Celestial Emperor Apollo

Glory be to Sungod and every land its golden rays touch.

[princeterrasrn001]

What Is Expected Of Us

[princeterrasrn001]

"I think so?" He says, reaching up to push some of his hair behind his ear. "I should learn what I can about how humanity works. Learn their weaknesses, and strike them—-help them there. But I should do it from the distance, tempered." 

He purses his lips a little. “So I should become a passive observer? But with Sunstars plans I do not have the time…” He takes a deep breath. “Fix me first? Please, find a way to balance these…these emotions I keep having. They bounce around, unpredictable and it is overwhelming. I do not even know why I have them, I have never had them before. But they are the reason I have betrayed my Gods, either remove them from me Lord Apollo, or help me train them.”

He finally looks up into Apollos face. “I do not want to slip again. I love, hate, regret, take pleasure, and guilt over everything and everyone. Its maddening. 

[celestialemperor]

Apollo held Terra's shoulders and nodded just slightly. "I will look into what may be causing such feelings, and if there is any questioning I will ensure that it is done for the sake of Sungod's army, and not for your own personal reasons." He frowned, considering that Sunstar would not be happy, then nodded again and deactivated the remainder of the securities. "Come with me and I will have it taken care of." He stood again, heading out towards the door and expecting Terra to follow.

[celestialemperor]

Sacrificial Lambs and Trigger-Fingers

[bowdowntoyoursunlord]

He looks this option over, unpleasantly reminded of one particular instance involving a planet infested with little bug-like creatures. Squishing them was easy, when one could catch them. That would take a sort of precision and patience that he just didn’t have today. Or he could just be feeling picky.

Sunstar shakes his head and crosses his arms. “Was your goal to offer me all the smallest robots you could find?” 

[celestialemperor]

Apollo sighed, then flipped through the list to a larger robot. "This one?" At some more disapproval he continued cycling through the array, eventually finding that few robots remained. Flashman, Geminiman, Toadman, Napalmman... there was something wrong with each of them, it seemed.

Growing more and more impatient by the moment he stopped on an eigth-generation robot. "How about this one."

[celestialemperor]

Sacrificial Lambs and Trigger-Fingers

[bowdowntoyoursunlord]

Standing as straight as ever, chin raised with his business face on, Sunstar looks at the model before him, then to you, then back again. Waiting for the punch line. This option is clearly ridiculous, but he’s impatient. “This is a joke, yes? So move on to the next.”

[celestialemperor]

Apollo blinked, then cleared his throat. "Right." With that he displayed the next Robot Master: Quickman. "Now, this one has the ability of super-speed; perhaps that is more to your liking?" He sure hoped he wouldn't have to produce the entire list by the end of their engagement.

[celestialemperor]

Sacrificial Lambs and Trigger-Fingers

Today was the day: the day they made their first move. Sunstar was insufferable and if they were going to retain the small amount of sanity they had left, he was going to have to have an outlet. But of course it couldn't just be any outlet; he'd need one which involved blood or the artificial equivalent.

Of course Apollo would rather destroy a machine, something which could be repaired, over a sensitive, delicate organic. So he met up with his Sungod outside of one of his (many) training facilities on the east dock of his ship. "Dearest Sungod, I have finally finished the list of, hm, appropriate targets." He projected a hologram in front of himself, displaying it backwards so that the other could see it properly. "I will list them according to their somewhat-arbitrary numbering system."

Moments later a model appeared on the hologram, and it spun slowly, almost like a vehicle on display in a used car lot. "This newer model, Oilman, seems to have been refurbished recently. With your affinity to set things aflame I can only assume he may be entertaining for you."

[princeterrasrn001]

What Is Expected Of Us

[princeterrasrn001]

Terra sits there and closes his eyes as he lets the elder god groom him gently. He always liked his hair and head stroked, but he was doing his best not to let himself get swept up in it. “I don’t…..I am no good at this. The humans should live because they are what we are not, they are….so young. Stupid. They just need to be shown the right way, they could share this planet, they could help us. Like….like gardeners left to tend a garden. With my technology they could explore their world further, learn its secrets and grow.” 

[celestialemperor]

"If you believe, Terra," Apollo began as he brought the other's hair back and continued to tame it, "that they have that opportunity to grow, I suggest that you prove it to yourself first." Not able to tell Terra to go directly against Sunstar's orders, he cleared his throat and glanced away at the wall. "Perhaps when you are out, mm, surveying, you may find yourself with extra time on your hands. I'm not advocating spending it on researching the humans, or on making any attempts to protect them, but of course I cannot baby you and be with you every step of the way." Even he questioned his own reasoning for being so lenient and so encouraging when he knew Sunstar would have his head if he knew. But with no way to say he simply sighed.

"You understand, Terra?"

[princeterrasrn001]

What Is Expected Of Us

[princeterrasrn001]

Terra hesitates for a moment too before he stands and walks out, his hair dragging along behind him before he sits down in front of Apollo and crosses his own legs. “Don’t make me do it anymore.” He asks, looking up at him. “Sungod will not listen to me, he never has. I’m a pet, a play thing. I could scream and shout and he would not heed. I could stop him, if you gave me my arm back. I could put the Sungod back into our system and keep him from attacking earth. I have Dark moon, I have my spark chaser.” He knew what he was saying was treason, but he didn’t stop himself. 

[celestialemperor]

Apollo shook his head slightly. "You overestimate yourself. Yes Sungod may have a slight, and I do mean slight, 'weakness' to your weapon, and you do have Dark Moon, but those two things alone are not nearly enough. The Constellations are more than just the life half; they are also to balance power. Despite this purpose, even my army would be hard pressed to take him down. If you attack him you will not only find yourself defeated, but your planet will have no hope." Terra's hair was brushed back slowly. He was fully aware that he'd had a lot of time to think things over.

"If you cannot and will not speak to him, then your only hope is to come up with an alternative. Provide to me sound reasoning for the humans' right to continue living and I will present it to Sungod. Until that happens, I have no choice but to follow his orders, for the stability of our home system."

[princeterrasrn001]

What Is Expected Of Us

[princeterrasrn001]

"They need to be taught, they are children fumbling in the dark. I could show them ways to live life without harming their planet. She will heal on her own, you give her no credit!" He hisses. "I thought you were supposed to be a constellation droid, not a murderer! You grumble when I only wish for conquest, and yet again you grumble when I want peace. Make up your mind, Apollo. Because I can not make it for you."

He sits forward. “I have no will to fight left. The killing intent, it is still there, so I will do what ever I must to stay peaceful. Even if I have to attack Sunstar again. I’m tired of being a killer, put Pluto in charge. He seems more then excited to see me replaced.” 

[celestialemperor]

Apollo hesitated slightly before responding. "It is not all on my shoulders, Terra. I have tried convincing our Sungod otherwise but he grows restless. I am lucky the planet is intact at all at this point." He deactivated the barrier to invite Terra into his space. "We are nearly out of time as far as his patience is concerned. I have attempted to get him to wait; if you believe that you can convince him they are worth keeping around, even if you lie and say they could be used as slave laborers, or as animal feed, then by all means go ahead. You are his second-in-command. He is not about to replace you with the cat."

He unfolded his arms, reaching forward slightly to ask Terra to come closer. "You look a mess."

[princeterrasrn001]

What Is Expected Of Us

[princeterrasrn001]

He rolls his head. “Because I like Earth. I want to conserve it the way it is.” Terra sighs. “I do not want Lord Sunstar and you killing the humans. I want to keep them. They are rightfully mine.” He says in a monotone, feeling tired. No sunshine for a 107 days, he was feeling like a trapped house plant. 

"They took my arm, they have a strong will to live. If you put me out side this cell I will defend them." He says simply, rolling his shoulders. "I will defend my planet, as is the job I was created for. I will put Luna on my moon, and I will show humanity the right path." 

[celestialemperor]

Apollo raised an eyebrow. "Rightfully yours? This is the planet you have been assigned to, yes, but it is a resource planet. Have you forgotten our purpose? We are here only to harvest. You believe that the humans have such a high right to life with what they've done to destroy their only home?" It didn't sound much like Terra. Maybe he really did need reprogramming.

[princeterrasrn001]

What Is Expected Of Us

He stares at Apollo with an apathetic sort of stare that only a conflicted killer could muster.  Terra drops the dead flower, and his arm drops into his lap. “No.” Is all he says. 

[celestialemperor]

"And for what reason?" Apollo, though he had little patience, could manage for the time being. He was well aware that Terra had not been stable for some time.

[celestialemperor]

Plan Into Action

After many long and tiring (and occasionally violent) discussions (er, battles) with Sunstar, it was Apollo's mission to finally put their plan into play. With earth's resources continuing to dwindle at human hands, it seemed their only hope was to save them before they were gone completely. Consequently, that meant eliminating the source of the problem, as well.

If he was being true to himself he would recognize that disposing of the humans was not his favored option, but with Sunstar biting his ankles and Terra in an emotional fit, he knew it was the only way. Besides, maybe it would calm his Sungod long enough to finally get some progress made on interstellar capture.

A network message was sent to all of the Stardroid and C-Droid coms:

> Attention Spacedroids;

> As of this moment, Earth is under our siege. You are to report to your Sungod and I for direction in halting any and all human behavior until we are able to mine the planet for resources. Unless provoked, do not engage in combat; each of you will be assigned a duty and you are to follow through on it accordingly. Any misbehavior will place you in the holding cell Terra has become so fond of.

> Do not act on your own intuition unless it is required for your survival or that of the planet. If we do not receive confirmation from you in 32 hours you will be sent home until you decide to take your mission seriously.

> Glory be to Sungod.

Now all that had to be done was freeing Terra, and beginning his own job of ensuring the Robot Masters would not get in the way.

[bowdowntoyoursunlord]

Sunstar just looks forward, quiet for a moment. “Perhaps. I don’t know what the emotional things and the Earth-related things have to do with each other, but he seemed perfectly normal before we came here. So… I don’t know!” After an exaggerated shrug, he starts walking back to the main part of the ship. “You’re going to have to do everything you can to find out what’s gone wrong, and then you’ll fix it. Terra is… important to me.” 

[celestialemperor]

"Important to you?" He raised an eyebrow. "You mean as your second-in-command, yes?" He hated to think that there was possibly something else that he meant by that. That perhaps he cared about Terra on an emotional level, or a a level of property that Terra, being a "free bird," wouldn't have. 

[bowdowntoyoursunlord]

His expression grave, he sets Terra down in the containment area, smoothing his hair down a bit to try and make him look less of a mess, then walks away from him. 

"It’s obviously been building up inside him for a while now, you know that, but you say it’s because of the Earth. That could be true, but his outbreaks against me have seemed to be for a different reason. 

"As far as this particular instance went, he got himself drunk and was telling me some particularly horrible things. It started with foolish talk of dominating me, which could have been a joke because it was pathetically funny. But then he got into his dreams of conquering me…speaking as if I should be flattered. Why would I want to hear that from my servant? I know he was intoxicated, Apollo, but would you really expect me to let him get away with that? No. Especially when it was intended to be some twisted sort of seduction. 

"So I hit him with his own stupid bottle and that’s when he became physically violent. The thing is, what he seemed upset about was the fact that his love wasn’t returned. That’s what I don’t understand.

"Remember the last time he attacked me? He believed that he was defending Luna. He seemed to develop those feelings overnight. And this time? What set him off seemed to be the dire need to let it be known that he’s in love with both me…and you. Why is he so emotional? Why does he think he loves all of us? That’s something that can be fixed, right?"

[celestialemperor]

Once Sunstar was out of the holding area he re-engaged the barrier, trapping Terra in the little "room" and rubbing his forehead. Sunstar's story was very telling. Whatever was wrong with Terra, it was a much bigger problem than he anticipated. "He said that he loved me? And you? And had feelings for Luna? This is..." The starlord paused, considering how to word things. "Terra is quite obviously broken. Perhaps the fact that he has never experienced true, real emotional love has him thinking that his mindless crushes are somehow quite meaningful. And he does care for Earth, I know he does. It was the planet that was given to him so he obviously has strong feelings towards it. But this, this is just outrageous."

With that out of the way he rubbed his forehead, looking at Sunstar afterward and putting a hand on his shoulder. "Perhaps reprogramming is in order."

[bowdowntoyoursunlord]

Now that you’re doing the work, he relaxes again in your arms, happy to be lazy now since he knows the morning won’t be so kind to him. This is a good distraction. “You’d better get the temperature perfect.” 

[celestialemperor]

"Do I ever not get it perfect?"

Apollo carried Sunstar to the bathing room, setting him down only after sending a command for the water to start filling. He found that Sungod, when appeased and comfortable, was much easier to talk to. A bath was just the ticket. When the water level was just right he kicked a switch to send some oil into it as well. "I'd like to hear you talk about your destructive plans."

[princeterrasrn001]

He thrashes against Sunstar, eyes wide. “NO! STOP!” Sunstars grip was so tight, he puts a hand on Sunstars face, his spark chaser charging as he showed his little fanged teeth. But it was the glow of Apollo’s power that catches his attention finally, and he lets out a cry as they were hit. The world filled with light, his armor singing a little before he falls slump into Sunstar. Unconscious. His spark chaser powering down and clicking shut.

[bowdowntoyoursunlord]

Once Terra’s gone completely limp, Sunstar shakes him hard just to make sure he’s not faking it, then picks up his body. Several questions running through his head, he lets out a heavy sigh before looking to Apollo, his expression probably more disturbed than he realizes. 

"… Well." He looks at Terra, then around the room. "Let’s get him somewhere where he won’t get free. I…can try to explain, but I don’t really understand it."

[celestialemperor]

"I'd like to hear your explanation." He grumbled, wandering off and out into the hallway towards a containment area. It was conditioned to interfere with the signals that their teleportation devices were built around, and on top of that it was isolated and distant from the rest of the ship. It was a good place for spacedroids to wait while Sunstar and Apollo discussed issues of punishment.

When they arrived he shut off the electronic barrier, allowing Sunstar to enter with him as he scrolled through the various holograms that could be projected on the walls. Figuring that a rainforest environment would be suitable for Terra, he switched it on along with some ambience. The last thing he wanted to hear was the stardroid's screams and cries as he complained about his holding area. "This should keep him quiet."

[princeterrasrn001]

Terra screams in rage when Sunstars tackle slams them both into the wall hard enough to shake the bulk head, knocking things over as they both slide to the floor. He had to escape, he needed to get to Megaman, to warn him! His spark chaser goes off again, bouncing off the walls of the room as he thrashes to get a leg under Sunstar and kick him off as hard as he can. “NO!” He rolls to the side and struggles to get back to his feet, slipping in the broken glass a few times and trying to make a b-line for the exit. Luna! Fan! Protoman! Anyone, he prayed that anyone would help him, he didn’t want to be reset, he didn’t want to be imprisoned, he needed to protect Earth.

[bowdowntoyoursunlord]

Apollo had better have a plan, because just holding Terra down isn’t going to be enough. As soon as he’d made contact, Sunstar had latched onto the stardroid’s right arm with a viselike grip, ensuring that at least the arm would stay with him. Terra trying to break away only encourages him to pull harder, his strength more than enough to lift Terra off of his feet and back toward himself, his intent to slam him into the wall and keep him there. As long as he can, any damage he receives will be ignored.

[celestialemperor]

As soon as Terra was in Sunstar's grasp and exposed enough for him to make a shot, he took the opportunity. Apollo let loose his blast, quickly pulling the fan off of his back and flicking it open to catch the rogue Spark Chaser moments afterward. Hopefully Terra was distracted enough by Sunstar that he would fail to notice the blast of blue energy heading to knock him out. Sunstar himself would take some of it, but by comparison it would surely be just a tickle.

[princeterrasrn001]

"NO!" He snarls, his spark chaser coming back online and he swings his arms, filling the room with lightening as it zipped around him. "NO! I WILL NOT RELAX!" His eyes glow brightly. "Earth speaks to me, and she will NOT let me go. Her fingers wrapped so tight around my heart. Whispers, whispers in the dark." Terra looked like he was ready to defend himself or attack at any moment. 

"You will not TOUCH ME!" He spastically teleports around his side of the room for a moment, like a flickering image. "Neither of you will touch me!!" He points at them both. "What you call a problem, I see as a revelation. My words burn through my haze filled head with a sweet truth."

[bowdowntoyoursunlord]

At least now he doesn’t have to give Apollo an explanation. Sunstar quickly dodges the electricity, now past the point of any composure, and charges straight toward Terra, his intent to tackle and grab any limbs he can. There’s still alcohol on the floor and table, and surely some left on or inside Terra, so he keeps his attacks physical for now (since this is his ship after all), sure he’ll be able to take the stardroid down before any damage he might receive gets to him. 

[celestialemperor]

Earth was obviously making Terra crazy. It was probably best that he be sent home, or at least contained. Something in him must have gone horribly wrong for him to have acted up, and Apollo was about to fire his own weapon until he realized Sunstar's literally cool attempt at fighting. The hot-headed ruler was always very keen to use his own firepower, so the fact that he wasn't kept Apollo just as controlled. He noted the alcohol and, without hesitation, charged his arm only long enough to build up a jolt that'd do no more than fry and stun the poor second-in-command. "Sungod! Hold him!"

[princeterrasrn001]

He concentrates and with a shake of power the alcohol on him evaporates with sparks of power. “I am more then capable of emotion!” He snaps, taking a moment to take a deep breath while his systems scrubbers work on sobering him up at last. “My words the soured truth, I love you. Stars only know why. And I love Apollo! There! didn’t see THAT one coming did you?” Terra’s hair fluffs like a cats tail. “I am more then the sum of my parts!” 

[bowdowntoyoursunlord]

"Ew." With a sneer, he looks you over from head to toe. It’s true, he didn’t see it coming, and he’s not sure it makes enough sense to him to believe. But either way, how pathetic. "Did I say you were incapable of emotion? No, you’re undeniably capable. I said you shouldn’t let it rule you like you have been. For your own good. Don’t twist my words." Another hopeful glance at the door.

"I have no idea who you think you are or who you think you’re talking to, but we’re going to fix your little attitude problem once and for all. Just relax."

[celestialemperor]

Apollo arrived just as expected, his eyes dancing between Terra and Sunstar once he'd made his presence known. It wasn't like Sunstar to request him so urgently (well it was, but not under these circumstances,) so he waited for further instruction. "You requested that I be in your presence, Sungod? Would you like something?" He could only assume it had to do with Terra, seeing as there was scattered glass on the floor and what looked like a static-charged puff of hair on the stardroid's head.