[IC] Planet Nero: Hidden Motives

[Jenny]

Planet Nero is a planet that has two extreme climates and kingdoms. The kingdom to the South is called Fotia and is mainly desert. It has blistering heat. The kingdom to the North is called Pagos and is full of snow and ice. It has freezing temperatures. The citizens of both kingdoms have long since gotten used to the climates. For much of Nero's history the kingdoms of Fotia and Pagos would go to war. This ended 25 years ago because of the Great War. Fotia and Pagos had a war so horrible and bloody it almost destroyed the planet. Children were orphaned and it was hard to find someone who had not lost a least one loved one because of it. Queen Ember of Fotia and King Lars of Pagos called a truce. Both had lost their families and almost their own lives in a war they couldn't even remember why it started. In the Mountains of Mesos, they built the City of Eirini. Built perfectly halfway between both kingdoms, it serves as a peaceful meeting point for the rulers and a place of trade between the kingdoms. Over time the wounds of the past have slowly healed the kingdoms live peacefully with each other until recently.

Previously on Nero:

Garnet, a clay copy of Pembrooke's to look like Gwynn, was welcomed into the Royal Family. Selene and Barrett were decided by their people that they were the best rulers for the kingdoms, even though they are Firsts. They get married but it doesn't all go well. Lord Pembrooke and Geoffers tried to ruin it with having the clay army attack. However, the attack failed and the clay army was welcomed to become citizens of Nero. The mysterious Dayana, the woman who hired Geoffers, was not happy and paralyzed him. Although Geoffers was a failure at getting Barrett and Selene to go to war, Dayana isn't ready to give up that easily. She truly feels that for Nero's future, fire and ice must be at war.

[Corey]

Barrett



When the morning came, Barrett woke up holding Selene. He had a happy smile on his face. This wasn't the first time he had woken up with her in bed with him but now they were officially married.

Good morning my beautiful wife.

He told her, he already liked calling her his wife. Now all of Nero he was madly in love with this goddess. He'd love nothing more then to spend all day with her doing absolutely nothing but that wasn't possible for the king of Fotia or the queen of Pagos to do. With their jobs, they didn't get that much time "off". Geoffers was sitting in a jail cell right now and they needed to have a chat with him. Try to understand why he did what he did and learn how as a mortal, he had used god like powers. Perhaps Luca and Jared were right, maybe the mystery woman who assigned them to help awaken their ruler's powers was also behind this. Well there was one way to find out and that was asking.

Shall we get Gwynn and Garnet and get some answers from Geoffers?

[Jenny]

Selene



Selene woke up with a happy smile on her face. She snuggled against Barrett and replied to him with a happy smile on her face.

Good morning my handsome husband.

It felt good to say that, although she almost missed all the wedding planning with Luca. All that work and it was over in one day. Too bad they couldn't actually have a honeymoon but with Lord Pembrooke roaming around and possibly this mystery woman, there was no way they could take that much time to themselves. The people of Nero needed them, so for now Selene would just enjoy the quiet moments she had in the morning and night with Barrett when they were alone. She nodded her head to him when he suggested they go get the girls and see Geoffers.

Yes, I'd ready for some answers.

She was still in shock that someone she had trusted had betrayed not only her but all of Nero. She didn't understand why Geoffers did what had he had done, he attacked his own country in this attempt of a war. Innocent people had been hurt and killed...She didn't understand it but she was going to find out the why. She and Barrett got dressed and went to find Gwynn and Garnet. She smiled seeing the clay soldiers protecting them like they promised they would. She told Gwynn and Garnet.

We thought you'd like come with us to confront Geoffers.

Plus the sisters might be able to keep Selene and Barrett calm enough to not lose their tempers and just kill Geoffers right in his jail cell for his treason. It was tempting since how many innocent people had been effected by his actions. Of course not allowing him a trial would also make them out to the evil gods and dictators that certain people in Nero seemed to think they were.

[Honor's Angel]

Zander

::The next morning the children just about everything the younger children wanted to talk about was the wedding. They all had fun but very few actually understood what had happened in the temple. Zander was the oldest child at the orphanage. He was almost a man and had been a big brother to the children for a long time. He had also watched through the portal yesterday of what had happened. He knew Esaias had been very close to throwing his life away because he thought Angel didn't believe him. While the kids were playing and Angel was taking care of the baby, he went to talk to Esaias.::

Hey I get it's hard to trust but Mom won't let you down again.

::Angel might not have given birth to him but she was his mother. He loved her and she was the person he trusted more then anyone else in the world. She had always been there for him and Zander knew she'd be there for Esaias if he gave her a chance.::

[Monkey Kitty]

Gwynn and Garnet

Seeing Geoffers again wasn't exactly the sisters' idea of fun... but then, this wasn't exactly a social visit. They didn't expect to enjoy themselves, but it was important, and they hoped it would prove useful. When they were offered the chance to go along, they agreed to, and were glad Barrett and Selene wanted to include them. They were worried about the fate of Nero and the king and queen, and wanted to do their part to prevent a civil war, but the situation affected them each on a personal level, too, because Gwynn was also a First and Geoffers appeared to be in league with Garnet's creator.

"Let's go," Gwynn said, sounding a little grim. Even Lizard Dog seemed slightly more solemn than usual. Duty called, though. The sisters followed the king and queen to the jail where Geoffers was being held.

[Monkey Kitty]

Esaias

"I'm not upset with her anymore," Esaias told Zander honestly.

He wasn't so sure about this "mom" thing. Esaias had never really had a mom - presumably someone had given birth to him, but he had no idea who and didn't remember her - and he wasn't sure how well it would work for him. He was starting to think of Angel as his mom... but he wasn't sure he was ready for anyone to know that. Calling Angel "she" was the best compromise he could come up with.

"I was yesterday, but I'm not still angry. I understand why she did it. Yeah, if I'd had a choice, I'd rather she'd made a different decision about what to do - but it's done with now. I don't want to waste time thinking about things that are done. Everyone makes mistakes. Even her. It doesn't make me worry about who she is as a person. She's always been nice to me and tries her best. It's just, trusting is hard. You know.. in general."

[Jenny]

Selene



Selene nodded her head to Gwynn when she said they should go. She sounded grim at the idea, an emotion Selene wasn't used from hearing from the young goddess. Garnet and Lizard Dog hadn't seemed happy about it either. She knew it wasn't their idea of fun anymore then it was her and Barrett's idea but they had to do it. They needed to know who had been helping Geoffers. The group headed to the local jail and Jax sadly shook his head at Royal Family when she and Barrett said they were here to talk to Geoffers.

I'm afraid it can't happen. We tried waking him up for some breakfast but he was unresponsive...It's like he is in some kind of coma...

Selene gave Barrett a look and Jax brought the doctor for them to talk to. She was the best doctor in Eirini, brought in by the guards to try and figure out what was wrong with Geoffers. She had seen a lot in her career but in this case she honestly had no idea what caused it. He had appeared to be perfectly healthy male but in one night he suddenly in a vegetative state. His body was functioning but not his mind. She thanked the doctor and sighed to Barrett and the sisters.

Perhaps Jared and Luca were right about the woman...Obviously Geoffers was working with someone besides just Pembrooke.

[Corey]

Barrett



Barrett didn't blame Gwynn, Garnet, and Lizard Dog for not being very excited about seeing Geoffers, he wasn't looking that forward to it either. But he knew it had to be done. There was something bigger going on then just a war, it also had to with them being gods. Of course, things were never easy and he suddenly regretted putting off the interrogation until the morning. He had thought Geoffers would be "safe" in a jail cell with a guard posted at all times but he was wrong. The doctor said he was because a vegetable, she had no idea what to do to cure it or how long it would last...So much for a morning of getting answers. He nodded his head to Selene.

And that someone didn't want him spilling the beans about what they've been planning.

[Monkey Kitty]

Gwynn and Garnet

Gwynn and Garnet were shocked to hear what had happened to Geoffers, and even Lizard Dog - sensing the tension although not able to understand the cause - gave a low howl of confusion. The sisters nodded in agreement with the conclusions Barrett and Selene had drawn; their ideas seemed logical and most likely correct.

"We have to find a way to help him," Gwynn said worriedly.

Garnet looked at her like she'd gone crazy. "Help him? He was a traitor! He's in jail for a reason."

Gwynn nodded. "Yes, and he deserves jail. He belongs in jail. But he doesn't deserve... that. Being a prisoner in his own body. Not even having the freedom of his own mind. No one deserves that. It's worse than dying. Even if he stays in jail for the rest of his life, we need to fix him. We can't just leave him like this. It's too cruel of a punishment, even for him."

Although she didn't know how aware Geoffers was, Gwynn could only imagine what he was experiencing either way - and the thought made her shudder.

[Honor's Angel]

Zander

::Zander was glad that Esaias wasn't mad at Angel anymore.::

Well I'm sure if she could change it she would have handled it differently. But I'm glad you gave her and us a second chance.

::Zander told, he had lived with Angel almost all his life and been with her longer then Milson had been. He knew his adoptive mother very well and knew that she would never intentionally harm any of them. He nodded his head in sad understanding that trusting in general was hard.::

I do know...Not every kid who lives here is because they are like Corla whose Mom died and they have no where else or like the babies that just aren't wanted at birth...Some of us have had bad lives, hurt by people we should be able to trust before coming here...

::If Esaias wanted to know then Zander would tell him more. From the oldest boy's experience trust was hard. He had only been about four years old when he came here but he already had bad things happen to him. The woman who gave birth to him (she didn't deserve to be called his mother) had a drinking problem and would hit him and she'd let her boyfriends hurt him too. The last one had done far worse then just give him a black eye...When an elderly and concerned neighbor took him to the doctor to be treated (something his mother neglected) the soldiers came soon after and sent him to live with Angel. He had been very young when it happened but he remembered it clearly. It had been hard for him to trust Angel or Nana Leanne, who was still alive at the time. His biological mother hurt him all his young life and he didn't see why they wouldn't but they had both been patient and kind with him. He grew to love them and refused to leave. He knew Angel and Leanne would never hurt him but he didn't know if other people would. His birth mother pretended to be nice in public but when she drank she was a different person. He had picked to stay with Angel because he learned her personality never changed. Zander wasn't the only child to have been abused before coming here, Ananda's stepmother had locked in her a cage for a week because she had accidentally slipped ink all over the woman's new dress. That was just before the evil woman finally convinced Ananda's father to give her up for adoption because she was such a horrible young girl. It didn't matter what circumstances brought them to Angel though, she loved them all. She gave them unconditional love and in turn eventually earned the love and trust of the children. Zander was sure if Esaias did give Angel a chance then he'd see his trust wasn't misplaced either.::