At the entrance of the Observatory there appeared faint threads of glowing blue, just a few at first, scarcely visible to the eye.  The threads parted like curtains to the backstage of reality as a figure pushed through.  Mistral's gaunt cloned body stepped into the Observatory looking haggard and weary, turning shining eyes ringed in dark circles upon the scene.

She hobbled in to close the distance, then wordlessly wrapped one thin arm around Noah while gently cradling Grey's silver head in the other.  She kissed the little elfin godling's noggin and hugged them both close.  Eventually, she whispered, "Tu m'as manqué, ma fille et mon dragon."  Toward Fate, Atlas, and Noah she said, "Merci beaucoup for bringing her back.  I am sorry that I did not help."

 Grey wrapped a little arm around Mistral's neck. Noah's neck was tear stained and Grey's face was actually tinged red from having been crying. She clutched Mistral tightly once she'd approached.

 Atlas simply nodded. "It was nothing. In truth, those celestial bodies had been reserved by the Master for her restoration now that their initial purpose has been fulfilled.

 Further, it seems that the master has finished restraining the Leviathan. He seems to have withdrawn with his Alpha synths for now. All that remains are the leviathan's spawn. While they have been ejected from reality, they still pose a grave danger to any who would awaken or ascend and they still pose a threat to the archmasters as well.

 Lady Grey. You seem to have regained your strength. Would you perhaps be willing to deploy the Megiddo Cannon in order to rid us of them?"

 Grey wiped her eyes. "But Father said not to deploy energy weapons inside of the gravity well of a planet."

 "As we are currently within the Abyss, we are not, technically, within Earth's gravity well. However, I will leave it to your discretion."

 Grey, for her part, looked first to Noah and then to Mistral. She didn't say anything but her expression seemed to be one of asking permission.

There had always been a degree of hesitance and uncertainty in Mistral's 'motherly' interactions with Grey, as she was not a nurturing person by her nature.  It had always taken energy to be caring even with the ones she truly cared for.  With this reunion, however, there was no hesitance and she felt revitalized rather than drained.

Mistral looked up from the hug to regard Atlas and nodded, "Oui, it would seem he has been successful.  Had he failed, it is likely we would have no reality in which to discuss it.  I have provided the archmasters new means by which to defend against the leviathan spawn, but you are correct that the danger is far from over."

She was intrigued by the casual mention of this 'Megiddo Cannon' with which Grey might apparently reach into the Abyss itself to wipe out an existential threat of literally unimaginable scope.  The vast powers at Grey's command were often surprising, but this particular effect must be several orders of magnitude larger than any previous wondrous feats she was aware of.  Would even the total energy output of a binary star system be enough to power it, she wondered?  The elfin godling looked to herself and Noah for permission, and Mistral had to ask, "A weapon with such capability raises concerns for dommage collatéral.  Would this Megiddo Cannon endanger the Golden Roads or anything else adjacent to the Abyss?  If needed, I may assist in providing the optimal firing position."

 Atlas looked out into the Abyss impassively. "It should not, no. The Megiddo Cannon is capable of millimeter accuracy out to the range of 1 trillion miles. Further, nano-lenses are deployed to shape and redirect trajectories as required to avoid striking unintended targets. Many Outsiders use swarm tactics and the Megiddo Cannon was designed to counter that.

 Its primary danger is the power output required. Each second it is used requires 600 Million terajoules channeled into Space and Forces. This is the reason Lady Grey is forbidden from using it within the gravity well of a planet. The radiant and gravitational forces put into play would tear most planets apart. However, here in the Abyss, those forces are of no concern."

 For her part, Grey looked up at both of them with tear-stained eyes. Her hands were folded in front of her.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:19, Tue 12 July 2022.

Noah was happy. Mistral was successful and home. Grey was safe and home. Fate and the boys are home. All in all it was the best reunion in a very long time. "You had your own trouble to quell Mist. We make due and still fight. But I will always fight to keep our family together."

"Nasa is still lissed I attached a unit on their space station."

"As to lil Grey. You wouldn't ask if you didn't have to. So long as we can keep it safely hidden that its Grey I am fine with it. But after we are going home if you're good Atlas. I think we all need food, naps, and time."

Mistral petted Grey's silvery hair reassuringly as Atlas described the workings of the Megiddo Cannon.  She privately reckoned that it would probably would have been more efficient for her to have aided in rescuing Grey rather than expending such vast efforts on comparatively ineffectual Imperial rituals.

When the explanation had been given, she nodded and said, "It is difficult to argue against rescuing reality in one fell swoop."  Mistral squeezed Grey again and then let her go with an encouragement, "Tu peux le faire, ma fille."

Mistral remained close with Noah as Grey went to scour the Abyss clean.  After a moment she said quietly to the dragon, "Perhaps NASA would have agreed had you asked first.  Does not Synthos have its own space platforms?"

Noah smiled in spite of his will to just let Grey be Grey rather than a thing. Inaction would doom many others. "You're right, of course. Though at the time I did not have access to Synthos resources. I really need to figure out if we have some space gear up there." He gave her a bit of a nudge with a smile. "When you feel up to it we should leave Nasa behind. Grey has some movies of her trip through the universe, I'd like to station a few observation gadgets at the planetary memorial and the barrier." He was still dodging the whole Synth company thing, but he was also delighted to just have everyone home safe.

 Atlas pressed a few buttons on an, until now, obscured console and two chairs rose from the floor. One was sized for a human and the other sized for a dragon.

 Grey smiled and nodded, hopping once more upon the pedestal and melting through into the Abyss outside. In front of Mistral's chair popped up a holographic targeting system and, on Noah's, was a big red button.

 "Very Well. Then let us begin. Grey, are you ready?"

 Grey had floated out some distance from the observatory. From there, she morphed into a silvery sphere. "Ready!"

 "Creation Engine online. Powering up. Deploy lensing."

 Small spheres (about half the size of a person's fist) deployed from the larger sphere and began speeding outward from the center mass.

 "Engage Gravitational Torsion."

 Suddenly, the small spheres took off faster than the eye could follow. Mistral's readout suddenly sprang to life with a holographic 3D map of the inside of the Abyss.

 "Mistral. You've already seen how to do this. Lady Grey has acquired sympathetic data on your target. I will leave further targeting to you."

 Grey spoke up. "Creation Engine at maximum power. Probability Drive online. Capacitor fully charged. Ready to fire."

 The glass opened on the big red button.

Mistral observed the chairs rising up from the floor, the sizing making it obvious for whom they were intended.  She shared a look with Noah and went to claim her seat, crossing legs knee-over-knee to observe.  As it turned out, they would do more than simply observe.  She leaned in to the holographic display that bloomed to life before her and quickly took in the spectacular readouts of the notoriously unobservable Abyss.  After several moments of eyes flicking about trying to take in the full map she clicked her tongue in mild irritation and fished in her hoodie pocket.

She retrieved a strip of extradimensionally-sourced fabric, extending it to full length in two hands before wrapping it around her eyes and tying behind her head.  She breathed a sigh of contentment, zoomed out the holographic display and removed her hands from the controls.  With the blindfold in place she could now see properly.

After several seconds of observation, she rapidly punched in an elaborate sequence of targeting formulae describing location and velocity of several serpent swarms spreading like accelerated cancer through the Abyss.  The formulae included exceptions to exclude many very specific structures cutting through the void, which were barely visible to the naked eye in the 3d map.

Mistral finished entering the last formula with a final click, at which point she turned to Noah and stated placidly, "Targeting solution submitted.  The trigger is yours, mon dragon."

Noah flexed his fingers and looked at the trigger, "Grey, I very much dislike the feel of this..." He sat down. "You have weapons, you're not a weapon. You are forever part of our family, equal and whole with us." He took a long breath, "My last name is DeSoulis, should you not have a last name it can be yours as well."

He knew there was a seeming about her. He knew the math behind the power she had. But like Mr. Wraith she had proven herself. For now, it was genocide of a monster hoard.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:32, Wed 13 July 2022.

 "2,349,825 targets locked. Ready to fire."

 There was a smile in Grey's voice as Noah spoke to her. "Thank you, Noah. I will treasure it."


 Then Noah pressed the button. Beams of light shot out in all directions. Mistral and Noah could see that the beams themselves were not continuous, instead traveling through what seemed to be (but were not entirely) portals, vastly extending and expanding the speed at which the weapon fired.

 Less than a second later, the beams struck the lenses stuck to the inside of the Abyss wall, reflecting back to strike yet more lenses. Within seconds, the entirety of the non-space that constituted the Abyss was filled with beams of light. They did not radiate much, but dispelled much of the ever-present gloom that permeated this place, the corruption literally recoiling from the purification of Megiddo's beams.

 The serpents themselves were struck with the full, focused power of a miniature sun and were vaporized, filling the abyss with explosions of light like a miniature fireworks show.

 "All targets neutralized."

 15 seconds later, the light faded and Grey returned to the pedestal inside of the Observatory. There were the beginnings of tears forming in her eyes and her nose was red. "Father said that using my energy weapons would scare people. Are you scared of me now?"

Mistral observed Grey's working of the Megiddo Cannon to smite millions of targets across the Abyss, and was amazed by both the scale and precision.  The technological workings were far beyond her understanding, but she was very much able to appreciate the elegant design of the vast array of parallel-portals.  The twinkling destruction was awe-inspiring and terrifying in its potential.

The operation completed with fireworks and after a delay, Grey returned looking sad.  Mistral removed her blindfold, pushed aside the control console and went to the girl.  She extended thin arms in offer of a hug and invited, "Viens ici, ma fille."  Mistral held the weightless child close and considered what to say.  Grey's destructive capability was indeed terrifying, but must that necessarily mean that she who wrought it was terrifying?  After a pause she said, "I was scared of the millions of monsters swarming the Abyss.  I feared because I did not know how to stop them, and that perhaps nobody else knew either.  I was wrong, because you stopped them, Grey."  She kissed the silvery child on the noggin and added, "Now I'm not scared of those monsters anymore, merci à toi."

Mistral glanced to Noah while still hugging Grey and concluded, "As Noah has said, you are not a weapon.  You are creation itself.  It is not your capability that defines you, but what you do with it.  You did very well today, ma fille chérie."

 Grey nuzzled Mistral and took a deep breath. "I was scared that, if you knew, you might not love me anymore."

 Her face was red but she'd already cried so much that she couldn't anymore. Instead, she wrapped her arms around Mistral and let herself be lifted off the ground. There was no weight and she did not seem tired so much from the exertion as from emotional fatigue.

 Atlas gazed out at the Abyss (which had already roiled back in to reclaim the territory Grey's light had purged) and pressed the button closing the shutters, blocking the view once more.

 "You have all done very well. I am certain that the Master will wish to thank you when he regains his will to fight. For now, let me thank you in his stead."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:37, Wed 13 July 2022.

Fate stayed in the background quiet taking in the amount of power that had just been displayed.

Noah, for his part was not very reactive to the display of power. He had all the math figured out some time ago when Talion made corrections to his equations. Noah was more invested that it was Grey that was doing it. "How could I be afraid of The Golden Grey? We won't be turning our back on you."

"Atlas, if you are good with it I would like to get everyone home. I have no doubt that we have had a very busy day and have been run a bit ragged." He made a circle with a claw, "Now that the big snake has been seen it sets the ground for the big fish and the giant jelly."

Mistral held Grey as the little elfin godling clung on and expressed a fear that was as heartbreaking as it was misguided.  The weary archmagess in her frail cloned body gulped and blinked back tears.  Once she’d schooled herself back into control, Mistral whispered to the incomparably powerful child, “Never think it, ma fille.  The more I know you, the more I find to love.”

After some time, Mistral shared, “I spoke with him, in Stygia.  We shall see him again when it is time to lay his children to rest.”

Noah’s statement about going home garnered a nod of agreement from Mistral.  She said bleakly, “I would ordinarily facilitate transportation, but I find myself at une extrême de la privation.  I lack the means...”  Indeed, it was evident to those with the sight that Mistral had scoured her own Pattern raw for the mana simply to get herself to the Observatory.

Noah leaned in and hugged them both before giving them his most common forhead-to-forhead bonk to each. He adored the Maori for that little gesture of affection. "The funeral... We should be there." He had a look that he would go loaded for bear... no, loaded for fluffy.

He clasped both of his hands and opened them offering a pair of his mana meal bars for Mistral. "Ill set us up a way home. We heading to the tower or Sal's place?"

 Grey clung to both of them clinging tightly without saying a word and rubbing her face into both of them. Both of their shirts were lightly wet by the time she was done.

 Atlas walked over to one of the permanent portals of the Observatory and punched some numbers into a keypad. The portal shimmered and became a window to the inside of the Ebon Pyramid in the French Alps.

 "This should be sufficient to send you home. Once you have rested, however, you might wish to check in on Fluffy. He has gotten into a measure of trouble while you have all been out saving the world."

 Before they left, however, Atlas pulled out a small card and punched it before handing it to Noah. "Only two left."

-------------------------------------------------

 The inside of the pyramid was still fairly dark but it was now filled with signs of habitation. Gas generators, portable lights and heaters, as well as tents and bedrolls could be found here and there.

 As they looked around, they began to notice some young mages (those that witnessed the ritual that blew a hole in the moon) as well as the changelings and werewolves that they'd saved from the Hunters were present.


 Despite the new habitation, the massive space still felt sparse and empty.


 Grey plugged into a wall and the massive structure roared to life, providing light, heat, and the very first glimpse at the inner structures that Grey had created. The base floor was a massive amphitheater. Out past where the darkness had obscured vision were rows upon rows of benches nearly three stories in height. In size, it could hold up to 100,000 people (nearly 10 football stadiums worth).

 Behind the benches of the amphitheater were circular staircases leading up to the honeycombed structures above. From this far below, it was hard to see but it seemed like each of the several thousand rooms room had a balcony.

 When the lights came on, all of the assembled mages (and changelings/werewolves) stopped what they were doing to gawk at the scale of the building that they were in.

-------------------------------

 It took nearly an hour to find where Fluffy had made his den (and it was more of a "follow your nose" thing). In one of the rooms (which were hexagonal in shape and almost completely empty) was a pile of about 30 limbs. All had had most of the flesh stripped from them. However, Fluffy himself was nowhere to be seen.

While her supernal form had been occupied elsewhere in the world and beyond it over the past weeks, Mistral's physical form had spent a great deal of time hiking the seemingly endless vaults of the Ebon Pyramid, keeping far away from those few others who came here.  This preoccupation had ostensibly been for the purpose of physical therapy, to build up muscle in a cloned body.  It was also for the purposes of exploration, although she had far more efficient means to scry and map space.  The true reason she wandered the cavernous emptiness, however, was because she found the peaceful solitude to be therapeutic.

Now she returned with Noah and with Grey, who brought with her life and light and warmth, this time in a literal sense rather than merely the emotional sense.  Mistral would miss the echoing, empty peace... but she was also glad now that it was gone.  While gazing up in awe at the titanic structure coming to life, Mistral squeezed Grey's shoulder and encouraged, "Bienvenue à la maison, ma fille.  It is much better with you home again."

Shortly after arrival, Mistral made for the old stairs leading below the Ebon Pyramid to the cave of strange angles containing a glowing pool, which the Ark cabal had often passed through during travels with her.  The hallow was occupied with Mistral's supernal form, faded in placid repose beneath the pool's waters, resting.  Mistral herself went to a spartan cot set up in a side nook, where she laid down and fell quickly into a deep, exhausted sleep.  During this replenishment, anyone seeking the chilly cave who was not of the Ark cabal would instead find themselves inexplicably emerging back into the Pyramid's grand main atrium via some new side-passage they had never visited before.

"Thank you Sir Atlas. Imma give you a five-star on google platinum." Noah liked working with Atlas but his very existence disproved more than a few MAJOR theories on time, space, and travel there in.

-------------------------------------------------

Noah took up giving Grey a ride as he was just happy to have her back. When the lights came on he started to see what Grey had been thinking, to some degree. He had a few things to do before he could bed down, the Ivory lady of the Ebon tower had earned her rest. So with Grey getting a ride on Noah's new dragon form he addressed Fate first. "You good here or would you rather be sent to New York? Fluffy has taken to offing local hunters so if you really want there is a ski resort down the way, just dont pull a gun and you are safe as safe can be from him."

Noah was intimately familiar with Fluffy as the damned murder cat saw him as an ever-evolving source of mental stimulation. Many times the group had seen Noah eject the cat from his lab at speed. Some of the group no doubt ran into traps set for the cat who knocks.

He only had five mana left but it would be more than enough for everything.

To the boys, "Amazing job guys. By all means, let me know what boon you want in return and I will do everything I can for it. Mr. Wraith, I will get you set back up with a suit that can take a hit once I get my mana refreshed. If you kept your key it will go a fair way to getting you back to your normal."

-------------------------------------------------

Noah moved to that stage and waved over the people who had come to live within the arcane walls of the Ebon Tower^TM. He suspected there would be amplification of some kind so he tested before he spoke loudly, Mist needed her sleep!

"Told yah we would get you home or have a home for you. For anyone who missed it the first time I am Noah, the dragon of purgatory; Monster, Omni-mage, and generally a nerd who adores tech. I will let someone much wiser than I tell you what the Ebon tower is and isn't. " He pointed up, "Now that the power is on I encourage you to find habitation as you have time. I plan to spend a bit of time here helping as I can."

"Beyond that I have a few favors to ask to that end. Above all, it was a mixed group who saved you, its a mixed group that will be living here. I encourage you to all actively seek to compliment each other's abilities. Mages can use spirit magic, yes. But seek out communication with the Werewolves and you may learn so much more. Werewolves have their own magic but reach out to the mages and they may be able to grant you so much more range and reach. Fair folk, you've got such a delightful array and the greatest opportunity to be a bridge."

"You have seen what the Ark can do. You want to stomp out the Wyrm? Foster the spirits? Find your way far and gone from the hedge? Keep an open mind as you walk with us and you will see just how amazing this can be. And never hesitate to come to talk to me or even hit the Ark log. I will always do my best to help you and talk with you as you need it."

"To that effect, any who can interact with spirits, please get in touch with the local spirits. I have no doubt they have some spicy words, we want to ensure they are satisfied and on our side."

"Wolves, if you have a Caern spirit you would like to start fostering or be sponsored by. I would very much like to speak with this spirit. I know that may seem silly but I want to respect such a spirit and its connection to you."

"I've got a bit to do before I go to bed. Tomorrow I plan to cast a ritual and all of you are welcome to join in. You don't have to be a mage for this."

 Indeed there was a natural amplification system built into the amphitheater. Those gathered listened intently as Noah said what he had to say (and reacted appropriately).

 Once he was finished, Grey led him down a hidden staircase down below Mistral's hallow.

 There was a massive hollowed out room filled with something Noah has seen before. "I made this but I haven't turned it on yet because I don't know what to do with the waste. It's a Mana Reactor but the Aether it produces is poisonous to living things."

Noah looked close and smiled at Grey, "Lordy this is advanced stuff." he sighed as he started looking for the entrance. "Well, your best bet is if we move this to space and transmit the power back. That would allow for ejection of the material to the sun, the great fusion reaction should obliterate it."

"However, we should go bug the synths that run the Mana reactor..." He started processing that he was inside the core of that mana reactor. "I think we should research Aether. see if it is reactive or can be nullified."

"Thanks, but after what we just went thru I think the sooner I can learn the life magic I need to the better. Would that be in New York?"

Noah nodded, "Correct. Free council has some fairly liberal life mages. Most willing to share their knowledge. If you want we can get you in virtual contact."
_____

"Alright Grey. We need to hit up some study to see if we can figure out how to counter it. Think looking into the big reactor will give us some ideas?"

"Yes please."