Two flashes of green suddenly appearing in the command deck would have usually either elicited confusion or all too knowing terror on any space faring sharing.

Aboard the Desolate Whisper, the cairn-class tombship, it was instead a familiar sight.

Isotatekh let out a sigh as he took a step forward, letting his face fall into his hand.

"Father?" Amatoth asked gently, standing next to him with a concerned expression. "Are you well?"

Isotatekh considered lying to her. "No. No, I am not." He hesitated. He'd never been good at this sort of thing. "The foe is… different to what I expected. I had thought it a C'Tan newborn, but whilst it shares some aspects of such… it is something different entirely." He sighed, looking out to the large fleet silently looming around his capital ship. "Your mother will be here soon. You may want to get some rest."

"I…" Amatoth gulped. "Yes father." She looked around, before eventually gathering the strength to ask. "...Will you please consider what N proposed? I… do not wish for the people of this world to suffer. They…" There was a tremor in her voice. "They are the first friends I have made."

Damn it. Damn it all. "...I will discuss this with your mother." It was as much as he could offer.

He wore the title of Phaeron in name only, after all.

Seeing the relief on his daughter's expression made the soon to be had conversation all worth it however, the girl giving him a gentle smile. "Thank you father. That is all I ask." With that she turned around, walking out of the command room.

Isotatekh stared in the direction of where he knew the world of Copper 9 was located. It and… that thing. The anomaly, which he now knew the name of.

Cyn.

A third flash of green light manifested itself behind him, Isotatekh not bothering to turn around at the sound of metallic feet walking up to him. A shadow loomed over him as the figure stood behind him, its imposing bulk easily surpassing his own.

"Husband." The tone was… not quite cold, but would easily be mistaken as such for one who knew her less. If anything, he could detect a few hints of concern in it.

"Wife." He acknowledged back. "You arrived later than I hoped."

"My apologies. There was some issues with other dynasties looking into things… the recent movement of the Ancient Enemy has startled a fair few into action. I had to spend some time quelling them in order to ensure no external interference unless requested." She finally stepped in front of him, the familiar sight of his life partner bringing some relief to Isotatekh. Unlike him, she had chosen a proper warform; At five meters tall, she towered over most necron lords and even some war constructs, and would handily take any of them on the battlefield.

"Not too troubling?" He asked gently.

"Nothing I could not handle." She said, crossing her massive arms over her chestplate. "You got into a fight."

He nodded. "I did."

"You know you are not meant to." She chastised him, her sensors scanning over him. "Your form is not suitable for combat."

"All our forms are suitable for combat." He argued back, though there was little defiance in it.

The look she gave him was plainly unamused. "You know what I mean. It is not your role to take to the field. It is mine."

He sighed deeply. "I know. I am sorry. The fight came to me, I am afraid, and I did not wish to abandon Amatoth's friends right after meeting some of them. It would have been… a poor decision."

She gave him an understanding look before nodding. "Acceptable, I suppose. Still, I hope you gathered some information I can use?"

He nodded, passing over all the data he had collected during the encounter with the anomaly, along with this "Patch" that the primitives from the other realm had created.

His wife silently looked through it all, remaining perfectly rigid as she did. Then, she spoke. "The abilities of the Anomaly are… troubling. Disconcerting in the way those of the old C'Tan were. But their primary catalyst seems to be a manipulation of reality itself… something which I believe our shards should be more adept at given they originate from this dimension, unlike it." She nodded to herself. "I believe I can take the Anomaly on. If necessary, I can request some assistance from other dynasties… but I sincerely believe we could defeat it with the means available to us."

"And this… Patch?"

His wife paused at that, something which was quite unusual for her. "It is… strange. Quite frankly, I am unsure how it would even function. However, I believe it would be possible to replicate it… but it would require restarting the process from scratch. All designed from the ground up… including the development of the technology that the primitives used, and the strange logic applied. That is leaving aside the lack of…" She stopped. "Irrelevant. I will put some work towards it, but it shall take some time in the best case scenario."

"Sufficient." Isotatekh said, bracing himself for what came next. "I will ask you to refrain from attacking the Anomaly however."

Her gaze sharpened, her voice gaining a tangible amount of steel. "Explain."

He did as she asked. "The Anomaly is linked to some of Amatoth's new friends. Getting rid of her could result in a breakdown of relations, and could deeply hurt our girl should they choose to reject her." The strongest argument first. "Additionally, one of them suggested a… possible solution to the biotransference." He saw in the way she grew utterly rigid that he had her attention. "It is admittedly a bit of a long shot, but I believe it to be worth pursuing."

She took some time to answer. "And that is?" There was no mistaking the hunger in her voice; The deep craving the possibility of a return to flesh… and most importantly, their souls, awakened in her. He understood. It was the same that he was experiencing now, after all.

"You are not going to like it." He warned her. "Very much so."

"And yet you still think it a worthwhile endeavour?"

He nodded. "I do."

"Then I would hear it all the same."

Isotatekh squashed the urge to take a deep breath, along with the ensuing panic at his inability to do so with practiced ease.

In the end, he was right.

She really, REALLY did not like it.

Cyn stared at N, her expression perfectly blank, small smile on her face as per usual.

N stared at Cyn, his face contorted into a slightly uncomfortable look as he tried to glare down at her with little success. Around them the cold wind blew in between the ruined remains of the city, Uzi, Doll and Nori hanging back some distance as N tried coming up with the right words.

"Look…" He began. "Cyn. I… I can understand why you wanted the Patch destroyed. I mean, in your place, I'm pretty sure I would have wanted it destroyed as well!" It was always difficult to tell what Cyn was thinking, her lack of facial changes making any attempt at deciphering what she was thinking near impossible. "But starting a fight like that wasn't the way to go about it!"

Cyn tilted her head. "Frowny face. But Nori would not. Give it to. Me. I had to do. Something." She shrugged. "And assert. Dominance. Or something."

N gave her a deadpan look. "Or something? Ugh…" He sighed. "C'mon, work with me here lil' buddy. If you're going to freak out and throw down everytime things don't go your way…"

"I will." Cyn's interruption made N instinctively freeze up, something which did not go unnoticed. "Upset expression. I am. Not doing this well."

"It's… it's fine." It wasn't, but the last thing N wanted was to provoke Cyn into starting another fight. "...Anyways, we can approach that later!" When he was feeling more confident in himself, and not having flashbacks to when Cyn was tossing him around like a ragdoll. "I was kind of hoping for your help on something."

Cyn perked up at that. "Happy smile. My help? You want. My help?"

"Uh… yeah?" N said with a nervous chuckle. "This isn't something I can really do without you on board…"

"Pleased smile." She climbed up higher on top of a destroyed car, placing her at eye level with him. "Present your. Request. And I your gracious. Sister. Shall listen."

N gulped. Having her be this close was… scary. Really scary. Still, he did his best to explain the biotransference to Cyn, what it had involved and what it had resulted in.

"Amused expression. So these aliens decided to trust. The giant space gas thingies. How amusing." She tilted her head. "But that does not tell me. What you want."

"The eldar." He said softly. "We are going to be rescuing their goddess, Isha. A goddess of life. She could give them back their bodies; That seems within her domain. Fix what is wrong with them. That could even get the necrons to help us with that, and give us more people to fight when we try and get home!" He hesitated. "But…"

"But they will not. Listen to you. Because you are not. Necessary for their plan." Cyn pointed to herself. "Thoughtful expression. Which is where I come in. I assume. You want me to get the eldar and. Necron. To cooperate with each other. Rather than fight." She shrugged. "You put a lot of faith into. The abilities of a god you have. Never met. Or seen."

N chuckled nervously, rubbing his arm. "Well…" A memory of red. Of a being taller than a mountain, sat on a throne of skulls that surpassed what his processors could keep up with, of blood, BLOOD, BLOOD!

Warning: Interference detected.

Corruption level: 5%.

Corruption level: 0%.

Interference removed.

3

N's visor turned red for a split second, then purple, then back to yellow. He turned back, giving Uzi a grateful smile, the worker drone giving him a distant thumbs up before going back to screaming at Nori and Doll in alternate turns, the russian speaking doll regularly wincing as she did.

He turned back to Cyn, finding her having risen to full height and staring at him with unnerving focus, her eyes glowing in the darkness of the planet.

He gave her an uneasy smile. "Let's just say that I've been given plenty of evidence that the gods here can fully back up their claims."

Cyn stared at him for a while longer. "Interloper." She said in a dead tone. "At least Uzi is good for one. Thing. As despicable as she is."

N sighed. "I wish you wouldn't be so mean to her…"

"Annoyed snort. No. She is gross and. Icky. And wants my. Big brother. And stole. You and V. And even. My special technique." She stared in the direction of Uzi, who quickly flipped her the middle finger. "And is rude. And a meany."

N gave her an incredulous look. "Cyn. Little buddy. You eat planets."

"She does not have to be. Rude about it. Huff." Cyn turned her focus back to him. "But regarding your request. I will acquiesce on one. Condition."

N tensed. He had expected this of course, but… "And that is?" That didn't make him feel any more prepared.

"You will. Come meet someone with me."

N blinked, confused. "Wait, that's it? No 'I become your admin again', no I help you destroy the planets, no we go to the planet full of humans and kill them all?"

Cyn shook her head. "Giggle. No. Not yet, at least. And maybe not. Ever. If they. Behave." She shrugged. "I suppose you could say. We are going to meet. A. Therapist."

N stared at her. "A what."

Zorial was an astartes. A space marine, crafted by the Emperor to be a tireless, fearless creature of war. Capable of slogging through weeks of fighting without faltering, of facing the worst of the worse out there and not flinch.

And yet, there was one domain where he had found his limit. A realm in which his spirit was crushed, his every moment haunted by the insanity and stupidity of man, his every breath spent cursing whichever madman came up with this convoluted torture method.

The Administratum's filing system.

The consequences of the ork invasion had been dire. Despite their eventual victory, the breach of the hive-city had led to a significant chunk of the population getting slaughtered, and the ensuing discovery that there were entire legions of enhanced servitors hiding away in the unseen parts of the planet had sent the population into a panic. People refused to come to work, scurried away from every shadow or organised lynch mobs and killed their fellow citizens, accusing them of having "The Yellow Eyes". It was madness, pure and simple madness.

They had won. And yet, it hardly felt like it.

Zorial hadn't done anything about the servitors. They were affiliated with Cyn, he was sure of it, and he knew better than to poke that particular bear too hard. Besides, they had yet to commit excessive violence, and seemed mostly intent on self-defence and leaving the planet. Something which worried Zorial to no end, but once again there was hardly anything he could do about it. He knew that if Cyn really wanted them out there, she would get them. This way at least involved less civilian casualties.

He just… worried.

Glaring up at yet another massive pile of papers requiring his attention, he wondered which of the four gods had cursed him so. His efforts to the hive had not gone unrecognized, and he had been named planetary governor in all but name. He doubted the Imperium would be happy about such… but they had yet to show any sign of acknowledgement of what was happening within the system. He knew better than to think this meant they were in the clear.

The Imperium could arrive a century later with the intent of annihilating the entire world. The only certainty was that they would come, eventually.

Still, he wished they'd chosen someone else. It was horrific the amount of paperwork even the most simple of requests needed. And yet, he'd been unable to deny it. The looks of hopeless despair in the eyes of the population after the orks… the way they looked to him for salvation, for any form of aid…

One of the Emperor's angels. If they truly knew.

But he had not been able to forsake them. They were human. His people.

He never was good at turning away from those in need. Just… good at pretending they didn't need him. Or that he was doing the right thing.

Like at Teresiom three. The first time he'd felt any doubt that the Imperium's way was flawed.

A world condemned to death for the crime of wishing to protect the xenos that had helped them survive a plague and made a millenia lasting friendship with.

He was snapped out of the memories of boiling oceans and continents moving like water on the waves under the impact of the cyclonic torpedoes at a sudden feeling of impending dread. His eyes narrowed, his pulse quickened…

The dead, robotic droning and by now familiar voice of Cyn reached his ear. "Oh yeah. Get snuck upon."

He untensed, turning to find a slightly smiling Cyn standing right behind him, in her maid like body. "...Really?" He asked tiredly.

"Giggle. You should see the look. On your face." Cyn's head began falling only for her to catch it with her hand. "I have come to. Collect my. Price."

Zorial's face grew severe as he rose up, bracing himself for what was to come. "Your brother?"

"Big. Brother." She corrected. "But yes that is. Correct. He is. On his way. He will be here. Soon. He is not as fast as. I am."

Zorial's hands clenched. So it was time. He knew it had been arriving ever since he made that deal with Cyn… but now that it was here, he found himself quite worried. Cyn was a horrifically powerful entity; One capable of devastating an entire star system and ravaging its planetoids. One fully able to wipe out this entire hive world if she wished for, and one he had no answer to should she decide to kill him or anyone else.

For her to call another Big Brother? What monstrous entity was he about to encounter? Cyn had expressed the desire to improve as a person, if indirectly, for the sake of that brother… but Zorial knew well enough how easily 'good people' could hide the most twisted of personalities under their facade.

He looked down at her. "And does he possess the same abilities as you to… sneak his way in?" He asked cautiously.

"No. He does. Not." She said easily. "But he is good at. Sneaky-sneaky-sneaking around." She glanced up at him. "And he is. Cleverer than people. Think."

That was when someone knocked at the door, making them both pause. Zorial glanced over to it before looking back at Cyn in disbelief.

She however adamantly refused to make eye contact with him.

"...Come in?" He hesitantly called out.

The door swung open, and a… thing walked in. It was tall for a human, though shorter than it was by a decent amount. Humanoid, and made of metal in a similar manner to Cyn, though it was taller and seemed more built for actual combat. It might have been the very sharp, very pointy tail it possessed with an eerie glowing acidic yellow liquid inside; Or it may have been the way its sensors clearly flickered around with an intensity that reminded him of that of his own battle brothers looking around for danger. It may even have been the strange speed at which he noticed some of the more minor movements as it stepped inside the room, micro-movements that would have easily been missed but belaid a very, very fast opponent.

It wore what seemed to be a pilot's hat and a fuzzy coat, its visor glowing with the display of two yellow eyes a similar colour as to that of Cyn much in the same way its hair was an identical shade of platinum blonde, although its face was etched in a far kinder and slightly nervous expression.

When it spoke, it did so with such a chirpy and expressive tone it caught Zorial off-guard. "Hi! I'm Serial Designation N, Cyn's…" It stumbled there, its voice faltering as it seemed to consider its words. "...Brother." It finally said, Zorial noticing how Cyn seemed to perk up at the words. "It's nice to meet you sir!" It concluded, extending a hand towards him.

Zorial reached out his own, shaking its hand and finding as he expected an incredibly strong grip as his mind kicked into high gear. "Zorial. To be quite frank, what people call me these days changes so often titles are essentially meaningless. For now at least, I am in charge around here." The creature was much less… frightening than Zorial had expected. At least, in appearance. But he knew better than to lower his guard. Oh did he.

The now named N gave him an awkward smile. "Ah. Yeah that sounds rough. I hope Cyn hasn't made your life too hard…" He leaned forward, whispering. "Honestly when she told me she'd been bothering a human for the past few days, I was half expecting to meet a corpse."

"I am. Right here. Big Brother."

Zorial chuckled. "No, no. Cyn has been quite the interesting fellow to discuss with. Though admittedly a tad frightening at times." He glanced over at her. "I believe you may want to make yourself scarce if you wish for us to have a proper conversation."

Cyn stared at him. "Eye roll. Fine. Whatever. I didn't want to. Stay. Anyways." She glanced over to N. "Later we are having. Movie Night." She paused. "Please."

N seemed caught off guard by that. Zorial found it quite interesting how open both of the siblings were about how they were feeling; Cyn almost always clearly stating what she felt, whilst N so far was an open book if one merely paid attention to his expression. "Su…sure. Though no horror movies!"

"Disappointed sigh." With those last words the maid vanished in a strange glitching of reality.

N stared at Zorial. "Soooo… I'm honestly not sure why Cyn wanted me to meet you." He said, tilting his head. "She said you're some kind of… therapist?"

Zorial placed a hand under his chin even as he gestured to a nearby chair. "Not… quite. Take a seat, it must be tiring standing up."

N laughed. "Oh no! I'm a robot, I don't get tired." He said with an easy smile. "I was built to fight and last a while!"

Zorial smiled, a hint of sadness in his eyes. "Then that is one thing we have in common." He took a seat regardless. "So tell me. You are a brother to Cyn, but given you are both artificial beings…" He gave the robot a significant look.

"Ah." N glanced at Zorial sitting down and took his own seat. "Well, we're not like, ACTUAL siblings. Not like you organics. It's more… something we made up, really. Back at the mansion…" He hesitated. "Uh, I don't know how much Cyn told you about where we come from?"

Zorial shook his head. "Little I am afraid. She speaks much in implications, little in actual facts save to make threats."

"That sounds like her." N sighed. "Well… she at least told you we aren't from this dimension?"

Zorial nodded. "In a manner of speaking."

"Right. Well, in our dimension, humans… made us." He pointed to himself. "Not this form. That one is all Cyn… and a bit of Uzi now as well. But worker drones, like, the original us? We were made to do manual labour, servant tasks, the works. Except that humans are not… the nicest to us. Or I guess were."

Zorial gave the drone a sympathetic look. "It is unfortunately unsurprising to hear."

N sighed. "Yeah. So some of us would get… discarded. Thrown away when we messed up or got damaged. There was this graveyard… more of a dump really, near the Elliott manor." N's eyes hollowed out. "It was an… unpleasant place. Not very good memories there. But someone found us!" He visibly perked up at that. "She was called Tessa. Really nice girl, absolutely wonderful. From a really rich family too, and she had a passion for machinery and programming. She found some of us in the dump and brought us back home, repaired us and kept us around. Without her, we'd still be there." He hesitated. "It was always… complicated, describing who Tessa was to us. A mother, a sister, an owner? A friend? Maybe all of those at once. Just… really complicated." He tapped his fingers together. "J was the first. Then it was me… and then V. Last was Cyn." He smiled softly, his expression distant. "She was… clumsy. Couldn't walk properly. It annoyed Tessa's parents, and they were… not very patient. Or kind. Or good people. In fact, they were quite mean." He winced. "They'd punish Cyn whenever she'd mess up. And Cyn never was one to take things lying down. So I tried covering for her, tried helping her out. She kinda…latched on to me. Which isn't too surprising, really. V found her unnerving, J hated her, Tessa disliked her…" N hesitated a while. "...It didn't really matter in the end. She started calling me Big Brother… and I called her little sister, or little buddy. But she still…" He shivered, hugging himself. "Well. That's the reason at least."

Zorial stared at the drone, a mix of complicated feelings within him. The situation described was hardly what was causing his stomach to turn, no. He'd seen and dealt with nightmarish scenarios and horrible abuses of powers of all kinds. An abusive family treating its servants like dirt was hardly something new.

Someone like Cyn would have never tolerated being treated like it was implied she was. And with the power she had… Why had she? Unless she'd acquired this power later. Which implied she wasn't born with it. Which implied something had possessed her.

Which in turn meant he may have been talking to a robotic shell puppeted by something else.

He carefully kept his tone composed. "So… what happened?"

N looked at Zorial with a haunted expression.

"The Gala." Those two words were said in a frightened near whisper, a world of emotion packed within them. "Cyn had been… preparing something. Making other worker drones into…" He gestured to himself. "This. Disassembly Drones. And all the while no one… no one saw it coming. No one had any idea what she was capable of." He paused. "She'd done something to anger the Elliotts that day and I took the blame. They brought me to a tree… so I didn't see much of what happened next. She came for me at the tree when she was done. Dragged me back inside." His eyes were hollow. "...She erased my memory of it all. It was only through someone else's intervention that I remembered. But Cyn… she's…" He hesitated. "She's changed. For the better, sure. But it's also unnerving. You know? I always expect her to…" He glanced behind himself. "I dunno. Flip the script. Reveal she did all of that just to mess with me. To trick me for… whatever reason. It's…" He sighed. "Anyways. After the gala, she'd turned all of us into disassembly drones. She made lots and lots of us… and then unleashed us on Earth." He chuckled sadly. "It wasn't really much of a fight. Oh at first the humans fought back well, they destroyed quite a few of us, even if their casualties were monstrous… but it didn't really matter. Cyn could just remake us as many times as she wanted. There was no putting us down for good. And when you've got drones with the strength to flip a tank going around at the speed of sound? And it only got worse whenever Cyn joined the fighting herself." He shrugged. "It was all a game to her. In the end, she just… ate Earth. The entire planet, just… gone. After that, it all gets a bit blurry. I know she got the rest of the humans, eventually. I think Cyn liked having me around as… myself, without the trauma, because she never did bother erasing the others' memories. Only mine." He chuckled sadly. "So you can understand I'm a bit… conflicted now that she's apparently turned a new leaf." He looked up to the marines. "It's funny. I don't know why I'm finding it so easy to talk about this stuff with you. I don't even know you." He laughed. "Maybe I'm just… tired of keeping it all to myself."

Zorial stared at the drone before him. That was… worse than he had expected. Cyn had implied she'd been the end of mankind in her own realm, but he hadn't realised how literal she'd been in that regard.

And this one… this one was clearly not like his 'sister'. It sounded more like he'd been a favorite toy than family from the way he described it…

But Zorial remembered how Cyn had been when he first met her. It had been like discussing with someone examining a particularly interesting bug. It was only after… that she'd started behaving differently. Not good, certainly not nice… but better. With some bare measures of empathy.

If this one had known her for years before that… it was no wonder he was so afraid. Like a dog who had grown up abused, flinching every time his master raised a hand. It was… depressingly familiar to how he'd seen some of his brothers acting around their primarchs. Albeit none of his brothers had such a cheery attitude.

"It is not all too surprising." He eventually said. "Anyone would want to rant after something like this happened… and I have learned it is sometimes much easier to rant to strangers than it is to those we know. We often wish to preserve them from the burdens we bear." He smiled kindly. "But I am no stranger to burdens. You need not worry about giving me more."

N nodded. "I guess. It doesn't hurt you've somehow gotten Cyn to be a bit more chill…" He sighed. "I guess I was curious as to what kind of person could manage that."

Zorial laughed. "I'm afraid I'm as lost as you are." He leaned forward. "Still, I do have a question for you. I was planning on asking Cyn, but she left rather fast." He pushed forward a holographic display. "Three craftworlds have appeared in the system. Normally, even the appearance of one would have been enough to send a high alert warning throughout the entire sector. But three? If I was able to send a message out to the wider Imperium, I would have sent a warning to Terra itself. The people don't know about it, and I plan on keeping it that way if I can… but I have a feeling you are linked to this whole mess."

N winced. "Ah… yeah I can imagine that'd be quite scary for you guys." He nodded. "Yeah, they're here for us. You know about the planet we're from? Copper 9?"

Zorial nodded. "I am aware, yes."

"I'm not sure how much I can tell you to be honest…" N hesitantly said. "Um, but essentially you don't need to worry. They're not here to fight you. I'm even hoping they're not here to fight anyone."

Zorial sighed. "It explains why Cyn was asking for information about the eldar…" He grimced. "I will not ask what deal you have with them if you are not willing to share. But I would advise caution when dealing with the eldar. They are a tricky people, and their motives are often nebulous and planned well in advance."

N laughed softly. "Yeah, people keep telling me that. It's going to be a pain getting them to not fight the necrons…" His eyes widened as Zorial's expression twisted in near panic. "Oh biscuits. I shouldn't have said that."

"I'm sorry." Zorial's voice was soft, calm, belaying the inner dread that was filling him. "Did you say the necrons?"

N looked around. "Uhhhh… yeah?" He winced. "I'm guessing you guys don't have the best experience with them?"

Zorial nodded slowly. "That is… somewhat of an understatement. Quite a significant one at that." He whistled softly. "And with the eldar in the same system… and you intend to try and prevent them from fighting?" Zorial shook his head. "That is… insane."

N sighed. "I'm starting to get that. I'm still going to try though."

Zorial cocked an eyebrow. "And why is that?" He was more interested in why the hell were the eldar and the necron both in his damn system, this was supposed to be a peaceful retirement, but it didn't seem the drone would be willing to answer that particular question.

N stared down for a moment. "...I… Until I had my memories restored, for years, all I ever was was a weapon. I was made to kill, so I killed. And I was good at it. Not as good as V, or J, but I still killed… a lot of people. Worker drones. We were made to kill them. Destroy them. Eradicate them." He looked up to Zorial with a sad smile. "Built for genocide. That's what we were."

Zorial stayed quiet, although a deep feeling of sympathy rose within him. That… was something he understood all too well.

N continued. "And then I met her. Uzi, a worker drone. I tried to kill her, but… failed. And that's good!" He quickly added. "Really good. She showed me that… we didn't have to fight. We didn't have to be enemies. That it didn't matter what I was made to do… only what I chose to do." He stared down at his hands, it turning into a set of vicious metallic claws with quick mechanical motion. "Since coming to this galaxy, the more I've been talking to the people in it, the more I've been learning about it… the more miserable it seems. I…" He shivered. "I ended up being approached by a powerful entity. A god. It offered power for bloodshed."

Zorial's nostrils flared as he let out a deep sigh, shock running through him. "Khorne."

N blinked. "Y…yeah. You know of him?"

Zorial nodded. "Some of my brothers fell to his worship. It is a long story, but suffice to say I am painfully familiar with the Four." He gave the drone a sympathetic look. "It must have been difficult rejecting the blood god."

"That's the thing." N gave him a dejected smile. "I didn't. I accepted the power."

"Impossible." Zorial swiftly argued. "I cannot sense corruption within you." And if the blood god had a claim on a soul, it was one Zorial would undoubtedly be able to notice.

N grinned. "See, that's something where my nature as a drone worked out. Technically, I am not my own system admin. So I don't own my soul. So it was never mine to give away." He chuckled softly. "And that's… a damn relief. Once again, Uzi saved me. But… before that, Khorne…" His eyes flickered red and Zorial reached down to the bolter at his side, releasing his grip as they turned back to yellow. "He showed me."

Zorial gulped. "Showed you what?"

N stared into Zorial's eyes, and for a second, Zorial Saw.

He saw the echoes of a thousand thousand battles. The warcries of a trillion souls, the screams of pains and suffering of so many more innocents. He saw worlds burn and shatter, mountains quake under the dreadful march of terrible war engines. He saw fleets of ships that obscured the skies as they boiled the oceans and set the very atmosphere ablaze. He saw mountains of corpses as they piled higher than the highest peak.

"War. He showed me War." N whispered. "And your galaxy is stained in war and everything that comes with it. The suffering. The hate. The desire for revenge, to strike back, to get even. To kill, to BURN, TO MAIM!" His eyes flashed red, Zorial jerking back as he rose to his full height, wings deploying with a crimson aura. "TO CAST IT ALL ASIDE FOR WAR! TO BURN THE INNOCENCE, THE EMPATHY! TO CUT THE HAND THAT REACHES IN AID! TO SHOWER THE GALAXY IN BLOOD, TO ANNIHILATE ALL UNTIL YOU ARE THE LAST ONE LEFT!" Zorial was seriously considering firing upon the drone when his eyes glowed a powerful purple, N gasping as he fell to the ground, whimpering as he clutched himself.

"...N?" Zorial asked cautiously.

The drone wheezed, breathing in hard. "I'm… I'm okay. Sorry. I… I lost control there for a bit." He raised himself back up, collapsing in the chair. "...You get the point." His eyes were back to the same yellow as Cyn's. It was a relief that Zorial found himself struggling with, that colour having become associated with surprise jumpscares and a terrifying eldritch maid. "...I made friends with a necron. And I heard the tale of the eldar and their constant struggle. I heard the Imperium's tale. And… Everyone is suffering. This galaxy is a nightmare. It's all… constant fighting, constant hate. Constant back stabbing, constant struggle to eradicate everyone else." He sighed. "Doesn't it get exhausting? Doesn't it get tiring? And… in the end, doesn't it just make everything worse?" He shook his head. "I… I know it's naive. I know it's probably stupid, and foolish, and everything else you want to call me. But…" His expression was desperate. "I don't want Amatoth to die. I don't want the eldar to die. I don't want anyone to die if they don't have to!" His hands clenched, tightening with a metallic groan. "How many eldar are going to die if they fight?! How many people are going to have family… ripped away because what, they have to fight the other guy who is there? Because he's not like them?! Just this once, can't we choose to just… walk away?! Live another day instead of dying to try and kill another one of them?!" He sagged in his chair. "Don't we all have enough problems without also constantly trying to kill each other?" N looked up to Zorial, his expression tired. "At least this once… when they just happened to be in the same place at the same time… I'd like to try and prevent more tragedies." He looked down. "...I've caused enough without ever really thinking too hard about it."

Zorial was stunned. This was… He knew they were from another realm. From another dimension.

But it wasn't until he was confronted with such an alien way of thinking that it was truly impressed upon him.

"I agree. It is quite a naive way of seeing it." Zorial said softly. "And yet I cannot find myself disagreeing with it." He smiled bitterly as N gave him a surprised look. "I was also made for war, you know. Made for killing. But I found no joy in it. Not really. Not when I started thinking about it. You're right. This galaxy IS a nightmare. If you try to extend a hand, it will be cut off. And so no one tries." He found his voice holding a hint of wishfullness. "And yet, so many look at the horror of the galaxy and decide 'then I shall be worse' or 'then I shall be as horrific as it'. Not understanding it is that very way of thinking that dooms us to forever keep it this way. It takes a lot of strength to try and improve things. To see the nightmare that is, and decide 'we must be better.'" He turned to the image of the Emperor decorating the wall of his new office. "...I believe in a way, it was one of the Emperor's mistakes. He tried to browbeat a galaxy of nightmares by creating his own… tried to beat it at its own game. And in doing so, he laid the very seeds that ensured it would never work. For even if he had won… so what?" He gestured to the window. "All one has to do is go to the manufactorums to see how things were when the Imperium was spreading across the stars. It has gotten worse, certainly, but not particularly different. If he had gotten his way… I doubt humanity would be happier for it." He sighed. "We've gotten used to believing that living in misery is just the way things are. That they cannot be better. And in doing so, we doom ourselves to making sure they never will be. The moment someone tries to improve things, we scream, we rage and we cast them out. Because to accept that things could be better would be to admit that the way things are is intolerable. Something many will never accept." He stared down at N. "...I am sorry. I rambled quite a bit there."

N shook his head slowly. "No, no, it's…" He smiled. "I think I understand why Cyn talked so much with you."

Zorial glanced at the wall. "...For what it is worth, you are not wrong in your caution towards her. She has decided to be better. That is good. But it does not mean you owe her anything. She has treated you incredibly poorly from what you have told me, and she has admitted as much herself. You do NOT owe her to help her get better. It is neither your duty nor your obligation. You have no excuse to make for your fear of her. These are the consequences of her actions, and she has to face them if she wishes to improve. You cannot erase a mountain of sin with a single good deed." N's eyes were hollow as he spoke. "You are a person, and as such deserving of respect. If she wishes to be your sister, it is up to you, not her, whether that is the case. You decide if she deserves to be back in your life. Not her. And if you decide you do not want her to be in it? That is your prerogative."

N's expression seemed to relax. "...R…Right. It's just… Cyn is so powerful, and I'm the only one she seems to listen to. Even if it's just a bit. I'm scared of… angering her. And having the others pay for it."

"An understandable concern. And one that has place if you believe her facade to be just that. A facade." He stared at the drone. "But if you wish to take her a face's value? You must remember that you deserve to have your own thoughts and feelings towards her, and damn everything else. She hurt you. Badly. Deeply. She does not get to simply ignore that."

N was quiet for a long time. "...She hasn't, in her defense. I… I want to believe she sincerely wants to be better. She's a monster…" He smiled, sharp teeth lining his mouth. "But she's in good company."

Zorial nodded. "Indeed." He hesitated. "...I have killed many, many people N. And I have fought amongst numerous monsters. I do not believe you to be one."

N gave him a disbelieving look. "...Look at me. My teeth are sharp and can cut metal. My hands are claws, or guns, or lasers. My wings are basically swords! I eat other drones for Robo-god's sake. How am I not a monster?!"

Zorial smiled sadly. "No monster I ever met hesitated because their victim may have a family to return to. And if they did… they never let it stop them, nor did they ever seek to change their ways. But here you are now, seeking to prevent two ancient enemies from fighting for that very reason. I would hardly call that monstrous."

N stared down at his hands. "...I guess so. But… I don't… I can't stop feeling like a monster."

Zorial nodded. "I know." His expression was somber. "But… it gets better."

N looked at him. "How?"

Zorial opened a drawer from his desk. In it, there was a simple drawing. A small stick figure holding hands with a much larger, bulkier stick figure. A thank you card for when he had taken a day to repair the filtration system of the home of a small family.

"One cannot overcome a mountain of sin with a single good deed. But good acts do accumulate. We cannot ever erase what we have done, nor should we seek to. All we can do is try our best to make the world better rather than worse." Zorial put the drawing away.

"One good action at a time."