The Void Left Behind...

Quiet. Uncomfortable silence, that was what Rozmer was experiencing. Well, that may not have been entirely accurate. Having an infinite number of consciousnesses all scattered throughout an infinity of worlds didn't exactly lend itself to "alone time". But now, in this particular world, Rozmer did feel very alone. As one of only two Omniversal beings in well...the Omniverse he had gotten used to his partner in crime. Okay so technically they weren't the ooooonly Ominversal beings but they were the only ones that made for good company. But now, now their little band of reality preserving paragons had been reduced from one to two. How exactly Rozmer wasn't exactly sure but he intended to get answers.

So in a blink he was inside one of Zell's buildings, in his living quarters as a matter of fact. If he knew his friend like he thought he did, the man would not be taking losing The Archon energy well. In fact he was probably drinking himself into oblivion. All he had to do now was find him and get the answers he sought. Oh, and he needed to torment the once god-like entity for once again becoming mortal.

Lighting up a cigarette in the penthouse, Rozmer would exhale a puff of grey smoke into the room. Zelllllllll he would call out, his voice going higher and trailing as it went on.

Head down as his arms were out on his desk, the windows were tinted to prevent anyone from seeing inside, though honestly it was mostly just to keep the sun out. Papers regarding some of his latest highly sensitive materials and his deep secret projects were thrown about the desk and pinned down underneath the drooling, passed out young man in a suit. Black hair thrown about, tanned skin and an empty bottle of whisky in his hand with three others over on a crystal trey with other cups for guests. All hidden back in his personal chambers as he tried to sleep. The clocks in the room had been silenced and all he could do was try to sleep. To sleep and perhaps to dream.

His mind drifted through a lot of things, despite his drunken stupor he knew fully well that in a state like this he could still feel something. Feel anything really. His mind branched out as he would dream, and soon he was in control once more. Still doing everything he should be. Still working himself to near death on an omniversal scale. Still here, still fighting. His mind drifted back to the past...or rather the past as he once knew it. Thorgron, Anaxii, Elixe, Silus, Dante; Hell he even missed Shara, and everything they had. He even missed Ire, he missed his enemies back then. How simplistic it was, even if t the time the odds were insurmountable. But then again...it was his determination that got him into this mess. But right now...right here he was still with his family. With everyone he wanted to be with.

A family dinner, a feast in the halls of the kingdom he was once named after, save for the brand on his arm. The fire-haired brute quipping back at the silver wolf as they always had, Silus and Dante bickering over a some friendly debate while Zell couldn't help but feel complacent to be in the pressence of all of this. It wasn't until he breathed his first sigh of relief that he closed his eyes at the table, smiled and opened them...only to br greeted by a mess of blonde hair from an individual seeming to float upside down, eyes masked behind purple lenses and a fine vest with a crisp white shirt.

Zelllllllll the voice said as the man's mouth moved a rather amused smirk on his face.

"Oh not now, seriously?" He asked, immediately his dream went haywire, Silus jumped up to greet his uncle Rozmer while Dante was confused as to what was going on. Thorgron assumed it was an assassin and tripped when his blade went through the void, not killing him. Anaxii just laughed at Thorgron's failings which lead to a brawl. Meanwhile Zell looked up to the dream Rozmer and glared at him, though Rozmer still seemed amused at the damage he had caused.

"I hate you-I hate you-IhateyouIhateyouIhateyouIhateyouIhateyouIhateyouIhateyou I-" Suddenly his head snapped up and he was in the waking world, imediately he saw Rozmer on his way down the hall, looking right at him. Zell just grumbled before shouting down the Hall. "No!" and with the press of a button a large heavily fortified door dropped in the threshold, preventing anyone and anything from passing. Of course it doesn't stop nothing, because nothing can't be stopped. Rozmer's head came through the door first, then the rest of himself, phasing through it, leaving Zel to groan and drop his face into the desk.

Rozmer would only laugh as he floated through the large metal door, smoke wafting softly around his head. You knew that wasn't going to work he'd jest, throwing his thumb over his shoulder at the metal door. Soooooo I've just got to ask why. Make you feel strong to slam it my face there amigo? By this point Rozmer was no more than a foot from Zell and continued to float towards him. He would finally stop with his face hovering just above Zell's head. Something buggin you buddy? Smoke billowing out of his mouth, Rozmer would raise a hand and gently poke at Zell's head with his index finger.

Honestly Zell had to admit, Rozmer had class. You see at least he was being kind enough to wait for Zell to state the obvious problem before he made fun of him for it. Zell's initial response was to reach over and shut his laptop nonchalantly, protecting any secrets that may have been hidden within as his head lay on the desk. Of course Rozmer then proceeded to poke Zell, which resulted in Zell pushing back on his chair and sliding himself away from the desk slowly as he sighed. The question of the hour there. What made Zell feel so strongly as to shut the door in his face.

"Because I keep thinking...one of these days I'm gonna do that and there will be a reality where you just stop there... no powers. Just...bam. Door. Then I can sober up and be properly prepared for the only thing more inevitable than the inevitables. Rozmer's playful pestering." Zell said with a slight smile, forced, but a smile. He then proceeded to shake his head a tad and sighing. "...that should be a kid's show..." he said, though the tone in his voice shifted to more of an interested idea, proof that he had entirely forgotten about what it was he was just talking about. Then he looked to Rozmer, finally admitting that this little dance of their always ended the same, knowing full well no matter what he did it was all for naught. He waited for Rozmer to state the reason he was there...

Rozmer contemplated Zell's comment as he rose to plant his backside on Zell's desk, his back to his seated friend. You know as well as I do that there are more than a few realities where that works Zell. He say this very matter of factly. After all, the two of them were not fully powered in every universe they inhabited, far from it actually. As Rozmer had now experienced countless times over, some realities just didn't allow fro abilities like their's. In a reality such as that, the door would just as easily kept out Rozmer as any other man. But then again, this wasn't one of those realities.

But I happen to know that f the roles were reversed and I was that sad heap of a man half drunk at my desk and you were the one approaching, that door would have slammed tight and kept you out of this room. Turning back to Zell he'd let out another puff of smoke from between his lips, both of his arms stretch back supporting him on the desk. So tell me, how's it feel to be truly human again?

What does it feel like to be truly human again? Did he even just ask that? Zell was hoping that it wasn't true and that he was merely hearing things. Honestly Zell wasn't quite sure how to respond, though in truth he was quite certain that he didn't respond how he wanted to. He wanted to very forcefully make it known that he wasn't happy about it. That the means of his disempowerment were disgraceful and that he despised every single moment of his current existence. But what he ended up pretty much saying was loud Bill Cosby levels of slurring as he flung a glass at Rozmer's head, it likely passing through only to smash against the door.

 "I...didn't mean to do that. But I don't hate myself for doing it." he managed to say after clearing his throat and running his hand through his hair, very wearily looking to the laptop. "You know how this feels Rozmer? I will- I don't think I have the proper words to describe how this makes me feel. But let me try. It feels like-..." Zell stopped for a moment, his face paling over as his abdomen clenched. He held up a hand as if to say "stop" or "time out" or something to that effect. He then reached beside his desk and pulled over the tash bin and violently heaved into it. Apparently he had forgotten the sickness that ails him in this realm. After a moment he took a piece of paper from his desk, something about a heart transplant and he wiped his mouth on it before dropping it in the trash and looking at it with a couple groans and quick inhales to catch his breath.

 "Well..it kinda feels like that." He said before doubling over and staying there for a second. "I..I have words. I can use them. Just...not for a bit.  Oooooph. Fuck existence." he said with a groan reaching into a second drawer and pulling out a bottle of what appeared to be water with the specific brand name of "Detoxify". Though one couldn't be too sure if it as water or not as it didn't seem to come from this universe.

There was no need to phase. In Zell's drunken state his motor functions were not in proper order. Ducking, Rozmer would duck from the glass only to disappear from his seat on the desk. Instantaneously he was at the other end of the room, holding out a hand to catch the lofted object. After all, he figured Zell would not appreciate the mess to be cleaned up when he sobered up.

Tossing the glass in the air gently, Rozmer would absently catch and toss it as he listened to Zell's slurring. Clearly he was upset and...sick? Surely he wasn't just puking from disgust with his position as a human. But regardless, Rozmer found himself somewhat insulted by the drunken rambling. However short it was, to him, it felt almost like being slapped in the face. Crossing back to the desk, he would put his hands down on either side of the Detoxify bottle that Zell had produced. Can you really be that self-loathing? He of course the answer to that question was a resounding yes. Even with the Archon energy, Zell seemed to always feel powerless, out of control, with a need to do more. Do you realize how much of a gift you've been given? You are Atlas with the world, The OMNIVERSE, lifted off your shoulders. Enjoy the time off, I'd say you've earned it. Crossing from the desk he wanted to end it there, to just leave at "good job Zell, take a little vacation" but something in him was angry, pissed at the fact that something he so longed for yet could never had, Zell was wallowing in self-pity over.

Turning back he'd slam a fist on the desk, the other pointed squqrely at Zell. The look on his face was of disbelief and disgust. Do you have any idea how often I've wanted to be where you are right now? You can have a normal life, live unburdened by the constant threat of collapse. I spend each of my lives trying as hard as I can to become a part of reality. In every single one I incorporate myself in to the world, try to blend in, assimilate, but by the very nature of me I can't. And here you are, with peace and normalcy dropped in to your lap and what do you? You complain about how awful it is. It was out of character to Rozmer to be this upset, but with every word he felt his rage growing, like some dam inside him had broken and the flood waters were pouring out.

The words brought Zell to a stop before long. He had seen this kind of activity before. Where had he seen them? It was in this reality. It shouldn't be to hard to call to mind. Two individuals. One powerless wishing they had powers and the other almost God-like wishing they did not. It rang such a bell, but this was different. What he remembered it was the powerless one yelling at the empowered one. What did he-Oh that's right. Batman yelled at Superman in that one comic about being a little bitch. Good for you Batsy...good for you.

"You would see it that way, wouldn't you? Do you think I'm stupid? Oblivious? The threat of collapse is still out there, it's still here. YOU'RE STILL HERE!" He snapped the strange water being flung at Rozmer. Of course it would do as it always did. It had no reason not to. "Do you think I've somehow taken a magic potion? That the really cool opportunity guy knocked on my door and did this to me!? That somehow, just because I'm human that I'll ever be able to forget the things I've seen!? The difference between what we WERE and what I am now is that neither of us knew! We were ignorant, and now that I know can you imagine what it would be like!? Do you have any idea how horrible it is to know what's out there...to know what's coming and to be powerless to change it?"

Situations like this between Zell and Rozmer were few and far between actually. The unfortunate part of this particular circumstance was shrouded by the haze of anger, misery, and everyone's favorite kinds of booze. Arguments came and went...but this kind of debate ran too far deep in Zell's blood.

"You act like...this is a vacation. You approach this the same way you approach everything..." Zell said, his voice and outward appearance holding a stoic calmness to it as he recovered. He just sighed and literally swatted his laptop off the desk, sending it crashing into the wall, breaking off pieces into little plastic slivers. "I wish you could have this feeling too. Maybe the perspective would teach you the same thing it's taught me." He said before his mind wandered a little bit. The display of rage still guised behind his mask. The same stoic nature he tried to always show when he was around those who didn't know him.

Things were becoming clearer as the bottle of fluid passed through Rozmer, shattering and spilling its contents across the wall behind him. Rozmer's eyes locked with Zell's, studying the tantrum being thrown before him. This was not Zell. Not in the way that he was no the Zell he knew, but that he was acting wildly out of character. Rozmer had never known this man to lose his cool, to break that mask of stoicism he wore so wholly. But of course even now it would return, the calm demeanor hiding a maelstrom of unfelt emotions deep inside the man, the  powerless mortal man. All of a sudden it all became clear.

So that's what this is about? Rozmer began, even more anger in his voice now as he realized the source of Zell's frsutration. You've never felt powerless before. Even when you aren't The Archon, Zell is an influential and powerful man. A king, a billionaire, a superhero, always a man with influence and the power to shape his world. Even now, with The Archon energy stripped, you still have your intellect, your money and your technology. But for once, knowing what's out there, its not enough.

Rozmer then turned from Zell, cupping his head in his hands, trying to calm himself. But then, Zell dropped the bomb. "I wish you could have this feeling too. Maybe the perspective would teach you the same thing it's taught me." Slowly Rozmer turned, unsure if he had heard Zell correctly. I'm sorry, you wish I could have the feeling of powerlessness? To be stuck in a situation that I have no control over? Welcome to my life!! Rozmer was immediately gone from where he was standing across the room and was now had Zell by his collar, their faces inches from one another. I had nothing before becoming what I am. I was a scared mortal in a harsh world, ripped from life by random chance. I had the infinite nothing of The Void forced on me because a supreme being was too careless to see that I make it where I belonged after I died. You have never suffered at the hands of an Omniversal being as a mortal with no way of knowing what is happening. Hoisting Zell's collar, Rozmer forced him up against the wall behind them. THAT is helplessness, THAT is powerlessness. You're so caught up in your own pity party that you don't even realize just how lucky you are right now. Calming now, Rozmer realized what he was doing. As his anger turned to sadness and disappointment he gently lowered Zell to his feet and teleported back to the opposite side of the desk. His voice was now somber and low. If I was in your position right now, I'd still be nothing. You get to be someone, enjoy it. This is an opportunity to do something we never get to do. I can protect this world on my own, but now you can make it a world worth portecting.

Zell almost had a heart-attack as Rozmer did everything from vanish to pin him up against the wall. This only solidified the argument. This only made it quite clear to Zell just who exactly Rozmer was. What Rozmer was. A living "God" level entity that simply functions on technicality. Something that is entirely incapable of perceiving things his way. Rozmer wasn't some brother. He wasn't some ally. He was a replacement. Something he tried to fill in his own life in order to make himself feel just a little less lost. A little less incomplete. But trying to fill a void with nothing...he should have anticipated this would be the end result. Then he had the audacity to say he could protect the world alone, and that somehow Zell could make it a world worth protecting.

 "We'll see if you can..." Zell said through his teeth, his upper lip twitching as his eyebrows diped, narrowing into a glare. If Zell ever gave Rozmer a death glare, this was it. ...True powerlessnes...is to have the illusion of power. The illusion of influence. All to be made a mockery of...counterfeit. False. Fake and Fraudulent. I started out as a nobody. I EARNED my keep. I watched it ripped from me. You were a nobody. So was I. I made myself someone. Then I was proved to be no one. I was humiliated and proved to be no better than you. Influence? Power? His mind was wracked, riddled and he almost spoke these words. But he couldn't believe what left his mouth. He could feel an unnatural twist in his heart. A wrenching in his very soul...if he even had such a thing any longer. Rozmer set him down and he mauled over a lot in his mind.

  "Now would please either kill me or state your business here Mr.Frey? I'm not a God-leveled entity. I have a expiration date..." He said before twisting his hand, adjusting himself a as he grabbed his own wrists. A slight scowl as he realized he could do nothing against this foe anyway. Subtly twisting his watch and a feat of his own sleight of hands he tapped a button on his watch. He had never invented a machine with the intentions of combatting Rozmer... but that very well may be what this one was going to be used for. Regardless of why Zell was acting out like this. Fear. Drunken rage. Drunken Fear? Perhaps just the feeling of being belittled or having his own problems minimized by someone whom simply refused to understand or see things in a similar light. It wasn't anything that could be fixed, and normally while of sound mind, Zell could respect that. But now something was different in him. Something was incredibly off about him on an overall scale. Though in the chaos it was likely chalked up to a loss in translation.

Zell was furious. On some level Rozmer knew he had a right to be. His little speech had just about turned on him. That little bit about suffering at the hands of an omniversal being still rung in his head. Seconds ago he had Zell, his friend, pinned against the wall helpless. He was the being about to cause suffering. In his mind he wrestled with the idea, unsure of just what had come over him. I'd never kill him, never actually hurt him. I couldn't...right? He knew it to be true and yet the rage that had come over him was terrifying. Looking at his friend he could see the mixed look of anger and contempt.

This was not The Archon that he knew and yet it was. Zell was The Archon, had been chosen by the energy and had chosen it. The man with whom he dwelled in every reality was in there, the core of him anyway, but the alcohol and the anger and the fear were twisting him, making him far colder than usual.

But the insults kept coming. Zell with unbridled rage seemed to dare Rozmer to protect this world on his own. Knowing Zell, this was a threat. Any screw up, no matter how slight, would be blamed on him and internalized to Zell for having lost his powers. It was the worst kind of situation to be in. His mind ever clearing, Rozmer began to come to terms with the fact that nothing he could do currently would be right to his friend. Apparently he even expected to be killed by him.

Straightening in total shock at the question, Rozmer raised an eyebrow. Zell was trying to push buttons now. Calling him a god was an obvious cut at his utter distaste for the beings. There's no need for dramatics. I was here to find out what happened to you, how you lost your powers. I figured if you could tell me, we could find a way to reverse it. Pausing for a moment Rozmer stared at Zell, trying desperately to get in his head. He was human and he was scared. Thinking back Rozmer could remember the fear, the total uncertainty as he was exposed to a world that made no sense to him. I'm sorry his head hung for a moment, his shame for assaulting a friend in need. I remember being human. he nearly pleaded, trying to reach the heart of the person he knew that he still knew. I remember the fear, the total crushing weight of uncertainty. Then his mind continued, following the footsteps through his memory to the result of that fear. I remember being dangerous. The thought chilled his spine. Please Zell, I cam here to help, let me help. Offering a hand he hoped it would work, the consequences if it didn't could potentially be reality ending. He did not want to let that be the case.

Zell sighed. He was done with this conversation, though he couldn't help but remember what had happened earlier. It was obviously painful for him, but it wasnt like it was overly secretive. But then again, knowledge was power. If he hears how the disempowerment happened...then he could exploit it on an omniversal scale. Yet again, Zell had a weakness...and Rozmer had none. Zell's defensive shell only thickened by his ally's attempt to calm him. Zell quickly changed the subject.

"On the laptop... There's several breaches in our reality. Phoenix's return is in fact a dimensional shift like I speculated. Confirmed with the realm-walker. Next we have Samhain. He was retrieved from a different reality that he fell into. I feel like you two will get along." Zell said before shaking his head dismissively. His mind wandered to his latest issue. The mystery man of Clue, The Missingno of this world. Well actually Rozmer was one of those, maybe there was a better choice...but nothing was known about it. It was just there.

"Manamagnus is here...in this reality." Zell said. Manamagnus was always a sore topic, mostly because he was the only mortal man that Zell knew could somehow hide from omnipresent beings. He was the man that created Imperium. He was a good man that realized that he could do too much. That kind of power...the power to bind the overseer of reality... that is a power no mortal should wield. "He got Imperium and he...he ordered me to kill them."

"All of them..." Zell said as he shook his head. "He ordered me; to fill the children's lungs with water. Then he ordered me to create vine to bind my family...and made me strangle them. And I started to..." He coughed as he wore a rather angry expression, mist forming in his eyes. Imperium was a bloody curse, and just another unnecessary weakness. He had the blade crafted in order to have Rozmer balance out the commands of the energy inside him. To allow him to do what needed to be done. To be free of the Archon energy. But such freedom was not truly free....it was just a change of hands that passed his leash off to another. But from his anger, Zell seemed to calm down a little bit. He smiled, genuinely as he shook his head.

"But then I refused..." He said, the break in his voice being a mixture of excitement and remorse to some extent. "I broke free of it's control. I shouted at Manamagnus and...after that I...well I wasn't the Archon anymore." That may have seemed exciting news, but all Zell could think of was all of those realities where he had been forced to do the bidding of the one who carried his blade. All of those lives he could have saved if he simply had the resolve back then that he did now.

"I defied the blade...and I paid the same price I would have paid defying the source." He said as he crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall. "You can't help me Roz. I appreciate it...I really do but...You don't know me. Not this me. There's research I've been doing on an anomaly I've found...I didn't bring it up earlier because it's not overly important but...help yourself to the information. It's better off with you. Not like there's much I can do about it now."