Welcome to Gaia! ::

*Turning his head again, Micha looked back towards the main tower. The sparring match between Proto and Zenogais was quickly coming to a close, so he should get back before anyone noticed he was missing. Micha would lock eyes with the startled har for another few precious seconds, before he slowly turned to start heading back. Quite clearly now, his wings should be visible. Slender and sharp looking, an off white and folded neatly to his back, that's how the wings would appear to the on-looking har. The boy had appeared without a word, and seemed to be disappearing just the same way. Should this oppurtunity really be left alone? There was at least one being here, aside from robots, it should be investigated, right? The har would need to find a quick way to ditch his two robotic chaperones. Climbing through a window and sneaking down a side street to catch up with the boy should be easy enough*

Micha: . . .

It wasn't so much that Mastema despised Eru's light hearted speech o much as it was that it didn't win Eru any favors. "Then I suggest you give your abilities to alter space and time to someone more cunning, or at the very least to someone who has outgrown his pacifier. Hurry up with the question.... the sooner you are gone to sooner Solaris is, I assume." Just as Eru was putting on his 'very best' demeanor, Mastema wasn't feeling obligated to do anything of the sort. He was of course aware that Eru's powers could make him much more trouble than he had been, but that didn't mean Mastema had to hold back any hostility in his tone. It also seemed he could tell Eru didn't have the most adult appearance.

Eru would also be able to take note of something odd about Mastema while in telepathic communication with him. No doubt Eru's powers made him sensitive to space, time, and all that good stuff, so it should be fairly well noticable to him that Mastema's presence seemed..... somewhat unstable. He certainly existed in this time, but it felt like he was connected to something which was much closer to the essence of these things than Mastema himself was.

Mastema withheld a scoff at the idea that Xol had broken into the citadel and gone through so much trouble just to have a few words with his son. Xol had never acted for petty purposes before, regardless of allegiance. Mastema glanced to Eecheb for a minute, before looking back to the spar with his reply. "There are just too many reasons why I cannot fulfill your request Xol. First an foremost, Eecheb is busy with something else, and I think he would dislike it as much as I would if I pulled him away now. Also, you have shown no sign of good will since you came here, so I have no reason to believe you have good will for my son either. Perhaps the best reason of all is that you are quite simply incapable of handling children, or should I inquire to the health of your children? However, I can see you have been a busy little glutton, so I will grant you the privilege of having me relay your message." Mastema kept his amusement to himself.

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

Because Nana and the children weren't experienced combatants, they were probably less affected he the extreme tension that was transpiring between the inert Zenogais and Proto. They were barely 3 meters between them, a distance which could mean either the next attack could barely make a hit or could barely be avoided; it all depended on who moved first and who moved faster.

For a moment, it seemed like there would have to be a draw called because neither was moving. However, a sudden rising of Zeno's arms made Proto step forward. As soon as Proto's step was on the ground, Zeno flung one of his auxiliary arms forward, throwing his 3rd replica sword at Proto. Because the sword was small, Proto had no trouble weaving to the side to avoid it, but as Mastema had said, Proto played right into Zeno's hands. As the flying sword passed by Proto, a brilliant flash would be seen; an arc of electricity had flown from the sword that passed Proto, to one of his shoulders, then to another of the replica swords that had been embedded in the ground when Zeno launched his upper body into the air. Normally, such an electrical arc would be little more than a nuisance to Proto and the effect would be dulled by his armor, but the damage caused to Proto's shoulder allowed the arc to directly contact his shoulder mechanism and create a brief short circuit, making Proto's left arm shut down for just a moment.

Seeing Proto's left arm lose power and lose Proto's control over the massive weapon, Zeno lunged forward and brought his sword around to bear on Proto's right side. In response, Proto used all of the strength in his right arm to lift the ten foot weapon to a vertical stance and deflect Zeno's Fuuraiken. A loud 'Hah!' would be heard from Zeno as he let go of his sword and allowed Proto's massive strength to easily knock it away. With the force of his push unhindered, Proto's thrust had left his arm thrown wide out. In that moment, Zeno's lower-left auxiliary arm, the only arm that still had a replica sword, slashed straight upward, charged itself with as much heat and electricity as possible, and cleaved Proto's arm in half at the elbow. Proto's massive plasma weapon almost instantly shutoff when the forearm was severed from the body. In a last ditch effort, Proto's left arm reactivated a moment before he clenched his fist and tried to throw it at Zeno. However, Zeno's right hand caught Proto's, held it at bay, and Zeno pointed his left hand at Protos head while his finger-tip guns deploys.

Proto was now disarmed, had his remaining hand caught, and had 5 small lightning-aura guns pointed at his head. "And I say this match goes to Zenogais without a doubt!" Slayer shouted loudly as the two stood still. The spectacular battle was finally over.

A quick elevator ride to the ground floor and moments later Cole was in the streets of the Citadel. Many it was time to find some answers.

O_O Or maybe it wasn't.

Cole steps out, just in time to see Zeno de-arm Proto. The final pass between the two monsters was... pretty cool to watch really. ^^ He could see how fighting could be entertaining when it wasn't directed at him.

Once Slayer had finished speaking, Cole lets out a violent coughing storm. He holds up a hand to apologize.

"Sorry toGACK"

He pounds his chest vigorously as the words come out like gravel from a dis-used throat.

"... interrupt... uh, hm. ^^ That was pretty impressive eh? Heh... heh."

==============================================

Oh Eru's shoulder, Trip and Pleasant are intrigued.

"Ohheisameanoneisn'the?Besttostayawayfromcharacterslikethatdeary.
ThoughIstillsayhe'sagoodlookingpieceofman,rawr!Listentothatmanly
growl."

Trip rolls his eyes and shrugs.

"Woah there little lady, none of us need to hear that. And he's just looking for a little respect from our boy here, not that he's likely to get any eh?"

"Solaris? You mean Xol, the impatient? I dunno. I assumed you could kick him out if you wanted. I kinda brought him with us on a whim and because he asked. I don't really have any way to make him leave." Erudemasa let the insults casually fly over his head. A personality like his, which never seemed to take anything seriously (and which put up with similar abuse from his compatriots) didn't really care what mud was flung at it.

Erudemasa could detect the odd disconnect in Mastema's mind-voice, but didn't know quite what to make of it. Most people's existence was straightforward in their positions in time at any given moment. Mastema, however, didn't have the sharp definition others did when looking at his place in the temporal continuity. He blurred. Erudemasa didn't quite know what to make of this, as he had never seen it before. He'd have to put some investigation time towards this when he was at his leisure. "Aaaaaaany, the reason the three of us are here is pretty straightforward. We were wondering if we could have an exceedingly well made, jewel encrusted statue or other such relic that it may be possible, with the right powers, to trap an exceedingly powerful soul in, then dispose of said soul at some other point in time with minimal effort."

"Eyup, alive and well. Hungry, but that's normal."

He gives everyone a glance over as the mechs pick themselves up, not really giving any special attention to wings or tail. He didn't really have anything to compare to in the terms of "normal" so he simply assumed everything was. He nods politely to Nana and Mastema in turn, shooting a

=3 :wave:

at the children. Thanatos gets a nod too, but when he and Mastema are called to battle Cole pipes up.

"Oi! Give the old grouch a right proper thrashing! Ganbatte!"

==============================================

Trip and Pleasant listen quietly to Eru and Mastema's exchange, only with Pleasant piping up once.

"Hesoundsdistracteddoesn'the?"

And Trip responding.

"Meh, then he'll be more inclined to help out if it gets you off his case eh pard?"

Proto would obediently go over to Nana, after setting down his plasma swords and arm in a safe place. It wasn't terribly bad, and wouldn't take long to repair the arm; Zeno had made a clean cut. Partway down the steps, Mastema would suddenly stop walking for a moment, then a rather audible chuckle would be heard from him.

"It's pronounced gambatte!" Than shouted back to Cole's cheer. It was more a friendly correction than anything, since Than was glad he could at least try to prounounce it correctly. Upon hearing Mastema chuckle, Than turned back and saw his father had stopped walking. "O....tousan?" he asked hesitantly.

"Hmm? Oh it is nothing to worry about; I was simply thinking of a joke someone told me." That was all Mastema had to say before he resumed walking to the road with a slightly befuddled Thanatos going to the other end. "Why's he holding a mask in his hand?" Than inquired to himself, able to see the object Mastema was holding

Matema put on a slight smirk at Eru's request, because it gave him a little bit of leeway. "As a matter of fact, I have something which could do that job more than effectively enough to suit your purposes. The sad part is I don't give gifts freely to people who intrude in my home without permission. However, I am willing to grant you a reprieve on one condition. You see, the maniac you dragged in with you is having a bit of a temper tantrum over one of his delusions, and he is now threatening to raze my home to the ground if I don't baby feed him, so to speak. All I ask is you keep the man you brought in from destroying everything, because it goes without saying that what you are seeking will not work very well if it gets destroyed. Make sure he gets out of this citadel without much incident and the object is yours." It was far from unreasonable, for Mas to ask that Xol be removed from the current picture.

Mastema reached his spot on the road. Mastema would turn his head, nod to Slayer, then glance from him to Eecheb and back. Slayer's only response would be a wink from his unmonocled eye; nothing would happen to Eecheb while Slayer was near.

People would now be able to see that Mas was holding a silver mask as he raised it to put it on; it was the same mask he'd shown Nana when giving her the bracelets she now wore. "Solaris, you really do not understand. I was and still am well aware that you could not keep yourself decent around anything with more curves than brick. Really, even if Eecheb were your biological son, I would still keep him from you; it is not the first time that I have cared for a child that was not my own. Regardless, I regret to inform you that a DNA test is ineffective because of me; you can blame me for that, but I assure you that my blood does course through him. Yet, you dare to call yourself his father. What have you done for him, Solaris? You have endangered his family and hurt his loved ones more than any other single individual, and now you insinuate that you 'claim' him? Your son or not, evenI would lament for a being who came under the care of such a blind, undisciplined, unfocused, crass, lecherous, gluttonous, aimless, power hungry, arrogant, and limited being such as yourself. Now, if you keep quiet for a while, you may get to witness something interesting; as for Eecheb, he will remain here and I will make sure he is raised with the potential to go beyond what your shortsightedness could never hope for him." With that, both Eru and Xol would feel the communication sever with a 'snap.' Coincidentally, the telepathic communication was broken about the same time Mastema put his mask on.

Through the eyes of the mask, Mastema looked at Thanatos one last time before closing his eye. "Thanatos! Tell me, have you ever heard the old superstition that the eyes are a gateway.... a gateway into a person's soul?"

The out of place question had come so suddenly from nowhere, and Than couldn't help but jump when his name was shouted with such power. He nodded noticably afterward. "H-hai...."

A very faint, very slim smile graced Mastema's lips, almost hidden by the mask that covered the upper half of his face. Suddenly, multiple 'snaps' would be heard as cracks, like those found in glass, appeared over Mastema's body. The cracks started on his face, coming from under his mask, until they moved down his neck and covered his entire body within half a minute. With them, bits and pieces of Mastema's clothing and body broke off and fell to the ground "Then, to answer your question, I wear this mask.... to keep others from delving into mine...."

When the cracks had spread everywhere, a vibrant, crimson light began to shine through the cracks. The light grew brighter and brighter, as the cracks widened and Mastema's form continued to fade. Thanatos was speechless from the moment the cracks started appearing, and those in the audience were mostly the same, certainly Sho.

At the same time, anyone in the citadel able to sense Mastema's presence would feel it change drastically, especially aura-wise. It would almost feel like an entirely different being was appearing in Mastema's place. Eru would definitely take note of it. Mastema seemed to not only have formed a 'link' with the past but was actually switching places with it, or perhaps merging with it. Whatever was happening to Mastema himself was hidden in the brilliant light.

Xol could do nothing but laugh, so he turned his head skyward and laughed. A laugh that was terrifying and yet oddly filled with a sickening, manical rage. To say he was angry was beyond an understatement. He would make them bow.

"What are these pathetic, simple attempts to hurt my feelings with petty insults? You stoop to a childs level? Putting that aside, I know Eecheb spites you. How? Because he is my son. Give him a choice and you know whom he will choose...

Mastema. You fear me. I am the only one you've faced more than once and still walk these lands. I am the one who equals, if not surpasses you in every conceivable way. I am the undeniable truth that you can and will be destroyed... and you know it. So please spare me the grandeur speaches on my "bad" parenting and how you can unlock my sons potential. If you had a spine I would ask you to meet me on the battlefield, but I know that would fall on a cowards ears. So... send your little army of drones, or your little henchmen and let's get this show on the road. I have a planet to decimate."

Xol did not have to display a pretty light show or push out his aura to show how powerful he was anymore. It was time for him to truly show how black inside and out he was. His son would be his, the Black Company lands would be his, those who opposed would die and eventually his hands would snake through and sap the world to his liking.

|| Xol is inside the Citadel, not the building Mastema is in. ||