2023-07-02: Silence, A Grave Surprise

• Log: 2023-07-02 Silence Grave Surprise
• Cast: Kaworu Nagisa (ft. Duma), Zan, Liam 7-020, Chloe, Kikka Kobayashi, Lucine Azul, Gridman, Takeshi Todo, Shozo, Gai Kurenai
• Where: Tsutsujidai PLANT
• OOC - IC Date: July 2, 0097 (2023)
• Summary: The recent mass sleepwalking incidents and spacecraft hijackings seem to lead back to the Tenth Angel, lurking on the other side of the Tsutsujidai PLANT. To make sure of what's going on, investigators from both NERV and the Shuffle Alliance set out to inspect things for themselves. Includes follow-up NERV reports at the end.

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<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

        The Eleventh Angel, Sahaquiel, has been defeated. However, the Tenth Angel, Duma, still remains.
        
        This is the first time to the public's knowledge that the Angels have been killed out of sequence. (A few would know better. But they aren't here to explain, and are unlikely to even if they were.) The Tenth Angel, formerly colloquially known as the Glow Cloud, has been known to be an Angel for some time, but they haven't been hostile until now... or so it had seemed. However, the mass sleepwalking incidents that have been plaguing the Earth and its orbiting colonies, the increase in spacecraft 'hijackings'... Those people and those crafts have shown up here, on the other side of the Tsutsujidai PLANT. If Duma's involved, what peaceful explanation could there be?
        
        Well... what indeed? That's the point of the investigation. Duma had been transmitting strange anti-sound signals for a couple of months, and in that time, people have been taking crafts--sometimes stolen, sometimes their own--and coming here in them. Life support has kept them alive so far, particularly since they seem to be in a strange state of sleepwalking where their brains and bodies are in the lowest activity level possible, but for some of them, it's been quite a long while. They must be at their limits. Oddly, though Tsutsujidai residents have at times suffered mass sleepwalking incidents, none of them have wandered off. But then, they're already in the Tsutsujidai PLANT, aren't they?
        
        However, ever since Sahaquiel appeared several days ago, Duma has gone silent, no longer sending out their null-song. When they had faced the Ninth Angel's second iteration, it had given them a warning shot. Had they feared drawing Sahaquiel's attention in a similarly negative way? Even now that the Eleventh Angel is dead, Duma seems withdrawn... or at least, their diaphonous mass is still shrunk in on itself, their ever-shifting colors are muted and grayed, and they still aren't sending out their signal.
        
        Even the spacecrafts that have gathered around them are now clustered closer to them. Indeed, the strange lightning-like tendrils that snake throughout their hazy form brush over the crafts from time to time; they seem to be in the process of arranging them into some kind of pattern or shape around themselves.
        
        In other words, they seem to be distracted. Perhaps it's a good opportunity for someone--or several someones--to get closer and try to see what exactly is going on here, and what Duma's involvement and intentions really are.

<Pose Tracker> Zan has posed.

As one of the few that has been able to keep an eye on Duma, Zan has undoubtedly been tagged for primary transportation. Secondary is loaded into his bays as he starts to move towards approach at a slow pace.

Connected to the Iron Railer, it shows no hostile weaponry at all even if Duma might know it turns into a giant robot capable of taking it and other Angels on to a degree.

The approach is slow, easy going, and very much as non-hostile as Zan can make it seem.

As it approaches, Zan transmits to any inside waiting by small shuttles to help out just for this purpose and in case things go very insane. "This is new. I do not remember it repositioning the ships as it appears to be."

Careful scans commence from Zan's end as well as making sure some sensors can be used by others. He's checking to make sure nothing has changed from initial readings among other things.

<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.

        Liam is still coming down from yesterday. He spent most of the flight up strapped into his seat, listening to calming white noise on his phone. More than once, he drifted off to sleep. Part of it is mounting weariness, and part of it is feeling safe here, inside the expanded frame of a comrade. As they draw closer to Tsutsujidai, though, Liam takes out the earbuds and stows the phone in its insulated pouch.

        "...It looks different," Liam says, looking past the field of spacecraft at the Angel itself. "Stay alert. Might be quiescent now, but that can change. I'm going to gear up for EVA."

        About ten minutes and one preflight check later, one of the shuttles maneuvers out into the void. Liam inches it closer to the field of ships, and starts a scan. Visually, he's checking them against records of missing craft--and inspecting them for signs of damage, weird readings, and anything else of note. "If they've been out here long enough, they might need food and water," Liam says. "And I... would Duma even know that?"

<Pose Tracker> Chloe has posed.

        After returning from the thankfully successful defense of Tokyo-3, Chloe had only a short amount of time to recover while her Makhia was repaired. Then she and it were shipped off to the nearby 'La Tour' Orbital Elevator. Now that the destination of the hijacked shuttle had been confirmed, Prometheus command had decided it fell to her to retrieve it, the missing citizens, and find out what the hell was going on.

        So. With a rapid ascent up the tower, followed by some waiting for bureaucratic nonsense... Followed by some MORE waiting due to a mix-up with cargo assignments and thus her eighty meter tall mobile weapon getting confused with a shipment of carrots leading to it going to the wrong section of the tower. Followed by YET MORE waiting in the form of some orbital maneuvers...

        ... After all that, Chloe FINALLY rendezvouses with the NERV team being led by that Super AI whom Chloe recalls encountering a couple of times now. And as such, her machine now floats slowly through space not far from said AI.

        Chloe herself is mostly leaving the maneuvers to the simple autopilot, so is not currently connected to the usual control mechanism of her unit. Instead she walks up to one of the holographic consoles. A keyboard appears and she taps in a few commands while listening to the others over the radio. It doesn't take long to confirm that one of the craft in the formation is the one she's after.

        Tapping in some more commands, Chloe replies to Liam, <"Assuming they're still alive."> Chloe starts checking for signs of life across all the vessels.

<Pose Tracker> Kikka Kobayashi has posed.

Ever since joining Shuffle intelligence, Kikka's been taking her work as an investigator a lot more seriously. Kai'd already went missing, so when she saw there was a huge round of missing person cases, she immediately perked up.

As far as she could tell - this wasn't going to get her any leads about Kai, these cases don't seem to have Doctor Murasame's hands on them at all. But it wouldn't feel right to ignore a bunch of people who might possibly be in danger.

So she's tagged along with Gridman and his friends, offering her skill as 'Spade-8' to figure out what is going on with these people.

...She did at least read up on the basics of the case on the way, as she sits in a non-descript Shuffle transport. "...So every single case has been preceded by bouts of sleepwalking, and although people from Tsutsujidai do sleepwalk, none of them have been kidnapped?" She speaks aloud, as if to clarify to herself.

"I know a little bit of what makes Tsutsujidai tick, I think... you're like its guardian angel, right?" That part is directed at Gridman, of course.

"...And the people over at NERV think it might be the work of one of those 'Angels'?" She also read about the near-catastrophic colony drop-like attack from yesterday. "I dunno... I've never seen missing people cases like this one. Even if people collectively acting in strange ways is more common than you'd think!"

<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.

        'I would know an angel when I saw one.' Wasn't that what Lucine told Kaworu once? Such boasts are bound to be challenged eventually, given the Angels' very nature as being anything but expected.

        Forget about being careful about 'not opening the door', Lucine had been freely extending her mind to a secret Angel the entire time, and she hadn't been the only one. Was it all a ruse to lure humanity in, or was Duma genuinely curious in a way someone like Jophiel wasn't?

        < ".... Do you... think the G... I mean, Duma, knows that Sahaquiel was defeated...?" > Piloting the Dianthus, the soft-spoken pilot gazes out at the display from a safe distance. < "... It's... different than the Angels NERV is familiar with, so perhaps... That's why it's not as active..." > She treads the subject carefully; Sahaquiel's body nearly created a disastrous facsimile of a colony drop.

        The topic changes to the survivors inside. < ".... They could be. Assuming they've been somehow set in a state of hibernation... it's still early enough to hope they're still alive." > Limiting her band to just Liam this time, Lucine continues. < ".... Maybe I can get closer and see if I sense any mental signals. If I start acting strangely, deploy one of the faster crafts to intercept me. I can't judge how close I need to be before I can sense them..." >

        The Dianthus was a conscious choice; Duma may hopefully remember the craft, and be less likely to respond to it.

        .......... Then again, how could she assume Duma reasons in such a way? Better to be in something she's more confident will escape.

<Pose Tracker> Gridman has posed.

It's been a long weekend.

Gridman returned to Tsutsujidai quickly after Sahaquiel's demise, only staying in Tokyo-3 long enough to reassure himself of the safety of his friends. He's been quiet. Despite Max's gentle urging, Gridman hasn't wanted to talk about what happened.

In the past few weeks, the Gridman Alliance have been investigating the strange disappearances of the outside world. It was a low-priority mission, until Vit came across the missing spacecraft on Duma's 'half' of the PLANT while on patrol. After reporting to the Shuffle Alliance, they left the situation alone, until today.

Now, sitting in a Shuffle shuttle next to Spade-8, Gridman, Vit, and Borr approach the Glow Cloud. Despite his distant expression, Gridman comes back to reality as Kikka speaks to him.

"That's right, Spade-8." Vit answers, giving Gridman a second to realize what's going on. "If anyone from Tsutsujidai had gone missing, we would've acted a lot sooner."

Gridman flushes softly, scratching at the side of his cheek. "A guardian angel? I don't know if I'm worth that high praise... But we do our best!"

Borr barks out a laugh from their place at the window. "He means 'yes'."

"Borr... Come on." Gridman laughs softly, only sounding a little forced. "And Vit, you make it sound like we only care about Tsutsujidai..! Uh." A shake of his head, setting red hair softly cascading side-to-side. "You've got all that right, Spade-8. Oh, you can just call me Gridman. The one at the window's Borr, and this guy's Vit."

Borr raises a hand, and Vit inclines his head.

"I've heard that Duma's an Angel, but he's never acted like the other ones I've seen." Gridman murmurs, looking down at his lap. "He's never hurt anyone. He's tried to protect Tsutsujidai. I really hope nobody's going to try and hurt him..."

Or that they're going to be forced to hurt him today, Gridman adds, mentally.

"Here, check this out." Gridman pulls out his phone -- a squishy red Oshansoo-san -- and swipes through his photos. The picture he selects features Gridman himself, holding up a bottle of Ramune. The Glow Cloud hovers behind him, seemingly 'holding' a bottle of his own. The strangest thing in the picture, despite the otherworldly creature, is Gridman's eyes. They're blue in the photograph, as opposed to their brilliant yellow now.

"See? He's totally gentle. He came by the park and we all hung out." Gridman frowns. "I don't know what he wants with all these people."

<Pose Tracker> Takeshi Todo has posed.

It would not be a terrible stretch to say that Tsutsujidai, even now as it hangs in the sky as a PLANT, was a temporary home for the Hyper Agent known as Gridman Sigma (aka Takeshi Todo, But Not The Orange One). But it was a home nonetheless. Duma's presence in the area had been... something of a lingering concern, as a result. Of course, Duma had been relatively quiet until recently, and even when it had become active, its behavior was so far removed from that of 'normal' Angels that NERV had elected to take a Wait And See approach.

...Besides, it's not like it's the first technicolor mind-manipulator to have taken up residence in Tsutsujidai.

But now its behavior had shifted again, and so it's come time to investigate. This time, the soft spoken technical officer from GGG has decided to take a somewhat more hands-on approach to the situation.

After all, it's not every day that one gets the chance to observe-- and perhaps even communicate with-- something like an Angel in person. Especially not one that had been... relatively benign.

The Hyper Agent sits with his hands folded over the keyboard of his portable terminal, patient eyes gazing intently at the muted iridesence of the once vivid cloud. "I wonder if it mourns the death of its sibling," Sigma muses aloud. "Perhaps this behavior is... grieving? Hm."

<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

        Going in with no weaponry is just as well, considering there aren't any Evangelions available currently, all of them having been damaged to greater or lesser degrees during the battle with Sahaquiel. The investigation was almost canceled as a result, but Kaworu gave it the green-light in his capacity as administrator, saying that Duma has been non-aggressive so far and should remain non-aggressive going forward as long as they're careful.
        
        Of course, they do all have standing orders to retreat immediately if things seem to go sour. In the end, Duma is still an Angel, and with no Evangelion present, they have no way of penetrating their A.T. Field. If this were anything more than an investigation, it probably wouldn't have been green-lit in the first place. Commander Ikari and Col. Katsuragi had agreed that learning more about the Angels, and specifically about what this Angel is doing, is a priority now that the Eleventh Angel is dead, though.
        
        For now, Duma doesn't pay Zan and the Iron Railer, or really any of the other approaching independent crafts. At least, they don't seem to. With no face and as alien a body as you can get, there's not a good way of processing what they have and haven't noticed. The scans do ping as same as before, for both Zan and Liam: life signals inside those crafts that Duma's rearranging--organizing?--though their brain waves are in delta, indicating they're fast asleep. If there's any change, it's that there aren't any signs of anyone moving around at present.
        
        The spacecraft themselves are in good condition--no damage, save whatever dings and dents they might've sustained on the way here, and that would already be recorded in Zan's observations up 'til now. When Liam launches in EVA to get a closer and more detailed scan, he'll find several of them do match up to reports of stolen crafts, and the rest match up with reports of missing craft. Chloe does indeed confirm that one of them is the shuttle that was stolen from her home; her scans for life are blessedly positive, all the missing citizens present and accounted for. ...but also seemingly fast asleep. There are a handful of mobile suits with no match at all--crafts that belonged to people who weren't missed, perhaps.
        
        Does Duma understand that Lilim need food and water, though? That's a good question, isn't it? The idea that they might be grieving Sahaquiel isn't an idea without merit, either--especially given what happens next.
        
        For as the Dianthus approaches and Lucine extends her mind to touch those of the sleeping people, all of them human, Duma does recognize it--discernible by how it suddenly stills--and their scrunched-up form expands, the greyed colors brightening and scintillating into brilliant sunrise pinks and oranges, lightning-like appendages swaying, some fast, some slow. Several of them reach out towards Dianthus, but they don't grab hold of the mech; rather, they brush up against the chassis and coax it forward, as if inviting them to join. More will extend to the others in the same gentle seeming-invitation as they approach, perhaps supporting Gridman's assertion that Duma means no harm, but it's Lucine who is approached first.
        
        Whether she or anyone else assumes this is a gentle invitation or not is another story, of course.

<Pose Tracker> Shozo has posed.

Shozo sits on the seat next to Borr, kicking his legs out quietly at odd intervals. For his part, he certainly doesn't look *concerned* as the shuttle crosses the inky expanse of space.

"Borr, are you guys going to have to kill this one too?" A relatively innocent question -- certainly not *accusatory*, but... Oogh, Shozo, buddy.

Without waiting for an answer, Shozo hops out of his seat, and decides to walk over to "Takeshi," looking him up and down with those unsettling, alien eyes. His expression remains totally blank as he slowly takes out from his pocket... a metal fork, lifting it up to the body-swapped hyper agent's face. An offer, of some sort. A gesture of goodwill, even... though, Shozo doesn't always remember that for most people, forks aren't *snacks*.

<Pose Tracker> Chloe has posed.

        <"It may be acting different, but the evidence shows it is still an Angel. It may simply be trying a different tactic, given that frontal assault is clearly not working. We should be no less cautious with it.">

        Or the others who appear to also be investigating the strange goings on. The Shuffle shuttle registers on the Makhia's sensors. Though it doesn't appear hostile, so there's probably no need to bring out the guns. Probably for the best if reports about this Angel, that Chloe was able to skim over on her travel here, are accurate.

        Though Chloe does warn the rest of the NERV team, <"We're not alone out here.">

        Confirming the presence of the shuttle she's after, Chloe considers simply grabbing it and making the trip back. That would technically accomplish the goal of retrieving it and the people on board. Unfortunately though, part of her mission her is to try and find out what's going on. Which will require more investigation.

        While Chloe is pondering her next move, the Angel reaches out towards the group. Chloe quickly taps in a few commands, causing her machine to float backwards away a little-A somewhat interesting side-note, given it has no noticeable thrusters of any kind. Chloe is not intent on making contact with that thing if she can help it.

        Instead, she radios, <"I'm going to check out one of the ships.">

        A few more commands tapped in and then Chloe turns. As her unit begins to fly towards the shuttle she came for, walks across the room that is the Makhia's cockpit. Towards the rear, a section of the floor rises up, a pair of doors opening. Chloe steps into the elevator and it sinks into the floor again.

        While Chloe dons a normal suit in the machine's small airlock, just to be sure, the Makhia itself slowly maneuvers over towards the Prometheus shuttle it had come for, making to dock with it to allow Chloe onboard.

Gai Kurenai teleports in.

<Pose Tracker> Kikka Kobayashi has posed.

Gridman, Borr, and Vit explain the situation and introduce themselves as well, and Kikka extends her hand with a smile. "Gridman, Borr, and Vit. Really interesting names, huh? It's nice to meet you. Honestly, you can feel free to just call me Kikka."

As for the guardian angel part... "I know some people can be pretty shy about praise. It does seem like you care a lot about Tsutsujidai, though. ...Not that I'm implying you don't care about other people, either." She laughs, softly.

"I'd prefer for this to go peacefully too. I'm not going to condemn Duma just for what one of his brethren did. It's his own actions I'm worried about." She shrugs. "It's the same way with humans, too. We don't pretend humanity is doomed just because of what like, Char Aznable did." There's a small frown.

But Takeshi, or rather Gridman Sigma, brings up the possibility of mourning. "You think? I don't know if the timeline fully lines up... think this has been going on before they killed the other Angel. But we should probably be on our guard, anyways. Could've triggered a change." She suggests.

Finally, Gridman shows her his phone, and she studies the picture. "Oh wow," she comments. "It's kind of impressive seeing such a weird looking creature.. just hanging out. And uh... this is totally unrelated. But do you wear contacts or something?" She asks, scratching her head. She's noticed the difference. "Anyways, I really do wonder if he just means no harm. Something's up... and clearly he has some sort of special affinity with Tsutsujidai. But I don't know what he'd want with all those people. Or if they're even okay." She wonders if this is one of those things were understanding just isn't possible... but as a Newtype, she'd like to believe otherwise, especially seeing that photo.

"Oh, by the way... what's a kid doing in our shuttle?" She asides in a question to Borr, genuinely. She doesn't look into his eyes for too long.

Finally, Duma reaches out. "Careful!" She motions, but then.. "It's... not attacking us. Maybe your hunch was right after all, Gridman? Still... not sure I like the implications."

<Pose Tracker> Zan has posed.

Zan is a bit confused and almost veers away. Taking a chance, he transmits to those inside him, "Potential threat incoming. One of Duma's appendages. Be prepared." Zan's sensors go to where the Angel touch.

Internally, just in case, one of the Carpenters boot up and watch as it prepares to respond in case of it being an attack.

When nothing happens, the Iron Railer drifts closer.

"Scans show no infection or foreign entities thus far."

Then his sensors pan out a bit and he notices something odd. "It seems we may have company."

He transmits to those he assumes may be 'awake', "This is BT-104 Zan of NERV and 3G. Please identify yourselves."

<Pose Tracker> Takeshi Todo has posed.

"Mmm," Duma-- expands. It blossoms, unfolding, expanding into that vast palette of colors that had characterized it before. Sigma takes a moment to pause and brings a phone up to snap a few photos of the admittedly gorgeous display. "It would be a shame if this came to blows. If even kaiju are capable of kindness, then why not Angels? Perhaps if not mourning, then is it dreaming? Sleeping? I wish that we could share a language. Perhaps if we get close enough, there are things Gridman and I can do to make the attempt, though I admit that I've never interfaced with anything quite like Duma before. Still, if it's communicating on radio wave frequencies, then there's a chance."

"I wonder if the problem is exactly that," he glances to Kikka, "That is to say, for such a creature, how well does it perceive 'individuals?' Its scale is so much greater than any human's, maybe we look to it as a hive of ants. Or maybe it thinks so many small souls cannot possibly exist-- that we are all just facets of one thing. And if so, then if any of us are broken, that we all are broken?"

There's a beat. Sigma coughs sheepishly and puts his phone away. "Sorry. It's just-- been a very long time since I have had a chance like this. To even make the attempt to communicate with such an entity, especially one that seems so peaceful, is very rare."

Speaking of weir interactions.

Shozo has presented Sigma with... a fork. The Hyper Agent blinks at the utensil for a moment, then nods and receives it with a smile. "I see, thank you. I will find a use for this."

He doesn't seem bothered by strange eyes.

After all, his can get pretty weird too.

<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.

        Liam's EVA kit is an armored normal suit--the kind used during boarding and vessel-sweeping actions--with a standard-issue thruster kit mounted on it. On a human scale, it is intimidating, but on Duma's scale, he's little more than a gnat. He definitely feels that way as he approaches one of the derelict craft with lifesigns aboard. A few pulses of the jets put him on a course with the airlock. He slides an override card into place, waits for it to do its work on the shuttle's computer--assuming there's any resistance.

        "<I... don't know,>" Liam admits, to Lucine. "<Remember what Sandalphon did last time it intervened.>" Things got violent. Duma retreated to lick its wounds. Processing... Processing... ENTRY GRANTED.

        Liam pulls himself into the airlock, seals it behind him, and lets it cycle. The area is just Minovsky-quiet enough to link back to the camera feed from the shuttle.

        "<Lucine,>" Liam says, his voice suddenly tight as a bowstring. He watches, secondhand, as Duma approaches the Dianthus, and... caresses it? "<No sudden moves.>" Like she needs the reminder. He can also make out another craft, making its way through the shuttles--Zan's got that covered. "<Another search party...?>" Liam transmits, to the Super AI.

<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.

        "....." Lucine's mouth opens in awe, as Duma's form expands in response to her and the other's approach. ".... At least, that part of you hasn't changed..." It's as brilliant as wanting a rare bud unfurl its petals in the morning air. But, some plants entice their prey with lures of nectar and color. Who's to say she is simply seeing the same trick as Jophiel's? Kindness, love, warmth, beauty... they'd the perfect lures for humans.

        She doesn't get any closer as the appendages brush against the Dianthus's chassis, but she doesn't withdraw, either.

        < "I'm getting contact from Duma. It's.... inviting me in." > She expands the band to include everyone, her caution overwhelming any need to keep her status as a Newtype some loose semblance of a secret. < ".... Be aware that it seems to know who I am. We don't know what Duma intends, but... I think... I don't detect hostility." >

        It is mesmerizing, seeing the tendrils wave in languid waves. < "I... can't say for sure but my, ah, sensors? They're detecting various conditions. All the people present are human, I think... Some show are beginning to weaken, though... they'll need to be retrieved, but we have time to consider our options first." > Pause. < "..... I want to believe Duma isn't trying to harm anyone, but... an Angel who means well may be just as deadly as one that means to harm, just... we might be, to a butterfly." >

        She hesitates again. < "I could... try, to contact. Would... everyone be alright, with that? I ask because, if it goes badly... I will need to depend on you to help me. I could ask it to allow us to relocate the people to someplace. Maybe it will be ameniable to them being relocated to Tsutsujidai until we can think of a better idea...?" >

        It could all be a trap, too.

        She limits her next sentence to Liam. < ".... I thought I could read people's intents well enough, but... if I couldn't even detect what happened with Leina, who's to say I'd be better with an Angel...?" >

        She's still at that same proximity. At the controls, Lucine pilots the Dianthus's hand to slowly raise up, palm exposed. Whether Duma's experiences with Tsutsujidai and beyond would be enough to understand the concept of a 'greeting' being something as plain as a stiff wave of a hand, it may be be worth trying.

<Pose Tracker> Gridman has posed.

Borr brought Shozo along, of course. This is a valuable experience for a child! Getting to see the world from a new perspective, and meet new (trustworthy) people. ...and they're a little worried what could go wrong if they left Shozo alone in their house.

But as Shozo asks that question, Borr winces -- mirrored by Gridman slightly flinching back. Vit closes his eyes with a very, very quiet sigh.

"We're gonna do what we have to to protect the city, like always. But hopefully not." Borr answers. "Remember what we talked about with weeding? To keep the garden safe, some plants have to be killed. That doesn't mean they're bad. They're trying to live, like any of the others. But them living would hurt everyone else. It's a difficult decision, but sometimes it's a decision we have to make. If Duma hurts anyone, we'll try to find a new place for him to be live, first."

Gridman's hands tremble slightly, and he squeezes them into fists. Again, he's lost for a moment -- only recovering when Kikka's hand is offered to him.

He shakes it firmly, managing a wobbly little smile. "It's nice to meet you, Kikka. Oh, and this is Shozo." Gridman gestures to the little boy near Borr. "I like your name, too. Tsutsujidai is our home, and our mission, really. It means everything to me."

"Shozo goes where I go." Borr explains, to Kikka. "This is a good chance for him to make some friends and learn about the world." Gridman's smile turns a little more genuine as he speaks of the city, and a little brighter as Kikka expresses care for Duma. "I'm so glad to hear that. I know... the other Angels are bad news." He glances away. "But you're right. Who says that means all of them have to be killed?"

"That's a good thought, Sigma..." Gridman goes quiet, thinking it over. "I wonder if Duma can feel it when his siblings are killed... If I was him, that'd make me really angry. But he's never lashed out."

As he's asked about his eyes, Gridman blinks. Once, then twice. "O--oh! Uh. It's kind of a long story. Back a while ago, I thought I was a human being, and my eyes were blue. It turns out I'm a Hyper Agent, and Hyper Agents have golden eyes... So they changed when I 'woke up'. Does that make any sense? Ahaha..." Gridman trails off.

Borr raises an eyebrow as Duma begins to change color -- brighter, more beautiful. He reaches out, and Borr taps on the glass. "Hey, this guy's waking up, I think. It's reaching out toward Lucine's mech. Shozo, put on your normal suit. It's under your seat."

"Got it." Vit answers an unspoken question. "Looks like it's my cue." With a stretch, he saunters away from the wall he was leaning on, rolling up his left suit sleeve as he goes. "Alright. Access Code: Sky Vitter!"

In a brilliant flash of light, the tall, handsome Hyper Agent vanishes into a crummy old computer leaned against the wall of the back of the shuttle. Near-simultaneously, a fighter jet appears next to them, materializing out of blue pixels.

"Right!" Gridman calls in answer. Already, the young Hyper Agent is putting on his own protective gear. Notably, Borr is not. "I think there's some spare normal suits in the shuttle if you want to join us, Kikka, Sigma. There's no point staying so far away. We're here to figure this out!"

Gridman settles a helmet onto his head, looking at Takeshi. "If there's something only we can do... Then we owe it to everyone to try it, right, brother?"

"Shozo, if you're coming with us, I want you to hold my hand the whole time." Borr instructs. After a quick check to ensure everyone is either suited up and ready or suitably seat-belted in, Borr taps the door to open the side of the shuttle. "Here we go!"

With a jump, Gridman and Borr land safely on Sky Vitter's body. The plane adjusts himself carefully to catch his new passengers -- any others that may choose to join them. There's plenty of room.

"Hold on tight." Vit calls, before slowly moving toward Duma. "Hey there, big guy! Brought you some visitors."

Gridman holds out a hand to Duma as they approach. "Hey! Remember me? We met in the park! Can you please tell us what's going on?"

Borr's face is unreadable. Their hair whips around them as they watch Gridman try and communicate with the Angel.

"I know you don't mean any harm. I believe in you. But keeping people like this -- it's not safe!" Gridman has to shout to be heard over Vit's engines. "We've got to take them home! But I want to know what you're doing, first! Why did you bring everyone here? Is something wrong?"

Vit flies them as close to the cloud as possible, hovering just to the side of one of Duma's extended tentacles.

<Pose Tracker> Gai Kurenai has posed.

For a while now, as the shuttle approached the fleet of sleeping craft, Gai Kurenai has been subdued in the shuttle next to Gridman and Shozo, head lowered and hat tipped down over his face. He almost seems asleep - but he's focused, albeit not on the interior of the shuttle.

He's 'listening' to the hearts around him. He's always been more of a receiver than a transmitter when it comes to the psychic plane, and this seems the best way to try and determine what's wrong with the occupants of the numerous craft in the upper half of this curious PLANT.

<Pose Tracker> Takeshi Todo has posed.

"Right you are," Sigma answers his brother. Rising from his seat, he casts away his jacket to reveal a normal suit of his own underneath. The helmet is, of course, nearby as well. He tucks the fork into a fastening pocket for safe keeping before setting his helmet on, folding up his personal terminal, and going after Gridman atop the soaring vessel that is Sky Vitter.

Riding on the outside of things that can fly is a novel experience for someone who's used to just... being able to sometimes do that. Sigma needs to grab tight to the corners of the Assist Weapon's form to stabilize, but at least hovering near the cloud is a relatively sedate exercise that gives him the time he needs.

Rather than shouting at the cloud, Sigma is going to rely on... something a little more nuanced. He opens his terminal and hands it to Borr. "Hold this. Please don't drop it," he instructs before--

He goes and jumps inside!?!?

Well, yeah. He might be diminished, but he can still manage to manipulate cyberspace objects better than most-- especially given past experience with his particularly technologically inclined partner. Surrounded by a technicolor dreamscape of circuitry and programming structures, the Hyper Agent makes his way to a crystalline tower bristling with antennae, radomes and satelite dishes: the cyberspace manifestation of his terminal's wifi antenna. "If you can speak with radio waves... Then there may be some way for us to communicate, Duma. Tuning frequencies now."

Silently, Sigma reaches into his pocket and extracts that fork he'd received from Shozo. With a smile, he holds it to his forehead, the utensil blazing with light and transforming into-- a tuning fork. Or something that resembles one, at least. It was an object offered as part of a greeting, and now-- now he has taken that bond and crafted it into a Sign Of Greeting in a space where metaphor and communication hold greater power than material form. He strikes it, then lifts it toward the tower, a soft light connecting agent with fork with electronic device module. This close, he might be able to find a signal that Duma will actually respond to and communicate over. As for the message...

Well, he'll just be borrowing his brother's. Gridman communicates with his voice, and Sigma transforms that message into the domain of wave and signal.

<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

        Caution isn't undeserved, but Duma doesn't do any harm to the spacecraft as they reach out to them. Once they make contact, they actually draw those crafts in further. ...further. ......yet further. Are they...
        
        They're setting the investigators in among the other crafts. Dianthus gets a place of honor overhead, even, those tendrils swishing over its arm as Lucine lifts it in an attempted greeting. She'll feel a distinct sends of positivity, maybe happiness. Maybe friendship?
        
        Maybe that's her projecting. Still, it's nothing hostile, at least.
        
        Sky Vitter and the Shuffle crew of course approach at their own speed, with Vit and Gridman greeting the Angel in their own ways. Duma's colors shift to softly pulsing yellow and deep blue, pulsing in time with each other as several of their tendrils sweep towards and around them. Kikka, as a Newtype, will feel that same lack of hostility--she'll get an impression of curiosity, of even recognition. ...But there's no indication, at least not that she can parse, that they understand what Vit and Gridman are trying to say.
        
        That is, until Sigma transforms Shozo's fork into a tuning fork, and uses radio waves to try to send that message to them. Their form brightens blinding white for an instant; then they settle into a pale, bright blue dotted with white, like the skies of Earth.
        
        Their tendrils tremble and branch, and they begin to send out a signal in return.
        
        It'll be hard to decipher at first, because initially it's just garbage noise with occasional silence in between. But the silence, the rests, form notes. It's a gentle, soothing song, kind and friendly. It conveys a feeling, rather than words:
        
        Stay. It's safe here. They'll keep them safe, here, where it's calm and quiet.
        
        Then they'll attempt to gently set Vitter and his passengers in with the other spacecraft.
        
        As this goes on, they don't pay any mind to Liam as he leaves in a spacesuit, so this actually makes boarding another craft much easier for him.
        
        When he makes his way deeper into the new shuttle, he'll find people in their own spacesuits aboard. They float peacefully. If he attempts to shake one awake, though... they'll reach consciousness with a violent start.
        
        "Huh--wha--" And then they'll devolve into garbled nonsense, like someone disoriented and frightened upon waking up.

<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.

        Liam pauses just inside the airlock, his eyes scanning the inside of the small craft. He can see through the front viewport, and there seem to be human shapes in the seats--presumably, the slumbering forms of the abductees. "<Understood, Lucine,>" Liam says, likewise transmitting to everyone--including the group that just left aboard Vitter. "<Keep us appraised. If you feel sleepy, alert us immediately.>" Liam has a bit of innate resistance courtesy of his adrenal augmentations. If what Duma's doing is the equivalent of sleeping pills, he might be able to rouse himself. But if it's something stronger...

        "<That's Vit,>" Liam says, over the NERV band, as a familiar fighter jet approaches the Angel. "<Gridman can't be far away. What are they doing?>"

        Liam pulls himself forward, regardless. He doesn't try to rouse the passengers, but he does check the readouts of their normal suits, and visually inspect their faces for signs of dehydration or illness.

        

<Pose Tracker> Shozo has posed.

Shozo pouts at Borr's request, even as he stares out at Duma's radiance with... eh, he didn't look impressed.

"Why do I need to wear my normal suit?" he grouses. "s not like I need it anyway..." He tries to fit the suit over his clothes, looking awfully lumpy as his fluffy jacket and big chunky boots stretch the material.

His complaints are distracted away as he watches Sigma recreate the fork he gave him -- his SNACK -- as a tuning fork. He stares at it, tilting his head slowly, as the, uh... thingy. Angel? Seemed to react. Shozo couldn't really tell -- the nuances of human communication were still challenging for him, much less whatever this is. Still, he holds onto Borr's hand, even as he tries to pull him out to explore the garden of ships and its sleeping cargo.

"Hey," he asks his parent, looking up at them. "Why are they trying so hard to speak to it?"

<Pose Tracker> Kikka Kobayashi has posed.

They've made contact with the other search party, and it seems these ones are with NERV. "I'll hail them," Kikka assures, as she opens a line to Zan, Liam, Lucine, and Chloe. They're outsiders... she makes sure to use her codename and a voice modulator. "This is callsign Spade-8. We're investigating the cases of human disappearances... and due to the connections of an Angel, I'd like to request working together tenatively."

As for Sigma's postulation... "Yeah. There might be no point comparing it to humans at all. But I believe in connections, which is why I'm here to negotiate with something so alien as an Angel anyways, I guess.."

"I'm coming with you!" Kikka agrees with Vit, on going 'outside' to contact Duma "If you'd believe it... I actually have more experience in space than you'd think. I know how to handle myself." She smiles, putting on the normal suit and setting the helmet on.

As they get closer, Kikka expects to feel something at least. But there is a distinct lack of 'hostility', as if Duma simply doesn't think he's harming these humans and will not harm them. And Sigma's plan... actually seems to work? Music. Stay and come closer... Kikka realizes they're being pulled away. And she introduces hostility to a conversation that lacked one by instinctively transmitting a feeling that can only be described as "No!!"

Before asiding, "From what I can sense, Duma doesn't want to hurt these people. He's hurting them, but he doesn't think he is. I guess it's like when someone takes a cute little wildlife critter out of its habitat thinking you're protecting it, but it actually can't survive outside." Does that analogy make sense? She hopes so.

"Which means we need to get these people out of here! Duma isn't listening to you guys... and they're starting to wake up, so if we don't do something fast..." She seems panicked a little.

<Pose Tracker> Chloe has posed.

        Chloe doesn't object to Lucine's suggestion of trying to contact the Angel. Chloe doesn't agree that it's a good action to take. But she's not the boss of Lucine. However, Chloe does counter back, <"There may be objections to such a relocation. It may not be a possibility. And if the Angel doesn't like that..."> Well.

        Chloe was half way through getting her normal suit on when a system alert draws her attention. She frowns, halting her progress and taking the elevator back up to the cockpit.

        Chloe walks her way over to one of the consoles and examines it. The alert is pretty clear: The Makhia's movements have been interrupted by an outside force and the autopilot didn't know how to handle it. A quick check reveals that her unit has been dragged into 'formation' with the other vessels in the area.

        That is not concerning. At all.

        "..."

        After a moment of though, Chloe decides that it's time to try something more drastic. That is to say, her original idea. She walks towards the center of the cockpit, saying, "Activate Mikani Link."

        The unit's holographic controls representing the Makhia's arms and legs appear and Chloe steps into them. Establishing the connection to her machine, she takes full control now.

        Moving much more fluidly than it was before, the Pallas Makhia turns and begins to float back towards the Prometheus shuttle it had been heading for. This time with greater force, to try and counter the Angel's attempts to draw her craft in.

        Trying to approach the target shuttle, Chloe reaches out with the hands of her machine to grab hold of the craft. Then maintain the hold and begin to move away from the Angel, taking the shuttle with her.

<Pose Tracker> Zan has posed.

Zan transmits over the NERV band, "<I will attempt to check.>" He says to Liam.

Moving into position, the Iron Railer stops where Duma wants it to for now.

Having a bit of knowledge from previous investigations, the train stops and looks for the source before it launches Zan himself, who transforms in space and lands on his usual platform that he rests on the train on, magnetically attaching to it as he looks around with his more mobile sensors. The 20 meter form is smaller, so hopefully not seen as a threat at current.

And then comes a transmission back. "<Acknowledged, Spade-8. We are a party of two. I have possible evacuation in my cargo hold if necessary.>"

He seems to consider as he looks towards Vit. "<I see Vit and my partner for this mission has mentioned Gridman may not be far away. Our current efforts are to assess the conditions of those that are involved, as so far this Angel has not been hostile.>"

<Pose Tracker> Takeshi Todo has posed.

A response. One that brings a smile to a Hyper Agent's face-- but it's also a sad smile, knowing that Duma is only doing what it's doing out of the kindness of its... Whatever passes for its heart. It is not a being acting out of malice, at least. Even if what it's doing...

Well. Dreams are all well and good, but humans cannot subsist on their dreams alone. Sigma looks up from his tuning fork and gestures. His face appears on his terminal's screen-- but his voice emerges from other places as well. After all, he's a member of GGG-- and so his terminal's communication protocols should be able to connect to NERV's. "This is Agent Sigma of GGG," he begins, "I am in communication with the Angel and do not believe it is hostile. Its actions seem to be coming from a place of kindness and protectiveness. But you know as well as I that humanity cannot live as it was meant to if it does nothing but dream. Everyone, please. I ask of you a favor."

He gestures again, this time calling on another function of his terminal. A... A music composition program, manifesting as a crystalline keyboard. "A long time ago, a friend showed me the power of music. Though I am of middling talent in performance, communication of emotion into wave function is something I can do. I believe that words may not suffice with Duma. We must communicate on a primitive level that what it is doing is harmful, in spite of its best wishes. That humans need to suffer the dangers and agonies of the waking world to truly live. Please, share with me your feelings. Messages will do. Voices. I will do what I can to communicate them to Duma."

"Especially you, brother," Sigma speaks solely to Gridman, now. "As one from beyond humanity who woke Akane Shinjo from her dream... Your emotions will, I think, be particularly necessary."

<Pose Tracker> Gai Kurenai has posed.

Gai's expanded senses - his ability to hear the human heart - isn't telling him anything new. The missing people are asleep. Dreaming - and the lack of fear suggests their dreams are pleasant.

He brings himself around to consciousness, staying on the shuttle for now, and listens to Gridman Sigma's explanation. "I understand," he says to the shuttle's communication console. "I think I have just the thing."

He shifts his coat, an oversized harmonica-like device of obvious alien make drawn out into his hands. "Hopefully you can do something with my contribution, Sigma-san." He raises the Orbnica to his lips, waiting for his cue.

<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.

        Lucine allows herself a private smile as she feels that emotion of 'happy/friendship'. Maybe, it's all in her head.

        Maybe, it's the intention that is good, but the outcome....

        Kikka's transmission distracts Lucine, who hurriedly turns on her band. < "Ah, yes, this is.... ah... Lapis... 2." > Lucine takes a moment to think of a callsign to respond to Kikka's. < ".... I'm here with... ah, what was your callsigns...? I'm.... not the one in charge, sorry." >

        The bright flash of disorientation and fear disrupts Lucine's message. She quickly switches feeds, tighting her band to Liam only. < "Liam, you probably already know this... but let's avoid rousing anyone else until we know what's going on. If they were under sedation, they might all panick like this." >

        ..... Of course. This isn't like Jophiel at all. If it had wanted to harm them, it would have--

        Takeshi transmits now with a plan.

        < "... Agent Sigma, Spade-8, we're on the same page, it seems. I don't think Duma means harm, but... maybe he's sorting through thoughts of his own. He's seen us battle Vajra and each other, as well as the conflicts of Tsutsujidai, as I imagine Gridman can explain more on..." > By now, she's realized Gridman's here; in fact, that he and his crew sped past her with much more confidence.

        < "... He's also seen us try to communicate with it, and how we've been peaceful towards it. We're... not people that can be called strictly 'good' or 'bad'. Perhaps, this is his way of soothing these contradictions. Asleep, we can't fight, be sad, or be in pain. He can protect us. Maybe... tell him to let us bring these people to Tsutsujidai for right now. If he feels a positive connotation with Tsutsujidai, he may feel better about at least letting them get treated there." > It's a bandaid solution, but it's one that will allow them to get treatment.

<Pose Tracker> Gridman has posed.

"Just humor me." Borr covers their mouth at the sight of Lumpy Shozo in his normal suit. "You can take it off once you're sure the atmosphere is okay for you out there. But if you need it, you'll have it."

"Hang on a second, what even is this?!" Borr shouts, as Sigma's terminal is shoved into their grip. They hold it, balancing it in one arm while still holding onto Shozo with the other. "Sigma?!"

Did he just... jump inside? Is this his version of Junk?

<"Sorry for the radio silence, all! Sky Vitter speaking. Attempting to make contact with Duma now."> The plane's voice echoes through nearby radio systems, connecting with the other machinery easily. <"Gridman, Buster Borr, Shozo, Gridman Sigma, and Spade-8 are all with me.">

Duma's yellow-blue glow is pleasing to look at, and Gridman smiles to see it. It's got to be a good sign. Those aren't aggressive colors, right? Gasping as the Cloud suddenly brightens into blinding radiance, Gridman covers his face with one arm, and when he looks back...

"Oh, wow."

Is this Duma's true form? This beautiful sky... They were right to call it a cloud all this time. Gridman tilts his head at the song, confused. "Are you talking to us..?"

But his curiosity only lasts a moment. Dum attempts to move Sky Vitter over with the rest of the spacecraft, rocking the passengers where they perch atop the plane. Vit goes with the Angel's movements, knowing fighting against him would put his passengers at more risk, and slowly they're all settled in with the other spacecraft.

"What the hell!" Borr shouts at Duma. "Don't just do that!"

Gridman keeps his balance during the journey, reaching out to try and help stabilize Kikka, if she needs it. Borr has Shozo well in-hand.

"We're trying to speak to it to figure out what's going on. Why it brought all these people here." Borr answers Shozo. "Do you want to go check out the other ships? I've gotta stay here and hold Sigma's computer. But, there's other people around here. Look for this one."

Letting go of Shozo's hand for a second, Borr pulls out what seems to be a flashcard from their pocket. Holding it up reveals a picture of a young man with a bald head, with his name written along the bottom of the card. "Liam".

"Liam. He's a good guy, he built the community garden. If you can't find him or you get scared, call my phone." Borr hands the flashcard to Shozo. "Be careful. I trust Gridman's faith in this Glow Cloud, but if anything goes wrong..." They glance away, expression grim. "Make your way back to us."

Listening in, Vit speaks up again. <"Liam, do you read me? We're sending someone to you. Little guy named Shozo. Duma moved us over near the other ships. Holding position for now!">

"Kikka!" Gridman shouts, above Vit's engines. "Are you alright? Is Duma really hurting them?"

He sounds so sad.

"We've got to start rescue efforts. Don't worry! The shuttle can hold at least 20, and Vit can carry two. We can make several trips if we have to!" Gridman puts a hand on Kikka's shoulder. "Do you want to go with Shozo to try and check on people in those ships? We'll stay here, so you won't be stranded!"

<"Reading you, Zan!"> Vit calls. <"You doing alright?">

Sigma's voice reaches Gridman, and the younger (?) Hyper Agent listens carefully. "Music..?" He glances back to Borr, who shrugs. "O--oh, you really think I can make a difference here? Uh..."

Gridman's never really tried music. He's been drawn toward dance, sure, but creating sound himself... But if Sigma's sure about this..!

Mind racing, Gridman settles on the song he thinks will suit the moment. Back at Ranka's concert, it was his favorite one. Maybe this will help Duma understand?

"U--uh." Clearing his throat, Gridman starts again. "Orbit the stars at the heart of the world..."

It's Lion. A song about the desire to move forward with strength and love. Gridman sings through one verse, then catches his breath, face soft red with embarrassment.

"I know it's scary and hard for us!" Gridman shouts to Duma. "Everything is uncertain for human beings. But they keep fighting anyway! They want to exist this way! They want to explore and have new experiences, even if it hurts! And -- that's not a bad thing! We can protect them when things go wrong, but we have to let them live and experience things!"

"P--please understand! You have to let them go back to their lives, Duma..!"

<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

        The suits' readouts are... not dire, but getting close. This shuttle happens to be one of the first that arrived, and while the passengers aren't in immediate danger, they are both dehydrated and malnourished. The oxygen levels are low, too. Presumably the only reason they're still alive is because they've been in this strange hibernative state.
        
        Chloe meanwhile reacts to her Makhia being coaxed into formation by taking action to pilot it over to the shuttle and try to pull it out of the formation. She gets as far as grabbing hold of the shuttle and starting to move it out of formation before, somewhere in their center, Duma pulses deep rose pink. Then their tendrils move to wrap around the Makhia and physically drag it and the shuttle back in place. The Angel still doesn't try to outright harm it, but what was previously a kindly invitation is now a firm statement. By comparison, Zan, who leaves Iron Railer where the Angel has placed it, manages to move unimpeded in his smaller form.
        
        Kikka's psychic 'no!!' sends a little shock quivering through those lightning tendrils. In that moment, Sigma will have the chance to bring together everyone's voices and feelings, from Gai's Orbnica and Gridman's emotions, and turn them into a song of sorrow. To convey to Duma that they are doing harm--that Lilim must wake, that they must suffer the slings and arrows of misfortune, that to do otherwise is to not truly live!
        
        Duma listens.
        
        And Duma sends back their own inverted song of rests within noise, now 'audible' in everyone's hearts thanks to Sigma's translating. Of their own sadness. Of a girl-within-a-girl who was so deeply in pain, who moved within each other's pain, who wanted to take her pain and inflict it even on the ones she loved, because she was convinced that pain was the only way to save them from the horrors of the world--
        
        Leina.
        
        Those who know her and in particular what she was recently put through might now realize Duma's talking about Leina--about Puru-1. At some point in the near past, Puru-1 and Duma touched hearts. They know Lilim want to exist that way.
        
        And Duma conveys now what they did to her back then: that it's too sad for them to be so enamored with their pain that they refuse to extricate themselves from it. That it's okay; they don't need to suffer any longer. That going back to Tsutsujidai is okay, but even that place has grown more violent and cacophonous over the past several months, and ever since its silence has been tainted, it's not as safe as it once was. That they will keep the Lilim safe from their kin and their kin.
        
        Their song of silence begins to play.
        
        The Lilim of the group will find themselves drawn towards something like slumber--not by way of 'sleeping pills,' but by Duma's A.T. Field affecting their very brain waves directly to shift them into a peaceful, silent state. To downgrade them into delta waves: the closest state of the brain to death.
        
        NERV would call it mental contamination. NERV is very clear that this is a bad thing.
        
        All is not lost, though. Because this song might be very effective on the humans of the group... it does nothing to the non-humans, who are politely invited to leave, but are not yet forced to do anything. Indeed, aside from Sigma, who's opened up communications with them, and Gridman, whom they've encountered before, they don't seem to be paying much mind to the non-humans of the group. This includes Borr's shouting, Zan's micro-movements, Shozo's... shozo-ness.
        
        It could be an opportunity. But it could also be an escalation.

<Pose Tracker> Shozo has posed.

Shozo whoops as Borr freed him, and he leaps out into the hive of ships, flying out weightlessly. As he hears Takeshi's request, he shrugs.

"Sorry, sir, I don't, uh, have anything like that!" Feeling like that explains his lack of participation, he lets himself faceplant against a ship and bounce off, hands spread as he lets himself explore the space before reaching out to grasp Duma's literally nebulous body to stop himself. He doesn't want to go all the way on a big spacewalk again, after all.

Looking into the center of the brilliantly glowing... thingy, Shozo begins to try and crawl deeper. He's seen humans already, he hasn't seen this thing up close!

<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.

        There may yet be a way to resolve this without violence. Liam hopes there is. The thought that every single Angel is an existential threat, just by nature, breaks his heart. Duma--in its strange, alien way--cares for humankind, and wants to protect them. Like Spade-8 said, it's like a child bringing in bugs from outside without considering what they need to survive. It doesn't know any better.

        Liam's brow furrows as 'Agent Sigma of GGG' joins the line, and a brief flash of fear washes through him. That can't be Todo. It... sounds like him, a little? Like Sigma? But...

        Whomever Sigma is, he has a plan, and a means to communicate with the Angel. Liam presses his hands to his chest, and focuses on a memory. Sitting with Lucine in a vast audience of people, listening, enraptured and teary-eyed, as a song touches his heart. He starts to sing: Diamond Crevasse. His voice is rough--he's had no reason to sing, for years and years--but there is genuine sorrow in it, genuine longing, genuine hope.

        Duma answers. Liam's eyes widen, and his breath catches in his throat. "Duma," he breathes, even though he knows the Angel can't hear him, wouldn't understand him even if it could. "PLEASE, NO! STOP!"

        But the others can hear him. "YOU'RE HURTING THEM!" Liam feels himself falling back, back, back, while his body remains upright and drifting. His limbs feel heavy. He centers something in his mind, the raw memory of being strapped to a table. Adrenaline washes through him, buying him a few more precious seconds. What does he do with those seconds?

        "Please... you're killing them..." Liam feels himself being pushed under. His body drifts, alongside the others in the shuttle.

<Pose Tracker> Kikka Kobayashi has posed.

"Lapis-2? You made that up on the spot?" Kikka responds to Lucine, in a lighthearted tone. "Your help is much appreciated, so tell your companions I said thanks even if you don't remember their callsigns."

As for Zan: "I hear you, NERV Super AI. Emergency evacuation sounds helpful in case things get bad... but we don't appear to be in much danger right now." She answers his offer.

Answering Gridman's shouting, Kikka gives a thumbs up. "I'm fine! But yes... I don't think these people will last much longer if it stays. They need to get to Tsutsujidai, fast..." She frowns, watching the sleeping people. "And if we wake them, they'll just freak out. I don't know if the shock would be enough to take them out, then. This... really sucks."

She made her intentions clear, shocking it away with that hostile, sharp, 'no', introducing the concept of a boundary to Duma for just a moment. But then...

She sees someone she knows well. "Leina..." Her eyes widen. "I know! She was in so much pain. She hurt so much! But despite that... she's healing. She's going to be okay! And she's going to do it in the wide world you're so terrified of." She tries to convey her feelings to Duma but it feels useless. Duma... is set in his ways, it seems.

Duma sings. Having particularly strong brainwaves, does not seem to act as a defense from his song. Perhaps because of the life she's lived, ti's the feeling of being close to death that sets in strongest. "Leina, is this how you felt?" She closes her eyes. "Katz... Dad... I feel closer to you than I ever have."

Still, she feels Liam's words.
'Please... you're killing them..."
"But I'm not ready to die... I can't reach you just yet." She concludes. She clings to Sky Vitter, trusting a companion she's only known for a day.

<Pose Tracker> Takeshi Todo has posed.

Myriad messages and melodies are woven together at Sigma's fingertips. It's not a matter of making true 'music' in the popular sense, but of creating a harmony of hearts.

It just so happens that this one sounds SUSPICIOUSLY like an instrumental medly of Sheryl Nome songs with an alien harmonica accompanying track, but what Sheryl's producers don't know is going down in computer world won't hurt them or generate any lawsuits.

But all it is is a message. Communication goes both ways. Duma gives its response, and it is... a heartbreaking one. Ultimately, Duma has placed itself as a sort of 'god' to humanity, not as something that coexists alongside them. Perhaps with more communication, such understanding could be fostered, but...

They don't have the luxury of time. The Song of Silence begins to reverberate. Even as Sigma attempts one last transmission: A warning that the humans who sleep will die if their biological needs are not met-- that they are not capable of Eternal Life. But ultimately, the manipulation of an A.T. Field is beyond what Sigma can measure or react to with the instruments available to him, but so too is he protected from its influence. The terminal in Borr's hands shines as Sigma emerges, picking the computer up under one arm in the same motion. "We need to retreat," he says across the local radio bands, pointing out the absolute most obvious thing. "The humans won't be able to withstand this for long. I still believe a peaceful resolution is possible, but we need a message to counteract Duma's mistaken notions... That emerging from shadow is how humans grow-- and that this is doing more harm than good. Gridman, we need to help the others. You need to get them to safety."

"I..." Sigma's expression clouds, "...Cannot, as I am."

<Pose Tracker> Chloe has posed.

        The power of music? Chloe doesn't understand.

        <"I don't understand...">

        It doesn't matter. Right now there are bigger things to worry about. Like the fact that they are officially trapped here.

        The Pallas Makhia is dragged back into position once more and now things are even more concerning. Fighting their way out seems unlikely. For one thing, they've no means to break through the thing's AT Field. An AT Field which starts to influence some of the team... And this doesn't go unnoticed.

        Alerts start to pop up on screens in Chloe's cockpit. The system registers the attempted contamination.

        <"Attention, local forces. The Angel is keeping these people trapped. And is now attempting to contaminate us. Hostile intentions or not, that is a hostile act. We must protect ourselves.">

        That said, Chloe has no idea how... Thankfully, she doesn't seem to be succumbing to whatever the contamination is. But from the sounds of it, some of the others are...

        ... But what should she do? She can't fight it. It won't let her go. She doesn't understand what Agent Sigma wants of them. Of her. She's helpless...

        '... The nights, don't be afraid I'm the one to walk the dark road

                To fly away, somewhere we belong to spread our wings'

        What is this feeling within her? It's not her own. Is it the contamination? No... It's familiar...

        Sigma wants to leave. Chloe counters, <"We can't leave them all here. Some may not survive until we can come up with a countermeasure."> Not that Chloe has any better ideas.

<Pose Tracker> Zan has posed.

Zan has been relying on micro movements, now he moves fully. Questions come up as 'Agent Sigma of GGG' comes over. That has him looking over. He didn't receive reports of Sigma being freed as of yet. That brings questions to his processers.

Zan finally decides to do something. Analyzing past transmissions, he transmits what amounts to a 'warning tone' towards Duma. He's not trying to communicate in words, but rather what can be understood slightly.

In response, Zan holds up a hand gesturing peacefully before pointing at the ships, then pointing at the Earth. Hoping that Duma might realize the message.

Then he tries the peaceful tones again and tries what he hopes is a more helpful one.

After that, he transmits out to the others, "<Do not fall asleep. If you have no defenses, pull back. Now.>"

<Pose Tracker> Gai Kurenai has posed.

He can feel it. The panic rippling across the humans in the group, as Duma asserts that humans are too tied up in their pain - that it offers them solace and comfort and safety from pain they cannot escape - and extends its influence over those travelling with him, to push them down into the same deathly sleep.

Duma has made a mistake. It believes that only humans feel pain in this way.

He reaches out to put a hand on Sigma's shoulder. "Sigma-san. Patch me through alone, please."

He changes the song he's playing, to an old, familiar standby. The song he's used to comfort and strengthen humans time and time again. A song that is bittersweet, gentle and kind... but incomplete.

As he plays, he reaches out to Duma with his heart, trying that strange connection. He's more of a receiver than a transmitter, but... this is important. He has to try.

From his memories, the counterpoint to his piece emerges - two women, distant relatives of each other from another Earth so long ago - their voices add a harmony to his harmonica playing, elevating it from a sad, gentle song to a piece of resolve and hope, even against bitter suffering.

(( OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2ifvtF80sI ))

Images follow - his own pain and anguish, manifest as the dark titan Thunder Breastar. The way humans' faith in him gave him strength to master his guilt and grief, and accept his true strength.

        "This is who I really am!"

Thunder Breastar ripples and shines from within, transforming into the noble knight Orb Origin.

Quickly moving a hand to the card holster at his hip, Gai snaps it open, and glimmering lights fall from it, the cards spinning around him. Images of beings of tremendous power, Giants of Light from other places and times, surround him. Aspects of their lights - and one point of darkness, understood and accepted - shine upon him, changing his bearing subtly with each pair that illuminates him. Spacium Zeperion - Burnmite - Hurricane Slash - Thunder Breastar - Orb Origin - Orb Trinity - Lightning Attacker - Emerium Slugger. All these are him, but changed by the influences of his friends and comrades - a refracted glimpse of powers he could not ordinarily wield alone.

        'Duma,' he reaches out, with words of the heart. 'Together, humans can be so much more than their pain. I've lived it. I've been saved from it by them, despite being so much more powerful. It's not pain that drowns us - it's loneliness.'

        'And right now, these people are more alone than ever... and so are you. Please... let them return to those who love them.'

<Pose Tracker> Shozo has posed.

Shozo continues to crawl deeper into Duma, on his hands and knees now for stability. After a bit, he decides to sit down, and look out into the darkness. He isn't exactly *close* to Duma's core, but he could probably see it if he squinted.

"Heyyyyy," he says aloud, kicking his feet again casually like he did in the shuttle. "You're causin' a buncha problems, huh?" Maybe Duma can't hear him, but there's an odd echo to his voice now as he takes his helmet off to speak, voice carrying through vacuum.

"You're not gonna help anybody like that, y'know. Instead, you're gonna cause looooooots of people to die -- n' it'll be *all* your fault. And nooooobody'll eeeeever forgive you." He rests his head on his arm.

"'n eventually, someone's gonna kill you, I think. And the people who supported you might kill them! And then people will kill them, and on, n' on, 'n ooooooon." Shozo looks up at the core again, with those strange, unblinking eyes.

"I wonder how many lives your misplaced act of kindness will take?"

<Pose Tracker> Gridman has posed.

"Shozo, don't just crash into things!" Borr shouts after the little boy. "Be careful!"

Borr brings their free hand over their face, muttering below their breath. "Damn it. This was a bad idea. The kid runs right into the interior of an Angel..."

The pulse of Duma's response brings Borr, Vit, and Gridman to a shocked halt. With mirrored expressions of horror, they 'listen' to the Glow Cloud's reasoning. Gridman's brows draw together.

"Leina... You met Leina, when..." He trails off. He can't say it. Immediately, Gridman's mind flashes to Alouette, Akane, and Rikka -- girls who very nearly met the same fate Leina did. How terrible it could've been -- how terrible it was. Ranka's hopeful, determined song fades from Gridman's heart, replaced by grief and guilt.

Borr grits their teeth. "But that's not the end of that story, Duma!"

"Y--yeah!" Gridman tries to rally. "Leina -- that girl you met! The ones she loves saved her! She's okay! She's healing! And she never really felt that way at all, it was an artificial brainwashing forced on her by evil, horrible people!"

Gridman balls his hand into a fist, trying hard to think of the reports and images from the Shuffle Alliance reports he read. The desperate battle of the Unicorn and the ZZ to save Leina... How so many hearts united as one, just to save a singular person. Gridman isn't a Newtype. He doesn't know how to broadcast his feelings, but he's trying.

"Leina..." Gridman feels an odd sensation pass over him, but there doesn't seem to be much effect. "Her name is Leina Ashta, and she's... more than...?"

Gridman goes quiet, shocked, as Kikka begins to collapse.

<"Borr, what's going on up there?"> Vit calls, using all his focus to stay hovering in place.

"Kikka's passing out! I think it's hitting all the humans!" Borr replies, swearing under their breath. "Fuck. Vit, sorry, I'm gonna scratch your paint job!"

<"WHAT? DON'T YOU DARE--">

With great care, Borr sets Sigma's terminal down on Vit's wing. Four knives are driven into the plane, balanced around the terminal to keep it steady from Vit's micro-adjustments in midair. It should hold. Hopefully.

In a flash, Borr appears next to Kikka and Gridman, grabbing each of them by the arm with a firm grip. "I've got you. Come down slow, if you gotta."

Sigma emerges, and Borr looks back at him, desperation on their face. "The hell do you mean you 'cannot'?! You're a Hyper Agent, aren't you?! Grab a kid and hold on! Gridman!"

"Right!" Gridman replies. "This is something only I can do!"

"Damn right." Borr growls. "Vit! Get us to the shuttle! Sigma, get over here and hold onto Kikka or I swear--"

<"You got it. Hope you're holding on, this thing isn't going to let go easily--!"> WIth that, Sky Vitter revs his engines to full strength, trying to blast out of Duma's hold back to the Shuffle Alliance shuttle.

The second they're within a hundred yards of the shuttle, Gridman raises his arm. "Access.. Flash!"

It's enough. The young redhead vanishes in a burst of light, and the Giant of Light takes his place just beside the shuttle. "Vit!" He calls, beginning to enter free fall.

Borr, wrapping an arm around Sigma and Kikka, vanishes in a flash of light, appearing again within the shuttle. Sky Vitter, free of his passengers, transforms immediately, latching onto Gridman's enormous form.

"Gridman here!" The Giant of Light's voice echoes from every radio. "I'm going to start moving these transports back to Tsutsujidai! Please retreat if you're a human!"

True to his word, on Vit's wings, he rockets to the stolen craft nearest to Duma. Placing his hands carefully on the side of the machine, Gridman begins to push, urging Vit to give his full strength.

<Pose Tracker> Takeshi Todo has posed.

Sigma cannot help save the humans trapped here with the strength he can muster.

But there is something that he can do. Perhaps he was too quick to decide to run just yet. He glances back at the hand at his shoulder-- and nods, disappearing back into his terminal (after shoving it back into Borr's hands, because that's apparently their job now). "I'll transmit what I can, Gai. No. Ultraman - Orb."

And to Chloe-- he has another message. "I understand how you feel, but we have no weapons capable of fighting the Angel on even terms, and you are all in danger as well. Please, leave this to us for now. I promise I will not stop trying to find a solution, but we will need your strength for what is to come. I ask that you please endure it, though I know it causes you pain. You and the others must live."

<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.

        < "...... Yes." > Lucine's head hangs, as Kikka calls her out on her . < "..... I thought it was pretty good..." >
        
        As everyone's plan quickly comes together, Lucine is hit with choice paralysis. Something from Sheryl or Ranka, surely. Maybe one of the piano pieces her mom liked to play? But how can you sing in piano?

        But maybe, if she did sing, Lucine wouldn't have been able to hear Liam sing himself. <" Liam...." > Hearing his voice brings out the bias in her heart, that ready warmth that comes when you are still witnessing all the rarer parts of someone you love for the first time. He's come so far, from being that pale young man with the almost robotic way of speaking, well over a year ago.

        When the medley finishes, courtesy of Takeshi Todo's plan, Lucine < "..... That was beautiful. Thank you, Agent Sigma..." >

        Leina.

        Lucine's stomach drops. ".... You... talked to her?" Wait, no, Duma can't understand her words, she has to transmit them. Being faced with a time limit and that spike of anguish in her heart at the memory, the idea of transmitting anything, without someone humanoid on the other side to support the link, feels futile. < "Takeshi, tell Duma we saved her! She was brainwashed! She.... sh....." >

        Oh no.
        
        It's now, her eyes half lidded, her helmented head slumped against the head rest of her cockpit seat, that Lucine sings.

        Of something much older, from Mars. A sweet song with no words, no meaning, nonsense. With how Lucine mumbles softly through the words, it may be unclear if it's her, or if that's the way the song is meant to be sung.

        "Meria mortre ever greet wel
        Graing graing gra....
        Mertis a moti e chest a gron tu
        Saing saing sa...."
        
        If she focuses on the nonsense words, maybe, Lucine's sleepy logic tells her, she'll protect her mind. Maybe, she can convey that the song will stop, when she falls under.

        "Mi af marka dia, on di eva green...."

        She's no Sheryl Nome. Maybe, it'd just convince Duma she needs to be taken in.

        "Meria mortre intu da greet wel...." If Lucine can feel her mouth moving, she's still awake, right?

<Pose Tracker> Takeshi Todo has posed.

Sigma cannot help save the humans trapped here with the strength he can muster.

But there is something that he can do. Perhaps he was too quick to decide to run just yet. He stares at Borr, then laughs despite himself. "Right you are. Pardon my foolishness," he moves to cradle Kikka as another reaches out to him. He glances back at the hand at his shoulder-- and nods, disappearing in a flash of light...

And only his terminal appears back at the shuttle, though Sigma is himself still on the monitor. "I'll transmit what I can, Gai. No. Ultraman - Orb. Until the end, I will try to communicate with Duma."

And to Chloe-- he has another message. "I understand how you feel, but we have no weapons capable of fighting the Angel on even terms, and you are all in danger as well. Please, leave this to us for now. I promise I will not stop trying to find a solution, but we will need your strength for what is to come. I ask that you please endure it, though I know it causes you pain. You and the others must live."

<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.

        'Do not fall asleep.'

        "Trying," Liam mumbles. The terror of being dragged into unconsciousness and left behind fills him, and his augmentations respond by ramping up his adrenal response. His heart hammers against his ribs as he drifts forwards, past the sleeping passengers. "Gridman." Liam still sounds half-asleep, but now the fear is in his voice. "Getting them--out of here..." His brain spins. Every second he's here is a second he's exposed to an Angel's dangerous brainwaves. He slots the override card into the control console, and activates the program. Inside, the autopilot activates. The shuttle's engines roar to life, and it gently starts maneuvering out of the field.

        "Autopilots." Liam is clinging to consciousness. "Zan. Grab as... many..." The last few words are unintelligable, as Liam loses his desperate battle against the Angel's song.

<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

        After first, Shozo crawling up one of Duma's tendrils like an ant doesn't bother them. They aren't doing anything except being a little bit of a pest, but harmlessly so, and there are things going on that Duma deems more important. But as he gets closer to those diaphonous veils that make up its inner body, the blue skies abruptly turn a dark, morbid red. The wrongness that makes up Shozo is even more apparent this close, as he asks his questions with that unnatural echo in the would-be-should-be silence of space.
        
        It's unclear if Duma actually understands what Shozo is saying. But something about him seems to be, to put it scientifically, giving them the heebie-jeebies.
        
        It's then that Gridman materializes himself as the Giant of Light he is, and together with Sky Vitter swoop in to start grabbing the shuttles with the intent of taking them to Tsutsujidia. Duma's tendrils crackle, lancing through space as their core veiled deep within them vibrates.
        
        In an instant, coruscating orange hexagons clap up and around Gridman, Vit, and Shozo, encasing them within cages of light.
        
        The next instant, they're gone--unharmed, but forcibly removed from Duma's presence. Shozo's expulsion isn't too far; he's merely sent some several hundred meters back, still within the general area but now well, well away from the Angel. Gridman and Vit are dealt with more severely; when they reorient, they'll realize they're now suddenly floating near the Frontier Fleet, within view of the Tsutsujidai PLANT but well outside its bounds.
        
        This snap-around of their A.T. Field starts to form around Borr next--but then Gai transforms into Orb to calmly beseech on behalf of these humans, and Sigma increases the tempo of his definitely not an unlicensed remix of Sheryl Nome songs and Mars lullabies.
        
        Now Duma hesitates, tendrils shrinking back as it luminesces deep indigo.
        
        To those who... love them?
        
        Through Sigma's song, the feelings of the Lilim they were aiming to settle come through, and their edges fray as their color heats back to bright red.
        
        I'm killing them?
        
        I'm killing them?
        
        THEY'RE KILLING EACH OTHER
        
        HOW CAN YOU LET THEM
        
        But just as their passion flows forward and outward, so too have the others rattled them. Only now do they notice Zan at their edges, pointing at the crafts, pointing at the Earth. To home. To their home? To where their needs are?
        
        They are not eternal beings. They possess not the Fruit of Life, but the Fruit of Knowledge.
        
        Something is wrong. Something is wrong. s o m e t h i n g is w r o n g
        
        As they frazzle, Chloe and Borr will have an opportunity to race to the other crafts and start a proper rescue, including of Lucine, Liam, and Kikka; this time, Duma is too agitated to stop them. Autopilots roar to life to have the shuttle come to life and fly away--fly away from them--fly away from here.
        
        From here?
        
        From them?
        
        All of a sudden, Duma scrunches in on itself rapidly, like a piece of paper getting crumpled in accelerated time. Some of those present have seen this before, and so they'll know what happens next: Duma continues to compress down into a single point in space--and then... they, too, vanish, leaving behind only a cross of blinding light.
        
        Before long, that, too, dims and fades.

<Pose Tracker> Shozo has posed.

Shozo finally blinks as he is wrapped in that cage of orange light, and *shunted* out of Duma's space. From his place in the infinite cosmos, he watches as Duma's colors turn toxic and violent, its nebulous edges turning vicious and jagged, before finally collapsing inwards like the final fates of the stars whose shape the angel emulates. He says nothing for a moment, just staring at the place Duma was, but is no longer.

A moment passes.

Then another.

Then he raises his hands, grinning widely.

"Yay, we won!"

Shozo begins floating through space, towards Gridman, Borr, and everyone else.

"Borr, I helped!"

<Pose Tracker> Gai Kurenai has posed.

        HOW CAN YOU LET THEM (kill each other)

Gai - Orb - winces. It is a question he's no stranger to, after twenty millennia of watching over and fighting for humans across numerous Earths. Perhaps life is inherently driven to conflict with itself.

But he's seen people who should by rights hate each other, or people from different worlds entirely, connect across improbable light years, by that incredible miracle of the human heart, love.

Even he is blessed with an unbreakable bond of conflict, mutual respect, and love, without which he would be hardly the person he is now.

        'I believe the Tree of Life still blooms,' is his last message to Duma as the tremendous nebulaic entity begins to dwindle and withdraw.

The cards spinning around him return to his hip holster, the images of his Ultra selves fading from his form as he closes the device, pocketing his Orbnica in his coat. Perhaps those humans who were near him will remember his transformation in that hazy half-sleep they were being pushed towards.

He wipes a tear from his eye, watching where Duma left. "It cares so much, but it struggles to understand," he says, mournful.

<Pose Tracker> Gridman has posed.

"What--?" Gridman says, in his metallic voice, as Duma's orange hexagons wrap around him. "Vit, hold on--!"

Bringing a fist against the wall of golden light, Gridman finds himself soundly trapped. "Duma, don't do this! We have to bring them home!"

His words, and his fight, is to no avail. Blinded by the brilliance of Duma's power, when Gridman can see again, he finds himself far from Tsutsujidai. It's going to take precious time for him to return -- time he won't be there to help his friends.

"Damn --! Vit, give it everything you've got, we have to get back there!" Gridman shouts, and Sky VItter answers with a burst of strength. Thrusters burning blue, the Giant of Light begins his journey home.

---

Borr swears vividly as the orange hexagons come for them. They draw two knives, but their best efforts are about as effective as Gridman's punch. Somehow... the hexagons fade, as something happens to Duma. Borr doesn't wait to watch.

"Get us to the other crafts!" Borr shouts at the Shuffle Alliance pilot.

As soon as they're close enough, the smallest Hyper Agent makes a running start, flashing through the air and grabbing the side of the civilian machine. Working their way in, they set it to auto-pilot, and are about to leave, when --

"Oh, shit. Liam?!" Borr grabs the unconscious cyborg. "I've got you, you're safe. I'll get you back home, alright?"

Slinging Liam across their shoulders, Borr flashsteps back to the Shuffle Alliance shuttle. They deposit Liam down, then vanish again -- making their way to the next civilian craft. Again, and again -- as long as it takes. They don't even glance Duma's way, and the poor Angel vanishes without the regard of the Grid-crew.

Eventually, Borr's sent enough crafts back to the city. They wipe their brow, bending in half, panting -- only to hear Shozo's voice.

"Shozo!" Borr calls. "Are you okay? That thing didn't hurt you?"

Grabbing Shozo's hand as soon as he's close enough, Borr pulls him toward the Shuffle Alliance shuttle. "You did great. Did you make any new friends?"

The door of the shuttle closes safely. Borr collapses onto a seat -- one hand still grasping Shozo's. "Hey, take us home, pilot guy."

<Pose Tracker> Shozo has posed.

Shozo keeps up his grin as Borr asks that question, beaming at his adoptive parent.

"No!"

<Pose Tracker> Kikka Kobayashi has posed.

Kikka wakes up, and... Duma is gone. "Sorry... fell asleep, I guess." she murmurs quietly, having been delivered back to the shuttle with the help of Vessels of Light.

This... decidedly isn't the afterlife. "Is.. everyone okay? Did we save them? We saved them, right?" She'd hate it if she was the only one. She doesn't want anyone else to die for her.

Home, Borr says. "Yeah... gotta get home, study for graduation exams." She laughs, a little awkwardly. She'll probably get some good rest on her own terms first.

<Pose Tracker> Zan has posed.

Zan was moving to assist, moving the Iron Railer and pauses as he sees what Duma does.

In the end, he just makes sure the ships do not go too far on autopilot.

And the robot has a sad look on his face.

"<Shuffle Alliance, please stand by. We need to make sure everyone wakes accordingly and seeing a giant robot face or six would not be a good idea for them. The more help we have, the better we can assist in making sure this goes peacefully, please.>" Zan transmits to everyone.

"<I am beginning to process ship and mobile suit identifications to make sure there will be no hostilities as we wake them. Thank you for your assistance.>" Zan transmits.

Zan then unleashes the Carpenters. The six robots emerge from the bays on the Iron Railer before starting to fly around and check ship codes as Zan proceeds to do the same while compiling his report.

<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.

        Liam jostles awake to the sound of someone shouting his name. He's still groggy as Borr picks him up--a feat that, under normal gravity, would be impressive. (Borr could still do it, because Borr is Borr, and they're just that good.) "<'m sleepy,>" he says... in Irish. "<Mom...?>" That's not his mother's voice, and he knows it. But for just a second, he almost felt like... No. Where is he? There was something important...?

        Regardless, he lets Borr carry him to safety, and then floats there, groggy but conscious.

        And alive.

<Pose Tracker> Zan has posed.

Zan was moving to assist, moving the Iron Railer and pauses as he sees what Duma does.

In the end, he just makes sure the ships do not go too far on autopilot.

And the robot has a sad look on his face.

"<Spade-8 and allies, please stand by. We need to make sure everyone wakes accordingly and seeing a giant robot face or six would not be a good idea for them. The more help we have, the better we can assist in making sure this goes peacefully, please.>" Zan transmits to everyone.

"<I am beginning to process ship and mobile suit identifications to make sure there will be no hostilities as we wake them. Thank you for your assistance.>" Zan transmits.

Zan then unleashes the Carpenters. The six robots emerge from the bays on the Iron Railer before starting to fly around and check ship codes as Zan proceeds to do the same while compiling his report.

Internally he fears communication with Duma may have taken a turn, but he is unsure if it is for the worse or not.

<Pose Tracker> Takeshi Todo has posed.

How can he let them?

How can he let humans suffer? How can he stand by while they kill each other? Sigma is silent as his hands dance across the keyboard. He means only to communicate the emotions of the lilim, to be a vessel by which their feelings and fears and truths can be conveyed to something Apart From Them. But in this, he finds he has to provide an answer.

He lets humans suffer... Because to exist without suffering is to cease being human.

Because humanity is an agglomeration of countless existences that are each individual and distinct. That by their very nature, their souls are apart from one another, separated by the boundaries of qualia and isolated by the Knowledge that They Are Themselves.

Because of this, they hurt each other.

But because of this, they can form bonds with each other.

They can overcome the walls of their souls to connect with others. Transcend. Become a part of a whole while remaining individual and distinct.

And in overcoming adversity, in walking forward even through the pain and the hardship and holding their hands out for others to take no matter how often they are slapped aside, they are beautiful.

To take that away would destroy them utterly.

But ultimately, his feelings cannot be fully communicated. Not here. Not now. Duma is too distressed, too confused. He tries to reach out even still, to communicate across that terrible, impossible gulf, but--

It retreats, disappearing with a *pop* into light and stardust. Sigma emerges finally from his terminal, staring meaningfully out the shuttle's window.

Gridman... has been teleported quite a distance away. But if he returns through Junk, distance shouldn't be an issue. "...You did great," he says to Kikka with a tired smile woven across his face. "Duma indeed retreated, but... this isn't the last we'll see of them."

As for the others...

Sigma reaches up to his suit's communicator and speaks: "Agent Sigma here. Well done, everyone. But we must be cautious. I believe Duma... is very confused. Next time they appear, they may lash out. But I want to stress that I believe communication is still possible. That we can achieve some kind of understanding with them. They... do not understand the fundamental differences between humanity and themselves, I think. But... That is a bridge that can be built. It would not be the first time that the human race convinced a being Outside Of Itself of their merit. That is something I know with all of my heart, and I believe it can be done again with Duma."

Perhaps there is still time to put to rest the old gospels, and for the defenders of humanity to hearken the Thesis of a Kind Angel.

<Pose Tracker> Chloe has posed.

        They're urging a retreat... But Chloe can't do that. Her mission is to retrieve the people she came for. Protecting them is her purpose. She can't go against that...

        But she doesn't know what to do. She doesn't understand. All she knows is how to fight. When she can't do that...

        Then there's no hope.

        ... Or is there?

        Chloe blinks in confusion as the contamination alerts vanish. She turns her attention back to the Angel, only to find it collapsing as others like it have. Meaning it's been defeated. They... Won?

        They won.

        But how? Chloe still doesn't understand...

        But that's okay. She doesn't need to understand. What's important is they can complete their mission now.

        Chloe begins to assist the others in corralling the various craft here in preparation of getting them somewhere safe. As she does so though, something nags at the back of her mind...

        Why wasn't she affected by the Angel's contamination?

<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.

        Throughout the exchange, Lucine's words filter in the background like a half-remembered song.

        "Mi af marka dia... on di eva g..... Hh!!"

        The seizing sense of wrongness and emotional frazzling is clear enough for the empath, who gets rocketed back to being awake.

        Her fingers clasp violently on the controls, throwing the Dianthus in reverse. Get away, get far far away.

        < ".... Lapis Azul... 2... sleep. Get me safe. I trust any of you. Just get me safe while I'm still awake..." >

 NERV Board
 Title: AAR: Duma Contact - Search and Rescue
 Poster: Liam 7-020
 Date: Mon Jul 3

Author's Note: My deepest thanks to Dr. Swan White of 3G, who aided in the compilation of this report, and is overseeing my recovery.

Date: July 2nd, 97
Location: Tsutsujidai PLANT.

Situation: Investigation by NERV--including extensive eyewitness reports by operative Zan--concludes that the Tenth Angel (Codename: Duma) is responsible for "mass sleepwalking" events observed through the Earth Sphere. Relevant reports are linked here: (OOC: See bbposts 923, 966, and 1002.) A three-person team consisting of myself, Chloe, and Zan traveled to Tsutsujidai. Operatives observed 56 civilian craft of various series kept in position near the PLANT by Duma. Duma was also present, appearing quiescent.

Investigation of the civilian craft revealed the missing persons, kept in high delta-wave state by Duma--deep sleep, perhaps bordering on induced hibernation. Normal suit data reported symptoms of dehydration, malnutrition, and mild zero-g musculoskeletal atrophy. Severity of symptoms correlates to length of absence.

        Shortly after arrival, we observed other individuals investigating: Gridman and his team of Hyper Agents, Lucine Azul, Gai Kurenai, and two individuals identifying themselves as "Spade-8" and "Agent Sigma of 3G". (AUTHOR'S NOTE: "Agent Sigma" does not appear to be Takeshi Todo, AKA T0 Apostle Gridman Sigma. His aid was invaluable, and I respect his secrecy.)

Communication with Duma established using radio signals. Sigma acted as transmitter and interpreter. Duma expressed benevolent and protective impulses towards abductees, but did not understand their physical needs. Attempts to communicate their needs to Duma, and to express the emotional nuances of the mortal condition, were met with increasing agitation. Duma used its AT Field to induce the same near-hibernation state in the human members of the team. Further intervention by nonhuman members resulted in Duma's retreat.

Entities of Interest:

Duma (The Tenth Angel): (OOC: A bunch of shots of a big, diaphonous cloud, drawn in upon itself, and very pale. It looks... almost depressed. Another shot of the same cloud, big and blue, revealing an Angel core. And if you zoom in really, really, really close... is that a kid? In a normal suit without a helmet? It is. (It's Shozo.)) First identified during skirmish with the Vajra on June 26, 96. Intervened against second-stage Sandalphon in Shoal Zone space. Peacefully interacted with civilians in Tsutsujidai on at least one occasion. Displays strongly defensive behavior, including use of AT Field and localized teleportation to isolate combatants without damaging them.

Extreme nature of Angelic life makes anthropomorphization far more hazardous than usual. Neverthelss, Duma's behavior changes dramatically in response to external stimuli we would consider "emotional". Duma's most recent behavior seems to have been triggered by a psychic contact with Leina Ashta while she was a captive of Dr. Murasame and the Vist Foundation. Her state convinced Duma that humans exist in perpetual pain, and the induced dreams and abductions are its way of alleviating that pain.

Conclusions: All abductees have been accounted for and transferred to hospitals in Tsutsujidai; all will be treated for physical symptoms, as well as extended exposure to mental contamination. No fatalities reported so far. (AUTHOR'S NOTE: We're lucky. We're so lucky we caught this before Duma killed anyone.) Lucine and myself are undergoing treatment for mental contamination aboard the Wadatsumi. I'm so sleepy.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: I'm cutting this off for now to get our sleepyhead into therapy. He told me he "STRONGLY RECOMMENDS AGAINST" notifying Miss Ashta of what happened unless there are "truly exigent circumstances". I agree. She needs to focus on healing.)

 NERV Board
 Title: 10th Angel Orders
 Poster: Kaworu Nagisa
 Date: Tue Jul 4

Orders have come down from Commander Ikari: "The Tenth Angel is to be destroyed."
        
Vice-Commander Fuyutsuki has expanded on this: "After review of the results of the investigation into the Tenth Angel, DUMA is hereby classified a top level threat to humanity and cannot be allowed to roam further. The MAGI and support staff are to prioritize determining DUMA's current whereabouts after it retreated from the Tsutsujidai PLANT and coordinating a mission to eliminate the Tenth Angel while the Evangelion repairs are underway and Evangelion pilots recuperate. Once all conditions are met, the mission will commence as soon as feasible. Col. Katsuragi is to take command with support from Admn. Nagisa."