Grimoire: Ghost Fragment - Project JUGGERNAUT

I hate doing scouting work for Ana. But if I protest, she'll then tell me that this is nothing compared to the trouble we got into at Twilight Gap, where we were beset on all sides. I've always wondered if the Bray family genetically test for charisma, because she should not be able to convince me to do these things. Alas, 'for the glory of Wille' and all that.

This firebase is built directly into the icy caps of Mars' northern pole (ha ha, yes it's an oxymoron, I know you'll be curating my observations later Ana, so you can suck it), and there are Psions everywhere. They sweep the halls with their A.T. Fields, which makes sneaking around rather difficult. And because I'm smaller, I'm easier to crush, Ana. But I digress.

There's a lot of scavenged equipment - computers, databases, ancient tech - bearing the logo of NERV. Not the faction, the Pre-Collapse organization. They've placed some odd firewalls onto the data, but it seems haphazard. There's information on Evangelions in here. Perhaps they ransacked a Martian facility?

I finally managed to slip through the Ice Reaper patrols (seriously, why are there so many damned Psions?!). Their security is really high around this central chamber, and there are broken pieces of Goliath tanks and Harvester airships everywhere. They must have gone through enough vehicles to outfit an entire Cabal legion! What are they...oh.

That's what they're doing.

That's...really big.

Nope. Nope. This is beyond my paygrade.

And no Ana, I don't care if Ghosts technically don't get paid! I am going to 'nope' right out of here, and you can tell the Vanguard exactly what I just saw.

Lazy Gunslingers. I bet Nightstalkers don't make their Ghosts do all of the sneaking.

xxxx

It was the day after Number Five had taken the Cabal and Vex forces from Elysium Mons, and he was feeling bold. The Cabal had been getting more antsy regarding his forays into their Exclusion Zone - to the point where he was actually going to have to be strategic, such a bore! - but the Vex's recent enhancements had split their attention. Fine by him; it gave him greater leeway to keep purloining minions from their ranks. After all...the Nine were not ignorant of the troubles that were bearing down on the Solar System.

Things would soon get interesting. All they had to do was play their cards right.

So it was with a savage grin that the MP-Evangelion set down upon the frozen ground; his feet created immense cracks in the icecaps, and fissures spread around for a few hundred yards. "...I smell fresh meat." Number Five moved forward, aiming for the signature edifices of the Cabal that were sticking out of the ice. "Time to claim some Psions!"

xxxx

Within the depths of Firebase Alagonia, the proverbial Primus of the Ice Reapers - Livio, Psion Supreme - shouted telepathically at his subordinates. The enemy is upon us! We have been entrusted by the commanders of our expeditionary force to come up with a counter to the VIOLET and CRIMSON Giants. This WHITE Giant will serve as our first field test. His silvery armor glistened in the halogen lights; in the chamber below, whole centuries of Psions gazed up at him, with a multitude of Flayers commanding them. Prepare to deploy. The Psions dutifully moved into position; as Livio watched them clamber onto their creation, his second-in-command moved beside him; where Livio had gold stripes, he had teal; where Livio's headpiece bore a glowing ring of neon yellow, he had shimmering green. "You are anxious?"

Razlo, Psion Premier and immediate commander of all Flayers, huffed. "You do realize that it was unbridled panic by the other Primuses that got them to approve this project...for some of the older ones, it hits a little too close to home."

"You are concerned?"

"Oh, Emperor forbid," chortled Razlo. "But this will cause some tension with the other legions. Some of them will wonder if we are going to make a play for power; enact a repeat of what Ghaul did to Calus."

Livio loosed a feverish giggle. "Then they are even more idiotic than they appear." Even their great weapon - built by Psion hands, tested within these frigid depths - was a mere shade by comparison. The power that Dominus Ghaul had at his disposal...was practically immeasurable. "He would know very well that we would not compare, and thus would only applaud our initiative." Speaking of which. Project JUGGERNAUT's time has come. Now...LAUNCH!

At Livio's command, the toil of many months began to rise.

xxxx

On the surface, MP-05 paused. "Hmm?" Something had suddenly activated beneath the surface. "What is-?"

CRASH!

A massive fist erupted from below-

SMASH!

The Evangelion gurgled as the blow sent him flying; with rapid flaps of his wings, he corrected his trajectory and landed delicately on the ground, carving great trenches into the icy ground. "...hmph." Number Five raised his head, staring directly at his new adversary. "A low blow..."

Emerging from the frozen catacombs below, a mechanical monstrosity emerged. Although humanoid, it did not bear the lithe and graceful nature of an Evangelion; it was a hulking brute, cobbled together from dozens upon dozens of Cabal vehicles. Small, transparent pods lined the mech at various points, containing Psions lying in a meditative pose; each individual soldier seemed to glow with an orange sheen. The head was fashioned after a Psion's, with the front made of a transparent material; inside were a conglomeration of Psion Flayers, waving their hands in a coordinated fashion. Each movement of the gigantic machine came with the shimmer of an A.T. Field...and just like that, the means by which the mech moved were made apparent: hundreds of Psions within the monstrosity served as spiritual loci, with the Flayers coordinating the boundaries of their subordinates' souls to manipulate every square inch of their creation.

Although naught but five meters taller than an Evangelion, the amount of material made it look like three Evas smashed together, so bulky it was.

MP-05 grinned. "...but you've caught my intrigue regardless!"

The Juggernaut seemed to emit a roar as hundreds of souls worked in concert. Numerous slots opened up along the shoulders of the titanic mech, unleashing a swarm of missiles that zeroed in towards Number Five.

Sneering, the Evangelion flapped his wings, rising into the air with unnerving swiftness; keeping ahead of the projectiles, the MP-Eva held forth his hand, which began to surge with dark energy. Shadowy blasts erupted from his palm, their very presence making the air curdle around them.

The Juggernaut's feet blazed with multiple hoverjets, courtesy of ransacked Goliath tanks; with improbable dexterity, the mech hovered away from the foul bolts, which caused explosive plumes of icy powder to erupt from the icecap.

"Unexpectedly agile!" boasted Number Five. "Do you have more up your metaphorical sleeve?"

As if in response, the Juggernaut's hulking legs bent; with a blast of spiritual power, it launched into the air.

Balking, the Evangelion crossed his arms-

BAM!

The titanic foot - it seemed to dwarf the Giant's entire torso! - smashed into Number Five; the force bled through his A.T. Field, sending him flying even further back. The Juggernaut tumbled towards the ground with awkward motions, its hoverjets firing in a massive decelerating burst before it hit the ground. The souls of the manifold Psions shined brightly as their mech landed on its feet, causing the landscape to rumble.

Number Five loosed a bellyful of laughter. "How amusing! It's been so long since there's been anything resembling a challenge! I think we should cue up something fitting for the occasion!" His soul flexed, and an odd sheen filtered through the atmosphere around them. "Something brisk...but not too obscure. We'll have to build up to the good stuff, after all!"

And then, the air began to sing with the first movement of Beethoven's 5th Symphony.

"Let's have a good time!" MP-05 dropped to the ground like a stone, legs surging with Solar energy; ice flash-evaporated into steam as the fiery stream roared through the ground.

The Juggernaut, sensing the incoming attack, coated the ground with a thick A.T. Field, layered a dozen times over; the fire spilled around the barrier in a hollow column, surrounding the mech with a wall of flame over a hundred yards in diameter.

Without hesitation, Number Five plowed through his own flames, bringing a knee into the Juggernaut's face.

Spiritual shields flickered wildly from the sudden blow, and the unwieldy bulk stumbled; with wild momentum, it swung a fist for the Evangelion, which danced away from its clutches. The smaller Giant was like a wild whip, lashing out with lithe legs and precise punches at the mech's joints with earth-shattering force, enough to make the very air quiver. And yet the spirits of the Psions, working with psionic perfection, kept the blows from damaging the machine. It was all quite impressive.

MP-05 grinned. "You're a tough customer, aren't you?" Ducking beneath the lumbering fist of the Juggernaut, he rose with a fist swirling with orange octagons-

The torso of the Juggernaut suddenly fired a salvo from two dozen Goliath turrets: the vaunted cannons known colloquially as 'Planet Crackers'. The fiery bolts hit their target at the same time.

KRACKOOM!

Which, in this case, was Number Five's face. The Evangelion snarled, wincing from the stinging sensation-

And that's when the Juggernaut's fist latched onto him.

CRACK!

The mech drove MP-05 into the ice, face-first. In the next instant, the hoverjets under its feet fired.

For the next two miles, the Juggernaut used the Evangelion's head to carve a bloody trench into the icecap. With a contemptuous heave, the mech launched the Evangelion away, where it tumbled haphazardly along the ice. The ordeal had reduced everything above the Evangelion's collarbone into a meaty stump.

With a swift application of Light, the flesh around the wound bubbled, regenerating into a replica of the Evangelion's head. Number Five grimaced, working the kinks out of his new neck. "It's been quite a while since I had to test this body's healing capabilities." How fortunate that the Chairman had been such a stickler for fastidious testing and experimentation with these Evangelions' abilities. "I must say..." With a decisive crack of the neck joint, and a sigh of pleasure, everything felt proper once more. "...not bad," admitted the Evangelion, sneering at the Juggernaut. "Not bad at all." With a sudden flick of his great wings, black feathers shot forward, rippling with Arc energy. They landed in a pattern around the Juggernaut, emitting a dangerous web of electrical energy. The mech seemed to bunch up, and the Psions' collective spiritual shields gleamed as lightning bolts zigzagged over it.

Number Five wasted no time, delivering a brutal clothesline to the Juggernaut's neck. The momentum was enough to force the mech onto its back; without hesitation, the Evangelion plopped onto its torso, and began relentlessly punching the machine's face. It was with some measure of glee - even as the force of his punches caused the icecap to quake and rattle around them, the ground fragmenting into shards beneath them - that MP-05 saw the Psion Flayers within actually begin to shake in their seats. "Let's see how you deal with this!" His fist glowed-

The face of the Juggernaut glowed faster.

WOOSH!

A torrent of Arc energy erupted, blasting the Evangelion away. With a decisive combination of hoverjets and A.T. Field manipulation, the giant mech leapt back to its feet, reaching out and grabbing the Giant's ankle with its hulking fist.

POW! POW! POW!

The Evangelion was bashed into the ground over and over like a ragdoll-

BOOM!

Orbs of Void energy suddenly bloomed around the Juggernaut; ravenous energy began to eat at the Psions' metaphysical wards, forcing the Juggernaut to step back. With a savage sneer, the Evangelion ripped away from the machine's grip. "You have guts! I think they'll be of better use..." His right hand glowed with an awesome power, dark and terrible. "...to the Nine!" He lunged forward to Take them.

The very air seemed to split with the crack of thunder, as his hand came to a dead halt against a wild conglomeration of A.T. Fields, constantly overlapping each other in a frenzied attempt to keep his hand - writhing with a spiritual plague, a metaphysical cancer - away from their puny bodies.

Number Five cackled. "Desperate, aren't we? But can you keep me out forever?" He raised his other hand, which began to surge with the power of the Void.

Then, with surprising alacrity, the Juggernaut's hoverjets burst from the shoulders and shins, launching the mech backwards. Before the Evangelion could even pursue, new interlopers made themselves known. "...ah. I see your true motive now."

Two dozen warships, bearing the colors of the Skyburners, were barreling down towards them from the atmosphere above.

"A delaying tactic, hmm?"

xxxx

Within Firebase Alagonia, Razlo turned towards his superior. "...this was not a delaying tactic, was it?"

Livio huffed. "It would have been nice to actually crush that Giant...but we obtained enough useful data, regardless." And they had managed to divert the winged Evangelion from engaging in its usual hit-and-run tactic; it would not be able to slip past the Skyburner ships that were drawing down. Their ranks were staggered, and their combined fields of fire covered all angles.

There would be no escape. To all those of the Juggernaut. Livio's psychic command was firm and unyielding. If it tries to burrow away...crush it.

xxxx

Number Five could feel the massive wells of potential energy within each ship of teal and gray; he would soon be bombarded with a hellish barrage of demolitions capable of breaking asteroids and cracking planets. "Oh no, I appear to be in trouble," he snarked. He dug in deep - relying on the Light to anchor him fast to this world - and pulled...from the Deep. Ha, puns! "I guess I'll have to get some backup."

With a sudden flex of his soul, the music in the air suddenly changed; the Flight of the Bumblebee, by Rimsky Korsakov.

"Third Horde of Saturn!"

The air shivered, and reality began to shrink upon several points of space and time. A hollow roar echoed through the sky, as dark power began to converge upon these points, swelling into spheres of shadowy matter and solid nothingness.

"ARISE!"

And lo, out of the Blights emerged the beasts.

They were creatures born by the will of the Nine.

Microscopic lifeforms had been cultivated; trace bio-matter found throughout the Jovians had been spliced with both the tissue of the Evangelions and that of terrestrial microorganisms that had made their home within the many nooks and crannies of the MP-Evas' armor. Their evolution had been forcefully advanced through a hefty application of Light and Darkness, adapted for life beyond the Asteroid Belt, on worlds that had been terraformed by the whims of the Mass Production Evangelions.

Emerging from the Blights were gargantuan creatures, appearing as flying jellyfish with many tendrils, or transparent mushrooms that billowed forth on clouds of gas. These Saturnine beasts - created by the Nine, and then Taken without remorse - left trails of blackened starfire in their wake. The tendrils of the great jellies crackled with Arc energy; the gaseous mushrooms seemed to fade away at random instances, avoiding the anti-air ordnance of the Cabal warships.

The Skyburners were quickly preoccupied by these newcomers.

"Well, I've certainly had a hoot!" Number Five ascended into the air, noting one warship in particular; it was pulling evasive maneuvers to avoid one of the Taken jellies. "...but I won't leave empty-handed." His hand crackled with lightning; with furious daring, he directed the Arc energy, and it roiled across the surface of the warship. Weapons batteries malfunctioned, thrusters shorted out, and engines petered out. The Evangelion dug his hands into the top of the hull, getting a good grip. "So long, and thanks for all of the fisticuffs!"

xxxx

Livio, Psion Supreme, tilted his head at the large monitor; one of the Cabal warships ascended awkwardly into the atmosphere, dead in the sky. He couldn't help but chuckle as it was stolen away by the winged Giant. "...an arrogant sort, isn't it?"

"The Skyburners will not tolerate this mockery," cautioned Razlo.

Livio snorted. "It won't matter. By the time Primus Ta'aun prepare a retaliatory response...our ultimate superior will be here."

"...you mean-?"

"I received word from Otzot herself." The old bitterness of the Freeborn's actions - her betrayal of the Psions, her betrayal of Calus - had long faded, in the face of Ghaul's unyielding might. In the face of his power, and that of the mythical Exalted...he could not blame her decisions, in hindsight. "A dream, across the psychic ether, bearing a single sentence: the Fatherworld is en route."

"...I pity this star system."

Livio laughed, turning his attention back to the monitor; the Skyburners were rallying, and had begun to strike more precisely at the summoned beasts. "Do you know what's humorous? The might of Ghaul and his Empire...is but one fist that is descending towards this system." And if he understood the Dominus well enough, he would only encourage the creation of more Juggernauts. "Things are going to get interesting."

xxxx

Dozens of miles away, Ana Bray observed the havoc through a long-range telescope (made for the aspiring explorer, courtesy of Wille and their Clovis Bray engineers!) with a weird grin on her face. "...damn."

"And I don't want to hear anymore guff from you about it," growled her Ghost, his Outsider Shell colored in the purple and red colors of Wille. "And to think you expected me to actually find out more!"

"Man, calm down Eric. You made it out okay, didn't you?"

" 'Okay' is stretching it."

"Well, look on the bright side." The woman collapsed her telescope, placing it beneath her tattered brown cloak; as she summoned her Sparrow, she continued, "This news will at least make the Vanguard stress out more in one hour than you're capable of doing in a week."

Eric snorted as he merged with his Guardian's body. 'I'm certainly not comforted. And after that traumatic stealth mission, I don't think ANYONE can beat me in terms of stress.'

xxxx

/Sovereign, the Reef/

...what...

Her eyes wearily opened. She was quick to take account of her current circumstances: arms and legs suspended by metallic cuffs, wards placed around her limbs to block any metaphysical manipulations; the link to the Original was still suppressed; a foreign presence could be felt around her soul, ready to pounce at a moment's notice.

...ah.

Nula Sov opened her eyes; although she was lit from above by an immense torchlight - its intensity enough to swallow up the chamber's ambience - she could feel the unusual presence of the seven Techeuns. Variks - that wily trickster - stood before, watching her with a quiet gaze.

"I can assure you, sister...that this is not how I wanted things to go."

The voice of the Queen drew near.

"But you are not really my sister, are you? Perhaps you are my cousin Erika, reborn into a new body."

She stepped into the spotlight, her features washed out by the brightness of the light.

"Or...you are yet another representative of whatever force has tried to infiltrate the Reef for so long, hidden in plain sight. A masquerade, if you will."

Mara Sov's eyes still shined brighter, overflowing with pure wrath.

"Well, my Mistress of Secrets? Perhaps it is long past due to share your own."

Nula Sov looked quietly at the face of this body's elder sister. This...is quite the predicament. "...this was not necessary." Nula did not try to struggle against her bonds; she knew it would be futile. She wouldn't be surprised if any attempts resulted in the Queen calling on the Royal Guard, ten of whom were arrayed around the room. "I am not your enemy, sister."

"Your fate is one that sucks everything in," said Mara Sov. She did not pace, nor blink, nor turn away; to do so would be to show weakness. No matter how much it hurt her deep within. "A black hole on the fabric of reality; in the face of that truth...I made preparations, long ago."

"So you have."

"My cousin, Erika Sov...she was obeying the will of someone else. A separate master. Someone who was not her rightful Queen."

"...yes."

"Likewise for you." It was not a question.

"...I am subordinate to another, yes." There was no point in playing at any pretenses. "But I am not against the Awoken."

"Then speak of your plans, sister."

"...I will not."

"Because you know that I would disagree. That I would object. That I would stop you."

"It is a possibility. You can be quite mercurial."

The Queen's frown deepened. "The fate that you are bound to is too immense to be something so small. It would affect my people, wouldn't it?"

"...it was always a possibility. One that I worked to avoid."

"But if the Awoken were to perish? Would you be saddened? Would you grieve? Would you even care?"

"...no."

The Queen sneered. "...Variks. Extract everything of value from her."

"But of course, my Queen." The Tabrix stepped forward, pressing a slim finger against her sternum. The Servitor within his chest glowed with an orange light; she felt him beginning to map out the connections. "A shame; I enjoyed our discussions, Princess."

"...I understand now. The feeling is similar." Not exact. Not the same. Yet still a ghost of that same presence that Zeruel carried. "Little wonder that you are the last of your House, Variks...you bear the soul of your Progenitor, don't you? Would you prefer that I call you Tabris?"

"If you prefer. This body is not strong enough to withhold the fullness of my Progenitor, however. So if you wish to call me Variks...that would also be fine, yes?"

Nula glanced quietly at her sister. "...you were aware of this."

"His presence on the passage of fate is greater than mine. Almost as heavy as your own." And didn't that say something. "However...he was forthright with me, when he allied himself with us all those years ago. Something that I could not rely on my own family for."

"...I see." So the Queen had secrets of her own. Not a surprise...although this one was rather heavy. It certainly explained a few of her suspicions regarding the silver-haired humanoid before her. "...tell me, Variks...what do you see?"

Variks frowned; his brows were furrowed in concentration. "...there are many connections...I dare not towards the locus, for it burns. But what is this one...that goes all over time and space? Why does it stop...on...Eliks?" His red eyes went wide. "...you spoke to the Traveler..."

"Another iteration. But yes."

"...I thought it had left us behind...that we Eliksni were abandoned...that we had been unworthy...but it was you...your presence changed the course of history? It was you who convinced the Traveler to leave?!"

Nula did not answer. It was kinder, to not let him know that the Traveler would have left regardless.

For the briefest of instants, the entirety of Tabris empowered Variks, and he became a golden being, shimmering with Light. The torchlight from up above was overpowered, and the entire chamber was aglow. ++Wretched deceiver!++ His hands wrapped around her throat, and began to slowly squeeze. -Murderer!-

Nula's eyes began to bug out of her head-

"Variks. Cease."

The empowered Tabrix whirled, staring furiously at Mara Sov. His grip had yet to lessen. ++She must die.++

"And if I determine that to be necessary, then you will have that privilege. But she is still more useful alive than dead. So release her."

It seemed like an eternity before the soul of Tabris receded; the golden sheen faded, and the rest of the room once more fell into shadow beyond the torchlight. He released his hold on her throat, allowing her to breathe once more. "...our people...so many people...left to die, left to be blown away..." The Fallen curled his arms around himself; his very image evoked one of weariness.

Nula gasped heavily, trying to regain her breath. Mara took one step forward, staring intently at her eyes. "If you do not tell me the truth, then you will beg me to let him kill you."

"...it has...long been a thought of mine...that we Awoken of the Reef...carry an odd hypocrisy. Straddling the edge of Light and Dark, so many of us chide the people of Earth, who have picked a side..." She slowly raised her head, so that they were now face-to-face. "...to not choose a side is still a choice...and I made mine."

Click.

The seven witches of the Coven froze, and the Queen went still; the Awoken Guards - all ten of them - had their sidearms out. Seven, aimed at the back of each Techeun's head; the eighth, aimed at the back of the Queen's head; the ninth, aimed at the head of Variks, slumped onto the floor...and the tenth, who was now undoing the bonds that bound her. "...I am betrayed yet again?" angrily murmured Mara.

"No. That would imply they were loyal only to you in the first place."

"...no..." Mara glanced from side-to-side. She did not dare make an offensive move, lest the wretched Guard behind her take things...incorrectly. "...these too...?"

"The fates of the Royal Awoken Guard are infinitesimal. Relative to the Paladins, or to the Coven, or to we of the Royal Family...are you surprised that they would escape notice?" Their only purpose was to fight and die for the Queen, to protect her in all instances: a simple position that could be fulfilled by anyone. Hence why the Original had seeded iterations with those who would grow into the position. "Just as you kept secrets...so did I."

Mara Sov scowled, showing her teeth: a sign that her fury threatened to boil over. "...you will not be able to escape Sovereign."

Nula sighed, rubbing her wrists as her metaphysical bonds were removed; the connection to the Original was back. "If I were trying to escape the conventional way...then maybe."

"Leave that place."

Of course. As she stepped backwards - still in sight of the Techeuns, of Variks, and the Queen - the air behind her cracked. Pieces of space and time fell away, revealing an abyss filled with red eyes. "I could have killed you, now." Her body burned with a negative light, and her eyes began to blaze white. "But I did not...because you are still needed in the time to come. War is coming to the solar system, beyond anything you have ever experienced...we would have been able to face it together. I wanted to face it, together."

"...under my authority as Queen, I banish you, Nula Sov, from the Reef...if I ever see you again...I will kill you."

"...I see. A shame." She set one foot beyond the threshold. "...be strong, Queen of the Reef. Your people will need you in the troubles to come." She stepped back further, fully crossing the threshold between mere physical reality and the Ascendant Realm. She barely caught sight of the other iterations undo their own A.T. Fields - their cover was blown, their purpose served - and fall to pieces before turning away and diving deeper.

It was time to make some more adjustments.

xxxx

Mara Sov stared quietly at the places where the ten Awoken Guards - mere masquerades, just like that cur! - had fallen; the boundaries of their souls had been purposefully unraveled, their bodies dissolving into shreds of meat and ooze.

Oh, how badly she wanted to break something.

"...watch over Variks," she growled, turning towards Illyn - the Coven Mother of the Tech Witches, eldest of their number - with stoic wrath. "Do whatever you must...but if there are other iterations of her, I want them found."

"...it shall be done, my Queen."

Mara stormed out, leaving the isolated prison cell behind; her eyes were glowing brighter, and the power within her body was churning, begging for release.

(She absolutely adored her eldest cousin. Erika's mind was unparalleled, and her skills in arcane arts was second to no one. Over and over, she said that her cousin would make for a fine Queen, one day. She would always smile enigmatically, and say, "Perhaps." In retrospect...how naive had she been, in the eyes of whoever Erika had truly been?)

Deeper into Sovereign, she thundered.

(Her little sister's mind was voracious, hungry for all the knowledge that the Reef had to offer. "There is so much to learn, my sister," Nula would often say. "If I am to play my part...if I am to be a good Princess...I must learn." Seemingly harmless words. The naive enthusiasm of a young child, not yet even thirty in the eyes of the Awoken. Oh, how pitifully foolish she had been!)

She soon founded herself alone, within the Reef's most sacred place: the chamber that held MAGI-Ω: MAYA. Kneeling before the metallic capsule, Mara let her mind roil with anger and rage.

She wanted to break something. The sheer ferocity of her wrath was undeniable; so much so, that the Mind of the First Queen reached out to her.

~The woman stared quietly at her; a demure sort, she did not give off the impression of someone who had taken survivors of the Collapse - altered, changed, transformed! - and forged a dynasty.~

Mara huffed. The anger would not recede.

~Maya quirked her head: you are in pain?~

She refused to acknowledge it.

~Maya tittered: we all hurt in some way, shape, or form.~

I am the Queen. I am not allowed to be weak.

~Maya scoffed: grieving for those we lost is weakness?~

The MAGI hummed with intent.

~Maya proclaimed: for the longest time, I grieved for the death of my friends from Earth. I wept for the loss of my beloved senpai, who I adored more than anyone else. If grieving makes you weak, then I was the weakest f all! Do you believe me weak, descendant?~

...no. You were not weak, my ancestor. You are not weak, Protector of our Realm.

~Maya sighed: I know the burden of what it means to rule, to command. I understand.~

I know you do. You must. But oh, that desire to break was still so strong! The betrayal of Nula, it stung so deeply!

~Maya smiled: If you cannot allow yourself to show your grief to your people...then you can show it to me, who was also Queen.~

Mara Sov looked up at the stoic capsule of red and white metal, eyes blazing brightly with her anger.

("Even if her father is a scoundrel...she is still family," said Mara, chiding her younger brother. She carefully took the infant from her mother, cradling the child in the crook of her arm: Nula Sov, the newest Princess, looked up with eyes of brilliant red. "And as Queen of the Awoken...I will always protect my family. No matter what.")

...very well. And so Mara broke the only thing that was within reach: herself. The glow in her eyes dimmed, as she wept bitterly in silence.

No one else would ever know of her grief, save the Mind of the First.

Never again, would Mara Sov grieve.

xxxx

Grimoire: The Exalted

"From the Tomes of the Consul"

In the grim darkness of the Kings' Era, there was only war: bloody, deplorable, and futile.

It was a time before the Praetorate, who crafted the laws of battle, and birthed the Legions' unyielding discipline. It was time where warriors were beholden to their lords, be they ruthless or decadent; with each battle, the fields and towns would be soaked with blood, rendering them edible for the Leviathans that prowled the landscape.

Then we found the machines. Or perhaps they found us.

It was if they had appeared from nowhere, these strange beings called Vex. Entire towers of brass and bronze were there one day, and gone the next. They fought all of the Cabal with a curious yet relentless logic. The people cried for a savior.

Acrius answered the call. He gathered the greatest champions of our people, and instructed them in the art of the war. They were the epitome of soldiers, the ideal generals, this first generation of what would become the Praetorate. As the Kings fell one after another, only Acrius and his Legions remained as a pillar of strength and order. Yet against the Vex, their might was not enough.

Knowing that the stars possessed great power; that they bore light which could drive away the darkest night; Acrius raised his fists to the sky, to take our sun - Kalos, the Everlasting Flame! - for himself.

Kalos was pleased by his fervor, and so blessed him with the Exalted.

With this great weapon - one that could sunder the celestial spheres and fiery netherworlds; one that had been part of our folk tales for time immemorial - Acrius drove back the Vex. They retreated into the dark, leaving our world scarred, yet united.

The Exalted's work was done, and was taken back by Kalos; in turn, he gave Acrius the title of Emperor. The Everlasting Flame then issued a challenge, asking - demanding! - that we seize our future.

Thus was born the Cabal Empire. And it was our destiny to conquer the stars.