Ruthless Galaxy: The Paradox Machine - IC

The two Wreae had extremely quick reactions, as all machines of their kind were programmed to do. However, 8164392 and Unsilenced Retribution took on much different approaches. The Chief Petty Officer dove behind cover, grabbing his plasma SMG and beginning to fire it into Jiiran's midsection. However, it quickly became apparent that it wouldn't be possible to damage the armoring with that weapon, no matter its power. 816 signaled for Unsilenced Retribution to get behind cover with a message to the AI's communications centers.

Unsilenced Retribution stood before Jiiran, blue energy coursing throughout his black and gray armor. He muttered the word "No," in a harsh tone, directed at both his younger self and Jiiran. He decided against activating the Overcharge feature of his armor at the moment, though should the need arise, he could. Unsilenced held his hand outstretched in the direction of his enemy and then closed it in a fist. Suddenly, a glowing sphere of condensed energy appeared above Jiiran, pulsating with power. The air around it seemed to bend - What Unsilenced Retribution had created was a sphere of energy that had an intense gravitational pull on it. Should Jiiran be pulled into it, the intense energy would collapse inwards on his body, potentially damaging his armor, if it was powerful enough, after a couple seconds. This would give Unsilenced and the others time to launch a strategy against Jiiran, though UR also fired off several small shockwaves at Jiiran directly after creating the singularity of sorts. If they hit, UR could analyse the effect and possibly find a way to create energy powerful enough to damage Jiiran's armor, though this may only be possible in Overcharge.

((I'll probably have him go into Overcharge next post, though its your decision as to what Jiiran does, tonysaur))

Lord Jiiran was knocked back by the shockwaves. He looked at the glowing energy sphere, his helmet giving him readings on what exactly it was. He could feel himself being pulled in. He dug his bladed fingers into the marble, then lifted his left arm, out of which a missile launcher unfolded, which promptly fired at the Wreae. The missile rushed forward him, and then exploded before reaching him. The older Vey had come and stopped the missile telekinetically. Still, the distraction was all Jiiran needed.

He flung himself forward, keeping himself close to the ground. Coming through the smoke of the previously fired missile, he rammed Unsilenced Retribution headfirst, knocking him over. He then made a beeline for the door, bursting out into the valley.

(@Zaroas Feel free to have UR follow him.)
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The Anubis' head twitched back and forth. "Does not compute," was all it seemed able to say.

"Whoever he is," said Jiiran, "I would say he is evil." He shuddered. "What a monster! Like something out of a nightmare."

The older Teglin came in. "He's gone," he growled. Casting a glance at Jiiran, he then looked around. "Where's my other self?" He the noticed something beneath the table, and peered underneath. "It figures you're under there," he growled, looking at the frightened face of his younger counterpart.
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In a dark room somewhere else, a monitor screen, feeding in from the vision centers of the Anubi robots, was being watched by a miserable alien. Behind him, a strange red, glowing mist that seemed to have tentacles extending from it.

"Why did you have to pick that one?" said the alien miserably. "He's very violent, or at least the one version of him is."

I choose based on what I judge to be an individual's significance. The more significant ones always give the best form of Paradox Energy.

Two tentacles extended themselves from the mist, and plugged into a machine not far away. This machine had several thick wires going into the floor. The mist seemed to sigh.

Aaaaah, energy!

Ravage seeing that the older Jiiran had left, straightened and sheathed her claws. "Doesn't that hurt?" Scree asked, watching with a mix of horror and fascination, as she was aware that the metal blades were longer than her gloves, and not retractable, therefore, they could have only been stored in her forearms. They were sharp weapons and they were regularly kept inside of Ravage's arms when not in use, something that wasn't natural for a Chimerosu, and Scree knew that metal wasn't organic, either. This was the most unique and different she could see about her future version's mutations. It was incredible that Ravage could do this, but there was also something highly disturbing about it. It was possible there were pouches meant for the blades, but the way Ravage winced slightly when the blades moved from their positions, both when she was unsheathing or sheathing them, suggested that it must have caused some degree of pain every time she did it.

Ravage looked over at Scree, "As a matter of fact, yes, it does, but I've been long used to it by now." She replied. "Don't go asking me how I got this way, though, I'm not going to answer that." She added quickly, as she saw Scree open her beak to ask the question. Ravage knew her younger self enough to accurately predict what Scree was going to say, so when she said the response to the unfinished question, Scree wordlessly closed her beak. Ravage frowned, and turned to the younger versions, "As for all of you who came from the past, nobody asks who that stranger was, he is a part of something much bigger than you realize, and it is dangerous for those of us from the future to discuss it with you. We cannot tell you, because we cannot be sure what effect that will have."

She then turned to the older Teglin, "Teglin, keep your temper under check, don't forget that these are younger versions of ourselves, we don't know what will happen if we start revealing what the future holds for them. Don't be too harsh on your younger self, either. He'll grow up to be you eventually, but for now, that was what you were once like. We can't start condemning our younger selves for the mistakes we know they'll make in the past, although knowing our foe, what he did may have been the wiser decision."

The Anubi finally seemed to get over whatever mental block they were encountering, and called a few more in. Most began cleaning up the debris, while others offered medical attention. One came up to Ravage.

"Allow me to apologize for this; however, the Master gives his assurance that the particular person who did this shall be dealt with, and this will not happen again."

Unsilenced Retribution quickly rose to his feet and sprinted after Jiiran. As he ran, he flicked his wrist downwards. A small gray sphere slid into his hand. This was an Overcharge Stimulus Device, an extremely condensed power source that would multiply the power that the Wreae could output several times. However, it was not as powerful as the Blue Orb, nor could it be used for anything but this purpose. Unsilenced hastily placed the sphere in the cavity in his chest, and it instantaneously began to glow with a deep blue, levitating at the center of the hole. The plating in this area sealed up to prevent damage to the device, and electrical currents, similar to lightning, ran down the Wreae's body. It was possible that those in the tower with better than normal hearing could have picked up the words, "Overcharge activated," from his armor. The plating shifted slightly, making the machine larger than it was before.

Unsilenced Retribution activated his jets and burst forward into flight, his entire body emitting a blue aura. After a little while, he found Jiiran, still running away from the tower. The Wreae placed himself further ahead than Jiiran and let himself fall to the ground, kneeling as he hit it. Quickly, Unsilenced scrambled to his feet and approached Jiiran slowly. As he got closer to the Wreae, Unsilenced closed his fist, diverting a good portion of the energy to this area of the body. As soon as Jiiran was close enough, likely hoping to knock the machine out of the way, UR attempted to punch him directly in the chest, using all the power allocated to his arm hydraulics. The punch also let forth a ton of energy, creating a shockwave effect that traveled throughout the valley.

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Chief Petty Officer Unit 8164392 slowly stood up from cover, putting his weaponry away. It walked into the entrance of the tower to find all of the others. The Federation, at the time in which the Wreae was from, had never encountered extraterrestrial life, and thus the AI immersed itself in curiosity, sitting down and watching all of these strange lifeforms.

The Zealot picked himself up, slightly embarrassed that he had been so distracted that Jiiran had tossed him out of the way like a ragdoll. His right hand, however, still clung to the hilt of his sword, and he retracted the blades of the weapon. He quickly cleared the shameful feeling from his mind, reminding himself it was nothing he hadn't experienced before. Especially since he had fought Kradus twice.

Putting his sword back on his belt, Xej noticed the younger Wreae unit staring at the various aliens. "Don't worry, they're friendly. I think." He said, wondering if 816 might correct him on the ability of a Wreae to worry.

His attention shifted to his younger sefl, who by this time had noticed him. He came running over to the Zealot, his features having formed a look of disbelief.

"Sir." The young Xej said, giving a crisp salute to his obvious superior. The Zealot dipped his beak, making sure to be respectful in the proper manner. He didn't salute back, knowing his younger self would find this odd, seeing as the two differed in rank greatly. That wasn't the only thing that differed. The armor that the younger wore was the standard power armor, but the armor which the Zealot wore was something more royal, and it stood out. Funnily enough, the two had almost the exact same posture.

"It is a great honor, I have never met a Zealot until now." He paused, then continued. "Sir, how did we get here? Who are these aliens that also inhabit the place?"

Xej tilted his head slightly, studying his younger self. "I'm afraid I have no answer to the former question, but the latter, I can answer to some degree. Have you bothered to ask any of them who they are?"

"Yes Sir, that one." He pointed to Ravage. "Said she knew me.. but later."

"She would be correct, soldier." The Zealot looked around, then focused on his younger self again. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-seven, Sir."

A look of revelation passed across the Zealot's face, hidden by his helmet. "I see. Fear not, these aliens mean you no harm."
The older Xej knew the war that his younger self would be going through at that age, and the many struggles to come. He wanted to make sure that, for this time, his younger self could have some comfort in safety. There would be little in the conflicts he would go through.

"Understood, Sir." The young Xej replied.

"Now, I think it's time you know who I am." With that, he reached up, took hold of his helmet, and released the straps keeping the helmet tightly in place. He removed the helmet, and couldn't help but smile. A shocked look came upon the young Xej's face. He had wondered if this Jorro'kil could be him, but his rank introduced too many new doubts for him to believe it. These were all erased when he saw the Kil's face.

"It is even more of an honor to be in your prescence." That was the best thing he could think of to say, and hoped it was good enough.

The older Xej's smile turned into a grin, though he said nothing. Turning to Ravage, he spoke. "So, Ravage. It has been a long time since I last saw you. Still, it is heartening to see you here." He refrained from speaking of the Chimerosu's return as an empire, lest there be questions asked from Ravage's younger self why they would make a return. He realized he didn't know if Ravage's younger self had the same name as her older, he assumed it would have been something different.

Lord Jiiran was flung backwards by the blow, and didn't stop till he hit the building he had just left. He slid to the ground with a crash, and lay for a moment, stunned. His armor was slightly cracked by the massive amount force he had taken, something that filled him with alarm, when he noticed it.

Seeing the Wreae coming towards him, he lifted his arm, and his missile launcher came out again, this time he fired two of them.

Jumping to his feet, he then ran, away from the building, heading in the direction of the cliffs, where the ominous tower stood.
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Aarin also recognized the Zealot. "Sir, it is good to see you again," he said politely. He cast a glance around. "As you may have noticed, there seems to be a past and future version of us all here. I guess I should start introducing, those present whom the Zealot hadn't spoken to yet.

"And this," he said, coming to the last person, "is Jiiran." He looked carefully at the Zealot trying to warn him with his eyes not to react.

Jiiran placed his right palm to his left hand, and bowed. "It's an honor, Sir."

Unsilenced Retribution, before Jiiran launched the missiles, performed a quick diagnostic analysis on the latter's armor. This revealed its condition after the blow, and the AI quickly calculated the amount of force needed to break through the armoring. However, the Wreae was distracted by this when the missiles were launched, noticing them just as they were traveling towards him. Unsilenced was unable to react fast enough to fully dodge the first projectile, and it impacted at the right shoulder, although the energy shielding absorbed the power of the weapon. The shielding did drop to zero, and the Wreae knew that he couldn't risk another one hitting him, though it wasn't too worried seeing as Overcharge would allow the shielding to go back up relatively quickly.

Unsilenced Retribution was able to knock the second missile out of its trajectory with a small shockwave. The missile went haywire, its flight path erratic, and after a second or so it exploded upon the wall of one of the buildings, collapsing the structure. Unsilenced walked through the resulting debris, blue lights piercing through the resulting dust. Quickly, he began to pursue Jiiran, running through the valley in chase of his enemy.

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Unit 8164392, in a manner that the Zealot would be familiar with, simply stated, "Wreae do not worry. We only calculate." After a couple more minutes of observing the aliens, scanning their structure, the Wreae paid attention to itself. It took out a couple tools from the inside of its armor and began to manually adjust its armor, as if it were out of habit. In truth, Wreae machines constantly seek to improve themselves to be more specialized to their task, and this adjustment was, in part, a natural Wreae activity.

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Warrant Officer Theranis Ra'agus eyed Xej with curiosity, knowing that it was an older version of the Jorro'kil from before. The Sentinel, on the other hand, approached the Zealot, patiently waiting for him to end speaking with Ravage.

Ravage flicked her tail, and gave a small dip of her beak, "You didn't expect me to stop getting into situations just because I was getting old, did you?" She asked, squinting one eye, "Nice to see you, too, Xej." There was a faint smile, but it was genuine.

Scree ran out from behind her, looking up at the Zealot Xej, since she was much shorter, "Hi! I'm Scree! Ravage is my future self!" She said. She then laughed nervously, as though she were disturbed by the concept of eventually growing up to be a tough warrior who was oblivious to how horrible violence was. She definitely didn't look anything like what one would expect of Ravage. Ravage was known for a cold, steely gaze and a cool, collected manner. Scree was perhaps an exact opposite of that. She was cheerful, became excited easily, and her eyes shined with a kind of innocence that suggested she had never seen a severely dangerous situation before.

"Xej, it's good to see you, Sir," said the older Vey, as he peered in. He chuckled a little at Scree's manner, before becoming grave. "it would seem that he has escaped." He didn't need to mention who.

The older Teglin began checking his weapons. "If everyone here is safe, I think I will go after him."

"No need, Sir," said one of the Anubi. "The Master sends his assurances that he will personally handle the situation."
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Jiiran was fast, and could run for long periods when he wanted to. But the Wreae was coming faster. Jiiran slowed himself a little, intending to let the Wreae come close enough before he struck. At what he decided was the right moment, he opened both blades, and whirled around, the blades spinning in a blur, as the Wreae's came up. Unsilenced Retribution might have been unable to stop himself in time and would have taken serious damage if Lord Jiiran had not suddenly vanished in a flash of light, leaving no trace he had ever been there.

Unsilenced Retribution stared incredulously at the place where Lord Jiiran had once stood. To the logical yet irrational machine, the fact that his foe had simply disappeared was incredible, even for an artificial intelligence. For several more seconds, the Wreae cautiously observed the area around him, searching everywhere for a sign, but he found none. Concluding that this wasn't a tactic used by his enemy or a natural occurrence, Unsilenced Retribution headed back to the tower. On his way, he decided to deactivate Overcharge. The device was taken out of his chest compartment, its size depleted slightly. UR decided to store the device for later use, as it still had power within it.

Upon entering, he heard the older Teglin speak and the response the Anubis had for the Vatarri. This new information made Unsilenced very suspicious - Clearly, Lord Jiiran's disappearance was the work of this 'Master' figure, whoever that was. "There's no need," Unsilenced began, searching the faces of those within the room. "He's... gone. I chased him to an area within the valley after activating Overcharge, and was able to crack his armor. He fled again after firing more missiles at me, but in the middle of my pursuit... He disappeared." Unsilenced looked to one of the anubi. "What has happened here?" He demanded, crackling with energy.

"There has been an incident with the one person in question," said the Anubis. "The Master is taking care of the matter."

Teglin frowned. "What exactly is he going to do?"

"Fear not," replied the Anubis. "All is being taken care of."
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Lord Jiiran looked around him. A moment ago, he had been running through the valley, pursued by the Wreae. Now he found himself in a small hallway, all made of black metal. The hum of machinery filled the air all around him.

Lord Jiiran rose cautiously, and started when a door suddenly opened nearby. He activated his gun, but nothing came out. Slowly, he entered.

He found himself inside a large room. One corner was dominated by a strange machine, a large panel covered in buttons, dials, knobs, and readout panels. Rising from the back, was a large cylinder, with rings of metal every so often. On the left of the room, was another machine, which seemed to have several circular outlets, and had a lot of wires hooked into it, all going off into the wall and ceiling. But it was the left side that caught Lord Jiiran's attention. A bunch of monitor screens showed scenes from all over the valley, many connected to Anubi. However, Jiiran took note of the alien standing by them.

The creature was only three and a half feet tall. The legs were fairly short, and the arms were long. The creature had two stalked eyes, and pair of barbels hanging from the corners of its mouth. The creature was gray, and had rubbery skin, and three digit to each limb. It was dressed in what looked like a scientists outfit.

The creature, turned, saw Jiiran, and screeched. In flash, Jiiran sprang forward and lifted the creature up, his sharpened poison crystal an inch from the creature's neck.

"Start talking," he said. "Who are you, and what is going on around here?"

I can answer that. Though I would appreciate it if you'd put my assistant down first.

Lord Jiiran started. He had heard no voice, but the words had simply formed themselves in his head. Turning, he saw a globular red mist that had long tentacles coming from it. It almost looked like there was a pair of eyes in the middle of the mist.

Jiiran put the alien down. "Who are you, and what do you want?"

I am the Paradox Being. I have brought everyone here because I need the paradox energy generated by the interaction of your past and future selves interacting to survive.

"I will not be used," said Jiiran. "Send me back at once." He pointed his gun at the mist.

Your weapon is useless against me.

Jiiran pointed his gun at the machine in the back of the room. "Then I will destroy that machine. What will that do?"

Destroy me conceivably. But I assure you, you will only bring death upon yourself.

Jiiran froze. He hesitated to believe this being, but he simply couldn't brush away the idea of death. "What do you mean?" he said slowly.

Think about it, Jiiran. I am a being that can not only snatch creatures from any point in their timeline, but from more than one point of it at once. Do you not think that I can't see what the future holds for you? Shall I show you?

Jiiran found himself seeing an hearing something else. He was back in his chamber on Mondar. However, he heard the sounds of battle outside. Suddenly, the door burst open, and in came Prince Vey, the one person he feared most. With him was the Chimerosu whose claws had damaged his armor earlier, along with a few others he recognized from the valley, and at least one he didn't recognize. Then he felt his arms being held behind him, then he saw Vey telekinetically throwing the Chimerosu at him, claws first. The claws destroyed his power source, his armor was falling from his body. He was exposed. Then he felt a pain in his back, weakness and pain filling his body. Then he was back in the room, the misty being and the alien the only ones there.

So you see, if you go back, that is what awaits you. Is that what you want?

Jiiran stood, shaking, unable to get the images out of his head. Fear filled him; he was deeply afraid of death.

So what now, Jiiran? said the being. Are you going to destroy me and send yourself to a certain death? Or will you stay here and live? I could certainly use your help. The machines here could be improved, and I could use your help keeping the others in line. I have seen that they are suspicious and rebellious.

Jiiran was silent for awhile, then slowly he spoke, speaking in an uncharacteristically weak voice.

"I'll help you."

"Hello, Scree." The Zealot said. "I'm certain, now, I've never met you as you are infront of me.. Heh." His chuckle was faint, barely audible to those without sensitive hearing. There was certainly a difference between Scree and Ravage, though he paid little mind to it after noticing. He dipped his beak at Scree, then turned his attention to Vey.

"There's another face I haven't seen in a while. How are you, Vey?" He asked. "Your back still hurting?" He dipped his beak, then shifted his focus onto the Warrant Officer and Sentinels, one studying him, the other obviously waiting to speak.

"Yes, Sentinel.. Theranis, correct?" He said, looking up at the Krathunian. He was two feet taller than the Zealot, though Xej wasn't in the least intimidated, or if he was it would be well hidden from the others.

Meanwhile, the young Xej had sat back down on an unbroken chair, and watched as his older self received many greetings from the various aliens surrounding them. He would never have imagined a situation like this, and his expression showed it. Maybe even a ltitle jealousy of the attention.

"Ah," The Emperor said, "I was beginning to think that you'd never catch up. ...Did you see what happened?" He asked, turning off his weapon.

The Cadet leaned against the wall in the corner, lost in his own thoughts, mostly, My future self! I can learn so much from him! ...But he hates me. I wonder shy? If one were able to read young Zigwin's thoughts, it would be blatantly obvious that he wasn't very self-aware.
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A silver gleam was able to be seen from not too far away from the commotion. A strange dinosaur-like alien was able to be seen, lightly clad in silver armor. As he approached, it became clear that he was a Vil-Nolwikkan. With a strange accent, the Nolwikkan spoke, "Ah, friends! So I'm not the only one stuck in this place!"

Edacious approached the vaguely familiar-looking aliens -- all he knew was that they were probably of the Confederacy -- and bowed. "Edacious Kal Tas Damasi," he introduced himself to the nearest alien, which happened to be Unsilenced Retribution, "A friend from the Vil-Nolwikkan Rebellion."

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A figure clad in heavy blood red armor stalked through the rows of houses, far from the tower. Lost, and ready to kill everything in sight,  he froze solid at anything that moved.

In the young Edacious' time, everything alien was completely hostile. It was a habit. His hearing, enhanced by his battle helmet, picked up sound from what had to be a mile away, on the other side of the valley. The tower, he realized. Enemies.

The young warrior trotted down the hill, being careful not to trip on anything. he would be far away from the voices for quite some time. Suddenly, a scraping sound came from a nearby roof. Edacious froze and looked towards the source. Another Nolwikkan, clad in battered, rusted, silver armor leaped for what had to be thirty feet, from one roof to another.

"Hey," Edacious shouted at the stranger, "Get down from there, kapoka! Are you crazy?"

The sound of sprinting stopped; Edacious had caught the stranger's attention. A strange green Nolwikkan, with a grievous scar over his right eye, fell from the roof and landed feet-first in front of Edacious. The stranger smiled, "Ah... I may as well be. I see I'm not alone. Walk with me, soldier, and we'll discuss our situation."

Edacious looked at the stranger as he walked away, trying to decide whether to follow. "The name's Alaeas," The stranger said. "Yours?"

After a second, Edacious called back, "Edacious Kal Tas Damasi."

Alaeas smiled, after a long pause. "Small world," he said. Edacious caught up with Alaeas and gave him a strange look. Alaeas gave a knowing look in turn and continued down into the valley, Edacious right behind him.

Lord Jiiran watched the two Nolwikkans going by. Yet another past and future version.

The Paradox Being had deposited him not far away from the central building. Jiiran was now cursing his own weakness at promising to help the energy being. Still, promises could always be broken.

Lord Jiiran carefully considered his next move. If what the Paradox Being had shown him was true (Lord Jiiran dared not doubt it), then it would be best to stay here. He would need help though. Help from someone who thought like himself. And there was only one such person like himself here.

Lord Jiiran lept lightly from roof to roof; for all his bulk and armor, he was agile, and could move silent as a shadow when the need arose.
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"Today woul certainly seem a day for reunions, as well as mysteries and battles," said the older Vey. He rubbed his back. "Yes, it's still going steady," he said, in response to the Zealot's question. "No use in complaining though. For now, we might want to figure our current situation, and we're all going to have to cooperate, even if we don't feel comfortable together." He cast meaningful glances at the two Teglins, Ravage and Scree, and the Cadet and Emperor.

"I know the younger versions of us all will probably want to know what the future holds, but I'm afraid you'll just have to be content, since we don't know what telling you will do to the timelines. What are you looking at Mott?"

The older Mott turned to the others, he had been examining that looked like some sort of strange radar dish attached into the corner of the room near the ceiling. There were three more just like it at the other corners.

"I may not know entirely what's going on yet, but I know an energy collector when I see one."

"An energy collector?" asked the younger Aarin.

"Yeah," said the younger Mott. "I think I remember seeing some of those outside too."
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The Paradox Being was troubled. He had just reached out for more victims. One was a Vil-Nolwikkan by the name of Edacious, but the other, ah, what a treat he would have been. The Paradox Being had sensed this was someone who would yield great amounts of energy. Disturbingly, the creature had been able to resist, and even push him back. The incident had caused him to snatch not just one future Edacious, but two, one from another dimension.

This troubled the Paradox Being little, though. He was more concerned with the other creature. He had clearly underestimated him. If this creature had been able to sense him and push him back, what else could he do?

Sentinel Theranis smiled, and nodded his head. "That would be me, Zealot. It's been a while, Xej." As he spoke, with his breathing a faint mechanical whirring could be heard. Both of the Krathunians were somewhat visibly disturbed by this, the Sentinel trying to cover up the sound, while the Warrant Officer attempted to ignore it. Clearly, the older Theranis was insecure of his augmentations, while the younger was afraid for what was to come that would cause such a thing.

Unsilenced Retribution dipped his head a bit, almost a natural reaction from dealing with Jorro'kil so much. "I am Admiral Unsilenced Retribution, or 8164392. It is an honor, Edacious." He turned his head, looking at the Anubi. "Though we have found ourselves in a peculiar situation.

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"Admiral?"

Rigniron Nevanes turned his head to the right slightly to see an associate of his calling out his name - Orian Caviit. Rigniron was not particularly fond of Orian, finding his methods and researches to be a bit too immoral, but the military scientist did meaningful and purposeful work. He noted the surprise in Orian's voice, as if his presence was shocking. He started to walk in the other Xarthonian's direction, leaving the premises of the house he had just left. The Admiral noted the various examples of destruction around him, and the tower.

"Hello, Orian." Rigniron said, lowering his head in respect. His silver and blue armor reflected the sunlight within the valley, creating a shimmering effect. Orian wore simpler, dull gray armor, with a red cloak-like garment attached in some parts to this.

"Rigniron... Last time I saw you, you were..." Orian's tone was troubled, and he spoke almost as if he were guilty of something.

"I was what?"

"Not you."

((A description of the Xarthonians can be seen in Underneath the Surface))

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Abarron silently entered the tower, walking with confidence but not arrogance. Upon appearing in the valley, his interests had immediately been captured by the tower in the distance, and upon closer inspection, he had noted several of his acquaintances. Rather than speak directly to anyone in particular, he stood silently, waiting for anybody to notice him. His black and red armoring seemed to give off waves of heat, extremely hot to the touch, and small sparks of electricity crackled off the surface of his body.

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Praedromus watched the events unfolding at the tower from a distance. His golden and green armoring stood out against the structures of the valley, though none had noticed the Supreme - yet. Slowly, he approached the imposing building in the distance, not yet sure what he would do. It was clear, however, that those of the Confederacy would be dealt with appropriately.

Lord Jiiran took note of Praedromus making his way to the central building. Jiiran froze for a second as he noticed someone else he knew entering the building. He would have to make contact with him later. But he decided to deal with the Vrentus first (though he didn't as yet know him). He dropped in front of Praedromus and stood up straight. "Identify yourself," he said.
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Amidst general introductions, someone walked unsteadily in. Those who saw him and recognized him gasped. It was none other than Fedrin Marr, Lord Jiiran's second in command. He was clothed in long, officious looking robes, and wore a confused and wary look on his face. However, this quickly changed to one of fear when everyone looked at him. He turned to make a dash for it.
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Just then, Edacious and Alaeaes found they were not alone. A single Mondarian was walking close behind them. He was clad in some close-fitting power armor, and the moment they saw him, his face split into a big grin.

"Pardon me, my good fellows. Perhaps you could explain this situation that we currently find ourselves in? I fear it is quite beyond me."

Scree glanced over in the younger Xej's direction, and saw that he appeared to be sulking. Flicking her tail, she slowly walked over to him, and nodded at the group talking to the Zealot Xej, "It feels weird, doesn't it, knowing that these people are us in the future. I'm positive none of them are what we expected to be. I'm still reeling from it, but you can't tell, because I'm trying to keep a positive attitude. In truth, if I didn't, I would probably just curl up into a ball somewhere and cry my eyes out. I actually don't know if I should be happy or not, how I should react to my future self. I--Ravage...seems really tough and strong, and everyone so far out of the future versions seems to like or at least respect her, but at the same time, I can't help but think she's the complete opposite of me. It's like someone flipped a switch to invert my personality. I can't help but wonder why that is, but she won't tell me why, and I feel like there's something disturbing about trying to think it over."

Praedromus stared at Jiiran, almost in disbelief of the fact that Lord Jiiran had not known who he was. The Supreme hesitated for a couple seconds, but decided to set aside his suspicion and doubt, at least for the moment. He figured that he might as well comply with Jiiran, then figure out this situation later. He stopped walking, shifting his weight on his feet slightly. "I am Praedromus." He said simply, nonchalantly observing the surrounding area. "Jiiran... I must know who the occupants of that tower there. It is of the utmost importance."

Edacious nodded, "Yes, of course. I figured; there really is no logical exclamation for our situation, anyway. At least, not with what we know.

--------

Younger Edacious whipped around at the stranger and lifed his weapon, ready to turn him into nothing but dust. Before he could start firing, though, Alaeas elbowed him in the stomach. The young Nolwikkan wheezed, surprised at Alaeas' strength (seeing as he had hurt him through his armor), and collapsed.

"Fool," Alaeas said harshly to Edacious,, "he isn't armed." Edacious coughed clutching his stomach, before responding to Alaeas, "You... you sound a lot like..."

Edacious coughed again, this time blood flying out of his mouth and onto the road. "You," Edacious gasped, "You - you broke something! Augh... you broke something, A-Alaeas." The young warrior was glad that his mask hid the tears that were now streaming down his face. Alaeas payed no mind to the Nolwikkan.

"I'm afraid I -- well, neither of us -- know where we are. There's no logical exclamation for how we ended up here. At least, not with what we know. By the way, I'm Alaeas, and the Nolwikkan on the ground is Edacious." The young warrior whimpered in response as he shakily stood up next to Alaeas. Once again, Alaeas paid no mind to Edacious. "Why don't you join our group..? We'll find others, and the reason behind our... presumed kidnapping."

"Who," Edacious spoke again, "Who even are you??"

The older Teglin jumped forward and caught the retreating Mondarian before he could escape the room. He dragged him unceremoniously back into the room.

"Let go of me, creature!" yelled Marr indignantly. "I'll have you know I am a member of the Council of High Priests, on my way to be elected the High Maistrum. . ."

"Shut it, Marr!" snapped Teglin.

The older Vey banged his cane on a table. "Everyone, let's have some order. We need to figure out what's going here."

"What about this one?" demanded the older Teglin.
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Lord Jiiran gazed hard at Praedromus, and then looked towards the buildings. "Many people are in that building, some of whom I know. The unusual thing is that there seems to be a past and a future of each one of them, even of myself."

He looked back at Praedromus. "How is it you know me?"
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The Mondarian smiled at the Nolwikkans, and made an elaborate bow. "Pray forgive me for my forgetfulness. My name is Marr, Fedrin Marr, but you can call me Admiral Marr," he added with a wink. He tsked at Edacious. "My my, you are looking in need of medical attention." He strode over and lent his arm to the injured Nolwikkan. "There you are, my good fellow," he said, smiling. "Just lean on my arm." He turned his smiling face towards Alaeas. "I noticed a large building in the center of this valley. Perhaps we should make our way over there? Our friend might be able to receive some attention there."

"So," the Emperor said, "Let's compile what we know so far. We know that this guy doesn't care about how much of an impact our disappearance makes on the world we leave behind." The Cadet piped up, "Apparently it's all going to be destroyed soon, and he's saving "the best qualities" of it."

The Emperor nodded at his younger self, "Of course. But then, he kidnaps The guy we just fought and the guy we just captured. So, there's a major flaw in his -- if it even is a he -- his logic. Unless he's a complete idiot, he may be a liar. I don't trust that thing one bit, but I doubt I need to tell you all this. No, I can tell by the looks on your faces that all of you agree with me. So, anybody else know something obvious that I missed?"

The Emperor glanced at the Anubis, simply daring them to do something about his disapproval.

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

Alaeas nodded, "Of course. You know, Marr, I kind of like you already." As he said this, Alaeas slung an arm over Edacious' shoulder, helping Marr support him.

"C... curse you both," The young Edacious said bitterly. Alaeas, Marr and Edacious began walking down into the valley, towards the tower.

Praedromus hesitated slightly, thinking over what he would say next. He did not want to incite an emotion of anger within Lord Jiiran, nor one of confusion, though it was apparent that the latter feeling was already present. The Supreme tensed himself as he began to speak, but was stopped by something. Praedromus had spotted two specific figures about to enter the ominous tower in the distance, and it confirmed what Jiiran had said. However, if the past version of Jiiran was in that building, Praedromus realized, this was the future version, though still not old enough to have encountered him. "I've met you prior to this. That is all I am willing to reveal at this moment." Praedromus paused. "I think you may be able to help me, however."

________________________________________

Orian and Rigniron soon entered the tower quietly, not sure what they would find. Both of the Xarthonians were shocked upon seeing the various aliens, due to the time period from which they came. The Xarthon Republic, after all, was a part of the Novus Alliance along with other civilizations, and it had last seen this galaxy approximately 60,000 years before the war between the UFIAI and the Confederacy. However, one person was recognizable to both Rigniron and Orian, though each knew him differently.

As soon as Rigniron saw Abarron, he grabbed Orian and dove out the entrance, finding cover as quickly as possible. "Get down, there's an Eldraunn," He commanded, grabbing a long barreled pistol from his belt. The other Xarthonian, however, did not move.

"That's not an Architect, Admiral." The scientist slowly whispered so that Abarron could not hear, peering inside the building. It was at this moment that Abarron strode out to find the pair, seemingly not shocked to see his younger self. Rigniron held up the pistol at his older self, hands almost shaky, but the other Xarthonian lowered the weapon by placing his hand on the top of the barrel.

"You're... What are..." Rigniron tried to say incredulously, narrowing his eyes at the sight of the Supreme.

"I am... You." Abarron enunciated slowly, letting the information sink in slowly.

"Do you know about this?" The Xarthonian widened his eyes in disbelief, turning to Orian.

Orian looked between Abarron and Rigniron, as if considering both sides. "Yes, I do..."

Rigniron was about to speak again in confusion, but Abarron quickly interrupted him. "If there is a past and future version of each person present in this... realm, then, Orian..." Abarron quickly looked around the valley, and noticed a glint of gold and green. Electricity coursed throughout his dark armor, red lights glowing with intensity, and he clenched his fists in anger, the air around his gauntlets distorting with heat haze. "Praedromus..."

Marr the priest tried to rise. "Listen," he began angerly. "I don't know who. . . or what. . . any of you are, but I demand to be returned to my home! I will not stand for being abducted like this!"

"Oh, shut it!" said the older Teglin, pushing him down roughly into a chair.

The older Vey banged his cane again. He gave a swift acknowledgement to the new arrivals. "We can introduce each other later," he said. "At the moment, we are trying to make sense of this situation." He looked over at Marr. "I'm afraid, Sir, that there is nothing to be done for you at the present. We are all as much prisoners here as you."

He turned back to everyone else. "Aside from Emperor Zigwin has said, ther ereally isn't much one can add to this, and I'm afraid our hosts have not been very forthcoming on the matter." He glanced at the Anubi.
_______________________________________

Marr laughed in an unpleasant way. "Oh, I'm sure that we'll be the best of friends," he said to Alaeas.
______________________________________

Jiiran, still looking towards the building, made his helmet zoom in. Three creatures were approaching the steps to the front door, two supporting the other. He recognized the Mondarian instantly.

He turned to Praedromus. "Indeed," he said in response to the Vrentus' statement. "You also could be of assistance to me. It is imperative that the people in this place be kept under control and not allowed to leave." He didn't say why.

The young Xej quietly acknowledged Scree's attempted comforting, a slight nodding. Though she was an alien, he realized he did feel slightly comforted. He glanced at her, not wishing her to see him look at her.

Noticing the arguments over by the Anubi, his own frustration drew him to a certain, somewhat foolish conclusion. He took an explosive grenade from off his belt, primed it, and flung it in the direction of the Anubi, far enough away that it would not hurt others, simply destroy the machines. Two seconds passed, and a disruptive bang lit the room. This was followed by showering pieces of the robots.

The older Xej turned round to view the result of the explosion, then quickly placed his attention on his younger self. His face had an expression of disbelief, and he briskly approached the young Xej.

"What was that?" He asked.

The young Xej stood up, and looked his older self in the eye. "Those machines were part of our problems, Sir. I like machines.. but those particular machines needed repurposing." His answer produced an uncomfortable silence.

Zealot Xej grinned. "I suppose that is something I would do.. it must be. Still, you need to give us.. me, atleast, bettter warning when you intend to blow something up."

The young Xej smiled, and replied; "Yes Sir."

Just then, both of them turned their heads to see the new arrivals, and though the younger recognized none of them, the Zealot did indeed recognize Abarron.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

The front of an untouched house exploded in blue energy, and a figure in silvery armor, of Jorro'kil make. The outline matched that of a Jorro'kil, and indeed it was.

Emperor Whoster had returned from the dead, and he was angry.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

The fifteen-year-old Xyrus Whoster awoke in a bed perfectly suited to him. Jumping up off of it, a quick perusal of the inside revealed everything was exactly fit for him.. yet the style was very unfamiliar.

Leaving the house through the front door, he heard the sounds of distant commotion, followed by a large explosion. Quickly, he ran down into the ambient group of trees.