Valles wasn't particularly known to be a night owl, but after finally finishing her term paper on the ethical implications of alternate reality duplication
of individuals, she realized it was rather late. The sun had fallen outside her apartment's window, and street lamps illuminating the odd art deco
structure in the middle of the quad as well as the Midnighter seal on their club building across the way showed one lone straggler stepping in, but otherwise
little activity. A quick glance out her workspace door confirmed Braende had gone to bed earlier, probably realizing with the experience of many a late night
study session that V wouldn't likely be done in time to really enjoy much of anything but sleep after an assignment like this.
However, the dark skinned form sprawled out on the couch, TV still turned on where she'd fallen asleep watching it, showed that Lynna hadn't been
warned about such a situation. Technically, she could've easily joined Braende in bed or even phased through the wall to her own appartment which happened
to be next door, but the lack of any attempts to make her position too comfortable for sleep suggested it was accidental. V smiled, stroking a hand across
Lynna's cheek which failed to elicit any response.
Really, Valles hadn't expected any. Lynna slept like a brick once she finally dozed off, which meant she'd be immobile for the near future. V certainly
couldn't lift her herself(not for the first time, she sighed at her lack of skill with stabilizing the kind of formshifting that Lynna seemed to take to as
second nature) and she wasn't about to wake up Braende to help drag the young woman into bed. So she pulled out a blanket, slipping it over Lynna and
slipped a pillow under her head, before bending down to plant a brief kiss and begin her own bedtime preparations.
However, perhaps it was just the increased sensitivity to energy that she had since she'd merged with her Kheldian other half, but she noticed a line of
dark energy snaking away from Lynna out to the small balcony that their appartment enjoyed due to being on the exterior of the building. Following it, she
stepped out to discover a floating ball of ebon energy sitting stationary outside, and froze.
Part of her immediately began the fight or flight instinct as her mind classified the energy as that of a darkshifted Kheldian, but the logic quickly
identified a no less unexpected, but less hostile, identity for the being she was facing.
"...M'kel?"
The orb shifted somewhat, and Valles blinked as she heard a voice speak along a wavelength most humans probably wouldn't have been able to process.
Ah, young Valles. My apologies if I disturbed you.
Valles shook her head, stepping closer. "I was already up. What about you? I didn't think that you could..." she shrugged, gesturing at the
floating ball of energy. "I mean, you and Lynna are merged, right?"
M'kel chuckled slightly, or at least that was the impression V took of the reaction before the Warshade spoke again. Yes,
we are merged, but this is entirely possible due to the development of her bond with myself. I trust you've seen her use similar energies in combat?
When Valles nodded, he continued. Such are the mass which makes up our natural forms, and I am simply borrowing this one for
a time. It allows me to see things on my own, in a manner of speaking, he noted, and Valles blinked at the odd "tone"
"Do you...regret merging with Lynna?" she asked, not entirely sure how much she should pry. Her lover had been remarkably close mouthed about the
circumstances that'd ended with her merged to the alien Warshade, but given the common trend in most mergers, Lynna's had probably been traumatic, so
Valles had let it be. For now.
The orb didn't move, but Valles got the impression of a shaken head. No. The decision was mine to offer to her as much as
it was hers to take, and while desperation was a part of it, the things we have done since have more than repaid the debt we owed one another.
No...more I look at the stars and see...how far I have come.
Sensing her confusion, he continued. What do you know of the history of our kind, young Peacebringer?
Valles shrugged. "Some, from various sources, but not as much as I'd like."
M'kel nodded again, sounding thoughtful. Aeons ago, we were of one race. The Kheldians, beings of pure energy who lived,
loved, and explored among the stars. However, our lifespans were limited, barely a handful of your Terran years, but we were content...for a time.
However, there were those that were not content, and they turned to the sciences of many worlds to attempt to
discover a way to extend our existences. We felt justified, that our race could become so much more if not bound by the short leash with which nature had bound
us. And so, in time, we discovered the life force by which all things live...we subjected ourselves to strange and
unnatural process which warped the very energies of our being. And we became living vampires, who fed upon the life forces of others to extend our own. Fellow
Kheldians, aliens, animals, even plant life...all had energy upon which our blighted grasp could feed. As beings of energy, the Kheldian race had long
associated light with life, and the warping of our numbers that occurred in those days gave birth to our new name. Those That Feed Within The Dark: the
Nictus.
Valles goggled as she assimilated the information. The way M'kel spoke, it was almost as if... she looked at him again. "You were one of the first
ones that changed..."
Yes. And many eons have been spent thinking about that decision. I do not regret it, though I regret the actions I and those
like me took afterwards. The Kheldian War between Peacebringer and Nictus was never an outcome I would have sought. But we were young and foolish...
so many of us were, back then, when our lifespans assured we could be nothing but.
He continued as V took a seat, listening carefully. The acquisition of hosts extended our lives immeasurably. The goal of the
Nictus from the start. But by then, we could not simply share such a discovery. The hosts we took became soldiers in our war, their forms staying with us as we
gained new soldiers from other worlds. A billion worlds, and countless ages, and still the war remained stagnant...however, the Nictii you know as Arahkn and
Requiem changed that. Their energy draining device nearly ended the war by absorbing the energy of the Peacebringers across interstellar distances....but it
woke some of us to what we were doing. Turning our fellow Kheldians, our brethren, into nothing more than a pool of energy upon which to feed? It was too much.
But we had to be careful. We could not flee openly lest the more extreme members of the Nictus turn their weapon upon us as well.
Grim satisfaction creeped into his tone. It was she who united us. Against Flame of the Void and Dirge of Entropy, Fallen
Star Gleams Anew, the one you know as Shadowstar, we began a campaign of subversion and sabotage. We turned against those who
would make the Nictus parasitic conquerors and destroyed their transfer device. Starved of energy and under attack by the Peacebringers once more, the Nictii
splintered and fled amongst the stars, forming hundreds of lesser strongholds.
But we were not welcomed for this achievement, M'kel noted, and Valles winced at the bitterness in his voice. We were Nictus. Obviously, we were the enemy. We were struck down without restraint as we attempted to rejoin the brethren we had left
behind. But as despair mounted, our savior from before found a new solution. The Nictus would always be the enemy to the Kheldians, and so we forsook the name.
We became the Warshades. Those who walk the dark path of conflict, yet seek the light.
He looked at Valles, and despite the nondescript nature of his form, V could feel the scrutiny before he continued. Yet still
we were hunted. As we assisted the Peacebringers from the shadows, still they struck us down with no restraint. And so we followed the former leaders of the
Nictus in their exile of shame to this planet...where we found you humans. You humans who could resist the Nictus even
without the help of Peacebringer or Warshade...yet you still were willing to undergo the fusion.
Valles blinked, before blushing slightly. "I didn't really get much of a introduction to what I was getting into when it happened," she admitted.
"And the more I hear from you...the more I begin to understand why I get such dirty looks from other Warshades...even you, for a while." When the
Warshade didn't reply, Valles looked back at him, an unspoken question finally working its way out. "You...don't talk as much anymore. When Lynna
and I first met, she seemed to be arguing with you all the time...now...now you're just...quiet. Why is that?"
The Warshade was silent for a long moment, before it "looked up" at her again.
Because...it is not so one sided as my stories suggest. There were terrible acts undertaken by the Nictus...before we
realized what we had done. The Peacebringers are somewhat justified in their anger...just as I am somewhat justified in my disgust of them. We disagreed,
initially, over her reaction to you. You were a Peacebringer, almost the enemy...yet you were different. You were kind and compassionate...there was something
about you that eased the wounds our merge had caused within Lynna. And while I could care less about the opinion of a Peacebringer, anything that helped
her...I was willing to sacrifice. As time has gone on, I've begun to know you, but not seen fit to interrupt the life you and she have built together.
Perhaps, in time, Lynna and my merge will deepen to the point there is no more us, and only one being with the knowledge and experience of both. But for now, I
watch, educate her, and try the best I can to help her so that I might redeem myself of my past sins....and prejudices, he added, glancing at her.
And perhaps that, more than anything else, is what makes Earth so important. If the divisions between Warshade and
Peacebringer can be healed here, perhaps millennia of war were not for nothing. Which is what I hope for as I watch these stars. That one day the portion of
humanity that has become embroiled in our war will be able to rejoin the greater Kheldian race and use this increased longevity to once again explore the stars
as we once did...
Valles nodded, smiling despite herself. "It's hard to get over those initial prejudices," she noted, thinking about her own world's history,
and the examples she'd experienced in her own life. "But in the end...I hope you're right. Because what you describe sounds fascinating...I'd
love to see it."
Perhaps, one day, you will, young Peacebringer, M'kel noted, as Valles waved good night and went back inside, and
M'kel returned to gazing at the stars.
Hopefully, it will be worth what you lose when others grow old like you no longer do... he noted softly to himself,
watching the stars twinkle and burn above.
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."
of individuals, she realized it was rather late. The sun had fallen outside her apartment's window, and street lamps illuminating the odd art deco
structure in the middle of the quad as well as the Midnighter seal on their club building across the way showed one lone straggler stepping in, but otherwise
little activity. A quick glance out her workspace door confirmed Braende had gone to bed earlier, probably realizing with the experience of many a late night
study session that V wouldn't likely be done in time to really enjoy much of anything but sleep after an assignment like this.
However, the dark skinned form sprawled out on the couch, TV still turned on where she'd fallen asleep watching it, showed that Lynna hadn't been
warned about such a situation. Technically, she could've easily joined Braende in bed or even phased through the wall to her own appartment which happened
to be next door, but the lack of any attempts to make her position too comfortable for sleep suggested it was accidental. V smiled, stroking a hand across
Lynna's cheek which failed to elicit any response.
Really, Valles hadn't expected any. Lynna slept like a brick once she finally dozed off, which meant she'd be immobile for the near future. V certainly
couldn't lift her herself(not for the first time, she sighed at her lack of skill with stabilizing the kind of formshifting that Lynna seemed to take to as
second nature) and she wasn't about to wake up Braende to help drag the young woman into bed. So she pulled out a blanket, slipping it over Lynna and
slipped a pillow under her head, before bending down to plant a brief kiss and begin her own bedtime preparations.
However, perhaps it was just the increased sensitivity to energy that she had since she'd merged with her Kheldian other half, but she noticed a line of
dark energy snaking away from Lynna out to the small balcony that their appartment enjoyed due to being on the exterior of the building. Following it, she
stepped out to discover a floating ball of ebon energy sitting stationary outside, and froze.
Part of her immediately began the fight or flight instinct as her mind classified the energy as that of a darkshifted Kheldian, but the logic quickly
identified a no less unexpected, but less hostile, identity for the being she was facing.
"...M'kel?"
The orb shifted somewhat, and Valles blinked as she heard a voice speak along a wavelength most humans probably wouldn't have been able to process.
Ah, young Valles. My apologies if I disturbed you.
Valles shook her head, stepping closer. "I was already up. What about you? I didn't think that you could..." she shrugged, gesturing at the
floating ball of energy. "I mean, you and Lynna are merged, right?"
M'kel chuckled slightly, or at least that was the impression V took of the reaction before the Warshade spoke again. Yes,
we are merged, but this is entirely possible due to the development of her bond with myself. I trust you've seen her use similar energies in combat?
When Valles nodded, he continued. Such are the mass which makes up our natural forms, and I am simply borrowing this one for
a time. It allows me to see things on my own, in a manner of speaking, he noted, and Valles blinked at the odd "tone"
"Do you...regret merging with Lynna?" she asked, not entirely sure how much she should pry. Her lover had been remarkably close mouthed about the
circumstances that'd ended with her merged to the alien Warshade, but given the common trend in most mergers, Lynna's had probably been traumatic, so
Valles had let it be. For now.
The orb didn't move, but Valles got the impression of a shaken head. No. The decision was mine to offer to her as much as
it was hers to take, and while desperation was a part of it, the things we have done since have more than repaid the debt we owed one another.
No...more I look at the stars and see...how far I have come.
Sensing her confusion, he continued. What do you know of the history of our kind, young Peacebringer?
Valles shrugged. "Some, from various sources, but not as much as I'd like."
M'kel nodded again, sounding thoughtful. Aeons ago, we were of one race. The Kheldians, beings of pure energy who lived,
loved, and explored among the stars. However, our lifespans were limited, barely a handful of your Terran years, but we were content...for a time.
However, there were those that were not content, and they turned to the sciences of many worlds to attempt to
discover a way to extend our existences. We felt justified, that our race could become so much more if not bound by the short leash with which nature had bound
us. And so, in time, we discovered the life force by which all things live...we subjected ourselves to strange and
unnatural process which warped the very energies of our being. And we became living vampires, who fed upon the life forces of others to extend our own. Fellow
Kheldians, aliens, animals, even plant life...all had energy upon which our blighted grasp could feed. As beings of energy, the Kheldian race had long
associated light with life, and the warping of our numbers that occurred in those days gave birth to our new name. Those That Feed Within The Dark: the
Nictus.
Valles goggled as she assimilated the information. The way M'kel spoke, it was almost as if... she looked at him again. "You were one of the first
ones that changed..."
Yes. And many eons have been spent thinking about that decision. I do not regret it, though I regret the actions I and those
like me took afterwards. The Kheldian War between Peacebringer and Nictus was never an outcome I would have sought. But we were young and foolish...
so many of us were, back then, when our lifespans assured we could be nothing but.
He continued as V took a seat, listening carefully. The acquisition of hosts extended our lives immeasurably. The goal of the
Nictus from the start. But by then, we could not simply share such a discovery. The hosts we took became soldiers in our war, their forms staying with us as we
gained new soldiers from other worlds. A billion worlds, and countless ages, and still the war remained stagnant...however, the Nictii you know as Arahkn and
Requiem changed that. Their energy draining device nearly ended the war by absorbing the energy of the Peacebringers across interstellar distances....but it
woke some of us to what we were doing. Turning our fellow Kheldians, our brethren, into nothing more than a pool of energy upon which to feed? It was too much.
But we had to be careful. We could not flee openly lest the more extreme members of the Nictus turn their weapon upon us as well.
Grim satisfaction creeped into his tone. It was she who united us. Against Flame of the Void and Dirge of Entropy, Fallen
Star Gleams Anew, the one you know as Shadowstar, we began a campaign of subversion and sabotage. We turned against those who
would make the Nictus parasitic conquerors and destroyed their transfer device. Starved of energy and under attack by the Peacebringers once more, the Nictii
splintered and fled amongst the stars, forming hundreds of lesser strongholds.
But we were not welcomed for this achievement, M'kel noted, and Valles winced at the bitterness in his voice. We were Nictus. Obviously, we were the enemy. We were struck down without restraint as we attempted to rejoin the brethren we had left
behind. But as despair mounted, our savior from before found a new solution. The Nictus would always be the enemy to the Kheldians, and so we forsook the name.
We became the Warshades. Those who walk the dark path of conflict, yet seek the light.
He looked at Valles, and despite the nondescript nature of his form, V could feel the scrutiny before he continued. Yet still
we were hunted. As we assisted the Peacebringers from the shadows, still they struck us down with no restraint. And so we followed the former leaders of the
Nictus in their exile of shame to this planet...where we found you humans. You humans who could resist the Nictus even
without the help of Peacebringer or Warshade...yet you still were willing to undergo the fusion.
Valles blinked, before blushing slightly. "I didn't really get much of a introduction to what I was getting into when it happened," she admitted.
"And the more I hear from you...the more I begin to understand why I get such dirty looks from other Warshades...even you, for a while." When the
Warshade didn't reply, Valles looked back at him, an unspoken question finally working its way out. "You...don't talk as much anymore. When Lynna
and I first met, she seemed to be arguing with you all the time...now...now you're just...quiet. Why is that?"
The Warshade was silent for a long moment, before it "looked up" at her again.
Because...it is not so one sided as my stories suggest. There were terrible acts undertaken by the Nictus...before we
realized what we had done. The Peacebringers are somewhat justified in their anger...just as I am somewhat justified in my disgust of them. We disagreed,
initially, over her reaction to you. You were a Peacebringer, almost the enemy...yet you were different. You were kind and compassionate...there was something
about you that eased the wounds our merge had caused within Lynna. And while I could care less about the opinion of a Peacebringer, anything that helped
her...I was willing to sacrifice. As time has gone on, I've begun to know you, but not seen fit to interrupt the life you and she have built together.
Perhaps, in time, Lynna and my merge will deepen to the point there is no more us, and only one being with the knowledge and experience of both. But for now, I
watch, educate her, and try the best I can to help her so that I might redeem myself of my past sins....and prejudices, he added, glancing at her.
And perhaps that, more than anything else, is what makes Earth so important. If the divisions between Warshade and
Peacebringer can be healed here, perhaps millennia of war were not for nothing. Which is what I hope for as I watch these stars. That one day the portion of
humanity that has become embroiled in our war will be able to rejoin the greater Kheldian race and use this increased longevity to once again explore the stars
as we once did...
Valles nodded, smiling despite herself. "It's hard to get over those initial prejudices," she noted, thinking about her own world's history,
and the examples she'd experienced in her own life. "But in the end...I hope you're right. Because what you describe sounds fascinating...I'd
love to see it."
Perhaps, one day, you will, young Peacebringer, M'kel noted, as Valles waved good night and went back inside, and
M'kel returned to gazing at the stars.
Hopefully, it will be worth what you lose when others grow old like you no longer do... he noted softly to himself,
watching the stars twinkle and burn above.
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."