THREE ❢ VIDEO

[firstreturned]

What a nice welcome after such a long time away. You creatures never disappoint with how angry you get.

[Rage is back, back again. Go ahead, tell a friend. She's giving a nonchalant smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes -- it's hard to be pleased about being well fed when you've just spent six months scouting in enemy territory.

In fact, her face goes to neutral as she picks up again.]

First things first: We don't know for certain how the Null were able to find us, but we did discover at least part of the problem: there's a mole in the cave.

[Her voice goes cold when she makes the statement, and it pretty much stays that way for the rest of this post. Also, no, she wasn't trying to make a pun or a clever reference to the city being underground.]

This is the only way for the Null to consistently be able to chase us through space. [And not just because Fear sucks.] Hope and Sorrow's investigation should turn up more information about that. Would that you'd all voted for me, but like my brethren, I'll defer to your decision.

Second, it would seem your strangely shaped bodies have inspired our pursuers. We found them experimenting with bipedal robotic bodies that move the way you do. By the way, that doesn't exactly help anyone's case here. Clearly, they're finding you useful to a large extent.

[She's suspicious as hell, in effect.]

Finally, the Null's objectives have changed. They've constructed prisons capable of containing us no matter the form we take, and not only that, but they'll be able to use us to power their operations. I know some of you will see this as justice, but before you jump to such a predictable conclusion, consider this: our interference aside, the power my siblings and I gain from you is used to keep you alive and comfortable. We're able to coexist. What the Null want is our absolute confinement for their selfish purposes. Think for a moment about what that means. You all seem to like Delight. How would you feel if someone locked her up in a small space to do whatever they want with her?

[She's angrier now, more emotion in her voice and face. The silence after that question is short, but it's long enough for her anger to cool again.]

The mission was too dangerous for us to obtain more information than that. Given we're actively being betrayed by someone here, I wasn't inclined to share any of this with you, but I suppose it isn't fair to leave all of you in the dark because of one person or small alliance's actions.

[She leaned much more heavily towards not wanting to tell the residents, but Delight would tell them, and Rage is the last person who wants to disappoint Delight at all.]

Consider this a gesture of goodwill.

[With that flat, clipped sentence, she cuts the feed.]

Comments

[firstreturned]

If that's what they intend, then I suppose so. It's just not something we know for sure.

[And boy does she not like not knowing.]

[synthedick]

[Neither does he. It all sounds too much like the Institute's synths, where one day, they looked like him, and next thing people knew, you couldn't tell the difference between who was real and who wasn't. If the Null end up getting that far along—

He sighs quietly again.]

If you suspect one of us is the mole, how do you think they've been keeping in touch with the Null?

[firstreturned]

Technology. Magic. Powers of some sort. Sheer brainpower.

[In short, she's not sure.]

[synthedick]

[That's what he figures.]

I'd say the first one is the most likely, though given everyone and everything that's come through the Door, there's no telling. And from the sound of it, you don't suspect another one of you could've done it.

[He's been keeping an eye on the responses, as well as recalling what Hope told him last time.]

[firstreturned]

Exactly. Finally, one of you seems to be listening to me.

[synthedick]

[Listening, but not necessarily taking everything she says as absolute truth. Nick is more or less on the same page as the others, wondering why the gods wouldn't suspect a traitor in their midst, why they're so willing to sacrifice the people of Hadriel rather than each other.]

You got any reason for that?

[firstreturned]

Because for us, reaching out to the Null would be as good as a death sentence. Meanwhile, plenty of you have expressed your hatred for us, and some of you even agreed to try to kill Hope.

Suspicious doesn't even begin to cover it.

[synthedick]

You've got a point, but just because it'd be a death sentence doesn't mean one of you wouldn't reach out to them with good intentions, especially if they were trying to make a deal for your lives.

[Or maybe just theirs, but he's assuming the best-case scenario with this.]

[firstreturned]

They see us as parasites. They see emotions as infection. They killed six of us before Fear saved Hope and the city, and Hope started being able to bring us back. There's no bargaining with the Null, and we're all well aware of that.

[synthedick]

Doesn't mean one of you wouldn't try. Desperate times and all.

[firstreturned]

None of us is so desperate as to betray us. Desperate enough to think they can be reasoned with at this point, maybe. But not to betray us.

[synthedick]

The road to Hell is paved with good intentions. Or so they say.

[A slight pause, and then something painfully genuine.]

If one of you gods did go behind the backs of the others to try to work out some kind of compromise, I can't say I'd really blame them. I'm not the only one who'd do anything for family... and anything to keep them safe.

[firstreturned]

Maybe you wouldn't blame them, but I would. But trust me when I say that none of us would risk even one of our lives to try something so pointless.

[synthedick]

All right.

[He's not saying he trusts her entirely, but he also knows he's not getting any ground here.]

Anything else you can tell us about these prisons they're making? How do you know they'll hold you no matter what?

[firstreturned]

Given the Null developed weapons capable of killing us and are overall highly technologically advanced, it's only logical to think they've created prisons that can contain us.

[synthedick]

Just because they can kill you doesn't mean they can keep you caged up. I expect humans aren't the only ones with that kind of tenacity.

[firstreturned]

No, I'm pretty sure it means they can build something that can keep us imprisoned. We're not exactly easy to kill. Managing that is a big enough feat.

[She's not a child you're a child.]