Field Test

It should have been a CRIME that it took this long for Zerori to realize the familiar scent of power when she did. She’d been so busy with her own angst and the struggle of figuring out how to break someone out of Otherworld (Hell, technically because the books never told her how someone could break out of HEAVEN because why would they?) that Zerori didn’t realize Amara had actually come back to life and had begun rushing to where she felt the source of power. When the source led her to the broken and shattered remains of a Tuffle City, probably one of many, Zerori could see that the woman in question didn’t waste any time getting back to the business of her tech.

Still, that wasn’t going to stop Zerori.

“YOU’RE BACK!!” Came the sudden yell, equal parts astonishment and excitement before attempting to crash right into the woman in the form of a sudden hug. As embarrassing as it probably should have felt, Zerori was just… happy to see her! Whether or not Amara would let herself get hugged, however, would hardly prevent Zerori from looking up at Amara, “How’d you get back? Was it through your tech or a portal? How long have you been back for?!” Fired at the speed of her gatling gun, the questions just never seemed to end before the teenager just slumped backwards onto her butt, took a deep breath, and let it out before muttering out an apology, “Sorry, I’m just… a lot has happened and I’m still tryin’ to sort through the mess of this entire month.”

The war ending, Zuqetta nearly disappearing on her again, her weird eureka moment back home in Hell…

As if to try and lighten the mood, Zerori gestured toward her new digs, specifically her boots, “Like my new kicks?”

With her head cocked to the side as she tried to understand Amara’s explanation, Zerori would nod and give an occasional ‘hm’ before realizing to herself that there was not likely a way for her to understand completely. Thankfully, Amara didn’t seem to mind not explaining in great detail so that was one thing Zerori didn’t have to pretend to understand! Back in her element of confidence, Zerori made a cute little gesture by flicking her collar before she gave Amara a once over as well and whistled. From the colors that really matched well together down to the boots that also caught Zerori’s eye - Amara’s new look really killed it! Or… did it bring it back to life? “You’re lookin’ pretty sharp! Heh, when I was thinkin’ about mine I wanted to look more, uh… Demon, y’know?”

Now that she thought about it, Zerori was actually curious as to the super casual outfit. She’d visited Earth once before, though it wasn’t for very long. She’d been around… what, 12 or 13 at the time, she didn’t really remember, but what Zerori COULD remember was that she was grown enough to start her trial and had opened her first portal out of Hell and into the first planet her Mother had gone to. Earth.

Needless to say, she didn’t last long there and was back home before a month had passed. She took the ‘L’ and followed the rules (loosely) from then on. “Why’d you wanna look like an Earthling? Was that where you wanted to go when you came back to life?” Being older and having a bit more understanding, Zerori wouldn’t have minded going back but she had to settle things here first. She brought her arms up to fold them behind her head, putting on a knowing smirk, “Is it those ‘Chili Dogs’? I had one, once - they were pretty good!”

The city she ate it in wasn’t that great, though. Or the guy she stole the Chili Dog from.

She knew she didn’t stay in Heaven long enough to learn much about Ogres that patrols there or anything of the sort, but Zerori was quite surprised that Amara had knowledge about Demons. She was wrong, either, but Zerori’s clan was so diverse that even something like ‘evil as possible’ was merely a style in the grand scheme of things! Demon Realm Demons on the other hand… yeah, she could see that being the main aesthetic. She didn’t think about that much, however, as the reveal that Amara had been trying to help people out on Earth had her curious. It was only one meeting but Zerori recalled a guy named ‘Derry’ who had come to Plant once with another Demon, Hazel. They sure did seem to move around a lot!

“‘Burgers?’ I think I saw a variation of those with uh… Saiba-meat but,” Zerori grimaced, “I don’t like that stuff. Mom eats it all the time, though… honestly, I think she eats a lot of things…” Zerori mumbled, bringing a hand to her chin as if she were having some quiet epiphany.

At the question as to why she was on Plant, the little hybrid would take in a deep breath and release it with a great, stressed out, sigh, “That’s a LOOOONG story, but I ain’t got nowhere else to be, so I guess…” She looked around, seeing that there seemed to be plenty of room, Zerori would hold out both hands and furrow her eyebrows in deep concentration. With a POOF, two cool little sofa chairs would be materialized into existence before Zeror let out a sigh, “R-Remind me to try and dematerialize those,” She teased with a laugh, still trying to try her powers to not leave behind so much mess.

Sitting down and letting out a sigh, Zerori started, “Okay, so. I came here from Arcose with my friend and, like, a couple others to try and find my Dad and that’s when I met you - I hadn’t learned to portal very good back then, but I’m better at it - and ever since I’ve actually been having trouble finding him. I met this girl named Zuqetta - she’s pretty cool, by the way and about my age - and we went on an adventure and found out my Dad was related to the Tuffles in some way and THEN we tried to break into this, uh… library place? Got caught, lost ALLL the data we collected and I’ll be honest I think he’s not even ON this planet anymore! That’s when King, Taori, was like ‘Gonna stop the war’ - Also, did I mention I knew Rosmary in all this? She was, like, the Queen for a while but she left so, fuck her, I guess,” Zerori waved the thought away, getting back on track to her story.

She took another breath, still going, “-anyway, so he APPARENTLY meant he was going to war against the Tuffles and I couldn’t just stand there and let him DO THAT, y’know? There was only one Tuffle that was kind of an asshole,” She remembered Yangcong. “Maybe two. But I felt like I needed to help them! Not like it mattered because the girl I liked showed up and that complicated things, my Mom got injured and then it got really REALLY complicated and I…I ran away. It wasn’t worth losing my friends over it and potentially my mother.” She took in a deep breath, finally realizing that she’d been talking a LOT and definitely over-shared this time but Amara was easy to talk to.

Slumped in the chair after her dramatic retelling of how she was on Plant, Zerori groaned and brought her hands to her face, “And that’s not even EVERYTHING! I’ll stop there, though. I think it’s time to leave this planet…”

Zerori laughed a little at the commentary about Saiba meat and her mom, feeling as if a weight had been lifted for the first time in a long while. Maybe it was a family thing, or… a Chakkapak thing to not be very picky with food, but Zerori couldn’t say she was sorry to have better taste than her Mom. That said, she definitely WAS going to try and get her to try Earth food and maybe learn to make it herself; either by hand the old fashioned way or with her magic! After she’d ranted on and on about her issues on Planet, the war and everything (well, SOME of everything) in between, it was typical that there was going to be something that would have caught Amara’s attention. What she didn’t expect, though, was that something to be a secret that she couldn’t even tell Zuqetta.

Nervous and more than a little anxious, Zerori would be quiet for a moment as she thought about what she should do. Secrets weren’t bad and she could certainly keep them, but… she hated lying. Especially to the people she cared about. With a thick swallow, Zerori would nod her head a couple times in affirmation, “I wouldn’t hurt you like that…” She muttered, preparing herself for the worst of what Amara was going to tell her. As she listened, however, and she paled at what she was being told, it was beyond what she could have expected. Almost immediately did Zerori feel a cold and painful tightness clasp tightly around her heart.

Everything made sense and Zerori didn’t even think to question her explanation. She’d only realized how quiet the city was until after things had calmed down and even then - things just didn’t feel right. At the mention of Azoth’s death, Zerori looked away with a guilty expression on her face, “He… He didn’t have anything to do with that bombing. I’d do anything to help people realize at least that much,” She grumbled resentfully. She didn’t hold it against Amara for thinking that way, though - it was all Blizzard’s fault!

Sighing through her nose, Zerori looked back at Amara and was certain she looked more tired than when she crashed into her minutes ago. With a concomitant nod, Zerori just accepted that things were at least better than they were before, “I didn’t expect to join the war, either, but I haven’t seen anything since the war and… if I’m honest, I’m not certain I have it in me to want to do anything about it next time. I ain’t some crazy hero, y’know? I just wanted to find my Dad but now? I’m not even sure that’s what I want, either. For now, though-!” She threw herself back in her chair with huff, crossing her arms. “It’s a trip to Earth and some time to think! Plant can handle things on their own!” She scoffed with a pout.

There was just one more thing she had to do, however, with this knowledge. If she couldn't tell Zuqetta and couldn't tell her mom, then the only thing she could do before leaving was try and make things right on her own. Zuq wasn't a war criminal... she needed to make things right so she could at least have a home to come back to. She needed to talk to Taori somehow and hope it wouldn't result in her going to jail or something like that.