End of Infinity IC

Zal-Tek got up, still slightly dazed. He took a short moment to stop falling over, then focused. Sairei had said something about putting shields up. He couldn't argue with that. He shook his head forcefully one last time before casting a bright golden shield, more powerful that before. He knew he wouldn't be able to dodge quite perfectly, and preferred not to take the blast from one of those beams head on.

That done, he looked up at the dragon. He was less than pleased with their progress so far, and, while he really didn't want to abandon everyone in this world, he wondered if he should just head home...
No way.
"I'm hoping you have a plan now?"

Zal-Tek looked at her for a moment. The last person alive.. made sense. Then her actual question struck him.
He snorted.
"Nah, I don't even live here," he said almost casually. But a lot of other people had... he tried not to think about it. He had seen worse, hadn't he? Maybe not.

Zal-Tek fought to keep his shields from dying out. Space?! He couldn't talk, some combination of shock and concentration on his shields prevented him. He fed more magic into the shield, trying to get the choking feeling to stop, before he realized that it was more from the effort of holding the shields than it was lack of them. He squeezed his eyes shut.

And then it stopped. Instantly he dropped his shield, the glow around him and in his eyes died out completely, and he went halfway limp, breathing hard. He opened his eyes.

Veriska chuckled at the explosion. In the aftermath she relocated the duo. Then they took off into high orbit.

Veriska cupped her mouth and yawned boredly. She saw a portal open ahead of their path, and to her surprise Veriska heard "Get out of here!" in her head. Veriska responds by laughing maniacally, as she shadow walks though the portal at the last instant.

Zal-Tek looked around, clearly surprised and even somewhat amazed by Sairei's home. He took a few deep breaths.
"Yeah," he answered after a moment, "I'm fine."
That may have been just a bit optimistic. His fur was singed and he had used a lot more of his magic than he usually did in a day. Still, he was alive, and it wouldn't take him long to recover.

Then he noticed that there were others in the area. In a split second decision he whirled to face Veriska, the less familiar of the two, and stared her down. He didn't say a word, just looked. He used a small amount of magic to try and discern her abilities and reason for being there, it was his specialty, after all, but he didn't try very hard. She could easily block him if she wanted, assuming she even noticed.

Sairei turned at her leisure.

"I see you got my invitation," she said sarcastically, her voice echoing around and bouncing off of unseen walls. "Welcome to my...humble home."

She turned to Zal-Tek for a moment.
"There's a fountain over there that will heal you, if you put a paw in it," she said, indicating empty space. After a moment, a hexagonal shaped platform faded into view. Atop it sat a bowl filled with what could only be described as liquid light.

---I'll put of a picture of what Sairei's home looks like on the OOC here in a minute--

Zal-Tek found himself unable to discern Viriska's abilities or disposition. She then returned his gaze, or what you would be her gaze if you could see her eyes. Suddenly he felt a sharp staggering pain in his head.

Viriska then turned to Sairei and responded "Cozy place you've got here. Why'd you bring it?" motioning to Zal-Tek.

Zal-Tek growled suddenly under his breath. Beaten at his own game, as if he had been trying. Still, he intended to find out what this person wanted, one way or another.

He looked at the fountain Sairei had indicated, then nodded. "Thanks," he said, walking towards the fountain, "I'm Zal-Tek, by the way." He placed one paw carefully in the fountain, and soon he was healed perfectly. It reminded him of Akai. As stuck up as she could be, he still liked her most of the time.

Anyway, there was still the matter of introductions, which he seemed to have started. Zal-Tek turned around and sat down casually where he could see everyone. He decided it would probably be a good idea not to mention what his own job was.

"A heroic darkness dragon. What a joke." Veriska taunted.

Her lips curved into a crooked smile and she said "I suppose the aura your letting off even now is your way of saving people."

"How fortunate for your sidekicks. I personally find your aura most comforting" Veriska replied coolly.

Veriska could sense Sairei's sorrow, she ran her tongue across her upper lip. Red eyes flashed briefly in the shadows of her hood,
and she continued.

"How touching. So who was it? I hope they were okay." said Veriska sweetly.

"Probably just another end to another cycle. I won't trouble you with what that means, besides I wouldn't want to take away the fun of serious searching." Veriska replied playfully.

"Why do you want to save people so bad anyways?" she said exasperatedly. "You tussled with a few of the machines while the planet burned and died, and all you have to show for it is a horned lizard."

Veriska then turned to Zal-Tek. "So how does it feel to be traded for countless innocents?" she said with a concerned smile "I wouldn't worry about it too much. Their deaths were painless... mostly."

Zal-Tek narrowed his eyes. Veriska, he noted, talked a lot like he did when he was trying to accomplish something. But what did she want? Might as well answer, though.

"Believe me I have seen death before," he said in a slightly exasperated tone, "...I have helped to stop a creature far more powerful than those robots."

He twitched his tail. It was unfortunate that she was aware of his searching, otherwise he would already have control of the situation entirely... If only he knew what she wanted.

"I thought it was your job to save people? You really need to make up your mind already" Veriska teased.

She noted Zal-Tek's body langunage and responded disdainfully "You've had a mere taste of whats to come."

"I was beginning to think you'd never ask" Veriska chided. "I have many names, mortals refer to me as Regina Umbras. Pets like yourself may address me as Veriska" she said with a curt bow.

"Those who've seen death know enough about me, knowledge is power after all." she finished in an eloquent manner.