slowly, still keeping her head down, and eyes away from the figure. "Yes, Lord. I have asked for you in order to make a request on behalf of a teacher here, my teacher. It is technically a request for the entire council, but you appeared to me to be the one who would be most receptive to this request." Chandi stumbles, speaking rapidly and quietly in the face of her elder god.

There is an awkward moment of silence, before the god finally speaks. "Well, what is the request? I know that the mortals call me the Lord of Time, but I do not have much of it. The mortals grow at such an incredible rate I have more and more work to get done." There's another moment of silence, then a soft look crosses his face. "Chandi, you have no need to fear me. I know that the last time we spoke the situation was unpleasant, but you have known me for centuries. There is nothing to worry about."

"She would like to visit Aegaeon."

The god's expression freezes. "What did you say? I did not quite hear you." He says in a wavering voice.

Chandi bites her lips. "I said, my teacher Athena would like to visit our world."

A horrible silence fills the air, and Chandi's muscles tighten in the fear and tension. She jumps when she feels two hands gripping her face.

"Katyayini Chamunda, you will look at me." The god's voice is dark, and cold.

Chandi resists the movement, but the hands finally win out and force her to stare the elder god directly in the endless void that his eyes have become. "Jil, please..." she says, trying to look away from the horrible magnetic gaze. The hands slide up, thumbs resting on her forehead, right next to her scarred eye.

"Katyayini. Your teacher is not to come here. No Arbiters shall come to this world."

"But if she can come to the planet she can investigate! She can learn! They have ideas on who might have scarred us! They could find-"

"They will not come."

"Jil Warka, please, let them help us. Let me try."

The god's thumbs press down into Chandi's forehead, and begin to pull to either side. Chandi bites down hard at the searing pain of having her eye opened, fist clenching hard enough to draw blood, choking down a scream. The third eye does not glow with power, merely being drawn into the gaze of the Lord of Time. "I regret that this is the way of our world, but you must understand this, Chandi. We take no more gods. We accept no more outsiders. We are sealed off, and in this way, we are protected. The combined might of our gods destroyed the one who scarred us, as I have told you time and again. But with the way we are now, scattered, and weakened, even our pantheon together may not be able to survive a similar attack."

"But the Arbiters can protect you. Protect everyone." Chandi says through gritted teeth.

"The Arbiters will also draw attention to us, when we have remained hidden for so long. And they cannot be watching us at all times. They cannot guarantee our safety." The dark eyes flash with a bright red and white light. "And they are not always so kind and helpful. You have seen this yourself. You have already encountered multiple Arbiters who would fail us, or even try to kill us. They are at the peak of your memories."

"Then what of me?" She says quietly, blood beginning to well up in her third eye.

"You will remain an Arbiter for as long as you wish to remain exiled from Aegaeon." The expression on the god's face becomes pained. "I am sorry Chandi, but that is the way it must be." Gently, he releases his grip on Chandi's forehead, and lets the eye close, wiping the blood away with the back of his palm. Chandi flinches from the touch, and steps away from the god, eyes once again cast downward. "Be thankful I was the one who you chose to ask. The others would not have been so kind as I, even if they could not interact with you so directly as I can."

"Because you were so pleasant." Chandi says with venom.

Jil Warka simply casts his own eyes downward. "Padma has asked about you. She wonders where the 'headstrong little wind bringer' has fled to after stealing-"

"Get out." The voice is quiet and hollow, but pierces the air like an arrow.

"As you wish. But remember. No Arbiter is to come here. If the council finds one, our fury will rain down on them."

"Get. Out."

Jil Warka bows his head, and raises his hands, the black void spiraling into his fading form as the real world returns to Chandi. She finally looks away from the crystal ball, and takes a few deep heaving breaths. She swears a few times in her native tongue, before finally calming down, and checking herself for blood. No blood on her hand or her forehead, only a trick of the mind. Chandi places her hand on the crystal ball, and cuts all sound from the connection, letting the room fill with silence. Eventually, she notices the letter slipped under her door, and picks it up, going through its contents in less than a minute before folding it back up and placing it in a fold on her sari, hidden from sight. "Only two left. After that wake up call, I'm almost looking forward to it. And then I suppose I'll have to talk with Athena." Chandi's face grows dark. "Or maybe I should visit the Cyber today. Yeah, that sounds better. Alexis and Asch, then the Cyber." Chandi opens the front door and steps out into the hallway. "This day feels like it will be very unpleasant." She says to quietly to herself.

Alexis follows The Awakener out of the classroom, and starts heading towards Athena's office.

Chandi walks down the hallway slowly, eyes downcast. Her gait is steady, taking long strides but not really paying much attention to where she's going. Rather than repeat yesterday's repeated failures to find the individual rooms of her teammates, she's walking a path she knows well. The trip to Athena's office, in order to simply ask someone who would know where the other's rooms are. The closer she gets to her goal, the faster her pace grows, until finally, she collides with another figure in the halls. The solid blow to her face drags her out of her stupor, and she turns her gaze angrily upwards towards the source of her injury, only to find the Awakener's body in her way, with Alexis standing close by. "Sorry, wasn't paying attention." Her eyes flicker to Alexis, and a wrenching feeling fills her gut. "No sense putting it off." She mumbles quietly to herself. "Alexis, can I speak with you for a moment?"

"...sure, if you want."

"Go on ahead Awakener, I just need to speak with Alexis alone for a bit." Chandi goes silent until the larger figure is out of sight and earshot, then turns her head back to the bat. "Firstly," Chandi says, "I think I need to apologize. For messing with your emotions and such on Utopia. It...wasn't right to do that out of nowhere." The apology is sincere, though begrudging. "There were probably better solutions than that available, but I ignored them in favor of trying to force you to see things my way."

"It was... different. I was... I think I'd rather you didn't do that again." Alexis looks more than a little uncomfortable at the choice of subject.

"Hence the apology." Chandi says, rolling her eyes a little bit. "But secondly, and more importantly, I have a set of questions to ask you. One, what do you think about assigning a leader for the team? And two, how would you feel if I suggested Harmony as that leader?"

"Harmony?" Alexis asks, surprised. "A leader's a good idea... but surely Asch is the obvious choice?"

"Asch is smart, focused, strategic, knows how to get information, and knows even better how to use it. In most scenarios, she's be a good choice." Chandi raises a finger. "But, she also doesn't play well with others, can be just as emotional and high strung as any of us, and as we've seen on our missions, isn't always going to be there, because she's not always the one in charge of that body. Harmony meanwhile is just as intelligent, can sync with anyone's runes, and demonstrates a phenomenal amount of control. And she doesn't swap personalities with the flip of a hat."

"None of us will be there all the time." points out Alexis. "Asch is the best at knowing what's going on, and therefore at knowing what's the best way to deal with it. Harmony's ability to sync with anyone's runes is useful, but I don't see how it helps her in a leadership position."

"Yes, but when one of US isn't there, it's because we're unconscious or dead. When Asch isn't there, it could the same or it could mean Ashley or the purple one is in charge, and they don't have the same skill set, personality, or play by the same rules. And then it becomes a question of, is whoever controls the body in charge? Or does it get delegated to someone else until Asch gets back from wherever it is she goes in that big head of hers? Harmony can work with any of us. Asch's runes work best for her alone."

"What does leadership have to go with working together? Leadership's all about knowing where the dangers are, and telling everyone where not to go."

Chandi sighs, and brings her hand to her face. "One, we're Arbiters. Danger is everything we do. Two, for our job, leadership is about knowing how best to use your subordinates and their talents to get the job done with the least amount of damage. Three, the biggest point is to avoid situations like the cave in Utopia, where we sat and argued for who knows how long until it was too late."

"And knowing how best to use the team and our talents to get the job done with the least amount of damage, requires knowing as thoroughly as possible exactly what the job is. And the best person for that is Asch."

"But Asch doesn't use the team. She doesn't work in combination. She's just as prone to making decisions without telling anyone as you are, and that kind of terrible communication means the team will suffer. And that's even when we have Asch with us. I don't know if you noticed, but Asch wasn't there for the entirety of the last mission. Instead we had the one who likes to play games with everyone rather than help, then a psychopath burning her own weave to make power. Asch is not in control of her form, and a leader that can't be consistent can't be relied on."

"Yes, I noticed. We've all got our weaknesses. And despite the Blight hitting right on one of Asch's weaknesses, her other personalities were still among the most effective fighters on that mission. Sheppard did a lot more than I did against that crystal creature."

A cold look crosses Chandi's face. "Fighting effectiveness does not a leader make, or I'd be suggesting myself."

"Hmmm. True. The primary virtue for a leader is knowledge; to know what's going on, to find out what's going on as quickly as possible. And that points to Asch."

Chandi's muscles tense. "You want knowledge? MUSE has knowledge of things that not even Asch comprehends. And Harmony can use it. Harmony has experience, more than she lets on, and she's the only one who actually followed through with a plan when we left that cave. Knowledge is important, but the most important thing about a leader is that they know how to use their team, and Asch doesn't CARE about what we do. Has she ever let us in on anything she's got planned during a mission? Does she ever actually spread that information to the rest of us, or does she use it by herself until something happens and she finds herself outmatched?"

"I don't trust MUSE. That little ball of light is up to something. Asch... I think she sees everything as a puzzle. She sees the problem, she uses the tools that she has on hand... if she starts to see the rest of us as tools that she can use, then she'd be the perfect leader."

"The only thing it's up to is teasing you about your fear of it, and light." Chandi sighs. "But that's a problem. See us as tools, and we lose personality. We become objects that can be thrown away or replaced when we aren't doing enough. Or worse, sacrificed if it means fulfilling whatever "puzzle" she sees fit. It gets worse if that purple one is in charge, because that one doesn't even care about burning Weave if it means getting the job done. And Ashley probably thinks of us as toys. The instant we stop being fun, we're garbage."

"Sometimes..." Alexis pauses, and thinks about what he wants to say. "Sometimes the right thing to do is to sacrifice the one to save the many. Not always. Not even often. But it's better for one member of the team to be sacrificed so that the rest can survive, than for the whole team to be destroyed. When it's necessary - if it's ever necessary - to do that, to go to that extreme, Asch can go there. Asch can take that step. When the needs of the many... outweigh the needs of the few... Asch can recognise that. Asch can do the right thing, when it's the hardest thing to do. So... I see that as more reason why she should be the leader."

Chandi grits her teeth. "I'm not referring to a time when it's the right thing to do. I'm referring to a time when it's the only answer she sees to a puzzle. And no matter how smart she is, one viewpoint is not enough. But you know what? Forget it. I don't care. I didn't care if you think Asch would be a better leader. I didn't ask her to lead. I asked Harmony. So just answer this. If Harmony lead, would you follow?"

"I..." Alexis thinks for a bit. And for a bit more. "As a general rule... I think... no. Not always. If Harmony were the leader, I'd keep questioning her all the time. I don't... I don't think that would work."

"Fine. We don't have a leader. Let's hope we get better at working together then." Chandi says darkly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have find an easier way to tell everyone that Harmony won't be leading us, because running around trying to find everyone was a pain." Chandi turns away from Alexis, and begins a march down the hall, hand curled tightly into a fist, face red with anger.

Alexis stares at Chandi's retreating back, his eyes wide with surprise.

As Chandi walks down the hall, Asch steps out from behind a column. "Is that how it is, then," she coolly remarks as Chandi nears.

"Bite me, detective. I'm not having a pleasant day, and I get the distinct feeling that talking with you isn't going to help my temper."

"On the contrary, my dear Chandi, I actually think you have very legitimate concerns." Asch says, pausing for a moment. "I was hoping to ask for your thoughts and opinions on the cloaked man, but it seems I need to work on other things to earn your trust first. I... most certainly agree that given my status, it would not be wise to entrust me with that position, and that Harmony is at the moment the best candidate. However, I am taking steps to ensure my presence is a net positive for our group, and I hope you would at least hear me out."

"I think you already are a net positive for the group. I just don't think you'd be a good leader. I don't think I'd be a good leader, and you know how highly I think of myself." Chandi sighs, and leans against the wall opposite Asch. "And for what it's worth, I have some trust in you. It's the other two I don't trust at all. What did you want to ask?"

Asch gives an empathetic sigh and says, "Well, I've been asking the others in our group if they noticed anything that might help me in my investigation of the cloaked man. While I doubt there's enough to go off of at this moment, any little bit helps."

Chandi shrugs. "Sorry. I barely saw what happened. I was too focused on that crystal thing, and Aja. The only thing I'd be good for is comparing scars."

Asch nods. "That's fine. In any case, I feel as though I should at least let you know about the new blade for my shift, as I feel it is relevant to what you were just talking about with Alexis."

"New blade? Something that won't need a murder in a backroom to be useful, I suppose?" Chandi says with a wry grin.

"Rog-Limitation; I built on the idea that my blade is effectively an ether amplifier and gave it the ability to amplify runes and rune combinations in to blades. It should be useful at any time, and it gets far better when used in a Link."

Chandi smirks. "A blade that can change, and works together with your teammates. Interesting. Guess that means you do want to work with the team after all."

Asch nods. "It has never been my intention to keep the group at arms length."

"Well, sorry, but that's what it seemed like to me. That said, we've all been hiding things, and pushing each other off. Pressing each other's buttons in nasty ways." Her eyes glance briefly down the way she came. "Some of it unintentional, but no less aggravating."

Asch gives a knowing nod. "I can understand. Well, in any case... for what it's worth, I think you should go forward with having Harmony be the leader. If Alexis has a problem with her judgement, I will convince him otherwise."

Chandi laughs. "Good luck is all I can wish you in that endeavor." After her laughter finally subsides, she shakes her head. "I'll let Harmony know that five of us agree with making her leader, but her position on the subject was that if anyone objected, she wouldn't accept it. Alexis objects, and I am not going to lie about it. And I just got finished apologizing for trying to strong-arm him into my way of thinking. I'm not going to try that with anyone else. I'll let her know the facts, and if she declines, then that is unfortunately that."

"Ah, I see. Well then, take care." She begins walking down the hall in the opposite direction.

The Awakener exits Athena's office, and starts heading back to the area Athena first showed it.

At the same time, Asch, having just finished chatting with Chandi, rounds the corner lost in thought and bumps directly in to the Awakener.

The Awakener takes a step back, and looks down at Asch, then nods to her. "You are unharmed?" it asks.

Asch looks up, shaking her head. "Tch... oh, Awakener, it's you. I'm fine, thank you." She starts standing up and continues, "I was looking for you, anyway."

"I am here," it says.

"Right to the point as usual, I see... if you have a moment, I would like to ask you if you have any thoughts or opinions on the cloaked man Harmony saw back on Utopia."

The Awakener nods. "Athena has presented a theory on who he may be. While I am without sufficient information, I believe it is a possibility worth investigating."

Asch curls her lower lip. "She could have at least mentioned it to me at our tea meeting... in any case, go on."

"However, as there is a risk of us being overheard, and it involves the disclosure of classified information, I would recommend stepping out of the hall momentarily."

Asch nods. "Ah yes, of course." She promptly starts looking for an empty room.

Once they've found one, the Awakener follows Asch in, then shuts the door behind them. "Based on her analysis of the creature which infected the world, my own nature, and the behavior of the Cloaked God, she believes that he may be the same demon who created my world."

Asch opens up her database and begins typing. "Interesting... can you speak more to that? I know we've talked some about your history in the past, but I would like to get your testimony on record for the purpose of this investigation."

The Awakener nods, and begins to speak.

"My world was one without Gods. It was isolated from other worlds, so far that the Arbiters were unable to detect it for over a year after catastrophic breakdown of the laws of nature. As part of its creation, the laws of nature were severed from the world's leyline, and bound to Runes. These Runes were then somehow imbued with enough power to gain a pseudo-sentience. I am one of those Runes.

"I had originally believed that we existed in a purely spiritual state, without mind or form. However, Athena believes that I may have had an original form.

"Regardless, our purpose was to act as moderating agents, which would govern the laws of nature in such a way as to preserve the balance of the world."

The Awakener then pauses, and says "do you have any questions at this point?"

Asch scrolls through the testimony to this point. "Can you elaborate a little on what you mean by Pseudo-sentience? And are there still other beings like yourself that were created in the same way that you are aware of?"

"Unfortunately, I am unaware of the limits of my mental awareness during my existence as a moderating agent. I had believed that I was a being without a mind, which analyzed and controlled the concept of Ending and Finality as would best fit the world's balance. However, Athena has raised the possibility that I may have existed in some form prior to this one, and that I have lost any memories prior to my awakening."

Asch lowers her head at the mention of losing memories, but says nothing in response.

"Regardless, I possess awareness of only the most basic form about the state of the world prior to that point. I am aware of its history, and what transpired, but not any thoughts, any logic behind my own actions, or similar."

Asch nods. "Fair enough, please continue."

"I am unaware as to whether or not any beings created in the same way as myself still exist. However, Athena believes that the Crystal Entity that we defeated was such an entity.

"She believes that we are both Rune Magic, bound to a body, infused with enough power to become sentient."

"That would make sense, based on everything you've told me; do we have any further evidence to base that belief on?"

The Awakener shakes its head. "Not at this time."

Asch puts her hand to her chin in thought, and then gives a small "eureka" as she brings a fist down in to her open palm. "Here's a thought... my Mystery rune may be able to gather some information about the rune which created you. While we can't use that data to determine anything about the crystal golem for obvious reasons, it can still be useful going forward in the future. Sort of a runic fingerprinting, as it were."

The Awakener looks to Asch, and says "If you believe this will be useful, I consent to your analysis."

"I do believe it will be useful; Athena is very wise, and it would be worth gathering data relating to her hunches. That being said..." With a snap of her fingers, blue ether begins to fill the air in front of her, creating a large field.

<Mystery Rune - Runic Fingerprinting; Gather data on methods of use of rune and distinguishing markings>

Stepping aside and gesturing at the field, she says, "If you would please, step through the field, Awakener."

The Awakener slowly steps through the field.

As Awakener steps through the field his body goes transparent - so much so almost all that can be seen is a faint outline. A second step and the Final Rune begins to glow brightly in the center of The Awakener's Mass. The rune is potent... powerful. And unlike most runes that just glow in the shaped symbol of thier element, the dark energy wraps around it and spins like weave.

A third step and something new happens... gossimer strands, almost like webbing, fill the space of Awakener's Body and hook into the insides of his armor. Each pulse of the Rune is like a heartbeat, sending the power through the webbing and into the armor... it's like a circulatory system for Ether.

The final thing Asch notices is that the Shape of the Rune inside Awakener, the power that appears to BE awakener... is a slightly different shape than the Rune Awakener summons each time it uses it's power.

Asch snaps her fingers, and instantly multiple snapshots of this data are entered in to her database as evidence. "Submitted for evidence, Runic Fingerprinting results." She then dismisses the field. "I'm not sure yet if there are any truly distinguishing markings in this data, but I'll keep it filed away so we can cross-reference it to any similar entities we find. Thank you for your assistance, Awakener."

The Awakener nods to Asch, and says "you are welcome. Shall I continue my testimony?"

Asch nods, and reopens her database to the point where she left off taking Awakener's Testimony. "Please, continue."

"Although my world existed without Gods, through means unknown, the existence of my fellow moderating entities and myself was subconsciously discovered. Most were revered as Gods. However, due to my domain, and their misconceptions of its operation I was instead vilified. I was believed to be a being which intentionally slew mortals, even the source of death and mortality. I became the "Demon" of most mythologies - the Usurper, the Dark God, the Destroyer, the King of the Abyss. "

"Eventually, I became associated with the negative elements commonly experienced alongside death - pain, disease, negative emotion, fear. Although this had no effect on my nature, it convinced a group of extremely intelligent mortals that, were they to destroy me, the quality of their world would be improved dramatically."

"Through advanced thaumaturgic research, they were able to create a ritual that took advantge of the unique properties of my World - the lingering power of the runes the Demon used to create it, the Rune of Severing and the Rune of Binding - to cleave me from the laws of nature, and bind me to physical form."

"Their initial attempt was unsuccessful - they destroyed the form they created for me, but this only returned me to the world. They then repeated the ritual, but upon completion, bound my form into a physical prison deep within the earth. Believing me defeated, they then left in triumph. Unfortunately, by doing so, they prevented me from continuing to exercise control over my domain. With the laws of nature already cut from their original state, my imprisonment resulted in a divergence of reality. In short, the concept of Ending, of Finality, faded away."

"Eventually, I was able to free myself from my imprisonment. I am not certain how much time had passed, but upon my escape, I discovered that my world was in a state of absolute Wrongness. The entire population was in a state where they should be unable to live. Some were infected with diseases that their immune systems could not destroy. Some had continued to accumulate injuries which had led to mortal wounds. Some had suffered mortal wounds in battle, or in attempts to end their pain. None could die."

"This did not extend merely to the mortals. Buildings and natural structures damaged beyond the point where they could be supported still stood, and plant life which had withered or been burned continued to grow in its blighted state."

"Even the orbit of the world had stopped, as neither day nor night could come to an end without my presence."

"Once I discovered the world in this state, I immediately began to rectify it. Through the use of my rune and my Shift, I brought an End to everything which had passed the point where it needed to End. Unfortunately, there were no mortals remaining who I was able to spare. I left the world a barren graveyard."

"It was only afterwards that a team of Arbiters arrived on the world, and discovered what had happened."

Asch nods and closes her database. "Thank you for your testimony, Awakener. Hopefully there is some information in here that can be of use to us as well."

The Awakener looks to Asch, and says "If you are finished, I must depart. I must meet my new mentor, Goddess Sati."

Asch's mouth widens a little. "Oh! I hope I didn't keep you too long. Take care then."

"You as well," it says, as it departs.

Asch continues down the hall after leaving Awakener, heading nowhere in particular, but keeping her eyes open for her teammates Rounding a corner, she almost walks directly into Serpico coming from another hallway's branch. He grins briefly. "So you're out and about too, then?"

Asch jumps back instinctively; unlike Awakener's difficult to read presence, she is QUITE acquainted with Serpico's brand of demeanor. "...Yes, that's right."


Well, I'm headed to that empty gym down the hall, got something to test out." He shrugs. "Teach gave me an idea for a new trick."

"...I see." She then chokes back her words a few times before managing, "Do you mind if I ask you some questions along the way?" in the least bileful way she can manage.

Serpico considers for a second. "You must think it's important, I guess. A lot of that going around recently. Well, Miss Detective, its just a short distance this way, but go ahead." He starts walking again.

Walking with him, she says, "I've been gathering the testimonies of everyone in our class with regards to what happened on Utopia. I would like it if you could give me your thoughts and interpretations on the events there."

Serpico snorts. "Well, most of what I noted as important involved, well, you know who, but I have a feeling that's not where your focus is."

"...I'm not sure I understand your meaning by that."
His voice loses a bit of its cheer. "I mean that most of what I saw involved our 'team' being blinded by self righteousness and leading to a dangerous situation. Did you see everything as it happened or was it instant replay?"

Oh..." Asch lowers her head. "One of the reasons I'm gathering testimonies is I don't have any first hand account to draw from; Ashley and Her... they have given me their accounts, but I have no personal recollection of anything after I scanned the planet."

Serpico softens a bit at that. "Must be frustrating, not knowing things when that's what you feel you're best at. Look, I guess I can try. What do you want to focus on?" He stops in front of the gym door.

"Well, the primary thing I'm investigating is the identity of the cloaked man that Harmony saw and the nature of the Crystal, so let's start there. Did you notice anything that stood out to you?"

"Most of what I saw was that Crystal. I'm still certain of one thing. We didn't stop or fail to stop some big plan. We were rats in a test maze, another piece trying out whatever that thing is made for."

Asch nods. "All the more reason it's important to be prepared with as much information as we can... anything else?

Serpico thinks and his eyes narrow. "A lot to say about that Librarian in your head, but you won't want to hear that, I think. But getting back to it, best I can tell, that thing was a weapon. It reacted entirely in tactical terms, adjusting its behavior patterns and attack methods. It preferred heavy defense to offense, but that might be because it was still starting up and gaining power."

Asch continues to enter the information in to her database, darkly muttering "you too huh?" as he mentions Sheppard. With a sigh, she says, "Harmony told me that the Crystal golem was angry at... Her... for the way she chose to fight. I'm taking measures so that we no longer need to do that, but I do think from everything I've heard its reaction to Her is important in some way. If you have something to say, I suggest you say it."

Serpico walks into the gym. "Might as well not have it out in the hallway. No fun having a crowd. This one's empty." Asch steps in after him.

After the door closes, Serpico stands with his back turned to Asch for a moment. He takes his pen out and pushes the point through the skin of his left hand, thumbing the lever. He winces as his hand begins to crackle with energy. He turns, speaking while assessing the changes to his skin as electricity arcs between his fingers. "If I had to guess, the thing was either enraged or terrified. I'm not sure which, it was too flat voiced. But it saw something that it saw as impossible, or wrong, and reacted that way. And you know? Might have been right. "
He turned to Asch. "I thought the Bat was the only one that reckless in this group, to throw himself into a meat grinder to see if it got jammed. And yet here we are."

Asch instinctively readies her hilt as Serpico charges his hand. "You may be right... I feel as though there was a reason I accepted that ability as part of my shift, but as you recall, that memory is lost to me. It feels reckless now, but it didn't before." She then sneers, "But why should you care?"

Serpico sees her ready her weapon and nods. "I don't like it. That's all. It's not fun to see that sort of waste." He advances on her. "Want to test it, then?" And he holds his pen in the untransformed hand as he takes an aggressive stance.

Asch draws her hilt, no longer able to contain her dislike of Serpico. "I've been wanting to test out something myself." She raises the blade to her open palm, and red and white ether begin to merge together. " Enchant - Illusion rune - Mindtrap Blade"

<Rog-Limitation - Illusion Rune used>

She pulls her palm away, and a white blade with red runic writing appears. Not wasting any time, she leaps at Serpico and swings.

Serpico sidesteps the strike, and, sparking fist balled up, takes a swing at Asch's midsection. "Why do I care? Maybe I don't. But maybe I want to know. Why didn't you? Why doesn't she?"
<aggress>

Serpico is fast and catches Asch right in the gut, electricity coursing through her. "GRAAAHH!!!" Raising her head, her eyes seem to be glassy, almost vacant. Clenching her teeth, she glares at Serpico, backs up, and drops in to a sweep, attempting to trip him.
<Aggress - Target Attack>

His body resisting for a moment, Serpico cannot get all the way out of the strike, and he stumbles. Quickly his color rune flares, and he injects his arm again. The electricity dissipates as his arm turns a deep, ruddy red. He holds it forward, like a shield, as he gets to his feet. "I mean, you're supposed to be the smart one, right? The logical sort that figures out the solutions. And I only talked to that one briefly, but she didn't strike me as stupid either. But both of you sure botched this plan. At least the laughing one doesn't pull herself apart to make a minor point."

<Color Rune Red-Defense>
<Inject arm 5 Unit>
<Defense>

Asch dashes straight forward, shouting, "What the hell do you know, anyway? Always laughing, mocking, taunting? I can't remember a single time you've acted as though anything even mattered to you!"bShe gets in close and appears to swing, shouting, "If I had to speculate on why that was the logical course of action for her, I imagine the reality is there are some things worse than losing ones own memory!"

The attack doesn't come from the front.

The attack comes from behind; the white blade swings wide across Serpico's back.

<Illusion Rune - Deception>
<Aggress>

Serpico takes the strike, but manages to roll with it and get to his feet, though cut. He blinks for a second, as Asch appears to have doubled in his sight. But the blink doesn't help, there are two Asches. Overlapping each other, about a foot separate, but there. "Interesting trick." He refills his pen and uses another rune. This time he injects himself in the throat, which begins to glow. "Lose your memories? How about what else you lose when you lose them. You lose everyone who was in them. People who only exist in memory die again when you forget them!" His voice drips with acid. "You murder the dead when you discard them." And then, opening his mouth wide, he expels a massive gout of fire.

<Color Rune Orange: Support:Generate Fire>
<Inject throat.>
<Fire Breath>

Asch leaps forward through the flames, minimizing the amount of time she comes in contact with them, and thrusts her palm at Serpico's chest, seeking to knock the wind out of him. She follows with another strike of the white blade. "You're right, of course - whatever logic She had in creating it, whatever logic I agreed with, it matters not now. That's why I am fighting the way I am now."

<Aggress - Target Strike - Solar Plexus target>
<Aggress - White Blade>


Serpico blocks the hand with his solidified arm almost by instinct, which feels like striking a rock for all the give it has, but is completely unable to dodge back from the sword as his leg again trembles and buckles. The strike hits him along the side, scoring a cut along the rib. He looks up at the now three Asches, standing in a row like a fractured prism.

"Do you? You're just afraid now of what happened, but I know you well enough. You think you know exactly what you are capable of and what you want to do. Of all the uptight gods here, you are running for the grand prize. So it'll creep back into your head, sooner or later. You'll start wondering if you'll need that power, or her, again. You'll assume that you know what you're doing, you know how to handle it. And then, again. you repeat that mistake. You cut away another piece of yourself.

"How tiresome. Running away from the past is just running. And destroying yourself means that you accomplish nothing more. Is that easier?" Serpico strikes wildly with the pen at the Asches. If he comes in contact, he will inject the fiery ink into the body part, causing massive burning.

Asch dodges the pen calmly, now firmly in control of the fight. With a few choice moves, she is to Serpico's side, and delivers a swift karate chop to the back of his neck. "There's that attitude of yours again. That incomprehensible play at digging in to minds while simultaneously revealing that you're not as detatched as you seem."

Serpico falls to the ground gracelessly, striking his head on the ground. He rolls instinctively, and tries to take in a deep breath for another blast of flame, but coughs, and just a spark and smoke come out. He grimaces. "Stupid slow healing injuries. Maybe this was a bad idea." He pulls himself up to his feet, slowly, dizzily. "So what does that make you? Are you the actually detached one, Miss Detective? I'm asking all of you this!" He snaps at the images. "Do you run like that Crystal, assessing threats and reprogramming yourself? I doubt it. You've got too much of a temper for that. So what does that make the other one, I wonder. She certainly acts that way."

Asch walks up slowly and, choosing her words carefully, says, "I think I'm starting to figure you out, Serpico. You may be the only one here... who can answer this question:

"Can you see the real me?"

With that, she lets the ether on her blade dissipate, and turns for the door.

Serpico stumbles to one knee, gasping again. He looks up, and smiles. "Answer's still hazy. That's not bad, though. Ask again later, and I might know. Catch you later, then?"


Asch doesn't turn, but raises her hand and waves as she walks out the door. "Catch you later..." The door closes, leaving Serpico alone to his tests.

Alexis hears the briefest whisper of Athena's voice. "Alexis? Could you come to your dorm for a moment? I have something I need to speak with you about."

He quickly turns aside from Athena's office - it's not as if she's in there anyway - and heads back to his dorm, flying over anyone else in the corridor.

He gets to his door - it has a "Warning: Steep Drop" sign on it - and pushes it open. Were anyone to glance into this room, they'd just see darkness - there's no light sources in there. The door closes on its spring behind Alexis.

--------------

After some time, Athena leaves Alexis' room. The door swings shut behind her.

OOC Note: This segment place prior to Awakener's conversation with Athena, or Athena's conversation with Alexis.

As Chandi snags Alexis to discuss her ideas about leadership, the Awakener heads into Athena's office. "I am here in regards to the apprenticeship we discussed yesterday. Have you located a teacher for me?"

thena nods, "I have indeed. You'll be reporting to a Goddess named Sati. She's waiting for you now, simply take the same trolley as yesterday and enter in "Sorting Room". It will register your Soul as allowed and take you there."

The Awakener nods to her, and says "Thank you." It then leaves, departing for the trolly.

-------------

After being interviewed by Asch, the Awakener continues its journey to the trolly. It enters it, following the same procedure Athena told it to, and enters in "Sorting Room" as its destination. The train quickly takes Awakener back to the room filled with souls and clouds he discovered yesterday. Waiting for him as he exits is a young girl of no more than 8. She has pointed ears, flaming red hair that seems to fall wherever it pleases and just underneath her hair line, two tiny pointed horns. "Awakener right? Kinda hard to miss."

The Awakener nods. "I assume that you are Goddess Sati?"

"Yep. This way." She leads Awakener into a control room up a set of spiral steps seated inside a cloud. "So - why the interest in sorting? Athena said it's therapy or summat?"

At her question, it says "Therapy is a reasonable way to describe it. I am a being of Finality - of Endings. It is Athena's belief that, by assisting the souls of mortals in their transitions, it will help me to understand the true meaning of my role."

"Sharp tack that woman. Not as clever as my teacher, but shes got a good head on her shoulders." She opens the door to the control room and Awakener is greeted a by a number of Gods flitting in and out and guiding mortal souls around. "Being of endings eh? You a death God or something on your home world?"

"My world was an unusual circumstance. Death God is a close but inexact description."

Sati starts snickering madly. "You're not very curious are ya?" The Awakener looks at her blankly, and she continues, "I mentioned a Teacher, then openly asked you about classified info Echos." She pats Awakener's armor, causing a deep ping, "You've yet to ask how I know it or who that teacher is. Lacking PASSION are we?" She puts particular strain on the emotion.

"Ah," the Awakener says. "I assumed you simply had no knowledge of me, let alone that this information was classified. So, you are his student, then? I trust he is well?"

"Yep! And he's good! Shepherding souls about, solving cases of damaged souls and the like. He certainly helped me out when I died..." She points out the window of the control room, down below are hundreds of thousands of Souls. "We're gonna start simple... but soon enough you'll be able to help out a ton of different souls at the same time. Tell me, what do you know bout reincarnation?"

The Awakener looks down at the souls below, and says "Upon death, the mortal soul may choose to retain their memories and exist in afterlife, or may be reborn into a new life without these memories."

"Textbook stuff. You know that when they die again, they have two lifetimes of memories in their heads yea?" As the Awakener nods, she continues, "We get those a lot - call em career resos." She grins, "Some Mortals make an eternity of going from world to world, life to life, and learning everything they can. There are some that are their very first deaths and scared - others that have done it before and are a little more used to it. But, all in all, for a morty dying is pretty confusing."

"Perhaps that is the reason they fear it so," the Awakener ponders.

Sati ponders a moment, "Well, think of it this way." She taps Awakener's chest again, "You're used to being a God of endings - what would you do if your Final Rune suddenly swapped into something totally different, like a Rune of Creation instead?"

The Awakener thinks over that for a bit. "I cannot imagine that experience," it finally says.

"Mortals can't imagine what dying would be like. It's a foreign concept to them until after the fact... people fear the unknown. Even Gods. It's not much Death that they fear... but what they don't know about it." She motions for Awakener to follow, "C'mere."

The Awakener follows behind her, silently. Its gaze lingers on the mortal souls, before finally turning its mask away to Sati, who points to a small mortal soul, dancing about and exclaiming, "Huzzah! It is time for another trans-substantiation! I want to be a feline race this time - on a quiet forest world Ms Sati!" Sati grins, "Awakener, this is Haley. Haley, this is Awakener, he's new at the reincarnation thing. Haley comes from a world where everything is known about death and the Gods, and hence, none of the people there have any fear of it."

Haley bobs up and down, "Greetings Sir Awakener!" The Awakener holds up a hand to her, as if waving hello. "Greetings, Haley," it replies.

"You'll be working with Haley's race at first to get used to the process. Greet the newly released soul, find out where they want to go, look up a good spot in the Arbiter database and using a provided Rune, send them on thier way. They will be placed inside an unborn child (or sometimes a seed or egg depending on the culture) and off they go!"

The Awakener listens to her, and says "I will assist you to the very best of my ability" to Haley.

Sati hands Awakener what seems to be an electronic clipboard. "In there is our database of worlds and the runes needed to send Souls along. As we progress, you'll eventually aid those souls not used to death - but we start easy here." She steps back and Haley floats over.

"Feline please! Peaceful hunter world! This will be my... oh, 33rd life now?"

"35th." Sati corrects.

"Oh right... I was twins twice on a split soul world..."

The Awakener looks over the clipboard, trying to search the database for the parameters she has provided. Feline beings, preferably ones which are apex predators in their world; low conflict; heavy forestation. After it finds multiple planets that fit the bill - thousands in fact - Sati grins, "There's a lot out there no? Try narrowing the field to those worlds that are aware of Gods and Death - those are rarer."

The Awakener starts to narrow things down as Sati suggests. As it does so, the Awakener says "I am curious - if she will regain her memories upon death, including her understanding of this process, will she not understand what has happened to her at the end of her next life?"

"Her kind understand best of all what happens when you die... but in all cases, if the death is sudden or unexpected you tend to run across Souls that think they are just dreaming." The Awakener finds 3 perfect options, any of them are viable. It looks over the three worlds, then turns to Sati. "Which would you suggest?"

Sati looks them all over, "All of em are good. And here's where being a shepherd starts... the choice is yours to make. I would say go with your gut..." bang bang "...but that's kinda hollow ain't it? The method of your choosing is up to you."

The Awakener looks over the three worlds, trying to see if there are any appreciable differences between them. The three worlds are practically identical with a few differences. One is a sky based society, flying felines; one is jungle based, a lot like Alexis' world; and one is pretty low-tech, almost pre-technology.

After reviewing them carefully, the Awakener turns to Haley, and says "I have three possibilities for you. The first is one where the beings are winged and feline, and possess a sky-based society, with sufficient levels of magic to support flying structures. The second has moderate technology, but is primarily tropical forests as opposed to more temperate. The third has very low technology. As you suggested you would prefer being a hunter, this may appeal to you."

Haley pauses, "...hunting is great but... you say the felines fly?" The Awakener nods, and in an excited tone, she says "I want that one!"

Sati grins, "Just poke the world on your screen, point it at Haley and press the big green go button and off she'll go." The Awakener then does exactly as Sati says, and Haley disappears in a Runic bubble. Sati beams at it, and says, "And with that, my dear Echos, you've already set yourself apart from most of those who shepherd souls."

The Awakener looks at Sati curiously. "Is it unusual to ask the Soul's preference?"

"Very. Most Gods just hear what they want, point and click and go. A few of us will interview the souls beforehand and give them a choice. Passion chose you well. Welcome to the Shepherds, Awakener. you'll fit in here just fine."