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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 Twenty-Five
Inorganics
Mainframe, Kaldriel. November 11, 2277. Time instance 842N.
Seven looked at Twelve critically before slowly shaking her hand, as if it was an unfamiliar action. Twelve could suddenly barely breathe, as if waiting for judgement. She didn’t know why, but she didn’t want him to dislike her. She wanted to be worthwhile in his eyes.
“You must have figured out who I am,” he said by way of reply. He turned when Everex approached and nodded at his introduction, looking him over as well. He glanced at Tanadin and raised an eyebrow.
“They certainly do seem to be crosses of both of us. M was not incorrect.”
Kyir looked at Twelve and Everex curiously as well, but included Starren in his examination as he glanced over their cybernetics. He paused upon reaching Tavren, however, raising an eyebrow.
“Are you...mine?”
“Yep.” Tavren grinned. “Tavren Pyrox.”
“You build all of their cybernetics and installed them?”
“Yep. With Kaldric’s help.” He motioned.
“Hello,” Kaldric said pleasantly.
Kyir stared. Seven looked at him with interest, taking a step forward with his robotic eye whirring and spinning to get a better look. Kaldric stood patiently while Kyir and Seven looked him over.
“I thought the raptors hadn’t been able to create AI without an organic component,” Seven said quietly, stopping in front of Kaldric. “That was the whole reason that they used cyborgs and not robots.”
“It is a fairly new and experimental technology, only developed within the last decade. I am an experiment, charged to protect other experiments. I find that unwise, but Zatar did not ask me. My predecessor, another experimental robot, did not do as well as me and failed his primary directive, but that is all I know. I would say that I work far better than Zatar had expected.”
Kyir prodded Kaldric’s shoulder. “I’d love to get a look at your insides to see how you’re put together…”
“Human male, I would request that you do not. It is disconcerting to have someone rooting around inside of you, particularly when you do not yet know them.”
“You can see how I’m put together,” Everex offered. “Kaldric and Tavren fixed me up so it might be similar.”
“I’d like to get a look at you, yes.” Kyir turned and widened his glance to Twelve and Starren. “I’d like to get a look at you guys, too.”
“I find that acceptable,” Twelve said, looking at Seven as he reluctantly stepped away from Kaldric and over to where Everex was hopping up onto the workbench that Kyir indicated. Twelve moved over to them as well, knowing that Everex might make a fool of himself and hoping to glean more information about Seven. Tavren followed, ready to answer any questions they had.
Twelve listened carefully to the sound of her footsteps versus Seven’s and couldn’t help but ask, “Why are your footsteps so much heavier than mine? I can see that you have far more metal to you but I wouldn’t think that it would add that much more weight.”
“It’s a heavier metal,” Tavren answered immediately. “I was asking Xela about that and I did an experiment with Starren and decided that whatever they use to make their cyborgs is a lot heavier than what we use. It’s slightly more durable but completely vulnerable to magic unless they have magic dampeners on.”
That got Kyir’s interest. “You can use magic?”
“Oh, yeah.” Everex’s eyes flashed briefly and his hands lit on fire. He put them out after Kyir stared for a few seconds and Seven only nodded thoughtfully.
“Interesting. I’m glad I’m having E’s ship flown over here. We could use this kind of metal.”
“Alright, whats-your-name-”
“Everex.”
“Everex. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
Everex jumped up in order to take off his trenchcoat and hand it to Twelve before getting back on the workbench and pulling his shirt off at Kyir’s request. His chest, back, arms, and left half of his neck and face shone silver and blue, the metal’s slight tinge making Kyir mumble and tap Everex’s arm a few times.
Twelve sighed quietly at the scars she could still see on him where the metal of his chest ended and the skin began. It had pained him greatly for the first few months after getting his cybernetics, and it hadn’t been easy for Tavren and Kaldric to install in the first place.
Seven and Kyir took quite awhile going over Everex’s enhancements, particularly his wings and the energy blasters in his palms. They asked Tavren dozens of questions, most of which Twelve stopped paying attention to in order to focus on Seven and Kyir themselves, trying to figure out as much as she could about them. She’d forgotten about the woman that came in with them until she heard her speaking quietly to Q, making fun of people and laughing.
Twelve phased back into the conversation as Everex demanded, “Well what kind of ranged weapon do you have?”
“A railgun.”
“A what?”
“A railgun.” Four of the fingers on Seven’s hand swung back on a hinge and a gun barrel extended from where they had been. “An electromagnetic weapon that shoots bullets.”
“We had limited materials so ammunition that isn’t reusable or made of pure energy wasn’t feasible,” Tavren said immediately. “Which is why we all hate Gyrad’s stupid crossbow.”
“It’s an idiotic crossbow. That and that dumb hat of his.” Everex crossed his arms. “What a dick.”
A mischievous grin broke out on Kyir’s face and Seven only got out “Don’t you d-” before he was interrupted by “Have you seen Seven’s douchebag hat?”
Seven sighed. “What do you have against my hat?”
“It’s a douchebag hat. Wait, wait. I gotta see this.” Kyir snatched the hat from Seven’s head and froze, tilting his head in confusion and frowning.
“Seven,” he said slowly, “why is there a tiny pumpkin on your head?”
Seven’s right eye narrowed. “Hazon,” he growled, snatching his hat back and putting it on.
“You’re not going to-”
“No.”
“How long has it-”
“Awhile.”
“But why wouldn’t-”
“Leave my hat and its pumpkin alone, Kyir.”
“What does your hat need a pumpkin for?”
Seven glared at him before making a dismissive motion at Everex. “You can put your shirt back on. I want to get a look at your eye.”
Everex blinked. “My eye?”
“Yes. Why does it have a shutter on it?”
“So that I don’t look like I’m winking everytime I blink.”
“HA!” Kyir poked Seven in the nose. “Owned.”
Seven shot him a look before instructing Everex to lie down on the workbench so that they could see his eye better. They went back to poking and prodding and asking questions so Twelve stopped paying attention until Seven cleared his throat and glanced between the three labkid cyborgs.
“We’ll be able to install basic prediction software onto Everex, but not Twelve or Starren unless they get robotic eyes installed. It might be awhile before we’re capable of that, as we’ll need the right metal or it’ll get fried every time you try to use magic.”
“Your prediction software won’t be as good as most cyborg’s,” Kyir warned, “but it’s sure better than nothing.”
“That’s great. Wonderful. Can I sit up now?”
“Yeah, you’re done. Next!”
Twelve handed Everex his trenchcoat back and took his place on the workbench. Kyir was immediately interested in her hands and fingers, taking one and working her joints, watching how the metal reflected the light.
“What the hell do these do?” He poked the end of her finger. Twelve unsheathed her claws, making him yelp and leap backwards. He glared at her before looking at them again, running a finger over the top edge of one.
“Moderately effective in combat, but nothing like Everex’s blades. Do you have a ranged weapon?”
“No. Just my fire. He’s the fighter of the two of us, and he can fly, but I’m the climber and the harder one to hit.”
“Climber?”
Twelve wiggled her fingers, drawing attention back to her claws. “These are excellent for gripping rough surfaces or gouging holes into smoother ones. And then…” Metal plates in her feet slid and clicked, their form changing entirely in a few seconds from humanoid to raptor-like, two regular claws and one hooklike killer claw.
“Climbing, jumping, clinging, running. That’s what I’m good at.”
“Damn good,” Everex agreed. “Don’t piss her off, she will jump on you.”
“I only got you with the claws once.”
“That hurt!”
“It was accidental!”
“Fight nicely, children,” Tanadin called.
“You’re not my- um. Oh. You...you are.”
“Yes. I am your mom. Where did you even learn to say that?”
“Sheva taught it to Lucy and Lucy taught it to me.” Everex beamed proudly.
Seven’s head snapped up. “Sheva?”
“Yeah, the ghost that follows Lucy around. People seem to know her. Do you?”
“She’s my sister,” Seven mumbled, “and I’m wondering why she’s still sticking around to follow Lucy.”
“Do you not like her? You sound… not annoyed, but-”
“I don’t know. I don’t remember her.” Seven shrugged. “I just want to know why she hasn’t passed on or faded yet. Ghosts rarely last this long, and it sounds like she’s at least somewhat coherent.”
Twelve shrugged. “You’d have to ask Lucy about that. I wasn’t even sure that Sheva existed until a few days ago.”
Kyir nodded and motioned for her to get off the workbench. “Alright, next.”
“What, you don’t want me to take off my pants so you can get a better look at my legs?”
“Keep your damn pants on, Twelve.”
Twelve rolled her eyes and returned her feet to their normal shape. “You guys are weird about that.” She stood up and moved out of the way to let them examine Starren, who looked significantly less enthusiastic about the proceedings. They didn’t take long to look her over, already used to how Kaldric and Tavren built robotic limbs, and mostly just asked her questions about her weaponry and limitations. She answered simply and honestly, but it was clear in her eyes that she didn’t trust them, not yet. She still had yet to meet anyone related to her, so she had no communication point to the people of Kaldriel. Her parents, Nine and Geluu, had been busy with the angel war and she’d only caught a couple glimpses of Nine on the battlefield.
Kyir and Seven quickly moved on to get a better look at Kaldric, eagerness practically radiating outwards from Kyir’s skin. Kaldric demonstrated the use of the flamethrower on his left hand and the claws on his right, as well as the biting power of his reptilian metal jaws. He spoke eloquently, as always, and answered their questions but politely turned down Kyir’s request to open up a panel on him and see how he was put together.
Twelve’s eyes were drawn to Seven as he looked up, as if catching sight of movement. She followed his gaze to a security camera that was locked onto him and, as she glanced back at him, he nodded slightly. He returned his gaze to Kyir and announced that he was needed elsewhere before leaving the room and the others to their own devices.
What was that about?
~~~
Geek knocked quietly on the door to their room, hoping that she hadn’t messed up what number it was. She held two grimoires under her left arm, with the Nethernomicon floating alongside her. Both books she held didn’t even come close to the power of the one she wielded, not even combined, but they were of middling power and good make so she figured they were good enough. She’d had to trade a favor with their maker to get her hands on them, and she had no idea what they’d want, but she pushed that aside, figuring it wouldn’t be relevant for a decade or so. Such was the way of demons.
Fortunately, the person who opened the door was indeed one of the two she was looking for. Exadae raised an eyebrow at her, eyes immediately flitting to the books she held.
“I brought you and your brother gifts. Can I come in?”
“Of course.” Exadae moved to let her in and shut the door behind her. Jack pulled himself out of bed at the sound of voices but quickly perked up, jumping to his feet and looking eagerly at what she held.
Geek handed each of them a grimoire. Jack hugged his close to his chest while Exadae immediately opened it and started skimming a few of the pages, an excited grin breaking out across his face.
“These aren’t anywhere near the power of the Nethernomicon, but they should be more than enough for you two. You’ll find your spells have a lot more kick to them when cast through the book, plus it contains a bunch of useful spells and incantations.”
“Thank you!” Exadae’s wings flared in excitement and he shut the book, holding it close. Jack mumbled his thanks as well, stroking the leather cover. Neither of them were as outwardly creepy as the Nethernomicon, bound in simple black leather with faintly glowing red lettering. The Nethernomicon seemed to be bound with human or demon skin, with eerie blood-written words on the front and eldritch scrawl within.
“How do we make it float?” Jack asked, motioning at the Nethernomicon.
“That’s the first thing you have to figure out with them. Most grimoires have that as the first spell, but some have it a few pages later. It all depends on the volume.” She grinned. Exadae immediately flipped to the first page and started reading, tracing the words with a claw.
“I’m so glad this is written in Demonic. I can’t read English yet.”
“All demons instinctively know the language, both spoken and written. It’s something we have over the moral races.”
“Are angels the same way?” Jack asked, tilting his head.
“Unfortunately. We’re both on the same tier, but on totally opposite sides of it.” Geek sighed, sinking into a chair. “Demons and angels are very different, but we’re not incapable of getting along. Look at Terok, or Cataclysm. You can’t tell me that they’re that different from us. It’s just the Archangels’ stuck-up conservative sense of tradition that keeps us at odds. The Archdemons are just tired of the conflict, and so am I. And yesterday was my first battle against them.”
Exadae interrupted her angel tirade with a crackle of magical energy and a ringing incantation. The grimoire glowed faintly and hovered an inch above his hands. He slowly dropped them and grinned widely as the book continued to float.
Geek felt an odd spike of pride. “Good! See, it’s not hard. Using a grimoire is simple.”
Jack, not one to be shown up, immediately opened his book and started reading the page. Geek rolled her eyes and got to her feet.
“Don’t do anything stupid and come to me with any questions.”
“Alright.” Exadae flared his wings in excitement, showing their simple green membrane, so similar to her own and lacking the magma patterns that Jack had inherited from Vel’kex. His eyes were like a cross of both of them, she noticed, the twins’ eyes both were, brilliant green-blue and visible even in the dark with a faint glow.
Geek got to her feet and said her goodbyes, leaving their room quietly and going down the elevator to the bottom floor. She made her way outside and spread her wings in the cool November air, reveling in the feeling of it. No matter how much time she spent on Kaldriel, she would never get over her awe at its temperatures and natural colors, its landscapes that spread forever without the confines of the circles.
Well. ‘Forever’ was a bit of an exaggeration. Kaldriel had its limits, as did every world and realm. It was physically confined, more than Hell, which only had the limits of its power and circles. She sighed, folding her wings and continuing down the street, the Nethernomicon floating along beside her.
Geek heard the footsteps and felt the demonic presence at the same time, slowly stopping and turning to face whoever was approaching. To her immense relief, it was Talmarian, who had an eyebrow raised. Surprisingly, Shaadhun was nowhere in sight, but Geek assumed that she was out near the Ruby Gate, where she and Talmarian should both be. She was confident, though, that the angels wouldn’t attack until tomorrow, and intended to get a few hours’ rest before heading over.
Talmarian crossed his arms and stopped a few feet away. “Vel’kex would like to see you.”
Geek groaned. “Again?”
“Yep. Would you like me to tell him I couldn’t get you to come with me and you vanished? I wasn’t given specific allowance to use force or death or whatever to make you come along so I could just tell him that.”
“Please do. Thanks.”
“Hey, no problem. He’s gonna be pissed but it’s not like he can touch me.” Talmarian gave her a cocky grin. “I could throw him into the next circle and he knows it.”
Geek nodded. “Did he say why he wanted me?”
“Something about not following orders.”
“Oh, that. I did do that, didn’t I?”
“Knowing you? Probably.” Talmarian rolled his eyes. “I’ll go report to him then head over to the Ruby Gate. I’ve got some angels to kill tomorrow.”
Geek nodded. “I do too. Good luck not getting your head bitten off.”
Talmarian grunted and turned, strolling off back the way he came. Geek subconsciously took the Nethernomicon from the air and held it close, running her hands over its familiar surface.
She was not looking forward to seeing Vel’kex again.
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Date: 2017-01-26 05:54 pm (UTC)“Human male, I would request that you do not. It is disconcerting to have someone rooting around inside of you, particularly when you do not yet know them.”
Yeah at least buy Kaldric dinner (or whatever he uses for energy) first Kyir.
*coughs*Even though that step was skipped in Sevenshock too*coughs*
“We had limited materials so ammunition that isn’t reusable or made of pure energy wasn’t feasible,” Tavren said immediately. “Which is why we all hate Gyrad’s stupid crossbow.”
“It’s an idiotic crossbow. That and that dumb hat of his.” Everex crossed his arms. “What a dick.”
A mischievous grin broke out on Kyir’s face and Seven only got out “Don’t you d-” before he was interrupted by “Have you seen Seven’s douchebag hat?”
Seven sighed. “What do you have against my hat?”
“It’s a douchebag hat. Wait, wait. I gotta see this.” Kyir snatched the hat from Seven’s head and froze, tilting his head in confusion and frowning.
“Seven,” he said slowly, “why is there a tiny pumpkin on your head?”
Seven’s right eye narrowed. “Hazon,” he growled, snatching his hat back and putting it on.
“You’re not going to-”
“No.”
“How long has it-”
“Awhile.”
“But why wouldn’t-”
“Leave my hat and its pumpkin alone, Kyir.”
“What does your hat need a pumpkin for?”
Best moment of this chapter XD
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Date: 2017-01-26 11:01 pm (UTC)and thats the best scene in the SERIES
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Date: 2017-01-26 11:06 pm (UTC)Mhm
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Date: 2017-01-29 09:32 am (UTC)-Observing Anon
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Date: 2017-02-01 01:07 am (UTC)