Welcome to Gaia! ::

At first, there was the sensation of floating. It was like drifting in a warm, lazy river. It was a gentle embrace of energy, carrying them away from trouble. The unstable, erratic energy from the field had faded, replaced only with this familiar embrace.

The purple light that enveloped all of them faded slowly, and when they blinked away the last of it, they could see that they were safe.

The room had a latent magic; it did not heal, but it seemed to function as something of a stasis. Pain diminished, and injuries would not worsen, but it seems like it is only a temporary magic.

The group arrived scattered throughout the Throne Room in the Castle of the Dark Kingdom. Metallia’s embrace wrapped around all agents of the Negaverse--warm, proud. She wasn’t visible, but she was there, in that room with them.

Lyndin, injured as he was, stood in one of the back corners. His expression was strained but otherwise unreadable. Tremors coursed through his body and anyone close to him could easily see that he was probably only standing from willpower alone. He was surrounded by the Cadets that chose to follow him: Naeria, Andreiya, Fangnyl, Aliez, Fae-Fae, Itztenoch, Eso, Nessaela, Silvera, Yddagen, Lysvi, Cypher, Vyn, Fysarius, Ny, Daesva, and Caelyna.

A faint glow still covered the cadets--and, the crystals that covered their fallen comrades. They were no longer easy to see through; they had clouded over, as if out of respect for the fallen. Or, maybe, to shield the cadets from the horrors that had befallen them.

Lyndin was between the Cadets and the rest of the Negaverse, as if he were ready to protect them if he needed to. The Chaotic energy of the Negaverse might have felt dizzying, ordinarily, but with the extra protection they were spared from it. For now.

At the front of the room, Laurelite stood before her throne. She was standing up straight, fingers gently laced around her scythe. She smiled, and it reached her eyes. She surveyed the room fondly, eyes crossing over each and every agent.

Behind her, Lepidolite looked delighted and refreshed. Hessonite grinned like she couldn’t contain her energy. Axinite stared blankly at an empty space across the room.

“My Agents,” Laurelite said sweetly, and there was an undeniable love in her voice as she looked over all of them. She saw the damage they’d taken. She saw the new recruits. She saw their success and their failure.

She saw them.

“I am so proud of you.”

Most of them. There were a few she let her gaze linger on, and any Negaverse agent who defied Orders or actively sabotaged the mission would feel an uncomfortable, Chaotic sensation prickling along their skin. Their skin felt tight, and too hot. Unseen eyes were boring into them.

Laurelite knew of their defiance.

Metallia knew.

But, all the same, there were those that had gone above and beyond to see them succeed.

“I won’t hold you long here. I want medical attention for everyone that needs it. Resources will be made available for everyone. We’ll have a lot to go over in the upcoming days but we’ll have information uploaded to the Tablets soon. If you need to leave, you may go now.”

Her magic could sustain those who were hurting; it could ease their suffering, it could prevent them from getting worse. It wasn’t an unlimited source of energy, but she had a little extra to spare.

Her eyes fell to Lyndin, and in her sugar sweet voice she said, “I’m only sorry everything didn’t go according to plan. You were so close, weren’t you?”

Lyndin didn’t answer, but he looked at her with a steely, unreadable expression.

If Laurelite took offense, it didn’t show. “That starseed was your goal, you said you can't go home without it. And with all the damage you and those generators took, do you have the resources to travel?”

She sounded like she cared, but there was an undertone that still sounded satisfied. When Lyndin didn’t answer, she continued, “Not every plan succeeds at first. Be assured, we won’t abandon you. I’m sure we can come to some sort of arrangement. We’ll look after you for as long as you’re here. I’m sure we’ll find some way for you to help us as well.”

She looked to the Negaverse, and there was something in her eyes that said to trust her. Only, she didn’t have to ask. “I’m sure you have questions. I have answers. Now, or in the future.”

Youma, intelligent enough to identify those who needed immediate medical attention had already come into the room to help assist the agents.

Patiently, Laurelite waited; she gave them a moment to adjust. She gave them time to ask questions. She gave them time to settle, to relax, to come down from the adrenaline of the battle.

Laurelite did not mind if they broke into groups, if they moved around, if they left--to treat injuries or for any other reason. This might as well have been a celebration and they’d earned the privilege to do as they pleased.

Besides, she had more to share, and something to give them for their service.

Cadet Aliez

The strange aura around them seemed to be enough to pull Aliez from unconsciousness. He could feel arms around him, and when he was finally able to open his tired, sad eyes, he was surprised to see Fangnyl there. But he was even more surprised by their location. They were no longer on the field, but he could see the other Cadets around them. He could see the Commodore’s back, standing between them and the agents of the Negaverse.

“Thank you,” he said softly to Fangnyl, adjusting his hold around the other’s shoulders so he could lean close to press a kiss against his cheek, and then pulled himself out of his arms so he could stand-- or try to stand. He swayed a little and tried to ignore the blood that was still covering his face and uniform. The same blood that was covering Vyn. Andreiya was there too. And Fae-Fae. Was this everyone? Or… everyone who had been alive last he saw.

“Commodore,” he said quietly, because as grateful as he was to Fangnyl’s help, he was more concerned over the Commodore’s health. His energy looked like it was greatly depleted, and with the same attempt as before, he tried holding out his Source Stone to try and transfer some extra energy to him.

But he didn’t dare move to try and get around the Commodore. He didn’t want to stress him out further by putting himself in apparent danger -- not when the Commodore was very clearly trying to shield them all from whatever the Negaverse was capable of doing.

As much as he hated to admit it, and he would never admit it out loud, he was scared.

He didn’t want anything to do with the Negaverse. They had done horrible things. The Commodore was protecting the Cadets from them even now, so why…? Was this really the only way?

Cadet Eso

The tone this woman took with them was strange. Nothing bad, but the pink alien would much rather go back that lazy sort of manner in which they arrived. Something about this whole thing seemed ...off.

What did you get us into, Tenoch? he thought to himself. No, that wasn't fair. He didn't have to follow him. He could have betrayed his friend and went with his gut instinct. He supposes that wouldn't sit right with him in the long run, either. Honestly there was no winning in their situation once he had the time to look back on it.

Nessa was still gathered to him, held tight. He wasn't going to let her go until she was stable enough to sit up on her own. Eso would be he shield until then. He glanced down at her, stroked her cheek carefully and then smiled. At least she'd bee awake enough to talk. Maybe she could rest soon. They really needed it.

Laurelite did say resources would be available to them.

"Tenoch," he whispered once it seemed they could be left on their own right now. "Tenoch are you alright? You were hit pretty badly..." Eso had been lucky, it seemed, barely coming up with a scratch during everything that had happened. Tenoch had taken the brunt of things so he could help get Nessa to safety. Or relative safety.

He didn't trust this reprieve yet. She was going to want something from them, wasn't she?

Corrupt Eternal Spacewatch of Comets

Missing your attack and accidentally hitting a generator was no reason to get your a** kicked and smacked around by a bunch of generals- though, she did smile in the knowledge it took three of them this time to subdue her.

Maybe next time she could manage four.

But looking up from her position on the ground, Spacewatch blinked. Oh so this was the grand plan? Get a few new 'pets' to add to the queen's growing collection? How unfair, how boring, how... utterly pointless.

The aliens clearly hadn't been effective- some lacking the knowledge of just how to complete the assignment of follow the leader. Not that she had much room to talk. She'd bitten Assanite after all.

He deserved it.

Frankly they all deserved what they got. Every last one of them.

Turning her head, there was... someone new. Pity. Pity pity pity. Another one dragged in deeper and no doubt losing half of their head along the way.

"Hey." She said, looking at Deneb, laying on the ground as she was, arms folding over her stomach. "Welcome to the circus."

Cadet Fae-Fae

It was dark. It was cold. The moment she had made the decision to stay with the Commodore and return home, Fae-Fae had suddenly been pulled into a polished wilderness of stone. There was organization and structure carved into it, clearly, but it still felt like a dead and wild place.

A sickly dread rising in her chest made it clear that she did not want to be here. They were surrounded, surrounded by the compatriots of the senshi who had ripped Gavaen's star seed from his chest. With a gasp and a jolt of terror, she suddenly feared it would be ripped away again while she was in this place -- but then, soft tendrils of fog wrapped around it from inside the bubble, hiding it from sight. It brought her some small relief. Not nearly enough. But some.

The hall echoed with a cold voice laced with sugar. The Queen's words sent a heavy chill down her spine. She had never thought anyone in the universe was in a position to mock the Commodore like that.

But she was.

As eager as he may have been to blame the Earth for it... the Vanguard's position right now was the consequence of Lyndin's first ever failed mission. The Cadets had stepped into a truly grim chapter of their own history.

And the Queen had said, no resources, no resources...

What would it take for them to return home?

Corrupt Deneb (Richelsdorsfite)

Someone was talking to her.

Someone was... talking to her? Deneb hadn't exactly had the time to make acquaintances with the others yet- in the middle of the battlefield wasn't the time to exchange formalities- but someone was talking to her, another corrupt, and of a higher rank than her, and thus she felt compelled to respond.

"'The circus'?" she repeated, curious, but also somewhat amused for some reason, "What is it that makes you call this a circus?"

General Sylvite

Just like that, Sylvite felt the tug of teleportation magic, and they were back.

There was no prickle of static electricity here. There were no explosions. There was nobody around who she had to stab. It was pretty peaceful, honestly, and Sylvite let out a breath that she hadn't even known she'd been holding.

Now that she didn't have five million other things to focus on, she could tell for sure that Albite was breathing. He still wasn't in great shape. She wondered, vaguely, who had done this to him. It made her stomach twist. Hopefully they'd gotten vaporized in whatever big boom had followed their escape.

She fished an energy orb out of subspace, only stopping to glow for a second there when Laurelite said she was proud of them.

Yes, she was pretty curious about the aliens in the corner, but that could wait until she made sure that everyone was okay.

At least, everybody that could be okay. Now that there was a moment to breathe, the sight of Ochre's death decided to pop back up in her mind.

She grit her teeth against that and practically shoved the energy orb towards Albite's mouth. "All the desserts, but first, you can have a little boost," she said.

Then, she started scanning the crowd for her actual subordinates who had been at the generator with her. They'd seemed okay before she'd dashed off to try to help defend the last one standing, but if anything had gone wrong at the end there? Yeah, that would be bad.

"Adonis?" she called out. "Fulgurite? Come check in, please!"

General Jet

It might have been purposeful how Jet placed his hand on Aquamarine’s hip as he scooted behind him to stand by his side, or it might have just been coincidental. Jet wasn’t much for displaying affection, especially not in public. But he was feeling maybe surprisingly sure of himself after everything.

They’d lost the generators, but he’d dispatched a traitor who had openly mocked the Queen. He might have expected to feel some kind of heaviness for stepping away from his duties for a brief moment, but he felt nothing but reassurance, whether that be from himself or something else entirely, he didn’t know.

Regardless, he still had every intention of apologizing to the Queen for his actions, and to present his trophies to her. That would have to come after.

“You alright, Ashanite?” Jet asked as he looked over to the General who had been bitten by one of their own. “Niter? Cymophane?” he asked as well, looking around for the two Negaverse Senshi who had put more effort than he’d expected of them. It wasn’t exactly a victory, but it was better than nothing.