OPEN MAIN STORY The Evrensel Conflict: Act I, Chapter 1 -- Quando a Roma

[Wade Von Doom]

With the whole station still a complete maze to understand, entire sections were still left unexplored. Or even locked off, as the ever shifting, complex system of shapeshifting walls were always changing. The upper sections, where the team had made themselves at home, could be controlled from the command deck, but any further below that was completely out of their understanding of the station's systems. But, one man was willing to take charge of exploring the lower sections, and sent a ping to all available comms:

'For those interested: Need people for scouting job. Found unique device. Believe it's a transporter. Plan to use it. Can pay well if money is still of interest to you. '

The Evrensel Conflict Presents....​

Quando a Roma

STARRING:

THEA -- @Amber Franklin
Ruby Rose -- @Camleen
Moon Knight -- @Wade Von Doom
Kota Mizuhara & Allister Grimoire -- @Foxes81_of_Anime
Kurosaki Ichigo -- @Girania the Knightess
Xeir -- @Awinita
L'Arathras -- @Valkan
Sevestre Albright -- @Otomos​

The lower levels had returned to normal after Anri 'ate' the black crystal that caused the whole station to change abnormally. But, not all had returned to normal quite yet, as the damage was still being taken care of by the station's self-repair management VI. The lowest you could go was a 'fifth' floor, yet to be named. Those who ventured down to where the ping came from would find a series of long corridors and hallways. There was only one pathway available to travel, but you could see doors blocking visible paths, with no means of opening them... yet.

Something to research another time. The available path lead to a large room made of brick. You could see it didn't belong in this station, standing out from the sanitized metal the structure of the station was made of. The stone was old, hundreds of years, you could feel it in the texture and see it in the color from the sun bleaching out whatever it was before. It was wide too, empty all around, but for a large, black, rectangular object that floated in the center.

It was like the previous owners had taken apart this whole place, piece by piece from whatever world it originated from, and rebuilt it within the station. But why?

 

[Amber Franklin]

T-851-Character Sheet

Thea steps into the mysterious room first. The shifting and mysterious nature of the station has not thus far impeded her progress. She did not pause once or turn her head to give a passing acknowledgement of corridors that were as yet inaccessible. All that matters to her is what is accessible. She had found a fabricator, and made herself a simple ensemble of a red Coca-Cola shirt, blue jeans, white shoes and a red cap with 'THEA' printed on the front.

Her unblinking eyes scan the room as she walks around it to the black monolith at the center. This, she keeps a safe arms distance from.

"No visible means of manipulation." states Thea before she purses her lips as if to whistle, but instead of a usual whistle produces a sound more akin to the sonic screwdriver of The Doctor as she attempts a scan.

"No response to sonic wave manipulation." She says and takes two steps back from the monolith. Then she looks for the one who had put out the comm call.

"I do not recognize your vocal signature. Identify yourself." requests Thea of the otherwise empty room.

 

[Wade Von Doom]

"I recognize yours," the mysterious voice called to her from the corner of the room where the light of the entrance shined brightest. Standing still amongst the bright stone was the white-cloaked figure who had helped the team in the lower levels stop the station's destruction. The one regarded as 'Moon Knight.'

His attire camoflagued him perfectly with the wall, making him invisible even to her scanner. "But I don't recognize you," he continued to say, walking towards Thea with his cape wrapped around his body. "Thea," he read aloud as he looked at the print on her hat. Now he recognizes her.

"You were with the others that invaded this station. The 'first' to encounter the AI. Or at least the ones who haven't been killed by her yet." If he was going to run this team, he knew it was better to be 'nicer' than before. Not be so distant and cautious, and offer some form of friendliness to his compatriots. At least to shut up 'Steven.'

"... Moon Knight." He offered up a hand to shake hers.

 

[Noble Scion]

Erin, the tarnished

Erin strode into the room soon after Thea, having kept an antisocial distance after seeing her ahead, dressed in her usual attire of.. very little. Armored leggings, gloves, and greaves, featuring a waistband toting three separate sheathes, each displaying a menacing sword.

She was still shirtless, but now featuring an irritating bandage strip wrapped around her chest after suffering through many complaints of the strange ship's occupants about her indecency, though it kept her lean-muscular physique on proud display.

One hand rested on the guard of her uppermost sword, the other hanging loose as she'd look over the room, it feeling oddly familiar in its architecture compared to the rest of the ship, before her sharp eyes would rest on the strange white knight after he'd make his appearance, accepting his name with a cordial, albeit stern nod.

"Erin." She'd return, her posture relaxing a little. People that talked tended to be less-likely to try and kill her, she'd found. Not that she expected enemies on the ship, but one could never be too careful.

 

[Camleen]

Before….
The young girl would be seen hanging in the air, looking down the sight of the long red rifle that is her custom made weapon. A weapon crafted many years ago by her own seeming frail hands. The way the immense 4-armed monstrosity had been moving, the girl named Ruby Rose knew she would have to move quickly. She is experienced enough in battle to try and think ahead a few moves. She is seen by most as young and helpless. And then they are surprised when they see the warrior that she is runs wild.
So all that said… what happened here?
Her curved finger had just released the pressure of holding the trigger down when Ruby realized that her shot had not had the effect she would have liked. Her fired shot is deflected away and eyes widen with realization as to what is happening next. In what seems to her to be super super slow-motion Ruby draws her sniper rifle down intending to switch its forms to fight back. Good plan… it just doesn't come to fruition. Because it's at that exact moment she realizes the monster thing has thrown a giant sword right at her. That blade looks like it's 6 feet long and 4 feet wide! A small moment before impact she closes her eyes tightly and her hands grasp her weapon even tighter. The sword hits her square in the chest, accompanied by a loud cry of pain from the girl. And to the surprise of any bearing witness, she is not impaled by the 'giant' sword. With a brilliant pulse of red swirling energy the tip of the sword attempts to get to her being. The impact is enough to knock her back in the mid of air and her weapon flies from her hands. Her now falling form is surrounded by swirling red energy, and the sword is deflected away. With a sickly thud she lands on the deck and that red energy blinks in and out of existence exactly 4 times and then is gone. She lays there still, unmoving on her stomach. With a loud clanking sound her weapon lands about 10 feet away from her. And the sword? Well she can't exactly say what happened to it.
A trembling elbow draws up and she tries to push herself up. But with no success in this. Her head lifts slowly, tears rimming her eyes. "no…" she whimpers out, witness to the battle continuing. Her Aura is drained, she wasn't firing on all cylinders from the start… but that sword strike drained whatever she had left. She needs to help, but she is just incapable of such a thing. And as the fight seems to get more intense… Ruby slumps down once more with a soft exhale. Just a moment.. she'll rest for just a minute. Or two. She truly does want to get back in there, to try and help. But as it is, she is hardly able to stand. And so she does the only thing she can…
She runs.
Slow she is to get to her feet, her knees trembling a little. All things in consideration, she certainly isn't nearly as bad off as she could be. Her Aura saved her from being impaled by that gigantic giant's sword, but it did sap her Aura. Her strength. But laying here for these moments, she feels herself already building more strength. Her Aura getting stronger, little by little. She won't have enough in time to go back into the fight, but enough for the alternative. The 'flee' part of 'fight or flee'. Shakily she starts towards her weapon, it lying in sniper rifle mode upon the deck. Another deep breath is taken in, silver eyed gaze moving once more to the commencing battle. And with that.. another tinge of regret. She silently mouths the word "Sorry" and leans down. With a soft grunt she picks up her weapon and it immediately folds on into itself, making it easier to carry. And then… she moves away from the battle.
As established, the space station is… immense. Immense may not be the appropriate word. It's more than immense. And so easy to get one lost within it's darkened corridors. Although… 'lost' indicates you have a specific destination to reach. As it is, Ruby is just wandering. Exploring the station as the world around her carries on. She does her best to stay hidden from any she senses might be near her. Much of this time is spent just trying to figure out where she is. It feels like a kind of giant multilevel building. Little does she know how wrong she is..
And that's when 'the call' went out. She wouldn't be able to say for sure just how long it had been since the battle, her arrival, and the now.

Now...
By now Ruby had come to be rather acquainted with the layout of this area. As, frankly, as confusing as it may seem. She seemed to be able to traverse the corridors with a natural sense, she is able to keep her bearings. So word had gotten out, now, of the interesting proposal. A transporter.. it has to be an airship, right? An airship that could maybe get her back to Patch. Down, down she ventured. Seeking this object of salvation… she hopes of salvation. And she gets to that corridor just as Erin is entering the mysterious room. She skulks slowly and carefully along the corridor, ignoring the many enticing doors she passes. Maybe she'll check them out later. But for now, that general call would lead people here. And the people here are most likely where the transport is. Her red hood is drawn up, her cape swaying gently behind her. Abruptly she stops as the 3 within the room introduce themselves, and she crouches down to make it perhaps harder to see her. She has not entered the room, instead a few feet outside of the doorway peering in as best she can. She doesn't know who these people are… and if they want to fight like the others she had encountered…

 

[Amber Franklin]

T-851-Character Sheet

"Moon Knight." Thea repeats his name as she updates her database and replayed for herself video recording of the station invasion to catch all observations of this cloaked man.

"You are an effective fighter. Your abilities, as I have seen them, offer us combat coverage at close and medium range." She offers him her assessment, a nod, and a small smile.

When Erin enters, Thea does the same for her as Moon Knight. It was a means to begin forming unity in the team that was gathering. The organization currently lacked cohesion in a larger sense, beyond the personal bonds she has seen.

"Hello, Erin. Another expert in close combat. I see you have opted to retain your freedom of movement and reduce the negligible distraction of fighting with an exposed chest. A good choice. " says Thea to Erin, giving her the same nod and smile.

Her sensors picked up the sound of someone coming down the hall, but stopping short of entering. Someone was nervous.

"You, in the hall." Thea raises her voice but keeps it neutral to convey she only wants to be heard.

"Come in. None of us are violent by nature, thus far. Only conditionally."

 

[Wade Von Doom]

~~GM~~

Marc looked at Erin spoke up with her own name. And one he recognized quicker than Thea. "Good to meet you, Erin... I see the 'rumors' about you were true. A swordswoman who's only protection is that which she bears unclothed and unbothered. And that was the nicest one I've heard so far." The others were not very savory. "Seems the former isn't true." In that, she at least covered her chest at the moment.

And then, of course, there was Ruby, peeping in on their introductions like a shy child whose parents invited guests over for dinner they had never met before. Another he was familiar with, the red skirted girl who fought the four-armed automaton down in the dark basin of this station. "Ruby, was it? You're... younger than Weiss described.... And taller." He only overheard Weiss speaking about her, he didn't exactly strike up a conversation with a very 'stiff upper-lipped' woman like her.

"If you're planning to join us, and this is everyone who's willing to come down here, then it'll do." With that, Moon Knight turned back around to face the monolith. He stared up at it, the black rectangle floating gently in the air without any inch or millimeter of movement. Just a subtle vibration if you felt like touching its vantablack structure. It wasn't made of stone, or metal, or any material you could scan from it. It didn't even seem to exist, as if Thea used her scanner on it, the results would be a jumbled mess of numbers and letters, like broken code that would almost crash even her subsystems if she wasn't careful.

Yet, Moon Knight stared directly into the monolith, even walking up to it until he was only a few feet away from it. His white presence indeed felt like the illumination of the moon on a dark night sky. ".... I didn't get taken by the AI like you all were. I had no flash of light travel me across plains of realities to some foreign world, or a station like this. But like the rest of you, she's trying to dig her claws into my home for god knows what reason. Already heroes from my world are starting to vanish without a trace, and while those who remain are trying to uncover what happened, I could sense something was watching us with vested interest. A shadow hiding within the shadow of the moon, like it has always been there. But I noticed it."

He turned to finally face everyone, "Or really, the man I work for noticed

it. And with time bring of the essence, we were both quick to act on following the lead. Which lead me to this," he pushed aside his cape to reveal his right hand, and the object he had been holding this whole time. Thea would recognize it.

A broken sonic screwdriver. The same one the '10th' version of the Doctor used. "This fell from orbit inside a capsule disguised as a meteorite, and landed a few clicks away from the shores of a place called New York City. To anyone else, the meteor was just a freak comet that landed on Earth. But, it emitted a very faint, and very hard to find frequency, that only someone very smart would be able to detect. I just so happened to see it land first before that smartass could find it." He seemed a bit direct in the 'smartass' remark, like he knew who the Doctor wanted to find this.

"I grabbed it, unlocked it, and found this inside, along with a very small, one way teleporter with instructions on how to use it. Along with a request." He clicked the button that would turn on the screwdriver, only for a small, holographic message to pop up.

'Find my teammates. Then find the Apple. It will lead you to the black licorice, if we haven't found it already. If we have, come find us. Unless M is reading this. In which case, disregard the message. Which I know you won't do, so I'll ask: Does a set of all sets contain itself?'

"I'll assume the question is to force the AI into an infinite loop to "freeze" the computer's consciousness." Moon Knight concluded with the question at the end. "If your 'Doctor' found something to stop the AI, then I'll help you find him. We just need to reach him with this," he pointed to the monolith. "Somehow it's a teleporter... I don't know how it works yet."

 

[Amber Franklin]

T-851-Character Sheet

The eyes of Thea target Moon Knight when he starts talking, and do not leave him or blink. Her face is passive but attentive. When the broken sonic screwdriver is revealed she still does not blink, though she does shift her attention to it. A visual scan determines the device is the one used by one incarnation of The Doctor.

"The question would be ineffective as a deterrent to an advanced AI. It is redundant: a set of all sets is a set." Thea walks towards Moon Knight, holding out her hand with palm up.

"The Doctor repaired me after a mission, and also upgraded me with components used for their sonic screwdriver. Allow me to interface with that one, there is a chance I can extract any data that remains to determine the nature of this monolith and how to activate it. " She tells him, eyes trained on him.

 

[Camleen]

Gah! Busted!
The young girl's eyes widen when she is called out. But perhaps the woman is speaking to someone else? Ruby peers the area immediately around her, seeing no one. Nope, she was caught. A soft sigh would presently escape her thin lips as up to her feet she pushes herself, and then faintly frowning were those lips. The… woman… says they aren't violent, but to Ruby that doesn't mean they aren't dangerous.Gloved hands reach down to her hips and brush backwards, allowing the short cape of the cloak she wears to be more free of her body. Her weapon is affixed to the harness at her back. She wants to keep it within easy reach.

Her gentle gait towards the previously (and poorly) spied upon room would be accompanied by boots upon the deck. She does her best to give off the impression that she is fully in charge, she isn't freaked out at all by what has happened to her, to make it seem like she hasn't been crying for more than 1 hour in total. She tries.

Now there isn't much to make Ruby Rose feel awkward or embarrassed. She is a very easy going, playful young lady. But there are rare times when it is precisely that happening. More specifically right at the present. She would do her best to keep her eyes averted from 'yon Erin (that's the name she heard for her). Even when she looks in Erin's general direction there is a blush that forms upon her cheeks, and if allowed to continue in this manner would surely become as red as her cloak.

So Ruby would indeed keep eyes averted, her brows furrowed to attempt to show seriousness. To not show a fright that boils in her soul. And when Moon Knight says that name… she is unable to hide her prowess of subtly any longer. Weiss. Weiss?! Midstep, and Ruby's form is seeming abruptly wrapped in a streaming shade of red. Her form is gone, and replaced by that stretch of red seeming fabric and dozens of rose petals. The mass moves towards Moon Knight, covering the short distance in almost the blink of the eye. Yes, she might act like a child sometimes but she is fast.
The former observation, a remnant of one of her earliest encounters with her bestie.

When she reappears Moon Knight had just been asked to hand off the Sonic Screwdriver, but Ruby seems to not even notice this. Or anything else around her at the moment.

The flow of flower petals would seem to emerge out of thin air and directly before Moon Knight. Her big silver eyes would seem almost to shimmer as she stares up at him unflinching, fisted hands pumping up and down lightly as she speaks in a tone of anxiousness and of… relief. "Weiss?! Weiss?!" Her gaze whips side to side, dark shortened hair flicking with the motion. She looks for a sign of Weiss' presence there in the vicinity, but nothing there is obvious. "You've seen her?! Talked to her?!" Her voice seems a pitch higher than her usual soprano (or there abouts) as it does when she is excited. Or scared.

"Where is she!? Is she here! Is she with you?! Is she okay!" Her slim form leans slightly towards Moon Knight, as if her body language urges answers from him. Those silver eyes glisten with tears not fallen, rimming the edges.

 

[Wade Von Doom]

~~GM~~

"She's fine," Moon Knight interrupted between Ruby's frantic questions. "Last I saw, she was helping with the station captives. If you want to find her, I won't stop you," He explained to the young girl, "but we could use your help here with finding our Doctors. They know more about what's happening and maybe a way to reverse all this and send us back home. Stop any more kidnappings like what happened to you and Weiss." And, he hated to admit it, the more people that joined him for this little mission, the better. You don't walk from one universe to another by yourself and expect anything but good results.

"If you think you can get something from this," he handed Thea the broken screwdriver, "then by all means." He then pulled out the small teleporter he mentioned before. It was small, about the size of a cheeze-it cracker, with a five millimeter width. On the top was a small button that could be pressed down, but nothing would happen, instead a pleasant and very delicate clicking noise would be made.

Moon Knight would then offer out one of his truncheons to Thea. "If you need to break it open," he told her. Considering he had no idea what exactly powered this device, maybe cracking it open to see its insides would help.

All while this happened, Erin would feel something coming from the monolith itself. Like a pair of invisible eyes were watching her from inside it. Just her. The others wouldn't feel a thing.

 

[Noble Scion]

Erin, the tarnished

Erin would let out an ambivalent grunt in response to Moon Knight, and an acknowledging nod towards Thea at the compliment about her combat abilities.

She wasn't surprised by the footsteps outdoors, or even worried. One hand on her waist and the other one her pommel was all she needed to be prepared, though despite this, she still felt strangely uneasy, a feeling she'd felt a number of times before, and usually she was right.

Only half-paying attention to the white-clad man's 'attacker', their strange technique, and their 'leader's' subsequent explanation about the relic, Erin's eyes would remain locked with the monolith, staring back with a suspicious frown at the ominous sensation.

Spurred on by the fact that the eyes on her hadn't gone away even after she'd glared at it, Erin would take a step, another, then would seem to fizzle out of existence meters away before appearing at the monolith, already in a crouched stance as she'd swipe her sword from the sheath in an arc, aiming to cleave the thing in two with both her momentum and her raw strength.

 

[Wade Von Doom]

Clink

The sword bounced off the monolith like it was a stone wall. Moon Knight, busy talking with Thea and Ruby to plan out how to make it work, wasn't paying attention to the ever silent Erin, but once the clink noise echoed around the room, he was quick to hold her back from attacking it again. He grabbed at her sword arm by the wrist, holding it in place with a firm grip that was tight enough to try and make her drop her weapon.

"The hell are you doing?" He asked with an irritated, loud tone.

 

[Amber Franklin]

T-851-Character Sheet

"Thank you." Thea says to Moon Knight when he gives her both objects she requested. The broken sonic screwdriver she holds in the open palm of her right hand, the spent teleporter in her left. At the same time Erin prepares to attack the mysterious monolith Thea purses her lips and again makes a trilling whistle sound as she interfaces with the two items. Operating the components that enables her to do this requires the majority of her computing power, rendering Thea oblivious to her surroundings as the process runs. The others could attempt to speak or interact with her, but short of actually touching her she would not respond until her task was done.

The sonic frequency touches both items. The build of the teleporter is analyzed in its entirety. The sonic screwdriver has any remaining circuits powered and and its data, if there was any remaining, transmitted back to Thea.

 

[Camleen]

A small releif. A small respite from the utter fear and worry from this small girl. The small girl does seem to be in a small measure satisfied with Moon Knight's declaration of Weiss being safe… at least the last time he beheld her. But that wouldn't be enough to fully dissuade Ruby from the anxiety that embraces her spirit concerning her bestie. And that anxiety would be evident given the manner in which her face is wrinkled by worry lines, and her eyes are cast away from Moon Knight.

He continues to address Ruby, explaining the possible reasoning they all as a group have gathered in this dark part of the Pathfinder. Yes, perhaps Ruby does indeed need to venture out once more alone. To make her way through this seeming unending gauntlet of a… whatever this place is. Some kind of airship? A building? Another region?

And back up towards Moon Knight featureless feature her silver eyes would return. The anxiety of her being is pushed back, forced back by Ruby's sense of duty. By her want to be of use. So they are looking for the Doctors… and Ruby's gaze is cast down, scanning discretely along Moon Knight's being. So they're looking for Doctors? Is that a way to help Moon Knight? Does he have some kind of awful scarring? Is that why his whole body is covered with material? Ruby truly isn't aware of the atheistic many beings have used… a full body suit for one reason or another. Seems… odd. Claustrophobia? She wouldn't go that far. Just seems… odd. And also… well she's trying not to think about the literal half naked muscle woman with the classic style sword. An idea pops into her head, and she think it rather brilliant. Maybe Moon Knight needs to she a little fabric and give it to Erin to wear! Brilliant indeed! And to this point, she starts to draw in a breath to exclaim exactly that to Moon Knight, but that line of reason is interrupted by the sound of the metal on metal sound, and Moon Knight's sudden motion. With a gasp Ruby spins and reaches under her cloak. From it she pulls the folded form of Crescent Rose, and it partially unfolds. It bears a strong resembles to a rifle. Because it's a rifle. The front end/barrel of the rifle seems a bit hefty. And despite this Ruby is able to handle it with ease. One hand is wrapped about the handle of the rifle, the other hand cupping the barrel while she raises it up. Silver eyes are wide, and head tilted in order to allow those eyes (well half of the 2 silver eyes) to look through the powered scope for only a moment. This is habit. Moon Knight seems to have the situation in hand, and is handling Erin's apparent loss of cool.

For the moment that seeming under control (she does hope), Ruby lowers her rifle and gazes in Thea's direction. Now she doesn't know why Erin did as she did, there's probably more going on than she realizes… which is the norm. The stock of her rifle now tucked under her arm, barrel angled down to the floor in front of her. One hand now rests upon the top of the red rifle, her other hand holding onto the handle with her trigger finger extended to prevent accidental discharge.

Thea was whistling… which is pretty neat. Was she singing whistling to the thing she held? Or to the other thing? So many things…
Her gaze moves to and fro between all 3 beings around her, and she moves in the direction of Thea. Erin and Moon Knight seem occupied with one another… and breasts. Guh. So Ruby has to ensure the third person surrounding her is alright. Ruby stops just to Thea's side a foot or so away, a small smile on her lips. Her head tilts faintly, her dark hair partially hanging along her forehead. "Hii, haven't talked to ya yet. I'm Ruby Rose." She says motioning to herself with a widening smile. "Do you need a hand with anything? Those two seem to be havin a pow-wow." Her tone is higher in tone to most woman, even ones as young as Ruby. "Sooooo just thought I'd ask ya. I mean I think I'm a-helpin you guys'n all."

 

[Noble Scion]

Erin, the tarnished

Reverberating from the impact of her sword bouncing off the monolith, Erin would go to swing again only to have her hand gripped by the host of the event. Her scowl would turn to Moon knight as her eyes would sharpen on him instead as she would feel his grip tighten.

A weaker tarnished might have dropped their weapon, but the white-clad man would simply feel Erin tense her arm at the pressure.

"It's looking at me wrong." Erin would answer simply, her eyes locked with him and her tone dead serious, the feeling of the thing continuing to make her bristle at it as her eyes would move back to the object.

Slipping her free hand down to her second sword, she'd use a backhand grip to swing it at the thing, similar to before, apparently undeterred by the man's displeasure at her action. She didn't view him as an enemy quite yet. Though she was thankful the other two weren't making any attempt to get in her way quite like he was as he'd steadily move towards being her next target.

 

[Wade Von Doom]

~~GM~~

Clink.

Yet again her sword would bounce off the monolith, and Moon Knight was too late to stop her from how quickly she acted. But, he was quick to respond back in kind by pulling out his second Truncheon with his free hand, and smashing it against her stomach with enough force to try and wind the woman while he still held her arm.

As the two seemed prepped for a fight, the teleporter device Moon Knight had given her began to glow. Her communication to the broken sonic was fruitful, as there seemed to be something clinging to life inside its small mainframe. A frequency. Similar to Thea's sonic frequency, but altered with a gentle, lower pitch to it. It was scratched and broken in parts, but seemed intact enough for whatever purpose it was made for.

The teleporter, however, reacted differently. It began violently shaking in Thea's palm, as something inside it tried to break out. If Thea didn't let go, it would explode in her hand and scorch away her living tissue.

The device had shattered into a dozen pieces, but lying in its center was the power source. A very, very black crystal.

To look at it would hurt their eyes, like looking into the center of the sun in the sky. Except, in this case, this small, miniscule object was so dark, it was hard to tell its form. It felt like a crystal, but its shape was abstract to look upon, with it being the size of a pinky fingernail.

Yet it also held incredible power. Each of them would feel it. Thea could scan it and her computer mind would be unable to comprehend any exact figure for its power levels, the only conclusion being 'unknown.'

Ruby's Semblence would feel off as well. Like a strange build up of energy in her body that caused a rush of adrenaline, and a few rose petals to fall from her body uncontrollably.

Erin would feel her strength and dexterity grow stronger just in its presence. To touch it would make the effect grow stronger again.

Even Moon Knight would feel uncanny by it. He was getting a headache from it. Some voices in his head, ones he had managed to keep under control this whole time, suddenly felt a lot stronger and harder to keep quiet.

"Ah!" He quietly groaned to himself, dropping his Truncheon as he placed a hand over his forehead. This thing was bizarre, yet Thea of them all would get the feeling it was familiar. Like she had actually seen it before.

But, there was nothing in her data banks about it. Except for the missing memories she and others were suffering from before they arrived at this station.

The monolith, having been silent, turned its invisible gaze from Erin to the crystal. A small hole formed on it lower half, spinning like a vortex of water. It was large enough for one of them to put their hand in...

 

[Noble Scion]

Erin, the tarnished

The piece of metal slamming into her stomach would get a gasp from Erin as she'd double over, the sword slipping from her hand, yet the pain would soon seem to dim as the device would shatter.

Feeling a surge of strength, and noticing her now opponent clutching at his head, Erin would push past the pain in her stomach and surge at the man with murder in her eyes, fury surging through her as she'd slam her fist into the side of the man's masked face, her eyes showing murder as she'd seethe, though her attention would drift back to the monolith as she'd feel its bad intentions move away from her to something else.

Crouching down to pick up her sword again, Erin would once again swing at the object, this time aiming for the 'vulnerable' hole it now had.

 

[Wade Von Doom]

SMASH!

As if she suddenly had a Maiden infuse her strength with fifty thousand runes, the punch Erin threw had been amplified by double the damage. And with the Moon Knight's guard down, she landed the bastard with a stiff shot right across the jaw, sending him flying half across the room. The crystal had turned Erin into a Tarnished capable of fighting Radegon himself, pushing her body into overdrive of incredible strength, magic and destructive prowess.

And yet...

Upon her grabbing her sword to stab at the monolith once more, the moment she swung it into the hole, its strange black form engulfed her hand and sword like its solid body turned into ferrofluid and her body was a magnet. Then, it pulled her whole body into its own with incredible force, stopping at her hips to let her feet dangle off the ground. She could breathe inside the thing, but her whole upper body was now frozen solid inside a black void without no one outside the monolith being able to hear her anymore.

A few seconds after she got stuck, yet another hole opened on the monolith like before, right besides Erin. I doubt it wanted another sword.

 

[Camleen]

Everything happened around her just so very fast. Her mind was very temporarily distracted with interaction with the girl in front of the black pillar thing. But that temporary distraction was just that… temporary.

Before she knew.. the bare bodied strongwoman was attacking the pillar, and bandaged man was trying to stop her. With wide eyes does she look between the two of them as, to Ruby, they seem to be about to attack one another. And another moment she would have spoken up to them, if only to get some kind of quick explanation. The device Thea was holding explodes, causing Ruby to stumble a step, her cloak swaying forward. Ruby pivots on her heels, her rifle raising a few degrees. She squints when her eyes make brief contact with the small crystal, and immediately she looks away and one of her hands comes up to cover her eyes. "Wha… s'at.." she mutters, one of her eyes barely opening to look in the direction of the crystal. But she finds herself unable to look directly at it.

A feel awashes over her body, she feels her heart suddenly pounding in her chest. Holding now her rifle with both hands, it is held downwards and she looks down at herself. She feels exhilarate, her Semblence is reacting! A red grid of energy flashes and shimmers along her form. What appear to be rose petals fall from her body randomly.

Still squinting she looks in the direction of the newly emerged black crystal. It.. it must be the reason she suddenly feels this surge of power. She looks towards the pillar once more, and then back in the direction of the crystal though not directly at it. The pillar changes, she can tell. That crystal holds a lot of energy, of power.

Ruby has seen enough cartoons… heard enough sleepytime stories… to know that when there is a mysterious power source, a really strong one, then someone wants it. And usually a bad person.

Her rifle folds in one itself and it is slipped onto her back under her cloak. She leaps up, her body dissapearing into a rapidly spinning grouping of blood red rose petals. The swirl of flower petals draws upwards, and then swoops down. It flashes right over the small black crystal and continues onwards. And the black crystal is gone. The swirl of roses stops at a far wall, and they scatter as Ruby remains. She lands in a crouch, her wide eyes staring back in the direction of the pillar and the others. And cupped in her hands… a rolled up piece of cloth (a slip of material she sometimes uses to tie into her hair). And held inside of the rolled up piece of cloth is the black crystal.

 

[Noble Scion]

Erin, the tarnished

Slipping into the obelisk, Erin would let out a surprised yelp as the thing would pull her into it, unable to move as she'd frown angrily at the abyss she now found herself in. Though it wouldn't stop her from trying to kick the thing, her shapely rear wriggling angrily as she'd stomp and push and scrape against the stone of the thing before giving up.

With a begrudging sigh, she'd turn to her last resort, concentrating on one of the few memories that stood everlasting in her decayed mind, Erin would focus on the pull of the Grace, and after a moment, Erin herself would simply disappear, fizzling out of existence and leaving behind nothing but an ephemeral glow on the ground as a marker of where the knight had been.

Though not for long, as soon enough running would be heard, and as she'd appear through the door once more, alongside her swords, she'd be holding a new 'weapon', if it could even be called that. Erin using both arms to wield the monster compared to her more dexterous sword approach

Holding a hammer bigger than she was, her face would be a mask of rage as she'd hold the thing in front of her for a moment in concentration, a magical white sheen appearing over the muddy boulder on a stick, before she'd charge at the thing, the glow from before absorbing into her as she'd swing at the pillar, determined to shatter it with the colossal hammer.

She didn't even care about the crystal or its power, running straight by Ruby as she'd focus on her new-found vendetta against the Monolith and its evil spirit.