After the very near blowing up of the simulated battlefield, the pair retired upstairs for a bit to rest and recover. Well, at least Born-In-War wished to. Envoy was stuck wondering if she traveled in time or not. Icarus and Thorndike were busy working on something or other, so that did give the pair time to rest without incident.

Before long they are heading back down into the simulated battlefield and the gaping hole in its floor. "So the remains are down below, then?" Born-In-War signs as they enter the battle area.

"Yes," Envoy says, pointing to the 'hole' made by using the floor to make the hand that holds the old Titan. "I can lower you down in the hover-tub, or… there's probably a crane or something around here."

"Hover tub?" Born-In-War signs as his brow arches questioningly.

Envoy goes over to where the floating bathtub is stashed behind an overturned vehicle, and pushes it out. "I know it looks cobbled together, what with the rope and the gravity disc and it being a bathtub, but it's reasonably safe if not terribly dignified."

Born-In-War stares at the odd contraption for a rather long time. "Do you have a mission in life to create the oddest things possible? Or is it that you attract the bizarre?" he finally asks in sign.

"Is… is that a rhetorical question?" Envoy asks. "I didn't have time to create something more practical. I'm saving that for the big flying version."

"If you claim it is safe, then it will do," Born-In-War relents and actually sighs. "Just do not tell anyone that I traveled in this thing. I have a reputation to maintain."

With a shake of his head, Born-In-War climbs into the tub and sits down. His left ear flicks a few times and he looks annoyed.

"I'm pretty sure this will work," Envoy says, as she starts pushing the tub towards the hole. "It will just drift down… but hold on just in case," she warns, as she shoves it out over the abyss.

Drift is an understatement. The tub practically drops like a rock! If Silent-Ones could talk, Envoy would likely be cursed in creative ways, instead she is inundated with a rapidly fading feline yowl as the tub disappears into the abyss!

Envoy eeps, and jumps down after it!

It is still dark down here and that makes it hard to see the tub dropping … but she somehow manages to spot it. When it is about thirty feet from the floor, the tub begins to slow drastically. It ends up landing very lightly on the floor where it hovers only a few inches off the ground.

Transferring a held spell to her horn to make it glow, Envoy circles down to land next to the tub. "I suppose it might need some adjustment," she admits apologetically.

Poor Born-In-War is sitting in the tub with a death-grip on the tub walls. His spotted fur is also puffed out to its maximum, which ends up rather impressive given he's descended from a savanna cat. Once the snarl on his face loosens, his ears start twitching. It then takes a minute for him to pry his hands off the tub before he can sign, "Yes, it does. I am beginning to question your fitness to be a mother."

"What? But it was safe!" Envoy pleads. "Don't tell me your daughters wouldn't have thought it was a fun ride."

"That is the problem. Mothers are not supposed to be fun," Born-In-War signs. Somehow he manages to make it seem gruff and yet … not terribly serious on the matter. He finally climbs the rest of the way out of the tub.

To help visibility, Envoy casts a Fluoresce Enchantment on the chamber itself, hoping there are enough exposed fluorescent minerals to provide some light… even if only blacklight.

Now the entire room is bathed in an eerie purple. Anything white seems to glow … so Envoy is quite luminescent right now!

"The remains are… uh… this way," Envoy says, heading in the remembered direction and hoping the bones glow enough to be able to find them all.

The good thing is the bones do glow enough that Envoy is able to locate them. Born-In-War is right behind her. The Silent-One's head tilts slightly when he spots the remains. His brow also rolls a bit oddly as if fighting off a variety of emotions. Without signing anything he kneels down beside the remains. He reaches out and runs his hand just over the rib cage, stopping at the point where the bones were warped by a gravity 'bullet'. "This would have been a gruesome wound," he finally signs.

Envoy looks for the Silent-Ones data pad, and also keeps her eye out for another ghostly visit from Fearless-Eye as well. "Yes. It was a gravity burst from a Sifran… servitor," she notes.

"And they removed one of his hands," Born-In-War adds as he continues to examine the corpse. The datapad isn't too far from the body, but with the way its screen now flickers, it may not be entirely functional anymore.

Picking it up anyway, Envoy is about to try and activate it, when she first asks, "Can you recover data from one of these after the power has run out?"

"Data is stored in in a three-dimensional crystal matrix. The content does not degrade, even with the loss of power. Unless it is shattered, data integrity is constant," Born-In-War signs and looks up and then at the pad. "Is it anything of significance?"

"Yes," Envoy admits. "His last moments are recorded on it."

Born-In-War considers that. "Was it honorable?" he finally asks in sign.

Envoy ponders this. "I don't know," she admits. "He was angry, if that matters. His death was sudden and unexpected."

"That is better than slow torture," Born-In-War notes as he starts to extend his hand towards Envoy. The chamber suddenly feels a lot colder to her. In fact, is is colder, she can see wisps of condensing moisture form from Born-In-War's breath.

"Uh oh," Envoy notes as she hands over the pad. "We may… " she starts to say, then realizes she has no idea how Silent-Ones would react to ghosts.

"We may what?" Born-In-War signs as he takes the data pad and stands. Just over his shoulder Envoy spots the shimmering outline of another Silent-One. A very angry-looking one, at that…

"Look behind you," Envoy suggests, rather than try to explain.

Born-In-War barely has time to move before the translucent Silent-One launches forward and looks like he pounces Born-In-War! The spotted cat jerks violently and lets out a curdling yowl of pain. His legs shake, then buckle and he collapses to his knees. The datapad falls to the ground and slides away, though thankfully it does not break. Born-In-War takes several deep breaths and then starts to growl.

"Born-In-War!" Envoy cries, and rushes forward to try and steady the man. "Or… Fearless-Eye? You really shouldn't possess your descendant without asking first."

Envoy is suddenly greeted by a really strong hand gripping her throat. It begins to squeeze as the growling growls louder. As Born-In-War's head slowly lifts up, Envoy finds herself looking into two bloodshot, and angry, looking eyes.

Unable to speak, Envoy signs, "I am not your enemy! Dr. Von Bronson is my enemy as well as yours."

The fact that a rather disturbing-looking alien is signing in his own language actually gives the cat pause. The grip on her throat even begins to ease up, which is good since it was coming dangerously close to breaking the bones that line her throat. Envoy takes in a deep breath. "What do you want, Fearless-Eye?" she signs. "The body you inhabit is that of your great-grandson, Born-In-War, Ambassador to the Expedition in New Zion."

"I want blood," 'Fearless-Eye' signs in harsh, snapping, motions. "I want the destruction of the abominations created by that … human" The last word is signed in such a way as if to imply humans are some sort of horrid disease.

"I cannot give it to you," Envoy signs back. "Only one lives, and he is an innocent. Von Bronson also lives, somehow. I will hunt him."

"Give me the one. He is not innocent, he exists," Fearless-Eye demands.

"He is a son to me, who cannot have children of her own," Envoy signs back. "There is no honor in killing a child who has done no harm."

Envoy feels a tickle, the prickly sensation when the probability field is being manipulated. The prickle grows stronger … and that's when she sees it, a distorted orb made of bluish light dropping straight down from the hole far above. It shows no sign of slowing down.

Icarus, if that's you… I will be cross later, Envoy thinks. "Please release me," she signs. "I am ally to your descendant, who has come to see that you are given proper rest."

"Honor? What honor exists in being made of stolen flesh!?" Fearless-Eye demands.

"Honor is not in how one is born, or made," Envoy replies. "It is in how one acts and lives their life."

The bluish orb slams into the floor, actually cracking it in several places and forming a small crater in its wake! The force of the impact is enough to knock Fearless-Eye's grip free from Envoy's neck and send the Silent-One falling backwards onto his butt. Of course, Envoy also falls backwards on her butt, too!

"Ow!" Envoy complains, and turns to the impact crater to see if there's going to be a new problem to deal with or not.

The orb flickers out of existence. In its center is a kneeling humanoid … someone Envoy suspected: Icarus. In the black-lit chamber his white fur glows both bright and creepy. The silver hair and spotting looks near black, only adding to the oddity of his appearance down here. He rises and looks towards both Envoy and the Silent-One. His iris are shifting wildly in color and the white sclera is shining in the same way his fur does. He's wearing some sort of odd vambrace on his right arm in which Envoy can make out the Moebius-strip battery strapped onto it by several metal bands and rivets. "I heard screaming," he says as his tail flicks around behind him in agitation. "I'm not letting you be hurt again."

"He can't hurt me, Icarus," Envoy says. "He's… a memory. The spirit of Fearless-Eye. He just wants closure."

"Abomination! Fearless-Eye signs rapidly as his lips draw back in a terrifying snarl of anger. His ancestry soon shows itself in full as the Silent-One launches at the hybrid child with surprising speed. The feeling in the air is cold and angry. Anger at everything, from being violated to dying alone in this forgotten place. All of that anger is centered on just one thing … killing the violation of flesh before him.

"No!" Envoy yelps and casts her last spell, Gravity, to create a zero-gravity zone that the Silent-One should only be able to flail around helplessly in… if his momentum isn't too high.

The Silent-One abruptly stops a few inches away from Icarus. There he snarls as he makes rather futile swipes at the hybrid before him. Icarus stands there and watches Fearless-Eye. It's hard to say in the light, but somehow the child seems sad.

Hurrying over, Envoy says, "It's a spirit, Icarus, not the real person. It… can't really change."

"It's … " Icarus says as he shakes his head, " … looking into the eyes of the remnants of the person who was my father. He felt that way before he died, right? Hated that I was made from him. I don't even know why it makes me feel sick inside, but it does."

"His hand was stolen, and he was thrown away to die," Envoy explains. "He had no reason not to be angry, but it was just poor fortune that he died while feeling that way."

"Do you think he would have felt differently if he had met me?" Icarus asks, "I don't look a lot like them, just … hints." The Silent-One continues to flail violently within its gravity isolation bubble. He never comes close to actually hitting either of them.

"I think that he would like you, just like Born-In-War and his family do," Envoy says, smiling. She turns to the flailing cheetah and ponders how to deal with the situation. "I don't know how to perform an exorcism, and your gravity effects may actually reinforce the spirit by increasing the ambient magic field. However, it may be bound by proximity… so maybe moving Born-In-War further away will break Fearless-Eye's grip."

"I could try to cancel out all the fields around him," Icarus suggests. "If moving doesn't work, I guess."

"Hmmm," Envoy goes, thinking. She knows that certain types of wards can actually neutralize magic in an area, temporarily. Also, the Sifran crystal can be used to disrupt spirits… but she hasn't heard of it being used in cases of possession. "Let's try changing altitude first," she suggests, pointing up towards the hole in the ceiling.

"You want to move him, or do you want me to?" Icarus asks and looks upward.

"I… can't move him," Envoy notes, rotating her forearms a bit. "I have no control over my implants… at least, not in any reliable sense. It will have to be you."

"But it's not that ha… " Icarus starts to say but quickly notices Envoy looking at her own arms. "Okay, I'll do it," he agrees. He extends his right arm forward and the light within the Moebius strip bolted to the vambrace begins to cycle and seemingly trace along the path. The air around the Silent-One seems to shimmer, but it is more the effect of light being bent by altering gravitic waves. Up the floating Silent-One then goes. "How high?" Icarus asks.

"Until he stops looking angry," Envoy says, spreading her wings and preparing to launch. "At least to the next chamber."

"Uh, I can't see where to put him in the next chamber," Icarus points out. "I'm stuck down here."

Envoy blinks at this. "You jumped down without planning for a means to get back up?" she asks, shaking her head. Then she points to the hover-tub. "You could use that again."

"Well, I figured I could push myself back up, but you might get mad if I tried," Icarus admits. "I wasn't sure the accelerated drop would work when I did it. I thought it would, but, well… "

The Aeolun frowns. "Why did you rush ahead then if you weren't sure you wouldn't go splat?" she asks, sounding a bit disappointed.

"Because you were in trouble?" Icarus offers.

"I was not in trouble," Envoy insists. "The spirit was not angry with me, it was just angry."

"You were too!" Icarus argues. Meanwhile, Fearless-Eye is still going up and getting close to the hole.

"This is not the time to argue," Envoy says, and points up. "Follow in the tub," she instructs and then takes flight herself, trying to catch up to the bubble.

Icarus grumbles, but heads to the tub anyway and hops in. Soon he's heading up after Envoy. After a short trip, they're all three back up in the battlefield. The Silent-One is limp and seemingly unconscious.

"Set him down, and remove the field," Envoy requests, preparing to move in close once the gravity bubble disperses. She takes a crystal from one of her pockets, intent on pressing it to Silent-One's head in hope of disrupting any residual spirit presence.

Icarus settles the tub down first and hops out. The gravity bubble is lowered to the floor and its effects slowly dissipated so that the Silent-One is gently set down. "Okay, so … " Icarus says and looks confused at Envoy's producing of a crystal.

Envoy moves in and presses the crystal to Born-In-War's forehead, figuring his mask isn't going to block any effects. "Can you hear me, Born-In-War?" she asks.

"Why are you pressing a stone to my head?" born-In-War signs and his glove echoes. "And why am I on the floor?"

"I take it from this that your memory has a gap," Envoy notes. "Please tell me the last thing you remember?"

"You asked me if data could be recovered from a three dimensional memory unit," Born-In-War signs.

"I see," Envoy says. "For the last few minutes, you were… possessed… by the spirit of Fearless-Eye – although by 'spirit' I am referring to a term used in magic, and not religion. Because of your relationship to Fearless-Eye, it was able to take control of you until you were moved beyond its reach… or until it exhausted itself. The crystal is just a precaution; Sifran crystals have been know to have disruptive effects on spirits."

Born-In-War eyes Envoy. "I do not remember you drinking at lunch," he finally signs, apparently not believing a word of it.

Icarus snickers.

Envoy blinks. "You've seen me do remarkable things beyond your understanding of science and technology, haven't you?" she asks, a bit hurt sounding. "Yet you assume my explanations are nonsense. How would you account for your lapse in memory, Born-In-War?"

"I passed out. Possibly due to low oxygen levels in he chamber below. Carbon Dioxide is heavier than a typical nitrogen/oxygen atmosphere and tends to sink to the low points of an area," Born-In-War offers as his explanation. "It may also cause hallucinations."

"I did not pass out, nor did Mr. Thorndike when we explored the area earlier," Envoy points out. "And my mere presence is hardly as intoxicating as it once was when I was possessed by the Goddess of Pleasure. Nor did I hit you on the head with a frying pan. This can be tested by returning to the lower chamber, of course – only this time with this crystal taped to your head for safety."

"You are an exceedingly stubborn woman," Born-In-War signs just before pushing himself up into a sitting position. "It explains much."

"Stubborn is only half of it," Icarus mutters. The young hybrid is fighting back a grin, too.

"It is not stubbornness when I am correct," Envoy claims. "Now hold this against your forehead," she tells Born-In-War, transferring the crystal to the Silent-One's 'non-speaking' hand.

"I expect I look silly," Born-In-War remarks as he holds the crystal to his forehead. "My kind does not have a horn."

"No, but the drone down there would want to stick one in you," Icarus offers. This earns the hybrid a rather odd look from the Silent-One.

"What drone?" Born-In-War asks.

"There'll be time to explain that later," Envoy says. "Now, no more silliness. Get in the magical flying bathtub and Icarus will pilot it down this time."