Babel

By the All-Father, Guest GM

We watch as the Dream Team — their allies behind them, and enemies before them — make their final choices and take their last steps towards End Day. The final End Day. The camera that we have been viewing this world through begins to shake for a moment before going black with a click. We leave the Infinity Petal for the home of another.
An observer.
He sits staring at a handful of monitors, connected to crystalline wires that all route down to a spherical control embedded into his desk. He is dressed well, in a suit of dark purple, with lighter shades of it on the interior, hand stitched patterns throughout. His left sleeve and pant leg are rolled up showing his fully mechanical limbs. He wears a few other accessories and his well used cane rests against the desk beside him.

Thauvian Regulus: “Looks like it’s time.”

Thauvian rubs his eyes wearily, his metallic fingers clinking on the metal controls on his desk, as he taps it in tune with the humming of the energies around him. He leans back in his seat, stretching his limbs and letting out what seems a long held breath, his coat dragging on the floor from where it hangs on the back of his chair.

Penny: “Father, your coat!”

A young woman with knee length red hair pulls the coat from the chair and drapes it over one of her arms, folding it neatly.

Thauvian Regulus: “Thank you, Penny dear.”

He nods and smiles to the girl, then pops open his pocket watch, glancing at it momentarily before he looks up and speaks to the third presence in the room.

Thauvian Regulus: “ROOT, where are we with the conversions?”

A tall cloaked figure stands over an array of magical crystals and machinery. Their hands pulling on dozens of threads attached to the crystals, thousands of images play across the surfaces of the crystals, all instances in an infinite universe. They press their hand upon the largest crystal in the center of the array for a moment before replying.

ROOT: “All is well. The Core seems to be holding the data perfectly. This amended world she requested should be ready for deployment momentarily. Shall I prepare the Persephone Unit?”
Thauvian Regulus: “Yes, thank you, ROOT.”

Thauvian stands up slowly, his mechanical leg creaking after being in the same position so long, and he bends it back and forth while he speaks, loosening the joint.

Thauvian Regulus: “Penny and I will prepare us for departure after we finish up Annabell's other request.”

He picks up his cane and the three of them get to work, Penny stepping over to the desk to clean it off. She brushes up leftover food scraps and picks up the spent utensils and follows after Thauvian, placing the refuse in a bin. She quickly steps up behind her father, placing his coat over his shoulders as he walks.

Thauvian Regulus: “You don’t need to clean up, Penny — you know that.”

He sighs, touching her hand gently as she places the coat.

Penny: “But if I don't, you’ll leave it for weeks. And besides, I need to keep busy. The two of you have gotten into things I cannot help with.”

She walks quickly to get ahead of him and opens the door in front of them. The lettering on the door notes the name "Babel".
The door opens easily, and the room before them is a marvelous library so tall it seems to have no end, and yet also feeling cramped from all the items held within it. The whole of it is immaculately designed. Beautiful dark wood throughout. Plush ornate furniture. Soft lighting. Shelves filled to the brim with more knowledge than most beings can even fathom. Books, scrolls, stone tablets, spheres of data and magic, glass bottles filled with the spoken histories of worlds far beyond the Infinity Petal. Stories. A winding tower holding an endless inventory of the multiverse. Thauvian looks around for a moment, taking stock before taking two steps forward onto an elevator platform with a computer array on one side. Thauvian taps his mechanical hand quickly across the buttons and the platform takes off up into the library.
It stops after a while, and lets the two off at what seems to be a less stocked portion of the library, mostly empty shelves lining the curved walls and a few chairs scattered about, drinking cups left on the floor beside them. Penny shakes her head as Thauvian chuckles, and heads for a case labeled “Gaia Cluster”. He walks down the length of the case before arriving at a shelf with two spheres upon it. He looks over them both, seemingly checking for any issues and making sure they are the correct sphere, before picking up the one labeled “Petal #31”. In his hands the sphere begins to whir and let off a dark shroud of energy.

Thauvian Regulus: “Seems Annabell’s plan is working perfectly. Penny, please put the cups down and come here. We need to keep our end of the bargain before we can leave. You wanted to be busy? Well this is work only you can do.”

The girl stops midway through picking up a fifth cup before placing them all gingerly near one another, and quickly walking up to Thauvian.

Thauvian Regulus: “Hold still, dear.”

Thauvian picks up his pocket watch, clicking it open and reading the glyphs spinning within.

Thauvian Regulus: “Open your core housing please, dear — focus on keeping this contained. This Crow creature is a nastier beast than most we have seen.”

Penny simply nods and closes her eyes, the center of her chest beginning to open up, revealing a swirling sphere of liquid metallic magic. Thauvian claps the watch closed and slowly moves his hand towards Penny. After a tense moment of silence the sphere in Thauvian’s hand loses all its glow and begins humming an eerie tune. Two swirling trails of energy, one black and one silver, begin to dance from the sphere and into Penny’s core.

Thauvian Regulus: ““All right, Penny. Execute protocol 'Tidy Up'. Let's get this business done.”