Descent of Nightmare (Chapter Eleven)
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saladloveChapter list: https://tanadin.dreamwidth.org/650.html
Map of Kaldriel: https://i.gyazo.com/332b0c0172dcc60acb46
Rough map of Hatu: https://i.gyazo.com/ea4f9f51b9dc7b9d8b86
Chapter Eleven
Fallen Star
Mainframe, Kaldriel. November 8, 2277. Time instance 842N.
Kyir glanced up from the machinery he was pouring over when he heard a phone buzz. He nudged Seven and motioned at the offending object, indicating that it was his, before he went back to work. He did notice, however, that Seven took an unusually long time to stare at the phone before slowly putting it down and lying down on the floor.
Kyir sighed and turned to look at him. “What?”
“I’ve officially lost it.”
“What makes you say that?”
Seven motioned vaguely at his phone, indicating for Kyir to pick it up. Kyir frowned slightly but did so, tapping the screen to light it up fully and reading the texts from Tanadin.
‘Who is a dad?’
‘You. You is a dad.’
‘Apparently. One of M’s people did some genetic experiments and now a bunch of us have labkids that are like 16.’
Kyir blinked several times before looking back down at Seven. “What the fuck.”
Seven groaned. “You see them too?”
“Yep.”
“Great. We’re both insane.”
The phone buzzed again. “Oh, she sent a picture. Holy shit. They are your kids. Look at this.”
“No.” Seven covered his eyes with his hands. “We’ve both lost our minds.”
Kyir rolled his eyes. “At least I’m not-” His phone buzzed and he checked it, groaning. “Okay. I am involved. Dammit. What the fuck. What is happening. Why are there genetic experiments.”
Seven sighed and sat up, almost reluctantly. “I don’t know. Ask her?”
“I will,” Kyir muttered, but received another text on Seven’s phone before he could. “Tanadin’s requesting your ass.”
Seven got to his feet. “I’ll get on a train as soon as we’re done with this.”
Kyir frowned. “Wait. Why...why do you know what I mean by that? Why are you not questioning that? Seven, what do you think I mean?”
“Focus. We have a job to do.”
“This can wait,” Kyir protested. “This is-”
“No. It can’t. We won’t be able to address that problem if we don’t deal with the strong possibility of an alien invasion.”
“But-”
“Kyir. If we don’t deal with this, there might not be any genetic experiments to meet when the raptors show up again. Besides, this isn’t the first time one of your kids has appeared out of thin air. This time is much less traumatic and should be less of a big deal.”
“I should never have told you about that.”
“I had warned you against the wisdom of spilling your life story while inebriated, but you unfortunately did not listen.” Seven turned back to what he had been working on before, holding out a hand, palm up.
Kyir sighed and handed the phone back to Seven, reluctantly getting back to looking over the machinery.
~~~
Lucy held Kallen’s good hand tightly as they walked through the streets of Eldar, what was once referred to as IAL according to Sheva. Ahead of them walked Shawn and Tac, each the parent of one of them. It was an odd concept, to be sure, but Lucy wasn’t as fazed by it as Kallen was. He seemed blown away by the concept of having an older person be responsible and look after him instead of everyone being responsible for the team’s survival. It was a bit baffling to Lucy, as well, but she figured she was just more adaptable than Kallen was.
Not to mention she was more used to the idea of someone looking out for her. She glanced at Sheva, who was rambling incoherently about something, and she gripped Kallen’s hand tighter. He flashed her a nervous smile and she smiled back. “Don’t worry,” she mumbled in Dranonic, “they’re not going to kill you.”
“I’ve never been this far from the group before,” Kallen admitted quietly. “It’s just you and me while the others are getting set up.” This was true; most of the labkids were getting themselves set up in one of the apartment buildings. Lucy and Kallen had opted to follow their...parents out to their home and get to know them.
Based on Sheva’s familiarity with these people, Lucy guessed that she’d been friends with them. Shawn kept looking over his shoulder at her, as if he was surprised to see her talking, but that was ridiculous. Surely she’d always been a chatterbox.
She almost ran into Shawn as he and Tac stopped in front of a door. Tac opened it and led the way inside, Shawn letting them through before shutting it behind them. They all sat down on some long squishy chairs (couches, Sheva informed her), and looked at each other awkwardly before Lucy cleared her throat.
“So, uh. What’s with the…” She made a vague hand gesture at Shawn. “You were all green earlier and scared the living daylights out of Gyrad.”
“Oh.” Shawn raised his arm to show her his right wrist, which had a silver chain around it with a skull charm. “I had a bit of an...accident, five years ago, while fighting a nine thousand unit during the revolution. I was shot through the chest and Geek panicked, casting a spell and doing...this.” He removed the bracelet and Kallen yelped, squeezing Lucy’s hand tightly. She only raised an eyebrow, surveying the green flesh and rotten black irises of his eyes.
“That’s disturbing,” she decided, silently relieved when he put the bracelet back on. “What’s a nine thousand unit? Or a…” She hesitated. “I don’t know that word.”
“Revolution?” Sheva suggested.
“Revolution,” Lucy repeated.
Shawn and Tac exchanged glances. “That’s a long story,” Tac said slowly, “and it might be best to tell the whole group at once.”
“What you need to know right now is a nine thousand unit is a powerful cyborg with a laser weapon and a revolution is...um. Let’s go with a war.”
“A what?”
“A fight. A really, really long fight.”
“Oh.” Lucy blinked a few times, then motioned at Tac. “What about the, uh...the hands? Was that from the revolution as well?”
Tac’s metal fingers twitched. “Yes.”
Upon Lucy translating, Kallen raised his right ‘hand,’ spinning and clicking the metal pincer a few times. “Mantid,” he said by way of explanation, and both Shawn and Tac looked baffled until Lucy explained that the mantids they were used to were the size of horses, and she wasn’t entirely sure that those existed despite Kaldric’s and Sheva’s insistence. She was informed that horses did exist and that mantids should not be that big, ever, under any circumstances.
Kallen agreed with that last point, whirring and clicking his hand.
Lucy leaned back in her seat as she translated Kallen’s recounting of the time he lost his hand, knowing that he’d need to learn English soon enough and knowing he’d have no problem with it.
~~~
Solace crossed her arms as she sat on the bed in her new room, surveying the two before her.
One was a pale man with dark hair and unnatural green eyes. He looked confident and fangs flashed when he grinned. The other was a taller man with red hair and mismatched eyes, one red and one blue. This one was the phoenix, she knew, the one that looked identical to her.
And, apparently, she was descended from these two. She had to admit that she could see the resemblance- she looked very similar to the shorter man, although her powers and phoenix form rang of the taller- and she shared a last name with the phoenix. Her eyes baffled her, though- neither of them had brown- but she supposed it was some weird genetic thing that she didn’t understand.
She had zero recollection of what their names were and wondered if they were worth learning. She had no idea how interesting they were as they’d never exchanged words- a language barrier will do that to you- although if the phoenix would transform they could talk that way.
...Not that the shorter man would be able to participate in the conversation. Solace wasn’t sure what he was, but it wasn’t an elemental, so he wouldn’t be able to hear them. Tired of the silence, Solace shifted into her phoenix form and addressed the other phoenix directly.
“What did M say your name was, again? It’s going to get annoying calling you ‘the phoenix’ and the other guy ‘the shorter man.’”
The phoenix exchanged a glance with the other man and quickly explained… something, at least it sounded like an explanation, before transforming as well and perching on the back of a chair. “I’m Clash. This is Scott.”
“Well, at least your names aren’t terrible.” Solace stretched her wings. “So, now what? Not like Scott over there can join in the conversation.”
“No, he can’t.” Clash sounded sad at this, shooting him an upset look. “He can’t fly either.”
“What is he?”
“He used to be human but now he’s a vampire. I don’t think that’s genetic, though.”
“Considering the fact that I don’t know what a vampire is, I’m gonna go with no.”
“Well, does the sun hurt you and do you need to drink blood?”
“Are you kidding? The sun is great! And gross. Why would I drink blood?” Had Solace been in her human form, she would have made a disgusted face. “That’s really gross. What the hell.”
“It’s what vampires do.”
“Ew.”
Clash hesitated, at a loss for words, and shuffled his wings nervously. “Who was that cyborg with you earlier?”
“You’re going to have to be more specific, pal. I know a lot of cyborgs.”
“The one in the trenchcoat.”
“Oh, that’s Everex. He’s my boyfriend and I’d kill to defend him.” Clash seemed taken aback at her blunt honesty, but he nodded.
“I’d do anything to protect Scott.”
“Well, we have something in common then. How old are you, anyway? We’re a little baffled by the idea of someone over sixteen.”
“A hundred and two.”
“FIRST FIRES WHAT THE FUCK!” This was punctuated by an audible screech and Solace flapping her wings. “What the hell!”
“Elementals live a very long time. Humans don’t tend to. Is Everex part elemental?”
“He’s half kirinax, yeah.”
“So you and he should have similar lifespans, although you can regenerate.”
“Useful, that.” Solace dug her talons into the blanket. “I’d be dead otherwise.”
“So would I.” Clash looked at Scott, as if considering something. “So would I.”
After a moment, Solace asked, “So. How interesting is Scott?”
“He’s the best.”
“But how interesting is he? Come on. I need to know whether or not to bother learning English.”
“You’re a lot like him. I think you’d like each other.”
“Neat.” Solace spread her wings and flew past them, towards the door. “I’ll go pester Everex to teach me, then. Cya.” She transformed back into a human, opened the door, and was gone, leaving both Clash and Scott behind, staring after her and wondering what, exactly, they’d been thrust into.
~~~
Cataclysm reluctantly stepped out of the building, Emma right behind him. He glanced up at the windows longingly, wanting to speak with his daughter longer but knowing that she needed her alone time. The labkids and old revolutionaries alike were overwhelmed, stunned by the revelation of their relation. Annihilation was confused and didn’t know what to think of them, and Cataclysm couldn’t say that he blamed her.
He and Emma didn’t know what to think of her, either, but they knew that they wanted to get to know her and spend as much time with her as they could. Until she had settled in and started learning English, though, their time was limited.
Cataclysm took Emma’s hand and smiled reassuringly. “We’ll see her again.”
“I know. I just don’t know what to think of her. I’m afraid she’ll do something and get herself hurt when we’re not looking.”
“She’s been fine for sixteen years.”
“She hasn’t been on Kaldriel for sixteen years. If she offends a cyborg…”
“She won’t even go outside. Don’t worry.” Cataclysm put a wing around her as they walked. “We’ll figure this out, somehow.”
“I know.” Emma sighed, leaning against him. “It’s just-”
Cataclysm never learned what the rest of Emma’s sentence was. A sharp intake of breath interrupted her and his limbs tensed as he stood up straighter, eye locked on a bright, flickering light descending quickly from the sky. It burned like flames and was colored brightly white but, as he watched, it faded to ashen before slamming into the ground a ways away.
A chill curled around his heart and he spread his wings. “I need to investigate. You want to come with?”
“Is that a question?”
Cataclysm smiled and scooped her up, taking off and straining his wings to carry them both to the impact site as quickly as he could. He flew them out of the city and over a hill, landing near a group of trees once he saw the crater and the dirt and rocks it had thrown everywhere. He set Emma down and slowly stepped towards the treeline, eyes catching sight of fresh footprints. “Hello?”
“Hello?” A humanoid figure stepped cautiously from the treeline and froze, green eyes widening. His hair was messy and black with a streak of gray, and tattered ashen-feathered wings were folded along his back. Cataclysm froze, familiarity striking him, but he couldn’t quite-
“Uncle Zyvren?!” The call of his name jolted Cataclysm into the past and a grin broke out across his face.
“Terok!”
“Uncle Zyvren!” Terok charged forward and almost knocked him over in a tight hug. Cataclysm laughed and held him tighter, shaking with a flurry of emotions and barely noticing as Emma drew closer.
Terok pulled back, smiling with tears gathering in his eyes. “You’re not dead! My dad said...he said you and Srvliux…”
“Your father’s a liar,” Cataclysm told him, “although you probably know that.”
“Yeah. Yeah, he...he is.”
“Cataclysm?” Emma’s voice drew their attention, heads turning towards her. She looked confused and cautious, eyes darting between them. “Who’s this?”
“Emma, this is my nephew, Terok. He’s the son of my brother Zi and, last I checked, nowhere near as shitty.”
“Nope. Not shitty. What’s with the name?”
“Terok, this is my mate, Emma. I go by Cataclysm now due to my...physical changes.”
“Yeah, I was gonna ask about that, but first, nice to meet you!” Terok held out a hand and Emma reluctantly shook it, hesitant but not unfriendly. “So, uh. What...what happened to you?”
“Your dear father wanted to see both Srvliux and I by the edge of the Pit one day, as I’m sure he told you. What he probably didn’t tell you was that he decapitated Srvliux, stabbed me through the chest, broke my wings, and shoved me directly into the Pit.” Cataclysm shivered and was grateful for Emma’s hand on his shoulder. “Edme found me. That should be explanation enough.”
Terok’s eyes widened in horror. “Maker’s tears! No wonder you...you’re...yeah!”
Cataclysm growled. “I bet your father loved that. Tell me, is he an archangel yet, or are they not corrupt enough to promote him?”
Terok frowned slightly. “Uncle, my dad’s...he’s dead. He’s been dead since about a year after you, uh...disappeared.”
Cataclysm stared.
For one second. For two seconds. For three seconds.
“He’s dead?”
“Yeah. The Council realized that he was too corrupt to exist and they cut off his wings and killed him.” Terok flinched. “He was...an awful person, but I wish I hadn’t seen it.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You’re not sorry that he’s gone, though.”
“No,” Cataclysm admitted, “no I’m not.”
“I’m not either,” Emma added.
“I think the only one who misses him is my mom,” Terok mumbled, “and I wish he’d killed her, too.”
Cataclysm’s eye widened. “Why?”
“Because she’s the reason I fell from Heaven. My own mother got me cast out for protesting the war.”
“The war?”
“The war that the angels are planning against Hell. They want to finish the demons off once and for all.”
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Date: 2016-11-19 12:09 am (UTC)“I should never have told you about that.”
“I had warned you against the wisdom of spilling your life story while inebriated, but you unfortunately did not listen.” Seven turned back to what he had been working on before, holding out a hand, palm up.
True this isn't first time of being presented with a child out of nowhere, at least his Lab Kid isn't angelic and has Heaven hating their very existence though.
I love Seven's reaction to all of this, "Ok, I'm now a father, therefore it's even more important that I finish this planet protection project I'm working on."
“Well, we have something in common then. How old are you, anyway? We’re a little baffled by the idea of someone over sixteen.”
“A hundred and two.”
“FIRST FIRES WHAT THE FUCK!” This was punctuated by an audible screech and Solace flapping her wings. “What the hell!”
“Elementals live a very long time. Humans don’t tend to. Is Everex part elemental?”
“He’s half kirinax, yeah.”
“So you and he should have similar lifespans, although you can regenerate.”
Solace has just had her mind blown that one of her fathers' is not only over 16 but 102 XD
At least she doesn't have the problem that Clash did before Scott became a vampire of falling in love with someone who's lifespan is going to be a drop in the ocean compared to yours.
Cataclysm growled. “I bet your father loved that. Tell me, is he an archangel yet, or are they not corrupt enough to promote him?”
Terok frowned slightly. “Uncle, my dad’s...he’s dead. He’s been dead since about a year after you, uh...disappeared.”
Cataclysm stared.
For one second. For two seconds. For three seconds.
“He’s dead?”
“Yeah. The Council realized that he was too corrupt to exist and they cut off his wings and killed him.” Terok flinched. “He was...an awful person, but I wish I hadn’t seen it.”
Huzzah for Zi not being an archangel, damn for Zi already being dead and damn again for Cata not being the one to be able to do it.
“I think the only one who misses him is my mom,” Terok mumbled, “and I wish he’d killed her, too.”
Cataclysm’s eye widened. “Why?”
“Because she’s the reason I fell from Heaven. My own mother got me cast out for protesting the war.”
“The war?”
“The war that the angels are planning against Hell. They want to finish the demons off once and for all.”
That's harsh, kicked out of heaven by your own mother....wait....does that mean that Terok's mother is an archangel? Or is any angel able to kick another out of heaven and it's not limited to the power of an archangel?
Also bloody angels spoiling for war, no wonder Vel'kex and the other archdemons are so concerned about Geek and Vel'kex's offspring, the angels probably weren't going to wait to have a reason, but now they have the perfect excuse if they find out.
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Date: 2016-11-19 12:16 am (UTC)Oh yeah the angels have been wanting a war for 500 years, since the last queen of Hell died and the crown vanished.
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Date: 2016-11-19 12:33 am (UTC)Mhm, I hope Hell has been getting as prepared as Heaven has in the last 500 years....
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Date: 2016-11-19 01:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-11-19 01:17 am (UTC)SHIT
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Date: 2016-11-19 04:02 am (UTC)They can't crown a ruler without the Crown of Hell, and only the late queen knows where it is. Supposedly.
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Date: 2016-11-19 05:19 am (UTC)-Observing Anon
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Date: 2016-11-19 08:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-11-19 08:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-11-19 08:24 pm (UTC)-ToC's Anon
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Date: 2016-11-19 11:19 pm (UTC)-Observing Anon