3160/Kindergarten is Revealed

Kindergarten is Revealed
Date of Scene:	06 October 2015
Location:	Kindergarten
Synopsis:	Pearl and Blurr discover Kindergarten on Earth.
Cast of Characters:	Blurr, 836, 870

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Peridot (836) has posed:
    Misery had become baked into the ground here in Kindergarten. Massive Injectors, some of which had become active, walked left and right. Occasionally of them would stop, and a large drill would burrow deep into the ground. Then, it would stop there. The internal fleshy organs of the machine would then proceed to start pulsating and pumping.

    Adding more danger to the mix. Robonoids were busy constructing large turrets. Some of which appeared to be complete and functional. That would mean any trespassers would have to be careful to avoid being spotted. At least while above the surface.

    To add even more over whelming firepower to the scenery, high above all this loomed a massive war ship. A giant green hand which hung ominously in the air. Anyone keeping tabs on Homeworld Gem activity would be no stranger to that war machine. It had been increasingly featured on the news, and wherever it went, destruction and death followed.

    A small green orb launched itself from the Warship, and made it's way to the ground level. Once there, a small door opened up and Peridot herself emerged. The green gem woman looked around with a bored expression, and began making her way to an as of yet-undisclosed location.

Blurr has posed:
    Blurr hasn't bothered Peridot for a while, at least not blatantly, but quietly, he's been tracking her movements. The Autobot has been pleasantly surprised with how well that homing device he planted on her ship has been working. He tracked her to that fast food joint earlier, and recorded her presence at Ponyville Library and the attack on the museum though that wasn't exactly a secret, either.

    He's observed that she's reported to this very location on several occasions, and has thus decided that now is the time to make a move. They're up to -something-, that's for certain, and it's bound to be up to no good. It never is, with Feds, of course.

    Blurr has also informed Pearl of his findings, and the two of them have set out to learn what they can. He doesn't take his craft in too close to the Homeworld warship, knowing it's got to be bristling with weaponry and sensor scans. Instead he orbital bounces down a safe distance away and makes his way quietly toward the odd canyon. He -should- be able to put his holomatter through the walls, but if not he can always search for a way in the -normal- way.

Pearl (870) has posed:
    "This ship of yours is fascinating!" Pearl says melodically. She's nosing around the lander during the trip, "Not quite as advanced as Gem Technology of course, but still impressive considering what you had to work with!"

    AS they get closer to their destination the Gem climbs up onto a control panel panel so she can get a look at a viewscreen. "I just wish everything in here wasn't so *big*" She says with a reserved sigh. "There! That barren area! That's the kindergarten!" She sounds excited at first until she realized it's been activated. "Oh my stars! It's *working* again! I *knew* Peridot would try something like this! We have to shut that terrible place down, it could suck all the life out of the planet!"

Peridot (836) has posed:
    Unaware that she was being observed, Peridot walks towards a flat patch of land where a single large horse-sized robonoid stood. She waited for a moment before the robonoid shifted it's shape, flattening itself down to a small triangle shaped platform which lowered itself into the ground. It's outline glowed.

    Peridot stepped forward onto the device, her boots clanking metal. And then it began to lower itself. Soon she disappeared from their sight entirely underground. What would they do now?

Blurr has posed:
    "'Kindergarten'?" Blurr repeats the word. It sounds strange, and he finds out from the internet that it's...a human term for a school that very young juveniles attend. But surely there's another definition for it? "Isn't that like, a school for newborn humans?" he wonders aloud. "Well anyway whatever you're going to call it, we need to get down there and figure out what exactly they're up to and how they're planning on getting it done."

    The two of them are beamed down from the ship to a location near the outside of the canyon walls. Quickly, Blurr activates his own holomatter inside the base just in time to catch sight of Peridot slipping underground. << I've spotted Peridot, she's slipped underground. What were you saying about sucking the life out of this planet? >>

Pearl (870) has posed:
    "In this case the term is much more literal." Pearl explains after beaming down and starting to make her way down the canyon walls, "This was a place where we grew our children right out of the ground." She explains with a deep sound of regret in her voice.

    "Oooh. She's not getting away this time! Start smashing the Injectors!" She motions toward the large virus-like machines. "That's certain to get her attention! These things use the life energy of the planet to grow new Gems."

    Pearl pulls her spear out of her Gem, levels it at the nearest active injector and starts firing energy blasts at it."

Blurr has posed:
    Blurr starts scanning the area in search of anyone else who might be around besides Peridot, Pearl, and himself. "So not necessarily a school then, but more like a hotspot." Which is a place where -Cybertronians- come out of the ground. "But yeah, I get the connection."

    He pauses for just a moment, peering over at the green pod that Peridot had used to come here and contemplating whether he ought to use that to try to get onto the warship, or try to follow Peridot underground. He can attempt to scan down there, to see where he might send the holomatter, but he is unfamiliar with the facility. The pod on the other hand...he's had some -experience- there.

    The Autobot nods to Pearl. << Right, you handle the smashing, I'll handle the sneaking. >>

Peridot (836) has posed:
    So much for the stealthy approach! All of Kindergartens defenses suddenly click to life, the finished ones at least, and swivel on their necks to point at Pearl. Peridot is deep within the compound when she is alerted. "..What?" She gasp, looking at her holo-screen. Images. Images of Pearl filling the screen. Peridot's expression turns into a scowl. "No!" She turns on her heels and began sprinting back up to the surface.

    To make matters worse, The Gem Warship itself turns to face Pearl and point it's immense pointer right at the tiny gem. She's certainly stirred the hornet's nest. Hopefully she had a plan to survive while Blurr was doing all the sneaking!

    "Stop. you clod! You'll kill them!" Peridot growled as she emerged once more. It appeared at least, Peridot was unwilling to unleash the full might of all the weaponry focused on the other gem right away. But, when pressed she would certainly sacrifice a few in order to save the majority of them.

    "I knew I was right to try and take you out when I had the chance." She sneered. "Do you have a death wish, walking right up to the very seat of my power?"

Pearl (870) has posed:
    Pearl suddenly gets a Deer in Headlights look on her face for a moment. She hadn't considered that Peridot might have gotten the Kindergarten defenses working again, nor that she might be able to control the Warship remotely. "Oopsie-daisy..." She murmurs to herself. "I've brought backup Peridot!" She shoots back mostly confidently. "I swear to you I won't harm the ones that are already incubating, but we can't let this place reactivate again! The humans on this planet have as much right to life as we do!" Something in her voice suggeests she's repeating something Rose once told her.

Blurr has posed:
    Perfect, Pearl's got their full attention. << Good work Pearl, keep her occupied. Stall as long as possible. >> Blurr transmits to his ally. Looks like she's got the idea though, with starting an argument with Peridot.

    Now that the green gem is above ground, he decides that the easiest thing to do would be to slip underground while she's distracted. Seizing control of her ship at the moment would more likely attract attention. He scans the area directly beneath the avatar's feet to get at least a vague idea of what's down there, and quickly phases the holomatter through the ground and into the compound below, aiming for an area that -looks- safe at least. Hopefully it's not much deeper than it looks.

Peridot (836) has posed:
    "Typical rebel gem rhetoric." She said in sharp response. "Do you think I was sent here just to reactivate Kindergarten and take over the planet? Do you think I want to be here at all?"

    Her digit hovered over her screen pad. The Warship's finger starting to glow a white hot glow. But for whatever reason, she did not fire. Not yet anyway. "My mission here changed the second when our world unified. You'll probably be thrilled to know that our home planet is missing! Yeah, that's right. It's exploded for all we know! Maybe it unified inside of a star? Maybe it's already been absorbed by some other menace?" She bared her teeth. "Congratulations, Clod! Isn't this what you rebel gems always wanted?"

    "Our kind might be on the edge of extinction. We might never see our Homeworld again and I don't intend on existing in this universe surrounded by filthy humans all the time. Did you ever pause to wonder why Lazuli is back where she belongs? Why even though she betrayed us, I forgave her? Because she understands the fundamental truth. It's not US versus THEM, anymore. It's us OR them."

    "And I choose gemkind. She chooses gemkind."

----

Blurr meanwhile phased down into the complex. It's a gloomy place, illuminated by a soft green glow. Vein like tubes run up and down the tunnels carrying the strange goo that appears to power nearly all of the gem-machines. He is also surrounded by Robonoids. Little spider-like creatures that walk up and down the corridors lugging supplies, dirt, componets. It looks like the facility was not completely functional yet and was literally still be dug out by the little creatures and constructed. However they pay him little to no mind. If he obstructs their path, they simply attempt to walk around him. From here he can see two path ways. One leads to a room with a green glow, and the other leads down a corridor and gains a yellow glow. It seems he needed to pick a color.

Pearl (870) has posed:
     Right. Stalling. That was the plan all along right? Lets go with that! Pearl looks shocked at Peridot's revelation, "That can't be true!" She shouts accusingly, "You're lying!" She sounds far from certain however."

    "We never wanted this! We just wanted to live on our own terms, Free!"

    She glances around worriedly. "There must be another explanation Peridot." She urges, "We were scattered when we unified. Who knows what else might have happened? It might be as simple as recalibrating the Warp network or the navigational system on your ship!" She doesn't sound like she's keen on either of those idea, but if it would get them to leave earth alone, it might be worth it.

    "I'm willing to help you find out what really happened. I refuse to believe Homeworld is just... Gone! We don't have to keep fighting. We can work together on this." She sounds sincere, but also in denial that the Homeworld could have been destroyed. "Or, I could just go back to breaking injectors!" It's both a threat and a plea.

Blurr has posed:
    Blurr can only hope Pearl will be able to hold her own against Peridot and all of the facility's defenses at once. But he's monitoring the situation from his actual form just outside the canyon so he's not too concerned about that. If all hell breaks loose on the Crystal Gem, he can quickly intervene. And of -course- he's fast enough!

    ...Something about this entire...-conversation- between Pearl and Peridot gives him a bit of a pause, the avatar standing there in front of the two different paths before him for just a moment as he listens to it. There's an odd sort of...longing? Perhaps that's the word for it. For a time when his -own- people actually did hold back the way Peridot is right now. Or could afford to...a time when Cybertron was still habitable. A time when there was still hope that things could be salvaged. The planet, the unity of the Cybertronain race.

    In a way, these Gems are lucky.

    He shakes his head, brushing away the ache and instead focuses on finding a control room or any terminal of some sort, where he can find one of those hubs like the one he saw on Peridot's ship. Whether that means yellow or green he's not sure so he just heads down the corridor that appears to have a yellow glow toward the end of it.

Peridot (836) has posed:
    "Do you think I haven't tried that?" She shoots back. "Yellow Diamond chose me for my original mission because I am a genius! I've tried everything I can with every available asset in both obvious and inverted configurations. And you clods didn't make it easier by wrecking our ship! But I managed to get it back up to full capacity!" She points up at the Gem Warship. A nearly literal gun being pointed at Pearl's head. With Peridot's finger on the trigger.

    "It's not there! There are a hundred possible explanations for why it isn't there; but the outcome for all of those is the same. There is no home for us to return to. Even the communication towers have returned no results. All this blasted ancient gem tech, we've re purposed. The fact is we may never establish contact even if it IS out there, and it is unharmed!"

    "I think you've done enough damage to Homeworld. But, the current situation makes me hesitant to outright shatter you. We are endangered on this planet. Therefore even a worthless life such as yours holds some weight. But if you think I'm going to work with traitorous filth!--"

    Her expression changes to stern patience. "Leave Kindergarten alone. It's too important to our kind. If you leave now, that will be the end of it. We are keeping the Steven so he can be shown what true gems are, but we will not go after you any more."

    "Or I poof you here and now and put you in a BUBBLE!"

-------------

    As Blur explores down to the yellow chamber, he begins to hear the most.. gut-wrenching of sounds. The wailing of a beast in pain. But it sounded like it was emitting a gutterly snarl from a collapsed lung barely capable of pushing out wind.

    As he walks into the chamber a more horrifying sight fills his eyes. There were rows and rows of jail cells. Yellow Light made up the wall that contained creatures within them. They appeared to be a Frankenstein of body parts that created fleshy creatures made of arms, legs, eyes and mouths. Each more terrifying to behold than the last.

    There also appeared to be a terminal console similar to the one in the pod ship in the center of the room. This had cables in it that connected to all the eldritch horrors. What was going on in here?

Blurr has posed:
    "The frag are they creating down here..." Blurr mutters at the sight of these horrific creatures. They weren't just using this place to propagate their own kind, they were...creating monsters! These things reminded him somewhat of the Swarm--twisted experimental versions of his own kind, relegated to eternal torment on a dead and crumbling world as failed lifeforms. Not dead, for death would have been more merciful, but not truly alive, either. Putting them out of their misery was all that could be done for them.

    << Pearl, I'm pretty sure these people aren't just using this place to make sure you don't go extinct...I don't know what in the name of Primus these things are but they -aren't- pretty, and they sure as frag aren't natural. Stand by, I'm going to try to get into their systems, see if I can't disable some of their defenses. >>

    He moves over to the terminal and pulls out one of the cables, replacing it with his avatar's hand. Now that Peridot is distracted, and the robonoids don't seem to notice he's an intruder, perhaps he can stay in longer, and learn the truth about this place.

Pearl (870) has posed:
    Pearl looks up at the Gem Warship. What can she possibly do in this situation? What would Rose do? She can't let the Kindergarten do any more damage, and she can't leave Steven in the hands of the Homeworld Gems, but she's clearly outmatched here, until Blurr's voice comes over the comms!

    When she hears him mention he's going to try to disable the defenses she decides to take action. Suddenly The whirls around in a ballet-like Pirouette and a half dozen Holo-Pearls scatter in all directions. One seems to be challenging the Gem Warship to a duel, two of them are running in circles shouting at no one to throw the volleyball to them. One's singing about Cookie Cats, and the remaining two are running around rather uselessly clanking their holo-spears against random Injectors, not doing any real damage.

    Meanwhile. The real Pearl Runs towards an Injector that's already incubating a Gem and puts it between her and the Warship. "Forced Fusions. They're abominations!" Pearl tries to explain to Blurr as she runs.

Peridot (836) has posed:
    The systems are relatively secure. Without an immense proficiency in hacking he won't be able to access the more sensitive material. It would take a rival master hacker to crack her security.

    However, Peridot is legendary when it comes to documentation. She creates logs and time stamps of nearly everything she does. And since she was interrupted, she happened to have left a video/audio log open. It's possible he could access it. However it's a long one titled 'Fusion Experiments 21b' It may take a while to get through but it might shed light on the situation. Everything at the terminal he was currently connected too seemed to involve the forced fusions. Or he could continue exploring other avenues of Homeworld interest.

--------------

    "I should have known better than to even talk to you!" Peridot growled as she forms her free hand into a blaster. "Hiding behind unborn gems!" She takes a few shots at the real Pearl. The Holo-Pearls were easy enough to recognize for their distinct hue, though Peridot knew it was best to probably not ignore them completely just yet.

    Kindergartens automated defenses kick in and began blasting through the excess Holo-Pearls.

Blurr has posed:
    Slag it, the security here is much better than the ship last time. It's too bad Black Arachnia isn't here, she's a pro at this. But at least he knows where it is now, so there will be a next time. Still, he does stumble across a log file that Peridot had carelessly left open. He begins to zoom through any data that happens to be stored locally and attempts to download everything he possibly can to his own memory banks--he probably won't be able to decrypt much of it himself, but there are experts back on base who can do that later.

    Once he's certain he's gotten everything that's worth attempting to access and copy, he pulls out of the system as he realizes Pearl is in trouble. He could continue to explore the compound, and reveal his true form to Peridot, but he'd rather avoid that for now--there would be other times for that. Thus, the avatar vanishes from underground re-materializes suddenly between the gem incubator and Peridot's guns. The shots will probably damage the holomatter matrix, but it's a hit he's willing to take. "Peridot! Did you really think Pearl was stupid enough to come here alone?"

Pearl (870) has posed:
    "There's just no talking to you Peridot!" Pearl says in frustration. She's was really hoping they could come to an agreement, but there's no way she'll believe that now. Plus their views are just too far apart. "Blurr, we need to get out of here." She whispers over the comms, defeat in her voice. She can't let this place continue, but they appear to need more firepower to have a chance at shutting the place down. The best strategy is a withdrawl.

    She continues to dance about in her graceful way to avoid the blaster shots but she doesn't see a way out without losing the cover the incubating injectors are providing her.

Peridot (836) has posed:
    The download completes! Peridot's most recent logs now reside within Blurr's data banks for later study. As he makes his way to the surface. Peridot blinks as her blaster shots strike the Holomatter. "You again? Why are you so interested in our activity!"

    "Just remember, I gave you a chance to back out."

    Peridot expression changed to one of worry, as she realized she was now outnumbered by two opponents, both of which were physically more powerful than she was. Peridot was a fearful creature by nature. However, she was in command of a vast and powerful armory of weapons. Spooking her was easy, the hard part was out-lasting her counter-barrage. In order to win, she would have to resort to violent measures.

    "Any gems that die because you two refuse to leave me alone is on YOUR head!" She pointed. And then tapped a screen. "Firing canons."

    At the tap of the button, the finger lights up and lances down an arcing laser that began to follow Pearl. Her proximity to the injector bought her an extra second. Almost as thought Peridot intended to give her a chance to flee, rather than strike her directly. If she stayed by the injector both she and it would go up in flames!

Blurr has posed:
    "I told you, it's my job to be interested in -everyone's- activity, especially people like -you-." Blurr replies.

    Score. Intel acquired. Mission mostly accomplished...for now. And as far as he can tell, Peridot still isn't aware that her pod has a tracking device on it. The shots from her blaster slam into the holomatter, causing it to crack and flicker. Bits of it falls off and dissipate, even. But it seems to be determined to stay grounded. "Oh no you don't you spawn of a glitch!" he exclaims. As the ship opens fire, it lunges at the green gem, attempting to tackle her to the ground and rip the controls from her hands. "You -don't- get to excuse yourself from blame for this, that's the kind of logic that justified massacres. That's the kind of logic that justified torture and brought about millions of years of war. War that destroyed countless lives and planets just like yours. You gems are lucky you're not -that- far gone yet! You can still salvage this...stop trying to take advantage of other civilizations because I'm telling you, all it's going to do is lead to more death and more suffering and pain on all sides. What if -your- planet is missing because some other more advanced race came and sucked it dry just like you're doing to this Earth? Is that what you want to do? Propagate this kind of behavior?!"

    "You -don't- want a war between the Homeworld and the rebels...trust me, I've been there. Give up the expansionism...it's not worth it."

Pearl (870) has posed:
    Pearl looks at Blurr's Avatar with a newfound respect. Clearly he's been through something very similar to what the Crystal Gems have. "We definately need to talk if we live through this!" She says with a nervous chuckle. She focuses her attention on the laser that's threating to cut down both her and the incubating injector. "So now you're willing to sacrifice the unborn just to get rid of me!? You.. you... black kettle... pot! Whatever!" She was never good with human sayings.

    If Peridot's going to insist on destroying her own equipment Pearl's going to make sure the right stuff gets destroyed. She dashes across the Kindergarten, jumping about tp avoid the smaller blaster shots, and leads the main laser arc towards injectors that haven't started incubating anything yet, maybe she can get Peridot to take out a couple of them before she catches on to what she's up to.

Peridot (836) has posed:
    Though she is successfully tackled. Blurr finds he has a rather difficult time pulling the control from Peridot's hand. Her control was her hand! The disconnected fingers that interlocked to form her holo-screen which she used to control the ship. When he pulls on them, he finds them quite firmly rooted in place. Tethered to her robotic arm by powerful invisible energies.

    "If that's the case, it's all the more important that my work goes unimpeded!" She spits back. "Humans are temporary, gems are permanent. We are the inheritors of this galaxy. We have more to gain from this planet and its resources. This planet can take the hit if it means our kind can survive. There is no other way. If not earth, then another planet will take the bullet."

    "We didn't start this war! They did! Her and that miserable Quartz!" She flicks her blaster hand, the finger configuration changing back to hand mode and a small compartments opens up on the side. Pearl would identify what the new weapon was, where Blurr might not be quite as familiar. It was a destabalizer. The equalizer among gemkind. Weak and strong gems alike would be taken out with a single hit.

    She attempts to thrust the device into Blurr's midsection.

------
    The laser follows Pearl for a spell, it performed it's function chasing her away from the injector... while demonstrating Peridot's willingness to do what it took to take her out. The fingers on the warship then spread out, sending a volley of light-missles down this time seemingly locked onto Pearl's heat signature! There was no telling how much ordinance it had.

Blurr has posed:
    "No! You don't -get- it, Peridot! This blame-shifting game you're playing, -that's- exactly the kind of thinking that destroys everything!" Blurr insists, grumbling at the fact that the controls seem to actually be -part- of Peridot's hand, and he can't easily swipe it from her. Still, determined, he attempts to simply rip her fingers out if he has to! "You might be right about that, hell if I know, but what I DO know is -that- sort of thinking is the very thing -fuels- the war, the one thing that keeps it from ever ending! I can't let another race fall to the same traps mine did..."

    He starts trying to seize the controls from her in a similar fashion to the way he'd seized control of her pod earlier--by fusing the holomatter energies -into- the warship's controls. That doesn't go quite as planned, however, as Peridot suddenly thrusts a destabilizer into the avatar, causing it to crackle and flicker in and out of existence. "Aaaaagh!" he cries out in pain as the feedback is immense. The projection sort of flops over, and starts to partially phase into Peridot's body...

Pearl (870) has posed:
    "That looked like it hurt.. are you okay?" Pearl seems concered, but not terribly upset that the holographic Blurr is gone. "Also is there anything you can do about these missiles? I'm in a bit of a pickle here!" She starts looking for a rocky outcropping or maybe an empty 'Gem Womb' for lack of a better term that she can use to take cover from the incomming missiles. If she had a moment to stop and rest, she might be able to pull a flare out of her gem. but right now she has to keep moving.

    "There's no use trying to talk sense into her, she's already made up her mind!"

Peridot (836) has posed:
    "Ahk!" Peridot struggled as the Holo-matter became translucent and phased into her. The mechanical aspects of her arms and boots began sparking as they picked up strange transmissions, feeding data into Peridot. It was there she suddenly deciphered all the information that was flooding into her. The nature of the Holo-matter, and more importantly the nature of where the frequency was coming from. What it was coming from.
    "Huuugh!" Peridot strains and pushes the Holo-body off of herself. "So that's what's been going on." She squinted. "You aren't a holo-person at all! You're a machine!"

    "That's right I'm not changing my mind! I'm not a traitor to my planet. I'm going to save it-- no matter how hard you Crystal Clods try and destroy our species. You might be prepared to be alone in this universe, but I'm not." She began walking towards Pearl, with her destablizer firmly placed in her hand. "Jasper! Get down here!" Peridot said into her radio channel. Though she already had some big guns in play it was time.. for even more big guns. The overwhelming force of the automated defenses, the gem warship, and the titan gem Jasper. The full force of the Homeworld armada about to fall down upon them. Unless they fled!

Blurr has posed:
    Scrap! Blurr had been hoping to keep Peridot in the dark about what he really was. But it seems it's too late for that now! Indeed, a flood of code assaults the gem's equipment...revealing the truth about what he is. While the holomatter is similar to the gems' bodies, it is far from being a gem. Instead it is projected from a remote source, namely, what appears to be a sleek hovercar parked just beyond those rocks a few paces away. But now Peridot will know better--it's not just a car, but a massive AI advanced enough to be alive and sapient.

    At that moment, the cat is out of the bag, the charade is over. The holomatter disappears, and the car suddenly flips upward to reveal Blurr's -true- form. Weapons emerge from arm compartments as he aims them upward at the gem warship and fires off a series of high-energy photon streams, hoping to bring it down or at least disable its weapons array before it can make Pearl history.

    He then transforms again back into his vehicle form and opens the doors. "Pearl! Let's get out of here! We're done...for now."

Pearl (870) has posed:
    Pearl comes flying over a rock just as a missile impacts behind her. She lands cat-like on her feet and runs the last couple yard to Blurr's vehicle form. She dives inside and does an unintentional impression of her companion, "Okaywecanleavenow!" She urges, then looks out the window and sticks her tongue out at Peridot!

    "This whole thing was my fault." She sighs. "I'm usually better at stealth missions, but when I saw the Kindergarten working again... I just *had* to do something! I should have known better than to do this without Garnet." She says guiltily.

Blurr has posed:
    "Heh, your -fault-? We got what we needed. You did fine, Pearl." Blurr reassures the Crystal Gem once she's inside, the lights on the dashboard pulsing in sync with his voice. "I managed to copy some of the data she was collecting on those Forced Fusions thanks to your diversionary tactics. This was infiltration and recon, not a frontal assault. Next time though...we'll bring some -real- firepower."

    The doors shut and the Autobot zooms off, disappearing into the distance in the blink of an eye.