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Post by Skylos on Jun 2, 2022 21:09:05 GMT -5
Skylos nodded his head, understanding the facts. "That seems like a risky thing to do. I mean, he could have just left with the suit and left it at that. I don't see why he would need to prove his innocence if he was leaving to go do whatever on any Terra. At that point it would be ridiculous. He'd have to effectively prove that he was in two places at once from then on. It would be incredibly odd for there to always been a Hunter R attack when Renka wasn't around..." Skylos shook his head. "I feel like this is too obvious to say, but if he claimed to see someone wearing clothing like his own, then it's more likely he was framed by someone who either knew him really well... or... coincidentally thought like him... Like a counterpart." Even Renka had just been going on about how his version of Skylos was very similar to him. "That being said, I would think that there would be surveillance tapes backing that story up..." Assuming due diligence was done, Skylos figured that all of these avenues of logical thought had already been explored by now.
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Post by Aqua on Jun 2, 2022 21:31:36 GMT -5
"I thought the same thoughts when I got this information. They did have tapes for this type of reason, but the footage never showed a second party like Renka claimed. The footage couldn't be confirmed to have been tampered with, but there were blackouts in the footage caused by what was believed to have been a jamming device. Now law enforcement believes, as well as Victor, that as head of security Renka would know where all the cameras were to stay out of sight until they were jammed. Which normally I'd agree with, with the exception of one shot." He then took out a photo from a video camera from the scene. You could see the suit in a containment chamber, as well as someone a strange ninja like garb. Skylos would probably remember Renka's clothes looking like this when he met him a few years back, since they stood out enough. It was a back shot, but Renka normally kept his face covered anyway, so that wouldn't of made much difference. "This is my problem. If Renka did steal the suit, why leave this behind? They tried to push this as Renka making a mistake with the timing of his jammer, since it does go out right after, but everything else was flawless." He paused, looking distressed. "The Terra's top prosecutor was on this case while it was still an in Terra affair, his thoughts were aligned with Victor's, and just like that he was branded as the thief. I'm only on this case because I'm international among the Terra, since the case has now involved more Terra, and possibly a counterpart of Renkas...Actually it was me who insisted I be put on the case, as their bias was clouding their judgement. I believe Victor only agreed because of the guilt he felt for Hunter R becoming the criminal he did using Victor's tech, and didn't want push back from other outward Terra development."
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Post by Skylos on Jun 2, 2022 22:16:01 GMT -5
"I mean, he probably could have just wiped out the cameras entirely from the get go if he had wanted to." Skylos postulated. Then again, perhaps the system had too many failsafes and that was the best that could be done. He looked at the picture and nodded his head. "It's the back of his head. I could put on that outfit and pass for him." It was pretty terrible evidence as far as evidence went. "Seems to me it was left as a plant. And someone was too eager to pounce on it."
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Post by Aqua on Jun 2, 2022 22:40:17 GMT -5
Edward nodded. "Victor has been known for making bold, sometimes rash decisions in his time as world leader and leader of the World Savers here, but normally they are justified and are for the benefit of others. It's why most of the public goes along with it. Coupled with the fact of how dangerous that suit is in the wrong hands more than likely was a factor in Victor's rash judgement, and Renka fleeing just made him more sure." He sighed. "If that had been Renka in that cell today, and we still had Hunter R out there, not one lawyer in this Terra worth is salt would take his case. The world leader finds you guilty, and who would go against that and the public? I think Renka may have known that, which might be another reason why he chose to take his chances. Granted none of that counts as evidence..." He looked through the files again, taking out another picture. This one was of a body of a murdered TEC guard. "This was another major point against Renka. One of the guards on duty the night of the theft was murdered. Murder weapon was a ninja styled dagger, kuni, and was found in the body. The dagger had Renka's prints, and it was the type he used himself. The death more than likely pushed them all to act more rashly, and by now it's just been accepted as unconfirmed fact." Edward took a longer sip. "Kinda wish I just got myself a harder drink. Recounting these details is troubling, as the more you look with a clear mind, the more it points to two. But I'm expected to put anyone behind bars that can take this blame, which I won't do. Outside of the Chaos side of this issue, I cannot let a man who did nothing wrong take the fall for all of Hunter R's crimes across the Terra." He sighed. "Even if Hunter R was telling the truth about being forced into it by Chaos, it doesn't remove his guilt in the crimes he's done." He looked down at the ring he had on his hand, which looked like a simple wedding band.
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Post by Skylos on Jun 3, 2022 20:27:59 GMT -5
Skylos frowned. "Considering Renka said I could possibly find him before finding Hunter R, I'm more inclined to think he's being controlled in some way." He rubbed the back of his head. "Maybe. That would mean I'd have to accept that he actually is Hunter R." But that didn't sit well with Skylos. He wasn't ready to accept an early judgment. "I actually have a very unique ability that lets me disrupt possession, but I would have to be in front of the real one to try it out. I guess there's really not much I can really do unless I can run into him again." He rubbed his temples, annoyed at the lack of options.
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Post by Aqua on Jun 3, 2022 21:30:51 GMT -5
"With that ability, combined with the fact that you can see through lies, should be enough to prove Renka's truth. Now the matter is finding him before TEC does and making this all the more difficult." He paused again to take a destressing sip. "If I can be frank with you, I don't trust Renka's fate with TEC. If I am to be honest, I don't really trust TEC in general, Their troops or leader. They work with me because they have too, but in the end they may still try and do as they like with him if they really capture him. I can only pull rank for so long. They would probably try to say I have some sort of bias for helping him possibly go free, when they are clearly the ones with the bias. Heck this conversation itself could be taken as an act of betrayal against the Terra, trying to actually find innocence in Renka if it exists when I'm the prosecutor on this case. You are the only person I've met who can say, if they really are two people, that you've met them both. You also might be the only one I've met who actually cares about both of their well being and can actually do something." He cleared his throat. "Sorry if that came out oddly. I just mean you are the only person I've met that's involved in this case that I can actually trust to want the truth, no matter what that truth is."
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Post by Skylos on Jun 4, 2022 12:44:59 GMT -5
Skylos could easily see what he meant. "For the most part, I have little bias. I don't have anything to really gain either." Some people chased fame -- to be the one to put Hunter R behind bars for good? Very tempting. "Especially if the answer was wrong. It would be harmful to many people, possibly including myself since it appears I have a target on my back." Not that he had asked for that in the first place... "Normally, I'd suggest having his own Terra try him, but now that I know which one it is... well I'm certainly not getting Zalendor to officiate a trial, not that he even counts in the first place. He's not from that Terra in the first place."
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Post by Aqua on Jun 4, 2022 13:47:12 GMT -5
"Baring the chaos issue, we all stand to lose a lot by being wrong. We can't afford to make a mistake like that." Edward then started thinking on the other matter. He snapped his fingers, as his shadow fetched another file and brought it to him. He began to look it over. "Zalendor has come up before in reports, but nothing related to this case. TEC has been in contact with Zalendor since he proposed an alliance of peace between the two Terra a year or so ago. It's not official as of now, but they are on speaking terms as I believe."
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Post by Skylos on Jun 4, 2022 14:40:26 GMT -5
Skylos rubbed the back of his head. It just felt wrong that Zalendor was behaving in this manner. But then again, it was Lygizo that revealed Zalendor's character to him. It had been something Skylos hadn't understood because all Skylos could see was an opposing force that needed to be taken care of before destruction rained upon his Terra. "Honestly, Zalendor should be in a cell, and he probably would be if he hadn't helped us with Osric." Skylos sat down the cup of tea, then rested his chin on his steepled hands. "I realize his intentions are mostly self-serving, but there's also a hint of him wanting to do something right hidden in there. And then..." Skylos raised an eyebrow. "Omni goes and gives him a Dimension Stone. Like, what am I supposed to do with that information? I think it's pretty clear what Omni is suggesting."
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Post by Aqua on Jun 4, 2022 15:23:53 GMT -5
Edward looked surprised. Not only did he not know Zalendor was involved with the Osric crisis, but had a dimension stone to boot. "A dimension stone would surely give him a great deal of clout to sway other Terra. Maybe that's why he and Victor are in talks with each other. TEC would be a powerful ally to have, and with a dimension stone Victor may not take the chance bringing down wrath from other Terra due to the Hunter R issue. He's under careful eye with Terra like 009 for that reason. But if he's working for alliances rather then shows of force, it could be a good sign...But you seem to know him far more than I."
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Post by Skylos on Jun 4, 2022 15:59:33 GMT -5
"That's the thing." Skylos tilted his head a degree sideways. "I don't really know him well. I know things about him, sure, but he's nothing more than an acquaintance to me." All this talk of alliances was kinda dull to Skylos; his Terra wasn't anywhere close to that stage of political relations. "But yes. You'd naturally want strong people on your side, come what may." In fact, there were very strong Terra out there. "Do you have Terra 75 on your radar? " Skylos then asked. He had dealt with them during the whole Crystal Demon thing. Come to think of it, Zalendor had been part of that as well. So many times things looked like they were going to come apart at the seams...
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Post by Aqua on Jun 4, 2022 16:21:59 GMT -5
"As of right now I believe they are more so keeping tabs on 75, since the Krystallos incident. Far as I'm aware nothing major is in the works yet, but if Hunter R were to make a move there it could spark an incident. As of now they have been made aware of the threat of Hunter R, and their relations are good enough that if something happens on 75 they would work together. But that's as much as I know on that matter. Honestly new possible problems develop all the time on this Terra thanks to Hunter R, so I try not to overload myself. I'm not actually from this Terra myself, and I'm often in the field when I can be, so I may have missed some things if they weren't related to the case." He paused. "I'm not close so to say to Victor, so if more is going on he may be keeping that to himself to avoid panic, or it just may not be important to the public."
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Post by Skylos on Jun 4, 2022 17:20:20 GMT -5
"Ah. Right. I think you mentioned that before. What is your home Terra?" Skylos asked, now in more of a position to actually ask that. It had come up earlier, but it was during their interrogation so he didn't want to bring it up during that. It was good to know that Terra 75 wasn't on anyone's bad side. They had a lot of firepower, and they were not afraid to use it. Attempting to steal the Sovereign Cores from them in the past did not end well...or rather, had Omni not been there it would have ended very poorly. "Hm. Victor. He seems like he has a lot on his plate now. It's probably very distracting for him, having to worry about Hunter R and run a Terra at the same time."
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Post by Aqua on Jun 4, 2022 17:38:37 GMT -5
Edward finished off his cup of tea at this point, sitting his cup down. "Terra 83. Though granted I haven't been back there since I managed to get on this case. In one of Hunter R's assignments there was an explosion at the building of an important official, and my wife..." He realized at this point he trailed off. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go into that. Point is, since that bombing I got onto this case, and haven't been home sense." After a short break, he responded to Skylos' other statement. "Victor has been spread thin, so I hear. Keeping the peace of your own Terra, and preventing others from just storming down your front door isn't easy. Most of the peace keeping here is done by the World Savers that are here. They are pretty much the heads of our TEC troops. Captain Rex was trained by one of them, for example. They try to do all the training for the higher ups in TEC so they can assure quality of skill and morals. Helps keep some of it off of Victor."
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Post by Skylos on Jun 4, 2022 18:06:47 GMT -5
Skylos looked down at Edward's ring. Putting his left hand to the side of his head now that he had a read, he spoke. "Sorry." Everyone had their own motivations in life. Skylos had stumbled into Edward's. Personal questions always had a certain level of danger to them, since they were almost always shots in the dark.
After the long pause had ended and Edward responsed, Skylos nodded his head, understanding how things were right now. "Hah. I guess that's why I haven't seen any interested counterparts coming to get a look at me; they're all far too busy to entertain anyone." That being said, Skylos was busy too! He wasn't here on leisure.
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Post by Aqua on Jun 4, 2022 18:30:46 GMT -5
Edward didn't feel it right to actually unload all that on Skylos, seeing as they barely knew each other honestly. "I feel like if Victor knew who you were from your own Terra, he'd probably be inclined to speak with you, being a light human king and a World Saver on top of that. But I felt no need to announce that to anyone official, seeing as I invited you here more as a consultant. I cannot imagine how much you have to deal with, with as many titles you carry. Speaking of which, I shouldn't keep you with gab if you have affairs to attend to. I will send these files with you to help on your investigation, as I can have more copies made. Is there anything else I might be able to help you with? Any more information I might be able to provide you?" He paused for a second. "But by no means am I rushing you out or anything."
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Post by Skylos on Jun 4, 2022 18:49:21 GMT -5
"Thanks for the files, but..." Skylos frowned. "My title of Light King is... well it was self-serving at the time. I'm not going to apologize for using a power boost to save the person closest to me. That being said, it's not a very good title for me." He gave a wry laugh as he thought of how absurd it was for him to be in that position. "So, don't think of me with that title. That's all." He looked off to the side for a moment or two. "Well. Since I'm here, I should probably talk with Victor." His attention came back to Edward. "I need a good read on him. If I'm going to be doing a little work for this Terra, I need to know how far my trust can go with him."
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Post by Aqua on Jun 4, 2022 19:50:10 GMT -5
Edward chuckled slightly. "I'll keep that in mind. I'm not sure how well I'd do drinking with a king anyway." Then Skylos stated his request. "I could probably try and arrange that. Let me pass that on to Captain Rex, and he'll see if he's available." He then tapped onto what looked like a phone watch, and started talking into it. "Captain Rex, this is Hawking. I was wondering if me and Mr. Pantech could meet with Lord Nightingale today. Mr. Pantech is going to be doing more assisting with the Hunter R matter when possible.
Captain Rex was quick to respond. Good timing Mr. Hawking. Lord Nightingale actually finished going over the footage from the integration, and he actually was wondering if Mr. Pantech was still on Terra. He'll be waiting for you both in his meeting chambers on the tower at your earliest convenience.
Edward looked surprised. "Well that was fast. Thank you Captain." He then ended his call. "Well it looks like that won't be a problem for us."
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Post by Skylos on Jun 4, 2022 20:03:51 GMT -5
Skylos nodded his head. He kind of figured he wouldn't be able to skip Terra without seeing him. "I'm glad that worked out so easily. Why don't we head over now?" He sat down the empty tea cup on the table.
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Post by Aqua on Jun 4, 2022 20:51:11 GMT -5
Edward nodded. "Sounds good to me, let us be off." He stood up, and snapped his fingers to make a portal. After they would've left Hawkings office, they would appeared outside the truly massive tower. Seeing it in person, it was absurdly tall. Easily taller than any building Skylos would've seen on his home Terra. "This building has the same anti teleporting tech that the station does, so sorry for the walk. Though the elevator ride is very nice, gives a nice view of the landscape around here." Edward chuckled nervously.
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Post by Skylos on Jun 4, 2022 21:10:33 GMT -5
"Well, I'd certainly get fat if I didn't use my legs much." Skylos then joked. With the ability to teleport, it was a wonder everyone was still as fit as they were. That being said, Skylos was made for speed. He probably was the leanest of the group due to that. "Nice place." Although it was a bit too tall. That made evacuations that much harder.
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Post by Aqua on Jun 4, 2022 21:37:15 GMT -5
Edward chuckled. "Wouldn't we all?" Then Skylos commented on the tower itself. "It's alright I suppose. I just always felt more like a statement rather then a need, but who am I to judge?" As they walked to the entryway, as the TEC troops moved aside to let them both inside. The inside looked very high tech and futuristic, like much of the buildings around.
There was a desk with a trooper at it, who spoke to Edward. "Mr. Hawking, Lord Nightngale is waiting for you both in his meeting room."
Edward nodded. "Thank you, we'll be right up." He then walked up to the large elevator at the back of the ground floor. It opened for them both, and once they were inside, it would start to rise. As they went up, they could see the back of it was glass so they could see a view as they went up. Skylos could see they city stretched out for miles, almost as far as he could see, before he got to see any sense of natural landscape.
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Post by Skylos on Jun 4, 2022 22:32:41 GMT -5
The elevator ride was going at a leisurely pace, and the view was pretty nice. The city being the size it was was pretty cool. It was a lot like Tokyo, everstretching in all directions. "Hm. It might be fun to hangglide over the city from this height." A random thought had popped into his head. "But that's probably tech from the Stone Age here." He laughed.
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Post by Aqua on Jun 5, 2022 1:32:00 GMT -5
Edward laughed slightly at that. "Once this is over with, I want to try it." He said, enjoying the lightning of the mood. Once their ride to the floor in mind, somewhere three fourths of the way up, the doors opened. They'd need to turn back around to enter, but once they did, they'd find a large looking board room. It had a black and dark blue color to it, looking chrome and metallic. It had a large table filled with many chairs, with one much larger at the head. To their sides at the door was two very high tech looking robots at about seven feet tall, blue black with blue led lights to them. They had their lighting on their 'faces' to look very intimidating. Aside from various objects and unknown devices filling the rooms empty space a bit, there wasn't much else. But not standing very far from the table, dressed in a regal looking black and blue suit was a man looking in his thirties. He had black hair, but the underside of his hair was blue with a almost neon glow to it, giving a strange looking appearance. His eyes were a blueish green, almost emerald. He was wearing a high tech looking eye piece that was put on his ear, where the lens went over the eye. "Lord Nightngale, a pleasure to see you again."
Victor raised his hand at that in a dismissing sort of way. "There is no need for that, Victor is fine." He then turned to Skylos, and gave a slight bow. "A pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty of Terra 002's light human realm, and savior of reality. I'm Victor Nightngale, ruler of our Terra, and leader of the World Savers." It seemed Victor already had a great deal of respect for Skylos right off the bat.
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Post by Skylos on Jun 5, 2022 12:33:11 GMT -5
Somewhat embarrassed, Skylos held up his hands and shook them side to side in a dismissive way. "That's... far too formal for me. Haha... Please, just call me Skylos. I insist." After regaining his composure, he gave a slight bow. "It's nice to meet you, Victor. You seem to have a rather nice Terra from what I've seen so far." Smiling, he hoped to make a warm impression on Victor. He didn't know anything about the Pantechs here, so hopefully he seemed genuine.
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Post by Aqua on Jun 5, 2022 13:38:14 GMT -5
Victor gave a warm smile. "If you insist. We seem to be much alike in that sense, fancy titles to me are pointless, but...one must put on a bit of a show when your in such a position." He laughed slightly. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Skylos." Skylos then commented on the Terra itself. "We try to keep up on everything here, so I'm glad to hear that. Outside of diplomatic meetings, I barely go off world anymore, so I'm not able to enjoy the sights as I'd like. I would like to return the sentiment someday with your own Terra." It seemed that Victor shared the same kindness and good nature as Eric, which was clearly a plus. Much better then to be looked at as an enemy.
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Post by Skylos on Jun 5, 2022 14:11:51 GMT -5
Skylos gave a nod of the head. "I try not to leave my Terra too much myself. Omni has always been on us for meddling and such. Unfortunately, sometimes it gets to the point where we can't turn a blind eye to it... Him either." And that was why he was here now. A Terra-hopping assassin was quite bothersome. Where will he strike next? "That being said, I always like visiting other Terrae. They're all so remarkably different, but also kind of the same." It was nice to see familiar faces. It was sometimes bittersweet as well.
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Post by Aqua on Jun 5, 2022 14:33:37 GMT -5
Victor nodded. "I never liked to meddle, but I always found it interesting to see the many different Terra. You could say it inspired me to do something different with our own." He paused for a second, shifting gears to Skylos' former statement. "But regarding the issue that Omni speaks of, I understand that viewpoint, I myself shared it long ago, but...As time passed, the Terra began to fill with the likes that would go anywhere and cause no end of problems. After having a threat or two attack this Terra back when it wasn't so developed from other Terra is when I decided that I should take more preventative measures. Peace of a Terra matters nothing to off worlders that wish to cause trouble...sometimes with levels of strength a Terra isn't equipped to deal with."
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Post by Skylos on Jun 5, 2022 14:46:08 GMT -5
Granted, it was only the strong that could hop Terra on their own. Someone wandering around the Nexus was either bored of their Terra or... really bored of their Terra. Come to think of it, why would anyone leave the comforts of home? "Sounds like we need a screening process at the Nexus." Skylos then pointed out. The Nexus sort of did this. Laying your hands on the Nexus 'took you where you were meant to be'. Did the Nexus think that off-worlders were OK? It's not like it sent people home every time.
"We've had a few off-worlders cause problems for us, too. We even had a problem-person leave to conquer Reality. I guess it's hard for some people to be satisfied with life once they realize they're but a small speck in the grand schemes. It's hard for me to emphasize with them. I have a lot to do on one Terra, let alone 501." Or 3,507 if we're really going big. Oh...But there's another Series now... I guess it only has one Terra? 3,508...? He wondered if Omni had figured it out yet. It seemed up his alley for things. My brain is really getting off-topic now. Focus, Skylos. "I can only imagine what destruction he got away with before he finally got his comeuppance." He frowned. he felt somewhat responsible, given that he had come from his own Terra.
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Post by Aqua on Jun 5, 2022 14:59:10 GMT -5
"I believe it does, but it's almost like a neutral ground. One can't rightly control the Nexus, our blockades of it from time to time only can happen when the needed Terra are in agreement." Skylos then continued, as Victor nodded in agreement. "You must refer to that war lord, Yamiken. He came here once, tried to demand control of our Terra in a peaceful surrender, but backed off once he learned the full scope of our forces. He said he'd return with forces I'd never dream of, but it seems that won't be an issue any longer." He paused for a second. "The Oda's are...or were rather, normally a handful. Yamiken wasn't the first Oda to try this, ours did too before he met his end to our World Savers. People like him can never have enough, and it's why they try to take over other worlds. But this is the reason why I pursue this path I'm on. Not for conquest, but unified order. To prevent ant Terra's own evils to effect others. Which...is somewhat hard for me to say, considering the trouble I've helped create myself..."
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