Blurred vision comes to the screen as a shaky video comes into play. It is clear that the person holding the video is running and is panting heavily. The person brings his face to the camera showing a sun-kissed teenager who has been clearly living off the streets for too long. He is breathing heavily through his smile. You can hear a confident man speaking in the background.

"Here I am in the city of Nippur where a team of primes has shown up for the first time in so long. Rumor has it that Gilgamesh himself has shown up to save us." It is clear the boy is a fanatic and is hopeful.

Quote:“I am your King once again and will establish the following set of laws. These laws will bind our primes to you, the citizens of Nippur. You will always be protected."

Quote:One! Banishment is hereby forbidden. It is an inhumane punishment that is worse than death. However, that is not a means to declaw our wonderful city. In extreme cases I will allow an exception



Two! We must not turn against one another in this time of recovery. Therefor, babylonians cannot attack other babylonians. 



Three! All members must be civil and uphold honor. Those who do not abide by this will be punished by me, the King!



Four! My loyal primes must decide amongst themselves for anything that does not need my supervision. However, this must be done to help the city and only the city.



Five! If anyone abuses their power in my Kingdom, they shall be rightfully stripped of power.



Six!  Admission into the Kingdom will be decided by me.



Seven!  Any law that I, Gilgamesh, deems fit, will be overseen by my lessers and implemented.



Eight!  Aggression from outside the Kingdom is treated as aggression towards the entirety. You, however, shall not incur the wrath of others without the my permission. If you do, you are held accountable of your own actions.



Nine!  You loyalty should be to serve me, however you may be able to divide your time amongst other, less important, groups.



Ten!  Any member of my Kingdom may have an audience with the King.



Eleven! Civilians are of the utmost importance to a city and must be protected. If a prime violates Nippur's citizens in any way, on their first offense they will be exiled and barred from city entrance. A second offense from the same prime elicits hunting down and capturing this prime for a public execution. For a prime that has sworn to defend the city, on a first offense will be publicly executed by Gilgamesh.


Twelve! I am your King and you shall submit to me. Any and all primes who have earned my respect shall earn your respect as well.” Gilgamesh breathed deeply after this decree, the words were more than a mouthful, yet he had to make sure the people knew he would protect them. The street was now more than populated, gazing in awe as their King had returned to save them.

The party passed through the gate, to the blazing sun and burning winds of the dunes, their nostalgic sting bringing back memories of the past, not all of them pleasant. Victor had been unusually quiet, his entire knowledge of how this world functioned changing. Now he knew that it was possible to escape banishment, something he had bearly even considered before. This brought fear, after all, he had sent many a strong warrior to the depths of the Underverse, however, it also brought hope. 

Gilgamesh returning could not come at a better time, it was clear that Nippur and the Dunes needed a strong leader, and Gilgamesh had already proven more than capable in this role, everything seemed to fall into place perfectly for the assassin. All they had to do was head into their former capital, put everyone who opposed them to the sword, and then rebuild. And that would be made even easier as it seemed that Gilgameshes charisma had once again gained them even more allies. 

As they walked Victor eyed up their new travel companions first examining the so-called exorcist. Whilst he had threatened to behead the assassin who in this world hadn't at least thought about that in some way? He had not earned the assassins trust yet but assuming he could do that Victor could see a very effective soldier in the swordsman, he had stood up to Victor and even blocked the Kings attacks. Victor finished eyeing up the Exorcist drawing his attention as he removed a small book from within his cloak, followed by a pencil. He said out loud "knight" as he wrote it down followed by a pause I never learned his name hm, guess I have to improvise. Victor then wrote a dash followed by "Swordsorcist". The Exorcist gave him a suspicious look as Victor smiled at him "don't mind me, just making notes for the future, after all, someone has to plan that out" he chuckled to himself. The Stoic exorcist clearly judging him with his eyes.

As they continued walking Victor changed the object of his attention, their other new companion, the bumbling fool that had made the Nexus situation even more of a mess and had an even stranger fascination with Goldie than himself. Still, he did appear to have some mechanical part, and as he remembered from his fight with the plague marine, metal hitting flesh is not idea for an unarmoured assassin. There was also the matter of how this stranger knew his name, perhaps he wasn't as much of a fool as the party first thought. Victor then opened up his book once again and began to jot down the words One armed swordsman, followed by saying and writing "Meatshield". Causing the assassin to laugh a little more. He then added, possible court jester finally closing his book, putting it back in his pocket.

The Imperial town of Careforre could be seen in the distance, a good marker for the way back to Nippur, a perfect symbol of all that is wrong with the dunes, a last bastion of the ones who allowed the place to end up in a perpetual state of survival of the fittest, even the toughest people struggling to make a living. And with the constant fight that was survival the natives clearly never really had the time to think about law, and culture, and working together to build a prosperous society. Victor grinned, he knew that if Gilgamesh succeeded it was likely that this now barren land would become a gem that everyone in the world would envy, and Victor would have a prime spot in this new society. Drowning out the people around him Victor thought about just what his role in this revival would be, how could he help unite the people of Nippur, what is it they don't have that allowed them to fall so quickly to infighting and bandits.

At that moment an idea slowly pieced itself together in Victor's head, a way that he could further unify the populace, making him invaluable to Gilgamesh, and securing his legacy, it was a sly one, not something he would normally support, but desperate times called for desperate measures. He would have to work out the detail later, but the idea seemed solid in his head. As for the favour that Gilgamesh had promised him, Victor had a few ideas, but he would keep them to himself until it suited him, after all, they still had a city to clear out and rebuild before any of his dreams of decadence could be achieved. 

Snapping back to Reality Victor noticed his Dataverse device, realising that he had not yet reported in, he sprung forward with a massive burst of speed, causing sand to be kicked into the air as he moved stopping side by side with Gilgamesh. With a smirk, he announced "Reporting in sir!" Causing the Golden King to raise an eyebrow "Something to report?" he continued walking but turned an ear to the assassin. "Well, sir after your banishment I was killed by one of the enemies demons in the same battle, sacrificed myself to allow some of our civilians to get away safely. After that, the Ninja boy and I got involved in another DA like disturbance, that lead to us being once again killed, impaled by some sort of super prime.  After I revived it seemed like some time had passed but I did manage to send Shay and Erik to try and secure your glorious capital city, however, it appears that it is not going to well, and Sasuke appears to have disappeared, over all things have been much better my lord"  

Gilgamesh took a second to respond almost a little surprised at how poorly things had gone without him "is there any good news?" he questioned causing Victor to gulp "well I guess the good news is that things can only get better?"

<From A Bright Dawn>

The transportation to a new world felt jarring to his senses though they quickly adapted to the strange new feelings and sensations now forced upon him. Celestia stepped ahead of him surveying the sun soaked grass fields and paths that lay around them.
Revan too looked out at the grass, a stark contrast to the dark lands they had just left behind. He had to hope this was what Celestia wanted, if she had wanted the sun she certainly had it, the sun shone rays down upon him heating his near frozen cold body, the feeling of imminent dread at least for now was finally washing away. Perhaps this would end up being the place he would find the answers he so desperately sought.

His mind turned towards what the people were like here, he hoped they were friendly and would have answers, perhaps they could offer help in the Moors. He and Celestia it appeared had made it out of the woods or so it seemed. The grass even looked more green and alive than it had in his own world, perhaps the people here had special means of taking care of it. The road it seemed too was well maintained in these lands.

“It perplexes yet truly amazes me how every single land the gates take us to is entirely different, I would be lying if at first glance this did not seem the most habitable.” Revan wondered for a moment which way to even travel as nature seemed to surround them in every direction, it seemed like the perfect place.

“I suppose we’ll just have to walk awhile until we can get directions.” perhaps a walk in the sun would be just what they needed after their last adventure, especially now nothing was trying to hurt or kill them.

“It is nice to see the sky again, after all we’d been through I was beginning to wonder if we ever would.” The clear blue sky was filled with only a few white puffy clouds, to Revan it seemed this verse had no issues, perhaps it was even a place he could just relax and enjoy for awhile.

He took in a large amount of fresh air, it had seemed like forever since he was truly able to breathe, gone was the wet cold air of the Moors that had the life choked out of it by sinister means. This world seemed most full of natural life, perhaps he could even find something pleasant here. Celestia seemed to be enjoying the sun beams just as much if not more than he was. He did feel a little guilty however, after all she probably only missed home more, to be fair in a way so did he.

He felt a far more warm and calm breeze flow across his black cloak, the sun no longer smothered from the sky lit a blue horizon that seemed pristine and welcoming. The air was clear and easy to breathe, no longer did he feel surrounded by a land that wanted him dead. As Celestia trotted down the road with him he found himself wondering how much better she now felt being in the element she loved the most. For the moment they seemed alone, judging by the roads however he was most sure they would find company soon enough, as they continued at a leisurely pace however he did not fail to notice the rumbling beneath him, he recognised what the feeling meant. Looking to Celestia he wondered if she too noticed, they were about to have company.

There were times when one wished they were still asleep. There were times one wished people entirely loathed by them would cease to exist. And in some cases, there were times where someone awoke with a splitting migraine that felt like someone had crashed a Semi Truck full of explosives inside of their skull. Rarely were all of these times connected into one Elephant Turd Sundae that made someone truly miserable. Even more disruptive of his plans was the thoughts he was having towards a certain set of individuals. Those individuals were currently squatting in his old home - a home he had been told in no uncertain terms he could never return to. Obviously on it’s own, this would be displeasing. Of course when you combined it with all of what Warren currently was experiencing, it would drive any lesser man mad. The Quarterback of Chaos refused to let his irritation, or pain drive him that far. Steps could be taken by him to correct his situation, and soon. All he had to do was take the path to his goals. His first goal should be to find a new place to call home.

Several options for his home existed. The first of these was Camelot, home of ancient castles, a floating island, and many other things, but low technological standards. For that reason, and the existence of Elves, and other mythical creatures there, the place wasn’t appealing to the Quarterback of Chaos. Of course, it probably had insects, which was another strike. The lack of advanced technology was strike III. Camelot needn’t even be considered as a place he could build his base of operations from which he could begin his campaign.

Coruscant had a whole slug of problems. First of the problems was the attitudes of the locals. They had him confused for someone else - someone who had apparently wronged them. As a result of this, they were not afraid to show their “opinion” of the individual, and take it out on him by beating him quite severely. Other reasons he didn’t want to go there, were that any attempts made by him to defend himself could be seen as a crime. Furthermore, there was the matter of all of the red tape they subjected him, and anyone else to who lived there. Last, but most certainly not least, it was where his problems with XX_YANDERE_LO♥ER_XX had started. If he had never gone to that verse, he would have never encountered the individual. Having not done so would have caused him to avoid his current set of circumstances entirely. 

So yeah, Coruscant was out. Permanently, in fact. What options did that leave him?

The Tangled Green was the verse he had been unofficially exiled from. The natives there were not as problematic, but it did have an Imperial Presence there. Such was a strike against the verse because he had no desire to run afoul of those authorities, any time soon. The mosquitos, bugs, and natives were all strikes against the verse, as well. Yet another strike against the verse was one that he had invariably “created” when he had made his home there. Dark Hecate had access to a Fortress. Of course XX_YANDERE_LO♥ER_XX being inside his home was the last and absolutely final strike about that verse. Returning to there would only result in problems. Add to that the fact he was not powerful enough yet, and didn’t want revenge, and yeah, the Tangled Green was out of the question entirely.

The next Verse to be considered was the Frozen Fields.  The mere name of the Verse earned said verse twelve strikes. Judging from the name of the place, it was intensely cold. A quick dataverse search revealed that the place had blizzards, and snowstorms all over. Visibility was low, which was both a strike, and a point in the favor of the verse. Of course, all the snow and ice around the place was not a point in it’s favor. Such massive amounts of snow and ice could be weaponized by Hecate, or Dark Hecate far too easily, and Warren really didn’t want that. In addition people could probably freeze to death there. This verse, unfortunately was going to get a big fat can of NOPE opened on it. 

This left him a few options, of course.

One of these was the Vasty Deep.  The Vasty Deep had one strike against it right away, because of the Imperial Presence there. Creatures with powers were another strike against it. The fact he did not have a hovercraft, jet boots, or a Flight App was yet another strike because he didn’t plan on wasting on his time stuck on any of the islands. In addition there were ruins there rumored to have problems, and ancient traps there, something Warren wanted no part of in his weakened condition. In addition, there were probably sea monsters. Therefore, this verse got a mountain of Not Gonna Happen dumped on it as the place that he was going to make his home.

Two options remained.

The Ashen Steppes - Once home to a Lord Dominator, according to research on the Dataverse, and home to many volcanoes. The sweltering heat was one of the problems of the verse he’d most likely have to contend with, if he decided to stay there. Another problem was the potential of any of the dormant volcanoes to erupt at any time. Still, there were advantages to the place. Abandoned bases formerly owned by Primes that could be retaken, and molded according to his desires, and goals. Of course this was not without disadvantages. One of the statements made by Lord Dominator was that he was a weak villain, though she had probably been referring to the other version of him. Ultimately this place warranted further consideration. 

The negatives outweighed by a landslide the positives of choosing the Ashen Steppes as the place he was permanently going to call home. A place that he might add would not have any access from an unwelcome Prime, or her companion who also seemed to be a Prime. Sure the lethargy caused by the unwanted assault had waned, and faded, but Warren still didn’t feel whole. Of course as he had no property to his name, that could be the reason why.

The last choice remained, and it seemed it was the best option. The Endless Dunes. Sure there had been reports on the Dataverse about a battle going on in a distant part of it, but Warren planned on making sure he steered clear of that war zone. Not only was he still getting stronger and recovering his strength, but he had no desire to deal with such chaos. Ordinarily this would be a deal breaker on it’s own as to choosing the place as his new home. Unfortunately it was the only option without major problems, and that was why the former Quarterback of Chaos decided he was going to risk the trip. While he may not have agreed with the strange creature who visited his dream for the most part,  Warren decided he’d humor her, and avoid revenge. Not that he could take it right now anyway, for he’d need to do a lot of things, before the idea of evicting the unwanted guests from his house - by force could be done. Perhaps she was right that he didn't need to isolate himself from the other Primes, but so far his track record of encounters had been less than positive. As he made his way towards the Endless Dunes, Warren considered the dream that he had. It was one he hoped never repeated. Maybe if he were to make some medicine he could ensure that such a dream did not occur again, because it had been particularly disturbing to him.

"Scathing eyes ask that we be symmetrical, one-sided and easily processed. Yet every misshapen spark’s unseen beauty is greater than it’s would-be judgment."

She wondered when she would finally come down. The air became less dense as she rose and she swore that she had passed out momentarily. A white figure, like a reverse-colored Grimm in the shape of a man, appeared in front of her talking about some nonsense. Too lightheaded to even understand what he meant, the blonde beauty swore that the sky had also turned white. She noticed now that the air was beneath her. In other words, her descent had begun. Damn, Nora has one intense uppercut.

As she approached the glassy, white floor of the Nexus, her vision seemed to clear. The blurriness faded and her breathing eased. Black dots below her were bunched in a cluster like how a chessboard would look if you removed all the white pieces about halfway into the game. Closer and clearer she began to notice that they were, in fact, people. Familiar people to Miss Xiao Long too; familiar, but not friendly. Especially not friendly when the blonde beauty, a rocket from terminal velocity, crash-landed on one of their faces. They wore black suits, lined in a fancy color of red. It was too good to be true, did Nora really knock her this far?

“Hellooooo, boys!” Yang waves with a cheeky grin as they recover from the reeling of seeing a teenage girl fall on top of one of their friends at 200 miles per hour. “Bet you didn’t expect to see me again, huh?”

Her jokes fell on deaf ears, though. They all reached for their weapons: Axes, swords, maces. Yang stood up off of the man she had crushed and dusted herself off. She smirked at them.

“You wanna do this again?” The blonde chuckled. “Okay then! Let’s go!”

The mechanical bracelets buzzed eagerly into position. Following her motions, she cocked Ember Celica’s rounds into the chamber, ready to be fired at a moments notice. The group of men rushed her, as they did the last time they met her. She would have thought they were smarter than that, but goons are goons.

The similarly dressed men gained on her, first behind her. Her arms flew behind her and the glorious explosion of her gun got her blood pumping. The force blasts from her weapons propel her forward and her enemy backward in return. Her target was too slow to dodge the oncoming right hook, but even as she closed in, time seemed to slow down between the two of them. The last thing he sees before going black is Yang wink at him.

BANG, click-click

Another caught up with her with his sword raised. As it descended upon her, Ember Celica clanged beautifully. The red blade cried out when it collided with the yellow steel blocked it. With a smirk, her free hand jabbed him in the chest, then a repetition of punches followed up before a shot fired from the golden gauntlets. One-Two-Three...BANG! click-click. The body flew into three others behind him. Yang grinned at the carnage she’d caused, but even still, there were more idiots willing to get in front of her mean right hook.

I originally thought I could just put this in the Bonus Request thread, but Ghi says it needs a separate one, soooo...
Can I haz Recognition plz?
[spoiler][/spoiler]

I've written three threads in Coruscant so far, one of which might not count, since it's an NPC thread... though the characters in it are also directly involved in Hijiri's story, so maybe it will... I dunno. Anyway, here are the threads:
Easy Money? Not So Much.
Securing Northside?
Imperial Endeavours

The total word count for the three threads together is 109,127 words.
Also, I dunno if this matters or not, but all three got Exemplary bonuses.

Wait.

What was he thinking?

Steve drew up short, frowning. What had just come over him? He had almost headed off to Coruscant on foot. And not only that, he had been about to leave behind his precious shotguns.

“Tch.” he turned to his comrade of convenience, the ribbon-boy, who had not yet deigned to introduce himself, “I’m not walkin’ all the way across this damn place. Wait here a few minutes.”

For a moment, the hooded figure didn’t speak. When he saw the orb of Omnilium materialising in Steve’s palm, and the gangster then throwing it forwards, where it stopped in mid-air and slowly began growing in size, that was when he replied, “Ah yes, of course, transport.”

Steve was too focused to pay much attention to him, but he did notice the younger man turning to look back at that fight occurring nearby. A half hour or so later, his summoning was finally complete. Over the course of that period, the blue-haired Prime had casually inquired a couple times as to why he was taking so long, though Steve had never bothered to answer.

Now that he was done, it must be rather obvious. He had summoned a vehicle, yes; his black Bentley S2 Continental, but in addition to that – for the car alone ought not to have taken more than five minutes or so to craft – he had also created three Secondaries. His three Secondaries. The same ones that those idiotic swine had killed back Tier Five, shortly before he himself had died.

Eleanor, the black-haired one, Lisanne, the blonde, and Bethanie, the redhead. All three were ‘custom-made’ Secondaries, intended essentially to be simple dolls with no more individuality or rebelliousness than a wind-up wooden soldier. Only their hair colours set them apart. All three had it cut in a chin-length bob, all three had the exact same (rather well endowed) build, all three had the exact same facial features, the exact same skin colour and the exact same outfits; each of them wore a simple black bikini, and that was all.

“Hm...” the young man raised an eyebrow... perhaps not quite sure what to make of the skimpily dressed women, but willing to withhold judgement for the time being... and then all three draped themselves across the gangster and started snuggling against him. A blind man could have seen that these were no great warriors or sages, “What is this, Steve? Did you actually just spend half an hour summoning a... harem?”

Flinging his arms around the shoulders of two of the girls, the old guy took great pleasure in seeing his ally frown and narrow his eyes, “Yeah, I guess I did. What's wrong, kiddo, you jealous?”

“Jealous? No, of course not. I'm perfectly capable of seducing a woman or three without needing to make my own... I thought you were interested in avenging yourself, though? Or did you tire of that idea the moment you remembered that being a Prime meant you were free to summon as many large breasted whores as you felt like?” the young man didn't sound upset or angry; he apparently wasn't in any great rush himself, it seemed, but Steve thought he could detect a slight edge of contempt in his tone, hidden beneath a veneer of calmness and mild disinterest.

The Claw scowled, then pulled his hangers on roughly off, none too happy at being dismissed so casually by this little bitch... normally, he'd have blown the wimpy fuck's head clean off with a point-blank slug to the face, but for once it seemed that he was managing to keep his temper in check, strangely enough, “I remember just fine. Elizabeth, go pick up all my stuff. Load it into the back seats and squeeze in there yourselves. Mystery man, you’re riding shotgun. I’ll drive. Get in and let’s be off.”

All three women took off towards the pile and began hauling loads of weapons and ammo back to the Bentley.

“Elizabeth?” ribbon-boy asked. It was impossible to tell from his tone, but it didn't exactly require a great leap of imagination to come to the conclusion that he was curious as to why three people were being addressed by only a single name.

“El, Liz & Beth. Or Elizabeth. I named ‘em for convenience.” the Claw slammed the door shut after climbing into his car. Despite being newly summoned, it was as worn-down looking as ever. It also completely lacked a roof.

“You named-?” the hooded figure began, before immediately seeming to think better of it and continuing without leaving a pause for the gangster to respond, "Actually, never mind, it doesn't matter.”

He clearly didn't give a shit. Well, that was totally fine as far as Steve was concerned. Far too many people for his liking went about acting as if Secondaries were real people who actually mattered. If this guy wasn't such an annoying little tit, it might actually be refreshing to keep the company of someone who had their priorities straight for once.

After the blue-haired man gotten into the car as well, the pair waited in a somewhat awkward silence for a couple minutes, whilst the girls finished carting their master’s massive mound of munitions into the back seats, then somehow managed to squash themselves in amongst the armaments without nudging any triggers and accidentally blowing anyone’s limb off.

That done, they set off. It was less than fifteen minutes from then that they reached the gate they had set out for… even with the additional time taken to summon his Secondaries, this had turned out to be far faster than the five hours or so that it likely would have taken them to walk this distance.

They slowed down and gradually rolled to a stop by the gate. Two stormtroopers stepped forwards, “Good day sirs, mind if we give you a quick pre-search search before you pass through the gate? It’s nothing major, we just have to check you don’t have any- Emperor’s balls, that’s a lotta guns!”

“NL-5728! That sort of language isn’t- oh, fuck me… why is the back of your car literally filled with shotguns...? And half naked women… what the hell is wrong with you two?” the second stormtrooper seemed just as shocked as her counterpart. Each of them had a hand on the blaster holstered on their belt. The first speaker had sounded male, the second female.

“I don’t see what the problem is. You let Primes in through here every day, don’t you? These shotguns are no more powerful than a fireball or a bolt of lightning or whatever other magic half the people in this city can probably use. It ain’t hardly fair to single me out just ‘cos I aint got any freaky powers.” Steve scowled at the pair impeding his progress.

“That may be the case sir, if you were only carrying one or two guns, but there are dozens here. It’s obvious that not just one person is going to be using these. You’re trying to bring them here to sell, aren’t you? We don’t exactly appreciate people arming insurgent factions within our city. If you want to enter then you’ll have to leave the guns here with us.” the female ‘trooper informed him, having regained her composure after the initial surprise.

“What? What’s the point in that? I'm a Prime, you stupid bitch! I can just summon more whenever I feel like it! All you’d be doing is forcing me to spend more Omnilium for no reason! Now stop wasting my time and lemme through!” Steve snarled at them, baring his teeth.

Both of the EPD soldiers drew and aimed their blasters, directly at him. Steve opened his mouth to speak once more, but before he could get out another word, Mr Mysterious beat him to it.

“Let’s all calm down.” the blue-haired man already sounded perfectly calm, and when Steve turned to glance his way, the gangster noticed that he was holding up a gold coin with a hole bored near one edge, dangling it from a piece of string that had been threaded through the little hole and tied so that the metal disk hung from the bottom of its length.

It was strange… he couldn’t be sure why exactly, but that shiny, tiny, little object seemed to arrest his attention completely. He found his gaze locked onto it, magpie-like, as it swung pendulously from side to side. So intent upon it was he that the old man never even noticed whether or not anyone else had been similarly enthralled.

“Steve,” his passenger said softly, after a few seconds of silence, “you should be more polite. These two fine officers were only doing their jobs. We should be thanking them for their diligence, not condemning them.”

“Right… right… yes… you’re right… thank you… fine officers...” the Claw mumbled uncertainly, a strange sensation of sleepiness washing over him for a moment. Now that he thought about it, his companion was absolutely correct. It was good if the EPD wanted to stop them… it was good because… because… because… well, the hooded man knew best, he was sure. If he said it then there must be a valid reason why it was a good thing for this to happen.

“And you two,” the young man continued, still slowly swinging his coin back and forth, “this has all been a misunderstanding. These weapons aren’t meant for any rebel scum… no, they are for the EPD, in fact… specially requested by Judge Dredd himself.”

“Oh… oh… oh...” muttered the male ‘trooper, who had been addressed as ‘NL-5728’ by his partner.

“Oh… I see.” the female responded, seeming to have retained slightly more of her faculties than her ally, “That’s great… great news… yes… please head on… through the gate… then… please...”

“Why, thank you.” the passenger nodded politely, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips, “Take us though, Steve.”

It wasn’t until after he had spoken those words that Steve realised he had been waiting on his command to act. The coin and its attendant string had vanished up one sleeve, and already the Claw’s thoughts felt sharper… though his memories were strangely seeming to blur, somehow.

As they drifted slowly through the gate, before stopping once again, this time at a much more thorough-looking checkpoint, Steve wondered at that a little… he had a feeling something odd had just happened, though he couldn’t put his finger on what, exactly. This guy he’d met at the fountain had made a couple suggestions… what were those again? Eh. Nevermind. He had gotten them past the Nexus guards, that was all that mattered.

Four new soldiers approached them, “Anyone who would enter Coruscant must undergo a routine customs check, don’t worry, this shouldn’t take- are those shotguns?”

A coin, hanging on a piece of string. Why did it feel like he’d seen this before? Was this déjà vu? Tier One was brightly lit – though perhaps not quite so much as the Nexus – and the golden disk gleamed. Out of the corner of his eye, the Claw could see some sort of machines. Scanners? Metal detectors? Lie detectors? Prime detectors? Magic detectors? They could have been anything. In here, as opposed to in the wide, white abyss they had just departed, permanent fixtures could easily be planted in the ground. Whilst the first search would have been little more than a quick pat down, normally, to make sure they weren’t carrying anything too deadly, this one appeared like it ought to have facilitated a much more thorough inspection.

Especially when several of their gizmos started beeping and flashing, as they were now. None of the ‘troopers reacted to these warning signs, though.

“These aren’t shotguns, they’re water pistols, and we aren’t suspicious at all. There’s no need for a search. You should just let us through now.”

“Yes… yes… let you through...” one soldier muttered, and all three backed away.

“Go.” the blue-haired one told him, and Steve hit the gas.

A couple minutes passed, with traffic speeding by them on both sides – as well as directly above, with all manner of vehicles soaring through the air – and at about the time they were turning onto the next street, just as he was realising all over again that his memories of what had just happened felt a little unclear, a loud alarm began whooping, somewhere back in the direction they had just come.

“Do you know the whereabouts of the nearest elevator?” the hooded man asked casually, seemingly unperturbed by the shrieking siren in the distance.

“Huh?” Steve had been lost in thought, and it took him a couple moments to take in the question, “Oh. Oh yeah, sure. ‘Course I do.”

“Good. Head there. No one will bother chasing us down to Tier Five. No one cares enough about that place.”

“Gotcha.” it was odd... he didn't like this guy at all, but acquiescing to his wishes was strangely easy.

It was only several turns later that they reached their destination; a lift which was – conveniently – more than large enough to fit an entire truck, never mind a single car. With goods frequently having to be transported between tiers, it was no wonder that such large elevators were scattered about the city, in addition to the usual, smaller ones that were generally used by individuals lacking cargo.

As with both sides of the Nexus gate, there were more stormtroopers waiting for them when they arrived at the lift. These ones, though, had their blasters out and ready, and were firing before the Bentley was even halfway down the street. It would seem that they had been forewarned of the vehicle’s coming, and weren't planning on taking any chances.

“Brake. Don’t fight back.” though still unshaken by their predicament, the youth had a much more focused look to his features now, and spoke tersely, not bothering to give Steve a rundown on why exactly he was telling him these things.

The gangster growled under his breath, and considered arguing, not much appreciating the commanding tone… still, this wasn’t the time, not while two of the swine were firing on them as they spoke. Slamming on the brakes, he jerked the wheel around, bringing the car into a skid. At least one of his Secondaries cried out – whether in shock or in pain, he couldn’t be sure – and there was a clattering noise as a few of his guns fell out into the streets.

When they at last drew to a stop, the vehicle was only a foot or so from the ends of the gun barrels of the pair of stormtroopers before them. Had he waited any longer to slow down, they may well have flattened those two, and gotten bounties on their heads because of it. As it was, the hooded man threw up his arms immediately, “We surrender!”

“Alright, just get… get out of the...” one trooper began.

“The car... ” the other helpfully added when his comrade trailed off… though he himself never got much further. They were both utterly engrossed in staring at Mr Mystery here… or… at his hand? Weird. Steve leaned around his ally, wanting to get a glance at whatever they found so intriguing. A coin on a string? Where had that come from...?

A minute or so later, and the guards were nothing more than a rapidly – much too rapidly – fading memory behind them. They were in the lift, descending at breakneck speeds towards the fifth tier.

Shortly, their transport began to slow, and slow, and slow. Before more than three minutes had passed since they got in, it came to a gentle halt and the doors hissed as they opened. Steve starting driving immediately. The lift hadn’t stopped halfway through its descent and begun rising again, which meant that their… uh… whatever it was that had allowed them to bypass those swine up there… had presumably gone unnoticed.

Still, there was no point in tempting fate. The sooner they could lose themselves in the choked, cramped, clogged and congested streets of Tier Five the better… they’d surely find it much easier to blend in down here. Or at least, that was the thought that crossed his mind momentarily, before he remembered he had three bikini girls in the back seats.

He didn't have a particular destination in mind, though he did want to get back into the vicinity of Northside as soon as possible… not only because that was where their target resided, but also due to the threat of other gangs. The last thing he needed right now was to run into a band of orks screaming some shit about ‘dakka’ and firing wildly at everything that so much as twitched… or the Westside lot. What an annoying bunch they were; so many gangs crammed together that you could never even guess what they might throw at you.

No, it’d be best to head north for now… and given the Secondaries he had with him… Steve took a turn on his left. This way would actually be a somewhat roundabout route, but it would also take them through a red light district… in which scantily clad women would be a sight much less likely to raise eyebrows.

The ottsel’s hotel stay was beginning to wear on him meaning it was beginning to bore even the tiny little orange creature.

He had checked Jak’s stash hidden under his bed as he smirked, so this is where his friend hid all those “secrets”.

He made a mental note to blackmail Jak about Ash maybe sometime.

But his own staring had led him back to flipping channels on the television set Jak and his room contained.

The ottsel seemed content, but yet bored.

He flipped channels as he groaned “Nah, nope, seen it... News network.. Hmmm.. Let’s see here.”

He looked on his own personal device Jak had summoned for him out of OM before he left as he checked his contacts for information.

“Hm, let’s see, contacts, Oh yeah!”

“Demetri.”

He began to call the thief and blinked.

“No such account exists. “

Daxter’s own phone began to buzz when nothing happened. That was odd considering the Thieves guild was a thing at one time.

The ottsel raised a eyebrow and frowned “There goes a job.”

He bit his lip and rubbed it. “NOW WHAT?!”

He mentally cursed under his breath, he had no idea of telling where or when Jak would return from his trip and the hotel was full of surprises but even those bored him for a bit.

Alright then, time to find some dataverse stuff.

“Hm? What’s this? He paused on a message that had been posted recently.

Gilgamesh’s hand tentatively reached out for the blue portal, it had been quite some time since he had used one of these. The blue filling of the portal ebbed and flowed like the ocean, mesmerizing him. Firmly inserting his hand into the portal, everything went black. Gil was lost in a timeless and spaceless void for a second before having his feet gently touch the ground.

A great smile cracked on his face and his heart felt as light as a feather. Everything around him was unbelievably and blindingly white. Oh god he was never so happy to see such barren and monochromatic surroundings. His breaths no longer filled his lungs with searing ash and his feet weren’t constantly being scalded by the burning floor. He began to take a few steps forward, enjoying his renewed life as a free man.

His happy reunion with the Nexus was short lived as cold steel pressed against the fleshy part of his neck. The blade’s tip danced around the King’s neck, slightly pricking him. A droplet of the King’s blood slowly dripped and collected onto the blade. An all to familiar voice spoke with a coy smugness that infuriated Gilgamesh.

“So that is an interesting body you have got there, where did you steal it from ?”

Gil let out a deep, frustrated sigh before condemning his attacker, “You have some gall to call me an impersonator, mongrel.”

The sun pelted down on Cell’s mottled skin as he swayed back and forth. A set of oars burst from the waters and flopped in a semicircle, crashing back into them and thrusting beneath them. A spray of ocean mist settled on the bio-android’s skin. Normally he would chastise the culprit but mixed with the gentle sea breeze, the splashes gave his sizzling body some reprieve from the heat.
 
“We could have stowed away on a ship,” Cell said, dipping his barbed tail into the ocean and letting it drag as Davin plunged the oars of their flimsy wooden lifeboat once more into the waves. “It would have been much more comfortable. At least out of the damn heat.”
 
“Not ... an option,” Davin said between pants. “I’m not ... paying for a ... ship to take me ... to an island that ... has to stay secret. Besides ... I have no ... money.”
 
Cell glared at the sun, a bright white stain in his vision, bleaching the blue sky around it. When they first entered this vast network of islands, being spat out into the bustling city of Costa del Sol, the bio-android figured the trip to perfection would be a leisurely and relaxing one. Davin had quickly informed him that the police presence on the island city was also enforced by the Empire so they had to make themselves scarce. Apparently that meant avoiding all practical routes to their destination, stealing a lifeboat from a distracted or drunk sea captain and rowing for all they were worth. How many hours had they been baking in the sun now? It seemed petty to count them.
 
Eight. It had been eight hours.
 
“That is the island at least?” Cell asked, sticking a thumb at a clump of green on the horizon. It was the only thing that separated the blue of the ocean from the blue of the sky.
 
Davin nodded, his face a shade darker of red than his hair.
 
Cell frowned. The human scientist was slowing down. His strokes were more laboured, and the time from the oars leaving the water to slapping back down again had increased.
 
“This is taking far too long!” Cell said, standing up in the boat as it rocked. “I might be too weak to fly with another person on my back, but there’s other ways of making this unbearable journey shorter!”
 
Davin’s eyes lit up. “Are you ... going to ... take over the ... rowing for a ... while?”
 
“Don’t be ridiculous!” Cell said, unsure whether to chalk up the human’s intransigence to exhaustion or stupidity. “Energy propulsion works better than two fat-ended sticks! Step aside! Oh, and you might want to hold onto something tightly. Very tightly.”
 
Davin clambered around the edge of the boat as Cell crawled to the back. Cell stared back to the empty horizon from where they had come from, turned to spot their island destination, and bent his knees. He drew cupped hands to his side and unstoppered the energy in his body, channelling it into a single point.
 
“Ka ... me ...”
 
Blue light trickled into the space between his palms. It pooled into a single orb, growing in intensity with each passing moment.
 
“... ha ... me ...”
 
The orb ballooned until it fit snugly within Cell’s hands. Shafts of light struck out between his fingers.
 
Davin shielded his eyes from the light. “What are you doing?”
 
“Ha!”
 
Cell thrust his hands towards the horizon and a beam of blue ki exploded from his palms. The boat lurched forward, its bow tipping up and pointing at an almost forty-five degree angle as it screamed through the water. Cell’s kamehameha acted as a huge jet engine, launching them across the seas as if it were made of ice and the boat an ice skate. Davin screeched at their newfound velocity, his arms and legs wrapped around a beam of wood. Cell chuckled to himself. He turned and saw the island racing to meet them. Cutting the flow of energy, he crouched into the boat, finding the exertion more taxing than he had anticipated.
 
Even without the constant supply of ki, the boat carried slicing through the waves with the inherited inertia. The boat bounced as it hit a crop of waves and skidded to a halt in the sands of the island.
 
Cell hopped out. The sensation of warm sand between his toes dulled as he took in the enormous palm trees that grouped together and weaved a dense forest only a hundred paces from the shore line. He looked at Davin. The human flung himself over the edge of the boat, landing on the sands on hands and knees, and retched into the gently lapping waters. Gathering himself, he stood and plodded over to the bio-android.
 
“In there somewhere?” Cell asked, pointing at the tropical vegetation.
 
Davin nodded, his face pale beneath the red and flushed skin.
 
Cell pushed the human forward. “Lead the way.”