An Insurmountable Task; Understanding the Mission

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They were a ragtag bunch, but the crew was coming together. Wei had gained the irreplaceable in Ismera and Omera, and saved himself a lot of time as well. While it would take him some time to wrap his head around all the crazy shit Koudo could do and learn to replicate it to a certain degree, he had Ismera and Omera to help carry the burden of making him appear to be at full power. Something he was very far from.

Ismera and Omera stood out like sore thumbs, even amongst the cast of colorful folk that seemed to liter Euphoria tonight. Amidst the flashing strobe lights and the thumping of rhythmic beats, they looked like the bells of the ball. Just their tall stature alone drew heads, but the way they seemed carelessly above it all was what drew attention.

They moved out of the way of the doorway, so that Wei could follow after them. It didn’t take him much time, considering he was the very next person through the portal, and he seemed positive about the situation that he had found himself in. Things could certain be going better, but they could get significantly worse as well. It was better to remain optimistic, even if Wiz hadn’t exactly made him confident with her tone of voice.

Chiyoko was the very last person, pulling herself through the tightening doorway. She just barely squeaked past, having been lost in thought about her failure to achieve such a drastic transformation as her husband had. She wondered if there was something special that Wei had done with him, that he hadn’t tried to do with her. In fact, she felt that Wei seemed more excited about her husband’s transformation than her own. She sighed quietly, at least happy that Wei wanted her to remain with him.

”Finally! Get your ass over here. Damn!” Wiz screamed from across the club at the top of her lungs to make every sure that Wei heard her and could see the table she was seated at; the same one as before. She looked nervous, fidgeted, and in the middle of chain smoking an inexhaustible supply of menthols.

Wei could tell that something was definitely up. He didn’t waste time getting to the table, allowing his party members free time to themselves. They got absorbed into the crowd just as quickly as he dismissed them and seated himself aside from Wiz.

”Where did you get those? Did you steal them or something?” Wiz asked, flicking her robotic wrist to bring up a holographic pad that allowed her to pour through data. She nodded her head specifically to the two tall gentlemen that Wei had added to his entourage. The woman was of no concern, she didn’t seem exceptionally special.

Wei peeked over his shoulder at the lounging Omera and proper Ismera, before turning back to Wiz, ”Lucky find.” He replied with a grin. He was sure Wiz had felt the pure joy of everything coming up her way before too. Gloating was something he absolutely had to do.

“Did you find them in a heavily classified area?” Wiz asked calmly, flicking through a few files on the screen she had positioned to her right side.

Wei’s face sunk, his mood dimmed a tiny bit. Things still seemed pretty alright, maybe Wiz was joshing him. Poking fun at how abnormal Ismera and Omera looked, how otherworldly they appeared to be. It wouldn’t be surprising if they were some obsessive billionaire’s experiment to become closer to whatever he considered a God. “No? Why?”

Wiz pulled her cigarette from her lips and put it out in the ashtray on the table, turning her screen to Wei, “Cuz you have the whole city looking for your ass.”

Taomin glared Koudo Tamura in the eye like she -KNEW- him -- because he 'Think I'm Playing' -- tore open his soul and leered deep into the pit of his 'Heart' in order to pierce straight into his very being with the several layers of 'The Tensei' locked within him based on 'Judgment' alone.

When Koudo pointed at 'Cleff', he was automatically pointing at 'Taomin'. Tabrynth had already changed his own 'Cursor' -- which was 'Cleff' -- into 'Tao', which is Tymon's 'Divine Feminine' Heart.

"I Thought You Wanted Directions Or Sum'n?!" Tao bellowed with a loving laughter, "Not To Pussy Out Again!!! BYAHAHAHAHA~!!!" Tao cracked up, then 'Glare'd at Koudo again, 'Snatch'ing another 'Turn' immediately.

-Turn 2-

Taomin 'Shot' through the 'Code-O' program and followed the 'Path' of the 'Transition' that Koudo Tamura had 'Decide'd to take, immediately 'Follow'ing him wherever he went and also 'Allow'ing -Taomin- to go 'After' -Koudo Tamura- next 'Turn'.

The 'Shot' of 'Wind Souzenryoku' that -Tao- used 'Launch'ed her at a higher 'Speed' in order for her to 'Boost' -Forward- a 'Bit' more and also 'Pull' a 'Chain' of 'Events' and 'Cause' a 'Chain Reaction' to 'Occur' -Instantaneously-.


The 'Vacuum' of -Taomin- was left a 'Distortion' of herself that was known as the -Living Shadow-. If -Koudo Tamura- even recalled the -Living Shadow- of the -Tensei- clan, then he would understand immediately just who and what he was dealing with right at this moment, and why she was just so very quite important and powerful right now, considering their history in the -Lost World-, which would be 'Recollect'ed for him if he has 'Forgotten'.


Result: "Wherever -Yui Tamura- goes, so does the -Living Shadow-."

Tia: "Also, If You Follow This Path, You Will Get To The 'CREATIA HQ'. Just To Let You Know."

Koudo lowered his hands, once Yui took control over the blank slate he held aloft with his powers, watching as she 'rolled her stats,' so to speak. Successfully accomplishing the goal that going to the CREATIA HQ would have. Sure Koudo's curiosity about what it was wouldn't be sated, but, again, it really wasn't something that was that important to him.

He bore no expression, learning years ago that it was often his expression that gave away what he was thinking or feeling at the time. Now, he remained steadfast in his observation of his daughter's mind working its magic on the blank slate. He didn't comment vocally, but he was glad to see that Yui had chosen to bear more of the visual signifiers of Odea than himself. It meant Yui had fully accepted the woman as her mother and wanted to be more like her. He knew that if Odea was here now, she'd shed a tear of joy.

As Yui descended, declaring her intentions to fully accept the responsibilities of becoming is heir, Koudo placed his hand to her head, using his Infestation to alter her clothing slightly. What she'd chosen to wear was close to perfect and very modest, but there were certain details about the clothing that her mind just wouldn't be able to imagine.

So he added accessories to her wardrobe. Little odds and ends that were more inline with the traditional clothing of his dragon grandmother's particular tribe of dragons. There were couple necklaces, one in particular bearing a lightning bolt charm, a couple earrings, and a pair of bracers. Her long, flowing hair, braided itself into one long braid and was tied off with a blue ribbon. She was also fitted with a ornamental forehead protector that locked onto her horns.

Once that was settled, and only after it was settled, Koudo finally decided to pay attention to Tao again, "And I said I changed my mind." Was what he said. The way Tao speak seemed intentionally antagonistic, but Koudo wouldn't give her the satisfaction of acknowledging it with a reaction. There was no malice in his words. No annoyance or irritation in his voice. The words were firm, however, even if he didn't raise his voice.

He stroked Yui's head before stopping, remembering she was much older than he wished her to be, but it was her decision and he had to respect her creative vision. He dropped his arms to his sides and stood just as unbowed as his manner of speech. He didn't go anywhere because, again, he wanted to get this over with here and now. If he had a mind to, he might have grimaced, but he didn't and didn't think about doing so either. He seemed a blank, unreadable slate, like the body he'd prepared for his daughter.

"I made a mistake I won't make again. I need to go to my wife. I don't need assistance beyond that point. I no longer require Cleff's aid besides to get me closer to my wife so I can find her. Afterwards, I no longer require his company or presence. Beyond that, I will figure it out myself."

"Huuuuuh," a familiar, yet distorted voice uttered through what sounded like shifting crystal blades humming in a high pitch and scraping at a middle tone. "... It Seems That You Have Forgotten Me." Quote from 'Mufasa'.

The -Living Shadow- glared into the 'Soul' of -Koudo Tamura- 'Once' More, then he was looked tenderly at in the eyes, which would become a crystalline blue, though one seemed to harbor the outline of some translucent hair around the 'Shadow' of the 'Glow' of the 'Eyes' of the -Living Shadow-.

"I'm -The Original- 'Living Shadow'," it whispered at him from the very -Mirror Edge- opposite end of where the fading eye hidden behind the outline of translucent hair would blend into the 'Reflection' and begin to 'Peer' out from the other 'Edge'. "But It's Still Just Me, Khrona." All in all, all of this was pretty much summed up to that, and Khrona's connection to his Creator God -- Tymon, of which he both was and part of synchronously symbiotically synthetically.

"Earth To Herc." - Movie Quote.

The 'Eyes' of -Khrona Tensei- 'Gleam'ed with a -Sanguine Gleam- for a moment as the -Hyper Perception- 'Activate'd.

Khrona cackled a little bit. As usual -- as Koudo might have been accustomed to.

Khrona: "Please Don't Defecate Inside Of Me Beyond Any Of The Proper Reciprocals, Which Are Places Where I Also Defecate Whence Inside Of Mineself." );

As -Khrona Tensei- 'Tag'ged along, he would be like an 'Attachment' to -Koudo Tamura- that was part of every form of 'Reality' around him. And it was his old head honcho -- Khrona! "This Should Be Most Pleasing To You," Khrona began, Koudo already knowing that a very much 'Long-Wind'ed speech would most -Absolutely Definitely- be in order, "Since It Is I -- Khrona Tensei -- Right Before Thine Eyes~!" He made some sort of cute glittery bullshit with his eyes and batted them rapidly whilst a holy noise happened in the background and made this heavenly chime something like the one when Khrona achieved peace and fired off a beam at Asura to destroy him. Good times. "I Am Still The Veritas, Itself, You Know," Khrona went on, sounding something of a blowhart now, "This Means That Your Old Boss Can Show You Around, Face To Face, Like We Used To!" Khrona laughed a little bit, then 'Cut' a -Sanguine Gleam- into the 'Reality' around them after 'Hatch'ing up an 'Idea'.

Suddenly, Khrona's brain appeared in the spot where the shadow of his face covered by translucent hair appeared and the 'Eyes' began to 'Shift' through different 'Colors'. An 'Image' of himself 'Project'ed itself from out of the 'Diamond' Crystal inside of his own 'Head' and that 'Cursor' was the 'Icon' for -Cleff- made by the -Tabrynth- pretty much on 'Command' by -Khrona-.

Cleff: "Look, I Will Go With You, However, You Must Understand That There Are Plenty Of Parts Of Me That You And Plenty Others Have Yet To Understand, Even With Whatever Powers And Understanding You Have Learned In This Brevity Of Time That We Have Been Apart And I Have Both Been Learning More About Myself Secretly And Also Teaching You Inversely And Also That You Have Been Learning From Inverted From Me Because Of How You 'Approach' Me." - Navigation

Khrona knew way more about what to do about literally every part of the Veritas automatically, and had just never been doing that because of constantly doing work. But now, another bout with the Insanity... Something that must be spoken of to Koudo before he ventures off into the Veritas with it active because of some outside events that are causing it to stir up -- which he KNOWS is a very bad thing, with what happened to the -Lost World-. "Beyond That," Khrona went on, finding the 'Core' to be able to 'Confess' to -Koudo- "... The Insanity Is Unleashed Once More."

It should actually have been a very 'Intense' moment for Koudo, especially since it was to Khrona for him to even let him know why, since Koudo had made it this far and also brought his 'Clan' with him -- much great noble honor.

Khrona: "If You Would Prefer A Different Piece Of Me, Please Let Me Know, Or Else I Will Automatically Adjust To The Most Proper Form Automatically Based On Whatever You're Doing Or What I Require At Any Given Time." - Disclaimer

Naturally, Khrona understood that the 'Free Will' of -The Veritas- was out and about and something was causing it 'Calamity'. That would certainly only end in 'Turmoil'.

"The End Result Of The Matter Is... It's The 12th Moon. The 12th Friday The Thirteenth Has Passed." It had been that long, and now, here they were again with still the -Night Of Tensei-s happening even still to this very day only just a very couple of weeks ago. "During This Moon, -The Tensei Curse- Is Unleashed In 'All' Tensei, And Assumes Its 'True Form'." Khrona lowered his head, a -Crystal Tear- flowing down his face, shimmering and glittering brightly only because of its own luminescent iridescence, and not because of any light here -- because there was none. "... Look There." Khrona's eyes 'Flash'ed with a -Crystal Gleam-, with -Cleff- suddenly 'Hover'ing over to where what looked like a -Pitch Black- hole in the atmosphere had some light behind it -- almost like it were blotting out the sun. It was a spectacle that made a -Translucent Light- that was 'Visible' in its -Invisibility- and nothing more. "... That's What Killed Tigen's Father."

Khrona lowered his head, trying not to tear up, yet the fluidity of his own hair flicking and flickering about would swipe past his face and sweep up the stray tears, 'Flick'ing them off of the flow of his hair and off into the endlessness of the -Black Sun-. "It Does Not Even Produce Any Longer, It Only Eats. It Is 'The Womb' Of The Mother." An enormous black hole in between the only light source on the planet that is not artificial. "This Is What The 'Black Moon' Turns Into If It Isn't Properly Taken Care Of, And It's Called The -Void Sun-." Khrona could not do anything but warn Koudo about what was actually taking place, and if he was ready for something like this to be going on around him merely because of events that had taken place previously during his absence and also in the background whilst they were reconnecting with each other. "It Is What Both Eats Insanity And Also Is Insanity -- The Kishin Egg."

Khrona couldn't even tell Koudo what would happen next.

Hesitation: "... It Is Going To Become The Next 'Asura'." - Voice

Khrona could barely bear it, except for the fact that it actually got worse and Khrona needed to tell Koudo all at once exactly what happened so that he would not become more 'Anomalous' without warrant. "... And It's Actually Even Worse Than All Of The Other Previous 'Insanities' Combined, All The Way Up To The Very First One." All of this troublesome news should have been at least some type of useful information for Koudo, since he was aware of what happened before when -The Insanity- roamed about in a 'Wrath'. "You Know, I Actually Don't Even Know If You Know Tigen At All, But At The End Of The Day, Tigen Was Here Before You And Was Part Of A Different Village, Plus Always Traveled And Lived Outside In Different Dimensions -- Most Of Which Were Our Own, Made By Tymon." It was 'Feasible' that Koudo would not actually have ever met -Tigen- at all on the -Lost World- simply because of that factor alone, as it was for Khrona sometimes with certain people, despite their involvement with each other.

"Regardless Of That," Khrona continued on, ready to finish informing Koudo of what this 'Insurmountable' Task was before they went on about their way, he would say to him in 'Conclusion', "It's Dangerous To Go Alone!" is all that Khrona could sum up for Koudo. Even though he really did make himself very clear in a 'Decisive' manner, -Khrona- would 'Insist' upon his participation with Koudo from this point on, since he did not really understand what it meant for -The Insanity- to actually be actively awake again and actually seriously doing things as something greater than an -Antagonist-. "This Is Nothing Like What You Had Experienced Before, Nor Ever Have, Or Ever Will." Unfortunately, that was only so because of how long the -Void Sun- would remain over -The Veritas- after the -12th Moon- strictly because of a 'Calamitous' event that went on prior to, and part of -The Veritas- was destroyed by -The Insanity-. "It Would Be Wise To Seek Out -Pumpkinhead-." It was unclear whether Koudo knew about -Pumpkinhead- either, but that was the best being in all the Veritas to actually deal with the -Void Sun-.

Khrona: "I'll Be Around, Whether You See Me Or Not. Trust This. I Come In Many Shapes And Forms, As You Should Recall From The 13 Restrictions, Which I See You Have Been Learning From." - Pleasure

Of course, after that the -Tabrynth- went out and ended its 'Simulation', and all that remained of Khrona was the -A.C.E.- project that -Cleff- was working on a long time ago during the days of the -Lost World-, in order to accurately capture each of his -Emotions- and 'Project' them into him because of his 'Covenant' with his -Wife- about gathering all of the 'Information' from all dimensions.

T-CLEFF: "That Was How Taomin Appeared Before You In The First Place, And Also How We Resolved All Of Our Undertones All At Once. The 'Program' That I Have Activated In Order To Properly 'Access' Your Personal History From The Days When You Were My Apprentice And Also 'Assist' You In Continuing Forward From That 'Previous' History -- The Code-O Program -- Is To Be Used In Conjunction With Another Of My Experimental Designs, Like Those You May Have Seen Me Working On In The Past. However, Unlike The Rest, This One Will Help To Understand The 6th Restriction And How Emotions Have An Influence And Affluence Inside Of And All Throughout -The Veritas-." - Navigation

Koudo closed his eyes and began to hum. He was listen to Khrona intently, but this was his way of gather his thoughts and effectively synthesizing what Khrona was saying to him down to the most useful information. Khrona had always had a knack for talking a whole lot, but saying very little. It something Koudo never liked, but dealt with because, at the time, Khrona was his boss. A fact which did not hold true today.

The tune Koudo hummed shouldn't have been familiar with anyone here. It wasn't something he hummed often, and he had never done so in present company, Yui included. Thinking back on it, Koudo wasn't even sure if Odea had heard him hum the tune before either, but that was neither here nor there.

What the tune was, was an old song passed orally throughout his grandmother's tribe. A song they sang around the time his grandfather's tribe invaded their lands in a near never-ending quest to conquer the known world. A song that caused them to fight against insurmountable odds and overcome the invading army. A song that caused two young dragons to fall in love. A song that raised their son. A song that inspired that son to do great things and have a son of his own. It was a song Koudo's grandmother often sang to him, after one of his tantrums, to calm him and/or inspire him. He'd forgotten it for a long time, but he had used it quite a bit during the Horsemen's conquest to keep fighting the good fight.

It seemed appropriate for this situation as well.

"Fine." Koudo said once gathered his thoughts and retained all the most important and pertinent information to the situation at hand. Khrona wasn't going to leave him alone. The Insanity had not been truly dwelt with and had awaken to wreak havoc like it had on Vescrutia. There was someone named Pumpkinhead that could provide more information and it seemed like that had to be his next objective.

Koudo placed a head to Yui's head, independent of whether she wanted him to do so or not, and balled up his other fist, "Safety in numbers, I get it. I cannot do this alone. I still need my wife. I have to revive my son. " He sighed, almost tiredly, looked to Yui then nodded his head affirmatively, "I'll trust your judgment, something I always hated doing. Take us where we need to go."

There was a lot going on. A whole lot to process that Yui, though naturally adept at reading the atmosphere and empathy, just couldn't wrap her head around. A lot of what was being said, and what wasn't, had happened before Yui entered Koudo's life, a fact of which she was very aware. There was history here, history she couldn't possible hope to understanding, and that was okay. She didn't need to understand, and be a part of, that history to take action in this current present and the future.

So she looked at his dad as he hummed a tune that she'd never heard, but sounded familiar to her. She wasn't sure why, but it felt like she could feel the power of the melody in her soul and held the words, she'd never heard before, deep within her heart. She didn't know the song, but it knew her. It was a song she had to remember and to keep, like a family heirloom. This was the first thing her father was imparting to her.

She nodded alongside him as he made his decision. If he trusted Khrona's judgement and insight, then she would as well. She wouldn't abandon her father when he was questing to rescue her mother and revive her older brother. This was a family affair and it would be handled by family. She thought to mention that bringing Mira might be a good idea as well, but she decided not to. It wasn't time for the Tamura to reveal themselves to their friends just yet. It wouldn't be time until their family was back together.

The whole family.

T-CLEFF immediately shifted the 'A.C.E.' Unit as a 'Cursor' to use in the stead of Cleff. It looked like a large server or database that resembled an angelic figure similarly to what Cleff embodied with his 6 technological wings. The 'A.C.E.' Unit that hovered in the place where -Khrona- once was and also where both -Tao- and -Cleff- had been before shifting between those forms. It was a vessel that was meant for the perfect simulation and absorption of actual emotions and the replication of such through projection primarily. It cycled through a series of coloration, tint and hue as it adjusted itself and its incredible emotional generation.

T-CLEFF: "Your Paths Are Already Open To You, And As An 'Anomalous' Being, You Are Capable Of Creating Your Own Paths. Simultaneously, The Code-O Program Will Always Be Available To You As The Private Back Door Which Both Traces Your Own Paths And Also Opens The Pathway To Others That Are Available As Possible And Probable Outcomes -- Something Like The Navigation System Does." - Path

Koudo should have known that the supercomputer of Cleff that he'd been collecting his information on and also uploaded himself as well as his experiments into and remained hooked up to for quite a vast majority of his time of pubescence that there would already be something that merely brought up the archaic data and use that as its own special encryption that would allow for a protected 'Path' with a 'Gateway' already on it; something like an 'Ice Seal's actual 'Seal' and not the 'Portal' after it was opened.

T-CLEFF: "The Best Option Is Truly To Go Where You Wish And For Myself To Accompany You In Any Number Of My Forms." - Judgment

Immediately, the 'T-CLEFF' System programmed another 'Tabrynth' before -Koudo Tamura- with the 'Problem' already 'Input' into the 'Targeting System', so that it would automatically begin to unscramble and resolve itself based on its acuity in congruence with its 'Target Point' and 'Target Goal' as well as with the 'Target' in the 'Targeting System'.

Tabrynth: "Whenever you're ready, mon capitan. I've already told you what it is that is important about what is going on in the Veritas. Which means it's all about what you are trying to do now, and I'll just be here tagging along, something like the reverse of what we used to do when I was still your mentor as Cleff."

If Koudo remembered how people used to 'Tag' along with each other in the old days and begin a chain of events with each other, that was still proper in this day, despite how long it had been and how very little that there is about doing any of that due to the lack of interstellar exchange very often. Even so, it wasn't obsolete in the slightest, and was actually most optimal for this situation. "It's going to get pretty trippy, so it would be best to buckle up and keep your head on your shoulders," Tabrynth would speak as it gave itself a form that resembled -Khrona Tensei- as a doppelganger -- as is what 'Tabrith' was to him -- only in fine, velvet violet, hair tinted a similar shade and hue to match. He was also, surprisingly, wearing a rather formal business suit as well as black gloves and boots, the whole wardrobe accentuated by 'Black Diamond' buttons and cuffs. A tuft of hair was signaturely slicked over one eye, preventing it from being seen, yet ironically, the back of the hair came to two distinguished curved points similar to horns on a jester's hat. It gave a level of distinction between itself and Khrona, despite Tabrynth being Khrona's Mind. "It means that there are antagonists walking around that are actually antagonists, and you have to know about who or what they are. So you can think of me like a 'Navi', or something." Tabrynth laughed, swirling around mellifluously before resting on the back of Koudo Tamura rather gently as if resting comfortably upon a soft cloud, yet also mirroring his own 'Stagnancy' in his -Position-. When he moved, so would Tabrynth. Otherwise, many 'Solutions' continued being 'Calculate'd and 'Resolve'd within -Tabrynth- the entire time.

"Say less." Koudo replied, removing his hand from his daughters head and finally stepping forward. It was time to strike the path path that would lead to his wife. He was told she was being held at a facility on the 6th moon, Koudo had no idea what that meant. He had no idea how the Veritas had actually changed.

Regardless, it didn't matter. He reached out, dipping his hand into the fold of the universe to secure a path to somewhere, anywhere, but where ever he was right now. He trusted Yui had gained enough combat experience as Tama to function at a level he'd find acceptable. Not acceptable as in she'd be a disappointment if she wasn't at that level, but acceptable for the quest at hand. He didn't want it to exceed her current power and put her in unnecessary danger. Odea would never let him hear the end of it, once he acquired her again.

"Here then." And it was to be. There was no turning back, only moving forward, and so Koudo did with the trust that his daughter was at his side and eventually the path of lead to the love of his life. He stepped through now, venturing to where ever the Veritas led him.

Yui was next, quick to follow her father into the beginning of their quest to rebuild their family. She didn't hesitate to step through the path that her father had constructed forward, knowing in her heart that it would always be the right path to follow.