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Caedus finally offered a very slight nod at Esquiline.

"The Negaverse takes what is not offered. I suppose I considered this request differently because I asked for you only to give what you were willing to part with. If you wished to part with nothing, I understood. I do not wish to be like the Negaverse. I do not think they posses any redeeming qualities. But you should not admire me," he shook his head a bit.

"…But you are not intrusive, so you do not need to apologize. I respect the search for knowledge. I am grateful to all of your friends that came forward to aid me." He did not speak of the difficulties in holding open the portal, though he kept his gaze transfixed upon it.

And then he frowned. There was a strange, chaotic energy slowly fluctuating from the portal and he seemed to sense that something was wrong. From the other side there almost seemed to be a roar—of battle.

Something big was going on, and he seemed more concerned now than ever. He sat up a little straighter, and though he did not say anything. It almost sounded like voiced from the other side.

Esquiline

She noticed Caedus frown a the portal, causing her mild concern. She stared at the portal, trying to discern what had caused the frown, but seeing nothing.

"What's the matter? Is it getting too difficult to keep it open? Is the energy we gave not enough?"

Hvergelmir read Teide's message with a deepening frown. She was concerned for her fellow knight, her little sister . . . it was often not that Teide struggled with knowing the right thing to do, or with wanting to be a good person, but with the fear of her own failure. Her self-esteem, more than anything, was lacking.

We have not sent anyone, she typed back. You and I are not attacking anyone in their homes. We aren't stealing anyone's energy. We spoke out against this course of action as best we could, and that's all we can do.

She sighed and kept typing. One of the hardest lessons to learn is how to forgive yourself for the things you allow others to do. But a harder lesson still is realizing it was never your fault to begin with. We cannot always control the choices of others. We cannot sway every heart. We can only do our best.

You're my sister and I love you, she wrote. But you are very hard on yourself. Peace will come to you in time -- and until then, I am always with you. I am proud of your journey.

She pulled Teide fully into her arms, seated on the ground, and they watched the open portal with trepidation. Hvergelmir sniffled. She hoped their comrades would return soon.

A sudden awareness of a message on her signet ring surprised her; she sniffled and pulled up the message.

She read it. She read it again. Her face went pale as parchment.

Ida, she thought. Ida's alive.

Her gaze flickered wildly between Caedus and the portal.

She had to stay, for now. The likelihood of casualties on this expedition was high, and if their allies came back through the portal, some of them might need medical attention. Eikthyrnir could not teleport many -- probably just one -- but for someone, a quick teleport to a hospital might make the difference between life and death.

Hvergelmir would stay until their allies returned.

But, she thought with dread, they had been gone a long time.

Celsus Knight of Chronos


He knew he'd disappointed Caedus, Celsus seeing the way his shoulders dropped, the way he turned in on himself; but he couldn't help it. There was no telling what was going to happen, and no guarantee that things were going to go exactly as planned. And yet again they were faced with all the reasons why it should work and none as to why they should trust Caedus in the first place.

It made no sense. His head was spinning dangerously.

Something in the air shifted, changed. Celsus lifted his head from where his fingers were massaging his throbbing temple and glanced towards the portal, his heartbeat quickening. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Caedus stiffen, suddenly alert, and fear spiked in Celsus's veins.

He got to his feet abruptly, ignoring the nausea that immediately accompanied the dizziness with this act.

"I told you," said Celsus, and his voice came out hoarse, desperate, as he rounded on the cloaked figure. "Something's wrong, I told you this was too easy of a solution, that this was too simple, too convenient, and now - "

He had no idea what was happening on the other side, but he felt sick, his fingers trembling. Celsus's eyes flickered towards Denebola and Corvus, swallowing hard; and he felt, more than ever, the searing weight of his inadequacies pressing down upon him.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I can't - "

I can't sit here if people are dying in there.

He gave Denebola's hand a squeeze - and then he was running forward, his heart in his throat, leaping through the portal before either of them could stop him.


[ exit ]

A series of events had been triggered by the aura trickling through the portal and the way Caedus tensed upon realizing it and Corvus stood watching them, feeling as though everything were suddenly in slow motion.

Celsus, the Knight of Chronos who barely seemed able to stand, had made a dash through the portal after delivering an 'I told you so' that, frankly, Caedus deserved.

Denebola, the Senshi of Dragonflies, had quickly taken to her feet and bolted after him after giving her an apologetic look.

As she watched the two disappear through the black hole that she had watched others leave through time came slamming back into play, leaving her dumbfounded for a moment. "Son of a b***h," she muttered, eyes darkening for a moment as she clenched her fists. When this was over they were going to have to have a discussion about what it meant to 'not be reckless'.

The Senshi of Vengeance cast a quick glance to Altais that very much said 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em and hope for the best' before she too bolted after Celsus and Denebola shouting "Hold the line!" to anyone else who might be listening.

Pollux, senshi of frost

He was late.

Checking his watch again before adjusting his tie. He'd been avoiding the situation in part, but his brother's antics hadn't gone unnoticed. Nor, had his brother's actions.Yet when his brother had gone though a portal to hell itself, he'd been aware, too aware, that the possibility of this ending badly was high. Sure, he considered himself a gambling man, but this was a card deck stacked against them. Not to mention the nuanced problems with the plan overall.

With a heavy sight, Marlo checked his watch another time.

It was over their agreed time, and his brother had yet to contact him. Not even a single update. Even so, Elzo, Castor was not dead. Not yet. He'd know if his brother was. He didn't know how to explain such a thing yet, he would have known. Castor was alive still, yet his lack of return is what sent his brother looking.

Getting off his motorcycle, the man held up his henshin pen briefly, changing into the mask of a being he did not think as himself.
As he walked towards the location, he stopped at the fringe, the sight of Scylla immediately having him hesitating. Yet it, like many of his feelings, was shoved aside. He'd come here with one purpose.

Seeking the alien that his brother had warned him of.
"Caedus?" He approached the figure in question, eyes flickering over to Hver and others he knew would likely not be happy to see him.
"Pollux, brother of Castor. I take it he and the others have yet to make their return?"
Light blue eyes glared with a clear hate and disgust.
"I was told this would not be long, and yet I have no message from him, no update." Arms crossed and it was clear, Pollux wanted answers.
"....I hope you have a plan should your little portal go down."

The brothers we vastly different, but the look Pollux gave Caedus was the same one Castor had given him. The siblings were hard pressed to believe people on claims along.

"My stocks are fine and they will hold, but they're just as likely to crash at any given moment due to outside influences." An eyebrow raised at the portal.

"If they're fighting near the portal I expect they have failed in their, or rather, your objective." His gaze shifted back to the man who held literally, the lives of dozens in his hand.
"What will you do should they have failed?"

Caedus was on edge with Pollux's presence; he had seemed relaxed for the vast majority of his interrogations, but now he seemed just the slightest bit agitated. Perhaps it was the questions, or the accusations, or the strain of keeping the portal open, but he tensed and did not speak for a few seconds.

"I do not know what you have heard or what you believe, but my objective was to allow them access into the Negaverse's realm in exchange for the energy to return to my homeworld. I have not failed in my purpose, nor have they theirs. The portal is open."

To Esquiline, a bit softer, he added, "The portal will hold. I can only hope that they reach it in time. If something should happen…"

His voice trailed off.

"There may be other options. Do not lose hope just yet."