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((Uh, people at the freeway are deciding whether to back up Joe against Sam or leave like he told them to, and what to do about the demon group approaching the freeway's aftermath.))

Joe grinned. "You don't have to, you know." Still, he was glad for the help. With Sage Rice gone, Sam didn't have any backup, but Joe also didn't know when whatever he was channeling would pull out. To that effect...
You know, this guy is a Sage in training, and he was aiding that Sage in trying to kill me. Could I get your help in returning the favor?

Thank you.
Joe smiled appreciatively, hoping that his Patron (whatever it was) could sense it. Joe nodded briefly at Paul and lunged at Sam, launching multiple mini-fireballs as he closed the distance.

((So Joe can sprint around with a leg wound. Okayyy...))

Samuel blinked as the fire dispersed on the surface of his shield, turning to Joe.





<...Right. Missed that for a moment.>

Samuel lifted his sword and watched as Joe closed the distance, swinging in an upward diagonal at Joe's chest when Joe got into range. "You know, with your current ability, closing ground with me is a bad idea..." Samuel muttered.

((Cheesecake. Does the shield just need mana to stay in place, or how does it work? Does it need an incantation to stay in place once it runs out of initial energy, or is it a channeled spell, or what? I've gotten several interpretations over the iterations we've had.

In other news, I have new speakers. They are epic. The spacing out thing was because I couldn't exactly respond to five pages of posts without disrupting old responses. Even this response will do that, but hey.

Also, I am only working on that compilation during my days off right now, because... Well, I don't normally feel like it, and I generally have enough to do after work. But, meh. Hopefully I will be more motivated at some point in the near future.))

((The shield is self-sustaining. You put mana into it and it stays there. Using it decreases its remaining power until you recast it.

Joe is basically going puppeteer on his leg with pure mana right now.

Joe, his blade is within the bounds of his shield, therefore, it would annihilate anything it came into contact with.))

Joe, a moment after his taunt, realized something. He'd just placed his hands against a shield of pure annihilation. He contemplated his newfound lack of palms briefly.

((So hadn't posted in a while because I was going back through the RP and my old posts to collect all the plot-line info on my chakras when I saw all this stuff I had completely forgotten about... so here's closure (kind of) for those, plus a long post that finally wakes Siber up. Venom, I'll have that list for you tomorrow sometime.))

Being unconscious was a much more aware thing than Siber previously remembered. The dæmons had realized he was knocked out and and were wondering why his dues hadn't been paid.
Vishuddha was first. "Do you even know my name? I was ripped from a minor tactical strike on Heaven. Do you have any idea how humiliating that was?"
"I-"
"You said you would bring us out during your next available rest period. I saw you resting." That was Monoculous.
"I was-"
"Gurul is alive."
"But R-"
"What, exactly, do you think we are?" chimed in Sapphra. He could clearly see her form imprinted on his mind's eye as she spoke to him. He had forgotten. He had forgotten all of them. Even the butterfly was folding and spreading its wings menacingly on Sapphra's shoulders.
"You're more than I deserve, that's for sure."
"That is for damned sure, Siber. You can't cake-walk your way out of this one." He hadn't seen Sapphra pissed before. This was new.
"I had others approaching me... the druid..."
"You were entertaining yourself. This is one of the reasons your Anahata never fully integrated with Vishuddha, and one of the reasons you will never be able to use either to full potential. Your focus is too much on the self. As a result, we have decided to block ourselves from you for the next few days and see how long you survive." She started to fade, as did all of them. Siber panicked.
"Saphhra!" he cried, "Do-"
"SAPPHRA." Another voice made its way into the darkness. The dæmon's ears perked up and she began to shiver a little as Centauri's presence was made known. "You know I am a greater power than you. Stay. All of you."
"Centauri..." Siber whispered. He had never asked him about why he wasn't in the war on Heaven. Why hadn't he? He had just taken every single one of them for granted... Keldan was silent on the matter.
Centauri ignored him. "This boy has been put through more than any of you were in your own lifetimes, and has done it with a single true breakdown in less than a month. If he was unable to fulfill a promise here and there, it is because he has been contacted by some of the greatest powers we know. cyNet3 and the druids are not to be cast aside. Siber does not fail on promises often; he will make his payments when it is possible. For now, as I am the central power represented here and Terpsichore and Leviathan certainly have better things to do than quell a bunch of second and first-level whining, I order all of you to remain in contact with him for when he needs you. Am I perfectly clear?"
Because Sapphra was actually of his same chakra, she held her chin up defiantly for only a moment before submitting. "Sir. We will do as commanded, Sir. But you know that our potency is hindered by our unwillingness to respond. I take my leave, Sir."
The rest responded similarly and faded out as Centauri took a "seat" by Siber with a sigh. Siber still could only sit and breath shallowly, ashamed of what he had done to them all. "Centauri, I-"
"Don't explain yourself. It makes you seem weak." He wasn't angry, but he was not by any means amused.
"I'm not explaining myself. I'm apologizing. I'd apologize to the rest, but even now, they feel distant."
"Don't worry about them. I hold authority over each one of them. If they disobey me, they could find themselves punished fairly severely."
"If you're not involved in the front on Heaven, though, how are you a commanding officer?"
Centauri relaxed a bit, enjoying the conversation. "So you remembered. It's not exactly an official position. I'm stronger than any of them, if not all of them combined. Also, I felt Leviathan getting agitated. She was afraid they might attack you, so I thought I'd cool things down before she got out of hand."
"Thank you," Siber murmured, still not impressed by himself. "So why aren't you on the front line?"
The armor shell sighed. "I... am basically a romantic pansy. This angel and I... well... you see, she has this move where... yeah, and we ended up fighting in a cloud, or something, and... well... I mean, it's definitely forbidden, but-"
Siber let him go on, grinning to hear something so completely more powerful than he try to explain something so prosaic as a Romeo and Juliet story.
Keldan muttered.


"And she has legs up to here, man, you should see them... but I'm rambling," he trailed off, embarrassed. "I don't know how we've kept it under wraps for this long... we both just stay back and work from the rear or as scouts, I guess. It can't last for too long, we both know, but while it lasts... it's something."
The silence hung in the air for a while. Siber was reminded of how empty his Anahata always seemed to be; the relationship locus was not a strong point on the surface, because there were not relationships on the surface. "That's really cool, Centauri."
"You think so?" He started to get up. "You need to wake up soon, and I have to get back to work. If the others start acting up again, let me know. You're a better person than you let yourself believe. When I leave, you'll be up and about."
Siber could think of no adequate way to express his gratitude, so he "stood" and "clasped" Centauri's "hand" in both of his. "Thank you, Centauri. I want to do my best to repay all of my debts, including this new one to you."
"When you have time." With that, he warped back to Hell, forcing Siber's eyes open.




((Interactive post coming up later... Siber hasn't gotten too terribly much time to himself, and I thought I'd give him that as long as he wasn't active in the plotline for a good number of minutes. Oh, and those of you not liking the idea of a dæmon calling himself a pansy, or acting like one... bite me. xd Sahasraras can be pretty much anything, and you'll see why as soon as I get some science sent to Venom.))

((But... he's using the phase bullet. In the assault rifle. 'Cuz that's all he's got. Right? So can't he modify it?

And the eff kinda problem would I have with Siber's demons? 0.o

Two last things:

One: Character art! So far my progress is limited. Because I'm lazy and I don't accomplish stuff. But anyhow! Paul, Siber, Joe, and a face-less, hairless Agnese. Progress goes slowly.

Two: Concept art! While I was camping, I decided that a. Athena was too vaguely described and b. I lost my old picture of Darius. So I made a new one. I'll get all of that junk up asap.))