Opposites Attract: Chapter One

Earth, 1995

The Pacific Ocean was a vast sheet of deep blue that stretched for miles in every direction. The semi-cloudless sky shone above, and the scales of fish glittered under the surface of the waves.

It was a perfect place. A natural portrait emphasizing of Earth's beauty.

With a great rumble, the water began churning in a circle. An apparent maelstrom exploded into life without warning, and dark storms clouds suddenly appeared in the pristine sky.

At the very center of the vortex, something emerged. Swelling from beneath the water, the glowing purple-black sphere grew in size rapidly to the point where it had completely swallowed up the maelstrom. And it didn't show any sign of slowing down.

--

"Yesterday afternoon, a strange phenomenon was witnessed by locals several hundred miles off the California coast. Two hours later, a military official released a statement saying that the public had nothing to fear and that the sight was merely a weapons test…"

The TV droned on. Soft snoring drifted from the bedroom, one of the three rooms in the cluttered apartment.

On the single-person bed slept a man. Fair skin and a face framed by light brown hair, he would need a shave in a few days if he weren't planning on growing a beard.

The alarm clock sitting on the nightstand adjacent to the bed began shrieking loudly. Blue-green eyes snapped open, and the man was awake instantly, yawning and stretching. He padded softly to the bathroom, pulling the string attached the ceiling and bathing the tiny room in light.

After taking care of his usual morning hygienic routines, the man dressed casually—jeans and a T-shirt were the norm for him. When your life involved fashion changes each decade, you had to adapt so as to not stick out like a sore thumb.

As he was making scrambled eggs for breakfast, a soft "Mrraow" sounded from the ground. A white, longhaired cat was intertwining herself between his legs.

"Duchess," he groaned. "I love you, but I hate your cat hair. It sticks to my clothes like Velcro."

Duchess just yowled at him.

"I know, I know." Briefly abandoning the eggs, the man refilled her food bowl with wet cat food, which Duchess inhaled greedily. "I spoil you."

The eggs were slightly overcooked, but edible. He ate them just as quickly as the cat, and then headed for the door, grabbing his tan duster on the way. "I'll be back. Don't shred the couch anymore than you already have."

The distinctive sound of Duchess disobeying him immediately was the last thing he heard before shutting the door and heading down the stairs. On the first floor of the building was the public mailbox the apartment used. Inserting the key into his designated slot, he opened it.

Nothing.

He wasn't surprised. It's hard to maintain a proper identity in the modern age—everything was stored electronically, and if he aged like a normal human he should be frail and elderly, or in a coffin.

Still, it left him with a sense of alienation. When the world you live in doesn't recognize you as alive, you have a freedom very few people know, but you're also bitterly alone.

He wasn't overly fond of the name that had been engraved on his mailbox, but it was the only one he had.

Closing the mailbox, Jason Youngblood turned and left the building, heading down the street to his right. As soon as he turned into an alleyway, there was a flash of blue light, and he was gone.

He was the Architect. Nothing more.

--

"My usual, dearie."

"Coming right up, hon." The waitress left the table, going into the back to fix up his order.

Etzel von Gerhart liked Taki's, the supernatural café in Brooklyn. In it, he could enter, order, eat, and leave as a vampire. As what he really was.

"Thank you," he said sweetly to his server as she reappeared quickly with his blood.

"Have you heard about this?" she inquired, pointing at the TV hanging from one corner of the building. "That business over on the West Coast."

He blinked. "No, why? What business?"

As an answer, she turned the TV up and walked away.

"—purple-black sphere appeared in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and is growing in size constantly. It has not slowed down at all in its growth, and locals fear it will reach Japan and the West Coast in two days time. Any attempts to collect a piece of the substance and analyze it have been unsuccessful."

He leaned back in his chair. "Hm…demons?" Etzel mused to himself.

Whatever it was, he had no obligation to investigate. That was the job of the Nephilim. The Los Angeles Institute would take care of it.

--

The Architect knew it paid to eavesdrop on passersby.

He'd teleported down to the more Southern edge of California, Los Angeles, for a change of scenery. What he hadn't expected was to see a giant sphere off in the distance. After listening around for a few minutes, he decided to contact the local Nephilim.

Which is why he was in front of a church that doubled as the Los Angles Shadowhunting Institute. He rang the doorbell. A bald, black-skinned man answered him.

"Architect. What do you want?"

"Have you been investigating the disturbances over in the Pacific Ocean, Leon?" he asked without preamble. "There's been no word in the supernatural community since it appeared. This requires your intervention."

"Funny, the Clave told me the exact same thing." Leon crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe. "The Clave has already analyzed it. It's not demonic in any way at all. Therefore it's not in their jurisdiction."

"Not in your—it's a big honking energy field that will swallow up this whole area in three day's time! That doesn't require the attention of the Nephilim?"

"The Clave told me to wait for you to seek me out. Then they wanted me to tell you, that it's your jurisdiction now." Leon's eyes narrowed. "This is in your hands, Architect. Get it done."

Then he slammed the door in the Architect's face.

--

"Sheila, run a diagnostic. All frequencies."

"Even the ones that have absolutely nothing to do with this thing?" the AI shot back.

"Just do it."

He was sitting on his motorcycle, which was floating above the water, humming slightly. The sphere was steadily reaching them. In another few minutes they would have to fly back some more.

"Huh. That's…that's odd."

"What?"

"This sphere is exhibiting the same radiation that your tech produces whenever you make a dimensional jump. Only the energies have been…reversed, somehow."

"So, what does that mean?"

She huffed. "You can build an AI but not understand what it says. Typical of you humans."

"Sheila."

"Okay, okay. Basically, what it's doing is exactly the opposite of what your tech does. You use your tech to teleport yourself places and travel to different universes. All my readings are telling me that instead of copying your frequencies and sending itself somewhere, it's absorbing everything it touches."

Comprehension dawned. "So it's like a black hole."

"Not really. Black holes are made out of a different substance and have a different function—"

"I'm going in."

"WHAT?" Sheila's holographic form flickered, turning red. She crossed her arms. "No. You don't know what will happen if you enter. You might not even be able to get out!"

"It's a risk I have to take. I need to find out what's going down on the other side."

"I can do more scans—"

"No! They might not tell us anything more, and this thing is giving me the creeps. It's not demonic, which means that by default it falls under my jurisdiction. It's scientific in nature, right?"

"Maybe."

"Maybe? What'd'you…oh, forget it." He revved the bike. "I'm going."

"Leave me here then. I'll provide assistance from outside."

"Fine." The Architect pressed a button on the dashboard of his motorcycle, and Sheila was immediately ejected, a little flying saucer hovering above the water that projected her hologram in front of him. She was still frowning as she drifted farther away.

"Good luck."

"I don't need luck." The Architect pressed a hand against the sphere. "It seems like it's—"

All of a sudden, he was gone. As if being yanked by an invisible chain, the Architect was pulled into the void, writhing in a mass of darkness and silence. He flailed wildly in his seat, before suddenly the world exploded into view and his cycle crashed into the ground, throwing him from the seat.

"Ow." Coughing, he slowly got up, and looked around.

He was standing on a floating, rocky platform. The entire dimension, whatever it was, appeared to be made up of a cluster of these floating rocks. There were smaller boulders serving as steps, bridging each of the platforms together. What interested him the most was the sky, or lack thereof. It was mostly dark green, with swirls of black and purple interwoven into it. The whole sent chills running down his spine.

"Architect?" a voice said, cutting through the static of his radio. He picked up the comm. Attaching it to his ear, the Architect said, "Speak up, Sheila. You're breaking up a little."

"It's only going to get worse the farther you go in. This dimension kills most electronics and radio frequencies. I don't know how long your radio will hold."

"So that's why my bike crashed."

"Are you okay? What do you see? What's it like?"

"I'm fine. It's…not the strangest place I've been in." He looked around again. "But definitely the most empty. There's nothing here. No signs of life, whatsoever. I'm going to head deeper."

The AI gave an exasperated sigh. "I know. Maintain contact, please. If I lose your signal for more than five minutes, I'm going to pull you out."

That got his attention. Pausing in the act of kneeling down to examine the dirt, he said, "Pull me out? What?"

"Your coat and your bike both have built in teleporters. I can use them to get you safely out. Hopefully."

"Good to know. I'll be in touch."

He set off. After testing one of the boulders, he deemed them safe enough to travel across. The dimension's gravity seemed to change depending on his location—in some places it retained Earth-like gravity. In others he was forced to crawl across the ground due to the pressure. In other places if he didn't hold onto to a rock of gnarled tree, he felt he might fly away.

Finally, after reaching the seventeenth platform, the Architect squinted ahead and saw, in the distance, a large figure.

"Sheila, there's something up ahead that I haven't seen yet." A holographic screen appeared in front of his eyes and he scanned the readings. "No signs of life detected, but it might be important still. I'm going to check it out."

"One of these days your curiosity is going to get yourself killed."

"Well, then you can say you told me so."

"Hmmph."

The distance between him and the figure was a lot farther than the Architect had first assumed. His scans said that it was one mile away, but the pedometer said he'd traveled four miles by the time he got close.

It was a throne. Simple, made out of black stone, and totally empty. The Architect supposed that whoever sat in it must be very tall, because the throne itself was about a foot taller than him. He stretched out a hand to touch it.

"Get away from that."

The voice was deep, guttural. Immediately the Architect whirled around, hands at his sides.

His mouth dropped open.

Before him stood a creature the likes of which he had never seen before. Eleven feet tall, its skin was a deep, dark blue. Its eyes reminded him of a solar eclipse—black with glowing golden corona around the edges. It had four very muscular arms, and six fingered hands. Large, bat-like wings rested against its back. Its face was humanlike, with one nose and a mouth, and two ears. It wore black armor that covered nearly every inch of its body. Its feet were bare.

"Forgive my intrusion," the Architect said politely, bowing his head respectively. Inside, his mind was whirling. Whatever this creature's intention were, it couldn't hurt to be polite. Maybe a negotiation could be made.

The creature's expression did not change. "Why have you come here, Earthling? What is your name?"

"My name is the Architect." He lifted his head and stared the creature in the eye, unafraid. "I came here out of simple curiosity. When a large sphere of unknown energy appeared in my planet's ocean, I arrived to examine it. I touched it, and found myself pulled inside. Then I began exploring."

"Hm." He couldn't tell whether the being was amused or not, or thought him a liar. Then: "You seem to speak the truth. Welcome, Architect. I am called King Nihil. I am the god of the Negative Zone."

"Negative Zone? Oh—it is an honor to meet you, your majesty."

Nihil spread his top two arms. "This is the Negative Zone. A place that lies directly opposite your planet. Earth. We mirror one another, as your brief visit here may have already told you. What the Earth is, the Negative Zone is not."

"It is a nice place," he lied, smiling slightly.

"Bah." Nihil's face darkened. "Do not try to deceive me, Architect. I see all here. I know what you think of this place. I do not blame you. The Negative Zone is an empty, barren place."

"My apologies," the Architect said hastily. "Have you lived here your whole life?"

"I have. It is a quiet life, but something I and comfortable with. But I must confess that I do get lonely. And I cannot fix what is wrong with my world." The god-king looked mournful.

"Wrong? It may be…different, but I don't see anything wrong."

"Not on the surface, mortal. You do not live here; you have not seen what I have seen. The Negative Zone is dying. It cannot sustain itself for more than a few centuries." At once Nihil began to laugh heartily. "But, my troubles are almost over! I will have my world saved."

"Oh?" The Architect blinked, feigning innocence. "How?"

"Tell me, Earthling. What do you get when you multiply a negative and a positive number?"

"A—what? A negative number."

He nodded. "Correct. Think of the Earth as a positive."

All at once, horror dawned upon him. "You're going to absorb the Earth."

"Correct. It is the only way to preserve my home."

"But, Earth has billions of people on it! They'll die!"

"Most of them." Nihil did not seem troubled. "What do I care?"

"You can't!"

At once Nihil's eyes flashed, and the platform they were standing on rumbled. "Who are you to tell me what I can and cannot do? I am a god, and I am a king. I will not be ordered around by a commoner!"

Immediately the Architect drew both his pistols and pointed them at Nihil. "I won't let you destroy my planet."

"Put those away before you hurt someone," the god-king spat. "It is for the greater good. My greater good. And that's all that matters, Jason."

The Architect's blood ran cold.

"I told you that I see all in my world. Jason Youngblood, born in 1926, in Europe. My children will feast upon your bones."

As Nihil spoke, shapes began to appear. Trees turned into nightmarish centipedes as thick as tree trunks, and tentacles began to writhe up from the ground. The darkness grew more oppressive, and the Architect backed up against the throne.

"You said you lived here alone."

Nihil's tone was flat, and devoid of mercy. "I lied."

Already the Architect was pressed two fingers against his comm. "Sheila, get me out of here! NOW!"

Something reached for him, but the Architect didn't have time to discover what it was. In a blinding flash of blue-white light, he disappeared—

And reappeared miles above the Pacific Ocean in freefall.

"You need to work on your aim, Sheila!" The Architect yelled as he desperately clutched for the motorcycle.

At last, his hand found the bike's frame, and he hauled himself aboard. Gunning the bike's engines, the Architect aligned himself correctly, and sped off right before he hit the water. Sheila's mobile pod zoomed next to him, and attached itself to the bike once more.

"What happened in there?"

"We're in trouble," was his only reply as they headed for land.

--

"So we have to fight a god."

"King," the Architect amended. "A god-king."

"Wonderful. Any ideas?"

They were back in the Architect's house. Sheila 's 12-inch tall hologram was being projected from a disk sitting on the couch. The Architect was sitting next to her, petting Duchess.

"I could call Etzel. And Veronica. But I doubt they would be enough. Maybe Rayna."

"You'll need more firepower than that."

"Well, do you have any better ideas?" the Architect snapped. "At the rate the sphere's growing, we have three days to take down Nihil. Then it hits land, and people start dying."

"No." Her voice was frigid. "I don't. But you can't do nothing."

"I don't plan to do nothing. I'm going to fight him, one way or another. I got the feeling that with him, negotiation is impossible."

"Funny, so did I. You're a dimension-hopper, Architect. Can't you just send him to another world? Make the people on that planet fight him."

"No, my tech isn't that powerful and I'm not going to shunt him off to…someone…else." He sat up, eyes wide.

"What?" Sheila tilted her head and stared at him. "Have an epiphany?"

"Something like that. Open up my transuniversal database. I need a planet."

"Okay. Any particular one you want me to look for?" A two-dimensional display of star systems and galaxies appeared in between them.

"Something with a bunch of people who have unique skills. It'd be better if they were all on the same planet. As many as you can find."

"I hope you know that you've explored about 2 percent of all the universes there are, and of those worlds you've visited, not many of them had warriors. You're making this difficult."

"Just do it."

"Okay, how about this one?" A blue-green planet with two rings like the ones present on Saturn appeared. "Home to a very proud, warrior group of people. I'm sure they'd love to fight with you."

"Do they look human?"

"Umm…no. They have a lot of fur."

"Scratch that. I need them to be able to blend in rather well with our society. We have no idea where this is going to take us."

"Okay…give me a minute—woah."

"What?" he asked eagerly. "You found something?"

"In a manner of speaking. It's…well, look for yourself."
She pulled up a picture of the world. Frowning, the Architect grabbed the picture and pulled it, turning it into a three-dimensional hologram.

"Is that a…turtle?"

It was indeed a turtle. With four elephants on its back, and a completely flat planet on their backs.

"Okay." He began rubbing his temples. "Okay. I remember visiting that planet a while ago. I didn't talk with anyone, though. I just poked around. Most of the inhabitants there can fit in well here. They have vampire and humans."

"Is this world okay then? Do you know what it was called?"

"The Discworld, I believe. Appropriate name. And yes, it'll do. Sheila, I need you to scan the Discworld and pick up people who you think can help us. Try alternate versions of it too. You never know."

"Okay. You'll have to give me an hour or so. This will take time."

"Fine. Just keep working."

"Roger. What are you going to do?"

He was already at the door. "I'm going for a walk."

"Where to?"

"Never mind that. Add some people from our world to that list while you're at it. I'll be back."

--

It was a good two hours before he returned, carrying two large duffel bags. Sheila raised an eyebrow.

"You went to our caches?"

"My caches, yes. I figured our guests might want some weaponry of their own if they do not have any on them. Did you finish the list?"

"Yes, and since you weren't back yet when I finished, I added Etzel and Veronica and Rayna to the list, then decided to scan our own planet in case there was someone who could help us. I found two more people."

"Oh?" He set the bags down next to the couch. "Who?"

"Dante di Auditore and Loren Blackburn."

"Never heard of them. But I suppose we can give them a shot." He picked up the AI. "We'll be doing this outside."

The apartment complex that the Architect lived in was directly across the street from a large park. Once Sheila informed them that most of their guests would be vampire, the Architect decided to wait until daytime in case any of them were afflicted by sunlight. So he spent the rest of the day tending to his weapons. Guns were stripped, cleaned, and then reassembled. Swords were cleaned and sharpened. Spellbooks were carefully organized. When night began to fall, he and Sheila left.

"We have three visitors from Discworld, and two from an alternate version of it."

"Can you show me the list of them again?" he asked while walking across the street. She sent him the names on his comm. display.

"We're going to need a lot of blood."

"I already took care of that. I got people discreetly ship us some blood. Types A and B. Any other type is either the universal donor, recipient, or so rare that it shouldn't be used to feed vampires when someone who may need a transfusion could make better use of it."

"You're a blessing, Sheila."

"I try."

They reached the park. The Architect laid out ten disks on the ground.

"They might not be pleased after they arrive."

"They'll have to deal with it. We need help. Start the procedure."

A few beeps. "Commencing…"

Across dimensions, five spheres of blue-white light suddenly materialized on the Discworld, snatching up their respective targets before they had a chance to utter a protest.

At the same time, five other spheres swallowed up five people on the Architect's Earth, depositing them in the park.

As the lights died down, they came into view, one by one.

The first to arrive was a man with wavy hair that curled on the ends. He had beetle-black eyes and a slight beard. He was dressed in a dapper suit with a top hair and cane. At his side, the second to appear, was an Italian man with darker skin and hair, and green eyes.
The Architect checked the list. Loren Blackburn and Dante di Auditore, respectively.

Dante looked around nervously, while Blackburn directed his attention to the Architect with raised eyebrows and a slightly bored expression on his face.

More spheres arrived just then. Stepping out of the third one was the Architect's old friend. Dressed in clothing to make it appear he had stepped out of time, Etzel von Gerhart gave a loud whoop and immediately ran over to hug the Architect, who returned to gesture.

"Dearie, if you wanted to see me, all you had to do was call!"

He smiled slightly, but put a finger to his lips.

The next two to step out of their spheres were two women. The first one, barely past high school age, had pale skin and long, dark hair. Her red-gold eyes had cats-pupils, and they blinked in confusion, before she just began grinning. Veronica Carter.

The other woman was much, much older, around late forties. She had dark, shoulder-length hair tied in a small ponytail and gray eyes. Everything about her seemed sharp and jagged. She gave the Architect a curt nod. Rayna Darkflower.

As a werewolf and warlock, Rayna and Veronica were the token minorities of the group. The rest were all vampires.

"And now come the foreigners," Sheila murmured.

The first to step out of the Discworld spheres was a short woman with hazel eyes and jet-black hair. Her eyes were panicky, wildly looking around as if ready to bolt for an escape route. Then, after a moment, when she saw that no one was attempting to wrestle her to the ground, she smirked slightly and leaned back against a tree to watch the proceedings. Cassandra "Cass" Larimar.

The next to arrive was a boy, around 17. Red-haired with green eyes, he reminded the Architect of a small kitten. Almost immediately he began to panic with wide eyes and unintelligible noises, retreating from the others. This attracted Cass's attention, and she attempted to console him before anyone else could react. He swatted her away. She frowned, but kept her distance.

A blond-haired teenager of 15 was the next to arrive. Gunnlaug Sigurdsson, was all the Architect had time to think before Gunnlaug lunged at him and tackled him to the ground.

"Get—off me!" the Architect protested, and unceremoniously threw Gunnlaug off him. The vampire hit the ground and was immediately upright, glaring defiantly at the older man, who had his hands up in an "I surrender" gesture.

"I'm not here to hurt you!"

"Und vy should ve believe zat?"

That was a sword pressed against his back.

Slowly, the Architect shuffled away and turned around.

This vampire was also blond, but his hair was longer and tied into a ponytail with a black ribbon. He wore glasses and, at exactly six feet of height, stood taller than the Architect. He had vivid, light blue eyes.

"You must be Geier von Engelmacher, then."

Geier's eyes narrowed, and he pressed his blade harder into the Architect's throat.

--

In the Negative Zone, Nihil pondered.

"So, the Architect has called for help. And put together a team from other worlds to stop me."

"My sensors indicate this, yes, my king."

"Your service assists me greatly, Negative Architect."

Negative Architect bowed. He looked exactly like the Earth's Architect, only with gray skin and glowing red eyes. When he smiled, he flashed a mouth full of pointed teeth. A greenish-black aura floated around his body.

"I think it would be prudent to do the same. These creatures are not worth my personal intervention. Still, it troubles me to have any of them alive for too long. Have you already sent out your own AI to do the same?"

"I have, my king. They should arrive momentarily."

Sure enough, four black spheres appeared in front of his throne.

The first person to step out of her sphere was a slightly older Veronica. She was dressed more elegantly than her good counterpart. Her dress was accompanied by a black corset that held red, frilly trim along the outline. She now wore dark indigo gloves that reached past her elbow, and the dress itself was the same color. A red and black choker was fastened snugly around her neck. The black crown on her head burned with everlasting violet flames.

"The Black Queen," Nihil rumbled. "Ruler of your own alternate Earth. And I see you brought friends." He indicated the two other spheres next to her.

The first demon to step out wore a white shirt with a red coat overtop. They were accompanied by torn, faded blue jeans, motorcycle boots, and black fingerless gloves. His eyes were like bright orange sunbursts, and he had shaggy auburn hair. A long, thick scar bisected his left cheek from eye to chin.

"Abaddon, Greater Demon of Destruction, at your service," he said, grinning savagely and falling into a mock bow. "I brought my niece with me. Meet Necarisus."

The girl who appeared from her own sphere next to him didn't look a single bit like Abaddon. She looked Japanese, for one, while her uncle was Caucasian. White, wispy, dead looking hair fell down her back. She wore a skirt and a straitjacket, with a pair of arms folded up into the sleeves as per usual of one wearing a straitjacket. However, she had a second pair of arms that poked out of holes in the shoulders, where normal arms are supposed to be. Her hands were black, in startling contrast to her deathly pale skin. Each "finger" was unnaturally long, and upon closer inspection they were actually claws. One eye was blue, the other green.

Her face was frozen in a grin, and she made no sound.

The Black Queen beamed at the two of them, but then she frowned at Nihil. "Why are we here?"

"I will explain in just a moment, my dear," Nihil replied. "We have one more guest."

"Oh? Who?"

"Me."

The last arrival stepped out of his black sphere. Now Nihil looked more pleased than ever.

"Geier von Hollental, I presume."

"Just Hollental," he replied back immediately as he approached the throne fearlessly. "I vouldn't vant to get mixed up vith my counterpart, no? Your assistant here informed me of your situation."

"Of course not."

"I do not zee vy ve should help you," he said crossly. "Vat is in it for us?"

"For you?" Nihil laughed. "You all get what you desire most." He indicated the two demons. "You get to murder and torment as you please." This was met with a grin from Abbadon and a giggle from Necarisus. "And you, Black Queen. How often does one get to meet yourself? And I hear they have two children with them…Francis and Gunnlaug—"

"Die Jagerpuppun," Hollental cut in. "Are mine."

Nihil paused, considering this. "Of course. I'll let you decide that." Then he turned both eyes on Hollental. "And imagine, if you will, how pleasant it would be to get revenge a second time?"

Hollental's eyes narrowed. "Vot do you speak of?"

"Him."

For a moment, he seemed to be at a loss for words.

"I am in. But if this is a trick…you vill be very sorry."

"Someone going to fill us in here?" Abaddon protested.

Nihil just laughed.

--

"If you lower your weapon," the Architect said calmly, "I'll be happy to explain everything to you." He glanced at the other foreigner. "All of you."

Someone made a strangled noise, and immediately all eyes were on an enraged Cass, who was glaring at the newest, final arrival.

This vampire was the tallest, taller than Geier, at six feet three inches. He was very slender, and had electric green eyes with long red hair that was worn loose. He was handsome in what seemed to be a lazy, elegant sort of way.

He also looked very bored, but at the same time relaxed. As if nothing could touch him.

"Well," Lord Pan said softly. "I suppose I'm a little interested in hearing this man's story. Liebchen, it will be easier for him to explain if he does not have a sword to his throat. Humans break easily, you know."

The words were barely out of his mouth, and Geier had already released the Architect.
Pan's eyes roamed the crowd disinterestedly, before settling on the Architect again.

"We're waiting."