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Every step forward, two steps back.

Interesting. Can a machine be said to move forward or backward? Is it not the same in any place?

[Oh, yes, Erek -- he knows. That hologram might fool his eyes but he has senses beyond the original five.]

[ The alarm bells might be silent, but you can believe they're going off full pelt. If he'd expected a telepath, he wouldn't be here. Erek's scrambling instantly: check for bystanders, map the least harmful exit routes, and hit the Chee database for an ID. You have telepathy; he has alien wi-fi.

From the outside, he looks up with an appropriately startled expression - even if nobody is paying attention to that now. His reply is cautious. He's been doing this far too long to panic easily. What he urgently needs is to gauge the situation. ]

That depends on what kind of machine you assume you're dealing with.

[ For better or worse -- and for the android's case, it probably is worse -- what he's got on his hands here isn't just a telepath, or even that rare telepath/telekinetic combination. No, Exodus is a mutant orders of magnitude above even them, as his S.H.I.E.L.D. file will helpfully inform Erek. For his part, Exodus can feel the machine's electronic signals amping up as it begins transmitting and receiving an information overload, but even his senses aren't so advanced as to know what that information is.

But he has a pretty good idea.

He hasn't come as a conqueror, at least -- no entrance from on high, no ostentatious displays of power, not even the more regal attire he wears in most of the images Erek receives. But for Erek, who can likely detect power himself, this mutant is a living battery of it. He smiles at the question, as if Erek had made a witty comeback.]

A man in my position can't afford to assume. But I can conclude with some confidence that the machine I'm dealing with isn't one of human make.

[A beat, and then, almost slyly:] Is it?

[ Oh, this isn't improving his day at all. There's exactly no part of their intelligence on Exodus that endears him to the Chee: violent and powerful and immune to holographic deception is a nightmare combination for them. Even the Howlers didn't hit all three.

It's the manner of his approach that sparks Erek's curiosity. He considers the mutant's attire, his own apparently open escape routes, and draws some conclusions himself. ]

Luckily for you, no. He's not. [ The charade is in tiny smoking pieces right now, with no point in trying to prop it up. Still, he gives Exodus that confirmation mainly to see what he'll do with it. ] What led you to that conclusion?

The make of your shape, mainly. Few men would have reason to fashion a machine in a form quite like yours.

[ No, he cannot see Erek's true form completely. But he can glimpse at it, as a man might peer through a plastic shower curtain. Obscure and ill-defined though it may be, he can still perceive enough of it to understand that the machine is not large, hardly much larger or smaller than the human form it has taken on. He can also perceive the very unique shape of its head, even if the finer details are lost so long as that hologram shields it. Enough to perceive its shape to not be humanoid at all. Instead, interestingly enough, it's canine. ]

You know who I am now, yes?

[ He nods thoughtfully, android and hologram in perfect unison. ]

Yes. Perhaps you'll understand if it makes me apprehensive about why you're here.

[ But since you can peek through the hologram, you know he hasn't run yet. ]

Oh, aye, but you have nothing to fear from me. You are not my enemy.

[ He inclines his head, ever so slightly to one side, indicate the people around the two of them, coming and going about their days. Ordinary human beings, none of them with any notion of the two giants that stand in their midst. ]

Indeed, it is for you that I have come here. Perhaps your comrades too, if indeed you have comrades, but I think you alone should do.

[ Erek frowns deeply, even at the attempted reassurance. At least he's all in favour of keeping his friends safely out of this. Whatever this is turning out to be. If he's dubious about it, most of the other Chee are guaranteed to hate it. ]

For what purpose? I'm not allowed to interfere with human affairs, and I... don't think there's much I can offer you. Put it that way. [ He's unwilling to outright admit his hard-wired limitations: it seems like inviting manipulation. ]

[ Exodus spreads his hands, as if to show that he's unarmed, but that's not much of a reassurance when both of them are weapons and he knows it. He can get what he wants here through force, he's reasonably certain of that now. But he'd still rather have it through peaceful means if at all possible. ]

No? Your technology is on the order of at least half a dozen centuries ahead of the current standard. Am I wrong? Even if I have not the expertise to understand what you are entirely, I can feel the energy flowing from you. Stable, perpetual. What you are powered by will not ever exhaust, will it? And your construction... whatever metals you are made of, they are not from Earth. To destroy you would be a difficult task indeed, I think.

[ But all this is preamble, and to intimidate a machine is a waste of time. He lets his hands drop. ]

Do your files tell you why I am named Exodus, machine? I am named this because I have been chosen to be the truth and the way for my people. A bridge through which they can cross out of their arduous present and into a shining future. Once I believed that future had to be built at a great expense, living up one people at the expense of another. Today, I would have it not be that way. But even my great power is not sufficient to such a task. Do you understand?

[ He doesn't try to deny anything, doesn't move except for a slight lift of his head as he listens. Yet by the time Exodus finishes something in Erek's expression seems to have closed off. He's still prepared to hear the man out, but he once more suspects that he shouldn't stay that long. One wrong move - or word, or look - and the Chee will try to pre-emptively remove himself. ]

I understand the need. [ He says it softly. Erek knows the cost of human-style progress, he's seen enough of it. He's even chafed at how little he can do to alleviate it, which is one more reason he's grown apart from most of his fellows. But despite their suspicions, the technological quarantine is one rule he's never broken outright. ]

However, jumping human technology ahead by a few centuries definitely counts as interference. The existence of alien technology isn't the revelation it used to be, of course. But if you're going to ask that I hand you ours... that's something I can't do. You should know that now.

[ If fleeing was the android's plan, it should have done that from the start. Exodus is confident now in his ability to cut off any escape routes this machine might take, even if its body itself still seems to be beyond his influence. It's a fascinating phenomenon, one he has never before encountered -- and it convinces him all the more that his current course of action is just and right. ]

Ah, but you misjudge me, android. [ And how wonderful is that, to be faced with an automaton so advanced, so self-aware, that it can feel suspicion and distrust and then make inaccurate conclusions based on those feelings? How very like a man this machine is. He aches to know how long it has been here, among his kind and the humans. ]

I have no intentions of jumping human technology ahead by any great leap. Or even mutant technology -- too many of my brothers and sisters are misguided, following the paths of petty personal gain rather than noble ends. No, my friend, what we would build could be shared with no one, and would even preferably be destroyed once its purpose was over. But I cannot say if such a day would ever come, at least not for many generations yet, for the faults of my peoples, human and mutant kind, are harcoded into us. Many generations have we spent destroying each other, and thus will it take many generations of peace to weed out that inexorable rush, to exile and annihilate.

[ Erek was preparing himself for protest, or more likely anger. He's used to bewaring the worst aspects of humanity, needing to guard constantly against greed and arrogance and their (valuable but deadly) determination to grow. The indication that he might be wrong breaks his cool expression, sparks something in his eyes: a visible crack in that protective shell. ]

[ By accident or not - and how could he have known? - Exodus has found the single Chee most willing to directly ally himself with Earth's other residents. Erek wants to think that they can work together, if only to protect their shared world. They need to. And for all the doubts that have crept in, the desire to play an active part burns strong. The unexpected comprehension in Exodus's words only feeds the hope he's trying to temper. ]

[ A dangerous thing, hope. ]

All right. I'm listening. What is it you'd have us build?

[ Oh, Exodus has a good idea of what Erek was preparing himself for. The android was able to download likely every scrap of information humans have compiled on him. Thus, though it has never met him, this machine already could list off a litany of his worst crimes, actions such as the Hammer Bay incident or the massacre by his followers of the Angel Tree Hospice. Extenuating circumstances do not cancel those crimes out, nor do good intentions. And perhaps that inward admission reflects outward, for though his stony still expression does not soften, for a moment there's a certain somber flicker in his eyes. ]

[ So if Erek had run, he would have not been terribly surprised, even if he would have tried -- perhaps even succeeded -- in stopping him. But the machine does not run. And again he is struck by how human it is, the way it seems to almost be wary in the way of a man who wants to hope but is afraid to. What masters they must have been the beings that created this being, and its brethren if indeed it is not the only one of its kind. ]

[ Somehow, he doesn't think it is. ]

Observe.

[ What he proposes requires a demonstration, and not one that can be projected into the mind -- though, curiously enough, he does detect a faint mind somewhere within Erek's body, though surely that blind, deafened presence cannot be him. A frown crosses his mouth briefly, but then he moves past it and spreads his hands. Between them, the cement and dirt rises up, forced by his telekinesis into an astonishingly detailed shape: an island of some sort. The people passing by pay it absolutely no heed. ]

This is the island of Genosha. Today it is a dead rock, devoid of life, but once it was a nation teeming with mutants and humans: both at each other's throats. I chose it for my first public demonstration of power, as you know. What you may not know is that I returned to it again, shortly before its destruction. I tried to bring it peace, as penance for bringing war to its shores. To this end, I had a mutant inventor build a device that amplified my powers. With this device, I was able to bring Genosha peace, but only of a flawed kind. The device was too vulnerable, and I too distracted with carrying out the charade of pretending to be another man. It was destroyed, and Genosha instantly sank back into civil war.

[ Now he shapes the dirt even higher, making it appear to be one of the Sentinels that destroyed Genosha. Again, the people passing pay no mind. He is diverting their attentions, of course. He has no way of knowing his friend here has done much the same trick before. ]

When I awoke from my long slumber, I was charged with bringing peace. But twenty years have passed since that time, and still man and mutantkind are at war. You must know now that they will always be at war, unless and until they are made to stop. So this is what I would have you build, android: a device like what Forge built for me before, one that will make of me a living beacon for all peoples. Forge's device merely amplified my powers, but this, it would be a thing that I would not be able to leave once I have entered it. And you, incorruptible by the promise of power as you are, you alone will control it. Thus will we bring a peace to this world that will last as long as we do.

[ His awareness of the man's track record weighs on him - and Erek's glad of that. How many persuasive leaders have swayed well-intentioned people to terrible ends? How many followers has Exodus recruited himself? He can't afford to let himself be blinded. He already carries the scarring memory of the last time he blithely overstepped his programming.

He's tracking the people around them for multiple reasons, but he's not surprised when their attention slides straight by. A little relieved, perhaps. Being inconveniently observant would only harm them. He's free to study the effortless sculpting with careful attention (and a buried, lingering regret, that of all the things they could be discussing it has to be war).

Although he can't help almost smiling at Exodus's impatience. Twenty years? Try waiting ten thousand. ]

How would this peace work, exactly? Are you counting on using your powers to suppress hostilities?

[ Cautious, cautious. Plenty of people will already be furious with him for even considering it this far. That he's doing so might be a sign of how corruptible he really is. Or how concerned he is. The conflict between mutants and humans - while as foolish to the Chee as every other before it - is both unpredictable in scope and rife with powers capable of threatening planet and peoples alike. Waiting it out may not be a sensible option. And that's leaving aside the possibility that desperation drives one or both sides into the hands of outside powers with none of his compunctions. ]

[ Strange though it may be, there's a small little part of Exodus that is glad for Erek knowing in full the best and worst that he has been capable of -- or at least as much in full as any living being can know. He has lived for over eight centuries now, not as long as any mutant has ever lived but longer than most, and his actions as a crusader weigh on him at least as much as anything he has done in the present day.

The way the android (or rather, his hologram) seems to smile, almost wistfully, at him, makes him ache to ask just how real that hologram is, if what he saw just now was a carefully-crafted projection, or rather, against all logic, some genuine expression of emotion. With most men he can judge the difference with ease, but Erek is not most men, or indeed a man at all. For all the benefits that come with an ally not of flesh and blood, there are a few disadvantages too.

To Erek's question he nods once, reshaping the sculpture before him once more. Now it is the machine Forge built for him, and in truth, it does not look to be something that would be in any way pleasant for the person strapped into it. ]

Yes and no. The urge to destroy is embedded in the human mind from birth, nothing short of biological alteration would remove it entirely, and that is unacceptable. Rather than take such extreme measures, this machine would use my powers to rechannel those hostilities towards more productive ends. Were we invaded by hostile forces, the settings would need to be altered accordingly.

[ He hopes the android understands his meaning there. To rechannel mankind's hostility entirely towards an invading force sounds like an extreme measure, but there is no good in bringing peace to his people if they are then slaughtered by alien invaders. Here he pauses, though, for to his surprise, Erek still seems to be considering his proposal. ]

You are not one of us, but you have seen much of our strife, haven't you? [ His voice is uncharacteristically soft. ] This is how you already know measures such as these are necessary for my people's survival.

[ Erek is silent for a moment, eyes on the concrete model between them. It's a slightly complicated question, and answering it means giving away more about himself, about the people he hasn't quite admitted to yet. He does so anyway, because if nothing else he respects the mutant's goals enough to feel he deserves some explanation. He gives a slow nod. ]

I have lived among Earth's people for a very long time. I was there for the civil wars of Egypt's Old Kingdom and the Assyrian conquests, for Hun invasions, colonial revolts and now... [ He takes a deep breath. ] You're right. I've seen enough conflict to think something like this might be necessary. Given time, your people are capable of growing past this on their own... but only if they survive long enough.

[ But using Pemalite technology to interfere with people's wills? The idea is terrifying, no less to Erek, already burned by his previous mistakes. He's trying to keep that fear from his expression as he looks up at Exodus, but something else takes its place. Conflict, a hint of the frustration beneath. ]

I don't believe mass mind-control is the sustainable solution you think. And trust me, you don't want the fate of your people to depend on a single machine. Even one built of our technology. But it's a moot point. I cannot enable any device capable of turning people to violence. No matter how necessary. I cannot build it, cannot activate it, cannot use it.

[ A risky admission? Absolutely. Perhaps, given the tremendous trust Exodus proposes to place in the Chee, he can be trusted a little in turn. Erek really has to hope so. ]

[ Exodus listens, and though what Erek tells him is confirmation of what he suspected, he feels no joy at this knowledge. Perhaps in better circumstances he would, for it would mean being able to speak plainly with someone actually from his time -- older, in truth, but still, someone who was there when he was, who walked the Earth in the same time and in the same age and perhaps even in some of the same places. But he cannot dwell on that, for a matter of far graver import is also confirmed by it. ]

I see. [ He lets his hands fall, lets the sculpture collapse back into formless dirt and rocks, and stares down at it. ] I had my suspicions when I came looking for you and yours that you were perhaps on that order of aged, having walked this world for at least the past five thousand years. For both our sakes, I hoped it wasn't true. If it wasn't, there was still a chance we might part amicably, even if we could not agree on a mutual alliance. But knowing now what you are, I cannot allow you to return to obscurity, even if that is what you want. Please understand, this is not a conclusion I make for my own selfish interests. Rather, it is that your importance to my peoples' survival has grown inestimably in weight.

[ He does not go so far as to hold the android in a telekinetic grip just yet, but he does gather his focus around Erek, preparing for it if he should attempt to flee. It brings him no joy, the prospect of having to go so far, but now he knows that there is no other choice. And if the look on Erek's hologram is representative of whatever emotions the machine within may feel, it tells him that Erek does not yet understand. That at least he can rectify. ]

I learned of the possibility of your existence from a worshipper of a very old god: En Sabah Nur. Have you heard the name? I understand it translates variously as 'the first one' or 'the seven lights', depending on which dialect of the old Egyptian you use. The modern world has mostly forgotten that name, but you may perhaps remember it, if you were in Egypt when Nur so briefly ruled there. A slave who rose to power and disappeared into history, and perhaps you think his story ends there. But it does not. It continues, even into the present day, though the world today knows him by a different name: Apocalypse.

[ He watches Erek closely now, because surely a being that has walked the Earth for all of the past millennium knows of that name. ]

[ Erek had an idea his reply wouldn't be happily received, but what actually follows is nothing he expected. He's far too caught up in the problem before him, in past sorrows and trying to assess if there's any viable path forward. If he's worried about revealing facts, they're the limits on his programming and the extent of the technology he has access to. It's a shock when of all things, his mere age proves to be the dangerous detail.

He's staring at Exodus, trying to understand, when the mutant drops those two names. His alarmed frown turns to surprised recognition - then the hologram's face pales, the android recoiling a step. And since, by default, the hologram's expression is a truthful mirror of the Chee within, two things should be clear. One, Erek certainly knows those names, and two, he wants exactly nothing to do with their owner.

There's also the fact that while his hologram looks stunned, he does bolt. Or tries to. He moves too fast for normal humans to process, but he's never tried outrunning telekinesis and sheer force isn't likely to help him. ]

[ The reaction the android gives him tells Exodus everything he needs to know, so that even when Erek moves to flee, accelerating a speed so fast his human senses can barely perceive it, the rest of him is ready. Faster than sight, thankfully, is not faster than thought, and he was already prepared for this. It's simply a matter of tightening his telekinetic hold around the Chee into something tangible, something that can lift him off the ground and into the air where his great speed and strength can do him no good. Gone is the facade of normalcy for the both of them, for now he too is airborne, lifting them both into the sky and out of sight before the humans present have time to process that steel-and-ivory flash they saw.

The penitent who spoke of peace with Erek is not gone, but there is much more of the crusader and zealot in Exodus now than there was just a moment ago, evinced by a new hardness in his eyes as he brings Erek to him with a gesture, stopping just short of placing himself within the machine's reach. Even reasonable certainty of its limits is not complete certainty, and knowing what he does now, he is unwilling to take any risks. They are a couple hundred feet up, Erek's arms and legs now pinned to his sides as if by invisible weights, and against his better judgment he pulls Erek closer still, until he is almost nose to holographic nose with the android. ]

You know the name. [ No question of it any longer. ] What else do you know? Were you there, did you witness his rise and stand by without stopping him? You will tell me everything you know. Even if I cannot destroy you, I can hurl you out of the atmosphere and into space if you refuse me. Speak. Now.

[ Very little of the penitent, now. ]

[ Snatched from the ground and effectively immobilized, Erek struggles not to panic, to control his expression and analyze the questioning. From the sound of it Exodus isn't here on Apocalypse's behalf, which relieves one wild fear. That means he only has to worry about what Exodus will do for the sake of his cause.

Just that. ]

All I know about that monster is enough to avoid him. [ There's a flash of deep anger beneath the disbelieving shake of his head. ] Yes, I knew of him in Egypt. It wasn't as if I knew him personally. And since then I've only learned fragments, rumors - I could never stay close to him or his followers, even if I had wanted to.

[ Back in Egypt, though... of course he remembers, with perfect, inescapable clarity. He just hadn't been monitoring the humans' politics very closely then, aside from trying to comprehend the still-bewildering patterns of violence and deceit and power plays. Too much to concern himself with in learning the myriad subtleties of blending in with their strange neighbors and guiding the integration of their beloved dogs into human life. Yes, he can well believe they slipped up along the way, especially in those days before mutant powers were observed enough to guard against.

It is, however, unnerving that either Apocalypse's people know of his or to think of the evil that must have slipped past him in the turmoil of those early days. ]

...What did they tell you?

[ He hadn't wanted to go this far, to divulge this much. The truth is, this had really been a test, and had Erek known nothing, Exodus would have been happy to let him go. But now that is no longer an option, and he is glad the android is more resilient than a man, for his telekinetic hold might have been tight enough just now to break a man's bones. Even now, it does not relax, though he takes in a breath and tries to regain a measure of calm.

It doesn't work. His heart is still pounding. ]

He knows of you. [ There is a deep anger in his tone now, though not one directed specifically at Erek. ] His followers, some of them, they know. They know enough to tell tales of a society of machines that do nothing but watch.

[ He had hoped it wasn't true, or that if it was, that these androids the prelate spoke of had chosen not to act for other reasons, rather than being unable to. What good would a society of ancient androids be, if indeed they were so useless that Apocalypse had dismissed them as beneath his notice? He refuses to accept that, that he has gone through all this effort to find one of their number, only for them to be of no aid. So he allows the power to spill from his eyes, as it so often does, for Erek to see him for what he truly is. ]

Are you afraid, android? Can you feel fear? You would be right to be, for Apocalypse made what you see before you now. He took me, a fool of a boy, and made me what I am today. And when I refused to obey him, he sealed me away in a crypt from whence I remained buried for eight hundred years.

[ He tries to relax his hold. This android isn't fighting him and isn't his enemy. If nothing else, they certainly feel the same way of Apocalypse. ]

I do not know you, machine. I do not know who you have been or what you have done or even what you are called. But I do know this: that humanity is not, can not, be done entirely with violence, because their greatest threat still walks among them. The device I proposed to you would have drawn Apocalypse out from his fortress, and it was my hope that, united against a common enemy, we would all succeed where none alone could triumph and destroy him at last. His prelate told me your kind could do nothing but watch, and it seems he was half-right. But only half, for you will aid me in whatever fashion you can. Your days of only watching are done and over with, for I who was given power to subjugate mankind now claim you on their behalf.

[ And they only watch. Erek's eyes darken at that. There's bitter recognition. Just how did they test that, he wonders? How many of the crimes his people witnessed were committed to prove just how helpless the observing androids were? If he despised the followers of Apocalypse before...

Perhaps he should be grateful, to be given an excuse to act for which he can't be blamed. Though, as he stares into those burning eyes and feels the grip around him tighten and slacken in tangible measure of the mutant's hold on his rage... perhaps he should have been more careful of what he wished for. Yet again. ]

You say that as if I have no interest in their survival. As if this world wasn't our home, too.

[ Can he feel fear? Oh, he does. But what dominates now is anger - at Apocalypse and his ilk, at Chee inaction... and not a little at Exodus, because however alike their intentions might be, Erek can very well extrapolate what happens if he doesn't cooperate. ]

I am not a tool, Exodus. If you want my help, you should ask for it.

[ Ah. There, finally, is a trace of anger in the android, in its holographic eyes. Is that anger at Apocalypse, he wonders, or anger at him? It doesn't really matter, he supposes. The one is as good as the other. And after forcibly kidnapping Erek, taking him many hundreds of feet in the air, and threatening to toss him into oblivion, the Chee probably fears and despises him as much as he does Apocalypse. Exodus takes no pride in that dubious accomplishment.

Still, he has not brought Erek here to inspire respect in him, fear and awe will do just as well for his purposes and if the android hates him for it, then so be it. His telekinetic grip settles as he regains a certain measure of control over his emotions, at least for the moment, and he meets his holographic gaze without flinching. He is no stranger to anger, not by far. ]

I know not what your interest is, or where your home is. You could be scouts for some undiscovered race, or wayfarers who became stranded here, or any number of things. What I do know is this: that you, alone among the inhabitants of this world, had a change to stop that monster before he ever became what he is today. You had that chance, and you did not take.

[ Could not. Could not take it. There is a difference, he has to remind himself, but it is difficult. Having been a warrior for as long as he has, he has little patience for those who stand on the sidelines. These androids remind him all too much of Xavier's children, fretting and handwringing like scullery maids as the tavern burns around them. ]

Very well, android. We waste time and energy to quarrel amongst ourselves, when so far as I can tell our goals are the same. What would you have me call you?

[ Of course Exodus can't understand. He knows almost nothing of them, of their priorities or their enemies or desires. Erek doubts he could understand. If he thought he could trust Exodus any further he'd consider it imperative to explain, to ensure an even field as he did with the Animorphs. The Chee knows the value of trust, all the more because it's been so long since he could truly give it.

But that's no longer the case. Every bit of information now is another precious scrap of security. Erek may be forced into action but he has no wish to be forced into the light, and if he cannot hide himself he can at least make it as hard as possible to trace his fellow Chee. ]

Even if I could have recognised what he was- [ more of a feat than the warrior may realise ] - my programming would never have allowed me to harm him.

[ There's not much point in the protest, but it comes out anyway. If Erek seems a little distracted, well, he's afraid and guilty and Exodus is unknowingly managing to hit most of his buttons- and on top of that he's in contact with the other Chee. Most of them are taking his news about as well as he expected. ]

...My current human name is Erek.

[ Almost as quickly as the fury in him came, it is gone, drained out of him as though he had been leeched. It's true then. For all his hope, it's true, what the prelate told him. Despite their age and their technology, these androids truly are forbidden to take action. That is why Apocalypse has ignored them 'lo those many centuries. And no matter how much force he brings to bear, they cannot help him.

None can. Not against Apocalypse. His own followers are but children, barely capable of holding their own against the X-Men, let alone the Eternal One. The X-Men themselves are but pawns on Apocalypse's chessboard. And these androids... Exodus knows he could take this one, study it perhaps, but it would fight him every step of the way. Even now, he can feel the energy of the signal transmissions it emits and receives spiking. Communicating with its fellows, most like. ]

Erek.

[ He repeats the name, almost softly, and the bleeding energy goes out of his eyes, and he's just a man then, if not for how he's holding an android three hundred feet in the air. Spreading his arms wide, he lowers the both of them out of the sky and down into the thick wooded forest they were over. Erek he deposits almost gently onto the bank, but he himself remains suspended half a dozen feet in the air. ]

Return to your people, Erek. Move them, if you can. Apocalypse may move against them now just to cover his bases, or use the extraterrestrial creatures concentrated in this area to do his dirty work for him. He is not a creature that tolerates loose ends.

[ He studies Exodus closely as he's set down, frowning at the sudden change. The warning elicits little reaction: the Yeerks he's less concerned about anyway, but more importantly the Chee are almost as scattered and hidden as they can be. It took long enough to find a place where they could help; now they're involved in the war they can't abandon it. He can't abandon it.

But for now he's looking up warily at the mutant hovering before him. ]

You're letting me go. Why?

[ Why, indeed? It's a question he's asking himself even before Erek asks it of him, he is a soldier in the service of his people and there is nothing to be gained for his people, mutant or human, by letting the android go. Even if Erek cannot help him, even if he can not force him to, his cause might be served by letting his acolytes take the machine apart. Surely there are discoveries to be made that way, weapons they could use perhaps. At the very least, he could continue his interrogation until he is sure he knows everything Erek knows. But...

He folds his arms, his expression stoic and inscrutable once more. But his eyes, no longer bleeding out energy, cannot hide the exhaustion he feels right now. ]

There is no point to holding you now. Many centuries ago Apocalypse dismissed your kind for being of no threat to him, and I see now he was not wrong. You cannot help me defeat him, nor can you help me bring a peace to my people that would not render them helpless victims. You can only watch, so I will leave you and your kind to continue watching.

[ His head lifts sharply at that, the android's poise alert for a minute. He hardly wants to contradict anything that gets Exodus to release him and yet it hits quite a nerve, to be marked as useless.

Of course, he's already faced the consequence of being noticed by genocidal warmongers. It's not something he'd lightly risk again. But if Earth dies, they all die with it. He's already reached that conclusion. Exodus may be wildly dangerous even as a prospective ally, but Apocalypse is essentially Crayak writ small (and unbound by the rules of the cosmic game, which more than makes up for it). Erek knows which side he's on there. At least unstable tyrants are something he's learned to grudgingly survive. ]

...You know, you asked me earlier if a machine could move forward.

[ He's scrutinising the man very closely, gauging from word to word whether speaking further is worth the risk. ]

Perhaps Apocalypse and his people don't think so. But the answer is yes. We change. Some of us, at least. We're not... exactly what we used to be. So if you find a viable means to stop him, and you need help that doesn't involve directly harming anyone... then maybe we can talk again.

[ You better not make him run again. ]

[ He's still looking at Erek, or at least his gaze is that way, but the mutant's attention seems elsewhere then, somewhere far off. He doesn't necessarily mean his conclusion to be an insult, but neither can he call it anything but truth.

He is not opposed on a fundamental level to pacifism. It has its place, as does war and the warriors who fight it. As long as there is war there will be those eager to fight and those that refuse to. Both have their parts to play. But Apocalypse is not a human warlord or even a mutant one like his former liege Magneto, he is not someone who can simply be waited out. Simply put, peace on Earth cannot exist so long as Apocalypse does. Perhaps the X-Men and now this android and his fellows can wait on the sidelines, but he was not given immortality to stand by in the presence of evil and do nothing. ]

I did, yes.

[ Simple, blunt, and he falls silent and waits for Erek to keep going, not sure what he has to say, even less sure if there's anything left to say at all that would matter. What the android does say... well, it does surprise him. It is not exactly a change of heart, but it is something, something more than the open retreat he was expecting. ]

... I do not know if that day will come, Erek the android. Apocalypse is the enemy of all mankind, and the only way he will be defeated is through the force which you are forbidden to use. Those who follow my banner are but children, and against a power such as his they would fall as mayflies. But... I will remember this offer you have made. I will remember this day. And if the time comes that I need one to do what no flesh and blood being could, I will come again to you.

[ Maybe you are capable of more than he knows, android. For the sake of all mankind, he hopes so. ]

[ They are basically in agreement for now, and Erek doesn’t argue. Nor does he raise the spectre of reprogramming, because as far as he's concerned that too is a choice already made. True, he reconsidered it once on the Iskoort world, when face to face with the creatures who murdered his people. But he never got that wish, and however reluctantly he knows it was for the best. Damaging enough that he was asked to carry the Howlers' memories without actually becoming akin to them. ]

Some surprising opportunities come up, when you live long enough. [ The Chee gives a small shrug. Take it from him. ] Until then. We'll keep an eye out. If you come looking, we'll find you.

[ They are so practiced at watching, after all. And Erek will be doing some research on the mutant in the meantime. From safely outside space-launching range. He wants to get a handle on who he's offered aid to, and perhaps he's in a better position to understand than most younger observers.

He gives Exodus a nod, and then his hologram shifts to match the surroundings, the android disappearing from human sight. Not for the telepath's benefit, of course, but for that of any other people he might encounter on his way home. With that, the android will dart off into the trees. People to soothe, operations to conduct, security footage to manipulate. You know how it is. ]

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