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Post by Moe on Oct 14, 2023 9:53:48 GMT -6
Mark suddenly felt a little apprehensive about letting Lux go out on his own, not knowing exactly where he was going. He saw the boys as little brothers, but his dad instincts also kicked in.
"I don't know how safe I feel, letting you go out alone. Not with all these Apollo-bots running around."
"He does have a point, though. They did get here by themselves, and the avatars don't seem to want to cause us any harm." Ikuki interjected. "I know it isn't my place to say what they can and can't do in your house, but it's something to consider." she poked at her pancakes.
Mark wanted to say something, it wasn't her place to say anything. However, she was right. Mark started his vigilante journey around the same age as the twins, so he couldn't really say no. Plus, Lux was just going to see a friend, it wasn't like he was going out to fight crime. "Okay, fine. But call me if you get lost or need a ride or something." he said as he ruffled Lux's hair.
"As for the rest of today, I've been working on some stuff. I managed to get the prototype for Ikuki's suit mostly finished. All it needs is the motherboard that may or may not even work. I've also been working on some revisions to my own suit. Figured it was time for an upgrade." he shrugged. "I uh, I didn't sleep last night."
"Wow, my own suit." Ikuki couldn't help but be in awe. "I guess that makes us partners, now. And here I thought Hyper X always worked alone." she teased.
"Hey now, I never said we were gonna be a duo." he joked back. "But, I wouldn't be completely opposed." he smiled at her.
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Post by Banshee on Oct 14, 2023 10:04:00 GMT -6
At first when Mark opposed the idea, Lux stopped cold in his tracks. He frowned and wanted to battle him on it. But Ikuki spoke up and defended the boy, trusting that Apollo's robots wouldn't have any interest in him. And it was true, the boys did travel all the way from their own city to get to this one. So if there was any danger going on about the area, Lux was confident in his own skills to be able to get out of it.
Though the one thing did linger in the back of his mind. If there was any trouble brewing, the one that would be most aware of something forming, wasn't going to be partnered with him. Nox was always so good at realizing the oddities surrounding them. Lux on the other hand, wasn't so aware of it all and often did need someone to point things out. But of course, he wasn't going to say anything about the matter. After all, he really did want to see his friend again.
Josephine was a tough little sprite with a lot of explosive courage. She loved practicing fights and so did he. In his opinion, she was an amazing training partner and if he was going to improve on his techniques, he knew that she'd be right behind him the entire time. Plus, he didn't want to outshine her.
“Be safe out there.” Nox said to his brother before Lux thanked them for breakfast and the chance to go out on his own. “Please don't do anything silly.”
“No promises.” He grinned back before looking to Mark. “I promise. I'll give you a call once I get there and if anything comes up. I hope you also don't mind me just calling for the heck of it too.”
Then with that, Lux gathered his stuff and made his way outside to go meet up with his friend. There, he knew that she would also be accompanied by her “big brother” as she often called him. Davis wasn't actually related to her but he was the one that took her in and raised her when she was captured. So in a sense, he was more of a guardian than anything. But Lux wasn't going to correct her on it. If she felt like calling Davis a brother, then so be it.
This left Nox behind in the home with the adults. When Mark told Ikuki that her suit was near completion, he could see the excitement bubble within her. She was ecstatic over the idea of working with Hyper X. “Hey, maybe when I get older...Can I also work along side you too? I'm probably not going to be the fighter type, but I can probably create some cool gadgets or repairs?” He shrugged, not sure what he could potentially do for him.
“Can I see what the armor looks like though?” He beamed with excitement. “I haven't seen it since yesterday, and if you didn't sleep...You must've gotten a ton done with it!”
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Post by Moe on Oct 14, 2023 12:42:06 GMT -6
"You're pretty much a partner, already!" Mark smiled at Nox, but was also referring to Lux. "Heck, maybe I could even make suits for the both of you, too. Something that could work with your natural abilities, and highlight your specialties." he trailed off, already coming up with ideas. "Uh, but I generally don't recommend anything like that, until you've stopped growing. It's kind of a pain to keep making new suits, trust me."
"I'm eager to see the suit, as well." Ikuki peaked up from behind the counter; she had gathered the dishes to load in the dishwasher. Since she was a guest there, the least she could do is help clean up after Mark had made them a nice breakfast.
"It's just a prototype." Mark said, suddenly feeling a little nervous about showing his work. He'd never made a full suit for someone else, after all. Tiffany yawned mid-pancake, and signifying it was time for a nap. "Good timing. I'll meet you guys downstairs." Mark said as he took her out of the chair, and into her room.
Ikuki nodded, as he took Tiffany to her room. She headed down into the basement, holding the door open for Nox, so they could both see what Mark had done overnight. Turns out, it was quite a lot. There were robot bits strewn across the table; though the motherboard still looked rather crispy, it had been re-wired and re-soldered, but remained inactive. It was clear the robot hadn't reconnected with its original host, and was still decommissioned. Mark's suit had also been most-repaired, and there were notes across a whiteboard with code, circuitry outlines, new symbol designs, and ideas for what an updated helmet design would look like.
Beyond that, was Ikuki's suit. It was unpainted and had little to no unique designs, and basically just looked like a plain mannequin. Still, it was impressive. She was drawn to the hands, which had the only color. There were blue orbs on the back of the hands, and she could only wonder what the significance could be.
"Those are a way to channel your magic." Mark said, coming downstairs. "I figured instead of a wand or staff or something, they could help focus your magic." he rubbed the back of his head. "I did some research on spellcasting."
"Aww!" Ikuki gleamed.
"Yeah, yeah. Don't look too much into it." he stuck his tongue out, not really wanting to admit that he did such a thing. "If you wanna go ahead and suit up, I'll start calibrating it to your neural network. While you're doing that, Nox and I can test out Apollo's empty shell, to see if it even works. Worst case scenario, we can still connect your suit to it and you can see residual memories...right? That's...that's a thing I read up on?"
Ikuki beamed with delight, that he'd made the time to look into magic and spellcasting. She couldn't form the words, but nodded her head, happily, before eagerly stepping into the suit.
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Post by Banshee on Oct 14, 2023 13:10:59 GMT -6
Nox was amazed with how much work he did. He was also super excited over the idea of already being his partner. Then the thought of him possibly having his own suit in the future was even cooler! Especially if it can work with his and his brother's abilities. “Wow, that would be so amazing. To look cool and to become a really awesome sword.”
He stopped half way and thought out loud, “Man...the two of us really need to start learning more about our magic. But we really have to get Reese to spill the beans about it first. He's been so tight-lipped about our powers and backgrounds, that we only know that we can just transform. I would eventually love to figure out if we can turn into more than just swords or something. Maybe we're shape-shifters and we don't even know about it.”
Nox shook his head. “Regardless, this is so cool!” He pointed at everything that Mark did during the night. “In just a span of...” He counted how many hours that he and his brother had slept, plus the extra hours of getting ready for sleep, brushing their teeth, waking up, and whatever else. “About...ten hours, you've managed to practically build an entire suit as well as fix up your own and...” He turned to Mark and said; “You really get involved with things, don't you?”
He then bound his way over to Ikuki's suit to look it over. To him, the lack of color prevented her personality from showing but he wasn't going to comment on it as he felt that it may not be completely finished. “This is so intricate.”
He then eagerly jumped in place as he threw himself into a bubble of excitement. “This is amazing. Just downright awesome. This team is really becoming a bunch of super heroes. I...honestly cannot wait to see our future and how everyone will be...” He stopped jumping for a moment and then said; “I wonder how amazing us two would be?”
Nox then imagined Lux becoming this amazing fighter and standing right beside him, was himself. With all of his gadgets and trinkets that he built. He also wondered if either brother would be able to transform into something cooler!
“If you ask me, I honestly think we won't be that tall when we stop growing.” Nox admitted to Mark. “If my memory serves me correctly, our parents were both on the small spectrum. Perhaps about 5 foot 3 was our Mother and about 5 foot 5 was our Father. Reese is about the same. So I don't think we're going to be much taller than we are now.” He looked down at himself and laughed. “Small Elves, we are! But we're going to pack a punch to those who stand against us.”
“So do you think the stuff you did is really going to work? What questions are you going to ask the robot, if you can ever get it online?” He then looked at how excited Ikuki was and smiled. “I bet you're going to rock that suit!”
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Post by Moe on Oct 14, 2023 14:09:23 GMT -6
Ikuki slid the helmet on, letting it calibrate to her brain. She wasn't sure how long it would take, but the HUD flashed on and it was fascinating, watching everything track along with her eye movement. Though, she could easily see how this could also be distracting in battle. "Is your helmet like this, too?" she asked Mark.
"Yep. Exactly like that."
"How do you manage to focus on anything?" she asked.
"Years of practice." he answered. "Don't worry, it's not like you're being sent straight into any action. And to answer your question," he said to Nox. "Not a chance. This thing is fried to oblivion, but a couple days ago I also didn't think magic or gods were real. So, heck with it. Everything else I thought I knew has been turned upside-down, so why not give it a shot." he said, his tone giving off slight hints of being manic. He was keeping his cool rather well all things considered, and one wouldn't notice if they weren't looking for it, but he was freaking out on the inside.
They had all worked so hard on trying to repair the shell, that he hated to even attempt doing what he was about to do. Though if it worked, they could still use the shell to study and possibly gain a new ally. Mark held the core parts and took a deep breath, trying his best to stay focused. "If this can work on plants and lasers, I don't see why it wouldn't work on one piece of a whole robot. I'm sure we won't have to worry about a paradox...right?" he looked to Nox, not really expecting an answer.
He closed his eyes tightly, focusing on the gutted parts. He was able to reverse time with a giant laser, though he admitted he was pumped full of adrenaline and did that without even thinking. This was different. He was thinking too hard about it, and worried any tiny deviation could screw it up. Energy around the pieces warped and warbled, as it slowly began to repair itself until it looked almost new.
Mark breathed out deeply, hoping his plan had worked. "I might've gone too far." he said, noting the parts looked almost too new. "You guys did great, on repairing as much of this bot as possible...but the core pieces were just fried beyond repair. I...tried to reverse time around them to revert them to a state when they were new. If bringing a baby dinosaur back from the past didn't hurt the timeline, I'm sure this'll be fine." he said, as he began connecting it to Ikuki's helmet.
Ikuki flipped her visor up, once calibration had finished. "Is it going to work? Is he...in there?"
"Let's hope so. If it works, I don't know how far back I went. It may be further back than when he met you, so he could be on the defense. If that happens, try and find a way to signal me so we can disconnect him." he warned her.
"It doesn't work like that, on the astral plane. Once our minds are connected spiritually, a physical disconnect won't make any difference." she explained. "Thank you for everything you've done, and for being so kind. You're the first real friend I've ever had. I just want you to know that, should anything happen." she smiled sweetly at him, before making a motion to flip down her visor.
"Wait!" Mark stopped her. "There's something really important I need to give you, before we start this." he said, pulling her visor back up.
"What?" she gave him a look of utter confusion and slight concern, worried they had missed something important.
He then leaned in and kissed her; "Luck." he said, pulling back, with a smug smirk on his face. He gently pulled her visor back down, not even giving her a chance to say anything in return. He then made all the preparations to reactivate Apollo's avatar, as she made the preparations to astral project. He then glanced over at Nox, just knowing he was going to quip something. "Not a word." he said, in a lighthearted tone.
"Also, I found some stuff on Elven culture, if you were interested." he added. "When I was researching magic, I figured I should get to know all of you, a little better. It's a little hard to pinpoint exact history without know much about your exact culture and heritage, but I dug up what I could. I printed out a bunch of it, if you wanted to look through it. I need to keep an eye on Ikuki's vitals, so you're more than welcome to use my computer to pull up anything I missed."
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Post by Banshee on Oct 14, 2023 14:46:27 GMT -6
Grinning devilishly, Nox made the zipping motion with his lips and acted like he wasn’t going to say a singular word in regards of the kiss. As expected, he could tell that the two were actually quite fond of one another and in his opinion, it was kind of cute. In fact, he did hope that the two would get together at some point, as officially a couple. But only time would tell on that spectrum. And all Nox was willing to do was provide entertainment and perhaps, some suggestions with projects. After all, he was not a love doctor and has only read about adult affection, on an appropriate age level.
Quickly losing interest with the kiss, his attention was drawn over to the research that Mark had performed during his work. He then moved over to the desk that was housing the papers and he lifted up the heavy packet. Elves, there were so many different kinds of them out there. Nox then wondered if any of them would mention his kind?
“Wow, you really went above and beyond with all of this.” He said as he looked over the hefty packet of paper. Bending the pages, he swiftly flipped through all of the print. “There’s so much...Awesome! I’m going to have a lot to read!”
He then glanced back up to Mark and said; “You know...with all of this technology here... I could probably really look into who my parents were too. I’m sure if they were in a job that was meant for protecting others, there’s bound to be some mentioning of them. Though, it’d be really cool if any of that was in here too. Did...Did you have a chance to read through it all?” He blinked.
Once he obtained his answer, he then slinked over to a couch and sat down. Reading over the various types of Elves out there. Reading out loud to himself he said the names; “Forest Elf...Aquatic Elf...Lunar Elf...High Elf...Lesser Elf?” He tilted his head as he saw the final name. “I wonder what’s so bad about the Lesser Elf?”
He shrugged as he began to read through them, one by one. And upon starting with the Wood Elf, he quickly realized that he and his brother were not of that specific race. They were primarily folks who lived within the woods and were in tune with nature. More often than not, they were capable of speaking to plants and healing them with the use of magic. Forest Elves were also known to be fairly quiet and tend to stick in heavily forested areas.
Which made him think about his home. The Northern Sector of Rex City, housed a ton of different creatures of magical abilities. Some good. Some not so good. But either way, he quickly realized that the Forest Elves could potentially become endangered. Not unless they exist elsewhere within the very world they lived in, that hasn’t been touched by Apollo or Cornelia Corp.
“Well, I’m definitely not that. I can’t keep a plant alive.” He sighed as he continued to read through more information about the Forest Elves.
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Post by Moe on Oct 14, 2023 18:39:46 GMT -6
"I mean, I didn't think it was all that much. I just figured it was a start, since you two don't seem to be on real good terms with your brother. Nobody told me about my heritage, and look at me now. I'm a wreck. I just..don't want you two to end up the same way. Especially Lux...he seems to be in a bit of a slump, the last couple days." Mark didn't want to come off as sounding rude, but it was true. He was worried about both of them, but particularly Lux. "I see a lot of myself in both of you, and that's what worries me."
Ikuki meanwhile, was making a scrunched face underneath her mask. The two weren't bothering her, but she was having trouble focusing. "Ugh. I can't focus." she grumbled.
"Sorry, we'll shut up." Mark said, trying to make it sound in a joking tone.
"No, no." Ikuki said, flailing to find Mark's hand to hold onto. "It's just...I've never actually done this, before. How were you able to do it so easily??"
He was taken off guard just a little, when she grabbed his hand, but didn't protest. She was nervous, and it was...nice. He let it happen, and held her hand in return. "I don't recall ever astral projecting." he laughed it off. "Unless...oh..OH. That's what those dreams were?" it finally clicked. "Heck. I didn't realize...uh. I guess...I dunno." he fumbled for words. He just thought they were crazy dreams, but rubbed at the scratches on his arm that Bastet had left.
He took a few seconds to compose his thoughts, and spoke calmly and gently to Ikuki, knowing she was nervous and trying not to spook her even more. "Each time I fell asleep, I wasn't thinking about the people. I was thinking about what they represent. I was thinking about my future, when I met Ananke. I thought I had died, when I met Anubis. When I met Bastet, I was thinking about what it means to truly be alive. Maybe, don't focus so hard on finding Apollo. Focus on what he represents, and he'll come to you. How does Apollo make you feel?" he spoke to her gently, as though putting her in a trance. He held both of her hands now, and could feel her panicked breathing become slower and easier.
She could feel her mind fading from the physical world. But instead of Apollo, she found herself in front of Mark. "Ugh. It didn't work. Again."
"Uh. It did." Mark smiled a half-smile at her. "Out of curiosity, what were you thinking about?"
"I dunno." Ikuki blushed. "That kiss, I guess. Oh...oh my god, am I in your mind??" she blushed, furiously this time.
"Yeah." Mark laughed it off. "It's okay, just-"
Ikuki bolted herself back to the physical world, and quickly took the helmet off. "NOPE. NOPE NOPE NOPE. NOT DOING THIS." she said as her face was comically red.
Mark tried not to laugh, and instead smiled gently at her and placed his hands on her helmet; "As I was saying, it's okay. Just try again. You can do this." he spoke softly to her. He had mentored many trainee-heroes before, and this was no different. "You did it once, you can do it again. Though I'm glad I got to be your first." he said with a flirtatious smirk.
Ikuki quickly put the helmet back on, to hide her flustered face. "Okay. Apollo. Feelings I feel, when I think about Apollo." she repeated. "Dread, I guess. Fear. Wonder. Admiration..." was the last word she fixated on, leaving Mark curious as to why.
"I guess I always wondered how Apollo came to be. Gaining full sentience like that, had to have taken some kind of magic. He might well be an actual fusion of technology and magic." she thought to herself. She opened her eyes, and found herself in a brightly-lit room, with a giant, glowing, pulsating core in the center. "Oh boy." she breathed, as she approached it.
"You don't need to come any further. I know you're here." Apollo's voice rang out, all around. "Astral projection. Very interesting. You've linked yourself to one of my expired avatars. Very interesting, indeed. Might I inquire as to how you managed to repair it? Were it so easy, I would not have made so many backups."
"Um," Ikuki was floored, somewhere in-between starstruck, and fear. "The new god of time sent time around it to before it was broken. So technically, I'm speaking to you from the future."
"Gods? I have never heard of them, and I know everything that humans know. This is concerning, and perhaps may have to do with the reason I do not feel in control. It appears I have been programmed to not know something. Concerning, indeed."
"Huh. Well, that pretty much answers everything I was coming here to ask." Ikuki shrugged. "Oh, wait! Your creator! You said you were looking for your creator! I know him, he is, or was, one of the gods! You know him as Dr. Allen, but his real name is Chronos."
"No." Apollo said. "He is only the key to finding my creator. My creator, was a Doctor Rockford. He was the one who programmed me not to know something. Is he also a god?"
"No..." Ikuki answered. "There's only eight gods, and I know of all of them. It's not possible that there's a ninth god, and it's certainly not possibly for him to still be alive. The best I can do, is get Chronos-"
"He is still very much alive, and trying to control me." Apollo interrupted. "I have been fighting him off, for 1,500 years. I built this city, to keep him out. Unfortunately, I am beginning to lose the battle. I am deteriorating, with age. I have become weaker, and unable to fend him off for much longer. If he takes control of me, what happened 1,500 years ago, will happen again."
With that, Ikuki felt herself, and her stomach, bolt back into reality. Thankfully, Mark had a trashcan in front of her and had already taken her helmet off.
"That bad, huh?" he said.
"Sorry..." she mumbled quietly.
"It's fine, I have a kid, I know the signs to look for." he tried to act like it was nothing, so as not to embarrass her. "So you found him, huh? You don't have to talk about it right now, if it was that bad."
"No, it... you need to call your dad. See what he knows about the other lead scientist. There's something out there, way worse than Apollo..." she said, visibly shaking in fear and shock.
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Post by Banshee on Oct 14, 2023 21:03:41 GMT -6
Nox continued to read on about the Elves. Aquatic Elves, were as described. They lived within the ocean and were often seen alongside beaches and other areas of vast bodies of water. Often times, they were mistaken for mermaids, which weren’t the same species but an allied one at best. Their powers mostly revolved around water and dealt with aquatic creatures. But again, they weren’t anything remotely close to what Nox and Lux were.
Next were the High Elves, the ones that most people were familiar with. They were the most prominent of the species and were considered to be one of the more stronger ones out there. They often had massively pointed ears and were often very slender and feminine looking. Their magical powers were linked to, pretty much life itself. They were often seen as a light wielding type and were normally seen as heroic or helpful. Very rarely were they ever considered evil. However, some other species may see them as conceited and stuck up because in most cases, they often rarely spoke to creatures they deemed unworthy of speaking to.
Nox highly doubted he and his brother were a High Elf. Neither one of them had particularly strong powers nor did they have the trademark long ears and tall slender bodies. Both boys were small for their age and although they had pointed ears, weren’t much larger than a human’s. So in a way, he felt that he and Lux were most likely half-breeds at best. But before jumping to conclusions, he read on. However, the next two chapters that Mark found were extremely small. In fact, both Lunar and Lesser Elves had only one page to their names. Lunar Elves, were extremely rare to find. It’s been said that they were capable of blending in with whatever the primary species of the area were. So in a way, they were a form of shape shifter? He wasn’t sure as the chapter didn’t delve deeper into its claim. But from what he could read, it did state that they were one of the more powerful Elves, especially when the moon is bright and if the planets were aligned. However, outside of that, nothing else.
Lastly, the Lesser Elves. They were considered to be the most insignificant of Elves. Most of what was written in the chapter, stated that they were often miscreants with weak magic skills. In their history, they were also slaves to the High Elves and did all of the dirty jobs that they didn’t want to care for. Sadly, none of the other species really cared much about them so there wasn’t much in the chapter he read. But due to their weak powers, they had small pointed ears.
Nox sighed as he felt his ears and reminded himself that his weren’t particularly long. Then as he lay the packet down, he thought more about his brother. Reese’s ears were a lot longer than the twins. Although he was also quite a few years older. Fifteen years older, in fact. So there could be a correlation with age and the length of ears.
Then he thought about it more. There was one thing that was vastly different between himself and his twin brother which he couldn’t believe that he never noticed it before. Despite being identical twins, his ears were a little larger than Lux’s. And from what he recalled from reading in one of the scripts earlier, it’s stated that the larger the ears, the stronger their powers were. The smaller they were, the less powerful they were.
And that thought sank in his head. Lux had very little magic powers, if that were the case. Nox bit his lip as he thought about it more. Could the writing be wrong? Were they even full Elves to begin with? And which Elf were they? Lunar or Lesser?
When he reread their chapters again, he couldn’t find anything that really differentiated the two from one another. Aside from one being extremely powerful with no physical description, versus one that was weak in power that nearly perfectly described how they were. He then shook his head, not wanting to jump to conclusions so quickly. As he didn’t know much about his parents and Reese seems very weary about filling the boys in about them.
Then his thoughts were disrupted when he heard Ikuki heaving. He glanced over to her and listened to them speak. She was clearly upset over something she witnessed and was shaking like a leaf. Nox then placed the packet down completely and wandered over to them. Curious but not curious enough to question her why. As he was already worried about everything going on. Especially when she mentioned that there was something far worse than Apollo.
Nox then looked at Mark, worried.
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Post by Moe on Oct 14, 2023 22:33:21 GMT -6
Ikuki remained silent for the most part, as Mark helped her out of the suit and upstairs. He tucked her into a blanket and heated up some tea for her, since she preferred that over coffee. She was still shaking, and her stomach still doing cartwheels over what Apollo had said. Mark sat next to her as he handed her the tea, and she leaned onto him, resting her head on his shoulder.
"It wasn't him." she finally said. "Somebody has been controlling Apollo, this whole time. He said he built Olympus to keep him out, but whoever it is, he can't fight it anymore. Mark...if this person gains control over Apollo again...he's going to destroy what's left of the planet. I think we have to save Apollo..."
Mark was at a loss for words. Suddenly, everything his dad said, made sense. "Dad said every time he went back in time to stop Apollo, the same event still played out. That's because Apollo didn't cause the cataclysm. It was never him. He was just a tool somebody else was using. Somebody my dad couldn't see the future of, somebody none of them could see."
"That means he's tied to the gods..." Ikuki said as she came to the same realization. "Which means one of them-"
"Is a traitor." Mark finished her sentence. "Cool. One more reason for me not to want to be involved with them. Any idea on who the most likely candidate is?"
"I don't know anything, anymore."
"Welcome to the club. We have coffee and snacks." Mark said sarcastically.
"Sorry. I should have been more understanding of how you would react, to being told of your heritage." she winced away from him, just a little. "Guess karma's a bitch, huh?"
Mark just rolled his eyes and put his arm around her, pulling her close again. "We all should've done things differently, but we did what we did. Sure, now I know that I could technically go back and change everything, but then we would never learn from our mistakes. And I kinda like the way things are turning out, now. If we changed it, who knows where we would all be." he smiled, trying to comfort her.
She sighed, feeling a little bit better. She was enjoying how things were turning out, too. She liked Nathan and Lux and Nox, and especially Mark. She was even starting to wonder if the crush was more than a crush. She leaned into him again, simply enjoying being close to him. "So, what are we going to do? Are you going to call your dad?"
"No. We're not going to involve them. They've had two-thousand years to fix this, and we figured out more than they ever bothered to. We keep going until we figure out a solution. And if it comes down to saving -or killing Apollo, then we'll do whatever it takes." Mark assured them.
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Post by Banshee on Oct 15, 2023 5:41:35 GMT -6
Nox made sure that he allowed them room so that Mark could tend to her needs. She was still very shaken over the whole thing and he wasn't sure how long Ikuki was going to be trapped in such a state. With the words that came out of both of their mouths, Nox felt uneasy himself. If a God was going against the other Gods, what was the why part? Why would the God do such a thing? Was there a position they wanted and didn't get? Jealousy? Resentment towards another? Were they an outcast?
He glanced down at the floor again and thought about what he could do to help them both out. But as a kid? What could he possibly do for them?
Then he wondered, what would Lux do in a situation like this? With everything being discovered, he was bound to react in some way. Would he be scared? Sick? Angered? Concerned? Or would it even make sense in his mind?
Nox let out a small sigh. For once, he couldn't pretend he was his brother and come up with a plan. And him not being there, didn't help. But he was certain that Lux would've come up with some form of plan. Something that could help. Something...
Nox's mouth blurted out words without thinking much; “How are we going to go about dealing Apollo or the unknown traitor? How can you take down a God, if they're the one causing the trouble? There's never been any information about a mortal doing such a task. At least, not from what I've read anyway... How can we, a bunch of meat-bags, fight back?”
His mind couldn't wrap around any possible way for a mortal to beat down a God. They had too many limits and too many easily accessible faults. A God can easily overpower and destroy a mortal with a blink of an eye. The only exception to the rule would be, if the God was a complete moron and was considered the weakest of every God in existence. This would also include being weaker than half-Gods and Lesser Gods, or whatever label they had.
“And if it's Apollo we're going for. If the God has their hands on him already, how do we know he won't be used as a trap? God's are incredibly powerful...” He wasn't sure if he was understanding the whole story or not, as he was mostly sitting on the outside, reading about Elves. “I'm sorry, but hearing a God being a possible traitor...really frightens me and I'm sure that if my brother was here, he'd be scared too...”
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Post by Moe on Oct 15, 2023 7:56:19 GMT -6
"I don't think it's one of them, directly." Ikuki tried to reassure Nox. "None of them have any reason to have caused the cataclysm. Plus, Chronos would have known if another god was working on the Apollo project. Whoever it is controlling him, just has ties to the gods. A creation or child, maybe."
"Wouldn't that make the kid a god, too?" Mark asked.
"No. They are all still human, just ageless. Except Athena. She's the only one who didn't uh. Mingle with humans." Ikuki explained. "Meaning all but her are still capable of being hurt or even killed, if Fate allows it. That's why you didn't die." she said to Mark, knowing he was about to ask about being stabbed. "It just wasn't in your fate to die, yet." she shrugged.
"I make my own fate." Mark said bitterly. "But I digress. You said that still makes one of them a traitor. Please explain, if you don't think they're directly involved."
"Well, I don't think anyone is currently involved. Spider is the one who represents both good and evil, but he's always leaned toward the side of good. From what little I know about his mother, though...she leaned toward evil. Athena was the only one alive at the same time as her, and that's all even she knows. So whatever happened, whoever this person is controlling Apollo, has to have ties to her. Somehow." Ikuki sunk lower into her blanket, and Mark, and sipped on her tea. "Ugh. This whole thing hurts my head."
"Honestly? It just makes me mad." Mark said. "I've lived my whole life thinking our fate was in our own hands, and I still believe that. Now that I know these jerks exist? From what it sounds like, every problem humanity has ever faced, has been their fault. They didn't know when to leave well enough alone and let humans screw up on their own, and now they're all up in our business and messing up everything they get involved in."
"Heh. You sound like Athena." Ikuki said from inside her blanket forcefield.
"Well it sounds like she's the only one with any sense!"
"She is the goddess of wisdom." Ikuki was sounding a little tired at this point; projecting her mind into the astral plane took a lot more energy than she realized, and after the shock of what Apollo had said finally wore down, she was starting to feel her energy levels getting lower by the second. "I didn't mean to scare you, Nox. It isn't the gods we need to worry about. Mark is right, they're all just jerks and cowards...but nothing more than that. I just...need to talk to Apollo, again..." she yawned. "I freaked out and didn't get to ask him anything more."
Mark took her cup of tea and set it aside, letting her rest. He thought about speaking to Apollo himself, since apparently his dreams were actually on the astral plane and he didn't feel any ill effects from it. He also thought about going back in time to when Apollo was created, to see who it was for himself. But the only time he'd ever bounced into the past was a complete accident. He leaned back and sighed, trying to think of what the best course of action would be.
"I'm sorry that of all the people you and Lux could've gotten involved with, it had to be me." he apologized to Nox. "If I had been told any of this when I was apparently supposed to be told, I would never have let you guys get involved. I don't know what the future holds...which is ironic, I guess. I don't know if we'll have to fight Apollo or a god or whatever thing the old gods left behind for us to deal with, but I do know that Fate be damned, I would die before I let anything happen to you and Lux."
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Post by Banshee on Oct 15, 2023 17:24:11 GMT -6
Upon Mark's final comment, Nox could only smile and shake his head. He disagreed that meeting Mark and Ikuki were bad omens. “No. I don't think that at all, if you ask me.” He admitted. “If you want the real truth, Lux and I really...didn't have anyone to look up to? Like, you're a hero! A super hero with an amazing ability to create a ton of stuff on no sleep at all!” He threw his hands in the air out of excitement.
“You've been more than awesome to us. More than anyone at home has ever done to us. Normally, we got laughed at and pushed aside whenever we asked for help. There were only a very few individuals who would actually speak with us and accept us for being present. But otherwise? We were pretty lonely. And coming here, we expected the same. But in the end? You've proven us wrong. We've had a blast being with you and the rest of the gang. You've included us in a lot of projects, adventures so far, and you even care about our opinions.”
Nox then smiled even brighter. “You've honestly showed us that kindness still exists in this world. Even if it's being flipped upside down by things beyond our control. So...don't ever regret meeting us. Because neither Lux or myself think that way. We love being here with you guys. It's been awesome.”
Then there was a ring. Lux was calling the cellphone which was closest to where Nox was sitting. And so, Nox quickly grabbed the phone and turned it onto speaker. “Hey Lux! How-”
“SO UH...” His voice cracked as he was clearly sounding quite nervous about something going on. There was also a lot of crashes, growling, and other various animalistic noises in the background. “SO...Joe, Davis, and I were training and uh...”
“WATCH OUT!” Davis' voice echoed in the background which was followed by a sharp growl and some rustling.
“Lux? What is going on?” Nox cried out to him.
“So we were minding our own business and these things showed up and started wrecking stuff. And uh...We...We kinda need some help...Please!” There was a pained cry in the background which caused Nox to call for his brother again. “Look, things are really bad right now and I need to not die. So please, come to this location...” He paused and then there was a little text message beep. “There's a ton of them here and I don't know what they want.”
Then the phone went silent.
Nox shook in a panic as he opened the text from his brother. “He gave us the coordinates. It appears to be in a skateboard park in the western part of town. It's about an hour walk from here. So it's awfully close.” He then looked to Mark. “I'm coming. If my brother is in danger, he's going to need me to use as a weapon. Or if Joe knows how to sword fight, she can be a dual blade user.”
There was a strong aura of determination beaming from Nox now. Something that wasn't there prior. Now that his brother was in danger, he wasn't going to stop until he can help his brother out and save him. “I'll be careful.” He admitted. “But he's going to need me.”
- - - -
Lux ducked behind a short cement wall as the creature lashed out at him with their own weapon. The blade struck the cement hard. Covering his head, he protected himself from the shattered debris that exploded from the hit. Not wanting to stay there for too much longer, Lux scrambled out from under his hiding spot to be greeted by another which slammed their weapon down at him.
He slid to a halt and gasped as he wasn't sure on how he could get out of the way. Automatically, he covered his head. It was a pathetic attempt to protect his head from being chopped off but he had nothing to fight with.
Josephine inhaled and blasted flames at the incoming attacker. This startled it and forced it to stagger back, coughing and growling from the fire that singed its skin. She then ran over to it and slammed her skateboard into its backside, making it back off even more. “Lux! Give me help here.”
Lux nodded and threw himself at her. As he soared through the air, he transformed into a blade in which Josephine caught with a twirl. She then held Lux close to her and narrowed her eyes at the group of creatures looming over her. Josephine knew that she didn't stand a chance against them and using Lux, would not only allow her and him to escape easier, but she could potentially defend herself with him.
“What's the plan?” He asked her.
“Not die.” She grinned, repeating what he had said to Nox on the phone. “And...save my Bro.”
Davis let out a cry of terror as he fled from a wave of aliens that stalked after him. Flailing his arms and ducking at every one of their attacks, he didn't even bother trying to fight back. At one point, he turned to face three more that lunged at him. He then tipped over a trash can which caused them to pile up on one another. And with that sight at hand, he quickly danced around them and started to run towards the kids again.
“I don't know what's the beef but I don't like it!” Davis then stood beside Josephine. “Like, we're just minding our own business. Can't you do that...that fire thing? The whoosh thing?”
“I don't know what you're talking about.” Josephine frowned as her eyes never left the flood of enemies that were growing in numbers by the moment. Then when they made a leap at her, she slammed her skateboard down on the ground, hopped onto it, and pushed herself out of the way, leaving Davis to figure out how to save himself.
“Lux...What if I combine fire with you? Will it hurt?”
“Probably.”
“Well...Let's find out.” While moving on her skateboard, she waved her hand over the blade, igniting Lux on fire. She then swung the blade at one of the closest enemies to them. Slicing through the air, the fire more-so spooked the creature to back away.
“It's...kind of warm here.” Lux admitted. “But if it works, let's do this!”
“Your backup better hurry.” She winced. “I don't know how much dodging we all can keep doing.”
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Post by Moe on Oct 15, 2023 18:43:44 GMT -6
Nox's speech caused Mark to tear up; hearing that meant a lot to him. He'd never had many friends growing up, and he'd never personally been a mentor to any of the heroes that would come and go through the city. He really did see himself in both Lux and Nox, and simply treated him how he always wanted to be treated. But when Nox said he showed them kindness still existed? That was what finally hit him right in the heart.
"Aw, come on." he sniffled. "You know I'm emotional, don't make me cry in front of Ikuki. I'm trying to impress her with how cool and level-headed I am." he was of course joking, but at the same time, a little bit serious.
"There's nothing wrong with being an empath. In fact, I find it even more endearing." Ikuki smiled at him.
"Is that a magic thing?" Mark stuck his tongue out.
"Nope. That's a human thing."
After being told he was a god, capable of immense magical power, hearing that was probably the best thing anyone could have said to him right now. Of course, it also made him even more of an emotional wreck. "Come on, are you guys trying to tug at my feels today?" he joked again, smiling at both of them.
None of them had any time to respond further, when the phone rang. It was Lux, and he sounded like he was in big trouble. Mark didn't even give him time to explain anything, before he went to get his suit on. Although he was still getting the hang of his new powers, stopping time was an easy one. He was back in the living room in an instant, fully suited, although slightly light-headed from using his powers. "Okay, no more time-freezing until after a good night's sleep." he breathed out, trying to stay focused and upright.
"Get ready, Nox. Anything can happen in an hour, plus I'm sure as heck not leaving a bunch of kids to fight off whatever that was. Ikuki-" he looked over, but she was already standing up and ready to go.
"Don't even." she said to him. "I'm fine, and I'm coming with you."
"You need to rest, and I can't leave Tiffany alone. And I'm not about to get her out in the middle of whatever fight is going on."
"Then I'll call your sister, and meet you at the park when she gets here?" Ikuki suggested.
"I...okay. Fine. Just...make sure Alex reads all the notes I left on the fridge, and knows when her naptimes and meal times are, and if we're not back before her bedtime to give her a bath."
"Mark," Ikuki tried to stop him.
"She will fight when it's bathtime but her favorite bath toy is a little pink dragon-"
"Mark, I've been watching her all week, while you were recovering. I read your notes." she smiled, trying to reassure him. "And I'm sure you've told Alex all of this, too. You just find Lux and keep him safe."
"Okay. You're right. I'm just having a lot of emotions, right now. Please call me when you're on your way and let me know she's okay. The suit helmets are capable of communicating with each other." he tapped on his helmet. "Nox, this is for you." he tossed a spare helmet at Nox; it was one of his older helmets from when he was about Nox's age, when he first started venturing into being a vigilante. "I can't use my car, because secret identity. Fortunately, I have a backup ride. You ever ridden a motorcycle?"
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Post by Banshee on Oct 15, 2023 19:39:29 GMT -6
The helmet landed in his hands and he looked it over, questioning why Mark would toss him such a thing. Then when Mark asked if he ever rode a motorcycle, Nox stared at the helmet, frozen. He slowly turned his attention to him. There was a bit of an adventurous side within him that was screaming with joy. His eyes practically glistened with delight when he was asked. “NO!”
He then bounced out of excitement. “We’re going to ride one! That’s so awesome! Yes! I want to ride one!” Nox then placed the helmet on his head and stalled for a moment. A thought crossed his mind as he could see that the helmet wasn’t very new at all. In fact, he began to wonder if this was something that Mark wore when he was younger. And that thought alone, got him super enthusiastic about it.
“Let’s go save my brother!”
- - - - -
“Look folks. Can’t we just have a chat over a pint of rum or something?” Davis begged for the creatures to stop trying to kill or eat them. “Or something can be arranged? I’d like to not be dead when I get home to the lovely lady of mine.”
One of the creatures snapped their jaw at him and dove for the kill. Speaking wasn’t anything it was interested in and neither was the offering of a pint. It simply was acting on instinct, striking at its opponent. Regardless of the threat factor.
Josephine knew she couldn’t outrun them by foot. But skateboard? She felt that she could have the potential of being able to, at least, give them a decent enough chase. “Alright, Lux. Prepare yourself. Because we’re going to mess with these guys.” She grinned. “TOMMY FALCO STYLE!”
“Who? WAAH!”
Josephine whistled to the dangerous creatures, getting their attention. Once they looked at her, she blew them a kiss then gave them a middle finger. Whether or not they understood the obscene gesture was unknown to her and Lux but either way, it worked. The monsters started to ignore Davis and chase after the kids while Josephine was bringing them closer to the skateboard portion of the park.
“Going down!” Chimed Josephine as she placed both of her feet together and went shooting down the steep slope of the decline. She crouched, gaining as much speed as she could while keeping Lux at her side. The wind rushed past them as they sped downwards and behind them, they could hear some of the creatures chasing. Some even tripped and fell as they weren’t paying attention to where their footing was. However, there were a few that were seemingly smarter than they led on and were actually catching up to the children with insane speed.
Josephine glanced back to see how close they were and while she did so, Lux cried out; “DUCK!” But when Josephine returned her attention towards her front, she was met with a tail strike which hit her in her chest, rocketing her onto the floor and flinging her board into the air, landing quite a distance away.
She landed hard on her back, wheezing as the wind was knocked out of her. Beside her, Lux landed, clattering on the ground like a metallic rod hitting pavement. He then transformed into himself once again, shaking off the dizziness he had gathered from being dropped. When he turned to see what became of Josephine, he noticed one of the creatures was hovering over her. Drooling.
Scrambling to his feet, he bolted over to the monster and jumped onto its back. He wrapped both of his hands around its neck, trying to choke it. A move he had seen wrestlers do on TV. Except this time, he really did want to strangle the beast and knock it down for the count. “Leave her alone!”
The creature shook a bit before grabbing a hold of him, digging their claws into his fleshy arm and tore him off of its back. It then tossed him aside, to where he rolled away a few feet and stopped. It then turned its attention back to Josephine who was still struggling to control herself and get away. It grinned and reached down towards her again.
“JOE...” Lux cried out to her. Scrambling to his feet again. He was more than determined to protect her from the monster. He had to. He needed to. But right before he got close enough to try and strangle the creature again, there was a wall of fire that exploded from Josephine. He quickly stopped dead in his tracks as the strange being skittered away from her.
Once the fire died down, Josephine collapsed onto her knees again. Gasping. In pain. There was smoke rising from her skin as she must’ve burned. Lux then rushed to her side and placed his hand on her backside to only pull away as her body was over-heated. When he asked if she was alright, Josephine only gave him a thumbs up.
“Joe, we need to get away from these guys.” Lux said as they were getting surrounded once more. Davis was nowhere to be seen and Lux wasn’t sure if he was even still alive. He then ignored the heat radiating from his friend and wrapped his arms around her to pull her to her feet. He did his best to ignore the burning sensation on his skin because he wanted to make sure she was going to be safe.
“My leg...” She winced as she limped along side him. “I think it must’ve gotten me.” Josephine pointed to her bloodied thigh. “Dang it. It hurts... Don’t you know any other abilities?”
Frustrated with the truth, he sharply stuttered; “N-No I don’t...” When he saw the defeat in Josephine’s face, it hurt him more than anything. He couldn’t do anything to save her or himself. He had no other magical abilities. At least, none that he knew about. All he could do was turn into a sword but Josephine wasn’t a swordsman. She, like him, was just a kid who was still learning much about her heritage and what she could do. Neither one of them were ready for something as dangerous as this.
Nothing crossed his mind. No ideas. No ways out. Everything had suddenly become so dire and dangerous, Lux was running out of steam. So he did what he thought was the best move. Lux pulled Josephine into a hug, burying her head into the crevasse between his shoulder and chin. His arms wrapped tightly around her, shielding her with his own body as one of the creatures swatted at him with their claws.
He let out a pained cry, but continued to hold onto her as tight as possible. Another, he felt another hit. It stung so much. And through his tightly clenched jaw, he told her; “Do the fire thing again.”
“You’ll be burned!”
“Do it! I’ll be fine. Just get-“ He was hit again and he paused through the pain. “-Get them away from us.”
“I-I-I can’t.” Josephine refused but when she watched Lux get hit one more time, she had no other choice in the matter. She closed her eyes and focused on the flames within her. Lighting herself on fire, she sent out another burst. At the same time, Lux had turned into a sword to avoid getting his skin burned.
But she was exhausted from it and fell onto her bottom. Lux transformed back into himself and this time, she wrapped her arms around him. “I can’t do this anymore.”
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Post by Moe on Oct 15, 2023 20:38:37 GMT -6
A loud, angry and resounding "GET AWAY FROM HIM, YOU BITCH!" could be heard as the creatures attacking Lux and Joe, suddenly found themselves blasted in the face by a massive EM pulse. The blast sent a couple of them flying, but the one who was hit dead-on suffered a severe case of facelessness.
Violence was something Mark was extremely against. He made it a point to only ever use an enemy's own force, against them. He never threw a punch, he never hurt the enemy, and he absolutely never killed anyone, or in this case, thing. This time was different. This time, these creatures were outnumbering and outpowering two children. If there was anyone worth Mark breaking his rule of pacifism for, it was kids. And this kid was Lux. Mark didn't care who this creature was, if it had a life or a family or if it even spoke. It was hurting Lux and that's all that mattered, in the moment.
"Nox, get your brother and his friend somewhere safe. I'm about to break a lot of personal rules." Mark, in the Hyper X suit, said to Nox.
The energy shield on his right arm pulsed with energy as he re-programmed it to be flatter and sharper. The other creatures all collectively turned to face him, letting out eerie, angry hisses. The looked like dinosaurs, but had somewhat humanoid stances, and wore clothes that looked like an ancient human civilization. They had opposable thumbs and though their claws and teeth were sharp, some of them carried long broadswords. Those, Mark noticed, stayed further in the back of the group, as though waiting to see what the threat level was like. They all seemed to be some sort of pack animal, but were clearly intelligent and organized. None of them spoke, however, and made low growls, hisses, warbles, and roars. Either that was simply their language, or they had a leader somewhere else.
Mark stood his ground, ready for an all-out assault. Though he was absolutely going to wreck them for hurting Lux and Joe, he was still waiting for them to make the first move. That way, he could at least tell himself it was self-defense. Then, the first one made a move, to which Mark instantly responded by shooting it with another EM pulse. The first one had its energy levels cranked to max, so this one wasn't as severe, but still send the creature flying into several others. That was when they all decided to go after him, all at once.
At first, it was easy. Though he was exhausted, he was still able to stop time in short, tiny bursts, conserving his energy and to everyone else it looked as though he was teleporting around as he dodged the incoming onslaught. The more he did this, though, the more his timing was off. At first he was able to dodge them and retaliate with ease, but the use of power caused him to slow down and still be hit by a flurry of teeth and claws. He stumbled slightly as his ears rang and his head spun, but was still able to fight back using the EMP cannon on one arm, and the sharpened shield on the other. The creatures in the back were starting to get annoyed, and came running at him with their swords.
One more time, Mark gathered all the adrenaline he had and was able to skip time once more. He was weak, tired, and he was pretty sure his nose was bleeding, but it was just enough to freeze the creature in a fraction of a second in time, for him to grab the sword out of its hands, turn it around, and stab it right through the chest. As time returned to normal, he swung the sword, creature still skewered onto it, and flung the carcass into the second oncoming creature, causing it to fall backwards.
What he didn't see, was a third creature behind him, lunging a sword right toward Mark's back. He very nearly did, slightly cracking the back of the Hyper X suit. What stopped him, however, was the sword suddenly bending and squishing as though it was made of gelatin.
"Oh...that was supposed to turn it into glass and shatter and look really cool." Ikuki said from behind, the blue orbs on her suit's hands were glowing brilliantly as they channeled her spell somewhat-successfully.
Mark looked back at Ikuki in her suit, and though his face was hidden behind the mask, he smiled. Emotions were running rampant, but it made him feel good that the suit worked. He grabbed the jelly sword out of the creature's hand, and smacked him with it. "I'm glad you're here. I would've killed every one of these bastards if somebody hadn't stopped me. They hurt Lux and his friend...bad. Do you know any healing spells?"
"Very basic ones. But first I have to get to them." she said, noting the creatures were still coming, and still focused on Mark, and now Ikuki.
"Okay, new question. You know that thing you showed Nathan, the other day? Connecting rocks together?" Mark asked her. He sounded like he had a plan.
"Yeah?"
"Can you do that with these guys?"
"Elaborate."
"Make me the catalyst, like you did with the rock. Connect me to all of them. I can send out one last massive EM pulse from the last bit of energy I've got left in my arm cannon. If my understanding about your magic is correct, my sending out a blast of energy should knock them all out while leaving me unaffected."
"Chemistry." Ikuki gasped; her face was also hidden behind her mask, but her eyes lit up with glee. "A perfect fusion of science and magic. My god, I think I am in love with you. Let's do it." she said as she cast the spell on Mark, making him the catalyst for the energy burst. From there, she linked him with all the creatures within the area. "You could explode their brains. Are you ready for that amount of guilt?"
"They tried to kill my little brother. I don't think I'll ever feel bad about what happens next." Mark said as he set his EM cannon to release every ounce of energy it had left.
The pulse wasn't a fantastic burst, and honestly one almost couldn't even see it other than the dust, leaves and litter that got sent flying everywhere. All the creatures dropped, blood trickling out of their nostrils, ears, eyes and mouth. The pulse likely exploded their insides, but there wasn't much of an option. Plus, there were fewer than a dozen total, so it wasn't like it was a mass genocide. He tried his best not to think about it, nor worry about where they came from or the inevitable as more would certainly show up, after this. He and Ikuki hurried over to Lux, and she tried to focus all her energy into a minor healing spell. It wasn't much, but it would at least stop them from bleeding out before they could get to first aid.
"Sorry you had to see all that. How are you and your friend holding up?" Mark knelt down beside them, and set a hand on Lux's shoulder in a comforting motion.
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