Everburning Fires.

[Ari]

Coruscant was both familiar and foreign in many ways, but the stench that came with an industrial revolution and lingered afterwards was unmistakable.

Unmistakable, and not present.

It was the first thing she noticed after passing through the gate. While it smelled like cement and carbon emissions, the actual elements were missing. It struck her then, that the Nexus hadn’t had a smell. She could determine the elements of the worlds, but couldn’t smell the white - as if it hadn’t existed. Looking back at the portal, it was most certainly still there, but no scent eminated from it the way the fake carbon emission smell came from this world on the other side.

Arianna’s brow furrowed as she looked onwards, head tilted up slightly to analyse the tranquil peace of Coruscant. Time was not the same here, and Warren appeared long moments after she had. It made her wonder - was time passing at all, or was it simply defined by movement? Humans calculated time by the movement of the sun, but perhaps it was calculated differently here. Ari stretched her arms up towards the sky, abandoning her attempt at dimensional physics, or whatever Iza called it. She was smart, but science was beyond her knowledge.

The Chimera wasn’t known for creating technology. The Chimera was known for her precision in changing forms, yet that had been taken away from her. There was still a power lock on her abilities. She felt chained, collared and muzzled by the white Specter who brought her here. He should have known better. Maurvois always bit back harder. It was second nature.

The Chimera turned to her travel companion, eager to keep moving.

“Which way? As much as I’d love to sightsee, I do need to find a hospital rather soon.”

She could feel the toxins burning, though nothing had changed. There was no weakness in her limbs, no blur to her vision. Iza had told her those would mark how long she had before reaching critical points. The pain meant the medicine was wearing off.

The Chimera waited for Warren to start leading the way again, wary of what seemed to be a peaceful city.

“You don’t need to ask anything now. You can hold onto those three questions until you’re in desperate need of assistance. That being said. I’m not fighting your battles for you. Don’t ask me to do anything. Only information. It’s just what I do.”

[James Knight]

Warren nodded, and led them both to the first clinic he could come across. For now he was going to hold onto every resource he could gather because a storm was coming in the Omniverse, and he knew he had to be prepared. Since there were many participants in that fighting game that he had opted out of, opted to ignore the existence of for the time being, because of how boring it was in his opinion, Warren knew that he had a lot of work to do. In order to be ready for the day when he could build himself a new home he needed to connect with other Primes, and rally them to his side. What he needed were ones he could manipulate, but once more, he had chosen wrong. However there was one thing that set this Prime aside from the others that he was used to dealing with, namely that she was not crazy in the slightest, or at least not Hecate levels of crazy. Dealing with that kind of crazy was something Warren never wanted to do again, thank you very much. 

"Here's the nearest medical facility," said Warren.  "We will now part ways, but I will know how to find you in the future,"  Warren had prepared such technology for himself beforehand, because he knew it might be honestly needed by him. "You do realize that some of your weaknesses have probably disappeared right? Much like my dependence on injecting myself with energy on a regular basis, I imagine some of the vulnerabilities of many of the Primes in this place have vanished. However, I cannot be sure about that yet, though I am beginning to research such things."

[Ari]

"The specter is not a miracle worker, Jim. He couldn't possibly remove the particular weakness in question. It is as much of me as my powers, though dampening the effect would explain why both powers and poisons are reduced."

Arriana paused outside the door, holding out the gold pocket watch.

"Your dataverse device. I will need to scan it to send the contact information. It would be simpler to contact me through this as opposed to trying to find me in person. You are human, through to the bone while I am not. I may go places you would have difficulty accessing. "

Without waiting, The Chimera stepped closer until a subtle flash of light indicated to her that the devices had synchronized. She attached the photo she had taken to Warren's data and shut off the device. She could explore what functioned as the internet here later, after she had found herself a good doctor inside. Ari swiveled on her toes and stepped back towards the door, pausing briefly to speak over her shoulder before vanishing inside.

"You might have better luck making friends if you lost the arrogant dictator attitude, Jim. Leadership goes beyond control and barking orders. Think. This is the second time you have failed in your goal. Perhaps it is not your choice of person that is wrong, but the approach."

[Ari]

Arriana slid quietly into the clinic. This wasn't quite the type of clinic she was looking for, but at the very least she hoped they could understand what she was trying to say. She missed the click of heels on tile floors, but she hadn't felt the need to create any, thus far. Her bare soles were much easier to walk long distances, and when she was done here there was another world begging to be explored. If she lived long enough to get there. 

The receptionist was rather pretty, inputting data into a computer while she discussed appointment times with someone on the phone. Ari was content to wait, leaning against the opposite wall and examining her surroundings. It was, all things considered, very quaint. The walls had been painted robin's egg blue, and children's drawings were taped up on the wall behind the desk. They had a small lounge area with what looked like leather chairs, a coffee table between them. Beside that, where parents could watch, was a smaller plastic table, with smaller chairs and beanbags next to boxes of toys and crayons. A family doctor. Not the kind of medical expert she was looking for. They would know where she could find someone more experienced in radiology though, better than Warren anyways.

Ari had a strong feeling she had angered the man, though she expected that. He was prideful, and she had insulted his manhood. It was only to be expected. 

Marie, if Ari was reading the girl's name tag correctly, looked to be much more trustworthy. Of course, if the clinic had been a criminal front, the same girl would have been hired to keep suspicions away. That had been the whole purpose of employing Rose... Arriana cursed herself, shaking her head to chase the thought away. Rose would be fine. She had J and Cain, they would keep things running without her. The Chimera tilted her head back until it hit the wall with a dull thud, staring up at the stucco ceiling and florescent lights. The doctor in charge of this clinic must have been very fond of mid-1900s architecture. The dated ceiling made her smile, if only due to a better sort of nostalgia. She could taste the scent of cigars lingering through the memory, masking the off-note smell of the 'Omniverse'.

Arriana barely noticed when the brunette at the counter finished, beckoning her over with a generic 'how can I help you today?'

"I'm looking for a doctor with experience with radiation sickness, and a few other.. ailments, but the radiation is much more important than those."

Marie's confusion showed: Ari looked to be perfectly healthy woman, though she clearly wasn't human. Dutifully, Marie used her extent of medical knowledge to give an answer.

"Dr.Ian is just a pediatrician, I'm not sure he could help with that-"

"I don't need this one specifically. My aquaintance is not quite as knowledgeable as I had thought, though I suppose he did his best."

Arriana leaned on the counter, the colour of her irises drawing in the focus of the receptionist. 

"Where could I find a larger establishment with doctors more accustomed to rare illnesses."

Marie stammered a response, unused to such intense clients. The receptionist genuinely couldn't tell if the woman was more likely to steal her heart or her life. Ari, however, simply gave her a wink and a dangerous smile as she walked out the door with a new destination in mind.

[Ari]

Coruscant was as similar to earth as the Nexus had been to the Asp. White-clad soldiers patrolled near constantly, some armed with some sort of gun that looked like it would sting more than just a little. Their vehicles traveled without wheels, and emitted strange smells. The plants, all the flowers in pots and the grass that grew in exactly the right way to make a picturesque city, they all had an off sort of scent. On the surface, there was no difference, yet as she tried to pick out one specific scent, it blurred and melted and the image faded into the same shimmering iridescent blob called Omnilium. Nothing that grew here was natural. Everything, right down to the people, only smelled different on the surface. Eventually, Arriana hoped, her nose would adjust.

Her brain found it much easier to accept that this was an entirely different world, already adjusting to measure for their laws of physics. Not that they were really laws of any sort, just.. guidelines. The Chimera poked at her source of power, trying to determine which genes were locked and which weren't - only to find that none of them were truly functioning. She could reach the aesthetic functions of her powers - changing what she looked like - but she found that sharpening the tip of her fingernails couldn't pierce her skin. When she tried to cover her skin in scales, they vanished when she stopped focusing on the change. Clearly, any other change she attempted for combative purposes would also fail, though in a civilian city - however militarized it may be - summoning guns or other weapons would be ill advised.

Once agian, Ari turned to the most familiar tool she used - the golden pocket watch. Already connected to what Warren had called the 'dataverse', it projected a map of coruscant just above the clock face. Each miniature layer, only sporting the top three layers where tourism was encouraged, displayed important points like restaurants and parks. Nothing of the research lab she had been sent in search of. The Chimera sought out the method of transport between the verses, the large elevators that were undoubtedly constantly monitored.

Dictatorial states were lovely, really. 

The lab in question would be found on tier 2, which was immediately below her. Rather than trying to stick the landing in an attempt to jump down, Arriana would use one of the elevators that seemed to be found on every street corner. Curious things, they seemed like they would be more at home on a space ship - though considering the style and layout of the city, it may as well have been a space port from a science fiction film. Humans were oddly creative in their technology, especially when it didn't have to work properly. 

Ari ducked into an elevator as the doors were closing, squeezing in beside a few civilians on their way home from work. The chimera didn't speak, and hardly dared breathe in fear that her toxins would spread to the others in such a confined space. The elevator didn't take as long as she had thought it would to reach her floor, but she still leapt at the chance to escape the enclosed space. Tier two of Coruscant was lit entirely by artificial lighting. The light of Coruscant's sun barely reached through the floors, making the second tier seem a little more claustrophobic. It was just as tourist-themed as the top floor, however it seemed the soldiers here were more conservative. There was little worry that hostile outsiders would make it to the second floor with the army positioned every ten feet on the ground level.

[Ari]

Arriana followed the blue hologram on the watch through the streets of Coruscant. All things considered it was rather peaceful, though she sorely missed the idle chatter from Chessmate in the background. Each time she passed a group of soldiers, Ari pocketed the device and held her head high, as if she had as much right to be there as they did. In truth, she feared that one of them would have some sort of scanner that deciphered the radiation from her blood as a bomb threat. 

Without incident, the watch led her to the lab with no difficulties. No one had even stopped to give her a second look, save for a few civilians gawking at a stranger. Without hesitation, Arriana jammed the intercom's buttons hard. Before the voice on the inside could get out a syllable, Arriana was talking. 

"I'm not selling anything, I'm not buying something, I would certainly like to do this without any violence, and I don't have an appointment. My blood is radioactive, and I need to see the Doctor in charge."

A few seconds passed, then minutes, The Chimera only growing more and more agitated as she shifted her weight, trying her very best to not simply smash the door down. An older woman's voice emanated from the speakers. 

"Radioactive how?"

Arriana couldn't help but grin.

"I'm shedding radiation like a blue star. Think abandoned nuclear power plant. I promise, I'm not overly dangerous, it's mostly confined to my blood, and can't escape through my skin - yet."



The door emitted a harsh buzzing and what seemed to be a lab assistant pushed it open from the inside. Arriana dutifully extended her arms to allow the scanners he had in hand read clearly. 

"She isn't showing high signs of radiation ma'm. She was right about her bloodstream, but I think we should check the half life just to be sure." 

The assistant, distracted by the readings of his little gadgets, waved her into the building and lead her three floors up the the lab where the voice from the intercom waited. She was not as old as Arriana had pictured from the voice, but still easily twice the age Ari appeared to be. 

"Why come here?"

"I was pointed in this direction by a civilian." She paused. "That and i'm not fond of dying."

"How did you encounter the radiation?"

"Doc, I'm not sure either of us has time for that answer."

"It's rather important in knowing the nature of the radiation, to determine the hazard level."

"It's mostly gamma, I think. Solar radiation? My blood picks up all the nasty shit I encounter and instead of fighting it off it's supposed to be able to form complete immunity and then weaponize it. Clearly that doesn't work so well on human planets - the ones without magic, anyways. I absorbed the radiation and weaponized it, but I'm definitely not immune. It kinda hurts." 

"I would say 'Kinda' is an understatement. How were  you dealing with this before?"

"I don't know. Iza found a way to increase the half life so when it started getting bad she'd just zap me with that. She also found a damn fucking good painkiller but I don't know how, or what. If you need to do any tests, Doc, go ahead. I'm just feelin' a little under the weath-"

Arriana barely caught the sight of the Doctor's alarmed face as she hit the ground, everything going black within a second as she hit the new limit.

[Ari]

When Arriana awoke, she first noticed that she wasn't in pain. The next thing she noticed was the IV unit standing above her head. 

"You... You're still alive. I thought you were about to vanish on us."

The Chimera groaned and turned towards the voice, blinking to clear her vision. 

"We gave you a pretty high dose of morphine, take it easy. Professor Mitchell said you were a prime so a fall like that meant you were on your last legs. She took a blood sample for testing, but she's still working on it. She also told me to stall you for as long as possible so that you wouldn't interrupt her work."

Arriana attempted a laugh, wincing at the tense feeling that came with bruised exterior ribs.

"I think mentioning I have two rib cages may have been helpful before collapsing on your floor. I didn't break anything did I? All I remember is blacking out, I don't remember where."

"You're uh. Actually still there. We're scientists, not body guards. We couldn't lift you."

Well it was good to know gravity still had it's limits. Muscle mass was great and all, but she did miss the weightlessness exiting the water for the first time. 

"I can't call that a surprise." Ari grinned and lifted one arm, flexing it for the assistant. "I work hard to be indestructible. Other than the squishy inside parts that as you clearly noticed, are not so resilient."

Arriana lay still on the floor, attempting to run through a full self-diagnosis. The fuzzy feeling in her brain and her vision remained. 

"Maybe instead I should continue napping until the drugs wear off. Just. give me ten more minutes.."





Waking up the second time in the lab, Arriana felt as much pain as she walked in with, if not more. the stiffness in her chest had subsided to a dull ache, just like the rest of her body. The assistant had disappeared, along with the iv drip. The light outside the lab was dim, but Ari couldn't tell if she was waking up at the start of the night or the end of it. Pushing stray hairs out of her face, Ari dragged herself up to her feet. Her head was still groggy from the medication, but even with the cloud hovering over it, she felt the difference - the bond she had with her pack was officially broken. There was no returning, not now, and everything her proteges had contributed from confidence to sanity, was going to disappear. Her blood boiled hot, claws extending from her fingertips and fangs piercing the skin of her gums. The Chimera tasted blood, the stinging pain failing to control the involuntary anger. Instincts were often a help, but now they obstructed logic and reason. They brought out a bloodlust, eager to tear out the throat of that smiling specter. 

Arriana growled, a resounding sound deep in her throat. It reverberated against her bones, increasing with intensity as the desire to slaughter the nearest living things grew. The Chimera wasted no time in bolting out the way she came in, leaving only the scratches on the door as an explanation of where she had gone in the assistant's absence.