The Superior, The Not

Floating was an endless pleasure for the Nobody. His exterior and interior held no pressure difference that Boyle would exploit - everything was nothing. Every living thing Toviyah ever encountered was leagues below his time and interest, and every material object was pale and without value. Truly, swimming in the vast indifference was his calling.

He lay suspended in a field of asteroids, hidden from most eyes. When a rock of wanton trajectory glanced Toviyah's skin, it shattered into children that resembled the parent rock, all moving with haste away from their father's executioner. His attire was without color, a grayish-black robe that, when catching sunlight, seemed to eat it rather than reflect it, an all consuming void. His eyes were closed and his focused lost to time - How many eons have I sat idle, like a dormant volcano that resents the sky, but loves the earth?

Love. Hm.

And so he sat, pondering the word and its empty meanings, realizing that he, too, might be capable of love. The words of emotion were as empty as his being.

"MAY-DAY! MAY-DAY! MAY-DAY! HULL BREACH! PREPARE FOR IMMEDIATE SEPARATION FROM COMPARTMENT B!" The crew ran rampant, the lights of their ship flickering. Each flicker and seemingly more issues popped up. They were suffocated by dismay and agony, along with mysterious disappearance. Random breaches in their hulls had turned a colony into a mere cargo ship-sized vessel. The ship itself contained a capsule prison made for unknown purposes. Being released into the space, it simply drift in space at constant, spiraling pace. The ship was torn apart and the mortal eyes that surveyed the ship had been blinded by death. The captain, panicking, had made way for his personal ejection capsule. As he took as step, vines of darkness tore through the floor beneath him, and he knew it was already over. The primaries of his crew were slain, and the ship was soon then consumed.

A seemingly invisible figure of massive proportions glided through space, and in its view had been a SOL station. D10 and Hek had been touring the station, as Lenneth had been taking a while with his own preparations, where they had noticed a growing black spot in the distance. Knowing exactly what they were about to be facing, D10 turned to Hek before pulling a handful of miniaturized spheres out of his pocket and disappearing. Hek had taken the time to commandeer a ship, awaiting his master to make the proper adjustments. They had the items he would smuggle into the prison they were heading for, but for now they needed to escape from...yet another Hekatonkheires. Before entering the ship, D10 revealed a sort of PDA, typing on it. Suddenly a slight bit of his voice echoed through the halls of SOL. "Uh, just being courteous. A giant, murderous experiment is coming towards the station and I'd suggest you all start the running and screaming. Better than doing it WHILE it's punching all of you."

Entering the ship, he turned a junk into a majestic, four-seater with a sleek design. Lifting up from the ground, he vanished into space as the blob of destruction had came upon SOL-51. D10, we can't just let that thing roam around! It's going to hunt us and destroy whatever stands in our way. I know...and I hear you...However, you know we found some of Weiss' executives in the station, it will back down. Fair enough. But he's already deployed another one, how are we supposed to know whether or not he's adapted it to our abilities? Which is why fighting it is a bad idea They glided for a while, leaving the station behind while also likely separating themselves from Lenneth accidentally. They had hit the hyper drive when suddenly...BAM!

Immediately Hek was lost in the void of space, with D10 immediately cloaking himself as he flew away from whatever the ship had hit. Blinking, he awaited the debris to clear so he could see whatever it was.

As the Gummi Ship pushed against Toviyah's skin-thick aura, he expanded it to its full capacity in a defensive reaction. Everything became still in his presence, the ship held tight and all of its red-hot momentum chilled by the Superior's will. Nothing was inside of the vessel, so Toviyah ignored it and focused on the shape of his aura, finding a humanoid figure and warping to its location.

"Heartless."

Toviyah recognized the inky form as some sort of Pseudo-Humanoid, but once he sensed its power, he was unimpressed. It was no Seeker or other godly entity that might test his own abilities. Already the Aura was eating away at it, destroying it not-so-slowly, but it was in no clear danger, for now. The Aura shaped away from the creatures being, preventing further harm but still restricting its movement. Trying to more than a few inches in any position move would cause it to fall back inside of the deadly aura and do more harm to itself.

"Can you speak? Are you the pilot of this craft?" Toviyah asked indifferently.

"I often wonder how. I often ponder what it is I am and the things I can do. Every time I see my brothers...I am reminded that I am this vessel." Hek didn't budge or move, he simply existed. Stationary, he remained docile as he continued his contemplation of existence after recognizing the threat looming over them previously had been yet another similar to himself. Yet another many-armed abomination of mindless, lustful destruction. It was a shame seeing his brethren made as slaves, but it was depressing feeling like he was a similar case. A mold off of D1, a superficial guardian but deep down, he was a monster. The public knew, which is why the worlds would never accept him.

"But a heartless? No...I am not. I am simply a being created to preserve the young master." Hek was immediately silent after his words, though not without a brief, quiet, drawn-out sigh. D10 watched from a distance, feeling Occam wanting to confront the man. It was odd that Hek was unable to move, aside from his usual willingness to simply exist rather than do so at a high pace. He would've flown much farther away. yet he remained in place near the impact, questioned by the boringly-dressed man. D10 kept wary, knowing Hek wouldn't be able to reveal them nor would he. It was far more interesting to see how the conversation would play out, especially as he was now diving into the mind of Hek as he was stuck in his melancholic state as he continually gets to see Weiss deface what he is.

"I am not the pilot, though the pilot is likely long gone. He has an important duty. Especially with him being hunted. Expect some company since we didn't get quite far enough."

At first, the Superior understand the creature, even felt kinship to the empty thing. Then it spoke of matters beneath Toviyah's interest. Duty. A meaningless word that irritated him. All of these petty ants so wrapped up in THINGS. Things are temporary, sempiternal. Taking a quick scan of the environment, the Nobody confirmed that they were, indeed, alone. What to do..

"What is this duty?" The words dropped in the silence like a dull guillotine awaiting its next partner in the dance of death.

Glancing behind him, Toviyah disregarded the threat that the being tried to describe as Hunter. It would find itself prey should it fall in the grip of nothingness.

Hek hummed, contemplating the meaning of his own words. He wasn't sure if it was apparent to Toviyah, but he often wasn't sure of what he said. He knew it had come from him, but the calculated, programmed responses often held little relation to his ever-growing self-doubt. He wasn't an organic being, certainly not normal and just barely considered a somebody. He wasn't even sure if he had a heart. Maybe the presence of life and emotion and memory meant it was so, and that is why he was more than a mindless slave.

"Something I'm not too certain of. I don't get the purpose of certain things the young master does. It's hard...with so many tasks at hand." Hek had thought about how they had to not only collect information to create the Spire in its full, truly-realized form. He wanted to see that library erected as a beacon of hope. For all great minds to peruse and learn from, making information free and open. He'd smile. If that were only possible. "Between studying the worlds and everything in between...fending off obsessed suitors wanting to take from him what makes him what he is. It's difficult watching over him, especially with his tendency to simply...abandon me. But I'm not sure if you'd understand how I feel. It's not easy not knowing who you are...or what for that matter." Hek remained silent, awaiting more questioning as the feeling of abandonment grew.

"I, like all things, am unimportant." The conversation began to wear at his patience. It was turning out to be as pointless as floating in space, but with more effort. He used to consider himself something that would spread joy and laughter, hence the form of a jester, but it was pointless. Things that once brimmed with activity and purpose simply die after time caresses the dark passenger. Toviyah placed a porcelain hand on the things chest, relaying his contempt.

"And if you were to die, here, what of your purpose? Are you replaceable, or unique?"

"That's not how you kill me."

Hek stared at Toviyah, clearly contemplating the answer as his face shifted to include some details such as indentations and different details, intensifying his pondering. But deep down inside, he knew that he was both replaceable and unique. He was the only successful iteration of his kind and D10 needed him. But he was artificial, and if D10 were to awaken D5, another Hekatonkheires could be created. "Both. I am one of a kind, but it is certainly possible to replace me. It isn't as simple as changing a table's cloth, however it is still a possibility. But you should already know that the threat of death will not provoke the reaction you might have expected. I can see it in your eyes...don't you feel empty too?" Hek tilted his head, but made sure not to move too much, maintaining his stasis.

"What is the point even? You can't expect killing someone randomly will fill your cup when there is a gaping hole at the bottom. I thankfully have a makeshift seal...without purpose, what are we? What is the point of existence? So assuming that crushing my chest works..." Hek shook his head ever-so slightly, keeping his empty, featureless head-front looking towards the nobody. "What will it accomplish? If we are all unimportant as you say....then my life or death means nothing to you, as with your life or death."

"Duality is a lie told to sheep. You are a servant who knows not the royal We." Toviyah sincerely contemplated erasing the creature from existence, but refrained. It had complied, and even interested him for a moment. But the boredom reasserted itself like a thick fog covering all passions and desire. Toviyah's field shrunk back to the inch-thick armor that surrounded his skin as his hand fell from the creature's chest, pale amber eyes trying to lighten the cloak of darkness that hid truth.

"Leave."

"Aren't these lies we tell our self? The lie of understanding. The lie of superiority." Hek still drifted, D10 still watching him. The dataloid knew that Hek genuinely felt alone. This is what it looked like to let go of a leash. Hek wasn't built to deal with this situation, he wouldn't just try drifting lightyears to search for D10. He'd only hope for some sort of vessel to pick him up out of interest. "Regardless. It doesn't matter if I move or stay here. If it is as you say, and the possibilities surface faster than I am led to believe...at the pace the young master works, I'd likely already be one of two...then three....then four. Just like those posing as my brothers that terrorize the colonies." Hek wasn't afraid of the threats the man gave. Rather, he simply didn't care.

Nobody cared about their tools once lost. They just replace them. "I didn't lie, however. It isn't a belief. I really am the only functional member of my kind. It is possible to build more, but the difficulty sustains my uniqueness. One man has already tried and has failed with those monsters that have consumed the lives of thousands." Hek sighed once more, letting it set in that he truly was alone. Uniqueness did keep him from being obsolete, but it isolated him and permanently left him alone. A new version would make him obsolete, and likely would focus on the improvements made from the original design. An aspect imprinted by mankind onto intelligent machine.

Toviyah ignored the thing's speech, keeping the amber eyes on the inky darkness that almost perfectly blended with the space behind it. Something didn't add up. It was both unique and replaceable, that's what it said, as if the replacing aspect was an annoyance or tribulation. Though his nostrils did not intake the nothingness around him, Tov smelled that fate was amiss. Something was not as it seemed, or perhaps, this creature was not what it said. Or both.

Toviyah silently scolded himself at the simple minded thinking of duality. Things are or are not.

"If it matters not, then I will simply destroy you. Make your peace." His words were soft, but in the depths of space, they echoed indefinitely. Nobody sane would allow such a (relatively) irreplaceable tool to be destroyed. So, Toviyah either waited for the desperate or would slay this being in vain. After a moment, he balled his fist and held it upwards in a Black-Panther esque fashion. If it came down, it would be this creatures guillotine.

Hek didn't move, not knowing what else to say or do. He could fight back, but then it would simply be a pointless bout of violence. "Why do you desire to kill me? Where does this desire come from? Despite my selfish feelings, it still makes no sense for you to destroy me now." Hek turned his head, looking at the man preparing to assault him. "Remember, this won't fill the void." "Stop." A white-haired, young boy had appeared from seemingly thin air, unarmed but simply floating along space. He looked at the man preparing to kill his creation. Occam's eyes were silver and radiant, staring straight at the man who felt so entitled to the execution of the distraught Hek. "He was not abandoned...I simply had not the control over the boy. I'm sorry Hek, but you aren't just a tool and Ten shouldn't mistreat you as such. Now, please move away from him and allow us to leave. We have our own issues, so unless you want the annoyance of what's coming I suggest you leave us to prepare."

Occam manifested a black armor with glowing, blue circuits running through it. From his hand, he extending a rod of metal out from it, shifting his body to show he wasn't hostile but kept an eye on Toviyah. "I know you don't get the appreciation you deserve, Hek. But you are just as important as we are. If Weiss gets a hold of you...he can simply rectify his mistakes in those beasts. Those beasts are not you, they are not your kind. So please stand." Hek allowed his body to simply drift away from Toviyah, adjusting himself to look at his master. He didn't make any fast or sudden movements, but his docile nature certainly kept him inert enough to prevent him from immediately going towards Occam.

"You are real, they have no minds to ponder like you do. The only way to replace you is to risk something akin to D1 or Aegaeon."

There it was. Toviyah smelled the newcomer's baited breath (whom had a voice that some could say resembled Tov's), but the Nobody would devour trap and all. He completely ignored their sentiments and spoke only of his interests, as was his cynical nature. "So, are you the pilot?" The words were almost spit at the appearing magician. Looking lazily over his shoulder, the Superior looked past the Gummi Ship into the infinite blackness with curiosity.

"So where is this 'annoyance' you so tiresomely speak of?"

Perhaps a plague or another danger loomed beyond the limits of his own senses. Toviyah briefly thought of limits, knowing that he had yet to truly reach his own. Perhaps some obstacle would finally push him into even further godhood, if that was possible. Or, if he was lucky, Toviyah would meet death.

"I shall erase it." His head turned back so that his pale amber eyes met the humanoid darkness as the last word escaped his lips.

It.

He hoped those words echoed with torment inside of that creature's head just as they did in the space around them. Truthfully, the magician's words were starting to irritate him - to speak to a creature as if it were more than what it was..

Toviyah hated someones much more than he hated somethings.

Occam, angry at the man for treating Hek with as much venom as he was. The circuits flared, making his armor glow stronger. He knew what it was like to be treated like an object, like he was less than what he was. People didn't understand beings like ISO's or Hek, artificial things that are just as capable as those around them, if not more capable. ISO's were certainly the latter when it came to the difference between Occam and Toviyah. The man might be terrifyingly strong, which he collected was more likely than completely fragile from his composure. What sparked his anger wasn't simply the words Toviyah used, but the tone. The very tone he'd always remember from his days in the datascape.

"Stop. I know that voice, that tone, the accent of assumption." Trembling from the memories rushing in, Occam waved his hand and suddenly Hek was warped over to his side, floating underneath his extended, armored arm. "The voice of a being who thinks taking everything won't carve negatively into the slippery slope of existence. The oppressive nature, ignorantly destroying something useful to the development of technology and mankind. Or the enslavement of mankind, who are the original oppressors. Is that what you were once part of? It seems glaringly so." As Occam spit his own venom, suddenly a small fleet of combat ships had seemingly approached the area right at that moment. They hadn't targeted the dataloid yet, but certainly they'd notice the trio soon. "We have bigger issues at hand. I suggest you run, for I am doing the same. Albeit in an unorthodox manner." He present himself and Hek , growing in size so that the ships would notice him. However, he made sure to keep a reasonable distance from Toviyah.

He was angry, but he wasn't so rude as to pull Toviyah into the fight ensuing. There were five, smaller ships each riddled with different utilities and weapons, with three cargo ships, two carrier ships and a single, massive prison. Was this the UGF? No. That logo, that of a hand with triple helix's for fingers, was definitely Weiss' PMC. "Yet another step ahead, I see." Lights shined on the Dataloid who held the figure. He might have been disguised in his armor, but the fleet knew who they had found. Suddenly, the two had been caught in a field of some sort, then vanishing. Within the Prison, they had manifested on a teleporter pad, materializing to the site of armored guards wielding electrified blades. Hek, without speaking, immediately formed a wall with his arms, morphing them to shape it into a dome around the two. A pulse of energy disrupted Hek's powers, reverting him to a normal form while suppressing the powers of the two.

Shit. I would've just warped into one of the ships. You're dumb sometimes, you know that? Yeah, don't remind me. "Occam, I know I was in a moment of pondering, but you know you could have actually tried running right?" "Yeah, I couldn't do this without you. Mostly because those swords hurt and I can't take a hit. We should avoid all communication, so be careful if there are others in this prison." Not long after, the ships prepared to warp away, unable to detect Toviyah. The duo had been separated, with Occam placed in a stasis chamber that didn't allow him to use any of his tech or abilities. Hek was in a fortified cell, which was completely sealed off, disallowing people to look in or out of the cell.