The Evrensel Conflict: Act 1 -- Chapter 1, Mission 2: Dragonborn

[Wade Von Doom]

Ryan Zokkendov

Ryan's mind continued to be shrouded in darkness, keeping him unaware of the world around him as he was being moved. Once he was placed in the chair, it took a couple more minutes for him to come to. Thoughts of his actions before going out bombarded his head as it started to bobble his head slowly. "Nnn..." His eyes went fully open, and met the Doctor's gaze with a serious stare "You should have at least put me neck deep in cold water..." he said, the concern he had for the others showing ever so slightly in his voice.

Ryan tried to increase the temperature of the room, but no matter how hard he tried, he was as unable to use his elemental manipulation as he was his hands, which he didn't even bother to force, as the feeling alone was telling how hard they were trapped. He also tried to see if he had any connection to ANNA, to no avail. The whole process of testing how well restrained he actually was took him a few seconds, where he finally admitted "...I shouldn't have underestimated your capabilities... But I would've still put me in a cold pool, I've earned that at the very least", it was then that he addressed Luer. "It's okay, he's not blinding me. He's just checking how I was doing" he couldn't muster up a smile, or even looking at Luer in the face though.

INSIDE TARDIS:

"I'm doing more than that." The Doctor told Ryan, standing up straight once Ryan seemed to have his wits about him again. "I've had the TARDIS run a full body scan on you since we brought you in, and so far," he walked around the console to push a TV that was on the other side to where Ryan was sitting so he could show him what was on the screen. His biology was normal, or as normal as a half man, half dragon can be, but his brain was completely red, with analysis text along the side of the screen saying, 'CT Scan complete: No anomaly detected.'

"Nothing. It's clear the chemical reactions of your brain are completely unbalanced, but there's no tampering with your mind of any kind, no surgical procedure you didn't tell us about, no psychic link affecting it. So, my theory is you're hiding something. Something you thought you wouldn't need to share with us, because you had control over it. And then you didn't. Like bottling up emotions, the more you buried it, the more stress you put on yourself, and eventually it comes out in ways you can't control." He leaned against the console, looking Ryan dead in the eyes with a look of concern but caution.

"So I need to know two things: If this is the Ryan I met back in the prison, and not some act. And an explanation for what happened out there."

Brigid Mahoney​

"Excuse me, pardon me." Brigid excuses herself as she approaches the skull of the dragon with a tool in hand and nudges past anyone who might be near it; the tool looks like a chrome blowtorch but has no nozzle that would attach to a tank. She also wears a pair of welding goggles instead of her tricorn hat.

"Hmm." Brigid comes up to the skull, which is taller than her, and regards the horns. "I don't want the whole thing….too big...just maybe…" She thinks aloud to herself as she climbs up the side of the skull to get at one of the horns, planting her feet on a shoulder blade. "Just...hm.." She holds out her arm along the horn from the tip, and nods. "Yeah thats it, just enough to work with." Brigid puts on the goggles and activates the tool. It hums and a small spike of energy projects from the emitter. She sets the spike to the spot on the horn where her elbow had rested, and those around will have to endure the delightful smell of bone being rapidly burned as she uses the tool to cut through it.

"Atom bomb baby, sweet as a plum, packs more wallop thand uranium." Brigid sings to herself as she cuts.

"Voila!" Brigid exclaims when the horn falls into her quick hand. She stands on the shoulder blade holding the horn up for all to see. "Got my souvenir! Genuine dragon horn, can you believe it?" She waves over the dragon with the tool.

"Anybody else want a souvenir while I got this? Anyone? I could cut off the claws….teeth…?" She asks, not wanting to be the only one with a souvenir.

OUTSIDE TARDIS:

A few of the guards patrolling the area around them watched as Brigid cut off the dragon horn. They still couldn't believe they had an actual dragon skeleton in their city. As she offered to cut off another piece, the guards looked at each other for a few moments, thinking to themselves as to what should they do. Should they warn her not to do that? Should they ask for permission? Should they leave it intact for the Jarl to study it? All these questions of how best to safely care for what is one of the most sacred legendary creatures in all the realms.

"...... I'll take a tooth." A guard then pipped in, raising his hand in the back.

"Yeah, I'll take one too."

"There any chance there's some of its scales left?"

"How about its ribs? Can you imagine making dragonbone armor?"

"I'd love one of those claws for my mantle!"

They all spoke up at once, and all those questions vanished. As they surrounded her and the skeleton, something crawled up next to her.

THE WERE-CRAAAAAAAAAAAAB!.... Looking very sad and alone. The fuzzy lady he had met vanished, and he couldn't find her. And with the embarrassment of being thrown about like a chew toy by that strange dog lady, and not being able to once again claim victory of his arch enemy: Tall people, the Were-Crab huddled up atop a rock next to Brigid, contemplating its place in this world once again, as it was alone. No followers, no other were-crabs, even his beloved god had forgotten him.

The WERE-CRAAAAAAAB! Was all alone...

 

[LenxKaitoYaoi]

Luer's brows furrowed at Ryan's response. He heard him this time, at least, but the tone and response in general seemed… lacking. He did not miss the way Ryan tested his restraints either. Was he trying to set the Doctor off? He looked to the Doctor again when he backed away, and then the screen he showed them. Not a lot of what he was saying made sense but- wait when did he scan Ryan? The archer was pretty sure he has been in constant physical contact with the dragon since getting him in here? How did he get that without interference? Was he doing that to all of them? He hoped not. He imagined his own did not look a lot different then. He was doing the same thing Ryan was.

He gave an unsure look to the Doctor's questions as he focused on Ryan. It was not his place to speak for the other, he was not going to share his secret if Ryan did not wish to. He knew how he felt, after all. He was not about to go telling everyone his past either. Besides that, the way the Doctor phrased the question bothered him.

"If this is the Ryan I met back in the prison, and not some act."

He chortled to himself, but he opted not to speak yet. If this was an 'act' then that was all he was doing too. Acting like he was someone he is not. Pretending to be a caring mercenary. But even so… He clenched a fist, since one hand was still settled on Ryan's arm, though he still chose not to speak yet and wait for Ryan's answer.

 

[Wade Von Doom]

Mistress Bex- Character Sheet

Azula - Character Sheet

Azula does not let her eyes leave Bex as she walks to Ben Forbes. What was that just now? She had wanted to just singe some hair on the self-proclaimed Queen, but her hands had failed her. Failed. No, she did not fail! She would have had an uncouth reaction to this outrage from her own body, but then Bex had touched her. Touched her. Pushed her firmly down to the ground.

Then Bex touched her again. On her chin. Stroked it like a master would their pet. Promised she would be healed, cared for, soon. Her pride wants to insist she did not need help. She was now The Blue Dragon!

Her body disagrees; keeps her on the ground to maintain the rest made possible by the gentle but firm hand of Bex. She watches the woman who is more than human and hands Ben something in a sack. Unveiled and presented to the rest, Azula feels heat, power like she's only felt once before; when Sozin's Comet soared through the sky. Hard to forget the power it imbued in you as a Firebender.

If only that power could be used to allow her to stand.

If only she could access it in general. Azula moves her hands in an attempt to harness this power she feels, but it passes through her fingers like smoke.

Ben makes it clear this thing, Coridian, needs some other tool to be used properly. The prospect of going home does not interest her; she jumps (metaphorically) at the chance to discover what can be done with this energy she feels but cannot bend on her own. She lets Lord Vader make his intentions and provisions clear, smiling at his threat to them about Bex.

"I will excuse this treatment, only this once." Azula holds her head high as one can while sitting on the ground on crossed legs looking pointedly at Bex.

"If this is to be an alliance, then it's only right we operate as equals. That entails not touching me unless I give permission. And I will never." She says proudly and loudly. "So long as you can respect our terms, Lord Vader and I will join your alliance."

Bex has been staring at the Coridian but gives the others attention as well while hanging on Ben's other arm. Vader's threat earns a smile and shrug from the Daemon. Azula's demand turns the smile to more of a grin.

Time to turn on her charm.

"My apologies, Azula the Blue Dragon, and Lord Vader." She says to both from Ben's side and bows her horned head. "I will remind myself that my ways, while not meant in either way, can be felt as disrespectful, even threatening, to others. So allow me to rephrase. She places her free hand on the center of her chest and has a softer tone to her voice as she speaks.

"Your mission was a success, and congratulations to you both. But I see as can happen on even a successful mission, it has left you in need of recuperation. It was expected, as your quarry is one of the stronger beings to inhabit this reality." She looks to the Dragonborn still asleep and bound on the ground. "And so I suggest, only suggest, that you two be mended fully before we proceed? This alliance will only succeed with each of us at the height of our powers. Which this stone will avail." She waves her hand over the Coridian.

"Apology accepted." Azula nods to Bex and musters her strength to rise slowly to stand in a dignified pose with shoulders squared and hands behind her back to project strength with minimal threat. The young woman does not fully believe Bex, but wants to build the ties of this alliance with cordiality.

Ben couldn't help but look to her in admiration as she spoke, wrapping his arm around hers as she leaned against his arm. Vader and Azula would surely notice the look on Ben's face, but he didn't really care. There was too much joy in this occasion not to smile. All the planning, all the years of traveling, all the work.

And here they were. Finally at the beginning of something 'great.'

"Yes, I will need to bring this to our secret partner." He told the two, meaning the crystal. "In the meantime, my men will escort you both to our base of operations. They'll have mechanics and tools available for you to repair any damage to your suit, Lord Vader, and healers for you, Blue Dragon. Oh, and don't be alarmed." He simply said, not saying why they should be. There would be rustling in the bushes behind them, and faint figures appearing out from trees, as soldiers suddenly walked out, holstering their weapons to the side. "Can't be too sure about anything, as you both know."

Theodoran Soldiers

Sun Guards

There were twenty soldiers in total, with three sun guards. One was without a helmet, with grey hair and light yellow eyes, and approached Ben first. "Sir," he said to him, giving a small nod and carrying with him a metal briefcase.



"Bring our new friends here to basecamp," Ben began to order, placing the Coridian inside the case once it was opened. "I'll deliver this to him personally. Have we located Crane yet?"

"Yes sir, we're trying to make contact already."

"Good. The moment you do, I want to be there... Oh, and our lovely friend of there," Ben pointed to the Dragonborn himself, Aelnneond, "He has a bad habit of speaking too much, get a muzzle ready. You feel like seeing the country side, dear?" Ben then asked Bex, closing the case as he turned to face her.​

 

[Amber Franklin]

Mistress Bex- Character Sheet

Azula - Character Sheet

Azula is not fazed by the arrival of more soldiers even if Ben had not informed them to not be alarmed before they came out from hiding. Had they been there in case their quarry woke up and needed to be subdued again? Or if herself and Vader had refused his alliance?

By all means it could have been for both reasons and any that might have needed such a force to respond. These two were very prepared. Azula smiles inwardly as she contemplates how useful they will be for her.

"And where is our transport?" Azula inquires, looking around and above. "I would rather we not have to walk to this base."

"Rest assured. You will find we are very accommodating and generous hosts. " Bex assures Azula. "And in the meantime, my Sun Guards are at your disposal." She claps and the three Sun Guards array in a triangle around Azula.

"Hmm." Azula looks around at them, tilting her head and willing herself to be steady on her feet. "Why only three guards? Why not the same number as them?" She asks waving at the red soldiers.

"Because these three are equal to them in combat." Bex answers. "They will serve you well until you recruit your own warriors."

"Ah. In that case, thank you, ally." Azula musters a small smile and bow to Bex out of respect. Begrudging respect.

"More than welcome." Bex returns the smile and bow then turns to Ben when she is asked about the countryside.

"A walk? Seems hardly the time for a romantic stroll." Bex shakes her head but leans in to cup Ben's chin and kiss him lightly on the lips.

"But I cannot deny you, love." Bex admits and kisses him again.

Meanwhile, Azula keeps her face stoic, while inside she feels as if she could vomit from such a display of affection.

 

[Valkan]

Ryan Zokkendov

"Right, right" Ryan said, sounding rather condescending towards the Doctor as he explained what he was doing. His eyes narrowed when he got to the brain damage part. He stole a glance at Luer, as the Doctor talked about more and more. Frustration grew inside of him just like the Doctor was saying it did.

When it finally came down to answer to the Doctor's direct question, Ryan was trembling as he gritted his teeth. Looking at the Doctor with intense rage. This lasted a while, but since he saw no strong effect on the man, so he simply let go of all the tension that was built in his body... and sighed. "I guess there's no use in trying to fool you either." His face went from rage, to emptiness, to sadness. Still looking at the Doctor through all that, he continued "I... don't know if I'm the same, I really can't tell which one am I" Ryan's sight focused on something distant for few seconds, then went back to his interrogator. "I'm sure you're familiar with the Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde book..."

 

[Birdsie]

Darth Vader

As the situation developed, with Forbes calling in several of his men - highly trained and well-equipped from the looks of it - Vader neither reacted nor spoke, only inching up his head slightly when Forbes mentioned the possibility of repairs.

Their new ally was rather impressively prepared for all circumstances, it seemed. Especially for circumstances in which either Princess Azula or Vader himself were far less cooperative. All the more reason to suspect him - it was a subtle display of force and positioning. Darth Vader was no stranger to the subtle powerplays of nobility and enlisted military officers, and this smelled of such a power move; a way of shoving them back a little. Combined with his lover's outburst and their open shows of affection, it was clear Forbes didn't see either of them as a threat.

Fascinating, in a dry kind of way. Forbes was clearly more directly involved with this Mastermind orchestrating the latest events, and Vader himself wasn't adept at the politics or scene of the greater multiverse he'd entered. It felt distinctly as if they were maneuvering him to be used as a puppet or pawn and then left to die. It was a familiar situation, as Vader's own master, Darth Sidious often created similar ploys to test his apprentice's continued worthiness and skill, and possibly to get rid of him, if he proved inadequate.

And, of course, to curb some of his more advancement-related ideas...

It would be prudent, either to be ready to prove himself as more useful than a short-term pawn or to maneuver himself into a more untouchable position. Either one of them would be acceptable.

However, Vader was unable to shake this strange feeling, even as he followed their escort to the basecamp.

He was able to feel a shadow of the emotions playing out on the surface of Ben Forbes' mind, as they spoke, and the Sith Lord was confused by his findings. Why in the stars would Ben Forbes feel...

Affection, for him?

 

[Nero Kunivas]

Nero Sparda
Talking to Sivraks, outside the Tardis

Nero nodded along as Sivraks told his story, asking questions every so often. He wasn't too smart, as his knowledge base was moreso into basic engineering and demons and how to kick ass. So when the term of 'paracausal' came up, he asked about it. Then putting the information he received into mental storage.

When the discussion turned to asking about his 'upgrade.' Nero's expression changed somewhat, as he mulled over how to phrase it. "I lost to my dad, he needed the sword that was kept in it. I got a robot arm to replace mine, but after some stuff happened, I can do this." With a flash of blue light, the mechanical arm was put into storage, Nero's own flesh and blood arm taking its place. There wasn't even a seam where the arm connected, or any visible sign of a difference from a basic human arm.

"Not as powerful as my original arm, but I don't have to worry about rust or one of the demonic components exploding on me." He finished, moving his gaze at the others. "What's your take on the situation?" He suddenly asked, clearly referring to the Tardis and its crew.

- Sivraks, Housebane - Outside the Tardis -

The tale of how Nero lost his arm to his own father of all people, along with how he seemed to continue possessing his original flesh and blood arm while still using a mechanical masterpiece was fascinating to Sivraks, noting to himself that the tech of Nero's arm was rather unlike any examples of Human or Eliksni tech in his world.

"Most interesting...a powerful prosthesis over an existing limb. You made mention of "demonic" components, yes? What does this mean?"

Nero then quizzed Sivraks on what he thought of their current situation, leading to another human-like gesture from Sivraks: The thoughtful rubbing of his chin. "We are in a unique and perilous position. If the many universes of creation are now locked together, it is inevitable that the conflict we've endured this day will only escalate further. And yet, there are still opportunities for us to learn, to grow stronger and to strengthen our own position in this chaos..."

"As for my take...I believe you and I are very fortunate. We're in a rather secure city of an older age, surrounded by equally confused people and lead by the man who, while he wears a Pre-Golden Age two-piece suit, I don't believe is Human, who seems confident and knowledgeable enough to guide us and is in possession of a great machine capable of ferrying us across the now interconnected stars..."

Sivraks spoke as he looked around at and gestured toward the city, its people, their companions and The Doctor and his TARDIS, then grunted to himself and looked to Nero once more. "If I may: Might I take a look at your arm at some point? I wish to examine the technology and learn its secrets. Fret not about how safe it will be, I've a great deal of experience with technology, even those I am unfamiliar with." Naturally, Sivraks's engineering curiosity kicked in as he asked for Nero's Devil Breaker, so he could examine it.

@The Wanderer

 

[Wade Von Doom]

WHITERUN:

"Well, I met the man who wrote the book." 10 answered, adding, "I also met the alien parasite that was causing him to transform between himself and mutated split personality that was building up inside his mind. Bit tricky figuring that out, basically had to literally split the dual personalities apart using a cellular decryption machine that's almost like a cloning machine--" he realized he was going off into a tangent and stopped himself. "Sorry, carry on."

Ryan looked more confused by the second. He understood the Doctor meeting the author, but it just got flat out weird from there. The Doctor apparently caught on, because he stopped and allowed Ryan to continue. "Er, thanks" he sighed. "Back in the first world I lived in, that's how I used to be. So much so, it's on my name... My theory, is that I never stopped being like that, I somehow just shut it down... And it came back to say it's not dead."

"What do you mean?" The Doctor asked for more clarification

Ryan tilted his head "Well, Endov means beast, and Zokk is where I was born..." Ryan realized that it was maybe not the clarification the Doctor was looking for "Sorry. Uh, like I said I'm not quite sure. When I left my first world, I started suppressing my radically violent tendencies. I thought it was a real change in personality, but it seems all of my anger and frustration fed it in the shadows all these years. Not sure how that would really work, but that's what I think happened. Something awoke that side of me."

"How far back can you remember then?" He asked next. "Do you remember your life before this side of you?"

"My memory from my childhood is... Blurry, at best. It gets kind of clear when I started exploring on my own. And saw a world torn by violence. I became a mercenary, which showed me just how horrible people there could be... And I became like them"

"So, what, you've dealt with issues to think, feel, and behave clearly since you were a boy?" 10 wanted to clarify. "No mad professor designed that shadow that's always behind you?"

"As if it wasn't clear, Doctor, my world was primitive. And mental corruption magic was scarce. There's no way a mental corruption spell would be this strong, so many years later"

"Well, I wanted to know if there was anything I missed, and not the complete obvious." He said with a sigh in his voice. He wished there was something else. He really did. Slowly approaching Ryan again, he bent down to his eye level, not wanting to tower over him. "Ryan, do you know that you have schizophrenia?"

"The complete obvious?" Ryan stared blankly at the Doctor, confused. Then the man got to his eye level, which kind of made Ryan feel something was wrong. Then he dropped a word Ryan never heard before, so fear got a bit of confusion mixed in now "What's... What's that?"

"It's... Well, it's a mental condition, an imbalance in the brain that causes it to interpret reality abnormally. Hallucinations, delusions, extremely disordered thinking and behavior, various symptoms that affect how a person behaves. It's not kind to people, and every scan I did of you shows you've lived with this for a long time." He sounded regretful of having to tell Ryan this.

"I could be wrong, maybe it's something else my scanners are completely missing, but... Ryan, however you've been managing to keep yourself in check might not work anymore if you keep putting pressure on yourself. And that makes you a threat to the group." The Doctor didn't have much choice in the matter, he could either lock up Ryan here, sedate him, or let him continue on and hope he doesn't have another outburst. But the amount of strain Ryan had put himself through in the last few days showed in the scans

Ryan's mouth opened, as if trying to say something, but no words came. "Then... I've lived a lie? I imagined everything that's... Everything that's happened to me?!" He started to get very agitated and restless. "How do I know I've actually kept myself in check!? So I'm actually a broken man! Haha... And here I thought all those people I killed left no scars in me... I... I... Aaaaaaaah!" He started having difficulty breathing. He had no idea what to believe anymore.

There had not been much for Luer to say, lest he get himself tossed out of here. He was, however confused about this new word. If this was the case, he was sure he was too. He and Ryan suffered a similar personality disorder. But this seemed a bit… off.

Regardless though, Ryan did not take kindly to it. "H-Hey. Ryan!" He called, moving from beside the dragon's current binds and into his view. He brought his hand up to guide Ryan's gaze a bit as well. "Look at me. Take a deep breath with me, okay?"

Ryan's eyes focused on Luer, and tears immediately started to flow from his eyes "I'm... Sorry. I... I... I am a monster. All those people... Dead... By my hand" he started sobbing "And I enjoyed it"

Luer shook his head to that, giving Ryan a smile. "We talked about this. Remember? That is not the same person. You can change and you have. It is a work in progress and will take time. It is hard but I know you can." He said softly, wiping the tears from Ryan lightly.

Amidst sobs Ryan answered "It is, Luer... I may... Somehow... Stay calm at times... But... But... What if... Wait..." He started looking around frantically "Morgan! Is she..."

Luer shook his head again. "It will be okay. You will get control of it eventually." He assured. Actually, much as he hated to ask, the Doctor here might be able to help with that. He smiled to Ryan. "Morgan is alright. Shaken and… angry with me, I am sure… but she is alright." Luckily she had pretty impressive regeneration abilities, and they had healers on hand to help her even had she not been able to heal the burns herself.

He took a deep breath and turned to the Doctor now. "Is there anything we do to help him if he snaps again? Without hurting him? A way to… put him to sleep, or something?" If he had a way to knock Ryan out until he calmed down, that could help. He did hope to eventually get the dragon control over this though.

"I thought... I did... And yet..." he said, still sobbing. A sigh of relief came out when Luer informed him Morgan was fine, but "Angry?... Shouldn't... She be... Angry with me?" Ryan was still quite altered, but his concern for Morgan somewhat distracted him.

"Well," 10 interjected, "there was... a small incident," he looked to Luer, "while you were out between them," then back to Ryan, before standing up and opening up one of the grates on the floor to go downstairs. When he returned, he had a metal injector in his hands. "Right now, we need to figure out what's happening here. There was an attack by people who aren't from this world like we are, some sort of prophecy that has dragons returning, and massive time distortions across this world, so I need to know if you can A, control yourself, and B, if you can continue." He handed the injector to Luer as a sign of good faith.

"This is anesthetic, a very strong kind of sleep inducing drug. If you inject it into his neck, he'll be asleep in seconds. It's not ideal, since you'll have to be close to use it, but it's all I have at the moment until I can get something better." He explained to Luer, ideally something they can use at a distance. He then turned to Ryan and looked him in the eye.

"It doesn't matter right now what you did, or what you are, only what you do next. And I can't stay here and babysit, I'm sorry. There's a whole world in danger right now, and it might possibly be in danger of being destroyed unless we do something. So if you want, you can stay here in the TARDIS, with Luer, and keep yourself out of sight until we're done here. I know this is difficult, and you have a lot of process, and I understand. So it's up to you how you act next, because even in the short time we've known each other, I believe the good in you outweighs your inner demons. It won't be easy, it won't be pretty, but we're in this together. And we're a team that's come to trust each other in that short time. Remember that." He meant it, both to Ryan, and to Luer.

They were strangers in a complicated plot across space, time, and the multiverse. And yet somehow, even with their differences, they wanted to do good because it's the right thing to do. It's what made the Doctor never lose faith in people

Luer's brows creased. That was true, they did mention dragons before the attack. He shuddered but shook it off. He looked to the injector with uncertainty but nodded. It looked simple enough. He shook his head lightly. "I am at less risk than others to do that." Getting close was fine. Even if Ryan were to kill him in a rage, as long as he got this thing in him it was fine. He put it in his bag before turning to Ryan as well as the Doctor continued.

His gaze drifted to the ground though at the Doctor's words. A team… He did not act much like it. Sure he reacted out of panic but… that was no excuse. Besides, he was keeping a secret too. It was only a little different than Ryan's own as it was. Maybe he should at least let the Doctor know. Maybe… but he needed to talk to Morgan first.

He looked to Ryan and offered a small smile. "I leave the choice to you. I will be here either way. Though… after I take care of something… but I will not take long with that." He offered. He needed to talk to Morgan before he ran off with Ryan or sat in here with him.

As the Doctor intervened, Ryan started to try and gather his bearings. That's right, he wasn't just with Luer. For now though, he observed as the Doctor dissapeared from sight, and turned to the distracted Luer. He needed to be better, for him.

When the Doctor returned, he explained a bit of what was going on. While Ryan took deep breaths, and nodded along. By the end of it, Ryan sighed. "I did for several years, Doctor. I won't stop trying now. And, if this whole... Condition did something for me, is to make me keep on fighting. Count me in!"

Ryan observed as Luer was handed a tranquilizer, and explained what it was. Then went back to him, and gave him a short speech that was quite refreshing to hear. Ryan nodded enthusiastically "No need, Doctor. I will make up for my faults to everyone... If anything, I apologize for being so unsightly a moment ago" he said, as he sniffed one last time.

Now, Luer needed an answer. "You heard me, so be ready for some rough times!" He chuckled enthusiastically "You're not my babysitter either, go do what you need to do. I actually have businesses to solve, too." It was then that the super restraints returned to his attention. "Uh, Doctor?"

"Good man." The Doctor lightly smiled back, happy that Ryan wasn't gonna let this hold him back. The cynical side of him said to keep him restrained, for the safety of everyone involved. But... Well, hope was more enjoyable. And he could tell Ryan wanted to make up for the mistakes. That was proof enough in his book that Ryan could be trusted.

But then he tried standing up while still cuffed to the chair, which did slightly interrupt the uplifting moment between them. "Oh, right!" The Doctor quickly pulled out his screwdriver to undo the shackles as Ryan pointed it out. His bonds were lifted, and Ryan could stand again. "Shall we get back to work then, Mr. Zokkendov?" He offered a hand to Ryan to help him out of the chair.

 

[LenxKaitoYaoi]

Luer looked to Ryan and gave a small smile, nodding. "I can handle rough." He offered with a wink. He did not keep the lightheartedness too long though, moved to give the dragon a small pats on the shoulder and a whisper. "Guess I should probably come clean next, huh?" He gave Ryan an almost sad smile to the thought. It was not easy for him either, though. Ryan was dangerous when he snapped, Luer… was just shameless. He did not need to be exposing anyone here to that side of him, poor Ryan already had to witness a small lapse of control as it was.

He looked to the Doctor for a moment and nodded to him before glancing to Ryan again. "Well, actually… with this… I kind of am an unofficial warden." He added teasingly. He shook it away though. "Alright. I will wait for you by the door when I am done." With that said and a smile to Ryan, another nod to the Doctor, he left the room to seek out Morgan. She was next on his priority list… He would not return to the mission until he had at least spoken with her.

 

[Jenhal]

Brigid Mahoney
​

The WERE-CRAAAAAAAB! Was all alone...

Her question had been posed expecting one other souvenir-seeker, maybe more from their crew. Or one of the new arrivals. Or to be told by the guards this Dragon was a sacred animal not to be disrespected in even this kind of situation.

So it is with a modicum of surprise that Brigid witnesses the guards gather and request souvenirs.

"Oh, okay um just hold on." Brigid stammers and tries to decide where to start with all of the requests. She jumps down from the shoulder to start with the requests for teeth as those would be the smallest(relatively) and fastest to meet.

"Oh the things I get myself into." She says to herself and laughs as she proceeds to cut out dragon teeth. Over the hum of the laser torch and small clatter of teeth hitting the stone street it takes Brigid a few seconds to realize people had stopped talking.

"What? Something wrong?" She turns around and asks of the crowd, expecting there to be some government or religious official who had arrived to condemn Brigid for her actions and possibly bring her up on charges.

Nope. Instead she follows their sight to a large crab that has settled on a rock near her.

"I remember you." Brigid takes off the goggles and smiles. Yes in all the mayhem of the attack on the Jarl, it was hard to miss even then a large crab that was scuttling into the fray. She'd expected, after being lodged in Morgan's mouth, the poor animal had been crushed either by her jaws or the impact of being spat out with such force. Now it's hard to get a read on an animal with no face, but its body language tells her this crab is depressed.

"Sorry! No more cutting from me! Have a situation here I should check out." Brigid tells the crowd. She kneels down to be at eye-level with the crab. Unlike the Mirelurks she's used to dealing with, this crab was not hostile at all, and so she thinks it is more than an animal. Only way to find out was to investigate.

"Hey you. Why so down? You should consider yourself lucky! Looks like your shell held up to some serious jaws and hits." Brigid assures the crab, she thinks, as she looks around at its shell and sees indents where teeth had dug in and scrapes.

 

[Amber Franklin]

Morgan- Character Sheet

"The Doctor is little more than an acquaintance to me, and I would rather lie to protect my friends than tell a truth that could hurt them…"

Luer laughs. It is a small stifled laugh, but Morgan feels that he laughs at her nonetheless.How could anyone, a friend least of all, laugh at her right now?

Fear fades to Hurt on Morgans' face. She avoids looking in Luer's direction while Brigid manages to ease tensions, and The Doctor gets them all going. Her mind is awash in questioning how that was the least bit humorous to Luer, how a lie was supposed to protect a friend. If Luer considers her a friend at all and if he had only lied to protect Ryan.

He moved back over to Morgan, undid his own cloak and draped it over her shoulders. "Here, it's bigger than what you have at the moment. Might preserve your modesty a little better on the way over too."

Reaching out a hand to help her up and support her movements, he spoke again with a somewhat cheery tone, "Come on, let's get you back to the TARDIS. Doctor's orders!"

Morgan breaks out of her spiraling thoughts by Robin putting his cloak over her shoulders. She utters a "Thank you" and takes the hand he offers. As they walk, Morgan stays behind Luer and Ryan but does not look at them. Instead she decides to say to Robin. "I am sorry I do not know you better. There are just so many of us." She gives him a small smile "I hope to know you better soon." And she meant this, as she feels depending on when she gets to talk to Luer next he will no longer be a friend worth keeping.

When they get to the TARDIS, Morgan takes off Robins cloak and gives it to the man with another "Thank you." that was more nervous than the first as she is exposed more for the brief time she is outside the TARDIS.

Within the TARDIS, Morgan walks fast through the console room, down the stairs and into the first door she sees. It does not go to the wardrobe room as she had hoped but a 'blank' room that was all white and glows with an ethereal light. It is quiet, serene. Morgan could have turned right around immediately; but the serenity disarms her. The Daemon falls to her knees again, and lets the terror that has been dammed up within her out. The terror she had of feeling herself fall as her vessel burned and her grip on this plane of existence nearly gave way with it's destruction.

The quiet serenity is broken by her weeping. She weeps deep, yet dry as her body does not produce tears even for the most anguished cries that do not leave the room.

She weeps until the terror has, mostly, left her being.

Collaboration Post with LenxKaitoYaoi and Valkan​

Luer sighed heavily, taking a seat and just seemingly deflating in it. He was exhausted. Between the mission in general so far, Ryan's outburst, the tension between him and the Doctor and the discussion with Ryan to try to help him… the emotional wave ride he had been on today, he was ready to drop. Ryan was alright for now, the Doctor was dealing with the others and the mess still outside… he had one last thing he had to do before he could collapse though, now that he had calmed down.

So after a moment he pushed himself up and sought out Morgan. They needed to talk. Morgan was not particularly a close friend, but she was one of the few among the group he did trust… one of the few that trusted him, and he betrayed it. He owed her an apology if nothing else, even though he still stood by what he tried to do. He only lied when he felt it was necessary… he felt that was such an occasion. But he was not about to dwell on that until he spoke with her.

When he caught sight of her, still wrapped up in his jacket for now- at least he did manage to help her with that -he took another deep breath.

"Morgan… Can we talk?"

Morgan was on her way to find clothing in the wardrobe room, when she hears Luer and slowly stops walking. She looks at him with a leer and frown.

"You want your jacket back? I will give it back when I find something else to wear"

Luer flinched slightly. He knew she would be upset. He shook his head though. "Ah, no… I just… wanted to talk… about what happened…" He stated lightly. Though now he was unsure if she would even be willing to talk about it. "I-I can wait until after you are dressed though, if you would rather…" He added. He supposed she might want to get actual clothes on before trying to do much of anything else too.

Morgan huffs and takes a breath.

"Come, we can talk while I dress." She keeps walking and in the first few minutes does not talk to Luer, but when they get to the wardrobe room, she turns around and takes off his jacket to hand it back to him.

"Thank you for the jacket. But know what you did, was still wrong."

Luer nodded, following in silence then. Once they got there and she took the jacket off to hand to him he nodded, though he did keep his gaze from wandering anywhere below her eyes for the moment. His brows creased at what she said. He had to mind his words carefully.

"…How?" He finally asked, taking a deep breath and turning to give her the privacy to dress. "Please do not misunderstand, I am not mad at you, or anything of the like. But I… I do not understand how what I did was wrong. So please… help me understand that." That was what he wanted first. He did not think he did anything wrong… He was trying to protect them from this situation.

Morgan's mouth is slightly agape at him saying he needs it explained. She turns to look through the clothing, putting on underwear first.

"Ryan turns into a wild animal, and he almost sends me back to Tartarus. You lie in front of me, as if it did not happen. " She feels her voice rising as she goes and pauses, pulls up a pair of jean shorts before moving on to look for fitting shirts.

"As if my pain, my fear, did not matter. Only you and him being together mattered, no matter if he could still be dangerous. That is what is wrong about you lying just then."

Luer's brow creased again. That was how it felt to her? He shook his head. That was not it. "I did not mean it like that… yes, I was worried about the repercussions on Ryan for what he did, but I was also worried about the trouble you would get in." He started.

"Do not misunderstand my words when I say this; you provoked him when you punched him. I… I do understand why you did it, but since he and Dusk were already on the line for killing that Knight, I feared Ryan would get it even worse… and you would be on the line too for setting him off at all…" He hardly blamed her for fighting back in self defense. He was not even truly blaming her for setting Ryan off- she was not at fault for that. If anything… that he gave in to the urge to kill Lautrec was the underlying cause of it all.

He shook his head lightly. "I do not trust the Doctor… not what when I have seen as much as I already have in regards to what he can do… it scared me to think of what might happen to you two… so I felt it might have been better if he did not know…"

"Provoked him? Punish me? What is...how.." Morgan stops browsing to scratch her head with both hands, narrow her eyes in concentration but shakes her head and huffs "What have any of the Doctors done that you think so badly of them? They welcome us into their home, allow us their food, clothes "she waves over her half-dressed self. "And...and why would I be punished after you all saw me after he brutalized me? And more. " She points a finger at him and huffs hard "You assumed I would go with your lie. That I would be willing to deceive a good host and a good man and woman.. whatever you call them."

"They have been our gracious hosts, and I have tried to be your friend. But that means nothing to you? Do you not have concepts of hospitality? Of loyalty to friends?" Morgan shakes her head slowly and turns her back on him to resume browsing "You are an ungrateful guest, and a worse friend."

Luer shook his head lightly. How could he explain it? He could barely make sense of either of the Doctors' abilities. No one had this much power… some of the things they have done so far were not only inhuman, they were beyond comprehension. "It is not what they have done, but what they have yet to show us they can do." He answered. The doctors were the most obscure and mysterious of the entire group. Perhaps he was overly cautious of them without warrant, but even being aware of that did not mean he trusted them…

He shook his head again. He was probably the only one that had his reservations, but he was fine with that. He looked to Morgan now when she pointed at him and huffed. "…I suppose a part of me did. I was worried if they knew the truth you would be blamed for Ryan's outburst, and I thought you would have wanted to avoid being blamed for something that was not your fault." He did not blame her, but from one perspective, she started that fight with her punch. He did not want her to get the backlash from that either when he knew it was not true.

He sighed and leaned against the wall. Of course he did, he was a knight loyal to his king, his family and his friends. Why was it she did not see he did it for them?

He shook it off, taking a deep breath and giving Morgan a bow. "I am sorry. I am not going to ask you forgive me for it. Just know I did it trying to protect the people I care most about…" Morgan was his friend, and Ryan… well, they both meant a lot to him. He did not know what to do, and at the time that was all he could think of.

"Lies are not my way." Morgan says without looking at him. She puts on a red shirt. "A good man gave me a good life, and he showed me the virtue of truth. It hurts and it heals, but lies only hurt. " She turns around to him. "I understand you did what you felt was right. Can you understand that I denied your lie because I felt that was right?"

Luer nodded lightly. He did not like to lie either, not unless he felt it necessary. Besides, he was not exactly a good liar. He looked to Morgan at her question though and his brows creased. "Of course…" Though that begged a question then. If they both agree they did what they did because they felt it was right… why did Morgan still seem mad? It was not as though he was trying to lie for a bad reason or for the sake of it. Even if he was wrong, he did try to do it for a good reason.

He opted not to ask though. Instead, he felt like he needed to do something else. "…Are you okay? After all of this, I mean I know you are physically unharmed now but…" Was she not tired at all? Was she still sore maybe? He at least thought it right to ask.

"I never want to see Tartarus ever again." Morgan shivers and closes her eyes. "Ryan could have sent me back there. To be hunted with no sense of day or night, only the terror of being consumed entirely. And none to trust because they also don't want to be eaten by you if they get too trusting." She opens her eyes again and shakes off the fear.

"I am not okay right now. And I may not be okay around Ryan for some time."

Luer offered an apologetic look. He did not entirely understand her fear, what she was talking about was not something he had to face. He nodded though to the last part she said. That, at least, he could understand. "Well… I-If there is ever anything I can do for you, just say so." He offered. That was the most he could do right now, he felt. He would not blame her if she denied him either.

Morgan looks into Luer's eyes and sighs.

"Thank you. But what can you do for me?" She walks to him and puts her hand on his right shoulder.

"Trust more in the truth and our hosts. In my world, a guest with no trust for their host is unworthy to be a guest. Do you understand?"

Luer's brows creased at Morgan's request. That was easier said than done. He had no issues with the truth, save for his own he hides— no one else really needed to know that. But to put his faith in the Doctors… that was harder to do. After some of the things the Doctor has proven he could do, Luer had honestly come to believe they could very well eliminate his, or Ryan's or Morgan's or anyone's very existence in its entirety.

He looked away for a moment. But… Morgan had a point, too. Despite his fear, what he did not know about them, they have not given him a reason to believe they meant any true harm to any of them. Even as pissed off as he was, the Doctor did not argue or protest his involvement with helping Ryan either.

He shut his eyes and sighed softly, returning his gaze to meet his friend's. "I… I will make an effort to."

"Good. " Morgan pulls Luer into a soft hug.

Luer gave a small smile as he returned the hug, though it did not last too long. "I am truly sorry… I know I have been rather difficult to deal with…" He muttered. At the very least though, for now, he could try to relax a little more.

"You have." Morgan pats Luer on the back and puts up one finger. "But as a Yak Daemon once said to me 'You cannot make friends from behind a shield.' something to think about." Morgan smiles and pats her stomach. "Now I must eat! Or else I'll be sleeping for days." She leaves the wardrobe and Luer with several things to ponder.

Some Time Later,

Morgan, in better but not great spirits, enters the TARDIS tea house for a bite to eat. Being on a mission, the tea house is empty of the usual crew who would be enjoying it's bounty.

Morgan procures three mugs of hot chocolate loaded with marshmallows, and a large slab of raw steak. She needed to replenish her energy, but also to get some comfort that food was quick and satisfying to provide.

Ryan, walked around the TARDIS. Pondering on where should he start apologizing. Stumbling upon the tea house, Ryan peeked in. The place was mostly empty, except for one person. None other than Morgan.

Ryan cleared his throat loudly to announce his presence, and slowly made his way towards the daemon. This was excellent, none would be better to be the first to apologize to. And quite an apology he owed...

Morgan was about to have a drink of her first hot chocolate when she sees Ryan come in, and freezes. Nearly spits out her drink. She wasn't expecting him so soon. So direct.

She has that first drink, enjoying the warmth it gives but eyeing Ryan warily.

"I'm not sorry I hit you first." She tells him.

Ryan sighs, and smiles soberly. "No need to be, I earned it" he said as he got an arm's distance from Morgan. He looked at Morgan's hands for a moment. "Are you right or left handed?" Despite the odd question, Ryan appeared completely serious.

"Ummm" Morgan puts down her mug and looks at her hands. "I have both and use both well?" She answers, visibly confused.

Ryan nodded silently, "I figured as much from our... Encounter" he took a deep breath, and unbuttoned his coat and left it on the floor. He then dropped to one knee, lowered his head and placed his hands above it.

In Ryan's hands, materialized one of his swords, ready for Morgan to grab with her right hand. "Do as you will."

"Put that away." Morgan huffs and has a bite of meat she chews hard and fast with her eyes closed. After she swallows, she tells him "I don't want to punish you. I want to know what happened. I'm owed that, for what you did to me in that state." She shakes her head.

"I had only seen someone fight like that, when I had pushed her to it. Made her desperate to hang on to her power over others. She fought like you but I broke her fighting spirit first before she could hurt me that badly."

Ryan chuckled dryly "I figured you'd say as much" but he remained still "I'd still like you to at least keep it, as a sincere sign of apology" he also nodded at her remark "...I will"

Ryan allowed her to finish, not moving from his position. "I used to be like that all the time. I was forced to become a brutal beast. I lived to kill... I wanted to change once I left my first world though. So I buried my anger and desire to destroy deep within. You caught a glimpse of the Beast of Zokk first hand."

Morgan gets up from her seat, mug still in hand, takes the sword he offers as an apology only because it would be rude to refuse, and listens to the explanation she demanded. Her expression softens.

"I knew Daemons like you." She sighs sadly. "There are so many still in that life. Trapped in another prison when they had been offered a better life." She waves the sword at the table.

"Sit, have some chocolate. I shouldn't have it all myself. Maybe it's magic can work a little on you." She sips her mug and resumes her seat, setting the sword against the wall.

Ryan lifts his head with sad expression, once the sword is taken by Morgan. He wasn't proud of his past self, but he had to confront it. So maybe this is a step in the right direction.

Morgan would feel a pleasant weight behind the sword, and a slight tingle on her hand as she moved it around. "Sounds similar to my first world..." Ryan said as he put his coat back on and stood up.

"Thank you." Ryan said as he bowed his head to Morgan. As he was sitting, he noticed the placement of the sword. "Here, keep it here if you're not using it. I don't want the Doctor mad at me for slashing up this pretty room" as he spoke, Ryan materialized a sleek, deep black scabbard that made contrast with the bright red of the blade. He extended his arm with it over to Morgan, and sat down. "Marshmallows, huh... Can't say I have tried this combination..." he said as a small smile slipped through when he felt those pleasing, sweet smells reach him.

Morgan accepts the sword's scabbard, sheathing it and touching the hilt with both hands. She has an inquisitive look to her face at what she feels. It had to be Ryan's energy she feels, since he had conjured or summoned it. She sets it against the wall again and waits for Ryan to have a drink before continuing their conversation.

"This Beast of Zokk. If he were to arise again, how can he be subdued without hurting you?" She asks.

Ryan observes with a bit of joy the curiosity on Morgan's face. He wondered what may have sparked such an expression to appear, as he took the mug and slowly sipped from it. His eyes widened and he froze for a moment. Trying to enjoy the flavor as much as possible, he put it down for now "It's... Very good"

Ryan was about to relax against the chair, when Morgan caught his attention quite suddenly by calling him, or rather, his alter ego of sorts by its name. Ryan couldn't hide his shock, but tried to think of an answer regardless. "Deep down, I am there somewhere. But it's too hard for me to snap out of it without either destroying whatever it wants destroyed, or being incapacitated... I don't know what it likes other than destroying, but maybe it can be reasoned with, using the proper words. As long as you're not its target, that is. It worked in a mercenary group, and it never attacked them, so I'm sure they had a way of avoiding it..."

Morgan nods and thinks as she has another drink.

"A wise man taught me that if there is room for reason, you must explore that room." She says with another nod and another drink.

"I will admit, I still fear you. That is not something I can stop even as I also understand why what happened, happened. But as much as I fear you, I still want to help you. I hope that is not too confusing." Morgan shrugs and shakes her head slowly. "But, I think I am the only one who would be able to subdue you if it happens again and not be gravely injured. Maybe if I try the backstabber hold next time, I could do it." Anticipating Ryan's question, she explains

"The backstabber is the hold I used on the golden warrior. I learned it from a human wrestler named Benicio. It will be very uncomfortable, but this Beast cannot be allowed free again."

"Then I am sorry as well, because if reasoning does not work...then I would have no choice but to hit you as hard as I possibly can, or nearly, to knock you unconscious." Morgan replies, defeated. "Even if it means bearing Luer's hate after. I only hope he can understand that sometimes to help a friend, you cannot avoid hurting them. "

"No need to be sorry. I don't hold back when I'm in that state. Going with anything less may be dangerous" Ryan noticed Morgan's tone, but allowed her to continue "Then he'll hate us both. Because I completely agree with you. But he won't, he's very understanding."

"Now then, about that wise man's words..." Ryan gazed at Morgan "I don't want to hurt you like that again if I can avoid it" he took a sip of chocolate to settle himself slightly "Any ideas?"

Morgan sips quietly as she thinks.

"Well. Firstly, I will never let myself get so angry I hit you like that again. To start." She clears her throat. "What about...hmm..ummm...what did I hear them called before....'safe words'? Yes, safe words to keep this Beast in check when you feel it overcoming you?"

"It's not like you triggered it, it had been building for while by then. It is why I stabbed that bastard without a second thought. But the thought is appreciated" he said calmly. As he allowed Morgan to continue, Ryan went for a sip of chocolate, but upon hearing 'safe words', he almost choked on it.

After struggling with what Morgan surely wasn't implying and chocolate in his lungs, he placed his hands slowly on the table red as a beet from both things. "Sorry, but safe words..." he looked and Morgan for an instant, then looked away. She definitely didn't mean it like that. "Just don't use that expression"

"Why? They're words supposed to mean no violence." Morgan struggles to comprehend his request. "I thought we could come up with safe words or phrases you could hear to put the beast back in it's cage. When he's about to make a very bad mess."

Ryan couldn't help but keep on blushing as Morgan innocently continued talking about safe words. He knew perfectly by now she was being honest. "Morgan? How old are you?" Is all he could think of at the moment. Talking about his problems can wait a bit.

"How old?" Morgan shakes her head "Don't know. Time does not exist in my home dimension. All you see is the same red sky." She gestures at herself. "But my vessel is six years old. Why do you ask?"

Ryan sighed "You sound like you've been through a lot, and yet, you're quite innocent". He then took a sip of chocolate in an attempt to control himself. "It's an erotic term" Ryan said, attempting to be as casual about it as possible, while unable to let go of the blush entirely.

"Erotic?!" Morgan exclaims into her mug which she shakes in her surprised state, splashing some hot chocolate onto the table. Now it was her turn to blush, and stammer.

"N-n-not what I meant at all! I mean not that you are not....um.... attractive? Just um...um.." she quickly cleans up her mess." I didn't know...it was...erotic."

Ryan partially expected the shock, not that it made it any less endearing. Morgan was a mess. Ryan figured that's how he appeared to Luer, which made him let out a brief laugh. "Thank you for the compliment. And don't worry about not knowing, being innocent is not a crime" this whole ordeal had him relax quite a bit. He leaned back on his chair as he took a swig of chocolate.

"Thank you." Morgan calms herself down and has a bite of her steak. "Back to the issue...I wish there were a way to talk to this other part of yourself, safely. If only there were..." Morgan trails off and slaps the table.

"I know! The leader of those refugees! Frost! Despite her name her real power is to enter the minds of others! She could surely help when we get back to the Pathfinder!"

Ryan nodded slowly, admiring how fast Morgan recovered from her stumble. It showed that she has lived plenty, or at least enough. Though based on what she said, it may have not been a pleasant existence. This realization painted sadness on Ryan as he observed Morgan continue to try and give him a hand.

He was so focused on Morgan, that he was startled when she slaps the table. "Wh... Wait, is that so?" he asked almost doubtful. "The Doctor did say that my issue is on my mind, so that would surely help out a lot!" He said, leaning towards excitement.

"Yes! At least, I think so." Morgan offers this last caveat with raised cautious hands. "From what I understand, she could help us talk to this Beast. Then we could maybe negotiate with it." She guzzles down the last of her mug of hot chocolate, and speaks with a 'moustache' of the beverage on her upper lip. "We will seek her out, and ask for her help, when we next come to the Pathfinder. Promise." Morgan holds a fist to her chest and bows her head to Ryan.

"I'll take anything that helps" Ryan quickly intervened when he noticed Morgan's uncertainty. He meditated on her following words, however "We will need to come to an agreement eventually"

Ryan mimics Morgan's gesture of finishing his own mug, only to realize he already did. Ryan nodded in approval of Morgan's promise, and with a smile on his face, he placed his mug on the table and made the same gesture Morgan did "Promise." Ryan looked at Morgan for a few seconds, before opting for the direct approach for his next words "Morgan? Some chocolate is refusing to leave your face" while gesturing to his own upper lip.

"I know." Morgan licks her upper lip clean. "I enjoy doing that with hot chocolate." She shrugs and stands, picking up her raw steak off the plate.

"Until then, I will be cautious around you, but only for this Beast. Should he arise, I will try my best to subdue him. As it is likely I am the only one who can survive and subdue him." She takes up the sword Ryan had given her and walks out of the tea room with a determined stride.

 

[Wade Von Doom]

WHITERUN:

Luer was just waiting at this point. After the mess that has been this mission and how tired he was, he had intended to go rest as well once he had spoken to Morgan. But no. Why should he? It was not as though he needed to sleep after all…

No, he had a new task now thanks to Morgan, and he would not let himself rest until he could do so without anything he can take care of first being done. He did not feel he owed the Doctor any sort of apology, really. He had a right to be wary of anyone, regardless of circumstances. But… Morgan was right, and he made a promise to her. So now he was waiting for the Doctor, to both calm down as well and have a moment of spare time. He seemed busy with all the goings on outside too, after all.

To say he was acting anything like himself earlier would be as accurate as it would not. Yes, he panicked, and he overreacted out of that fear. But it was very much him to do whatever he could to protect someone he cared about. This was not like being a trainee, or a knight, or even the mercenary he is now. As a trainee he was taught his lead's word was law, as a knight he obeyed without protest (mostly). As a mercenary he was given more freedom to say no, but he was loyal to his patrons too. The Doctor was their lead, so why he was not following like he should he did not know.

When he caught sight of the Doctor finally looking less busy, he cleared his throat to call attention for now. He was yet unsure if the man -thing? Whatever the Doctor was- would even speak to him yet.

The Doctor was atop the Whiterun wall that protected the city from the outside region. He could see in the distance the massive mammoths that grazed the fields in packs. The fires of the giants camps, who's smoke raised up far into the clouds above. The winter mountains of hundreds of miles off. And of course, the strange lights in the sky. Even as dusk approached, he could see the strange flicker of soft orange lights bounce across the clouds. As The Doctor was told, this was but an aurora, something Skyrim gets every so often. But he could tell this wasn't a simple celestial event.

Those were literal ripples in time and space

Luer made a face to himself. Not even a glance. Was this really worth it? The Doctor either did not hear him or did not give a damn. He was not exactly willing to get too close right now, lest invade whatever mass of personal space the Doctor had or set off some sort of self defense. He did not feel like the other cared much about any of them.

Dammit! If he was their leader why the hell was he the one having to speak up!? He shook his head, rubbing his face in frustration for a moment. Thinking about it like that only pissed him off. What leader did not even so much as try to talk to an unruly subject anyway??

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly to try calming himself down again. Getting angry was not going to help. Still… if the Doctor was going to keep ignoring him like this… How annoying. Was he suddenly a child?

"…Are you going to keep pretending like I do not exist? Or are we going to talk like adults?" He finally spoke up. That could have come out better… oops.

"Hm?" The Doctor turned around to face Luer, wearing his glasses and looking genuinely confused. "Oh, Luer! Have long have you been there?" He also genuinely asked.

Seems Luer jumped the gun there.

"Sorry, I was just... looking at the sky." He took off the glasses and put them in his jacket pocket, before putting his hands behind his back and leaning in. "You need something?" He didn't seem angry, or annoyed, he just seemed like his normal self.

Luer cleared his throat again and nodded, glancing away. Apparently the Doctor was rather lost in the view. So he did not hear him. He rubbed the back of his neck for a moment, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "A-About earlier…" He started. He was unsure how to broach the subject or even what to say. "I overreacted… I did not mean to cause so much trouble…"

"Oh... okay." The Doctor seemed very relaxed about it. "It's all good. Apology accepted, if that is one." He wasn't being mocking, or seemed to even still be annoyed with Luer. He was just... calm. Like he had already moved past it. "... Anything else?" He asked, wondering if Luer had another question, like his apology wasn't actually necessary for him.

Luer grunted softly. It was not exactly an apology… "I am trying here… give me something. At least yell at me or punch me. Do not… look at me like that…" He whined softly. He felt like he deserved at least a verbal lashing for his own earlier.

"Wwwwwhy would I do that?" Again, the Doctor seemed confused. "You made your point, you don't trust me, but you want to get to the bottom of this multiverse teleporting business like the rest of us, so we're just... office acquaintances, I guess. And I can't blame you for not trusting me. I'm a man inside an impossibly sized blue box that travels through time and space, and you're a medieval archer. I've met plenty of people from time periods like yours who thought I was a witch, or the devil, or a dark mage, one did think I was Ares, but I didn't mean to bring Halikaan invaders dressed as Edo era Samurai with me to the Acropolis of Athens, I thought I was bringing them to Cretaceous period Earth, but the TARDIS... Never mind," he realized he was losing Luer with the rambling.

"Point is, you don't like me, and that's fine. We're a big enough group that we don't need to interact often. I'll stick to my TARDIS, and you go with whoever you feel comfortable with." The Doctor explained in a very blunt and casual demeanor. He knew Luer's distrust of him ran deep, and Luer wasn't the type to change his mind, so as long as they worked to the same goal, he'd stay out of his way.

Luer blinked. What the hell was he talking about? When the Doctor seemed to realize he was pretty much talking nonsense to the archer, he shook his head of it.

"It is not…" He took a deep breath. "I do not trust you… because I do not know you… or can even begin to understand you… and that scares me." He stated. "But I do respect you… and what you have done. For all of us."

The Doctor sighed, putting his hands in his pockets. "Look... I get it. I'm a mad man in an impossible blue box that can travel in time and space, and you're an undead archer from medieval times, trying to stop a lady who controls an army of robots. This whole situation we're in is ludicrous! And frankly, I'd be lying if I said this wasn't an average day for me, dealing with the strange, odd, and most certainly terrifyingly unknown. And I'd also be lying if I said I haven't done what you did back there either. I've lied to protect others, either from themselves, or comfort them in the face of death. Lies are a shield that brings comfort to the user."

Rule number 1, after all: The Doctor lies. Even though he never said it, others certainly would of him in the future. And as he's gotten older, the shield grew ever more comfortable to hide behind.

"So I don't hold it against you for wanting to protect Ryan. But the lie only works when you know it protects others. You were protecting one man, a man who hid a dangerous side of himself from the rest of us, because he believed he wouldn't be a danger. Then he became one, almost killing Morgan, and if she didn't stop him, he may have killed more people. Maybe even you." Even undead, Luer would feel more than physical pain if Ryan did to him what he did to Morgan. "But," he pulled out his glasses once again, "if you wanna believe his danger outweighs mine, then go ahead. I've got too many things to deal with than whether you like me or not." He finished telling Luer, turning back around to face the sky

Luer tilted his head for a moment, but ultimately he looked a little upset. The Doctor was not wrong, this entire situation was insane. If he were not very aware of how much that shot Brigid gave him to the head hurt, he would think this all a very, very strange and horrible dream. But that was not the important thing. "An average day for you, but for most all of the rest of us an entirely new and terrifying experience. You are not only someone who has dealt with this sort of thing before, but also one who has the power to help all of us do something about it. You took charge, and while it was something we needed, I do not think you are suited to do this alone."

The archer took a deep breath. "I lied to protect Morgan and Ryan, because I was scared of what you might do if you found out. Rather than rely on the person that has helped us, I feared what I did not know. My first thought was anger, yes, but then I feared you would react like Brigid did once before and seek to eliminate a threat immediately." Funny how that same initial thought was the reason she was able to calm him down. He chortled at the thought but shook his head of it. "I panicked, but rather than seek to calm me down and work it out, you simply got angry. I understand being mad at me for what I did, but it would have benefitted us more to calm me down first and then get angry at me later. Brigid saw it… oddly enough she was the one that reached out. If you are just going to get angry, then you need a partner who will not. I cannot guarantee this will not happen again, be it me, or someone else…"

With that said though, he rubbed his face for a moment, shaking his head. "Ryan did not hide it out of the belief he was not a danger— if anything that would have been the reason he spoke up at all about it. It is not a matter of who is more dangerous, I just… I understand him, at least in a way… what he is going through." He paused to bite his lip. "A-And lest you worry, I assure you, I am not going to snap violently and attack anyone." He assured quickly. At least, not in that way…

He shook his head again, more quickly to shake the thought off. Taking another deep breath he adjusted his posture and fixed some hair that had fallen loose at some point. "Whether I like you or not is irrelevant, yes… but we are on the same team. Like or not does not matter, what does is that I am able to trust your judgment and follow it. I… do not know yet if I can- at least not fully. But…" The Doctor turned away, but that was fine. The gesture was probably lost on him, anyway. Luer still bowed though. "I will at least try. All I ask in return is a little more understanding. This is normal for you, but for me it… it is unreal, confusing… and terrifying…"

That line echoed in The Doctor's head: 'If you are just going to get angry, then you need a partner who will not.'

Oh he had no idea how true that was. Everything else though was easier said than done though. "Oh, no offense, you tell me that I should've calmed down, yet you certainly didn't follow that advice. Find out how to properly communicate and protect yourself first before trying to protect others. It may seem selfish, but following the possibility that you could be the main target instead of them is not the just way to go, in fact, it may even make things worse. I was angry because one, a man who I thought we could trust put others in harms way, and harboring that action instead of rectifying it does not put forth a good example." The Doctor explained, turning around to face him again.

"just because you may understand him, does not mean that we understand him. If you do not allow us that chance to understand the both of you, then that is where the issues arise.... And furthermore," he was about to turn around once again to look at the sky, but realize he was not gonna let that Brigid line go, "if you think we're all going to act like Brigid and decided that when we don't like you, we'll just have to shoot you in the head to get rid of you, then you clearly have more trust issues than you think you have, because if I was there, I wouldn't have allowed what Brigid did to you." He stated to him. "Because I don't believe death is a last resort. And you aren't alone in thinking this is unreal and confusing. But don't pretend I don't understand it."

Luer bit his lip at first. He could not deny that, after all. He very much was less than calm. Fear was harder to fight than anger though, especially so alone. He disagreed with the other half of that though. Protecting himself was never a priority, and it even less so is one now that he is undead. If he were the target, he would have likely been able to keep this from having come out at all this way. Maybe talk Ryan into seeking help if it proved he could not do so for the dragon himself. So when the Doctor spoke of Ryan choosing to hide it rather than fix it, he shook his head. "That is not true. He confided in me about this and we were… are trying to fix it." He did naively hope he would have been able to keep Ryan in check so that this would not be a problem now.

He groaned quietly to himself as the other went on about what happened with Brigid too. "That is the point though… I do not know how anyone would react." Brigid set a bad example that day that a one off incident or even a semblance of a threat would be eliminated immediately, and yet right now she was probably the one he trusted the most next to Ryan among them all. Perhaps though, that was because this time she did not do that and instead tried to get him calmed down. "That said, she did not do it simply out of dislike…" He added in her defense. He knew well why she shot him, and while he did feel it was overkill- literally -he did not blame her for wanting to stop him.

He shook his head. Digressing too much. Back on topic. Focus, damn you! He sighed heavily and again rubbed his face in some frustration. The Doctor said something earlier that he cannot ignore now.

'If you do not allow us the chance to understand the both of you, then that is where the issues arise…'

Damn him too… The archer let out another sigh and nodded to himself. "Ryan suppresses the instinct he was instilled with before." That was enough to get his point across, he did not need to say more. "I understand this because I do the same thing. I just… have found a better ground to keep me from regressing to do what I know I can do and what I know I am good at. We talked about this and we have been trying to help him get there." He cast his gaze somewhere off to his side so he did not have to look at the Doctor. "Lest you worry though, as I said before I will not attack should my own control falter. My demon is less violent and more… virile…" He paused to take a small deep breath. "Which is why I saw no reason to share it with anyone… at least, not until Ryan that night…" After all, why would sex be important during a war? But if the Doctor meant what he said, then he supposed the sexual factor was irrelevant so much as just being open with everyone was.

"Well, the difference between you is you can be knocked out in a couple punches. Ryan went through a building and was still standing." He pointed out.

"Doctor!" A guard from behind them both shouted out. "The Jarl has news for you!"

"Thank you!" He waved to the guard, who returned to the others. "Suppose we'll pick this up another time if we're still in good spirits." He remarked, giving a little smile. They had a job to do, after all. "Just... be careful. Alright? We're a team. And we're in this together. Can't just be you two."

Luer blinked. There was… no reaction. No disgust, no shame, not even the slightest hint of disturbance. He was always told people would do one of those things if he told them the truth, that they would either come to distrust him for the secret or be disgusted and abandon him altogether. It was part of the reason he fought so hard to bury that instinct and change. But this… this was just confusing. Ryan at least reacted when he told him, even if it was mostly in embarrassment he still gave the archer something.

"A-Ah… R-right…" Oh thanks. He needed the reminder that he was one of the weakest among them. He put his hand in his pocket as he unintentionally balled it into a fist. He needed to be stronger… somehow…

He glanced over when someone called for the Doctor and sighed inwardly in relief. He was unsure how to process such a… non reaction still. He nodded to the Doctor but his expression did speak enough of his shame over his behavior too. They should be working together… "Right. I am sorry… for everything…" He offered, taking a deep breath and turning to leave the Doctor to his work. He needed to meet up with Ryan at the TARDIS. Then… then they get back to work too. With any luck, he will get a chance to rest after they are done here. Maybe he should talk to Morgan again sometime about all of this, too.

 

[littlekreen]

A tiny bounded polytope with a too-familiar symbol shot past sivvracks and dante as she rolled her way across the erratic fabric of time and space. Flexing and shifting of the lines of her frame the liminal ghost's symbol on the stony orb inside that shell pivoted to the guard, then to the doctor. Likely only the doctor could tell when her frame morphed in place that she spun in elation.

Ghosts of the past and one of the present as a faithful imitation of Amy Pond exclaims, "Aha! Next interesting one! You have a Label! Is it time to queue? It's me next isn't it. I like queuing but I don't remember why."

The frame rotated orthogonal to reality in freezing with embarrassment after realizing a social faux pas in pointing at the guard, "Oh, sorry don't let me interrupt. Big Chiefs get to go first! I'll just queue up here."

"Queeeeeeuuueeee", the new intelligence giggled in sounding out a word that now sounded strange. @Wade Von Doom

 

[Wade Von Doom]

MINUTES BEFORE:
​

"Sir, he's waking up." A guard told Ben as he entered the room.

Ben looked at the Breton, cocking his head to the side as he studied the Dragonborn... Then slapped him across the face hard. "Now he is." Ben told him. "Good morning!" Ben told him, sitting down across the table. Aelnneond would feel his hands stuck to the metal table, seated in an uncomfortable iron chair, and unable to move even his fingers. Whatever he was cuffed in, they were giant bulky metal mittens like the ends of a starfish. He was also in a metal interrogation room with a hanging lamp light above him.

He would also feel something on his mouth, yet he could speak. Although his voice was distorted. "Oh, I wouldn't try," Ben told him if he tried shouting. "The mouthpiece vocodes your voice to distort sounds. Can't shout unless you use the right tone." He smiled smugly afterwords.

Aelnneond felt a heavy weight on his soul with a leaden resistance to his lungs to breathe. Something burning moving around in his gut where there hadn't been anything before. A void he hadn't realized was there after the Ghost joined with him forcibly from some other creature he'd yet to meet. As someone entered the fog left him, burned away in a slap across the face. Aelnneond tried to move his hands and found them anchored then fixated on the gloves for a moment before shifting his face becoming aware of the pressure.

The mage retorted, "For dragons I'd start with respect, but you? I'll start with sarcastic and work my way down to wherever you rightfully belong. What do you want, bandit? I have a time dragon to deal with."

"Oh, I'm insulted." Ben joked, finding it amusing how Aelnneond was trying to play things cool. "Does this look like the armor of a bandit?" He asked, throwing his black armor's cloak to the guard for him to catch, showing off the unique ebony plating. At least, it looked like Ebony.

An eye over the armor he didn't recognize the voice and the man clearly didn't know how to wear a cloak, "The dragons are eating imperial guard everywhere. What of it. Half the bandits are wearing iron charnel now. I'll go stand in a fort for a couple hours and you'll have as much as you can stand."

After being stabbed to death multiple times since getting the ghost his sense of self preservation suffered.

Under the mask said with a flat expression, "Come to think of it, they always seem to know where I am. we'll just wait here, eh?"

"Oh, you're no fun," Ben said with a sarcastic tone and pouty face, "and here I was hopping to have a nice civil conversation. It's not often I speak with a dragonborn... You do know you're one, right?" He asked next, before pulling out Aelnneond's journal. "Let's see, you talk about escaping Helghan, going to Riverwood," he was trying to find any journal entries about dragonborn stuff and whether Aelnneond had concluded he was one or not.

The man read through his travel journal, how rude. It had short sketches of Skyrim's more abandoned places from afar as he'd gone north. Once to solitude it started mentioning his 'assistant' subject to a few detailed images before topics moved onto the etching of a word wall. After that it became far more varied and a few pages bloodstained. While the first bloodstained pages had a last message on them it was scratched out with 'Well, never mind that. Look into the reinstancing later. Somehow not related to dragonborn? Look into the Light.' There were other bloodstained fingerprints here and there after but they had writing progressively less stressed as his journal went on. One later even included a art study of a glass dagger embedded in his own leg. He'd not mentioned chalcedony in specific since, given the more pressing concern of dragons and word walls, but delved instead into obscure historical texts as he delved into dragon mounds. While the runes are inscribed in places he complains repeatedly that the letters as images seem terribly incomplete in a way he can't reproduce.

Aelnneond rolled his eyebrow, "I gathered that much from the Dragur calling me dragon hunter. Translation is less difficult with an assistant that understands the language. The drawings won't help you though. it's something larger than the words themselves that takes a dragon soul to teach. Haven't talked to many Nords as much as been busy stabbing their children, mmm?"

He'd heard of the greybeards but hadn't had time to write about them before Chalcedony had him on a dead ride south. Which was good as he'd not any particular interest in putting them under this man's boot. Hopefully they'd not heard of the greybeards either so he could talk to them. After somehow getting out of here as he mulled over the options.

"What flattery." Ben remarked upon Ael's child killing comment. "Quips like that are why Breton's have great silver tongues... well, that and being the butt of every race joke I know of in Tamriel." As much as Ael wanted to annoy him, Ben showed no sense of aggrivation to him. Just keen fascination, and a playful, if not slightly unnerving smile. "I know that much about about the language of the dragons. It takes time and patience for a normal man to even say one word, say, Ulfric Stormcloak for example. Yet, a dragonborn can learn it instantly once they have a dragon's soul absorbed into their own. Now, yes, I certainly would like to have such power for myself, and I know I can't convince you of that, but I do have a way to get what I want. But, I'm more interested instead in exploring the alternatives."

He kicked up his feet on the desk and leaned back in his chair as he continued, "I think a part of you doesn't want to be the dragonborn. That's too much attention on you, too many people looking up to you as a hero. And I think you certainly don't like that word. 'Hero.' Too many connotations with it, expectations that you'll be the savior of the world, when in reality, you're a simple Breton who's pleasures in life are simple, and expectations are to live a life that is full of adventure, but leave your impact to all the studying you do in this book," he waved it above his head. "You don't really want this forced upon you. And you certainly don't want to be here, but you are because fate designed you to be. Your gods decided one day before you were born, 'we want you to be this, it doesn't matter how it affects your life, we just need you to be one of the most powerful beings in the world, no questions asked, and if you go crazy from the power, that's all good, just make sure you kill all the dragons you find, since we can't do it ourselves.'...

If you're religious, I apologize, I just find your gods to be very hypocritical. Like most are." He said that with an even bigger smile like he just told the punchline to a joke. "So, I want you to decide if you really want this fate or not. Because I think I can free you of it. Free you of those chains binding you to be the one to kill the dragons. The one to slay Aludin, to fight for the greater good of all the realms, and so on and so forth." He said with a mocking tone towards the end. "This prophecy of how the dragons return doesn't need to be forced upon you. You can return to your life of adventuring and study, and the only problems to deal with are those occasional bandits. But at least you won't run into any Daedra worshipers, or more dragons, or even cult followers who kidnapped you, or any one else who wants the dragonborn for themselves."

Aelnneond breathed out slowly, "The only home us half-breeds of men and mer have in the end is knowledge. Others can have their jokes as payment for the land we took from them to live on. The Aedra and Daedra are just pieces of the Light and Dark's endless turning."

He leaned back as little he could and laughed, "But hero? I suppose that's what makes us different. You're an optimist. Think you can change the game if you fight hard enough but the only things that don't change are trod on. I know the Light and Dark have been doing this for a very long time and they know well how the game is played. Our graveyard of rulers has never had mages so united in purpose as discovering the fields of magic spreads farther on roads we ever considered could change. I suppose we do adore a quest with a good kingly excuse to pursue one but only fools call us heroes. Light and Dark surely spread their little witch king seeds in Breton mages all over Tamriel. Phrophecy be damned but it does make for fertile soil."

His hands clamped could only reach out to the liminal ghost but there was just a feeling of warm noon sun in between that wasn't Magnus, "So there's a balance to be struck somewhere and I'll not be your personal mindless beast. You're well on the way to that on your own. Do it yourself."

Ben chuckled at first, then started laughing lightly. He was amused by Ael. "You're so cynical. I can't blame you though." Ben noted once he finished laughing, taking his feet off the table.

"Oh well," his omni-tool glowed around his hand as he raised it up, "I tried being friendly." With a wave, the mask started sending electric shock through Ael's mouth, like plugs from a battery were suddenly hooked up to his tongue, while a loud ringing noise echoed in his ears. When it stopped, Ben stood up and walked over to Ael's, put his hand behind his head, and tugged on Ael's hair as hard as he could, making the Breton look Ben in the eye. The sinister smile still on his face. "What is this?" He showed a holographic picture of the wooden ghost, captured outside Whiterun by one of Ben's men

Electricity poured over his being as Ben electrified his entire body. Each muscle spasms with painful violence as he convulses. Beating drowned out by the painful ringing feels his heart stops beating for a moment until that warm sun glows and it starts again. That same feeling not specifically of healing but a passive raw denial for suffering to be over so easily. Finally the electrocution ends and he's reminded of his last conjure practice. At least this time he couldn't feel electric fingers gripping his bicep from the inside the burnt stump of his arm. Not that either hurt any less having survived them both even if one from the grave.

Aelnneond gasps for breath has his throat stops quivering enough to speak, "If I wanted friends like you I'd summon a storm atronach."

Chalcedony rotated in front of his swimming vision before it stabilized but his lungs objected to in impulse to chuckle at the question so just groaned, "Hnnngh. You know, at first I thought it was some corruption of magic. There's no precedence for the creature in Nirn. After what I saw today I realize something; you created this. Indirectly, perhaps, but you've been poking holes through from Aetherius to get here I think. An interloper that both light and dark agreed to destroy as Magicka hasn't forged a creation for such violent purpose since Pelinal walked Nirn."

He raised an eyebrow, "Not me, I have my own little ordained role to play in their game. Though I hear through the dreamsleeve that there's new stars in the sky. A light not from Aetherius shining through them. In case you're not aware, outsider, new constellations do not happen here. So, I don't know yet. Whatever horror Light and Dark have seen fit to forge together it was made to end you. A pity we have no one we respect to pray to, eh?"

Ben gave him another quick shock when he stopped talking. "You're wasting my time, and yours." He wasn't a fan of the overly long answers he was giving to clearly try pissing him off. "What you have is similar to this," he changed the hologram to show a normal Ghost from the Earth very, very far away from Nirn. "This is something that was made billions of miles away, beyond those new constellations you're seeing in the sky. Such magic like yours, to copy and create an advanced technological creation like this, is beyond anything even I've seen. I want to know how you did it, and if you don't tell me, I put my finger down on this button until I fry your brain."

He just needed the body, not his mind. He'd happily lobotomize Ael.

Aelnneond felt his muscles seize again as the shock forced him upward as the muscles tensed, "Nrrrrrgh! You think like a Thalmor. Just after what gets you power not understanding why. You changed the game! I didn't create it; I just invoked it. Magic has always adapted as the world changes and you opened it to entirely new spheres with elements we didn't know exist and natural laws we didn't even know were there. I'm not surprised that the raw potential detonated a new word wall into Skyrim. I'd like to say you were expected but the pawns that caused it don't seem to know what even exactly they did."

He nodded to the proper Ghost, "What made Chalcedony may not even know we exist either. I touched a storm of raw alteration somewhere out there sucking up new potentials for just a split second and it spat out a new species of magical creature."

Though he remembered finding sprays of spriggan blood everywhere in the tomb with all the dead dragur he didn't know how it connected quite yet. Why would a feral force of nature like a spriggan even care about the dead tomb? Though come to think of it the dragur were sliced apart too, weren't they. A force of nature that learned to use a new weapon.

He raised his eyebrow, "Tell you what, I'll save solitude some bootheel and tell you you're looking for a spriggan of some sort. You should go meet her. She's looking for you with the point of a sword."

Ben chuckled, smiling a bit more sadistically, before quickly grabbing Ael's throat with his free hand, pushing him as far back into his chair as his arm restraints would allow, and choking him. "At least I'm to the point." He told him, as his long winded answers were going nowhere.

That's when Ben's glowing hand tool started beeping. Releasing Ael, Ben answered the comm. "What?" He asked, sounding annoyed by the disturbance. Ael wouldn't hear whoever was on the other end, but his captor's demeanor changed from agitated to calmed in a matter of a few moments. "Perfect. Get the envoy ready." He ordered, before hanging up, turning to Ael, and smiling.

Then pressing down on the button again to shock the Breton. "Have to go, unfortunately. If you feel like cooperating though... Oh, what's the use?" Ael wasn't going to change his mind. Might as well let him fry in his chair until he was needed for later. "If he passes out, put him in his cell." He ordered the guard at the door, before leaving.

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

BACK IN WHITERUN:

Dusk sat in the dimly lit Drunken huntsman main room, staring into the sparkling fire in the center of the room. For it being called the drunken hunstman, people seemed to prefer the bannered mare over it. Sure, the hunstman sold a few drinks here and there, but it mainly focused on the hunstman part of it.

Dusk grabbed the mug filled with mead next to him and took a sip. He had already drank several mugs, yet it barely felt like it did anything to him. His fingers felt internally fuzzy and his face was warm, but the emotions were still swirling in his head. His leg gently bounced up and down as he watched the coals glow brightly. He felt lonely. Was this not supposed to diminish this feeling? he thought to himself as he stared at his mug of mead before finishing his 7th drink. He could easily be found if one stuck their head into the building.

Which is what 10 did, after finally settling the issues with Morgan, Ryan and Luer. But Dusk was the last. He had mainly avoided Dusk, because of everyone, The Doctor felt like he was the least problematic, because Dusk was different from Ryan.

Dusk was a new species. When they met, he was a mute with a skull for a head, not he's humanoid and learning how emotions work. What he did was still cruel, but it was because of an unknowing of how his actions would be perceived, not an intentional act of sadism. And considering how quiet he was after what happened, it was clear Dusk felt regret of some kind. Everyone inside the place was staring at Dusk with a look of curiosity, like a circus act animal who wandered into the place. None tried interacting with him yet, instead marveling at how he could keep downing the strongest drinks in the place without feeling its effects, even if he was taller than all of them.
[6:50 PM]
Walking in, a bartender easily recognized 10 as one of the new strangers in town. "You with him?" He asked, pointing to Dusk.

"Uhhh, yeah, I'm here to pick him up." 10 answered, before quickly adding, "I don't have any money to pay his drinks, so if you could just make a tab--"

"The guards already said they'd pay for anything you and the newcomers get if they come in here. I just want you to also tell them they're paying for repairs." He then pointed to the top of Dusk's head, where his horns were scratching up the wooden ceiling.

"Ah... Right, I'll make sure they do." He wasn't, because by the end of this conversation, he'll forget about it. But anyway, he made his way over to Dusk, getting his attention. "Dusk?" He asked, leaning forward a bit to see his face

"hmm?" was all Dusk could muster to get out as the doctor leaned over. He seemed quite out of place with his long brown coat and suit, but that was like the pot calling the kettle black from dusk. "this drink does not work," He then said after an awkward pause. He held up the empty mug to show it to the doctor before putting it back down.

His mind then settled back into what it previously had been. None of the thoughts going through his head were coherent, mostly all coalescing together into a general depression. He took a moment and leaned back on the bench and tried to move his legs around the fire. He didn't want to get too close, and honestly it was a mistake for him to even be by the fire. The fire only added to his depressed thoughts and fears, but he had heard from someone that they thought fire was calming. Dusk had quite the opposite opinion.

The Doctor sat in the seat to Dusk's left, joining him by the fire. "Something on your mind?" He asked as he leaned towards the fire while still looking to him.

Dusk sat in silence for a moment, trying to figure out what he should say. He didn't want people to worry, nor did they need to worry. He had been the one doing something wrong, despite it being unknowingly. He didn't look back up from the fire, merely replying "Nothing to be concerned of." He brought the mug up to take another sip, but realized it had no more drink in it and put it back down.

"You thinking about what happened?" Doc asked.

"again, it is nothing to be concerned of" Dusk said. It was his fault, so he should be the one paying the price. He would only be bringing the rest of the group down. None of the people in the crew really knew him all that well anyway. He was a mystery, no past, no emotional support, nothing. He had only been trying to be a physical barrier for the group anyway, and even then he was barely succeeding in that. "The matters concerning everyone else are more pressing," he mentioned, a very subtle tinge of regret in his voice.

"They're mostly settled by now," he informed Dusk. "Luer, Ryan and Morgan seem to have calmed down enough to work through the issues, at least enough to work together until we've found out what's happening with this world, so that just leave you. And I'd very much like to know what's going on inside that big head of yours. Cause I imagine you're going through a lot, since not too long ago, you were just a skull for a head. Now you got flesh, humanoid bones, you can speak English very well. You've gone through a lot of changes, and I imagine it's difficult to figure out most of how your brain is processing all the information."

"my brain is processing it fine. I do not feel different from before, yes, my face is now..." Dusk stopped and rubbed his face, "...fleshy, but it has not seemed to have effected me from what I can see," Dusk finished, a small hint of annoyance crossing into his voice. It was hard to tell how he was feeling due to most of his emotions being very hard to detect. "I have seen my own flesh burn off and regrow, changing how my face looks does not phase me," Dusk continued. It was a lie, he had a fear of fire since having that happen.

Doc leaned back into his chair as he listened, his full attention on the details of how Dusk acted. The touching of his face like it was touching another person's, the annoyance in his voice as he tried to deflect his concerns, and the apathetic way he plainly described his physical pain.

None of this was new to him. He could see through Dusk's act, though it wasn't like he was trying to be tough. He just didn't seem to understand. "Is that why you're still bouncing your leg then?" He asked, since Dusk didn't stop even as he approached.

"In most human cultures, fidgeting like that means being in discomfort somehow. Or just being restless. And the way you touch your face, you're almost hesitating it, like you don't enjoy the feel of it. Too soft, I bet."

He wasn't trying to antagonize Dusk, but try to understand, see if he could move past the defenses by showing how Dusk was hiding behind them. "I get it, you've been alone for so long, and you're not the only one in this group that thinks they're some sort of monster, designed only to be used as a weapon, or a boogeyman in stories to scare children. And if you feel like you need to be alone, I'll let you be. But... You're not alone, Dusk." He told him calmly. "There's plenty of us who felt they don't fit into the norm of their world, or in this group, and they're more a hazard to be around than a help, but what makes you different is your willingness to learn from the mistakes. I don't care what you were before you became this 'new' version of yourself, I care about the man besides me who I can see wants to do good. And just needs some guidance and love where he's been lacking it."

Dusk sat there in silence for a moment, trying to come up with his next words. "but what if I am one of the more hazardous... beings... in the group? You saw it back there, I am a naturally violent entity. I can have the best of intentions, but the reality of it is I will hurt those who get close to me, but..." Dusk stopped, rubbing his face with his hand again. "...I also can not continue the way I am going. It is a paradoxical situation that I can not seem to escape" He said, he hand covering his eyes.

"I'm not saying it's easy to do," the doctor commented, "it's very hard to change yourself if it's that encoded. But the key difference between you another any other 'monster' out there is you're thinking about it." He emphasized. "What other 'hazardous entity' would stop and ponder if their existence is meant for more than just death and destruction? If you were just a 'monster,' then why would we still be here with you instead of abandon you?

"I will give what you have said some thought, just need some time," Dusk said. His leg still continued to bounce up and down, but it was at a slower pace this time. His hand continued to cover his eyes, shielding his view of the fire.

"For now I would like to be alone and do the whole 'pondering' thing," Dusk continued. He didn't know what to do to start with, but he was going to find time to figure that out.

"Alright... Just, remember we're here for you." Was the last thing he said, before standing up and leaving for the door. He turned back once more to look at Dusk, seeing him still covering his eyes like a child would. That's what Dusk was. A child. He just needed teachers. Once outside, he rubbed the back of his head, sighing to himself as he tried to think up what next. There weren't many leads to go off, and with this world having a time anomaly problem, dragons returning, and whoever attacking this city while he was inside with the Jarl in Dragonsreach, the answers felt so far from him as to what and why.

But then... a ghost made of wood flew up to him; catching him off guard.

"Aha! Next interesting one! You have a Label! Is it time to queue? It's me next isn't it. I like queuing but I don't remember why."

"Oh, sorry don't let me interrupt. Big Chiefs get to go first! I'll just queue up here."

As she shouted out queue and began to transform, the Doctor just looked on in complete confusion as to what was happening in front of his eyes.

Brigid Mahoney

​

The WERE-CRAAAAAAAB! Was all alone...

Her question had been posed expecting one other souvenir-seeker, maybe more from their crew. Or one of the new arrivals. Or to be told by the guards this Dragon was a sacred animal not to be disrespected in even this kind of situation.

So it is with a modicum of surprise that Brigid witnesses the guards gather and request souvenirs.

"Oh, okay um just hold on." Brigid stammers and tries to decide where to start with all of the requests. She jumps down from the shoulder to start with the requests for teeth as those would be the smallest(relatively) and fastest to meet.

"Oh the things I get myself into." She says to herself and laughs as she proceeds to cut out dragon teeth. Over the hum of the laser torch and small clatter of teeth hitting the stone street it takes Brigid a few seconds to realize people had stopped talking.

"What? Something wrong?" She turns around and asks of the crowd, expecting there to be some government or religious official who had arrived to condemn Brigid for her actions and possibly bring her up on charges.

Nope. Instead she follows their sight to a large crab that has settled on a rock near her.

"I remember you." Brigid takes off the goggles and smiles. Yes in all the mayhem of the attack on the Jarl, it was hard to miss even then a large crab that was scuttling into the fray. She'd expected, after being lodged in Morgan's mouth, the poor animal had been crushed either by her jaws or the impact of being spat out with such force. Now it's hard to get a read on an animal with no face, but its body language tells her this crab is depressed.

"Sorry! No more cutting from me! Have a situation here I should check out." Brigid tells the crowd. She kneels down to be at eye-level with the crab. Unlike the Mirelurks she's used to dealing with, this crab was not hostile at all, and so she thinks it is more than an animal. Only way to find out was to investigate.

"Hey you. Why so down? You should consider yourself lucky! Looks like your shell held up to some serious jaws and hits." Brigid assures the crab, she thinks, as she looks around at its shell and sees indents where teeth had dug in and scrapes.

As she talked, the were-crab looked up to Brigid as she spoke, like it could actually understand her. Then it started talking.... kinda. Crabs communicate through Stridulation, the act of producing sound by rubbing certain body parts together, such as what insects do when they rub their legs. For the were-crab, it was clicking its inner teeth together, and harmonizing them through its mouth appendages to make noises. None of which Brigid could understand, as it was a crab.

Yet, strangely, it moved its claws around in very animated gestures, like it was trying to emphasize points to whatever it was trying to talk about. So, Brigid was witness to it throwing its claws around while making clicking noises. Like it was complaining about something. Whatever it was about, the were-crab seemed very fed up about it, before throwing its claws down on the ground in a very defeated way. It looked sad afterwords.

 

[Hero]

"Anybody else want a souvenir while I got this? Anyone? I could cut off the claws….teeth…?" She asks, not wanting to be the only one with a souvenir. ​

Her question had been posed expecting one other souvenir-seeker, maybe more from their crew. Or one of the new arrivals. Or to be told by the guards this Dragon was a sacred animal not to be disrespected in even this kind of situation.

So it is with a modicum of surprise that Brigid witnesses the guards gather and request souvenirs.

"Oh, okay um just hold on." Brigid stammers and tries to decide where to start with all of the requests. She jumps down from the shoulder to start with the requests for teeth as those would be the smallest(relatively) and fastest to meet.

"Oh the things I get myself into." She says to herself and laughs as she proceeds to cut out dragon teeth. Over the hum of the laser torch and small clatter of teeth hitting the stone street it takes Brigid a few seconds to realize people had stopped talking.

"What? Something wrong?" She turns around and asks of the crowd, expecting there to be some government or religious official who had arrived to condemn Brigid for her actions and possibly bring her up on charges.

Nope. Instead she follows their sight to a large crab that has settled on a rock near her.

"Oh! I'd love a dragon's fang! My good friend Chrom has a sword made from one and it'd be hilarious if I-" Robin stopped abruptly, seeing the giant crab beast approaching the woman. "Ah, you know what? I've actually got it myself, you just deal with that…"

With a cautious look at the creature and his comrade, the tactician took a few light steps over to the dragon's skeleton and singled out one of the few remaining teeth, a fairly large one around the size of his arm. Lucky find!

At first intending to use purely physical methods, he made to draw his Levin Sword. Being both sharp and charged with strong magic, it might have the cutting power to get through the hardened bone. His hand moved hesitantly towards the blade's handle, before reorienting towards the purple tome in his coat as an idea struck him.

"On second thought," he mused aloud, "Nosferatu might be a better option for delicate work like this."

Tome in hand, Robin focused the dark energy of the spell into the base of the tooth, siphoning energy from it's connection to the jaw and weakening the structural integrity. As it was drained, he could feel his own strength swell in response, far more than ever before. It wasn't as quick a process as it would have been had he used it on stone or flesh, proving the legendary toughness of a dragon's body. But after a good half a minute or so, he judged the fang loose enough to be pulled out manually.

After bracing himself, he grasped it tightly and harshly jerked his arm away to rip it the rest of the way free.

A loud crack sounded as the tooth came flying off and slipped from his hand, rocketing backwards and embedding itself in the rocky street just between the legs of a nearby guard still resting on the ground after the battle.

It was almost comical how their eyes met for a moment and then both slipped down to the offending object. What was comical was the guard stumbling back further and banging his helmet on the building behind him, muttering choked thanks to the divines about the near injury.

Robin nervously laughed and stowed his tome back in the cloak, "Ah, I must have used a bit more strength than I intended!" He called out, "Sorry, friend. I could get you one of your own to make up for it?"

But the guard only shook his head frantically before getting to his feet and jogging away.

Robin really must have underestimated the level of energy present in a dragon if he somehow gained such incredible strength from it's bones. It might be smart to try that again later if needed during a risky situation. It's only temporary, but that was a lot of power. He could still feel it flowing out of him like an overfilled bucket of water as he ruminated, the excess energy feeling both natural and so beyond his mortal grasp at the same time.

Clapping the sides of his head to clear the thoughts and ringing his ears in the process, he walked over and plucked the fang from the ground with steady grip. This time he wasn't going to let it soar away.

"There we go! One dragonbone blade, soon to be made~" He rhymed, looking it over in his hand. For once, this whole adventure he'd been dragged into didn't seem so unrewarding.

Now what to do next?

 

[littlekreen]

Stillness hit the wooden frame around that aquatic scene fixed as if a window through relative space. She was next! The Liminal Ghost looked at up above him to scan the label in Dovah. The name was odd but she figured that's what it was.

Ever excited she didn't share his confusion with the enthusiasm pouring out of her, "Hello! Is it my turn now? Oh good! So you are... Health Tyrant? That's really an odd name is it long for something? Oh, well Aelenneond's heart nearly stopped a few times so I ought to make the call first I suppose."

Layers of Dovah characters in spherical shells appear in mid-air as she starts narrating her discordant thought process, "Preparing memospore. Deployed. Waiting for perihelion response. Psijic channel open. Paracausal pairing stable. Hm. I suppose I ought to know what where this is but, oh well. Tendril extending to Guardborn... Dragian? Oh, hm. I have some wires crossed somewhere. Those don't fit at all."

A bright purple figure popped halfway into the ground but looping sideways in position called in distorted alarm though the face moved the Breton's mouth did not, "This again? Chalcedony? Is that you? Where are you doing this from? This view is making me quite nauseous."

The layers of Dovah rotated and pivot slightly as Aelennenod rises out of the ground and stops scrolling in place, "Ah, sorry. Horizontal hold is off? No that's a TV. cross-temporal phasing is all wiggly? I think that's more right. I have words to tweak in here somewhere... There you go."

Aelennenod squinted and looked over at the Doctor stuck in his odd seated position, "I believe Chalcedony wanted me to meet you? Health Tyrant was it? Apologies that I don't get up I don't mean to be rude as you seem like a good sort. I'm apparently the Dragonborn and we didn't quite get time to talk before I went missing from the town. I don't suppose I could impose upon you for some help."

 

[Jenhal]

Brigid Mahoney​

"Uh-huh….okay…..I get what you're trying to say." Brigid tells the crab and nods as it performs its pantomime of what is bothering it. Did not take a genius to figure out it was not happy to have been taken from wherever it lived (Brigid assumes some reality where it is the smallest monster in a world of even larger monsters) and thrown across a hall into the jaws of a giant dog. She could sympathize.

"I get you, um….crab? You got a name? I'll call you….Gomez until you can tell me if you have a name already. Anyway Gomez, I know how you feel." Brigid sits cross-legged on the ground next to the crab.

"There I was, on my way back to Sanctuary from down south, and I'm thrown into a whole world of craziness. I even fell into a hole, and broke damn near every bone in my body on the way down." She pats his shell and nods.

"But hey, it's not all bad. Why that giant dog? Name is Morgan and when not fighting, seems like a real sweet girl. I will bet if we go find her, she'll feed bad for spitting you out like that." Brigid pats him again, laughs.

"I don't know how much of that you understood. But come on, follow me and we could find a place for you. If we got space for a tree person and a literal giant, we got room for you. Probably on that island we….somehow...have on the ship." She stands and starts to walk back to the TARDIS, beckoning the crab to follow.

 

[Wade Von Doom]

The WERE-CRAAAAAAAAB gurgled as she petted it, enjoying the vibration of her hand crossing over his shell. She did have a lot of weird people around her. And he was angry at that dog lady for trying to chew on him. And he was hungry! She didn't mention anything about food, but he certainly felt hungry after such an eventful day!

So when she stood up and beckoned it to follow her and join her weird group of friends. Well, he'd been having a bad day, and she was acting really nice to him. She also probably had food. So, pointing its claw at itself, like it was mimicking saying, 'really? Me?' It stood up once more and excitedly followed her.

THE WERE-CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAB!

Was happy again.

Stillness hit the wooden frame around that aquatic scene fixed as if a window through relative space. She was next! The Liminal Ghost looked at up above him to scan the label in Dovah. The name was odd but she figured that's what it was.

Ever excited she didn't share his confusion with the enthusiasm pouring out of her, "Hello! Is it my turn now? Oh good! So you are... Health Tyrant? That's really an odd name is it long for something? Oh, well Aelenneond's heart nearly stopped a few times so I ought to make the call first I suppose."

Layers of Dovah characters in spherical shells appear in mid-air as she starts narrating her discordant thought process, "Preparing memospore. Deployed. Waiting for perihelion response. Psijic channel open. Paracausal pairing stable. Hm. I suppose I ought to know what where this is but, oh well. Tendril extending to Guardborn... Dragian? Oh, hm. I have some wires crossed somewhere. Those don't fit at all."

A bright purple figure popped halfway into the ground but looping sideways in position called in distorted alarm though the face moved the Breton's mouth did not, "This again? Chalcedony? Is that you? Where are you doing this from? This view is making me quite nauseous."

The layers of Dovah rotated and pivot slightly as Aelennenod rises out of the ground and stops scrolling in place, "Ah, sorry. Horizontal hold is off? No that's a TV. cross-temporal phasing is all wiggly? I think that's more right. I have words to tweak in here somewhere... There you go."

Aelennenod squinted and looked over at the Doctor stuck in his odd seated position, "I believe Chalcedony wanted me to meet you? Health Tyrant was it? Apologies that I don't get up I don't mean to be rude as you seem like a good sort. I'm apparently the Dragonborn and we didn't quite get time to talk before I went missing from the town. I don't suppose I could impose upon you for some help."

The Doctor, however, was not. He was confused.

And it would only get more complicated from here, the journey to finding Ael and the villains who attacked them would lead them out of this world, and into a new one.

TO BE CONTINUED, IN....

Essence of Shade​