trans_9 | In Which Zetta Ponders His Options [Open]

The sensorium took on the image of the Netherworld, specifically the Overlord's Castle. Titanic stone walls covered on every sign of opulence -- paintings, tapestries, other wall hangings, framing large statues of armor than seemed requisite for such a setting. Down the immense, red-carpeted hall and through the doors to the throne room, one might see the Overlord, sitting on a throne meant for his body, not his book-self, and frowning.

For the first time since he'd woken up on this ship, with no Netherworld, no body, nothing but his raw mana power and his determination to get everything back, he was beginning to doubt that it was possible.

"They don't care," he said to himself. "They lost their worlds, but life on this freakin' ship is so great they don't care about getting them back. They don't care about their friends in the pods. They don't care about the worlds the Ohm are destroying.

"...And I call myself evil?"

Not that he cared about losing the election. It was who he lost to, and the message that it sent, that left him sitting there in anger and frustration and quiet horror.

"How the hell am I supposed to do this by myself?"

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Ronnae had walked into the sensorium not even noticing it was in use. She was in casual clothing, hood up, head down, hands in pocket. She was lost in thought and it seemed her feet were in the mood to carry her into situations she would have otherwise thought twice about heading to.

This isn't a terrible one, as far as situations go. Aside from the book, the castle was empty, abandoned though not neglected. Thick carpeting muffled footsteps, and the Overlord was entirely internally-absorbed, so no challenge came as she walked forward.

After a bit of aimless walking she paused and looked up to see where she was at. She blinked a bit confused before noticing the book. She sighed, but she was here, and walking back out would seem rude.

She made her way and sat on the floor beside him looking around. "So this is the Netherworld huh? Pretty unique." She just assumed most everyone who used the sensoriums would recreate places they're from.

The Overlord looked up wearily. "This was my Overlord's Castle, yeah."

Ronnae whistled. "You weren't lying huh. I bet this place was filled with all sort of minions running around. I guess every overlord needs a huge castle. That was the trend back home too. Black Temple, Tempest Keep, Serpentshrine Cavern."

"Yep," Zetta said, still sounding oddly hollow. "Minions, vassals, Prinnies. Every once in a while one of my brothers would explode something... usually a Prinny. And I got to sit on my throne and laugh, while succubi danced attendance and life was good."

Ronnae looked at the empty hall. "Sounds like your life was a party... Don't know what I'd do if my house was like that... even if my siblings constantly tried..."

"It was," the book agreed without emphasis. "Life was good for thousands of years."

Ronnae looked back over her shoulder, her hood obscuring her face, a single teal eye visible searchingly looking over the book. "Why not 'imagine' them in? Didn't think you the type for big empty halls Zetta..."

"Do what by yourself?" asked Zouichi, looking around. He'd heard someone's voice and come to investigate. Okay, the book was talking. That was a little weird. The book also looked depressed, which was even weirder.

"It's not real." The book sighed. "I'd rather have gotten it all back than pretend."

Ronnae frowned. "It's never as easy as it sounds... I learned that the hard way. 'The moment you lose hope is the moment you lost it all.' ... That was something I kept getting told. It was easy for them to say... I was never the hopeful type... I would rather lazy about and let things blow over... Yet."

She looked up in thought. "Yet I never found myself giving up. Even when I voiced it, or my feelings told me it was a waste of time. Something always drove me forward, to achieve what I desired..." She looked down with a dry small laugh. "You prolly think it's stupid, after all I don't think an Overlord could ever feel hopeless."

There was one person headed for Zetta's castle and he touched down quietly in the grounds. Matt didn't really tell anyone he could FLY, but he only saved it for special occasions, mostly when he had to get across the city asap.

"Zetta I know you're in here," called out Matt. "The castle's a dead giveaway."

"Beat the Ohm," Zetta said listlessly. "Then wish my Netherworld back."

"Completely hopeless? No," Zetta said, still flatly. "Sometimes not having arms wears on a guy, though. Strongest mana power in the cosmos, and right now... I can't even walk."

"Well, at least you recognize the fact the castle is so badass it could only be worthy of me," he said from in the throne room, slightly mollified. "It's all open."

"I can see that," said Matt as he stepped up towards Zetta.

"I saw the announcement." said Matt after a moments pause. "I abstained, but that's because I'm council head. Still, if it were me, I'd have voted for you in a heartbeat."

"Isn't everyone here to beat the Ohm?" he asked, confused. "I thought that was why we were brought here."

"'Peace and love' sells," Zetta said. "Easy to say, easy to vote for. People don't want to hear 'let's get something done'. They'd rather wait around for someone to do it for us."

"Apparently, people would rather make peace with 'em," Zetta said. He managed to muster up enough disgust to make his opinion clear.

"I know the feeling. I'm an action guy myself." admitted Matt with a shake of his head.

"Still, I feel like you could do more. I'd need to talk to the council about it... but I could use someone who can poke holes my logic since the others tend to just agree on my final decision. Considering that I am teaching one of your apprentices how to shoot lightning..."

Matt grinned. "Humor a teenager? I mean, I don't have the final say but I'd like to see about involving everyone more."

Oh, yes. Now Zouichi remembered.

"Ah, you must be one of the candidates for the election just recently. I assume you were unsuccessful in your campaign?

"As I recall, several of the candidates professed a wish to reconcile with the Ohm. If that's possible, would it not be preferable to further conflict?"

"Oh yeah. I ought to thank you for that. Ruffnut's doing... really amazing. She's taken to that better than I imagined."

That's probably a massive sign that the Overlord is out of sorts. Thanking someone? That's just crazy talk.

"What did you have in mind exactly?"

"Hey, I like to teach," he said with a grin.

"Sounding board mostly," said Matt as he came over and sat down next to Zetta. "You see, even though I'm the head, I can't usually make snap to decisions just like that. Even after approval processes, I need to talk about it. It's a tough decision whenever the table's called in usually."

"I could use someone to look it over, and poke a few holes in the decision, finding loopholes that could easily be exploited. I figure you're good at that, being a ruler of a Netherworld." Matt shrugged. "To be honest the council's supposed to be free and impartial of things such as race and whatever else, but I'd feel better knowing I wasn't alienating even just a small part of our community."

"No."

Just a flat-out word that held a hint of anger.

"They started it. Making peace with them isn't gonna undo everything they've done."

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In Which Zetta Ponders His Options [Open]

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