genessia | video, beginning timeline

The response was quick showing a silver haired woman with steely blue eyes. The room behind her was very dimly lit but the screen was more than enough to illuminate her face. She bowed her head to the camera before speaking. "Hello Koschei. My name is Sakuya Izayoi, the Devil's Maid. I do not know of this place called Gallifrey, but returning is not so simple it seems. I doubt anyone here has arrived of their own volition."

She squared her shoulders, glancing back over a shoulder at a faint sound, something moving in the dark... She dismissed it just as quickly. "I arrived months ago and have yet to find a way to return, though I'm growing content here now that My Lady has arrived. However if you discover a way home I would not be opposed to hearing it. I have not yet been able to uncover one."

Koschei returned the bow, frowning. He was beginning to grow worried and was definitely puzzled. It hadn't occurred to him that there might be other victims, of different races. Koschei had concluded that his kidnapping was because of his status, as a future Time Lord and a Prydonian of a noble House. He tried to put his thoughts and questions into a logical order.

"Months? Do you know how long this has been going on or who is responsible? We must have been brought here for a purpose and probably no very good one," Koschei said. "I'm not really expecting to escape, but to be rescued. You mentioned a lady. Surely someone will be looking for her, if she is nobility?"

"Feel free to leave whenever you will it.", she said dryly.

Then, there was a mischievous grin on the Princess' face. "If you can. Which I seriously doubt."

Koschei looked around and shrugged.

"This place doesn't seem that formidable. I don't have tools or equipment with me, so I might not be able to leave on my own. What is to keep my people from rescuing me, though?"

"A different dimension", she said easily. "You'll soon find out, even beings who can easily destroy entire worlds are helpless and are unable to go back to their original worlds"

"Rescue? Well that would be a treat, wouldn't it? No I'm not sure rescue is coming. I have sought out the borders of this world but..." She frowned. "Space..." A pause. "The world. It's presence. It's very strange. I cannot put my finger on it. It's... Rougher for lack of a better term. Though it doesn't feel unnatural." Truthfully Sakuya didn't know if she was making sense to him.

"And yes. My Lady is an aristocrat. In any case, there seems to be a shift in time between here and where we hailed from. Or something to that effect. I was here for quite some time before My Lady arrived and she was not even aware of my absence. I do not think anyone will come looking for you simply because you have not been gone long enough. Escape, I fear, is something we must locate ourselves."

"As to why we were brought here... That I cannot say. If you find out I would appreciate knowing." Her lips thinned. "I've been feeling almost like a puppet on a stage... I do not like it."

"I don't know where Gallifrey is, but they aren't going to send you back there," was Zuko's response.

It's similar to his sister's, albeit delivered with considerable more tact.

"The most they allow is a visit to the Docks so you can be given memories of things that have happened back home, but they never send you back. Not when you want them to, anyway. Leaving isn't a choice you get to make."

"I'm actually hoping to be rescued, more than released," Koschei admitted.

Thoughts of leaving aside, the other young man had brought up another piece to the puzzle, one Koschei was hoping would have a clearer answer.

"Who is 'they?' Why was I brought here? Perhaps we can negotiate."

"That shouldn't stop my people. We know how to travel between dimensions. Are all of the people they gather so powerful?"

Koschei stared hard at her for a few moments, silently, absorbing everything she had just told him and what it could mean. The Lords of Time were not omniscient. If someone had tampered with his timeline or if this place was somehow in a hidden branch of time, he might not be missed and not rescued. He swallowed hard against that notion. He could be stuck in this one timeline, never becoming a Time Lord, never reaching his full potential.

"You said the borders of this world feels unnatural. How do you know that? Unnatural as in wrong or as in manufactured?" Koschei all but demanded, trying to control his manner. "I'm a scientist. If I can get access to the right equipment, I might be able to find some answers."

"Rough." Sakuya corrected. "Not really unnatural... Though I suppose rough space is unnatural in its own way..." She let out a small 'hmm,' the world rippling around her. "To clarify, I've felt false spaces before and they were full of seams. Stitch lines. This place is rough but it expands beyond my reach and has no marks as far as I can tell. Else I would have unraveled it already. Essentially it does not feel manufactured."

"Oh? A scientist?" Her eyebrows rose subtly. "When I've attempted to explain my ability in the past I've been met with odd looks..." Though it couldn't hurt now. "I can feel and manipulate spacetime. I can remove myself or objects or others from a single moment and return them at my will, I can accelerate or slow things within time. I can also manipulate time locally causing space to warp, fold, shrink, or expand. For example my powers allow My Lady's mansion to be far larger on the inside. It's quite nice, actually."

She paused to let that sink in. "Before you ask, I cannot time travel. I know its possible but feeling time's absence pressing on my back was more than enough to grey my hair. I have no desire to venture further."

"That's the thing — we don't know who exactly that is. It's hard to open negotiations with an entity you can't put names or faces to."

"That makes no sense at all. What sort of primitive mind kidnaps people only to ignore them?" Koschei asked, frustrated.

He grimaced. Koschei had never handled stress well, especially not since he had started school. His head throbbed, as a previously distant sound intensified, a double beat, as of a drum.

"Well. Perhaps it is our absence from our worlds that the kidnapper desires."

Koschei gave her a suspicious look. Not many species had those abilities, but there were some...including the Time Lords. He'd never heard of a student being tested in this way, but then, not everything the Time Lords did happened in the open. It was even possible that she was from a different version of Gallifrey than the one he was from.

"You're quite gifted, then," Koschei said smoothly. "I am a scientist, yes. As it happens, one of my best subjects is temporal mechanics. I will be able to travel in time...assuming I am ever allowed to complete my education. It's expected of a Time Lord."

"I am gifted indeed. Many children born in CielLune were granted strange and wonderful abilities though I have yet to hear of one that can hold a candle to the potency of my own." She seemed quite proud of that fact. Actually, from the way she spoke, perhaps her ability was uncommon where she was from?

"Temporal... Mechanics?" She tilted her head. "I know little of science but it would certainly take someone who is very gifted to actually travel through time. I suppose the title of 'Time Lord' is appropriate in that regard."

"Truthfully I know little of my own ability. Time is something that I simply have an awareness of just as people can see color or feel texture; I can sense the fabric of time around me."

"Maybe they aren't. Maybe we're doing exactly what they want us to."

Which wasn't very comforting, but something he'd put thought towards anyway. It was hard not to think of all the possibilities surrounding their being here, no matter how grim they were.

"Interesting. It seems whatever makes the children gifted has given you at least some of the abilities of a Time Lord. Time Lords are always aware of the web of time. We can read the time lines, if we choose," Koschei explained. "Temporal mechanics is working with the machinery, Time Lord technology, that helps us time travel."

"Which is what? Get a job and find some sort of existence here?" Koschei asked, frustrated. "If I knew what they wanted of me, I would be sure not to do it."

Koschei glowered off into the horizon, then rubbed at his eyes. The pounding was growing worse, as his stress increased. He felt argumentative and was determined to ruin whatever game was being played with him. He was Koschei of House Oakden, a Time Lord, at least eventually, and a future member of the Prydonian order! He would not give in.

"I see. Then we are not so different. In that regard at least." She looked thoughtful. "I would very much enjoy hearing more about your people and your technology. You should know however, regardless of my interest in the subject I know very little about it. All I know is what my natural abilities allow me to feel."

She didn't show it but she was somewhat embarrassed. "That and I do not come from a world known for its... Technological achievement. A place that still holds the electric light on a pedestal of esteem."

Zuko shrugged his shoulders, at a loss for an answer.

"I don't know. I'm not an expert on this, I've just been here long enough that I've had to make the choice of adapting or spending the rest of my time here — however long that may be — utterly miserable."

He had contemplated doing the opposite, going the rebel route and refusing to take comfort in any of the comforts Genessia had to offer or learn to live their way of life, but he's lived a miserable existence before. Zuko didn't want to go back to being the person he was when he was looking for the Avatar. That part of his life was over.

"I'm Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, Deputy Guardian of Fayren."

"Well, I'm not really allowed to speak with you or anyone other than other Time Lords about our technology," Koschei admitted. "Perhaps, though, I can help you make sense of your abilities, without reference to technology. You shouldn't let technology concern you, with me, at least. Very few worlds can match Gallifrey in that area."

"I can't just accept that. I have to at least try to get home," Koschei argued, voice raising in anger.

Koschei wasn't angry at Zuko, but the situation. He was just so frustrated and the pounding in his head was getting louder. Still, he had some experience at this. Koschei took a deep, deep breath, turning his mind to his problem.

"You said there were docks, that could show us what happens, on our worlds. Does this include information or memories we would have gained, if we hadn't been taken? One of the worst parts of this is the interruption to my education."

"Yeah. You sleep while you're at the Docks and dream of what would've happened. I've never done it, but my girlfriend has."

Zuko's been inside the Docks, but that was about it. He didn't lay down himself, too afraid of acquiring memories of a future that's very likely bleak for him and looking even bleaker, since Ty Lee now claimed that he was present within the walls of the Boiling Rock.

The maid frowned a little when he mentioned he's not allowed to talk about it... though, to be fair, there were a great many things that she herself was not allowed to talk about without first getting permission.

"Even if you did it is not something I would likely understand. As such it would be best for you to handle the technology end should it come to that."

She paused glancing back, appearing to flicker several times, the phone shifting a little. She turned back to the camera. "I am sending you my contact information should you wish to arrange a meeting. An in person demonstration would likely be far more effective than one over this device."

Koschei sighed with relief. He would still get his education, then!

"Thank you. That, at least, is very good news. I still have to go home, of course, but that helps a good deal."

"Demonstration? What would you like me to demonstrate? I can't show you my connection to time and I would need a lab to show off my science skills. Though, if you know of a lab, I'd love to have access," Koschei reasoned.

Koschei looked over the contact information, nodding as he memorized it.

"I think, for now, I should see about finding shelter."

"I was referring to a demonstration on my part. If you are to determine the nature of my ability in finer detail I would assume one is necessary. I am already aware of where this power comes from. I have been informed I have a near perfect affinity for time hence my ease of manipulation despite having little to know magical talent."

"As for a lab..." Her brow furrowed in thought. "I cannot think of one. You might want to go to Nova City. The technology there is quite advanced, or so I've been told. You may find what you seek there."

"Also, shelter has been provided for you. There should be an apartment key and address with the objects you received. It's not much but it is livable until you find something better."

Koschei actually blushed. He should have understood her meaning, but, he consoled himself, he was a student. He was used to having his own abilities tested, not the opposite.

"In that case, yes, a demonstration would be useful. Of course your affinity, as you put it, isn't perfect. What is? I wouldn't trust anything that seemed perfect...or anything claiming to be magic," Koschei told her.

He had the heart and mind of a purely rational thinker, believing everything fit into the patterns and laws of science. The information about the apartment made him sigh, hissing breath through his teeth.

"Very well. I had better go there, for now. Would you be interested in meeting me in Nova City?"

Sakuya actually smiled a little, bowing her head. Despite one of her titles being 'The Perfect and Elegant Maid' she knew she was far from it. "Indeed. So few understand what perfection is. An unattainable goal to strive for. I believe we will get along quite well."

"And I understand your hesitation." She paused to listen for a moment, a faint sound in the background. "As I was saying... It's expected that you are not trustful of things claiming to be magic. As I understand it, in my world, certain creatures split from the main world because their 'magic' did not work well with the technology the humans were producing. Mayhaps there is a more concrete way to explain the innate abilities some posses. Mayhaps not. I am not well enough versed in either area to give you a definitive answer."

"From what I understand though is that the laws of the universe differ from person to person here. People seem to retain and operate under the laws of the universe they hailed from. So do try to keep an open mind."

"As for Nova city..." She paused, thinking. "Yes I believe that would be acceptable. Send me a message with your location when you are ready I will come within the minute. I would prefer this meeting happen during the day. My Lady is a vampire and is active after the sun sets. I must be nearby to tend to her."

"Your world sounds very interesting. The idea of parallel universes isn't new to me. My world helps hold the passages between them open. I haven't studied them very much however, not yet, at least. There are worlds in my own universe that have abilities or technologies so unusual that they seem like magic. I've always been taught, however, that these abilities are merely science that hasn't been discovered yet," Koschei explained, then shrugged. "I suppose it is at least possible that magic, true magic, can exist in some realities. I'm not sure I like the idea, but I'll concede the possibility."

Koschei thought for a minute, then shook his head, feeling more puzzled than ever.

"Doesn't that strike you as odd? Whoever brought us here has kidnapped us, yet they are very accommodating. It would make more sense to take away our abilities or to make us obey the natural laws of this universe. That, after all, would keep us off balance and, for some I'm sure, make us more controllable."

Koschei started, his eyes going wide.

"A vampire? That's...the vampires of my reality are all gone. They died millions of years ago."

"My world..." A pause, the maid letting out a small sigh, smiling. "A chaque oiseaux son nid est beau. Though it depends on where you go. Gensokyo is a paradise, so I would suggest starting there. The Japanese aesthetic is quite lovely. Especially the cherry blossoms. I was born in CielLune, however, and it has far fewer things of value. Though that doesn't stop it from being my home."

"It's good to keep an open mind. From what I understand some magic can resemble science, though much can be done with little to no aid or tools. Maybe you will discover a new form of science. Or perhaps something science cannot explain. Who knows? You may find yourself throwing fire and lightning at your enemies with little explanation as to why." Her tone had lightened quite a bit, teasing him a little. She wasn't trying to hurt his feelings, rather, just poke a bit of fun.

The maid actually paused as he pointed out his observation, her lips tightening a little. "That... Thought did cross my mind, yes. But there are worse things than being controlled. I feel this place is more of a stage, to be honest. And we are here for the entertainment of someone. There is little we can do in any case. At least for now."

"And yes. She is known as The Scarlet Devil for good reason. And I am honored to be called her maid and thrall." A small pause. "Milioins of years?" Her eyebrows raised subtly. "Well, My Lady will at least be pleased that there will not be any competition for blood coming from your world."

"I wouldn't mind discovering a new science," Koschei agreed, but he frowned at her next comment. "Are there worse things than being controlled? I'm not so sure about that. I don't want to be controlled or someone's entertainment. I am a Time Lord! I'm a genius by our standards, much less those of...well, younger races."

Koschei shivered at her description of her "lady."

"Not just my world. They've ceased to exist in my entire universe," Koschei corrected, a bit grimly. "Perhaps in your world it's different. In my world, they were terrible, thirsty beings, bringing death and destruction. THey were destroyed."

Koschei doesn't want to offend his new acquaintance, but he's been taught about his people's war with the Great Vampires and has been trained to view them as a great enemy.

"There are plenty of worse things than being controlled. But, again, I do not think its control that our captors want. I believe its entertainment. Perhaps its amused by the fact we all struggle to survive despite coming from worlds with very different rules."

A small nod. "Then all the better. Less competition for My Lady means she has more blood to freely drink. Already we are sharing the fine young humans of this world with Lord Tepes, however, as My Lady and My Lord get along and there has been no shortage of humans from which to feed there have been no issues thus far. I hope it remains so."

The maid paused momentarily, a far more genuine smile spreading across her features. "Terrible, thirsty beings? That sounds about right. My Lady's wrath can fell armies if she so chose. Though she would rather remain at home drinking tea if possible. Powerful as vampires are not all of them desire destruction or conquest. They merely wish to exist as any other creature. Perhaps you will meet My Lady sometime and see for yourself.

"Death, perhaps, but I can't think of anything else. Some people might say torture, but I think being controlled is torture. Being unwilling entertainment is almost as bad."

Koschei shook his head, amazed that she spoke so openly of her mistress drinking blood.

"I...perhaps," he conceded, striving for politeness, rather than revulsion. "But, how does she get away with drinking blood? I'm told their are very powerful people here. Surely, some of them must object to your Lady killing other people in order to feed?"

"If that's the case, I must be the first to admit that your people are outstanding", she said calmly. Her tone never changing and rarely showing genuine interest. "But yes, a lot of the beings here are capable of travelling through time and dimensions, yet they all find themselves imprisoned in this dimension."

Then, she nodded. "There are lots of powerful beings here, there are also a lot of weaker beings. One never really knows if a person is hiding an ability. Just be weary of people who have necklaces"

"Odd. So much power, but it's not really being used constructively," Koschei said, disapproving, then tilted his head. "Why be wary of people with necklaces?"

"Death is not easily tested, nor do I have any desire to tempt something like that... And our position is all about perspective. I am a servant and have found myself in a world where the overlord has not shown themselves to be especially cruel as of yet. However, I have likewise not dropped my guard as I am unaware of their final intention."

She seemed to pause, looking a little puzzled. "Get away with? You speak as if she is breaking some form of law. Last I checked humans and like beings can survive a little bloodletting. In fact, a human could recover even if they lost half of their total blood. It would be difficult and unpleasant, but not fatal. And besides, My Lady has always had a light appetite. Her 'victims' recover within several days time. At most."

"I don't want to test death, either. You can say perspective is everything and you're right, to an extent. Our perspective here, though, is largely speculation. Only our captors have the facts of why we're trapped here. I'm not a servant and I don't intend to yield."

Koschei relaxed visibly at her description.

"I'm not sure there are laws here, but I've heard of Guardians. Surely, it's their place to protect people from such fates? It seems, however, your vampires are very different from the ones in my universe. The ones in my universe almost invariably killed, their victims drained, even when the bodies were more or less intact."

"That is wise."

The scenery changed to a lounge, the maid looking down and likely pulling something from a pocket and began working on something in front of her. "Guardians cannot protect everyone. That is for the local authorities. The job of the Guardians it seems is to deal with larger events. In addition there have been some guardian imitators running around and causing trouble. I would suggest avoiding all contact with any Guardian until this ends as telling the false from the real would not likely be easy."

She moved on to a new area. Considering she was a maid it was likely she was dusting or polishing. "And My Lady is capable of killing. Just because she has a gentle touch does not mean she is any less of a vampire. If she is attacked she will not hesitate to defend herself and kill if need be. In the case of victims it occurs when they struggle to much and cause additional damage to major arteries."

"I see your point. How does everyone function with so much chaos? There's no government, no law and order. It's not a rational way to run things, in my opinion."

Koschei considered her description of the female vampire and shook his head.

"She should render them unconscious or only take blood from those willing to provide it. The vampires of my universe were said to be rather sexually compelling. I would never blame someone for defending themselves. That's a natural instinct in any living being."

"It may not seem rational to you, but it functions well enough. It is my belief that whatever brought us here would step in if something truly catastrophic happened." A pause. "I've noticed a strangeness about the people here. They repeat their lives. Not in a routine, but like..." She paused. "It feels artificial in a way. Like actors in a play. As such I'm wary to take full action for or against anything."

"As for those willing to provide blood." Sakuya made a dismissive gesture. "She would if there was anyone willing. It is not an easy thing to find. And you are correct. Defending oneself is indeed very basic. It's just a shame that something so vital for survival ends up being the undoing of some people. Even monsters will agree that there is no value in wasting a life."

"Does it? It seems uncivilized to me," Koschei sniffed. "I don't believe you should trust them. I certainly don't! Why should a catastrophe bother them? Would an individual catastrophe be enough? I doubt it."

"Has she asked? You never know, if you don't try."

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Sorry my Sakuya muse has been uncooperative @.@

S'okay I've been slow lately :D