Lobster shook hid head in disgust and commented:

"As I said before, time and again, I'm only alive because you lot are allowing me to be, and there is nothing I can do to stop you from changing your mind on that. I'm not going to let myself be blackmailed in helping along Snake's plotting - I have no way to guaranteeing my survival even if I cave, so I just won't. Your threats are worthless against me."

Then he glared at Rain Feather and added:

"And what of you, revenant? Do you have nothing to say for yourself? Are you going to let your guard dog speak on your behalf forever?"

"...I don't think that would be such a wonderful idea, Sabre.  When I held the Sommerswerd, I was filled with the light of Kai- but there was part of my blood that was screaming for me to smash the sword and destroy it.  I was able to handle my darker side.  As much as I want to see if he can handle it, well...  I'd rather not take the chance he lose control and do it.  I mean, you remember what I was like when we first got to the Maakengorge... if you'd given me the Sommerswerd, what do you think I'd have done with it...?"

Then, at Lobster's remark, she'd refocus on him.

"As far as him being my guard dog?  Far from it.  I'm the example they're using to save your life, you know.  That's what we're trying to do.   The lot of us still hope that you can be healed, and brought back to the light, no matter what.  Even Snake over there wants to see you healed, by Kai and Ishir.  I'm trying my best to get a leverage on it, but I need you to work with me- because we all know what's going to happen if you don't give this up- some bright, enterprising soul will think the only way we can figure it out is by cutting you open and looking at what they did and how they did it, and despite the fact that you're doing your best to irritate everyone here, nobody wants to see that happen.

So stop with this and just let us help, because it's the only chance you have of reasonably getting through all of this, yes?"

Fall Lobster looked at Rain Feather with a certain annoyance.

"Is it now? So sure of that, are you?"

"Stop.  Look, you want to prove Snake wrong?  Show him you still have your skills.  Push against me with your Mindblast or Mindshield.   Give me a nudge with your Sixth Sense, or your Mind Over Matter.  I mean, after all, he's done nothing but push papers for Blue Snake all his life, away from the danger, according to you, yes?  Besides, isn't this the chance you've been waiting for?   You can prove him wrong about you.  Focus up and try something, and not only will he be wrong, you'll make him look really foolish, in front of all of us, for doubting you.  If you're looking for a goal, try those.

As for why I'm doing this?  If you knew anything of me before all of this, and what this bunch did for me, you'd understand.   I know what darkness feels like.  Out of all of them, it had its claws into me the deepest.  But if it can be purged from someone like me?  Then there's hope for anybody- even you, if you'd just lay off the talking for once and just do something.  I can only do so much."

"Hope? Do you think I care any about that? As for proving Sun Snake wrong, that'd be a fool endeavour - he'd only let that happen if it suits his plans. I want him dead, not proven wrong, and failing that... well, I don't actually care about anything else, if that fails. But you want your proof, here, have fun with it."

He merely glared at Rain Feather after saying that, as if this would somehow be enough to make her happy.

"Proving him wrong is the first step to bringing him to the justice you deserve. So make this a good one" Fox said simply

I'm still around, just don't really want to intervene much at the moment lol

She'd suddenly wince, but then focus harder upon a certain point.  Her face would twist in thought, but then go darker... and darker.

"...he still has his disciplines.  I just felt a Mindblast- nothing too strong, but it's definitely Mindblast.  Granted, it feels like... it's unfocused.  There's power there, but... how do I put this... he has it, but... it's more like it's not where he's the strongest.  It's unrefined, more like a hard physical blow than something like I would do.  It's there, but... it's nothing that would have drawn the attention for more specialized training.  As a matter of fact, I would say that he's drawing on the darkness to make it stronger, somehow.

...but the darkness is so ingrained into him that it's inside both his body and his mind.  I could try and clean it out of him, yes, but... the question would be, 'would there be anything left after I'd done so'... and even then, at the moment, it'd only be temporary.  I can push it back, but it will just creep back in and grow over time.   It'd be a battle I could fight every day to try and find a way to drive it back permanently, but given I don't know how much time I have, well... I'd like to get more opinions on him, maybe have others look at him with me to see what they would say.  And no, not Snake, Lobster, before you even say anything.

But as he is now... any attempt to clear the darkness totally would just as likely incinerate him as much as heal, maybe even leave him a babbling mess with a shattered mind.  I can try if you want me to try, and if you trust me to.  But other than that, I can't promise he'd survive, or even be coherent enough to answer any kind of questions.  I can get the memories needed as he is now, but... a true restoration, if there is a hope of one, is a long, long time away.  But I'm not giving up on him."

But he still has his inborn disciplines under all that, at least his Mindblast.

Sun Snake has looked interested at whatever had been happening, but seemed saddened by Rain Feather's words. "I felt it too, the unfocused nature, but had thought there was some hope to it. Many Darkspawn have Mindblast, it should be the easiest to ape and do well. I agree, unfocused, lacking skill in control of execution. I had hoped it was maybe because there was something of Lobster deeper that was being filtered or hindered. But... what you says confirms the fears I had before. I felt nothing since I first detected him that indicated this was anything more than the echo of a fallen Kai, turned to something else."

Sun Snake looked around, though not to Fall Lobster. "I believe at the very least Sun Fox can keep a mental connection going, if I establish one, if she has not learned how to create one herself. Beware though, I presume you noted Fal Lobster was using your connection against you in your attack? You need to be sure we're not putting any other's minds at risk in the link."

Sun Fox, who had been following the interrogation in mostly silence, raised an eyebrow at Sun Snake last comment and said, surprised:

"You really think he could be a threat in a psychic fight with either of us, Snake? Not meaning to brag here, but I sensed that Mindblast just like you did, and it was pretty pathetic. And we're both Spirit Loremasters, so... it seems really farfetched to me that he could pose any serious threat to us, link or no link."

She paused then, and turned to Rain Feather, adding:

"Still, caution never hurt anybody, I suppose. Rain, what do you think of Snake's idea? Is it doable, and would it put any of us at risk?"

"If you leave yourself open enough anyone can take advantage, as you may have noticed by that Mindblast even registering with Rain Feather just now. And one stray thought might well go to Valador's ears. Just being cautious..."

"Well having some disciplines is a clear path to gaining his place back in the order" Fox said simply. "But will purging him of the remaining part of the Nadziranim tampering really be that dangerous?" Fox asked

"...which is why I should be the one doing whatever you need me to, Snake.  Because if you try anything, I'm fairly certain I can call upon my own powers to know what will happen: Lobster goes berserk, and we suddenly have a problem where once was none.  If you need to see something, I'll give it to you.   That saves everyone the stress and everything.  And as far as trying to fix him?  I want to.  But at the same time?  If it's not done properly, we'll be left with a charred mess on the floor where he used to be, or we'll be dealing with another Red Dawn, and one we may not be able to contain.

So maybe trust me on this, yes?   Besides, if he tries something, I can handle it.  It's a Mindblast.  It's nothing serious, and if he really wants to play, he knows I could do worse in a second.  I was taught by someone who knew what they were doing, you know. Or is there something you want to say, Snake?"

Sun Fox seemed amused at Rain Feather's speech, although she nodded at the end and said, a soft smile on her lips:

"For what it might matter, Rain, you can be sure that you have my trust; Snake is just being cautious, and I appreciate that, but as long as you think you can do it, I say just go for it in whichever way you feel best."

She glanced at Sun Snake, as if to check wether he had any answer to either Rain's words of Sun Fox's, but seemed otherwise happy to let Rain do as she would.

"You said you wanted other's opinions, it would be the easiest way to combine skills."

Sun Snake seemed happy that Sun Fox had represented him correctly and lapsed in to silence.

"If you require extra mental defences in the attempt then I am at your disposal" Fox said simply

Lobster frowned at that, and commented:

"So, I'm still to be taken apart, just mentally instead of physically. Can't say I'm that surprised, really - I guess this really was never gonna end any other way."

Things have been moving surprisingly slowly in here recently. Is there any particular reason for that? I'm trying to let you all have most of the interplay among yourselves, beacuse this seemed like a perfect time for a character interaction scene and a bit of player-directed narrative, but if you want me to step in more to push things along more often, said so, and I will.

Or is what's going on just not interesting enough to hold everybody's attention? Because again, if that is so, and you simply tell me, I'll do my best to try and make things more interesting. I just thought it wasn't necessary to do so right now.

"Would you have preferred that tests were performed on you with no care? The fact is we are trying to help you, and its pretty much the only way your going to be freed, so its worth a try. The only other option is to be locked away for the rest of your life, and that was not something I had in mind"

Fox would sigh

"Try and be careful with him" He said to the others "I don't want him leaving a vegetable if we can really help it"

"...I can do it, but if you want to, feel free to try-  but I don't want you two tapping into something you can't handle.  Besides, if it gets too bad, I can always pull out- and there's not that much he can do to me.  I was taught by Peacock; if I can't take a shot of Mindblast, who could?"

She gave a smile over to them, and went deep inside again.

"...and if you try and tap into me, bad things are going to happen.  Not that it will, but I just feel better saying it."

Almost immediately after Rain Feather spoke, Lobster's form stiffened, and he gritted his teeth, clear pain appearing on his features as he said, in an agonized rattle:

"Stop... it..."

At Lobster's protests... she pulled back.

For a long second, she was quiet.  Then she would raise a fist, and thump it against the wall.   The look on her face said it all- if she didn't have her spear, they'd be rolling in a tide of frustration and even some grief and sadness.

"...if I continue, I am going to erase everything he is.  Everything he was.  Everything he would be.  He would be as an empty shell; unable to feel, think, or even to care for himself.  The darkness would be gone... but so would Fall Lobster.

I refuse to take that drastic of an option.  In our battles, we have faced countless people and things that would cast aside someone like him.  The Kai have slain monsters by the dozens over the centuries.  Nadziranim, giaks, even Darklords.  People, willing to do anything for power, sacrifice everything and everyone around them in a desperate bid for personal gain."

She does her best to compose herself, and then looks over to the rest of the group.

"I am no monster.  Not any more.  I've done things.  But I'm not going to do this."

"Then don't" Fox said simply "We will have to look to alternate methods. Perhaps in time this is something that could be refined with more collective minds for a successful attempt?"

"There's few more powerful minds than those in this room," said Sun Snake. "Red Dawn, for the moment, is not stable. Shining Peacock we could ask, but I would not ask Rain Feather to link with his mind, and I do not imagine he would link with ours anyway. Certainly not mine. Only White Mantis might be a powerful enough influence, but perhaps her great empathy would work against her in this case. And I do not know if Moon Shadow would wish to risk being forced to do anything risky with Falling Lobster, given the shadow she has recently escaped. Iam not sure it would be fair to ask her. In the meantime, he is something that Valador could use against us. We need to help him, one way or another..."

Sun Fox frowned.

"How are we going to go about that though? Does any of you has any good ideas? Because I'm drawing a blank here."

"I've alwas held his is just an echo of Fall Lobster. To prove it though, I do not know. If his soul has gone to join the fight against Vashna, while we might be close to the gorge, it would be like trying to find a needle in a needlestack. However, we do have the Sommerswerd, one now attuned to it, and some powerful psychics. Is there a way for us to commune, somehow, and try to sense his soul elsewhere?"

Lobster grunted, clearly still recovering from the pain Rain's experiment had let him in, but nevertheless he quickly spoke, his voice laded with venom:

"My soul is right here inside of me - I'm no less human than she is."

And as he said that, he motioned with his head towards Rain Feather.