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Tree branch: check. Assorted lightweight seed-bearing fruits and nuts: check. Other seeds: check. Water bottle, for when she has to veer away from the river: check.
Better not linger in her starting place too much longer. Yellow's faster than her and may have already come home to a wreck. Thorn might have a habit of checking up on the place, even, just in case. She's invisible, inaudible, unsmellable - that won't help if he sends someone thorough. Or comes in person.
She sets out.
She's been flying for about thirty minutes after her shopping trip when she falls through a tear and squeaks inaudibly and lands in the middle of -
imeanforever
wormcan
"Your other gadget's going to be history no matter where the gate is. I'm blowing up a planet on the other side, and there's no plan to close the gate. There's going to be so many fragments coming through it'd cause a secondhand apocalypse if there were anything else here to worry about."
imeanforever
"The idea is that the destroyer will leave the stopper's field, not that the stopper will survive the subsequent experience."
wormcan
"Ah. Nothing to worry about then.
It's not going to be leaving any fields if it's time-stopped, but I can set your gadget below mine and make it switch off when it's in freefall."
It's not going to be leaving any fields if it's time-stopped, but I can set your gadget below mine and make it switch off when it's in freefall."
wormcan
"Nothing to it. Always wanted to build an honest-to-Scion doomsday weapon."
A few days later she'll come by Hawthorn complaining of being done early. It's set up to freeze the timer with seconds on the clock, which can and should happen while no one is there, but that's not going to happen for days. (One day, twelve hours, thirty-five minutes.) She's moved her equipment off the expendable world and is now once again completely prohibited from destroying planets.
A few days later she'll come by Hawthorn complaining of being done early. It's set up to freeze the timer with seconds on the clock, which can and should happen while no one is there, but that's not going to happen for days. (One day, twelve hours, thirty-five minutes.) She's moved her equipment off the expendable world and is now once again completely prohibited from destroying planets.
wormcan
Given the surprisingly low frequency with which most people want worlds removed, that's not good enough. But it's the best she's going to get.
imeanforever
It is.
There's no use casting the gate under the doomsday device until the timer's paused, in case it settles instantly, so it may be several days before kaboom.
Contessa, Doormaker and the Clairvoyant, a backup copy of Dragon, Nilbog (who is delighted to be brought to Fairyland and even more delighted that Promise, of whom he is so fond, has "inherited" its rulership from its Queen, and who can construct armies and send them through gates without having to be personally fielded), and Bitch (to assist Nilbog) are all brought through to the Fairyland colony as a safety/reserves measure.
Promise wonders to Cauldron if she should try talking to Scion while waiting for the gate to settle, if it's not instant. In case this distracts him or something in a useful way.
There's no use casting the gate under the doomsday device until the timer's paused, in case it settles instantly, so it may be several days before kaboom.
Contessa, Doormaker and the Clairvoyant, a backup copy of Dragon, Nilbog (who is delighted to be brought to Fairyland and even more delighted that Promise, of whom he is so fond, has "inherited" its rulership from its Queen, and who can construct armies and send them through gates without having to be personally fielded), and Bitch (to assist Nilbog) are all brought through to the Fairyland colony as a safety/reserves measure.
Promise wonders to Cauldron if she should try talking to Scion while waiting for the gate to settle, if it's not instant. In case this distracts him or something in a useful way.
wormcan
It's a good idea. Odds of actually affecting much one way or the other are low, but deflecting his attention away from his world can't hurt.
Cauldron is also preparing to go public to the cape world. It'll drastically decrease their own power, but that was never the goal. The battle against Scion will either begin or end when that gate settles, and if they have to fight they'll need soldiers. Top members of major hero and villain groups will be invited to hear the news on a potential S-class threat worse than the Endbringers, and can likely be talked into helping to stall him. It won't be just Dragon and Nilbog, if it comes to a fight.
Cauldron is also preparing to go public to the cape world. It'll drastically decrease their own power, but that was never the goal. The battle against Scion will either begin or end when that gate settles, and if they have to fight they'll need soldiers. Top members of major hero and villain groups will be invited to hear the news on a potential S-class threat worse than the Endbringers, and can likely be talked into helping to stall him. It won't be just Dragon and Nilbog, if it comes to a fight.
wormcan
It would be, but it's also just about the least neutral ground imaginable for a truce meeting. Anywhere else can be attacked, but it'd be the single most defensible group in existence. Probably some players will want to send people afterward, if she makes the offer.
wormcan
It turns out things move fast when major players get informed of even more major emergencies. The meeting is the following day.
They have a booth for each group, lit from the back panel so everyone appears to everyone elsewhere in the circle as a silhouette. It's all very dramatic probably. It's technically anonymous, but some are instantly recognizable. There's the Triumvirate representing the Protectorate, Narwhal and one of the newly plural Dragons for the Guild, Nonpariel and Agnes Court for the Elite, Moord Nag for Moord Nag and Adalid for Adalid. The Suits have indistinguishable representatives, as do the King's Men, the Yàngbǎn, and other even less recognizable groups. Anyone who might be accurately described as a Power. One of the spaces is set aside for Promise and her choice of Kept. (The Undersiders have a seat, either because they deserve it or because relocating Bitch had to involve telling them enough that they could insist on the full story. Every other faction can assume it's the first one.)
The Doctor informs her audience that Glaistig Uaine was not invited because of her unwillingness to work with the others on this, and that the Three Blasphemies declined to come. That little combination earns everyone's attention.
Cauldron's side is one of the less identifiable ones. Promise can recognize the Doctor, Contessa, and the Number Man, but to anyone who hasn't already met them they could be anyone. They introduce themselves only as Cauldron. Apparently confirmation of Cauldron's existence is a revelation for a substantial fraction of the people present. The Triumvirate plays along.
And then the Doctor provides exposition.
Many people don't believe it at first. After all, the main evidence comes from a precog who can no longer check the relevant things. Cauldron clearly believes it enough to sacrifice their secrecy for cooperation just in case the assassination attempt fails, but that doesn't make them right. Some (mainly heroes) even want to warn Scion, though as unresponsive as he is no one would know if it worked. Others, especially of the less than heroic persuasion, ask why they would fight if Scion is as unstoppable as Cauldron says. Or why to fight him now, rather than waiting until the last minute, since he is still routinely stopping disasters.
But Cauldron has information, and Contessa can be very convincing when deploying it. It helps that the Triumvirate can conspicuously become convinced at an opportune time, and for all Promise can tell they similarly have agents in every other group. There are frequent arguments between factions, but Cauldron keeps control of the situation. They don't bother with irrelevancies like their own crimes.
Some of this debate is directed at Promise. A new and powerful villain who is integral to the killing Scion plan as well as the only method of access to the one place he can't reach. Many suspect she's in Cauldron's pocket rather than the other way around, and more than a few are wary of being in a room with her.
They have a booth for each group, lit from the back panel so everyone appears to everyone elsewhere in the circle as a silhouette. It's all very dramatic probably. It's technically anonymous, but some are instantly recognizable. There's the Triumvirate representing the Protectorate, Narwhal and one of the newly plural Dragons for the Guild, Nonpariel and Agnes Court for the Elite, Moord Nag for Moord Nag and Adalid for Adalid. The Suits have indistinguishable representatives, as do the King's Men, the Yàngbǎn, and other even less recognizable groups. Anyone who might be accurately described as a Power. One of the spaces is set aside for Promise and her choice of Kept. (The Undersiders have a seat, either because they deserve it or because relocating Bitch had to involve telling them enough that they could insist on the full story. Every other faction can assume it's the first one.)
The Doctor informs her audience that Glaistig Uaine was not invited because of her unwillingness to work with the others on this, and that the Three Blasphemies declined to come. That little combination earns everyone's attention.
Cauldron's side is one of the less identifiable ones. Promise can recognize the Doctor, Contessa, and the Number Man, but to anyone who hasn't already met them they could be anyone. They introduce themselves only as Cauldron. Apparently confirmation of Cauldron's existence is a revelation for a substantial fraction of the people present. The Triumvirate plays along.
And then the Doctor provides exposition.
Many people don't believe it at first. After all, the main evidence comes from a precog who can no longer check the relevant things. Cauldron clearly believes it enough to sacrifice their secrecy for cooperation just in case the assassination attempt fails, but that doesn't make them right. Some (mainly heroes) even want to warn Scion, though as unresponsive as he is no one would know if it worked. Others, especially of the less than heroic persuasion, ask why they would fight if Scion is as unstoppable as Cauldron says. Or why to fight him now, rather than waiting until the last minute, since he is still routinely stopping disasters.
But Cauldron has information, and Contessa can be very convincing when deploying it. It helps that the Triumvirate can conspicuously become convinced at an opportune time, and for all Promise can tell they similarly have agents in every other group. There are frequent arguments between factions, but Cauldron keeps control of the situation. They don't bother with irrelevancies like their own crimes.
Some of this debate is directed at Promise. A new and powerful villain who is integral to the killing Scion plan as well as the only method of access to the one place he can't reach. Many suspect she's in Cauldron's pocket rather than the other way around, and more than a few are wary of being in a room with her.
imeanforever
This is a really interesting bird's-eye view of a long-term cagey conspiracy uncaging itself.
Promise's bodyguards are invisible, because she likes the combination of increased and decreased intimidation factor. If anyone goes so far as to actually suggest that she's in Cauldron's pocket, that will be interesting; so long as it confines itself to obvious suspicion she won't dignify it with a response.
Promise's bodyguards are invisible, because she likes the combination of increased and decreased intimidation factor. If anyone goes so far as to actually suggest that she's in Cauldron's pocket, that will be interesting; so long as it confines itself to obvious suspicion she won't dignify it with a response.
wormcan
She is, from the point of view of the average world power, around as scary as Glaistig Uaine. If she or the Blasphemies were in the room Promise might be sharing the intimidation around a bit.
The eventual consensus is more or less what Promise and Cauldron talked about earlier. Drop the doomsday device on Scion, and if the gate takes time to open Promise can try talking to him. One of the Suits asks her whether there are other fairies who would do the same, since no one knows how long it would take. And if any part of this results in Scion starting to kill everyone, Cauldron can provide transportation to the scene of the fight with their Scion-proof portal network. The Protectorate's handful of gates has been officially outdone.
Moord Nag says that she will help fight if necessary, in exchange for five thousand lives fed to her pet. The Doctor is prevented from immediately agreeing because of Promise's orders, but that doesn't mean she and the Number Man can't try to convince the others that it's an acceptable trade.
The eventual consensus is more or less what Promise and Cauldron talked about earlier. Drop the doomsday device on Scion, and if the gate takes time to open Promise can try talking to him. One of the Suits asks her whether there are other fairies who would do the same, since no one knows how long it would take. And if any part of this results in Scion starting to kill everyone, Cauldron can provide transportation to the scene of the fight with their Scion-proof portal network. The Protectorate's handful of gates has been officially outdone.
Moord Nag says that she will help fight if necessary, in exchange for five thousand lives fed to her pet. The Doctor is prevented from immediately agreeing because of Promise's orders, but that doesn't mean she and the Number Man can't try to convince the others that it's an acceptable trade.
imeanforever
There are other fairies available; Promise has the advantage of having talked to him before and of not being likely to misuse a trip to Earth Bet or a chance to talk to Scion.
Promise would like to know where, exactly, anyone proposes to get five thousand lives for Moord Nag's pet.
Promise would like to know where, exactly, anyone proposes to get five thousand lives for Moord Nag's pet.
wormcan
"Not my concern," says the entirely friendly-looking warlord with the skull-wearing monster made of shadow.
The Number Man answers. "The first land mass he shatters, before all the survivors drown. With our portal network occupied bringing in defenders, there will be no shortage of people who cannot be saved. And Moord Nag may be able to stall Scion long enough to prevent the second land mass by herself. An exact answer would depend on Scion's chosen method of mass destruction if it comes to a fight and on how quickly the scavenger can travel."
Eidolon takes his lead from Alexandria and stays silent, but Legend says "Absolutely not" and most of the heroes in the room back him up.
"Declining her offer risks condemning millions," the Doctor insists. "At least."
The Number Man answers. "The first land mass he shatters, before all the survivors drown. With our portal network occupied bringing in defenders, there will be no shortage of people who cannot be saved. And Moord Nag may be able to stall Scion long enough to prevent the second land mass by herself. An exact answer would depend on Scion's chosen method of mass destruction if it comes to a fight and on how quickly the scavenger can travel."
Eidolon takes his lead from Alexandria and stays silent, but Legend says "Absolutely not" and most of the heroes in the room back him up.
"Declining her offer risks condemning millions," the Doctor insists. "At least."
imeanforever
Promise avoids looking speculatively at Moord Nag. "Does it strictly have to be deaths?" she inquires. "Of humans, in particular? Not the already-deceased; not sacrificial Nilbog creations; not some kind of mild inconvenience for some number of fairies...?"
wormcan
"Animal lives will not fuel my Scavenger. And the dead are hardly worth collecting. You can spare your thousands, but I will be unwilling to fight for you." Nilbog's creatures and fairies haven't exactly been tested here.
(The heroes, and most villains too, are pretty okay with the idea of Moord Nag not becoming vastly more powerful.)
(The heroes, and most villains too, are pretty okay with the idea of Moord Nag not becoming vastly more powerful.)
imeanforever
"It seems worth checking the other possibilities. I am sure I can borrow some sub-sapient construct and locate a suicidal fairy if the tests interest you."
wormcan
"Those are both more replenishable, I take it? Very well, if you can provide me equivalent power to thousands of living I will fight."
"If there is a fight," the Doctor reminds everyone. "Keep in mind this is a condition within a condition." Somehow no one is reassured.
"If there is a fight," the Doctor reminds everyone. "Keep in mind this is a condition within a condition." Somehow no one is reassured.
imeanforever
Promise adds to her to-do list. "Of course."
She continues working on Moord Nag's name. Possibly to be held in abeyance until after kabloom, but it will be nice not to have to hunt for it in the moment if something comes up.
She continues working on Moord Nag's name. Possibly to be held in abeyance until after kabloom, but it will be nice not to have to hunt for it in the moment if something comes up.