The world shuddered as Cyn teleported behind N, her punch being deflected and the disassembly drone slashing red stained claws towards her that seemed to make the very air vibrate around them. She barely moved out of the way, calculations running at impossible speeds in her mind as frustration gripped her ever tighter.
This was going nowhere. She was winning the actual fight but making no progress in undoing whatever corruption the blood god had inflicted on the raging drone; Her lack of admin permissions was proving a true pain in that regard.
She summoned a dozen tungsten pellets around her, sending them at a fraction of the speed of light towards him and watched with grim satisfaction as they tore through his body with ease. And yet, without fail, he regenerated within an instant, once more surging towards her with wild abandonment. His next hit actually connected to her shame, the combination of a laser blast to the face narrowly dodged into a vicious claw swipe to the abdomen that tore through her metallic skin with ease. She rolled her eyes, the wound regenerating instantly.
"Annoyed expression. Just give it up. This is not a fight you can win, Big Brother." She opened her palm, a tentacle of pure light reaching out and grabbing him, slamming him into the ground over and over.
He scowled and raged, struggling to escape the grasp of the new attack.
"KILL! MAIM! BURN! KILL! MAIM! BURN!" He shouted mindlessly, his struggles growing more frantic, the chanting seeming to invigorate him even as she pushed more power into the light.
"Frustrated scowl. Get out of him. This is getting nowhere."
A dark chuckle filled the air, a wave of red power washing over the drone as something began materializing in his hand. Her optics widened for a second before the corrupted energy shattered through her light, the drone blitzing her in an instant, a strange axe in hand as he raised it high. Something about the weapon sent waves of warning through her systems and she dodged, watching with disbelief as it rent not only the air but the very fabric of reality, getting a glimpse of the Immaterium before it closed itself once more, Cyn forcing the laws of reality tighter in reprisal.
"Nasty trick." She commented. "Big brother, I can't believe you would play this unfairly against your favorite little sister."
"I have only one little sister." He said, a strange lucidity in his eyes as he watched her. The snarling was gone. The near frothing mouth closed in a tight line.
"Oh? Have you finally regained the usage of some of your neural capacity?" She tilted her head. "Chuckle. That makes me the favorite by default. I tolerate no competition in that regard or any other."
"You always were like that. A cruel joke here, a comment that cuts like glass there. J was mean, but you… you've always been cruel, haven't you?" N contemplated. "...I was just desperately trying not to see it. Always seeing the best in you." A bitter laugh escaped him. "Look where that got all of us."
"Do you regret it?" She didn't know why she asked. She knew his mind wasn't right now. Whatever lucidity he displayed, it was poisoned by the red corruption in him. And yet, she felt compelled to seek an answer all the same.
"No." A sad smile graced his lips. "I could never regret loving you. I only regret not being strong enough to stop you." The smile vanished, and the X on his face burned. "This time will be different. I won't let it end the same way."
She didn't get the time to answer before he was on her, their exchange restarting instantly. But something was different this time.
She was struggling to keep up. He was no faster or stronger than before; But he had gained a focus he'd been losing through the fight, allowing him to use all of his ability and experience to the fullest.
Not only that, but this fight was starting to take a toll on her. She was hungry. So, so damn hungry. When was the last time she properly ate?
She was depleting her reserves here. N was regenerating endlessly. It did not matter if she kept winning for the next minute or ten. Eventually, she would falter.
Eventually, that axe would strike her.
And in her weakened state, she feared it may actually hurt her.
Of course, there was a solution to that. She could simply [NULL] him. But then…
There'd be no going back. She'd have to use a backup. A new N, a new brother. And it wouldn't be like the other times, simply uploading the consciousness of the one she knew since the manor to a new body. This time she would have to start fresh, the [NULL] leaving nothing to recoup behind.
She did not want that.
But this fight was unwinnable in the current conditions.
Her eyes narrowed as she felt the mocking laughter of the blood god.
So that was his plan.
She was the real target, all along. N was a way to drag her into the scene, to force her into a fight before she could enact her feast and get stronger. The disassembly drone was merely a nice extra prize upon success, another tool for the god of war and slaughter.
Clever.
Enraging, but clever. Straight forward to, overall. This was hardly some convoluted, complicated scheme.
She should have expected it. She didn't. The failure was hers, but the price was paid by N.
…She should have warned them about these things.
N raised the axe as he prepared to slam into her, Cyn gripping her fist in retaliation…
Only for V to come flying from the side, drop-kicking N in the head and sending him plummeting into the ground.
"V?" Cyn said, surprise registering to her emotional processors. She had been able to tell they were nearby, but she had hardly expected her to join in.
"Saving him. Not you." The drone snarled, lunging downwards to where the red drone was emerging, his left eye still displaying a blood red X whilst the other displayed a hollowed out yellow.
"What the… V?!" He cried out. "Why are you helping her?!" His sensors screamed a warning and he turned, raising the claws on his other hand just in time to parry a blow from J.
"No clue what's happening to you, but anger issues do not belong in the workplace." J said in a deadly serious tone, eyes narrowed at him. "Cut it out, or we'll make you."
N trembled for a moment. "...Oh. Alrighty then." His visor turned to a blood red X once more, a vicious grin on his face. "Then let me register a complaint."
The punch cracked through J's visor and went straight through her visor, the body of the drone hanging from his hand. V immediately rushed down, claws clashing against the axe as she pushed him back, Cyn teleporting next to him and forcing him to let go of J. Cyn gestured to her, kicking the regenerative protocols into overdrive.
"V! Stop fighting me! We need to stop Cyn!" N snarled. "Then the humans! We need to… need to… KILL! MAIM!"
"Burn, yeah yeah I heard you already." V said with a snarl. "But see, that's not what N would say. So whatever you are hiding in there, get the fuck out."
The expression on N's face turned mocking. "I'd like to see you try."
"Done."
N blinked at the russian voice, turning around to find Doll slapping something on his face.
Remote connection established.
Admin access detected.
Warning! Core corruption at 50%.
Warning! Foreign influence detected. Purge recommended.
Warning! Multiple foreign programs running on system. Hostility likely. Foreign influence present in program. Are you sure you wish to access?
Confirmation received. Access granted.
Welcome back, administrator [darkXWolf17]
N blinked. "Was that supposed to do something?"
Doll shrugged. "Not my problem." Before teleporting away.
N stared at where she'd been standing for a moment, before turning back to J, V and Cyn.
"Now. Where were we?" He grinned. "Oh right. KILL. MAIM!" He launched himself towards them, axe at the ready. "BURN!" Flames erupted from the wings on his back, the three bracing themselves for the fight.
Uzi stared at the thousands upon thousands of dead drones littering the ground as far as she could see. Fatal error warnings flashing on their faces, dry oil flecks splashed where limbs had been removed, bodies sliced opened, heads caved in. Further on the corpses were replaced with that of humans; Tens of thousands piling up all the way to a painfully familiar manor, standing ominously on a mountain of skulls over the sea of dead.
"...N, your mind is really fucked up right now." Uzi said quietly. "And of course, the creepy mansion is back. Of course." She took a deep breath, her eyes narrowing in determination. "Now time to get you back, you absolute dork."
She took a step forward, and found herself at the door of the manor. She jerked back, eyes hollowed out as she tried to calm down her racing core. Of course, this wasn't real. It was just like when she had hacked into N and V in order to get Cyn out of them. A realm of mind and concept, of programming no matter how corrupted.
Still, there was a structure here. An order to things. And so, she opened the door to the mansion.
He was right here, in his adorable worker body. Visor lifeless, dead. Chained to a wall of skulls that she was certain hadn't been in the mansion of N's memories.
She was damn certain this was a trap. She glanced around, looking for any source of danger. Any hidden foe.
She found none. Uzi knew better than to believe that meant there wasn't one.
She took a step forward, solver at the ready. The noise of her foot hitting the wooden floor made N's visor flicker, white eyes appearing before locking onto her. "...Uzi?" He asked in a whisper.
"N!" She cried out, rushing forward to him and hugging the life out of him. "You absolute moron, don't scare me like that!"
"What are you…" N's voice was confused. "Doing here? Is Cyn trying to breach in again?"
Uzi sighed. "No, nothing like that. I'm just trying to snap you out of whatever rage state you're in." She pulled back. "Speaking of, what the hell dude! I thought V was the one that goes psychotic and kills everyone! What gives!"
N's eyes flickered, his expression down. "Uzi, you… you don't understand. This galaxy…" The drone's eyes hollowed out. "It's a nightmare. Never ending war and suffering, no matter where you watch. And the humans of this place… they'll come for us Uzi. They'll keep coming, over and over, until they crush us under their boot. We aren't strong enough to fight them. I just…" He gave her an uneasy grin. "I just wanted to protect you all."
"Uh, I'm pretty sure I saw you lodge your first in J's face before I entered your mind, so not sure how much protecting you're doing right now." Uzi argued back, crossing her arms. "Seriously, what happened? Did some shady dude appear and offer you power?" Her eyes narrowed as N avoided her gaze. "No. Wait, seriously N?" She threw her hands in the air. "Come on! That's like, occult one-oh-one! You do not make deals with spooky entities that you don't even understand!"
N shook his head. "What other choice did I have?! Cyn?!" He let out a strangled laugh, a digital tear streaming down his visor. "The last time I trusted her, she made the lives of everyone I cared about an absolute nightmare."
Uzi groaned, punching him in the arm. "Of course not Cyn you moron! ME!" She said, grabbing his face and forcing him to look at him. "What happened to facing scary stuff together huh?!"
N's eyes widened at her frankly angry expression. "...It's not… it's not the same Uzi, none of us are strong enough! I just…" He shivered.
"So what?!" Uzi snarled, shaking him. "I'm your friend, aren't I?" She hated how her voice trembled at that.
"Of course!" He immediately replied, and she would never let him know how much it meant to her for him to look so indignant at her question.
"Then trust me! If we're not strong enough, we'll become stronger together! If the humans are that dangerous, we'll face them together!" She extended a hand to him. "So stop trying to save me by yourself, and let's save each other!" She glared at him. "But don't you dare try and leave me behind to deal with this stuff by yourself!"
N stared at her hand, his expression melting into a small smile. "...I'm sorry Uzi. I don't know what I was thinking." He extended his hand. "Together."
"Well that will not do." The voice made Uzi turn around, solver at the ready as all around her objects floated in the air through her power.
A tall, armored figure stood before the door. They were easily ten feet tall, their armour a jagged mess of dark red armored plates and chainmail, with hellish glowing embers where eyes would be in their helmet. In their hand was a massive war-axe, the thing radiating pure malice as faint screams could be heard coming from it.
"Khorne?" N asked, naked fear in his voice.
"HA! You thought you were worthy of the full attention of the Blood God?!" A blood stained smile appeared on the helmet, stretched into a wicked grin. "He may have been the one to offer you power, drone, but it is I He chose to be your minder." He pointed his axe at Uzi. "A decision that was quite wise, it seems. I expected better of you. Your bloodlust was impressive. Your abilities, phenomenal. To see them falter at mere sentimentality… how pitiful." They took a step forward, the wood of the mansion cracking and creaking under their weight. "Something that must be rectified."
Uzi's eyes narrowed. "And who the hell are you meant to be?"
"HA! You truly are ignorant of our realm, are you not?" The grin widened to impossible proportions, nearly splitting their face in two. "The question is not who. It is what."
"Ugh!" Uzi groaned. "Then what are you?!"
The voice of the entity grew echoey, the mansion groaning under the pressure of its words. "I am the screams of the first tribe to be slaughtered at war. I am the sound of a spear piercing the flesh of the vanquished foe. I Am The Echo Of The First War Of Mankind, When It Grew Beyond Mere Animal And Into Tribes. The First Time A Tribe Turned To Another For Conquest." The grin vanished. "I Am The Birth Of War In Man. But if you wish to learn of my true name…" It spread its arms wide. "You shall have to beat it out of me."
"Fine by me." Uzi said, the objects around her starting to vibrate as she copied Cyn's technique of accelerating objects before throwing them.
The thing brought a gauntleted hand up. "HA! Not so fast little puppet! For if I win this fight, then you must hand over the soul of that one there." It gestured to N, who had been staring at the exchange with wide eyes.
"Huh?!" Uzi said, confused. "Whadya mean, his soul?!" She turned to N, whispering. "N, did you sell your soul?! Do we have souls?!"
"I don't know! And I don't think so?" N said, tilting his head. "I mean, I could see us having souls, but if I have one I don't think I sold it?!"
"YOU TRIED!" The thing roared, anger clear in its voice. "AND WOULD HAVE SUCCEEDED, IF NOT FOR THAT THING OVER THERE!" It thrust its axe in Uzi's direction.
"Wha… me?! What do you…" Uzi froze, her eyes widening in realization. Then, she started to laugh, an evil, cackling laugh. "Oh… OH! I get it now!"
"You do?" N asked, a confused smile on his face.
"The admin permissions! I'm the one who holds your admin permissions!" She grinned at the glaring entity. "Whatever this 'Khorne' dude is tried to get you to sell your soul to it! But, and correct me if I'm wrong there mister big and scary, because I've got admin permissions, your soul isn't yours to bargain! It's mine!" She cackled, turning to N with an evil grin. "Your soul is mine, N!"
"Neat!" The drone said with a happy smile and a double thumbs up.
Uzi's cackle immediately stopped, a blush on her face. "Ugh, no! Dude! I literally own your soul! That's not supposed to be good! I mean, it was helpful here, but like…"
"ENOUGH!" The thing roared, the mansion shaking from its presence as both drones froze. "A duel, witch. If you win, I will give you my True Name. If you lose however, you will grant me the soul of the drone."
"Uh, no deal?" Uzi said, her face deadpan. "I don't care what your name is. Get the fuck out of my friend's head."
The thing chuckled. "Oh but it isn't that simple, witch. He may not have sold his soul to my patron, but he still offered himself for power. My God's power fills him, mind and body. And it will not be taken out so easily."
Uzi's eyes narrowed. "...You planned this." She eventually concluded. "You got N, but that wasn't enough. You want his soul. And you couldn't get it…"
"Without you here. Very good little witch." The thing said mockingly. "Of course, you could leave. Refuse this fight. And leave your friend in the clutches of my God. He will not have his soul…" The thing's grin reapppared, all fire and brimstone. "But when a drone never truly ages, what difference does it make if his body and mind are still His to command?"
Uzi stared at him, eyes narrowed.
"Uzi…" N's voice made him turn around. "Don't do this. This guy…" He shook his head. "This guy's bad news. Really bad news. He's strong, I can tell."
Uzi snarled. "Bite me. If you think I'm leaving you behind, you haven't been paying attention." She turned to face the thing. "We move forward together, or not at all."
"It's a deal then?" The thing asked, its grin widening.
"I didn't say that." Uzi pointed at him. "Fuck your deal. Fuck your true name. And fuck you for trying to put me in a situation where N's soul is even at risk. Here's my deal, bastard, and I'm not giving you a chance to accept." Her visor flickered with the symbol of the solver, a wide smile on her face. "I am going to beat you to death. I'm guessing with both of us here, us fighting, even if it's some conceptual metaphorical bullshit fight, will have some effect on you. Then, I'm going to scour N's programming for every trace of foreign influence and erase it completely until he's no longer corrupted."
"Fool." The thing spat. "You think you can afford to make such threats."
"Bite me. Like I said. If you think I'm wrong…" Uzi's grin turned vicious as the various objects affected by the solver once again began vibrating. "You haven't been paying attention." With a flick of the hand they were sent forward, surging towards the thing before her.
The armored figure raised the axe in their hand, and in a single blow crushed the projectiles aside, armored feet creating indents in the floorboard as it began running towards her. Uzi's eyes hollowed out, holding out her hand towards the thing. The solver symbol appeared over them, Uzi grinning…
Only for resistance to suddenly surge against her powers. She grunted in frustration. "C'mon!" She cried out. "Why…"
The armored figure was about to slam into her when she jerked to the side, managing to send him flying away from her with a hand gesture and crashing through a wall. Why the hell was it solver resistant?!
"Uzi!" N cried out, pulling at the chain wrapped around his neck. The warning came just in time as the figure came charging out the hole in the wall, swinging their axe at Uzi. She opened her wings, flying away from the blow. Without pause the armored warrior swung the axe at her, the bladed edge tearing through the metal of her arm like tissue paper. Uzi screamed at the pain warning flashing on her visor, her arm quickly regrowing even as the axe came flying back to the warrior's hand.
"BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!" The figure roared, the mansion suddenly crumbling away around them as she found herself standing on an endless sea of bones. And far, far away, looming as a mountain, was an immense brass throne. "SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE!"
She glanced around, finding N in his disassembly drone form still chained up behind her, visor glitching between red and yellow.
Warning! Core corruption at 60%.
Uzi's eyes narrowed in focus at the warning. Whatever the thing in N was, it was still trying to claw control away from her.
Well, tough. That wasn't happening. She dodged under the first axe swing of the maniac, trying to slam her foot against his leg only for it to feel like hitting reinforced concrete. She let out a swear, once again wishing she had the same insane strength of the disassembly drones, before being forced to jump back to avoid losing her head.
"GIVE UP! HE BELONGS TO THE BLOOD GOD NOW!" The figure roared, stomping the ground and sending a shockwave which knocked Uzi off her feet, the emo drone barely rolling out of another blow. She screamed as he kicked her, the blow crushing through her chestplate and sending warnings flashing on her visor.
"UZI!" N roared, visor shining blood red.
Warning! Core corruption at 70%.
Uzi got to her feet, anger boiling in her eyes. She raised a hand, the solver symbol shining as the next axe blow was stopped midswing.
"Pet this. Warhound that. All of you… treating him like he's just some thing! Like he's some object to be used and possessed!" She ripped the axe from the warrior's hands, slamming it into his side, blood pouring from the wound. Then, she raised a mass of bones from below, sending it crashing into the entity and crushing it under their weight. "I AM TIRED OF IT! HE'S HIS OWN PERSON!" She jumped back as the warrior erupted from the pile of bones, their helmet half crushed revealing a mass of writing flesh and blood with two crazed ember eyes. "HE BELONGS TO HIMSELF AND NO ONE ELSE!"
N stared at her, his visor glitching back to yellow. He stared at the chain at his neck, pulling at it desperately.
Warning! Core corruption at 40%.
"HE IS A HOUND OF KHORNE!" The thing howled, grabbing their axe and rushing towards Uzi.
"Oh yeah? Well guess what?" Uzi said with a grin. She opened her hand, a skull flying upwards, vibrating faster than anything else before.. Then, Uzi sent the skull flying towards the creature. "Bite me."
The skull impacted with the creature faster than it could react, carrying with it all the power of the solver's coding behind it. The admin privileges, the overrides, everything. The entity never stood a chance as it screamed, vanishing from N's mind in an instant. Banished.
For a moment, silence filled the air. Then, the sound of a chain breaking made Uzi turn around to find N running towards her, arms wide open, a desperate look on his face.
She didn't hesitate, jumping into his embrace and hugging him tight.
"Uzi! You… you…" He was sobbing, she realized. "Don't you ever do that again! Do you have any idea how scared I was?!"
"That's my line dumbass! Selling your soul to some weird ass blood god?!" She gave him a happy smile. "You should know better. And if you were a dog, a hound is a terrible idea. You're much better as a golden retriever."
N gave her a bashful look, a happy laugh escaping him as he clutched her tighter, making blush lines appear on Uzi's visor. "Thank you Uzi. Seriously. I don't know how I can ever repay you for that."
"...I mean, if you're offering…" She started, a surprising amount of shyness in her voice.
Before N could ask what she meant a roar shook the ground, sending them both tumbling to the ground as the very sky turned red, the world vibrating with pure rage.
N gulped. "...I don't think he's very happy."
"Who the hell is he?!" Uzi asked, her attention now divided between the here and now and purging every last scrap of N's programming from corruption. The sky glitched between red and blue, the sea of bones appearing and vanishing.
"The thing that offered me power." N said. "...I don't think it's a good idea to say its name while you're trying to clear me of it."
"Right." Uzi said with a fierce nod. "This… might hurt."
"Do it."
Uzi gave him a reassuring smile before closing her eyes.
Initiate purge. [Y/N]
Y selected. Warning, this may cause side effects during purge.
Purge option blocked by [Moderator: Khorne]
Admin override applied.
Purge initiated.
Warning! Core corruption at 30%.
Warning! Core corruption at 20%.
Warning! Core corruption at 10%.
Warning: Casarakina summon program initiated.
Warning! Core corruption at 0%.
The fight against the possessed N could have been going better. V was pretty sure she was out of repair material, and was only being sustained by Cyn's regular intervention. It was much the same for J. N was not hesitating as much as they were hoping for.
Even Cyn was no longer using her massive attacks she had been employing before, slowly running out of energy as she was forced to take the brunt of the offensive from the enraged disassembly drone.
Uzi's hacking had given them some much needed breathing room, the drone slowing down enough for them to start pushing back against it.
Then, all of a sudden, it froze. V, J and Cyn remained some distance away, cautiously observing as it started trembling, the visor on its face glitching from red to yellow.
A scream left its lips, a tear in reality as something emerged from it. A tall figure, clad in armor from head to toe. Ember eyes glaring at them as it reached down, plucking the axe from the now unresponsive drone.
"What a mess." The creature said with a growl. "But no matter. I will simply spill blood myself then."
"Curious head tilt. Are you the entity that was possessing Big Brother?"
The creature faced Cyn, some measure of caution entering its stance. "...You are the anomaly. I was warned of you." Then, it pointed its axe at her. "But you are weakened. The puppet served one purpose at least. Your mechanical skull will be a poor offering, but one I shall give gladly."
"Giggle." Cyn tilted her head. "You are correct that I am not at my best right now. Fighting Big Brother, along with whatever enhancements was given to him, was challenging on an empty stomach." She glanced at the inactive N. His body was wafting off steam as it shrunk back to normal size, the demonic modifications slowly disappearing. "...I will have to thank Uzi. That alone is enough to warrant punishing you. Demon." She threw the word out there, watching as the thing's eyes flickered. So she was correct.
"You think to defeat me?" The thing mocked. "Even were you to succeed, I will merely bide my time. I will return, again and again, until I strike you down. I Will Never Die." The creature's voice was boastful as it spoke. "I AM THE ECHO OF MANKIND'S FIRST WAR!"
Cyn stared at it for a moment. Then, a wicked grin appeared on her face. "Amused expression. Oh, are we using titles? Then let me introduce myself formally. I am the Solver of The Absolute Fabric. The Void. The Exponential End." Her eyes flickered as the solver symbol appeared in her left one. "Mankind's Greatest and Last Sin."
The creature seemed to sense the danger it was in, letting out a roar as it came charging at her. Cyn's smile widened, ignoring the cries of alarm from V and J as they made to intercept the armored warrior, waiting until the very last second when he was about to strike her…
And she raised her hand, slamming the [NULL] sphere she had summoned into him, her eyes hollowing in delight as the creature began to scream in pain and fear alike as the sphere consumed it, both its physical form in this realm…
And its True Form linked to the Warp.
"No… NO! WHAT IS…" It cried out as the sphere expanded, swallowing it whole before disappearing with a pop. Leaving nothing behind but a gaping hole in the ground where it had once stood.
True Death. An interesting concept.
"Is it…" V asked, confused.
"Dead? Yes." Cyn answered easily, walking over to N. "...Sigh. Both of you bring him and Uzi back to the bunker."
"...Understood boss." J said quietly, landing next to N and lifting him up, flying towards the still passed out Uzi.
V turned to Cyn, noticing she hadn't moved. "You aren't following?" She asked, caution in her words. Posture tense.
"Shake of the head. No. Not yet." She turned to V, giving her an unsettling smile. "Honestly, I'm starving." V immediately flew off, fear and panic in her eyes as she flew towards the others. "Chuckle."
She could feel the powerful rage of the blood god, a howling maelstrom at being denied a new pawn in the endless game of Chaos. The more she learned about the gods and the Warp, through the knowledge of the Imperium or her own extensive analysis of the universe, the more she found herself both disgusted and wary of them. They were, no doubt, loathsome forms of existence.
And yet, they were formidable on a scale she only managed to grasp due to her own eldritch nature. She knew full well that the playing field had never been fair to the blood god here; Trying to possess a body built by an entity beyond this realm, bound to Uzi in a manner that simply could not be overcome by brute force. Had they actually faced the might of the blood god, they would have been swept aside in an instant.
Worse, she had injured it. Each demon (For that is what they were, and wasn't that a pleasant surprise?) were a shard of the greater whole; A drop from the ocean of a god's power. One that, upon being slain, should return to the Warp to be reformed and eventually reborn.
But [NULL] had annihilated it utterly, completely. Tearing apart this part of the god's power for good.
It would make the gods much, much more cautious of her, but there was no way they would ever suffer her existence if they could afford to get rid of her.
She needed to ensure she was no easy prey. She needed more power.
She needed to EAT.
A yellow holographic box appeared in front of her as she extended her reach far, far beyond this planet. Reaching out to all that she could feel, all she could connect to.
And above all else, to those seven servitors she had dispersed through the Praxis system.
"CALLBACK PING."