Jenso frowned at Bruce, and clenched his fists. "Greatest warrior, huh?.." He muttered, with a smirk on his face. He paused for a moment. He didn't like this situation at all. But he could respect Bruce's resolve.

"Guess I'll respect your decision...alright. But don't expect me to stand by and do nothing. If there's anything I can do to help, I will do it. I've seen too many friends die or get hurt. I'll be right beside you and Alvios when we figure out how to do this, right up until the end." Jenso stated.

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Alvios crossed his arms and paced a bit, glancing to Nexus on occasion as he pondered the situation. Yes, they had a theory now, but how to execute it? None of the trio even knew where to start. Void was the empty energy between worlds and dimensions...

"...Alright, idea. If Void energy is essentially what exists when Ki or Arcane are absent, then maybe in order to tap into Void energy, we have to destroy a portion of our own Ki. It exists to fill the spaces where other energies can't, right? Enough of it would force open part of these prison dimensions, get us through the 'space between dimensions' and hopefully, we pop out on the other side."

Jenso nodded at Alvios. It could work. "Alright, so...if Bruce tries to do Alvios's plan, he may be able to get Void. However, Nexus did say that Alexis's research into Arki saved his life. So..." Jenso muttered, launching a torrent of white flames at Bruce. They began to coat his body, but didn't hurt him and didn't heat him up. "I still have the strongest raw energy output, despite that you guys are better at focusing it. Alvios, can you try to focus my Arki perfectly around Bruce?" He asked Alvios. "I'm not sure if this will help...but it may just prevent you from dying, Bruce. And it's just Arki, so the risk to me should be minimal." Jenso stated. "Just...destroy a portion of your Ki when you're ready." Jenso stated, reluctantly.

Bruce regarded the idea. It seemed plausible. He hoped it was as relatively simple as that.

He raised a brow at the flames that engulfed him, yet didn't burn. He wasn't sure this was quite how Nexus had used Alexis' knowledge of Arki to save his life, but if it made his friends more comfortable, he wouldn't speak against it.

"I don't know how it will work in this place, but here goes nothing." Bruce said.

Quietly, breath bated, he called up on his Ki. The familiar form of his blade materialized into his hand, and he held it aloft over the ground. It wasn't even a decent fraction of his reserves, but for a test, the volume should be enough. He'd focused it, layered the Ki several times over. He imagined the feeling that had come over him when Mikey had shattered it with such ease.

Had that really only been a week ago now?

He felt a small whiplash in his soul- Mikey had mentioned that having weapons destroyed could cripple weaker men. For Bruce, he was simply aware of it.

The Ki shattered in his hand.

Jenso frowned at Bruce as the Ki shattered in his hand. "Bruce...you doing okay..? Is anything strange happening to you?" He asked, concerned. "If this doesn't work...we could always try to bait Shaidra out. I know it's a long shot, but it's better than nothing."

Bruce blinked. Then sniffed.

"Don't feel much different at all really." He conceded, retracting his Ki flow. He regarded Jenso with a lazy eye.

"She's already left once- even if we bait her to our individual dimensions again, how are we going to get her to let us leave?" Bruce asked. He figured Shaidra, or Alexis, had little reason to see any of the three of them again, unless Yzeira asked for Jenso to be released so that he could give him an answer.

Jenso shook his head. "Well, Yzeira doesn't need my answer now, so we can't count on his interference. With me stuck, he'll be able to destroy our universe at his leisure. Then, he could just keep me imprisoned here forever, or just come to make me his servant anyway." He muttered. "I think I'll try to reason with her..." Jenso muttered, looking over at Alvios briefly. He didn't want to get in the way of Alvios's revenge. "...At least, for now. You can decide what happens to her later.." He spoke to Alvios.

"I'm not sure if she'll be able to hear me if I call out to her, though. That's the issue. I could lie and tell her Yzeira wants me released, but if she's tied to Yzeira like Nexus is, it might just give her great pain and stop her from doing anything. I need to have a sure-fire way to grab her attention, and try to convince her in a sincere way." Jenso spoke.

"You won't be lying if you tell her Yzeira wants to know your answer. And you'll only be halfway deceiving her if you say that you'll only give it to him in person." Bruce said.

"The only true lie you might have to tell," Bruce said, scratching his head. "Is that you need us freed to make the decision. But then, maybe there is something else you can say or do to get her attention and work earnestly with her."

Bruce leaned back, pondering the question.

Jenso nodded at Bruce. "Yeah, I guess I could say that, but that would still leave you and Alvios trapped...She'd have no reason to get you guys out." Jenso muttered. "I don't care if I can get out, if it means leaving you guys behind. You're my friends, so I want to escape together. And...logically speaking, they'd outnumber me and the others even more if you guys are trapped, which would probably make victory impossible as they'd defeat us while we're divided." Jenso said.

"I think I need to peak her interest somehow. She always wants to keep learning things, right? What if I could create a power boost, or something? Get her to appear? After that, I could try being earnest with her. If that doesn't work, I guess I can still try lying to her to get you guys out." He added.

Alvios had his arms folded; he was still uncomfortable with the idea of Shaidra coming back. After all, just a few minutes ago, he had treated her as essentially attack-on-sight. He mulled it over, before relenting. It's not like his idea had garnered any success, after all. He had hoped just trying something new that seemed statistically sound could have been the magic button they needed to push. Oh well. 'What is life, if one has to live it without a name,' right? She's simple, fractured. Maybe just trying to remind her who she is--if she really is some kind of remnant of Alexis--could trigger her assistance. Or at least something helpful. I tried using her for a moment when she showed up in my dimension, but it had...less than stellar results."

Alvios looked between Bruce and Jenso for a moment, then down at the ground, furrowing his brow. "This does leave another problem though. How much Ki will we have to waste to make her show up? Burn too much, we put ourselves in danger."

Bruce clenched one hand into a fist. The strategy Jenso described to get Shaidra's attention, a sudden spike in Ki- his idea for Ki transference might fit the requirements.

He shifted his gaze downward.

He wasn't nearly as prepared to try it as he wanted to be. If he manifested his Ki again and it came out golden, it would be because he'd forced it that way- the red streaks of his repressed emotions and the stain on his soul would be straining for release. It would be equivalent to regression to before he'd had that much needed talk with Ross.

Bruce glanced up at Jenso. Ki transference, at least the way Bruce had in mind, would mean their very souls interacting with one another, right? Just the concept was enough to give any reasonable person pause, but with the psychological garbage Bruce had brewing within, it was much worse than that.

If he tried it now, he had a strong inkling that Jenso could die. And it would be Bruce's fault.

Bruce sighed, reaching inside his robe absently.

'Wait a minute...' he thought.

"What about Jeff's power pills?" he asked. Bruce had honestly not been paying the utmost attention at the time, but perhaps there was a safer way to make Jenso's idea work.

With his final word, the entirety of Nexus' dream world collapsed and the three heroes awoke in their individual prisons. It seemed that his realm was temporary. Or perhaps something had stopped him?

Either way, Jenso was now face to face with Shaidra, who leered over his body, with both of her hands pinning his shoulders to the ground.

"Sleeeeeeping..." Shaidra Growled hoarsely, with a subtle smile behind her mask.

Shaidra moved her face towards Jenso's, inching closer towards him a series of shallow breaths.

Jenso's eyes opened, and he blinked. His first thought was to scream at the top of his lungs, causing his voice to echo across the entire dimension. What the fuck was she doing?! "Um...Shaidra. May I have a word with you...?" He asked in a polite tone, despite the fact that she was pinning him to the ground. "If you'd allow me to stand up.."

Shaidra pushed his shoulders harder into the ground an thrust herself towards him with an angry hiss. "No more words... Insist," She growled, "Stupidity is toxic to the naive."

Jenso glared at Shaidra as she pinned him harder to the ground. "...Shaidra. Or rather...Alexis. Can you get off of me? Surely there's no need to pin me down, as I'm trapped in this dimension anyway. Right? There's no reason to do this." He stated firmly. If she failed to get off of him now, he may be forced to use violence.

Her eyes flickered and she began to dig her hands into Jenso's shoulder's, deep enough to touch bone. Black smoke began to emit from the backs of her wrists, and fork into his flesh. "Shut up," She roared, headbutting him in the nose.

Jenso grit his teeth. Was this how he was going to die? At any rate, she wasn't going to get off out of her own free will. "Alexis, you're a scientist who used to work with Teshra and Nexus, right? Even now, the Void is making you and the rest of the Order suffer. And you'll keep suffering." Jenso stated, as a burst of flames erupted from his body in order to get Shaidra off of him.

Shaidra's hands released Jenso for a moment, allowing her to jump behind him and phase through the flames. As the smoke lifted, she was already circling Jenso, waiting patiently to make her next move. "Shaidra," She growled, "Shaidra!"