MDSVeritas

"Ferro..." Rytt seemed concerned about Ferro's new state, but there was something else in his voice's intonation. Just then Rodin's volley of missiles began to hit the three ships. Rytt's and Veridyan's ships utilized enough shield power, but Elaryse was hit by enough to break through and get some minor hull damage. It was then that Rytt's core got hit by Derik's EVA's Dagger. The core rocked with several smaller explosions, and it died down quite bit, seemingly heavily damaged. "You are being a fool. I have no choice but to shut down your combat capabilities." Elaryse did not speak in anger or sensitivity, only in a matter of fact. The Odin suddenly show out dozens on dozens of missiles, which seperated into two groups; one headed for Derik, and one for Rodin. They all swrved and spun, making each individual one difficult to hit. It would take a combination of maneuvering and destroying the missiles to get out of their range. "There is no time!" Vergyl communicated with the group. "You have to go to the beacon behind the ships and warp to Earth. Simply get there and my presets will take over and send you to Earth's coordinates. Veridyan's Rex was the next to open fire, with a wave of focused energy beams shooting towards Derik. "Your anger ain't helpin' things friends, I'm stopping this." Inside Ferro's mind he suddenly received an instant transmission. It was Rytt. It simply carried a message from him. "You must see this. We wouldn't be able to explain to the others in time." With the message came a huge data transmission. Mayday. It was a virus. Developed by the three SAs after they had been taken off Genesys project. Several reports of insubordination from all 3 SAs during it's construction. They reported it was too unethical. Development continued nonetheless, and a tether was placed under the SA subsystem to confine them to the research facility until the project was finished. The virus took two weeks after infection to show symptoms. First fever, then it purposefully fired the majority of pain receptors, causing excruciating horror in those affected. It did not, however, kill them. They could stay alive for 5 weeks in this state before death. It was meant as a message to the rebellion. It would spread quickly because of the 2 weeks without symptoms. At the time of the human disappearance over 60% of the rebel planets were infected. 34% of UHC worlds too. Collateral damage. The spread of the virus was meant to be contained, but it proved difficult. Chances of the majority of the human population dying from the virus; likely. There was no way to tell the true extent of the virus either given the lack of initial symptoms. The 3 SAs conferred for 4 consecutive days on the matter after being released from the chemical weapons facility after finishing the project. Afterward, Genesys was activated by them. Vergyl never knew. He couldn't have. He was too connected to humanity to understand the inherent issues with the human mind- the inherent flaws of war and horrors of human cruelty. He did not know of the virus and would surely never believe them. The intention was to use the gathered matter from human kind to create a new, better race, that the SAs could help from such cruelty. After Genesys activation, Vergyl redid the tether on the SAs and re contained them temporarily. Then he hid Genesys, making this plan impossible without humans to remove tethers. These files were not artificial, they had been compiled through Rytt's operational history. Elaryse wished to create a race of people who were confident and respectable and followed order and thus were without chaos and hatred. Veridyan wanted a happy race who's common joy would stop the creation of war. Rytt wanted the recreation of humans on a smaller scale, starting from only a few, that they might grow from their flaws as humans have and create society anew from a small scale, thus allowing for the creativity and complexity of humanity without mass cruetly. This difference is why the SAs fought, even with the plot they had come together to make such that humanity could be saved such suffering. Vergyl, not knowing of the plot wished to use Genesys to fully re inhabit the galaxy with humans. This was the truth. Ferro now knew. There were no villians or heroes at this moment. There were a bunch of people who made hard decisions about something very morally grey, and they all had more hard decisions to make. The question is, what would he do now that Rytt was damaged and unable to explain the situation before the others had acted?

The first shot from Seraphim was dissapated by Bebop's sheilds, but the second broke through and grazed the core, damaging Bebop's movement capacity. "Geez... it didn't take long with Vergyl..." Rytt said. The ships sat still for a moment. The weapons of any of the three could attack at any moment. "You're angry. So you've seen what happened. It was the reaction I feared you'd have, in fact, it's quite a bit worse. This is exactly why I didn't show it to you." Elaryse said. She was fairly calm but an undertone of anger and annoyance was in her voice. "If you continue to attack us I will have no choice but to return fire. But your plan is more than that. You wish to gain control of Genesys, indeed I'm sure you intend to shut us all down." "Seraphim...." Rytt seemed preoccupied in containing the damage to his ship. "...watch it. You have to beware of what you do at a point like this- when everything is at stake. Beware of what you do and who you trust wholeheartedly." The Odin moved slowly to face Seraphim's Wing. Elaryse again. "You think I'm a monster. You think we're all monsters. You haven't the half of it. Look behind you. The planet that created the most heinous war machines ever devised. The planet where the most destructive virus in the history of humankind was built. You're very quick to judge. You mistake us for monsters. We are simply the only ones who had the power to change fate and the will to know it had to be done. You require a villain, and we've filled it so very well for you haven't we? Think of how rash your being. You know where Genesys is now. We can change things, we can make it better than it's ever been. That was always the plan, Seraphim, that never changed."

"Initialization setup complete" Vergyl said. "When you get the chance to insert the virus, think nothing of me. I am a being built for others, that is where I attain what you refer to as happiness. In any case, it must be done. Alex, I've installed a small secondary targeting system for which you can release small concentrated bolts of energy stored in the Knightmare. It's a useful secondary weapon and you shall have control over it if and when Ferro takes control of the Knightmare itself." The rail systems that all of the APs were on suddenly shifted and moved. "Hold on." Vergyl instructed. Suddenly each one was propelled forwards down the huge hangar. AS the moments ticked by it became obvious that the hangar was actually tilting... upward. All five reached the hangers exit at the same moment, and shot through the stormy weather in moments. It had barely been a few moment before they were all outside of the planets atmosphere. Several space stations loomed, a huge station- what was known as the beacon, the means for faster than light travel, wasn't far from. Neither were the three ships. "He..." Rytt trailed off in a moment. "You met Vergyl I see. He... changed you mind?" "I knew he would." Elaryse sounded slightly annoyed, but less than usual for some reason. "He didn't understand you know..." Veridyan was sad. The three ships were positioned near the beacon, which is what they needed to get near to initiate a jump to earth. "You're going to try to shut down our systems, right? And I'm betting he told you where Genesys is..." Elaryse said with little emotion. The tenseness was palpable.

((I"M BACK. Sorry for the gaps in posting. I wanted to give a chance for anyone who hadn't posted to do so (Silver and riku) At the same time I've had more work than I'd thought I'd have lately. I'll try to keep the posts on my part to a minimum of once a day from here on out.)) A mechanical arm came down and retrieved the small device where Ferro's consciousness. It placed it inside a small data slot, and the data was moved along several wired at a nearly instantaneous speed. It was then downloaded into the AP model Knightmare. "The Wing does not transform I'm afraid." Vergyl said without emotion. "And no other working APs or effective ship models are in the area. You are correct in suggesting that a diversionary tactic would be greatly useful, but you would be... severely outmatched if you so choose that decision." Four panels lit up in the room. "This are in fact small moving platforms that shall transport you all to the designated AP you've chosen. I understand the desire you all have for your love and companionship. I was made to understand feelings like that above all else. Right now, though, we must fight for the future we desire." The first panel suddenly showed a hologram of AP Codename Wing on it. The second panel was Lagann. The third was Gypsy. The fourth was E.V.A. "Step onto the panel of your chosen AP. And the platforms will move you directly to where you will enter the APs. This is where your desire for companionship and peace will be tested. It shall not be an easy test. Once you step onto these platforms and go to the hangers, my com disruptive won't work, and the other SAs will surely contact you. Beware, and be ready." The panels sat before them all in the room. To Ferro the Knightmare suddenly started up. He could see. He could hear, he could move even. Mostly. The Knightmare's legs were locked into the deployment rail system that would shoot it out of the station into space. He could move it's arms though, and intrinsically he could feel his own ability to communicate with whoever he wished through communication systems which felt like they were built into his consciousness. He was the equivalent of an SA now...

Props to whoever can name the given reference for each model of Armored Phantom! I tried to cover a couple of the different bases for anyone who may like the given mech show/movie I reference.

"I'm sorry," Vergyl spoke to Seraphim "It is simply too dangerous to attempt to change the virus. The reason it's so effective is because file deletion is relatively a quick process. To create a system to dynamically alter code would be greatly difficult and unnecessarily risky. It would simply be far too much of a gamble." Vergyl walked over to Ferro as a small item was brought over by a mechanical arm. "This may not be very pleasant, but if you wish to live on in SA form I can assist you. This.." he pointed to the small device on the table, that looks like the machine those with diabetes might use to check their blood, "... is a consciousness transfer module. Stick it into your neck and thousands of nanomachines will carry the needed tissue and electrical impulses of your brain to the machine itself. From there we can rework it as computer based code. It won't be necessarily pleasant, and you will technically be dead for a few moments as the consciousness is transferred, but afterward I can upload it temporarily to one o the Armored Phantoms. After this is over we can find a more stable solution. I will now proceed to go through the abilities of each Armored Phantom, or AP, and you may choose who will pilot them from there." Vergyl disappeared and the first mech from the screens appeared as a holographic projectile. It was a sleek mostly white machine,with blue lines across it with an ion propulsion system built into huge movable sections on it's back that looked exactly like wings. In it's hand it had a huge built in laser cannon. "This is Model 1, Codename Wing. It is incredibly good at air mobility and general speed. It comes equipped with a missile system and a designated laser-based ranged gun. The next hologram was a more large hulking thing. It was almost entirely red. It's method of movement seems to be anti-gravitational engine on it's back. One arm was equipped with a basic tungsten-based Railgun, and the other was a huge drill. "Model 2. Codename Lagann. Greater defensive abilities, and more forceful attack, but it is also slower in general mobility. It comes equipped with a rail gun and high speed drill approved for penetrating 92% of known metals." Next up was another sleek mech. It was mostly purple with some other trim colored on it. A huge energy-based dagger was on it's side, with a small series of missile pods to back up it's ranged abilities. It seemed to have boosters on it's ankle areas for air abilities. "Model 3. Codename E.V.A. Far less weapon capacity is countered by the fact that it's sleek design hides the most strength of any of the available APs. It could rip apart most mechs with it's hands, and the assistance of the attached knife is also a great benefit. It comes equipped with several missiles pods to supplement ranged ability." Moving right along the next was the biggest mech yet. It didn't even seem exceptionally well armored, but it was amazingly armed. Missile pods lined it's chest, it's hand seemed to double as a mobile short-burst short-range plasma cannon, it's other hand came with a retractable blade attachment. On both it's lag peices were two separate large-round machine gun weapons. It had huge boosters on the soles of it's boot peices. "Model 4. Codename Gypsy. This is the most well-armed of the APs. At the same time, it is one of the slowest and doesn't have the best armor either. It can take up a huge amounts of targets or throw a ton of firepower at an enemy though." Finally it came down to the last one. This one was not quite bulky but neither necessarily sleek. It was a crimson red, but a different shade than the second model. It's arm was very different from the rest of it's body, as the fingers of it's left arm are huge and the hand itself was silver. The arm looked like a sizable weapon in itself. An energy system on it's back appeared to give it to potential of flight. "Model 5. Codename Knightmare. This model is good at defensive maneuvers, able to use it's arm and an energy-based shielding system to defend against most attacks, and can even return such attacks on the enemies themselves." Vergyl paced. "So you must all pick one to travel in. And someone must be a pilot too. I leave the choices up to you. My powers are limited so I cannot halt the other SA's ships. Once you are ready, we must make haste. Now is when the final assault begins."

Just so you guys know, I'm going to put a deadline for submissions by November 10th so if you're going to put in a poem, please try to do it by then. Here's my submission, sonnets are fun. Strange how imperfection can oft become The most perfection that I ever knew A perfect line I’ve found within a skew These parts become far greater than their sum Though god would have me look upward for love, I’ve found upon the ground a truer course. For in their smiles I find a godly force. I choose this over that which is above. With smirks we can create our currency, And merchants of each other do we make, In this economy of give and take. Forever wealthy shall we always be. So many things I’d like to tell these few, But most of all, by far, is “I love you”.

Posting is open now, feel free to go ahead.

Definitely. Any variation or perspective of the theme is welcome.

Yep, you would post your entry directly into this thread. Both the submissions and voting will go on in this thread so that it won't get too confusing.

We may do so in later contests, but I figure that for the initial run a fully democratic vote should be fine.

Name: Avurel Teirul Age: 37 Gender: Male Affiliation: Red Hawk Appearance: Avurel is a fairly small man who wears a dark blue vest a black pants under the crimson robe he often wears. His hair is short and black, and his eyes are a dark brown. Weapons: 1) A small light blue bracelet that, when used, envelops Avurel's right hand in an armored magical-base gauntlet. 2) A small circular disk on his back that can be held, at which point magical energy forms a large shield around it, making an effective defensive item. 3) Boots that slowly charge up power and can be used to suddenly boost Avurel great distances. 4) An elemental dagger that can switch between ice and fire based attacks. Background: Avurel is truly not incredibly concerned with the issues or claims of either country, but he made a promise to a close friend over a decade before to protect the Red Hawk, and he aims to keep it. He greatly dislikes politics and has no ill will towards the enemies he is pitted against. He accepted duty on the wall as a means to stay away from political machinations while trying to keep the people safe.

Hello ladies and gentlemen of the writing board, I'm MDSVeritas, and I'd like try something around these parts. If you're reading this then you probably enjoy writing and hopefully want to be able to flex your writing skills as much as possible. Well I feel that way at least, so I wanted to try something on these boards I've seen on different sites, and that is a themed poetry contest. To make it short and simple, a theme is put forth and all participants can make a poem of any length as long as it goes with the theme (that is to say any interpretation of that theme as well). After a set amount of days everyone who has participate gives feedback on the other poems and votes on their top three. Whoever you rank first gets 3 points, second gets 2, and third gets 1 point. By voting you give yourself a single point. After the voting the votes will be tallied and the winner will be declared, and then that winner will select the theme for the next contest, sound interesting, good! So, I can't really get a good fix on how many people frequent this specific board, but I'm hoping for over 4 or 5 participants if possible to make the contest a recurring thing. Now, as the title says, the theme for the first contest is love. I wanted to start it out with something general. Anything related to love is welcomed, and for this first one there are also no restrictions on the type of poems you all can enter.nor a word limit, so be as creative as you wish. I hope you may find this interesting, as I'd love to have a working community of writers able to write and give feedback in a positive way so that everyone can get better and enjoy themselves doing it. Feel free to ask questions below or simply post your poem of choice. Thanks for reading!

"You could construct a version of humanity that has certain knowledge bases, yes, so they would not need to be created as the equivalent of infants." Vergyl asked the first question he heard. He turned to Seraphim then. "You are obviously angry, but you must understand- the architecture of an SA system is mobile and fluid. It exists on several networks simultaneously and changes in a little time continuously. To attempt to confine the SAs with your own method would be incredibly difficult of not technically impossible. The tether was built at the same time as the SA with the same code base so it changed as they changed, which was why it was so effective. But they are too expansive in their codebase now, it would take years to write enough code to restrict them and by that time they would have already grown far larger. The most effective means in the Recall Protocol, a virus that is built to move more rapidly through an SA code than an SA can actually change it's location or build onto itself more. Destruction is by far the moest statically likely means of eliminating the threat. You should think on this, you seem emotionally distraught and I will not push the matter." He then turned to Derik. "With the Recall Protocol I can supply you with, you have no need for an army. It would in fact be more effective for there to be less of you. You can move quickly to Earth in that case. Another issue is the nature of what you are dealing with in Genesys. You are creating an entire race beings, and if you do so, you must face the consequences of your actions. If you were to create a warrior race, what would you do once your cause was won? Would you destroy them? Would you let violent beings coexist with you? The nature of Genesys is an existential one. Merely recreating humanity is by far the optimal choice in the matter." The screens behind Vergyl flashed to a huge hanger. There were 5 humanoid armored beings standing in the hanger. The thing was, they were was tall as skyscrapers. "This is the scrapped black ops project codenamed Armored Phantom. Large humanoid robotic suits piloted by a neural connection. These will be the most adaptable and dynamic means of making it to Earth. Each is different and can hold up to 3 people if need be, though only one can pilot it. They each come equipped with a variety of weapons. You should choose either to pilot one and warp to Earth or feign ignorance to the other three and use them to make it Earth. The choice is up to you." Finally Vergyl walked over to Ferro. "I apologize for not answering your question, I was searching various data logs while I spoke to give you a definitive answer. I apologize, but I could not find a log of who put you into the cryogenic freezing facility. A curious note, however, is that you are the only one frozen with an attached data note. I shall show it to you now." Vergyl waved his hand and a holographic text message appeared. It was simple, and short, and to the point. "Keep Ferro safe. Please." Vergyl said nothing for a moment. "I know not what threat you were saved from by being frozen, or who did it. I can guess only one thing from this. You were cared for. I believe you still are."

"The reason why the SAs were tethered and did not know the location of Genesys was due to me." Veryl began. "I learned of their action exactly .32 seconds after they initiated it. I was programmed to be the most empathetic, and least personality-driven. As such, I lacked whatever ambition drove them to that action. Instead I was designed to be open and understanding, and defensive of continued mutual existence as we know it. They did not seem to expect it, but I was able to access their firewall system from the SA core mainframe system on Earth. It disabled them for about 12 minutes, at which time I activated several layers of the SA tether system and moved Genesys from the testing station in orbit over Saturn. By the time they regained control Genesys was out of their reach and they were all tethered. At that time they used their combined processing ability to force a firewall to lock me within several small subsystems, so that I was unable to get out to impede their progress more." Vergyl paced. "I eventually found a hole and moved the Genesys transmitter here as a red herring. I assume it was Veridyan, Elaryse, and Rytt's plan to use Genesys to create a new race of creatures of their own design which they could serve as gods over, in contrast to humans who we served. With this hypothesis I hid Genesys away and with the tether in place they would need human verification to find it again. I was unsure if they would find humans, but thought it unlikely. In any case, I set this trap as a second obstacle." Vergyl walked up to the group. "The tether cannot be reactivated. I took them by surprise the first time, they would be expecting it now. The only way to stop them would be to find the location of the SA mainframe system, where you might insert a virus to go through the entire galactic network and wipe all SAs. That is also where I placed Genesys, as I theorized that if humans were still in existence and wished to stop the three then the best chance would be to place Genesys and the route to destroying the SAs in a single place. After destroying the SAs, you may use Genesys to recreate humanity to the previous scale it was..." He paused. "Understand, though, that while you can specify the humans to be under certain knowledge parameters or archetypes, the decomposition event did not store matter on an individual scale. Decomposition is very close to what you consider death. They are simply converted to matter and stored, they cannot be recreated with the specific individual elements and memories of the previous state."

"This lab is not medical, it is a technological and chemical development lab. The most you would be able to do for physical injuries is dull the pain." Vergyl had not yet shown much emotion in his voice. It was then that the hologram appeared. Vergyl appeared as a white figure, with no human complexion to him. His face was average looking and his hair a simple short cut white. He wore white pants with a simple white shirt. "I am sorry it came to this. I did not want any of you to die." The slightest inflection of sadness was in his voice. "If you haven't noticed, I lack much of the personality of the other Sentient Artificials you've met. I am what you might call a foil to them. They have greater feeling of emotion. I have greater empathy. I associate with almost all beings, and as such I appear to lack a definitive personality like the other three. It perhaps makes me less creative, but it also makes me more loyal." A holographic projection appeared next to Rytt. It was an older looking woman in a lab coat. "This is Doctor Hendricks. She was the scientific lead on Project Genesys. It was the UHC project that all 4 Y-class SAs were assigned on. We made great progress and were able to assist her and her team in her work. We completed the machine known as Genesys. It was intended as a creation tool that would allow humanity to create other races at will by inputting certain specifications. It was a sort of god machine. It could take in matter under certain conditions and store it within the beacons, which are the method for warping space time to achieve FTL travel. We completed the project early, we were very good." The screens behind Vergyl all suddenly turned on. Each one showed an image more horrific than the last. War, in such a way that none of them had ever seen it. People clawing at their throats, mutating horribly on the spot, crying over dying children. "This is the UHC Civil War. It occurred while we were working on our project. It was.. horrific. Much of the funds for our Genesys project were routed to this very lab, where new weapons were made against the counter-UHC forces." Vergyl pointed at Terry. "You used to be an SA from a world commandeered by the rebellion and you were modified to work for them. I recall the reports about you, you were quite the creative force. For everything that these scientists developed in these labs, you were known to be very "creative" with your weapons development too. The war escalated. Last I heard of you one of your original creators had found some way or retrieving you from the rebel force, and hid you away somewhere. I would not have expected it to be in an artificial human body though. In any case, the rebels has equally destructive weapons. The war was taking lives in unprecedentedly horrific way. When we finishes Genesys, it was deemed unusable while the civil war still dragged on." Vergyl paced, and noticing Ferro attempted to get more to the point. "While we continued to work on finalizing the specifications for the Gensys the UHC command put Veridyan and Rytt in this very weapons department. They did not enjoy it, nor did they enjoy the death and suffering they were helping to make reality. Elaryse was transferred several months later. Exactly 4 months afterward, on a routine Genesys test this occurred..." The holograms disappeared and the screens all showed an unfamiliar lab. The woman- Dr. Hendricks- was working on a computer console. She began to speak to it. "Okay, the transmitter results seem well within limits Elaryse, that will be all." Rytt's voice sounded in the lab now. "I'm sorry doctor, but it won't." The doctor looked surprised, "Rytt? What are you doing in the Earth subsystem, weren't you in weapons development this week?" Veridyan now. "We gotta activate Genesys, doc. It's an emergency." The doctor looked confused. "I've already set it to active for the tests, what's the issue?" "There's a lot of issues Doctor," Elaryse sighed. "Genesys module activate matter collection method 243." A small cube-like device in the center suddenly started emanating sound- a sterile robot voice. "Collection method 243 active. Input collection parameters." The doctor was even more confused now. "Matter collection? Elaryse, what's the problem?" Elaryse said nothing. Rytt's voice now entered in. He was more sad than anyone listening had ever heard him before. "I'm so sorry. Parameters set to known race homo sapiens." "No..." The doctor was speechless. "You're-" She was interrupted by another robotic statement. The cube known as Genesys spoke once more. "Confirmed. Parameters set to disassemble all matter from known race homo sapiens for reconstruction storage. Range of action required." "You can't. You- why?" The doctor was in shock. Veridyan answered her. "Too much horror. Too much suffering, doc. Too much every god damn thing.... Range of action is all known galaxy." The doctor had a single moment of speech. "No! You -" At that moment she seemed to instantly come apart. It only took a moment. Within a moment there was nothing Within a moment there was silence. "Damn it." Rytt sounded like he was a close to crying as an artificial being could be. "Damn it, damn it, damn it!" "Shut up!" Elaryse barked, she seemed equally on edge. "This was going to be hard. We... we knew that. Veridyan... I need you to do a scan." There was utter silence for about 30 seconds. "They..." Veridyan began. "They're gone. It's done." The screens went black again. Vergyl reappeared. "Not what you wanted to see right? I will give you some time to digest that. There is more to explain, though, and much to be done."

With the door to the next room visible, the Primary Lab became visible. It was a large white room with great shelves on both side, filled with a variety of chemicals and scientific and medical tools. There were 4 lab tables in the center of the room. On the far side of the room were various screens with scientific data. On one of the lab tables was a needle and a small bottle of liquid. On anither table was a small transmitter. Vergyl's voice filled the two rooms. "The cure for the poisoned one is on the table. The other wounded can be placed there as well. The transmitter is the part from the Genesys machine which brought you here. Once you have done what you need to I shall show you my enemies. I shall tell yoj the story of your race's murder."

Derik emerged on his feet for a moment, even with the pain and the paralysis. He had but a moment, though, before hit legs buckled under him, and gravity forced him to his knees again. But he tried. If nothing else, he tried. Would his words and his determination cause anyone to help him or would he be left immobile. Now was the moment to work together or die.

"Damn it... Ferro..." Rytt was for the first time seemingly speechless. It was Elaryse who broke the silence. "...Seraphim...." Elaryse's voice was totally different now. It was not commanding, or condescending. It sounded.... afraid. "Did you say the name Vergyl?" Rytt's voice followed suit in the same way. "She did. She did, didn't she? No... he must have. He sent them a message, he contacted them." "He's here." Veridyan's voice had never sounded to vacant. "Listen to me!" Elaryse was now speaking very quickly and fervently. "You have to watch out for him. You cannot trust Vergyl!" "Oh no..." It was Rytt again. "It's not even here. The tracer. The tracer for Genesys isn't the machine. It's not the machine it's Vergyl. He lured us here." "Get out!" Veridyan was back to being hyperactive, but this seemed to have a frightened twist to it. "Get out of the facility! He-" The voice cut off. All of the voices cut off. That's when the voice was heard. It was not playful like Veridyan, sarcastic and clever like Rytt, or commanding like Elaryse. It was calm, nearly-emotionless sounding even. "You want the cure? You want the truth? You want the answer to why your friends died and why you live in an empty universe? My name is Vergyl. Disable the portal, and step into the Primary Lab and I will make all clear." "How far would you go to make life happy for people?" "What would you be willing to sacrifice?"

Just so you all know, I've decided to retcon the Vergyl section of my last post for the moment to let this scene play out, I'll move it back along once everything currently happening is wrapped up to a decent amount.

And now the sadness begins anew. I feel like this is becoming a cornerstone of the RPs I make.

(That's entirely up to Natron to decide. Whatever you do pick, Natron, your reaction will take place before the events my post above)

All three groups had converged. Someone had decapitated Henko, and now Rin was homicidal against Ferro. Derik was slowly dying from a lethal poison, Terry was actually an SA, they had all just lost contact with their respective SAs and a fourth unknown SA named Vergyl is now ushering them into a room where he suggests they will learn the truth. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

Everyone now sat in the same room. Things were... tense. "I'm administering painkillers to you right now" Elaryse's voice came in on Seraphim's wrist console. "Rodin, while that happens, keep an eye on the other two groups. Things could go very badly from here." Veridyan's voice came in suddenly through the wrist consoles. "Dog boy! You've got to be kidding me! Rytt, your death hounds need to be on a damn leash!" Rytt's voice was faint. "Ferro. You... damn it. I won't contest you, but... getting to Genesys now.... As for you, Veridyan, you know how this game is played." "You're pretty freakin' correct there!" Veridyan yelled out. Things were tense, the voices of the SA's were reflecting it. "Listen, Rin, you've got to calm down, okay? Calm down! He's gone, but you're gonna be tearin' this place apart if you keep up like this, okay? If we're gonna get Genesys, we need a calm head. We need to get through these posers logically." "Logically!" Elaryse laughed the word, "You talk of logic Veridyan, your little soldier there was a hot head if I ever saw one." "Can we all just calm the hell down!" Rytt's words were terse and commanding. The room stopped. Hatreds, tenseness, violence, death. They all seem to disappear in the momentary silence. "Ferro's hurt badly..."

No, but seriously. Holy crap people. If I wasn't so impressed by how much of a standoff there is I might be miffed. I'm glad he agreed to it, but I hope that Sikota knew what was coming there. In any case, so long as Sikota is fine with it we're good to proceed. Things are definitely getting... very interesting... Time to make it even more so...