[Nexus] Mithar Keep II: Electric Boobaloo

[Gullara]

[After the meeting]

"You know, I know exactly how you feel. I feel the exact same thing about my kids." Sakura says. Her little smile turns wry. "You're just more of a worrywart I guess. But that's okay."

[Xavier's Room]

"I got that impression. She definitely struck me as more than a simple servant. Something she said suggested that she assists you with your experiments. Is that true?" Xavier asks.

[Shadowcaller]

[After the meeting]

"Once a worrywart, always a worrywart." The sorceress remarks with a smile. "But enough about me, what about you? I haven't heard about Adir for a while."

[Xavier's Room]

"Yes, but only voluntarily of course. Technically it isn't a part of her duties but she seem interested in what I do so I let her partake if she so wants. Why do you ask?" Cessie asks in turn.

[Gullara]

[After the meeting]

"Oh, there's not a whole lot going on. Mostly just getting ready for the twins to come. I swear there's some secret father of the year contest he's trying to win with all the time he's been spending with Laela." Sakura punctuates with a giggle.

[Xavier's Room]

"Just curious, since I expect that I'll be working with her in the near future." Xavier answers entirely honestly. She struck him as interesting.

[Shadowcaller]

[Xavier's Room]

"Of course. In any case that should be it. Just move your things here and signs some documents and then you'll be in." Cessie replies.

[Gullara]

[Xavier's Room]

"Excellent. After I've filled out the forms, I think I'll take a rest if that's alright. It's been quite a long day." Xavier replies.

[Shadowcaller]

[Xavier's Room]

"Of course, I'll leave you to rest. I'm going to take care of a few things in the lab. I will check on you later though, but I'll see you later then." The sorceress says before leaving.

[Halae]

[Kitchen]

For a time she hesitates, turning her gaze everywhere but on Harnel. Finally she gives a small sigh and relents. "There was a war with the Mystics. There were... weapons... created. Weapons that no one thought would ever be used because they were so horrible. But the Mystics were insane. They were sure our Queen was in league with devils from beyond the stars or some superstitious nonsense..."

She traces away at nothing on the floor with a finger.

"When the Fellfire missiles were launched we had time to retaliate with our own super weapons. But... we didn't have time to stop them all. Whole cities were turned to ash in an instant. The whole world died..."

Well!

That's pretty awful.

"I was hooked up to Oracle when it happened. So I... I saw all of it... heard it. Felt it..."

...that's probably even worse.

[Kitchen]

Harnel frowns, and says, "Maybe there's something that can make you feel a little better. Would you like to see?"

He'll extend a hand to the cyborg, obviously concerned for her.

[Rebonack]

[Kitchen]

Again...

Hesitation.

But eventually she takes the hand and rises to her feet.

"...I don't think anything can ever make it better..." she mutters sullenly.

Well!

Sullen is a bit better than shrieking incoherently.

Right?

[Halae]

[Kitchen]

"There's no use in not trying," he says simply. If she lets him, Harnel will take the cyborg up to the

[Children's Room]

Where, playing on the floor, is Bastion and Cora, flailing about with their toys and generally doing baby things. When this new person enters, Bastion grumps. He doesn't always like new people after all. Cora, on the other hand, immediately begins crawling, and will soon be grabbing at her shin to stand herself up.

"Life hasn't ended, no matter what you saw. That's the truth." He bends down to pick up Cora before the little girl can make it all the way to the cyborg. She's smiling and happy.

[Rebonack]

[Kid's Room!]

Taking the mentally unstable cyborg into the baby room?

Is that...

Eerr...

Is that really wise?

A ghost of a smile tugs at the corners of the woman's mouth, but otherwise she doesn't really move.

"Billions still burned in an instant. A few children won't change that. This isn't my home..." she says in a hoarse whisper. "Where am I?"

[Halae]

[Kid's Room]

Harnel isn't seeing her as mentally unstable right now, just as heartbroken and reeling. Harnel sighs, "You're in the Nexus. It's an odd place, sort of a melting pot of the multiverse."

Cora is still reaching for the cyborg lady, though Harnel is keeping her from touching the guest.

[Rebonack]

[Baby Room!]

Harnel is met with a look of vacant incomprehension.

One can almost hear the gears in the cyborg's head turning as she tries to make sense of all of this. So far her mind is coming up with a blank.

"..."

Nope.

Still nothing.

"So..."

Ah HA! Headway!

"So what... this is some kind of alternate world or something? Like that show Sliders?"

[Halae]

[Baby Room]

Harnel nods, "That's about right. Except, the Nexus? Well, we have all these realities, and every reality has holes in it here and there. What falls through either ends up nothingness, or ends up here. It's like the multiverse's safety net to keep us all from falling out of reality." He shrugs, "That's as near as I can figure it anyways, don't quote me on that."

[Rebonack]

[Room of BABIES]

"So... I fell into the cosmos' lost and found drawer?" the woman replies with a small sniff. She seems a bit out of it still. Which is... understandable. She mutters something under her breath that's pretty hard to make out before doing her best to smile.

It is...

Forced.

To say the least.

But she's trying!

"I'm Tama Misha. I... uuhh... Sorry about destroying your bathroom and using your kitchen without permission."

[Halae]

[BABIES Room]

"Harnel Mithar," the half-dragon says, "To be honest, I'm surprised we haven't suffered more damage in the past from crazier things than a cyborg. We've certainly been here long enough."

"The little one in my arms is Cora, and the grumpy one on the floor is Bastion."

[Rebonack]

[BABY! Room]

"Yeah..." Tama replies wistfully as she looks at her own hand. "I was kind of surprised by the cyborg part. This must have happened after the accident. I wonder if there's an instruction manual for me..."

A pause.

Then a blink.

Then she starts poking at something only she can see.

"Haha! Heee... There is an instruction manual for me! Wow... this all sounds really technical..."

[Halae]

[BABIES]

Harnel quirks an eyebrow, but assumes its some kind of hologram, "There's a few places in the keep you can go if you want to look over all that in peace."

[Master Bedroom]

Harnel, two days after finishing the shield he made... finally wakes up. He's still in bed, stiffness throughout his body, but the change to his emotions and mind will tip Cessie off that he's finally come out of it.

[Shadowcaller]

[Master Bedroom]

But the sorceress isn't there. Instead he's meet by Garn sitting by the bed playing cards with himself. As Harnel moves the gargoyle glances at the half-dragon, "Agh." It comments before going back to it's cards, seemingly trying to build a card house with little success.

[Halae]

[Master Bedroom]

"Garm?" Harnel says, sounding rather groggy, "Where's Cessie?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Master Bedroom]

The gargoyle points at the door but doesn't say anything. Not that Harnel would have understood him anyway.

[Halae]

[Master Bedroom]

"Right," the blacksmith says, and he slowly pulls himself out of bed. As long as he's not naked, he'll leave through the door and try following his link to Cessie to find her, assuming she's in range.

[Shadowcaller]

[Master Bedroom]

She seem to be, and Harnel appears to be in his boxers. But once he start to walk towards the door Garn abandons his card house building ambitions and starts following the half-dragon out of the room.

The sorceress seems to be in the library, as Harnel opens the door she is standing with her back turned against him with a book in her hands. "I'm glad you're okay." She says without turning to look at him. "Do you need anything? You could have asked Garn, that's why he was there." She slowly turns but doesn't quite look up at her husband yet, paying more attention to the book in her hands.

[Halae]

[Master Bedroom]

"I asked him where you were," He says simply enough, "I feel like a truck hit me. I must have overslept. had this weird dream that I made something amazing."

[Shadowcaller]

[Master Bedroom]

She looks up at him, but there is a hardness in her eyes. "That wasn't a dream. The shield is in your study if you want to look at it." She replies.

[Halae]

[Master Bedroom]

He looks at her worriedly, "... why are you look at me like that?" That's not a good look. In fact, that's a good sign something has gone very, very wrong.

[Shadowcaller]

[Master Bedroom]

"You were in a trance Harnel, but not an induced one as far as I could tell. Something you fell into on your own accord." The mage replies simply. "These are the first words we exchange in more then a week." She explains briefly.

[Halae]

[Master Bedroom Cessie's Library]

Oh.

That would do it.

Harnel rubs his forehead, "I remember seeing an amazing suit of armor that another version of myself had made, and I was so inspired I had to make something. I... that doesn't make up for it though. I'm sorry."

[Shadowcaller]

[Cessie's Library]

"You better explain what happened. I've heard many strange rumors about what have been going on in Inside and I also heard you went there to help." The sorceress says before she takes a seat in the armchair, closing the book.

Garn just looks at him, he appears to be curious as well.

[Halae]

[Cessie's Library]

Harnel nods, moving to take a seat somewhere, "I came across another version of the keep, right under the rift, and inside I met Libra... except, she was a child. It was a different Libra, friendly to the version of me she lived with. I discussed a few things with myself, and he showed me his masterpiece - the most amazing suit of armor I've ever seen crafted. Maybe it's because it was my masterpiece that I hadn't finished yet. Maybe it's because of the rift's magic; I don't know. I just knew I had to make something, and it's all i could think about."

[Shadowcaller]

[Cessie's Library]

"So that was what it was about..." Alternative planes weren't exactly something she was unfamiliar with by now. They were the strangest things. "So an alternative reality triggered some kind of reaction in you. I suppose that makes sense in a way. Still though it's been a week. The twins have been missing you. I have been missing you."