kismet_loop_logs | But that is not for them to decide...

Entry tags:

But that is not for them to decide...

Who: ~~Yet-Unknown~~ Death and OPEN
What: An entity stalks the streets of Haven
Where: All over the city...no, really, All. Over. - this entity does not know boundaries. Or personal spaces. You could encounter it in your apartment, even.
When: Any time mid-November to now
Warnings: Surprisingly, perhaps? None, really, but what you bring with you. Possibly general talk of death and mortality
Notes: Replies to tags will come whenever I can. Still no computer of my own, not for at least another week (and then we're looking at Xmas o.o). Just that I'd meant to put this up as soon as the event was over, since technically THAT would have been back in early November.

A smoky, curling mass of shifting blacks and deep greys crawls through Haven. Night or day, this mass might be encountered. Sometimes, it coalesces into the shape of a common black house cat, albeit a slightly large one. Its eyes are crimson red and, if met, will gaze back at a person with a sense of ageless intelligence. Those who had been kidnapped will surely remember this being.

Encountering either the mass or the cat will induce the same reactions. They're not insurmountable or even unignorable, but one would have to work at it at least a first. There's a dread, a sense of mortality, like walking through a graveyard, that seems to cling around the entity, or emanate from it - it's hard to tell. There's a chill that goes straight to the bones, or the struts on a Cybertronian. Also any Cybertronian - or other mechanoid, such a BP unit - will likely even have a hard time "looking" at the being. Sensors will fritz and error, unable to comprehend the utter null. An utter null with a clearly defined edge, like someone cut a hole in space itself.

What is this being? What does it want? Should it even be here?

Most people on the street avoid it, are even afraid of it, but . . . few seem actually surprised by it, like they know it's a thing that exists in the city. Some with even greet it - with or without fear is an individual affair. But . . . that's the thing, not all do fear it. One old man even seems to argue with the cat, though the conversation is far enough away that the words won't be discernible. If asked what it is, the answers range from fearful "do not speak of it" to wry "trust me, you wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Who's curious enough - and brave enough - to face the dark?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Wing was sitting in the atrium, his great sword across his knees as he meditated. The presence that entered the room unnerved him, made his spark flutter in its casing. There was...discomfort, of the sort found when facing something you're rather not face, but...not fear.

He watched it, sensors tripping over themselves in an attempt to read this...being. He remembered it, freed from the spell, the last key...and the one who'd given them the name of the child... Flit.

"Are you one of the Guardians?"

The shifting grey-blackness hovered, then condensed into something roughly the same size and shape (well, height/breadth) as Wing, "standing" a few meters away - about the distance any polite stranger might.

As before, Wing heard the voice in his head, like a brush with something from another plane of existence.

I AM. AND YOU ARE KNOWN AS WING.

He supressed a shudder at the voice, though his optics shuttered for a moment before looking back at the...being. "I am. Might I ask what you are known as?"

The mass shifts and glides, folding on itself.

I HAVE BEEN KNOWN AS MANY THINGS OVER THE AGES. THE PALE RIDER, THE FERRYMAN, AZRAEL, GRIM REAPER, THE FINAL GUIDE. I AM PART OF A UNIVERSAL WHOLE, THE ASPECT THAT SERVES THIS PLACE AND TIME IN THIS REALITY. I HELP THOSE WHO NEED HELP TRANSITIONING FROM ONE FORM OF BEING TO THE NEXT.

There is a note of wry amusement in the tone. THE SHIFT FROM BEING BOUND IN A PHYSICAL VESSEL BACK TO THE VASTNESS OF ENERGY IS A DIFFICULT ONE FOR MANY.

YOU MAY CALL ME WHAT YOU WILL. MOST HERE SIMPLY NAME ME DEATH.

Death. That explained so much. It explained why Wing felt a familiarity with the entity that went beyond just the one sighting. It explained some of the happenings since their arrival too, why people didn't die even when their wounds said they should have.

"...And can you explain why I'm here?" His last memories before arriving in Haven the first time was of dying...

The swirls coalesced further, condensing, edges sharpening as the form took more material shape. Finally, a discernable figure stood before Wing, one the mech would recognize from his people's lore of old.

YOU WERE CHOSEN. YOU ARE NEEDED. YOU MAY NOT CONSCIOUSLY REMEMBER, BUT YOU WERE ASKED IF YOU WOULD BE WILLING TO CONTINUE YOUR PRESENT LIFE'S WORK BEFORE MOVING FURTHER ON ALONG THE PATH OF YOUR EXISTENCE.

YOU SAID YES.

The figure is unnerving. Who wouldn't be unnerved facing the very embodiment of mortality. But he's not...afraid. He's died already, and...was apparently given another chance.

"Needed? For what, or can you tell me?"

NOT AS FULLY AS YOU WOULD PROBABLY LIKE. THERE IS WORK TO BE DONE ON THIS WORLD, AND FORCES TO HOLD AT BAY IF THIS WORLD IS TO BE GIVEN THE CHANCE FOR A FUTURE NOT UTTERLY LOST TO CHAOS OR TORN APART IN THE STRUGGLE.

"Do you mean Unicron?" After what Galos was doing he can only assume the Unicron is still around. "Or is there more?" He understood if Death couldn't say more, but he couldn't know that for sure if he didn't ask.

THERE IS ALWAYS MORE, BUT UNICRON IS THE MOST IMMEDIATE KNOWN CONCERN.

He let out a sigh, not quite able to catch the wry look he gave the entity. "That certainly isn't comforting, but I can't say I'm surprised."

THE FIRST-FORGED THOUGHT THAT PRIMUS EITHER DESTROYED UNICRON OR PUSHED HIM SO FAR BACK HE WOULD BE UNABLE TO RECOVER. THEY WERE WRONG. TO NEUTRALIZE HIM WHEN HE RETURNED, PRIMUS WAS FORCED TO TAKE HIS BROTHER INTO HIMSELF. THEY BOTH CURRENTLY SLEEP AT THE SPIRITUAL CORE OF THE PLANET. UNICRON IS NOT CONSCIOUS, BUT EVEN UNCONSCIOUS, HE IS AN EVER-PRESENT DANGER TO ALL.

This makes him frown. Unicron was in the planet? He'd guessed as much, but having it confirmed...

"Is he the cause of the Miasma?"

IN PART. ONLY IN PART. IT IS MANIFESTED CHAOS. IT IS AFFECTED BY UNICRON, YES, SUBCONSCIOUSLY. IT IS ALSO AFFECTED BY PRIMUS. BE WARY OF IT. IT IS DANGEROUS, BUT IT IS NOT IN ITSELF INHERENTLY EVIL.

"I see. And we're here to...what? Try to get rid of it? Try to reawaken Primus so he can overpower his brother? These are powers beyond just about any of us I'd be willing to bet. It sounds like an impossible task. Or are were here for another reason?" Wing was well aware that he may not have his questions answered, or perhaps not in the ways he wanted, but he had to ask.

Elsa feels that chill, and it's off-putting. She was never, ever cold. It gives her cause for alarm, and she searches for the source of it. Having been avoiding most interactions with others, encountering the cat was rather strange. She was unnerved, the frost nipping at her toes to express her discomfort.

But still, it was only a cat. What could it possibly do to her?

"Hello?"

Nothing. At least, not in a sense. After all, it is not the young girl's Time.

Crimson eyes gaze up as the cat settles on its haunches to regard her. Its black coat might normally has a nice, glossy sheen to it - it's certainly smooth enough and looks super soft - but the truth is, it's as if it absorbs any light that touches it.

If she thought the mere presence of the being made her experience cold, its voice in her mind might well make her shiver a little.

GOOD AFTERNOON, QUEEN ELSA OF ARENDELLE.

It does, and it frightens her. It frightens her the animal seems to be speaking, but moreso that it knows her name.

"...Good afternoon." Keeping it together, she presses her lips into a flat line.

"Who are you?"

There is a time to frighten and a time to comfort. Or at least lessen what damage or alarm might be done. The cat lowers over its front paws, then rolls fluidly to its side. It'd probably be cute if the being's presence weren't naturally already rather creepy.

DIFFICULT FOR SOME PEOPLE TO COMPREHEND, MORESO FOR PEOPLE TO ACCEPT, USUALLY. WHICH IS UNFORTUNATE, BUT IT IS PART OF…HUMAN NATURE. As this isn't spoken so much as simply "understood", Elsa might feel that she comprehended the intention as "human" because her language has no really good equivalent, but in reality what was "said" encompasses all intelligent races and species. IT IS NOT MY INTENTION TO THREATEN OR FRIGHTEN YOU. I AM ONE OF THE GUARDIANS OF THIS CITY. I AM AN ASPECT OF THE BALANCE BETWEEN ORDER AND CHAOS. I HAVE BEEN GIVEN MANY NAMES OVER THE AGES AND ACROSS EXISTENCE. YOU WOULD KNOW ME AS THE GRIM REAPER. The cat shrugs a shoulder. THE ASPECT THAT SERVES IN THIS PLACE AND TIME.

If it helps? It doesn't sound terribly grim. Matter-of-fact if anything.

She did find it rather morbidly cute, being estranged from animals most of her life. ~~Fight the urge. It doesn't need petting, not if it might hurt you.~~

Her brows knit, and the sensation is unusual, but not misunderstood. It feels like something of higher understanding clicks in her brain. Oh. Like an epiphany.

"You're Death." she murmurs. She's no longer fearful, after all. Death in her culture often presented itself as a man or a woman, never a cat.

She's more bewildered than anything.

"I don't suppose I could call you by any other name?"

Having no natural physical form, Death can manifest itself however it thinks might best fit the person or situation. People usually find cats rather nonthreatening. ~~If she petted it, she would just find that it purrs like any normal cat. Death isn't adverse to physical contact, after all. Guilty pleasure...~~

I AM. AND YOU MAY CALL ME WHATEVER BEST SUITS YOU. NAMES ARE MORE FOR THE BENEFIT OF IDENTITY AND CLARITY OF THE ONE SPEAKING THAN THE ONE BEING SPOKEN TO OR OF. FOR MYSELF, I HAVE NO PREFERENCES.

"'Death' is rather ominous, which----" The cat was really ominous, she's not gonna lie--- "I'm sure you aren't." After all...Death came to those always. Threatening, never. Ever present, yes; it was a necessary factor of life. She knew that.

Okay. She'll bite. Leaning down, she'll offer her hand. ~~ANNA'S NEVER GONNA BELIEVE THIS~~

"And just 'Cat' won't do either. It's rude."

RUDENESS DEPENDS ON INTENTION AND PERCEPTION. HOWEVER IF YOU WISH, AZRAEL IS ANOTHER NAME I HAVE BEEN GIVEN, ONE THAT YOU MAY NOT ALREADY KNOW.

Oooooh, the cat's head and shoulders come back up off the pavement, head pressing into the offered hand. ~~Yep, guilty pleasure.~~

Surprise, folks. Death is cute and cuddly. Hell, all of Arendelle would never believe her.

"Azrael will do much better than Death." Continued cat-spoiling.

"And you just wander around? Among all, and no notice is taken?"

THOSE WHO PAY ATTENTION NOTICE. THOSE WHO FEEL MY PRESENCE. MY WANDERING IS WITH PURPOSE. IT SERVES ME - AND HELPS ME SERVE OTHERS - BEST TO KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON THROUGHOUT THE CITY. AND MOST MORTALS DO NOT LIKE BEING 'SPIED ON'. AS I HAVE ABILITY AND PERMISSION TO MAKE MYSELF VISIBLE HERE AND INTERACT WITH PEOPLE, I CHOOSE TO DO SO TO BETTER FACILITATE... What was the best word for what it was trying to communicate? RELATIONS.

So you're....watching over. But from all the way down here.

[ She supposed it made sense...Eerie, but it did. ]

I'd never known death to make itself so easily available for a chat.

[ It was sort of funny, she quirks a smile full of amusement. ]

I'll pay closer attention from now on.

Lea was on his way to the warehouse on a supply run when he first sensed it. It wasn't Darkness, exactly. He knew what that felt like, clingy and cold and smothering, like thick, oily smoke, only with more and less substance at once. This was... different. The closest thing he could compare it to was the kind of Nothingness he'd felt sometimes in the wee hours of the night in The Castle That Never Was, the kind of Nothingness that would take him to Proof of Existence, to stare at his stone, sometimes for hours on end. Stare at it because it felt like if he blinked, if he looked away for even an instant, he might fade away, back into the Nothingness that had formed him.

And yet it wasn't even exactly that. This felt more... natural, for lack of a better term. Nobodies had been an abomination, things not meant to exist. But this, whatever it was, belonged here. Or so it seemed.

Looking around for the source of the sensation, his eyes met a pair of glowing, red ones, watching him from the mouth of a nearby alley. And attached to those eyes, was a familiar feline figure. "Well," Lea said after a moment, "wasn't expecting to see you again." He wasn't exactly happy to see the other being either; not given the circumstances of their last meeting.

Natural indeed, though there were mortals who might disagree.

The cat paused, then sat back on its haunches and looked up at Lea, ruby eyes glittering while the soft coat reflected no light at all. Its head tilted slightly to one side.

I AM A SIGHT YOU ARE LIKELY TO SEE MORE THAN INFREQUENTLY IN THIS CITY. I AM ONE OF THE GUARDIANS. I WAS AND AM THE FIRST. The head tilted the other way. YOU DID WHAT YOU HAD TO, LEA. THE RITUAL ALLOWED NO OTHER WAY OUT.

The being is not a mind-reader by any means, but it has a least a mild connection to the spirit. It can make educated guesses, at least, as to what might be troubling someone, if anything.

Lea tilted his own head slightly to one side as well, expression thoughtful. "Mmm...", he said noncommittally at the prospect of seeing the being again. "Doesn't mean I have to be thrilled about it."

The rest, though, prompted him to glance away, frowning. The strange being obviously guessed correctly. "Somehow," Lea said, "that doesn't make me feel any better."

Pause. "She should never have had to go through that at all," he said quietly. "Any of it. She was just a kid." He was uncertain of her actual age- who knew with robots, really?- but she was a kid by her species' standards.

There is an impression of a small, wry grin at the first comment. SUCH IS THE WAY OF MY BEING - FEW EVER ARE. I ACCEPT THIS. IT IS IN YOUR NATURE.

The being gazes at Lea with a look that seems to weigh him. SHE WAS EXTREMELY YOUNG FOR HER KIND, YES. Does there seem to be more that it might say? Perhaps, but Lea might not be ready to hear it, so it refrains.

FLIT IS HAPPY NOW AND FREE FROM PAIN. SHE HAS ASKED ME TO TELL YOU THANK YOU FOR FREEING HER.

The remark about it not being 'in his nature' to like the cat caused Lea to quirk an eyebrow. "Mine specifically?", he asked. "Or just humans in general." The tone suggested it was the latter, but he wanted to be sure before the conversation went much further.

Lea almost didn't look up as the cat began to talk about Flit. It all sounded like things he'd been told before, none of which made the situation any better. None of it changed what he'd had to do, or the suffering Flit had been forced to endure for that asshole Galos' dreams of power.

The last bit, though, made him look up. "Wait... she asked you to?", Lea said, surprised and a bit confused. He studied the cat a bit more carefully for a long moment, as if he could verify the truth of what the cat was saying just by staring hard enough.

Finally he spoke again, his tone one of mingled suspicion and curiosity. "Who are you...?", he asked.

HUMANS IN GENERAL. INDIVIDUALS, OF COURSE, WILL VARY FROM THE MEAN.

The cat gazed back as Lea seemed to realize what it was. A hint of a grin pulled at feline lips.

WHO IS WRAPPED UP IN WHAT. I AM AN AGENT OF THE BALANCE BETWEEN ORDER AND CHAOS, THE ASPECT THAT SERVES IN THIS PLACE AT THIS TIME. I SERVE AS A GUIDE AND AN AID TO THOSE MAKING THE TRANSITION FROM ONE FORM OR LEVEL OF EXISTENCE TO ANOTHER. I HAVE BEEN CALLED BY MANY NAMES OVER THE AGES. YOU MIGHT KNOW ME BEST AS THE GRIM REAPER, OR DEATH.

Lea blinked. So he was talking to... death? Who looked like a house cat? He sighed slightly and shook his head. "OK," he finally said, half to himself. "It's official. Things here are even weirder than they used to be."

He turned his gaze back to the cat though, expression thoughtful. "I... kinda always though you'd be scarier," he said. "Like a big skeleton guy with a scythe or something. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. You're just... not what I expected."

The feline grin grew more prominent.

WHAT YOU ARE ACCUSTOMED TO ARE THE IMAGES HUMANS OVER THE AGES HAVE USED TO PORTRAY ME. I CHOOSE TO APPEAR TO PEOPLE IN THE MANNERS BEST SUITING THE PURPOSES. HERE IN HAVEN, I HAVE BEEN TASKED WITH AN ADDITIONAL DUTY THAT REQUIRES ME TO TAKE A MORE DIRECT AND VISIBLE PLACE IN PEOPLE'S LIVES, UNRELATED TO THEIR MORTAL DEATHS. AS I DO NOT WISH TO FRIGHTEN PEOPLE NEEDLESSLY, I CHOOSE FORMS THAT SERVE TO LESSEN THE LEVEL OF MY PERCEIVED THREAT TO THOSE I INTERACT WITH.

I CAN SHIFT INTO A ROBED SKELETON WITH A SCYTHE IF YOU'D PREFER.

The offer, while very mild and matter-of-fact, held a distinct hint of tongue-in-cheek humor.

"I'll pass on the skeleton thing, thanks," Lea said, a slight smirk touching his lips for a moment. Who'd have thought that Death would have a sense of humor.

Still, he became serious again a moment later. "I didn't get a chance to say it before," he said quietly, "but... thanks. For telling me Flit's name. Wherever she is now, she deserves to be remembered here too. And could you tell her... that I'm sorry we had to meet like we did?"

His expression turned hard. "And if you see Galos," there was venom in the name, leaving no doubt as to his feelings about its owner, "tell him that he got off easy in that rock slide. And that he'd better hope I don't find him when I eventually get to the afterlife."

YOU MAY YET GET THE CHANCE TO TELL HER YOURSELF, BUT YES, I WILL MAKE SURE SHE KNOWS. I BELIEVE SHE IS SORRY TOO.

Hackles raised at the last, the cat stiffening as it straightened. The voice took on a little more boom in Lea's mind. Despite the cat's physically small size, it would seem to grow larger somehow, powerful despite the furry little body . . . and Lea would be able to feel the ageless being's own great wrath, perfectly calm and frighteningly terrible. ~~Managing to actually piss off Death himself is not a wise thing to do.~~

HE HAS NOT TRANSITIONED FROM THIS EXISTENCE. YET. I HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO FIND HIM, ON THIS PLANE OR THE NEXT. I ASSURE YOU THAT, ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, HE WILL BE DEALT WITH FOR HIS BETRAYAL. AS WITH ALL OF THE GUARDIANS HERE, HE MADE AN OATH TO ME TO PROTECT THIS CITY AND ITS INHABITANTS AND NOT TO INTERFERE WITH YOUR SURVIVAL OR YOUR FREEDOM. PERHAPS HE FORGOT . . . I HAVE NOT.

I WILL NOT STOP YOU FROM ANY ACTIONS YOU CHOOSE TO TAKE, SHOULD YOU ENCOUNTER HIM BEFORE I DO. JUST KNOW THAT, IF YOU NEVER DO, HIS PAYMENT WILL BE EXACTED REGARDLESS.

Lea looked a bit surprised for a moment when Death mentioned that he might get to tell Flit himself soon, quirking an eyebrow. For a moment he considered asking about it... then Death's reaction to his other request banished that idea. Only years of practice feigning emotions kept Lea from flinching involuntarily at Death's anger, even if it wasn't directed at him.

Instead, he looked thoughtful. "Hmm... could be Unicron's doing," Lea said. "Last I checked, evil Chaos Gods didn't take too kindly to minions who failed them. If that's the case, Galos might be wishing you'd pay him a visit right now." He smirked darkly for a moment before becoming serious again.

"I'm guessing you've already told the other Guardians the situation?", he said. He couldn't really see Death keeping this important a detail from his fellow Guardians, but well, it was Death he was talking about. One really couldn't assume anything with regards to its mode of thinking.

That dark smirk was returned, feline style, the voice returning to the quieter calm. PERHAPS. IF THAT IS THE CASE, THEN I WILL KNOW WHEN IT IS TIME TO COLLECT HIM FROM HIS MASTER. BUT YES, THAT HAS BEEN OUR GUESS AS WELL. POSSIBLY UNICRON CLAIMED GALOS FOR PUNISHMENT FOR FAILING HIM, OR BECAUSE GALOS WOKE HIM UP ENOUGH TO REALIZE HIS POWER WAS BEING SIPHONED WITHOUT HIS PERMISSION. DEITIES IN GENERAL RARELY TAKE WELL TO THAT KIND OF VIOLATION.

THE OTHER GUARDIANS ARE AWARE. I GATHERED THEM, TOLD THEM THE SITUATION, AND I RETESTED EACH OF THEM. ANOTHER BETRAYAL LIKE THIS IS . . . UNLIKELY.

Lea quirked an eyebrow at the notion of Death 'testing' the other Guardians. Part of him was curious about what such a test might entail... but he opted to let it go. It was probably nothing he'd really understand anyway. Enough that Death was fairly confident that there wouldn't be a repeat of Galos' betrayal.

"Heh..." Lea finally said, a bit of a wry smirk forming on his lips. "Well at least this time we got the whole 'which of the guys in charge is a traitor' thing out of the way fairly early on." He shook his head, chuckling slightly before turning back to Death. "Don't know if you were already operating here the last time my friends and I were in Haven, but lemme tell you, I'm glad we didn't have to deal with another Liege Maximo here."

"Anyway," Lea said, relaxing as much back into his normal self as he could in the presence of Death, "was there some particular reason you're hanging out around here? Or do you just enjoy hanging out in alleyways being creepy at people?" Lea's expression indicated that he was mostly joking., though he really was curious about why Death was there.

IT DOES FASCINATE, DOES IT NOT? HOW ALIKE SEEMINGLY DISPARATE RACES CAN BE, AND HOW MANY TIMES THE SAME MISTAKES ARE MADE OVER AND OVER AGAIN. Frankly, Death doesn't get it. But then, the being sees and knows far more than most can begin to comprehend, so its thought processes are far different than mortals'. YES, I WAS HERE BEFORE. THE MOMENT THAT LIFE BEGINS IN ANY GIVEN TIME AND PLACE, SO TOO DOES THE PATH OF THAT LIFE THROUGH THE TRANSITIONS OF THE MANY FORMS IT WILL TAKE IN EXISTENCE.

The wording actually gets a mild chuckle. 'BEING CREEPY AT PEOPLE', AS YOU SAY, CAN BE ENTERTAINING ON OCCASION, IN ITS WAY, AS WELL AS SERVE TOWARDS LESSONS TO TEACH WHEN NEEDED. BUT YOU ARE WONDERING WHY I AM VISIBLE AT ALL? OR WHY I AM IN THIS LOCATION? It was never a good idea to assume, even Death knew that, and again, the being wasn't a mind reader despite the form of communication, not unless invited in.

Edited 2015-02-27 06:05 (UTC)

"Fascinating is one way of putting it," Lea said. His tone suggested that his own description of this tendency would be a good bit less polite. It had cost him his heart, his world, and over a decade of his life back home. And his wasn't the greatest loss by any means.

"And I more meant 'why are you in the alley', but now that you mention it, I am kinda curious as to why you tend to be visible at all," he said. "I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but on most worlds people don't usually see you til it's time for, shall we say, an 'official' visit. So what's different about this place?"

The feline nods. ONE OF MANY. Death is far from blind to the trials and pains of mortals, though the being is admittedly...dispassionate if compared to them. But that came from existing on such a timeless and immaterial plane of being more than "just not caring."

YOU ARE NOT WRONG. WHAT IS DIFFERENT HERE IS THAT I HAVE BEEN TASKED WITH DIRECT STEWARDSHIP OF THIS WORLD - NOT ONLY ITS SOULS BUT ITS MORTAL BEINGS AND THE HEALTH OF THE PLANET ITSELF. I AM ONE OF THIS CYBERTRON'S GUARDIANS. I AM THE FIRST GUARDIAN. IT IS I WHO TESTED AND ELEVATED THE OTHERS. ONE OF THE FAILINGS OF THE ORIGINAL FIRST-FORGED IS THAT THEY WERE NOT INVOLVED ENOUGH IN THE LIVES OF THOSE PLACED INTO THEIR CARE TO HELP THEM BUILD THEIR WORLD. IN ORDER TO BEST SERVE THE POPULACE HERE AND NOW, THE GUARDIANS HAVE BEEN TASKED WITH BEING PRESENT AND AVAILABLE. INCLUDING ME.

AS FOR BEING IN THIS ALLEY, IT IS MERELY A PASSING POINT BETWEEN ONE PLACE AND ANOTHER. IF I DO SO PHYSICALLY RATHER THAN MERELY PASS THROUGH OBSTACLES FOR THE SHORTEST DISTANCE, I AM MORE LIKELY TO MEET AND VISIT WITH PEOPLE, LIKE YOU.

((ooc: I...probably don't have to clarify, but I feel compelled to anyway. Death's comment about the "failing of the FF's" is an IC opinion only. The mods did the best they could with their NPCs and I think they did a fine job at it. <3))

"Huh,' Lea said thoughtfully. "Well 'uninvolved' is a pretty good description of the First Forged. I think I saw Megatronus all of twice in the whole time I was there. Or here. Or... whatever." Not that he particularly regretted that. Megatronus was... not the most pleasant of bots to hang around with.

Though the mention of the First Forged did bring an interesting question to mind. "Say... I don't suppose you know what happened to the First Forged between the time we all left Haven the first time and now? Or would telling me be cosmic cheating or something?" Hey it wasn't like they all hadn't been wondering, and if Death couldn't or wouldn't tell him, then they wouldn't be any worse off than they were now.

The answer to Lea's previous question however, was much more straightforward, and earned a slight chuckle. "Well, can't argue with that logic, I guess," he said. "Though a guy like me probably has a past weird enough to confuse even you. I know it give me a headache when I try to think about it too hard, and I lived through it." Yeah, Nobodies are weird.

The cat kind of grins at the last, nodding. YOU ARE AMONG A VERY UNIQUE GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS, FOR YOUR OWN OR ANY OTHER REALITY.

The tone and expression turned more somber as Death continued. [THERE WAS A BACKLASH IN THE RITUAL THAT WAS MEANT TO SEND PEOPLE HOME. THE FIRST-FORGED THOUGHT THAT UNICRON HAD BEEN BANISHED, BUT HE WAS NOT DRIVEN BACK NEARLY AS FAR AS THEY'D THOUGHT. HE MADE ONE LAST PUSH JUST AS THEY WERE CASTING, AND THE ENERGIES WERE COMPLETELY INCAPABLE. THE RESULTING MAGICAL EXPLOSION IS WHAT FLUNG YOU AND YOUR COMPANIONS FORWARD THROUGH TIME. HAVING BEEN AT GROUND ZERO OF THAT EXPLOSION, THE FIRST-FORGED WERE NOT SO FORTUNATE. THEIR BODIES WERE SHREDDED INSTANTLY. I ESCORTED ALL TWELVE OF THEIR SOULS ACROSS THE VEIL SHORTLY AFTER.]

Lea grinned right back at Death at first, but the grin quickly faded at the news of what had happened to the First Forged. Part of him felt a bit guilty; if the First Forged hadn't been trying to send them home just then, they might not have been so vulnerable, nor the attack so disastrous. But either way there was nothing he could do about it now.

"What about Leige Maximo?", Lea asked. "Did he get away clean, or did you end up taking him too?" He hoped Leige hadn't gotten away; for him to live while the other First Forged died would be horribly unfair. But he'd seen more than enough to know that life was frequently unfair, so he wasn't about to hold his breath.

"And is Unicron's attack responsible for what happened to their temples too? Cause some of them look like they got hit with more than just several centuries of neglect."

AS STATED – ALL TWELVE SOULS. IT WAS DUE TO LEIGE’S ALLIANCE WITH UNICRON THAT THE ENTITY KNEW WHEN BEST TO STRIKE. HE WAS PRESENT FOR THE ATTACK, AND HE WAS TOO CLOSE.

YES. ONCE THE FIRST-FORGED WERE OUT OF HIS WAY, UNICRON LASHED OUT AT THEIR TEMPLES AS PRIMUS STIRRED AND PULLED HIMSELF BACK UP FROM THE CORE TO DEAL WITH HIM. THEY FOUGHT - IT'S ONLY BY ACCIDENT THAT THE REST OF HAVEN WAS SPARED - AND PRIMUS FINALLY OVERCAME UNICRON ENOUGH TO DRAG HIM INTO THE CORE WITH HIM, INTO SLEEP. IT WAS THE ONLY WAY TO CONTAIN HIM.

BUT THEY ARE POLAR OPPOSITES - LIGHT AND DARK, GOOD AND EVIL. THE UNEASY BLENDING OF THEIR ENERGIES IS WHAT FORMS THE CHAOS THAT IS THE MIASMA.

"Hmm," Lea said, thoughtful. "Well, there wasn't really much of a 'rest of Haven' besides the temples back then. But that does explain a lot." Part of him couldn't help but be a bit miffed that all their efforts fighting Unicron back then had ended up gaining them next to nothing, in the end. Though at least Liege had gotten what was coming to him.

"Given the forces involved, though," he said, "somehow I can't really see us ending up here and now as being an accident. Especially given what happened just after we arrived."

Bulkhead was restless. After the chaos and mess, it was a little too quiet in this city, and at the moment he didn't even have construction work to distract himself. So he's digging through the junk in the warehouse, looking for anything useful. A part of him even hoped his cannon would show up here sometime. But it had yet to do so. He's here late, though. Well after most in the city have probably gone to bed. The Forged might be gone, but the boons still worked, which meant he didn't need to sleep nearly as often as most.

He stops when he feels the chill though, something familiar, even if it's not something he's comfortable with. He straightens up and glances around trying to find the owner.

"I know you're there."

Edited (God damn enter key.) 2014-12-29 21:33 (UTC)

The particulate cloud comes into view from around the end of the aisle – at least it didn't simply pass through? It knew that people tended to not like that, though the reasoning somewhat escaped the being. It condenses down, materializing into the form of a black cat – massive by human standards but comfortable (for a certain value of "comfort" in this case) for someone as large as Bulkhead. The head tilts as the creature stops and settles back on its haunches.

SO I AM. AS ARE YOU. It had actually been in here to see if that young jet that was giving the engineer minor irritations was about, but it did not seem to be the case. Unless asked, however, it didn't feel the need to explain that. YOU ARE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

But that is not for them to decide...

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LOL forgot he's no longer in cat for for Wing

XD

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Haha oops, wrong tag 9,9

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Wow, self – “incompatible”, not “incapable” 9,9

And heh, I forgot that Lea wouldn't know that there were technically 13 Primes. X3

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LOL yeah it gets me too sometimes XD