neverseenhimbefore

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Allies?

Galran Emperor Lotor's sitting in a library. No, he still hasn't read everything Nexus has to offer, many very interesting and potentially beneficial to him, materials. His jaw set, he's looking at his PINPoint communicator intensely. A young man, whom some may recognise as Hiroki Shirogane, comes up to Lotor and makes to sit near him. Lotor gives Hiroki a scathing look.

"I've told you already," Lotor says. His hand goes to the hilt of his sword.

Heeding this lack of invitation, Shirogane doesn't sit down. Instead, he comes very close to Lotor, anyway, and whispers in his ear,

"You really don't want to? Think of it. All the secrets. All the knowledge. In your reach, right here. Or, are you, perhaps, afraid?"

Lotor smirks, and says, "You should be quiet now. What makes you think I need your help, in any way? And I won't be as merciful with you as I was with a friend of mine. Seeing as you are no friend of mine. Only a false ally, it's turned out."

"You mean Narti."

Lotor's eyes widen, and he asks, after almost gasping a little, "How do you know that name?"

"Lotor, please. I know everything. That's what I've been telling you all this morning."

"Fine. But you seem different."

"In what way?"

"Are you yourself?" Lotor asks.

"And would I be here, making this alliance, were I not?" the clone counters.

"Fair point. You may be right."

"I'm always right. So. You want it, don't you, Lotor?"

"Yes. Tell me everything. And we'll defeat the witch and get her Quintessence, together."

"Yeah! That's more like it. That's the Emperor Lotor I know," Hiroki says, smiling pleasantly.

Lotor smirks, and utters, "Indeed. And since you're my subject now, I'll show you mercy and, well, amnesty for your previous crimes as the witch's former puppet."

"Thank you," Shiro's clone replies, putting his hand on Lotor's shoulder, "I appreciate it."

"Who else is with us?" Lotor asks.

"Naturally," the clone answers, "Princess Allura and Antheans."

"Who are Antheans? I've never heard of them," Lotor says, puzzled. "And Allura's back in Nexus?" he asks, hopeful.

"Your new allies, Your Majesty. And indeed she is. She can't wait to see you again."

"Hm. I like the sound of it. However, those Antheans of yours, what are they good for?"

Lotor and the clone are in the library, still, and minding their manners, trying not to talk too loudly. However, as it is a library, feel free to scold them if they're disturbing you.

Or feel free to join the conversation if you get what they're talking about, or even if not.

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Ziggy is instantly on high alert and the suspicion starts bleeding off of his presence. Hiroki sounds wrong, the block... and the word choice. It's very wrong. In his paranoia he reaches out, not to his mother, but to Tommy. If he needs help in a hurry, Tommy is better at astral projection.

Then the word wife comes out and Ziggy freezes. That is not at all right.

His eyes turn to Lotor, proud and arrogant. "It is my species you two are talking about. I am not going anywhere."

Ziggy's mind has turned on the block on Hiroki's mind. He doesn't like it. His powers coming online so swiftly that even Lotor will see the faint glow on his forehead and in his eyes.

"What is wrong?" the message comes directly in Hiroki's mind.

The mental shield thickens. There's something dark and ancient about it. If Ziggy wants to talk to Hiroki, inside, behind the shield, he'll have to break through.

Meanwhile, outside, Hiroki frowns and takes Ziggy's hand in his.

"Of course you're not going anywhere. You'll help us, won't you? We're all going to defeat Haggar together, Princess. And I, I need you."

He kisses Ziggy's forehead.

"Ah, so you're an Anthean, Ziggy," Lotor says.

Things were beginning to make sense, now, as far as he was concerned.

He turned away from the apparent, hmm, newlyweds? As was only polite.

Ziggy pushes harder and his forehead brightens. His usual smile fades to a sterner look as he concentrates

"Why are you keeping me out?" Ziggy asks with growing concern.

Lotor distracts him slightly and he nods. "Yes. My mother's Anthean."

"What do you mean? Oh, I see, you're surely just tired. Shsh. It's alright, Ziggy. I'm here."

It's all said almost tenderly. Then, he kisses the palm of Ziggy's hand.

But the barrier's not opening up, at all, inside.

Lotor nods at Ziggy's statement.

"I see. Should I leave the two of you for a private discussion for a moment? I'll come back later, to talk about the witch," Lotor says.

"No!!" the clone shouts suddenly, panic and rising impatience in his voice. "We'll talk now, Lotor!"

He now, suddenly ignoring Ziggy utterly, makes a step in the direction of the prince, who's making to leave the library.

"I'm not tired." Ziggy's getting irritated. He can't help the slight purr from the kiss to his palm but he's too stressed to get aroused.

Everything changes when Hiroki pulls away. Sheer fright explodes in Ziggy's presence. Something is desperately wrong. He mentally screams for Tommy's help.

"Hiroki!" Even if Lotor can ignore the emotions the fear is in Ziggy's voice. He latches his mind on the boundary and just starts tearing at it. His entire being is bent on opening it.

Lotor stops in his tracks, his eyes widening slightly, mild confusion from him now out in the open, in front of his mental shield, just seamlessly leaking through.

Meanwhile, Ziggy can break through that Dark barrier surrounding Hiroki's very being. Behind it, the Anthean will feel Hiroki's and Honerva's minds. The barrier meanwhile, now broken, doesn't reform, but coalescences, inside Hiroki's and Honerva's minds, into Dark Entities, which Ziggy'll also now feel. Foreign beings. Alive. Sentient. Vibrating with energy.

Ziggy freezes in place as he prepares for the illness that will come with what he is about to do. The cry brings Tommy, not in physical form but just an apparition beside Hiroki. Lotor will feel the much stronger and organized Anthean press against his barriers as he tries to assess the situation. Hiroki and Honerva will feel the same.

"You fucking witch!" Ziggy snarls and the usual kind demeanor turns dark. He coughs like he might retch but his mind stays focused. His instantly tries to shove his presence between Hiroki's mind and the rest. He's stronger than the first time Honerva bumped into him, strengthen by the continued use of his mind to heal Hiroki.

"Leave or die." Ziggy is serious.

It's enough to pull a worried look from Tommy. He knows what he's seeing, a violent Anthean. Something not seen since thier wars thousands of years ago.

Honerva hesitates.

So this is an Anthean's magic. And he's brought back-up - she remembers that one, Thomas, too.

Might be best to do a strategical retreat. And so, her mind instantly leaves Shiro's clone's.

Physically, meanwhile...

Hiroki Shirogane sways on his legs. Lotor, unsure what's going on, catches Shiro's Clone before he falls.

Hiroki heaves a shuddering sigh, then coughs, and coughs, as if he wanted to get rid of something, and didn't know how to.

"Are you sick, Shiro?" Lotor asks, honestly not understanding anything happening right now.

Inside Hiroki's mind, a Dark Entity still remains.

Ziggy isn't relenting this time. To those outside of the mind, his forehead is glowing even brighter and his eyes have started to glow. When Honerva retreats there a sensation of Hiroki falling. Ziggy reaches for him and that touch cues him in to the blackness. He turns on the entity ready to fight it off as well. It will only see the pulsing blue and gold of his spirit and the wave of emotions telling it to leave or die, just as its companion was told.

Tommy touches Lotor gently when he catches the clone. There's a moment where he might hear other voices that Tommy is listening to. The Anthean warns. "He's dangerous right now."

Tommy looks to Ziggy and doesn't dare interfere. "His hatred for that witch is enough to. Abuse physical damage if he's startled."

Tommy has taken on a queasy look too. The mental violence making him feel sick.

Inside the mind, inside the Spirit, the entity doesn't heed the warning. It grows, and then, suddenly, it looks like Hiroki. It snarls and utters,

You've done what you came for. Got what's yours back from the other one, that's not here anymore. What's yours is waiting for you. You should've just left, satisfied. Why don't you?

And then it attacks Ziggy - attacks that pulsating blue and gold - trying to tear him apart.

Tommy's keeping track as much as he can and when he feels the emotions surging calls to his cousin. This might be war and they may all come out of it injured.

His next thoughts are of this man who caught Hiroki. "It's not sickness. It's the witch and..." Tommy trails off as he tries to see what is in the clone's mind.

"You don't belong here." The words are mostly mental but there's a whisper of them in the physical realm too.

Ziggy isn't as prepared to fight this way as he imagined. It hurts and a cry of pain comes out of his physical body but he turns on the darkness. He's not looking to damage the spirit per say. The Anthean tactic has always been to go after the sentient parts, the mind and consciousness of a being. To look for the cracks in the mind of anything and tear them wide open.

He's already accepted that he's going to be injured or may not even make it out of this confrontation, but he isn't willing to abandon his partner to posession.

"The witch, Haggar? Shiro's clone called me here to discuss her. I have no idea who you are - another Anthean? - and know that I'm not involved in this whole farce."

He smirks. Maybe his emotions are getting the better of him, because some irritation and some grudge leak though the mental shield he has around his mind, seamlessly.

"This is not the negotation it was supposed to be. Should I cut it down?" Lotor asks, pointing at Shiro's clone.

"I think that'd help all the actual people involved. May I?"

In the mind, or maybe even deeper, in the spiritual realm, the Entity attacks again.

Suddenly, the real Hiroki, his spirit, appears between that creature and Ziggy, and takes the brunt of the attack.

"We've had.. difficulties with her presence." Tommy is watching, waiting for the rest of the family. "I am an Anthean."

Tommy looks at Lotor like he's stupid. That had to be one of the most ridiculous ideas he's ever heard. "If you harm Hiroki now, Ziggy will turn on you. Your mind might not survive."

There's no emotion to Tommy's words. They simply are stated as if it was common knowledge. To an Anthean who saw the wars he knows what can happen.

While they talk anther apparition appears, another Anthean. This one is female, and unlike Tommy's rather calm presence, hers is angry.

Ziggy wraps his presence around Hiroki as the attack happens, taking part of it himself. He knows his lover can't withstand this.

However, as soon as the entity contacts with them Ziggy clamps down on it's mind and starts crushing in on it. His essence is divided, wrapped around Hiroki to protect and heal and the other part forcing down on the creature's mind like a bear trap slowly tightening. It would with draw, he would fail, or it dies.

In the real world, Ziggy collapses with blood flowing freely from his nose and mouth. The Anthean mind is made for this but the body is not since they have become pacifistic.

Lotor decides to wait for now. This is all a bit intriguing. Perhaps he can ask for explanations later. And if the Witch is involved...

Meanwhile, in the spiritual rwalm, Hiroki's injured from attack, which he probably wouldn't've survived at all if not for Ziggy. And he was ready for that. For the end of existence. So it's not as if he's made any further plans.

He hugs Ziggy, not sure what to do, anymore.

And Ziggy's managed to injure the Dark Entity he's fighting, now also making it very angry.

Suddenly, Hiroki has an idea and whispers to Ziggy, Ziggy. Ziggy, call on Atlas. I really should've told you more, but, call on Atlas. Will come help.

Lotor meanwhile only waits, but also turns curiously to the newcomer.

Though, is that a newcomer if she's not quite here?

"I'll have you know that I, Emperor Lotor, personally have no quarrel with clones," he says, just in case. "If I understand correctly, or can make a guess, this one had been sent, maybe some time ago, to spy on my actions. I bear no responsibility for it."

Edited 2020-08-24 07:05 (UTC)

"We're inside of a building" He tells Hiroki though he does reach out telling it what is happening. Maybe the spirit lion or something would help.

The Anthean won't let go. He crushes down further on the entity with his presence. He's getting tired but uses some of the energy to heal Hiroki anyway. He knows that his spirit doesn't regenerate as quickly.

A red glow appears, large, angry. It too clamps down on the mental portion of the being, digging in and trying to rip pieces out of it. This is mother and these are her children. The fury is purely destructive and much more powerful, older, than Ziggy.

Tommy watches Lotor and wishes he had a drink. "She can't hear you right now." Tommy tells him flatly.

"This clone is a member of our family and we tire of the witch not staying away." That was true for all of them. Maybe he should call Tom to help? He doesn't for the moment, opting to stare at Lotor. "You look like the witch. Are you the same species?"

There is suspicion in those words.

"So you, too, are just going to judge be my species? Everybody does that, you're not original. Though usually by the other half of my halfbreedness."

Lotor smirks.

Shield's back on, fully, letting no emotions through. It's subconscious.

"Yes, the witch happens to be an Altean alchemist. And so am I. There's no relation 'xcept that."

Inside the spiritual Realm, the Dark Entity they're fighting almost disappears after the hit. And at least it no longer looks like anyone. Just a ball of darkness, writhing, and--

and then it multiplies.

Hiroki groans.

"Come on, we need Atlas!"

He's not sure if Ziggy's called him, that is, the robot, Atlas, already.

Maybe not quite, but the White Lion appears, suddenly, and Hiroki sighs with relief. Hiroki also just partly wishes he could just pass out right now, it would be great, if he could. Pass out, or sleep.

"I was only curious." Tommy admits. "I can judge you on your own diplomatic failure of negotiating the fate of a people without their presence."

Tommy's eyes narrow and then he rolls them with a sigh. "Both of you are willing to use others without permission. I see no reason to draw differences."

Aletayria turns on the entities intent on killing them completely. Destruction isn't usual for an Anthean and she will pay the price but these are her children it's attacking.

In the material world Aletayria slumps a little and starts coughing up blood. The penalty for enacting violence.

Ziggy is exhausted and hurting. Outside his body has endured physical damage. In here though, he pours the last of his energy into healing Hiroki of the wounds he has endured. He might not have enough energy to completely heal him but he will be stronger.

He does tell Tommy, in his mind, that they are going to need his father. He and his mother are very ill.

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I woke up for a moment, unrelatedly. Might as well. :) 1/2

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Last tonight. I will next reply... idk, prolly not tomorrow. But soon. XD

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