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Janice Fitzpatrick had, surprisingly, been sleeping. And she had been having the most lovely dream -- of finally being recognized for her merits in the Negaverse, and being promoted to General by Queen Beryl herself. It had been so vivid. It had been so real, right down to the searing, unimaginable pain coursing through her being --

-- and Captain Uranophane woke with a start, just in time to to smack her head against the floor.

Begrudgingly, she stood, and sauntered into formation as commanded. There was no sense in grumbling now, not when she had no idea of what was going on. This felt different. Everyone looked misguided: she caught a glimpse of the normally confident General-King Marthozite, looking like he had just as good an idea about what was going on as everyone else in the subspace.

This was different.

The voice rumbling through the stone and crystal itself was... definitely different. And the presence that came with it... was powerful. Uranophane's posture stiffened all the more, not wanting to spare any professionalism for what felt like a much higher authority than even the Queen herself.

"The core...? What does that mean?" she asked, but more to herself than anyone else.

He hadn't seen Tanzanite since the news station performance, and he certainly did not notice she had been promoted until now. Not that he and Tanzanite talked much, but he was clearly impressed she was a General, and her commanding, strong voice proved that the higher rank was justified. The clothes, however, well – boyfriend or not, he grew a little flushed around the edges at seeing so much of the General. Her youma arm was as intimidating as ever, but now her outfit would cause a few shivers as well.

As she commanded them to gain formation and order, Wolframite staggered to his feet, attempting once, failing to stand, and then reattempting before he gained his footing. As his body started to shake the first effects and slip into the lingering ones of the summoning, his mind was working through the fog of being thrown through space to whatever it was the Negaverse headquarters resided. It wasn't as if the place had windows and he never noticed a exit outside – if there was an outside.

He had never been here either, and he felt as if they were on some other floor. For all he knew, the Negaverse main headquarters went on and on for eternity with hallways and dark rooms. For now, he just managed to deal with this floor, and he staggered to the other captains and bowed again, glad that he would not be standing, and rested his hand against his chest as he awaited orders or whatever needed such a sudden and violent summoning.

But it was not the Queen's voice he heard. It was someone different, and someone who, dare he believe, was more terrifying. His body constricted all at once as if preparing for a blow, and he clenched his teeth. Disappointment in the Negaverse was the worst offense, and one that was never to be taken lightly. However, this time they were all the ones on trial, and he listened, knowing that there was nothing he could say in defense. If even the General Kings and Queens were here, then he must have been a greater disappointment then they were, and he envied those officers. It wasn't like he would have defended himself either way. If he was a disappointment, then he was. It was the only place, here, that he would take such a outright remark with a degree of acceptance. He screwed up apparently. They all had. Worse yet, the mention of the senshi caused his eyes to open and look up, protective of his planet and as rabid as a wolf to hear them messing on his territory.

Tanzanite's worry did not show on her face, but it was there. Buried deep inside of the woman who stood as though entirely unphased, making her insides knot in such a way that it tightened her exposed stomach. She was aware of the eyes that followed her, but it was something she had either grown accustomed to or simply did not care about. Her human hand, the fingertips now scaled and black, gently touched Linarite's arm as she whispered her response, “No. Something is wrong. I'm going to talk to General-King Marthozite and L-” Tanzanite paused, almost forgetting the proper title for the woman she had served under in Europe, “General-Queens Laurelite and Apatite. Everything will be fine.”

She was lying, and Lina would surely know it.

No sooner had she taken the first step towards their seniors than the voice tore through the cavern, the power behind it undeniable. Tanzanite dropped to a knee without thought, her body moving almost before she could even think to command it. The spines as her shoulder rested flat against her neck, and her human hand reached up to pull Linarite down with her.

She did not know to whom the voice belonged or why she felt such fear when faced with it's wrath, but Tanzanite's eyes were all but glued to the floor as she knelt.

“Where has Queen Beryl gone?” She asked foolishly, the sense of awe in her voice having only ever been used when talking to her Queen and, in the days before her return, the General-King who was now locked away forever in a crystal coffin. “How have we failed to serve? We have given our lives to the Negaverse. Our bodies. Where have we failed?"

Spinel froze. Maybe it was the fact that he was a senshi himself, but the voice's words struck something into his heart--even deeper than instinctive fear, he felt ashamed. The others of his kind were so misguided. They needed to learn that service to the Negaverse was the only appropriate way to make up for the crimes they were committing against Earth's people just by being there.

The violet General spoke the words he was thinking. He couldn't recall having done anything less than his best; all senshi he'd encountered, he'd tried to kill, but for those who also served the Negaverse. How could he have betrayed the voice?

Pyrite did what Pyrite did best at times of crisis like these. Hunch up in an attempt to make herself smaller, and start to visibly tremble.

Height betrayed Esperite. Tall and thin, he felt immediately noticed once he appeared within the dark subspace. Pain and the slightest tinge of panic sent shivers throughout his body. Forces beyond what he had witnessed had brought him far from the comfort of his lavish apartment. Or should it be said that "brought" was far too kind a term. Esperite felt as if he had been dragged to hell by the scorching hot hands of the devil himself. Instinct told him to cry out, reach for help. However, his pride wouldn't even allow a sarcastic whisper. Quickly, he leaned against the stone walls and sought relief from any outside force that lessened the burden of holding in his great discomfort. He wouldn't allow anyone to see his pain. No, this would be held in and he would try to appear as casual as possible while seeking refuge against the wall.

"Just my lu-"

As the sinister voice filled his ears, he immediately felt the need to sink down, fall to the floor, and obey. Take the path of least resistance, no need to stand out. Whatever entity gave the foreboding message, its voice demanded to be heard, for each word to be taken to heart, and burned into the minds that heard it. The lowly lieutenant Esperite couldn't fight this, not even a little. Two plastic daggers wouldn't allow him to hold any ground here. No, he would have to take the smallest victory possible and just know he didn't anger it any further. Not possessing enough experience to fully understand the warning, his lips remained sealed as he sank down against the wall, slowly resting on one knee.

"Just another warm welcome--" Serandite had been about to take place near Linarite and Tanzanite, her arm about to raise in a friendly wave until the hairs on her spine stood. There was something wrong-- Every fiber of her bring screamed something was inexplicably wrong.

Her head lowered solemnly once more, her expression froze, a coldness running through her body. Serandite was afraid she might have said something foolish as well. She probably would have, saved by General Queen Laurelite's warning. It was an unseen sight-- It meant that this voice was much more detrimental than the Queen. The Queen was bad enough-- But this voice made even caused the three in front of her to kneel.

This was bad. Really bad. Badbadbadbad. Serandite was nervous. Not in a good way. On the opposite end of that scale. If the scale was at ten, this was a hundred. Incredibly off the charts.

So much for sleeping... so much for a nights rest after working for so long trying so hard to make sure that he would please the queen. The sensation of white hot razors dragging all the way through his bones one fiber at a time, but as sudden as a bolt of lighting was terrifying and new. He had expected at first on some level to see a Furious Beryl, he'd even been so vain as to think it might be about his 'project', yet unfulfilled due to so many other projects of greater and more immediate import.

But this... "Line up." He encouraged his team in quiet tones, echoing those of the Generals, his would not disappoint, they were clever and competent, his voice not as eery as Tanzinite, but something quieter and smoother like a secret being murmured in your ear even as he knelt carefully, and trembling. He might be a Captain, but there was still enough sense in him to be afraid...

But that terrible word that made his heart stop. Betrayal... His knee wobbled on the stone where it dug into the harsh crystal and his heart beat harder in his ears.
Begun, what had begun? His mouth was dry and his hands shook ever so slightly as he started checking off in his mind, one thing at a time that might have triggered the wrath of this... this entity. This being that was somehow beyond even their curiously absent queen.
What had begun, what had they not seen?