[IC] The Assimilated Hive

[Liaison]

251 Borough Station

A storm brewed, painting an entire city black with somber. What was actually left of Oaneson resembled ruins. Here was no different. On this rainy day, Weeds protruded from every track and ivies scaled its slated walls. Muculent concoctions of dirt and sludge oozed from the slightest of crevices, disturbing any chance of silence with each echoing plop. Despite this, the abandoned station was home to a few, and in particular, an orphaned girl traversed its dank halls to reach what she considered home. Fearful she was not, but all that guided her were the stations cold, damp walls and a misty mental map of the station. Her head lowered, sensing something irregular and instantly her body froze in anticipation of a sound she had not heard since she was young. A train was coming.

“How could this be?” she thought. She was scared, but beset with the urge to continue forward. She navigated the station enough to be by the platforms edge. To her right she could see the tunnel illuminate with a faint purple glow. At first it didn’t strike her as odd but the closer the train the further she became witness to something indefinitely strange. The train was completely translucent. Through its frame she could see a mysterious passenger anticipating his stop aboard.

From the natural luminance the car gave off she could finally see the entirety of the station for the first time in her life. The train came to a stop and long before the doors opened she figured it was too late to run, hence, she waited. The person who left the train before her wasn’t menacing by any means, but to be honest he wasn’t really a person at all. Sure, he was dressed somewhat in 80’s detective style atire with his long overcoat and brimmed hat but the fact wouldn’t change that he was some sort of humanoid cat. His pure black fur resembled obsidian and currently he wore glasses, though she couldn’t determine if they weren’t just for show.

“Greetings young lady. I don’t suppose you were waiting for that train were you? I don’t think you want to aboard that. Carry on now.”

The girl was completely baffled by his existence. She’s never seen a walking cat before, let alone human sized. How else could she respond other than asking for his name and so she did.

“Wait!” she screamed, attempting to stop him before he left. “Who are you?”

Normally, asking this bizarre individual of his name was a question that went unanswered. Since she was no older than eleven he thought nothing of it and decided it didn’t matter.

“Merse Granstrum is the name. Now if you don’t mind I’ll be off to some personal matters.” Peculiarly enough, he didn’t receive a response. Not one immediately at least. Halfway up a flight of steps he could sense the girl was following him. Before he could turn around he heard a voice that that was profoundly different from the one she originally addressed him with.

“I was expecting you.”

Jolting his head around, the girl ran off instantly before he could say anything in response. Something was undeniably off and Merse was certainly aware but his thoughts couldn’t process anything other than that. Perhaps he’d find out later but he arrived at 251 Borough station for a reason. It was a check point he previously created to support his otherworldly method of transportation. The truth is, many times he had come to this very location for business. He might also have something to do with their fall as a civilization. If one thing could be inferred from this, Merse was a dangerous man. As a galactic information broker his job entailed many things to ensure profit. Morality often fell short.

When he did reach the top of the stairs he succumbed to a feeling mystification. Merse’s ears twitched and eyes twiched as he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Often he prided himself on practically knowing almost too much and here he was suddenly standing in a city almost utopia like after he took deliberate measures to sabotage and succeeded in taking down this culture years ago prior. Apparently it rose up again without him even getting so much as a clue.

A perplexed expression filled his face and for a moment he pondered about turning back. Curiosity would get the best out of him however. He calmly paced towards the nearest café in hopes of grabbing a newspaper. You would think as a enemy to the people of Oaneson someone was bound to notice him but much of what he did was behind the scenes. Very few people who knew his involvement and less than a handful were even expected to be alive. Nevertheless he did shift his appearance rather precariously. His appearance was that of a middle aged human male. It was a wise mood to hide his identity but either way he could very well be walking directly into a trap, not that he knew…

[Aerone]

"Captain, the space station has lost power. Captain, I repeat... the space station has lost power."

The continuous echo vibrated through the ears of one particularly unhappy being, once they were aware that important pieces of the concept known as "energy" were apparently lacking. Not only that, but the job of ensuring that the nearly heavenly object, that was now helplessly submissive to planetary orb that threatened to show them the true meaning of the word "gravity", would never lose power, belonged to one sole person who was now likely going to be fired in multiple ways. Assuming that anyone were to survive this grave, not that there anyone else alive on-board the object other than the captain, it would be a miracle. Within minutes, the colossal space ship was drawn into the planet's grasp and was pulled in for a close embrace that again threatened the life of the sole living being on the mechanism; yet they didn't seem very afraid, more so annoyed because the only beings that were in a panic were ironically all containers of artificial intelligence. The spacecraft itself had its own operating system that just wouldn't shut up; it was so audible that no one could hear the atmosphere ripping the machine to bits and pieces as it fell from the heavens.

In mere moments, the pride of a space craft that was known as "The White Chariot" was being pushed into nothingness... along with the beautiful physique of ship; it's appearance was almost to the point of just that of a falling meteor that was graciously given the gift of fire and light, as it was wrapped around in both heat and light that illuminated the skies around as it traveled with such velocity that even sound could barely keep up.

"It looks like I am crashing into the planet known as Omnious..." The voice said to itself, seeping with a certain mix of curiosity and anger. A short period of time after the initial entry, the life of the artificial beings faded away as any back up energy that was reserved for the once-glorious chariot of the skies, was now depleted, leaving the captain with only the chaos that surrounded the event of falling from a heavily altitude into the deadly force of the ground. The insides of the ship were now scattered and thrown about, save for personal area of Azeneth, the Imperial General of the nearly Interstellar military known as "Whiteguard." The personal space around the being was glowing with a slight green hue, but miraculously any object that was destined to fly into them... was slowed and even halted in mid air, as if it was no longer bound by fundamental forces.

Finally, the colossal orb of fire was about to collide with the heavenly body that called the chariot down. The suspense was limitless, and the being prepared for the inevitable by not only tensing up, but increased the the anti-gravity effects that radiated from their being into most of the area around them, with the calm force seeping from their right, artificial eye that was known as "The Core." Within a flash, the space craft and the planet collided with a brilliant array of both light and sound. The light scattered across the terra in an epic display of colors, while the sound of the crash boomed for miles in what sounded like a nuclear explosion; there was nothing an ordinary being could ever hope to survive, let alone keep their body intact.

That was not the case for this expert; after the collision, the fire settled and so did the metals that comprised of the sky vehicle. Within minutes, the being could be seen slowly walking away from the epic crater that was born from her presence. However, it appeared that they either landed in a desert wild-land... or created it upon their entry. Either way, the terra near the crash site was completely wiped of any known values. However their being could be noticed with the naked eye now; their physique was almost mirroring that of humans found on the planet known as Earth.. a real treat for a planet about 1,000 light years off... according to sources that Azeneth knows of. The body could be easily identified as female, of the human species, as her pale skin and back reaching dark blue hair were easy give-a-ways for those well versed in human culture. Her body was covered in a pure-white double-breasted trench coat that gleamed with military might and accomplishments, as many of her pins and badges were covering a noticeable amount of the coat. The buttons on the coat were golden, which only complimented the respect-granting appearance of the soldier that fell into the planet. The trench coat, however, only fell to her thighs... and white tight-like(lol) socks covered the rest of her legs, until her calf-high white boots met with the socks. Her entire appearance spoke volumes, and could instill fear in others who didn't even know who she was. Her viridescent orb scanned the field, as her right eye was covered by a black eye-patch that displayed upon it a numerous amount of golden chevrons and stars, displaying her rank. Her facial expression showed that she was tired, and lucky to be alive.

How can anyone survive the fall from the heavens? There was no better reason why this being was the fourth most powerful war power that belonged to Whiteguard's entirety... a feat the takes multiple lifetimes to even fathom...

[Ryouko]

Gamma Sector, Omnious. 0800 (Military Time.)

Under the crust, several hundreds of feet below the surface of Omnious, it seemed that the men working could barely hear the sounds of the crash that had caused a nuclear explosion from the sheer size of the spacecraft. Any one of them could easily equate the noise to someone dropping a wrench. Work continued, and quickly. A humanoid figure stood beside the workers, his head darting from side to side. While not human, or what would be considered human on the planet Earth, they had rounded ears, and their muscles were more pronounced on their bodies. Almost as if they had more. Their skeletal structures, if one was to be examined (i.e. x-rayed), would show that their ribs were more securely fashioned, positioned in a grid-like pattern, at a forty-five degree angle. At some places the bones were soft, moldable...So that they could curl up easily. They were also extremely tanned, though, this might have been because it was the southern half of the planet.

"Keep working, men!" The humanoid shouted, his voice deep and booming.

What they were working on? Nobody had any idea. Nobody on the planet, at least.

Now, in the ruins of Oaneson, it seemed that a tear was opening. With a loud pop, a being was shot out of the tear like a cannon, and hit the side of a pillar. His dark blue cloak was then thrown through, before the portal slowly vanished. As this male sat up, he groaned.

"Now where am I?" He said, his voice rough. As he brushed his dark gray hair out of his eyes, he shook his fist at the air, muttering incoherent curses. His hands were covered by black gloves, the fingers cut off to allow him to actually feel what he was touching. He hated having his hands covered, most of the time. His blue cloak, which was on the ground in a heap, was lined with silver cloth, gold trimming on the shoulders. Now, without it on, the male was garbed in a black shirt, with navy blue slacks. Attached to his belt loop was a ceremonial katana, in a black sheath. Under his breath, he muttered.

"First, she gets pissed at me, then, she kicks me off of a goddamn rooftop and into one of her experimental portals. ...Well...Time to figure out where I ended up." The being got up, stretched, and then slung his cloak over his shoulder.

Then, he was off, deciding to head a way opposite of the sun, which was currently rising.

[Liaison]

“Iederren wins by a landslide.”

The headline read by Merse unnerved him. “Who the hell was Iederren? And how did they recover so quickly to the point where they could even have elections.” A cold sweat weaved its way between the hairs of his brow, and out of nerves, he began rolling up the newspaper. Was he really in Oaneson? The world reflected in the paper by far resembled some other society. In fact, it was vaguely similar. In that moment Merse was no longer nervous but intrigued. His signature smirk filled his face once again and he just knew there was a mystery unravel.

Those familiar with Merse knew this was not a good look. It was one often associated with obsession. It was like he had completely forgotten the eeriness of the situation and now he had to know what exactly took place. It was only a matter of time. Curiosity often killed the cat as they say, but Merse was still alive and who knew how many lives he still had left. His methods were unorthodox and at times inhumane but it's not like he got to where he was in life by being civil.

It was time to go. Lifting his brimmed cap with his left hand, he placed it snuggly on his head. In a rush, Merse didn’t bother to sip any of the coffee he had ordered and to his suprise it seemed to garner attention from the workers and customers of the diner.

“Excuse me sir? You haven’t even touched any of our world famous coffee. It would be a shame if you didn’t at least take a sip.” The woman behind the counter was pleading but almost demanding simultaniously with tone of her voice. The others seated within the dinner took notice and for a moment all eyes were on Merse. The same cold dead stare could bee seen on all of their faces. Whereas any other person would give in and drink, the information broker knew something wasn’t right.

Immediately he started to explain himself. “Oh my. I almost forgot. I’m terribly sorry. I didn’t mean to disrespect your diner. I just was in a rush that’s all.” It didn’t appear like he was doing much but in-between every breath he whispered an incantation to himself in a manner undetectable to them. When he did take a drink of the liquid, the spell he slyly called upon took anything thing that entered his mouth, whether it being, liquids, solids and even oxygen and expelled it through a portal into a dimensional waste spot elsewhere.

This may have been a little over precautious but he had no reason to trust anyone on this planet. He had been poisoned in the same manner in the past and if similar results were to occur, he wasn’t sure if he’d make it out this time. The second he scarfed down the drink everyone’s expressions changed. Their blank stares turned into smiles of glee and in response, he did too. The fucking weirdos.

Saying nothing further, he left, casually waltzing out the front to get into what was most likely trouble. Nefarious thoughts ran through his cerebellum. The next place he could be seen was a rooftop, overlooking a woman as dusk approached. Only his silhouette was seen in the amber sky before it all went blank for her.

It was the woman who worked at the diner. He waited for her until she had gotten off of work. When she awoke she realized she had been completely restrained in what looked like the living room of some rundown apartment. In front of her was an unfamiliar face. It was Merse in disguise but with a completely different one than he had used earlier. At first, she exhibited natural signs of fear and aggressively attempted to free herself in a panic. She attempted to scream but something Merse restricted her voice somehow via magic.

“Sshhhhh.”

He hushed her for the time being and paced back and forth in the room. “It doesn’t last long but for now, you will only talk when I allow you to, ok? I want to know something and you’re going to tell me” he explained.

“I don’t know anything you might want” she frantically screamed.

“I'm afraid that answer won't do. I have ways of prying the information from your mind” Merse countered, and instantaneously his hand began to glow a neon purple. All he would need was to place his palm firmly on her skull and he’d get all of the information he desired. At least he thought so. As soon as he attempted so a foreign force began to overwhelm his spirit. He opened a crack in the door and as a result, it was kicked entirely open. It almost felt as if someone was trying to enter his body and as a reflex, he cut his connection he made to female's consciousness.

Backing up, he noticed a smile on the girls face. It was uncharacteristic of her considering how she had acted prior. At this point, he had forbidden her to talk under his spell but she began to do just that and lecture him.

“I’m not sure who you are but you should probably leave while you still can. I don’t really have the patience for this. The matters of this planet are not things you should ever aspire to know too much about. I felt you trying to read poor Nallilsu’s mind as if it were some sort of book in a library. Unforgivable actions to say the least. So now that this failed, what will you do now?

Frankly, Merse didn’t have a response.

She could be lying, but it didn’t explain the powerful force he felt when he attempted to read her thoughts. Before he could slyly conjure a response he became distracted by the TV and even sat down on the same couch she was restrained on. Considering it was the news, he was vastly interested and promptly, fazed out anything she managed to say.

“This just in: A huge unknown explosion in Crelas has occurred. No known casualties, and first responders on the way.”

“What the hell?” Things were getting stranger by the second. Looking across the couch he smugly looked at the young woman on the right end of the couch. She was looking off in the opposite direction with a highly agitated look upon her face. Realizing the advantages he currently had in the situation, Merse arrogantly asked her a question.“

You’re still tied up so I was wondering… do you want to just tell me for free?”

[Ryouko]

Will, by now, had seen no signs of anyone in the ruins. He had taken a different route, and occasionally, the whisper of a train's engines broke into the silent air around him. As he walked, he silently went through star charts in his mind, trying to at least give himself some vague idea of where he might be.

Lost, he definitely was. The Nephalem's head turned from side to side as he looked around the decrepit buildings for any signs of life, and, finding none, he concluded one thing...

This place was once a flourishing city, but something had happened, something so catastrophic, that nobody could even bear to come back to the ruins.

Then he tripped, on a sudden stairway that he had not noticed before. Numerous thuds could be heard as he fell down the unforgiving stairs, before he landed in a heap on the bottom. "Today is not my day." Will said aloud, slowly picking himself up...and then realizing what he was in.

'A train system..let's follow the tunnels.' He thought, as he walked over to the edge and peered down both sides. His eyes could see nothing in the darkness, which, with his supernatural eyesight, was more like dusk. So, He hopped down, and proceeded to walk up the tunnel before him.