Alice spoke again after considering the issue. "It isn't that we do not have spaceships. The fleet still stands below. But the origins of these ships are rather obvious and would quickly draw attention that would result in your annihilation. I do not currently have a solution to this issue. I do however see that you possess a soul that does not belong to you. I am guessing you have no idea what to do with them, is that correct?"
Hadorix replied, "I had almost forgotten I had gained it. Your right, I have the soul of Cato and I have no clue what to do with it."
Alice replied, "Fortunately for you, with me here you have multiple options.
1. Place the soul in the well of souls. This will slightly increase the power the well contains.
2. Place the soul in one of the bodies created for the Artificial Intelligence's. The Mystic Orchard possesses thousands of them, after all this was the main fortress for our army. They come in all shapes and sizes.
3. Once in a body, you can wipe the memory of the soul and make it completely under your control.
4. Absorb the soul. This will grant you access to most of the powers the being once possessed.
Alice Continued, "Let me know which option you decide. That soul is not gaining you anything by sitting in your mind."
Hadorix considered his options. Cato was not a strong opponent, as such options 1 and 4 would not bring much use. Option 3 would essentially make Cato his slave. Hadorix still hated the concept of slavery so that was out. He decided option 2 would be the best option. In this way, Cato would live again and could improve his sense of self. He informed Alice of his decision, and she had a few questions.
Alice said, "You have some options on this one Hadorix. For example, do you want the body to be male or female? Or simply robotic. Beast or humanoid? The sky is the limit, simply name what you want."
Hadorix replied, "Cato was a male in life, I would not want to change that. He was a humanoid vampire, a prince of the Coven I now command. As there are a great many soul stones of theirs in the throne, can you make him look like he used to?"
Alice giggled and replied, "Silly boy, I am in your mind remember? I can see exactly what Cato looked like. It will take a bit longer, but I can create an exact replica of him. This fortress has more resources than you realize, but I must ask, can you give me his fangs? It may help him to have something of his old self."
Hadorix agreed and Alice removed the fangs from his inventory. Hadorix then questioned, "Alice, you are able to move things freely from my inventory, can I store all my materials and items here that I am not using?"
Alice giggled again and replied, "I thought you would never ask. You have access to anything in this fortress with a thought. Heck, with me at the helm, you can have anything or anyone that resides in your territory with a mere thought. Also, look over there."
Alice pointed to an opening where a wall once stood. Inside were multiple manikins. One existed for each form Hadorix could shapeshift into, and there were 4 in human form. Currently only one had gear. It had the original gear that Hadorix had been gifted from the World Tree. When he saw it, Alice spoke again, "I saved it for you. I didn't know if you would want to reveal your new armor to the World Tree. The origin of your new armor is after all quite obvious. Though I suppose that doesn't really matter anymore. After all, you control the Mystic Orchard. The soul stones of the World Tree and its grove are both inside the throne and are yours to claim or destroy. The Mystic Orchard is Grade S. I can control one of the bodies and help you confront him. Hehehe, you're not as weak as you seem. Few have the power of a Grade S behind them. That makes you the strongest force on this planet by far. Can I turn him into a toothpick?"
Hadorix had not realized that he possessed the soul stone of the Grove of the World Tree. This posed new possibilities. Hadorix replied, "Claim ownership of the Grove of the World Tree and create a portal. That will save me a ton of travel. Possess a body, but do not come through the portal unless I need you. I do not want to kill the World Tree."
By the time Hadorix walked to the portal room, the portal had already been created. Hadorix walked through and spoke to his old employer. "World Tree, I have finally returned to see you. Did you miss me?"
The World Tree replied in its great booming voice, "I have missed you Hadorix, but I miss my Mystic Orchard more. What have you done with it? You must have a death wish to trifle with my artifacts."
Hadorix replied, "I believe you are mistaken. The Mystic Orchard belongs to me. As does your soul stone. Though what that means remains to be seen. Do you truly wish to attack me?"
The World Tree replied, "Boy my power is beyond your comprehension. I am but a seedling compared to that which spawned me. If he senses the Mystic Orchards disappearance, there will be hell to pay for this entire planet. He may even suck it completely dry. Then we all die. In life or death, we are all slaves to the Tree."
Hadorix replied, "What if I told you there is another way? That I can protect you from the tree you fear."
The World Tree replied, "What do you mean?"
Hadorix replied, "There are multiple options here. You obviously fear your connection with the tree that spawned you. I can sever that. Pick a way.
1. Allow me to kill you and place your soul in another body.
2. Live in my Land Grant. I will never allow you to leave as the moment you leave the connection would again exist, but you would still have more freedom than you currently possess.
3. Do you have any suggestions?"
The World Tree replied, "The great tree that spawned me and all the other seedlings never allows us to create seedlings of our own. To do so is to court our own destruction. That is because we can put a portion of our memories into the seed and sever the connection with the main tree out in the galaxies. If you have a place to hide the seedling while it grows, I will place my life essence in a new seed and break the connection. My body will be yours to deal with as you desire."
Hadorix considered this and agreed. "I will plant the seed in my Land Grant. Come with me through the portal, your body would be too large to carry on my own."
· Quest Complete. "You have made many decisions in this quest, and while you did not manage to complete all of the optional tasks, you did manage to unite all sides. As such you have achieved the maximum grade for this quest line. Be warned however, you have made an eternal enemy in the tree of the galaxy. One could even call him your new archnemesis."
· Reward Granted. "Alice now posses the coordinates of the World Trees spaceship on Pax. While this could not be used long term, it would create far less notice in the galaxy than the ships you currently possess."
Hadorix followed the World Tree through the portal. They slowly moved into the throne room. The World Tree was amazed and confused. It spoke, "Hadorix, we have tried for centuries to find this fortress. This is the command center; how did you activate it?"
Alice replied, "Do you recognize my voice World Tree? I am the Mystic Orchard. I possessed one of my subordinates, the aptly named Junifer so that none would realize I am an AI. I have fought alongside you for all of this time waiting for the day I could reclaim my former glory."
After hearing the response. The World Tree released its life force into a seed. The seed moved with the force over to Hadorix and fell into his waiting hand.
Seeing this transpire, Alice spoke in the mind of Hadorix. "You could eat that seed and absorb the body. With that much nature power, your druid levels would explode."
Hadorix replied, "I gave the World Tree my word that I would plant the seed in my Land Grant. I will task Anubis with this task and ask him to protect it while it grows."
Alice replied, "If it is your wish for it to be planted in your Land Grant, I can find a suitable location. As a reminder, I can move anything you possess anywhere you control. I can also improve the functionality of your Land Grant and change many facets of it should you desire."
Hadorix considered this and agreed. Alice would monitor the growth of the World Tree. As soon as it was planted Hadorix received a surprising notification.
· Quest Received. Protect the seed of the tree. "A new power is growing in your Land Grant. You may not yet realize it, but this may be the most significant event to occur in centuries."
· Quest Rewards, multiple.
o Ability to utilize the technology of the Galactic Tree.
o All blueprints the World Tree gathered will be unlocked to Alice.
o Buffs for your faction as the Tree grows.
The portion that surprised Hadorix was the buffs, as well as the label of Faction. He did not recall creating a faction….
Alice could sense Hadorix's confusion. She spoke, "Hadorix, my full functionality can only be unleashed when owned by the ruler of a faction. As such, I took the liberty of creating one for you. In the galactic society, you now rule the faction "Deviant". I took the liberty of naming it Deviant, I hope that you do not mind."
Hadorix replied, "I would prefer that you discuss with me before you make a large decision in the future, though I do like the name. What is a faction?"
Alice giggled again and replied, "O my simple little Hadorix, I forget you know nothing of the galactic society. A faction is a ruling power in the galaxy. Typical factions possess many star clusters. Few possess less land than that. A great list exists in the universe that contains the name of all the current factions and the maximum grade of its supers. It is extremely rare though not unheard of for new factions to form. A new faction forming with no notice with a Grade S super as the highest grade is unheard of and will create a huge fuss in the galaxy. Especially one possessing only one unheard of planet. I took the liberty of naming the planet in your Land Grant Nebula. It is listed as your factions only territory. I did not bother to update the system to show all of the artifacts you possess. If I listed all of those present within the Mystic Orchard, you would be hunted day and night. I also took the liberty of renaming the Mystic Orchard as I have hated that name since it was bestowed upon my command center by the Galactic Tree. It is now named" Deviant Home". With the name of your faction, I felt it fitting. I did not consult you on that as I felt I had the right to rename the artifact I created."
Hadorix felt Alice was correct and could rename the Mystic Orchard as she desired. He replied, "Deviant Home it is. Thank you for everything you have done so far Alice. You have always been a great help. Even when you controlled Junifer."
Hadorix could sense Alice's pleasure from his statement in his mind. Even without a physical form she managed to show her feelings easily.
Alice spoke again, "Most factions use a network like the internet from your Earth. Though, it is much more advanced. For example, individuals with the proper abilities can enter the network in a physical form. Most AI lives live inside the network and can control the unprotected machinery at will. Think of this as them utilizing WIFI to hack into the machinery. Therefore, most machinery possesses immense protections or firewalls. Though few can resist a Grade S AI. Once we enter the universe, it will be somewhat easy to find a new spaceship. There are after all many pirates that exist in the galaxy. Pirate ships can be claimed by any law-abiding citizen that can prove they have disposed of the original occupants. You can even turn pirates into the local authority for a bounty, as part of the bounty, you will obtain legal ownership to all belongs you managed to confiscate from the pirates. But back to my original point, your network is different. No outsiders can access the network of Deviant Home. The only access port is through the throne."
Hadorix realized that he had hit the jackpot when he gained access to Deviant Home. He began to consider his options. In considering, he recalled that Cy had told him that if he combined the Spiders Lair with the Mystic Orchard with the Well of Souls it would be possible to lift the Grade limit for supers. He spoke, "Alice, now that we control all the artifacts that we have, would it be possible to lift the Grade limitation on this planet for members of the Deviant faction?"
Alice considered this and replied, "I suppose this would be possible, and would give you a grand advantage on Pax. Ok its done. That was easier than I expected."
Hadorix then summoned Anubis and spoke, "Anubis, you may now travel freely in Pax. Can you find Ember and try to recruit her yourself?"
Anubis was stunned by this revelation. He replied, "I would love to travel through Pax again. It has been so long since I had the opportunity, thank you Hadorix."
Hadorix then posed a question to Alice. "Alice, can you go gather the spaceship that the World Tree arrived on and bring it here?"
Alice used her abilities to claim one of the female bodies in the base that were made for AI's and came out. She nodded to Hadorix and left to do as he had requested.