The Citadel

[Nana_Wing]

Eecheb: Whoever? Hmm... Oh! You mean the weak thing? Okay. ....Orange?

*Lee was the 'weak thing' Eecheb was refering too, though his power may not have been weak, he was just a human. Humans didn't have a nearly as powerful life-force as other worldly creatures, they were only on par with animals as far as Eecheb's still developing senses could tell. In the mean-time Eecheb would take the fruit container, removing the fourth container and looking inside, there appeared to be some sandwhich rolls. From the sounds of it, Thanatos wouldn't be eating anything else until he figured things out, so Eecheb would finish the lunch box. Packing everything else up, Eecheb would wrap the containers, leaving a large enough space to grab at the remaining sandwhich rolls on the fly. When Thanatos started bringing up colors, Eecheb became confused, he hadn't yet seen the new Zenogais unit*

Trilla: !!

*Once Trilla realized Proto was counting down, she snapped to and started looking around for an appropriate place to hide herself away. There was no shortage of hiding places since there were still mounds and mounds of building debris in the Citadel that had yet to be dealt with. Spotting a potential hiding place, Trilla would take off like a mini-rocket in order to get there before Proto was done with his counting*

. ... .. . heart

*A warmth would flood over Nana as Mastema set about kissing her, a blush was well underway by the time their lips connected. Naturally this meant Nana's core temperature had gone up a degree or two, not only that but her pulse had started getting faster as well. All in all a fairly routine response on Nana's side of things. Raising her arms slowly, Nana would lightly wrap them around the back of Mastema's neck, letting them rest there for now*  

[Twilight Justice]

"I suppose technically it's supposed to be 'whomever.'" Than blurted it out, hearing Eecheb repeat the same grammatical mistake Than had made a moment earlier. Too damn easy to make. Then he chuckled at Eecheb's characterization, continuing to walk down the street, in the direction Proto's signal had come from. "Well, it doesn't feel too strong, but it doesn't feel normal either. I've seen normal humans before; this feels different." The distinct feeling was probably due to whatever was giving Lee his supernatural abilities. Hearing Eecheb's other question, Than thumbed behind him, pointing toward KB's new shell. "That thing. Picked the name 'Orange' for some reason, so I'm not entirely sure what the call him. I'm sure he'll figure out what works best for him in good time. But I don't want it to get in the way or damaged if this turns out to be a problem."

Really, covering his eye was a formality, a way of communicating to Trilla. It did nothing to really prevent him from sensing her. Just from sound alone he was able to distinguish where she was going, how far she'd gone, and determine within a few inches where she was. This actually made everything more difficult, because according to the rules of the game, he was now going to have to simulate actually searching for Trilla, even though he knew where she was. He could only hope that Thanatos arrived soon, so he could be relieved of these confusing and awkward duties.

Lee would have to hope Mastema was either going to still help him, or something else would show up to do so, because the aforementioned lord of the citadel was preoccupied.  

[Nana_Wing]

Eecheb: Uhh... ....... | .____.,

*Until pointed out, Eecheb had completely ignored the beta unit, but now it was front and center. Eecheb only saw it out of the corner of his eyes though, since he and Thanatos were walking away from it. Also, 'humans' a vaguely memerable topic from an early class. There had been humans around the Citadel before, the children had even met one once. They were quite frequent on the planet, but had short life-spans. Eecheb hadn't really come to a decision on whether or not he liked them, or what he really thought about them. Right now all he could really tell is that they were weak by comparison to other creatures in the Citadel*

Trilla: whee

*Now hidden away, Trilla would keep her head down so it would not stick up past the rubble. Yes, this would do just fine, there was no way Proto could find her now-- so she thought. Now it was time for Proto to start searching and if he got close, Trilla had a plan to distract him*

~ heart

*ftb*  

[Jim Hensley]

Lee rolled his eyes at Mastema's snippy little response. Yeah, yeah, he was a horrible little monster of a man and no doubt Mastema would love nothing more than to vaporize Lee's biological form. Well if he was going to do it now would be the best time to do it. Drawing a deep breath and holding it secured in his lungs Lee stepped through the semi-solid magic-hampering barrier. A brief moment of pain surged through his chest as his biological body crumpled to the ground. Down to one knee Lee gasped out a shaking breath while his body's source of arcane energies attempted to stabilize itself.

Because Lee's body was grown completely from cells drawn straight out of the arcane generator that KB had designed and Tegral had perfected having to pass through a field that made external magics unstable was...problematic to say the least. It's because he was able to draw the living cells from the generator that he is capable of performing any form of 'magic'. Granted he could do some things all ready, but they were things all ready 'pre-programed' into his very body. Some things just couldn't be helped.

"Damn it...that hurt." Lee growled to himself as he forced himself up from his knee. His whole body shook as he tried to stabilize himself with his hands on his knees. His breathing came in deep and haggard. Sweat beaded on his brow as he tried to straighten himself up. Tried and failed. No sooner had he tried to force a forward step did he collapse once more. "Ah, Christ, that..." His lips curled down in a snarl, "Ouch...ow." Falling sideways Lee pushed himself up against a nearby building. "Ow-ow-ow-ow...time, no-er." Drawing another deep breath and letting it out as 'easily' as he could Lee rested his hands on his legs. "Maybe...a break." His voice came out in a harsh whisper.

"Hey...Mas." Lee thought at Mastema, "I'm just gonna, you know...chill here a second." Though his thoughts were not nearly as broken or as rough hewed as his verbal speech there was still a fairly evident strain on trying to force his thoughts anywhere...even through his own mind. "So, you know, no hurry, or...anything."  

[Twilight Justice]

Whatever Lee was feeling wasn't intentional, at least on Mastema's part, and it was safe to say in the current situation that Mastema wasn't feeling nearly as distressed. At least the very least, Lee wouldn't have to suffer through the pain while also listening to whatever unkind words Mas had to throw his way.

Than probably wouldn't appreciate Eecheb's more negative thoughts on humans so much. Than was, for all intents and purposes, human. His angelic genes, if they could be called that, granted him only the minimum an angel would possess, and they were certainly not the source of his precocious power. But for now, it meant nothing, and Than just smiled lightly, apparently noting that Eecheb had only just noticed the beta.

Having absolutely no idea how to effectively play this game to maximize Trilla's fun, Proto did what some algorithms experts would call a 'random walk.' From the moment he'd let down his hand, he knew exactly where Trilla was. If there was one thing harder than pretending he didn't know where she was, it was pretending he was actually looking. Venturing aimlessly, he would inspect elements that normally held no interest to him: cracks in the side walks, flaws in the unkempt asphalt, the openings of any windows, and just for kicks he'd look at the tops of buildings, as if Trilla had flown away. The next problem was how long he was going to keep up his random looking.

As the minutes passed and Thanatos neared where Proto and his little sister were, Thanatos felt the unknown presence change from inert to chaotic. Something was wrong. It was strange, but Thanatos still worried about whoever it was, and couldn't bring himself to feel indifferent to its plight. "Oi, Eecheb, something's not right, so I'm going to go check it out. I'll catch up with you later. Keep going this way until you find Proto. He should be up ahead." Without too much delay, Than took off running down a perpendicular street. Eecheb seemed able to feel auras, so hopefully he could understand why Than was taking off, and hopefully he would also follow his big brother's commands.  

[Nana_Wing]

Trilla: whee heart

*Trilla was enjoying her game of hide and seek, it was the first time she'd ever played the game with Proto, and it was good. While Proto looked about and inspected things around the area, Trilla kept her head down and giggled lightly to herself, thinking she was a genious at playing the game. She could hear Proto walking around, sometimes getting closer and then wandering farther away*

Eecheb: o.o | H-huh? Oh- Okay. ....hmm, I guess I get to eat the rest of these then.| >__> | heart

*Since Thanatos had gone off, that left the last container completely at Eecheb's mercy. Popping half of a rolled sandwich into his mouth, Eecheb would continue on his original path, though now at a casual pace. Munching away, it would take another five minutes before the boy finally came into view by Proto. By that time he was nearly finished his second roll, he'd wave to Proto assuming he was looking at him*  

[Jim Hensley]

Lee still lays back, trying to recover himself.  

[Twilight Justice]

As with Nana, the idea that Trilla could actually enjoy doing 'this,' which wasn't all that much, was lost on the bot. He was just playing along, knowing the alternative would be less pleasant. Isn't this what her siblings were for anyway? As if on cue, Proto looked up, now seeing Eecheb only 50 meters away or so, and acknowledged him with a beep or a whistle or whatever one called it. Deciding this might be a more 'interesting' route to go, the drone raised his arm and pointed to a seemingly random location, again looking at Eecheb and evidently calling out to him. He was, in fact pointing to where Trilla was. Perhaps if he could guide the brother to the sister, they could keep eachother occupied and he could resume his aloof position of guard.

Than wasn't slow, so it wouldn't be more than a couple of minutes after leaving Eecheb that he came within visible and auditory distance of the visitor. "I don't know who you are or why the defenses let you in here, but I don't like people going nuclear near my home." It was probably not the smartest thing to get so close to such an unstable power source, but to Than, Lee was just someone in distress, whom he had no reason to hold ill will toward. It was only seconds after his call that he crouched down on one knee next to him, bringing Lee face to face with the blind boy who, in the past, hadn't really given off a favorable impression of him. "What happened? I can help you if you need it."  

[Jim Hensley]

"Erk." Lee's face scrunched in a fading surge of pain. His body was all ready beginning to stabilize itself out, the arcane energies enclosed within each cell were quickly coming back under control. "Heh, nice to see you too." He grunted as he pulled his legs up so he could rest his elbows on his bent knees. "The Citadel's barrier seemed to have had some, err." Closing his eyes and rubbing his right temple Lee grunted again, "Some kinda adverse effect on my body." Shaking his head and waving away Thanatos' offer of assistance Lee, using the rubble building as a crutch to try and push himself back to his feet.

Because he'd given himself a bit of time to recover, allowed his cellular build to repair the sudden and violent distortion of arcane energy that had suddenly surged through him, Lee was finally able to make it to his feet with only minor of groaning and only a little swaying. "Thanks but no thanks, bud, I gotta get up to the main Keep and tug on Mastema's ear." He chuckled to attempt to defuse the boy's overly protective nature, knowing full well if he mentioned his desire to see the boy's step-mother he would more likely throw him out on his ear if he didn't make good on his father's threat and simply outright vaporize him. As unsteady as he was at the moment, even if Lee did have a means to defend himself against Thanatos' aura based abilities, Than could probably glare hard enough in his direction and knock him flat on his arse.  

[Twilight Justice]

First, Lee's response seemed familiar, and then he knew the name of this blasted city as well. Then, at the end of it all, as Than stood up just as Lee did, he uttered his father's name, and removed all doubt. "Tegral...." Than's eye narrowed, not in particular focus, but with obvious distaste. The cat was out of the bag now.

"No wonder I couldn't recognize you. I knew you'd set up camp by Kai's forest, but I've never encountered you in your new form till now..... there's a nice new fissure on our map thanks to you." Thanatos was referring to one of Teg's previous, failed attempts at controlling his newfound powers. It was almost mesmerizing. At one time Tegral had been intimating in his presence, even to Thanatos, but not only did he feel so much 'weaker' now, if that were the appropriate word, but Than had happened on him as if he were crippled... just by walking through the barrier.

"You have an experimental source for your powers and all it took was this barrier to bring you to your knees? Didn't you ever learn about protecting your vital systems, or better yet how to use a band-pass filter, after all those years in the space scouts?" Than was hardly less about the spliced insults than his father was. For better or worse, Thanatos was following Lee; he was out of luck if he was thinking he could walk around in here without company. "If only KB could see this...."  

[Nana_Wing]

Eecheb: Huh? You want me to what?

*Eecheb would swallow down the rest of his sandwich roll before saying anything. It looked like Proto wanted him to go some place, but where was Trilla? Maybe in the direction he was pointing? The boy would try to focus in on his sister, she should be in the area, at least that's what Thanatos said. Still hiding behind debris, Trilla silently giggled to herself unaware of Eecheb's arrival. The boy would weave around until he finally spotted his sister. Trilla's eyes were closed so she couldn't see Eecheb as he quietly wandered up to her. Trilla would jump and squeek loudly as Eecheb dropped the food containers infront of her. Eecheb would get a minor tongue lashing as a result of startling Trilla*

Trilla: T____T | Eecheb! You scared Trilla! Don't do that!! Now you ruined hide and seek!

Eecheb: >__> | ...yeah. Than said there was someone here, so he went to find out about stuff. He told me to come here so-- Want a sandwich?

Trilla: o.o ! | Sandwich?

Eecheb: >__> | ...yeah, there are two if you wanna have them. I had some already, they're good.

Trilla: Hmm~ Trilla will have one!

*Trilla appeared to be quite cheerful now that Eecheb wasn't scaring or startling her, in fact he was being nice and giving her food. Actually that seemed a little odd for him, but Trilla ignored it for now, and took his offering. Meanwhile in the north, the dark warehouse was for the moment, silent*  

[Jim Hensley]

Using what structure he could in the ruined city surrounding the Keep, Lee slowly hobbled his way towards the main Keep. "It's Lee." He corrected Thanatos, "Tegral died when Lee was given life. One for one, if you would." He smiled in an off attempt at humor. As he came to the corner of the block he was walking down he paused, visibly collecting himself and drawing an untapped source of strength to steady his leg. To Than's eyes Lee's aura would quiver, harsher than it had when Lee had initially went through the barrier yet it was more structured and more 'organized', before it began to drum in a slow and steady drawl. One of Lee's 'hard wired' abilities was something akin to reinforcing his body with arcane energies that increased his strength, speed, balance, and reaction abilities. Almost as soon as the slow pulses began they steadied out and settled into a low hum of energy.

Tanned leather stretched across his chest and shoulders as he stretched protesting muscles. Despite muscles still shaky as a reaction to the shield Lee seemed much more steady on his feet. "You know I'm sure I could run redundant filtration systems on top of the Arcane Generator, or even install a phase shield that would out right protect it so long as I wasn't actively utilizing it while I passed through the barrier. One problem with that though." Pushing back the gray wolf fur mantle on his shoulders Lee held up a single index finger, "I don't have an Arcane Generator, can't run filtration systems, and can't install anything to me let alone a phase shield. This body is one hundred percent untainted by technology. Hell I don't even have the cell phone I gave your folks on me." Shrugging he stepped out into the intersection, his legs somewhat stiff though still functioning properly.

Shaking his head slightly at the mention of KB he idly rested his free hand on the wood handled belt knife sheathed on his...well his belt. "He was a monster in every sense of the word, but what kind of man would I be if I expected a second chance for myself and faulted a man for his own past, eh?" Memories belonging to a machine of war, a haunted mind trapped inside a cybernetic avatar bent on destruction, came through a foggy haze, "If you believe in a higher power then, God rest his soul."  

[Twilight Justice]

Proto was surprised that plan worked so well, really. Not only had Eecheb apparently understood what Proto was telling him, but the two had found eachother and weren't fighting, even when Eecheb had snuck up on her.... if you could call walking toward her from the front 'sneaking.' And yet, he detected no spacetime anomalies in the area, not that he was equipped to detect them in any case. Proto had ceased wandering around, and remained still, attentively keeping an eye out around for any trouble. Thanatos and the now stabilized stranger were coming their direction, but it didn't appear there was any threat.

"Oh, you have a new name now. Hallelujah, and here I was worried you'd, you know, try to make some cheesy aesthetic change to convince me that you were a new person." Than seemed to scoff at Lee's nominal correction; it couldn't be said yet if Than would adhere to the new moniker. Still, it wasn't as if Than could refuse all credit to Lee; he had indeed kept his word, apparently leaving behind his military past, and had set up a new residence.

"I wasn't 'tainted' by technology either before that monster, as you call him, fixed that. I assume you're aware he's the reason for my current.... physical state." The arm and left eye had been KB's direct doing. The right eye had gone blind some time later thanks to the neurbiological damage done by KB's method. Scars across Than's neck, chest, arms, and especially his back were all testaments to the trials by fire he'd faced at a tender. Some of them were self inflicted, from the relentless training Than had been forcing himself through in secret, hidden from his family and friends... what few of them he believed he still had.

"So you can't modify this body? Then I hope you're a diligent student... and I hope everyone else is as patient to leave you to your own devices.... or I suppose lack thereof, now." At least Lee seemed to have control over some degree of his powers. You'd still think he'd have perfected some level of control before giving up his all powerful cybernetic bodies for good. "For the record I never said I wasn't giving you a second chance," Than interjected, more or less shutting out Lee's comments about God. "Even after everything KB did to me, I believe he was as much a victim as I was. I only hope what I've done will make his life better, eventually..... God's gonna have to wait a little longer to rest KB's soul for good."  

[Nana_Wing]

*By now Eecheb had taken a seat next to Trilla, and both were having one of the two remaining sandwich rolls. They would eat in relative silence, Eecheb resting back once he was finished his. Thanatos was near the weak one, what they were doing, he didn't know, still he could feel them. Taking a little more time to finish off her roll, Trilla would poke her head over the debris pile to see where Proto was. Clearly he wasn't playing hide and seek anymore, but he hadn't left the area either*

Eecheb: So, what do you want to do now? Stay here? Not sure when Thanatos is going to come back.

Trilla: ? Nn~ Trilla wants to see Thanatos!

Eecheb: Okay, so we'll just wait around for a while I guess. If he doesn't come back soon though, we should go play or something.

Trilla: Hnn...

*Okay-- play? Something was definately going on in Eecheb's brain today. Was he really her brother? Trilla would have to test him... yes~*  

[Jim Hensley]

Lee paused at Thanatos' final comment. Surely he didn't mean...no, he couldn't be talking about what Lee feared he was. "No," He went along, changing the subject before he delved too deeply into the possibility that KB was in fact still alive. "I cannot modify my body." The emphasis on the possession of the body added an definitive point that this was his body and none other. He could not change bodies like Tegral could, could not reproduce or upgrade his current body, he was - as he claimed - as human as they came while still retaining his arcane abilities.

In reference to Than's original sharp station regarding Lee's self produced studies, "And you know as well I as I that if I didn't have the patience for learning I wouldn't be here. On my own I'm, obviously, prone to over reactions." Waving a hand out behind him he adjusted the bow staff behind his back with his free hand, keeping it hooked behind his rucksack and on the corner of his hip, referencing his rather explosive demonstration of arcane ignorance. "I'm hoping a combination of both Mastema and Nana, and perhaps if I can wrangle it," He paused to turn and face Thanatos, his temporary burst of strength and stability beginning to wane though showing no apparent signs short of the slight quiver in his aura that Than would be able to see, "Perhaps I might even steal you away for a lesson or two." He smirked before turning away and resuming his trek towards the main Keep. "Believe it or not, despite prior experiences and past aggressions, I'm here to learn only a handful of attributes from your parents, be they your biological or not. I'm sick of war, if you can tolerate the potential lip service I'm sure you're accusing me of in your own mind. I'm tired of killing, I'm tired of fighting, I'm tired of destroying." Lee finally stopped beside the rubble of a destroyed building, the chrome that encompassed the entirety of the seemed to cover every nook and cranny of the Citadel's shielded interior. Lightly he pressed an outstretched hand against a half crumbled wall, "I'm so sick of destroying. Do you know what it's like, Thanatos?" Like some hard-core emo-drama special Lee bowed his head while still resting his hand on the rubble, "To forget your life? To not remember anything about yourself, your parents, your childhood? The only thing you know about yourself before you were tainted was that your family use to be farmers? You don't know what they grew, or even if they were productive at it, or whether or not you can even do the same thing? That you can't even return to what was once in your blood because you gave up your blood so long ago you can't even remember?" Sighing Lee dropped his hand and lifted his head, drawing a short breath and exhaling quickly, "Never mind." Lee barked a quick laugh before resuming his march towards the tower. "Never mind." He repeated in a soft whisper.