Darkness filled every inch of the lab room, one of the many that could be found at Belkend. The only light came from a small fon lantern, which sat on the nearby workbench - though it was not nearly strong enough to contend with the darkness. Just the same, the fon lantern was able to cast the immediate area in a soft red glow. The room itself was full of machines, both functional and not, that it felt cluttered. Almost every inch of space, be it counter, desk top, table, or floor, was covered in machine parts or tools meant for tending to said machines. The only space that was clear of the debris was currently being occupied by a thin, rather scrawny looking man.
The man had shoulder length, silky styled hair that was white with an incredibly faint hint of purple. His violet eyes stared intently through the circular glasses resting on his nose, his white-gloved fingers using a screwdriver to tinker on the small device in his hand. He wore a large white lab coat over a red silk shirt and black pants, with a nametag clipped to the pocket that read 'Dist Ortion Neis'. He sat on the floor, his legs crossed and shoulders hunched forward as he worked.
At once, the lights turned on, nearly blinding him as the sudden rush of light assaulted eyes that had been accustomed to near darkness.
"Master," a small, robotic voice chirped. "You shouldn't work in the dark, or you'll go blind."
Dist growled to himself but didn't look up, snapping his eyes shut and waiting for them to adjust to the new light that permeated the room. Almost reflexively he reached up to push his glasses back up his nose so that they rested more fully on its bridge. "What do you want? Did you jump in to the ocean again?"
"No Master, I didn't," a small robot, none other than Tarlow X, toddled over to the young man. It was cylinder in nature, with short stubby arms and legs attached to twin clamps for hands and flat slabs for feet. Two yellow orbs glowed on its nearly featureless 'face', with a red circle wrapping around the neck area to designate where the head began and the body ended. A soft light also glowed from the bright red orb was on its chest, two smaller ones on either side of its head, and the large yellow orb resting on the flat top of its head. "You didn't go to the Commandant's meeting today. Everyone else was there."
"As if I care about that fool and his meetings," Dist scoffed quietly, opening his eyes slowly once he was certain it would not be painful to do so. Just the same, his eyes watered, which caused him to grunt in irritation and rub at them. "I know what to do, and he'd best leave me to do it!"
"Master," Tarlow X came to a stop by Dist and leaned forward, its 'head' turning to face him. "You won't get in trouble?"
Dist scoffed rather loudly at that, a sneer crossing his face as he flicked back his hair with one of his gloved hands. "What a silly thing to say. That fool needs me, and he knows it. After all, we have an understanding - he stays out of my way, I'll give him what he wants. Don't bite the hand that feeds you, and all that."
"That's so cool!" the robot gasped before waving his little arms about eagerly. "Master doesn't take orders from anybody!"
"That's right," Dist's smirk widened, feeling rather pleased with the way the robot was stroking his ego. Even if it was programmed to do so, it still sounded so sweet to his ears. "Dist the Rose is subordinate to no one."
The fontech genius' words echoed in the room before silence filled it once more. Dist hesitated and glanced around almost anxiously. After a few moments and nothing happened, he relaxed visibly and turned his attention back to the device he had been toying with before the robot had entered. The robot stood by Dist, watching him intently as minutes passed by in silence.
"... Besides," Dist said finally, pouting slightly. "They're just going to ignore me anyway, so I may as well not be there at all."
"Everyone is so mean to the Master," the robot sighed, as if it could somehow sympathize with the fontech genius' suffering. "They're just jealous!"
"Indeed!" Dist agreed, looking up sharply to glower at the robot. "Not that I care about any of the nonsense they have to discuss. So it's hardly as if I feel left out from the conversation!"
"You don't care about the Score, Master?" Tarlow X asked curiously.
"Absolutely not," Dist sniffed with disdain as he returned his attentions to the fontech machine he was fiddling with. The disdain quickly gave way to a dark scowl. "The Score isn't what's wrong with the world - it's the worms that populate it."
"The worms?" the robot repeated curiously, paying rapt attention to what its creator was saying.
"Those worms don't follow the Score because they're supposed to, or out of any ridiculous loyalty towards a faith dedicated to a mythical being that they're not even certain exists," Dist growled as he set down the screwdriver, reaching for a pair of pliers that were on the floor next to his knee. "They follow the Score because they feel it is in their best interests to do so. The Score promises them a nice, easy life - one that suits their needs and guarantees their happiness. Just look at the worms at Daath! No ambitions of their own as they assume the Score will tend to their needs. They are not bound by the Score, they are bound by their own selfishness."
The fontech genius paused before flipping his bangs out of his eyes, casting Tarlow X a pointed look. "That's why Scorers won't read a Death Score. ... Or anything negative at all for that matter. They won't tell the people what tragedy awaits them, because they know the people will immediately abandon the Score when it is no longer in their best interests to follow it."
"So why doesn't the Commandant just tell people the bad Scores?" the robot wanted to know. "People would abandon the Score and you wouldn't have to do so much work!"
"The worms would return to the Score as soon as they were certain that their happy future had been secured," Dist grunted, turning to glare at the robot. "Just as they will only follow the Score when it is in their interests to do so, they will only diverge from the Score when it is in their interests to do so."
Dist stopped and leaned back at that, setting both the device and the pliers down before he reached up to take off his glasses. He stuck a hand in his front lab coat pocket, pulling out a silk handkerchief and using it to wipe his glasses down.
"That's why it's pointless to inform that idiot in Baticul of the Closed Score, and what fate will befall him should he insist on war with Malkuth. He would not avoid the war - he would continue on as planned and annihilate every last citizen of Malkuth in order to gain his prosperity. And then, only then, will he diverge from the Score - in order to prevent the plague from being brought to Kimlasca. No doubt he'd attempt to find the man responsible for bringing the plague to Kimlasca and eliminate him," the God-General growled as he gently rubbed the fabric against the lens, attempting to erase the smudges and dirt that fouled the surface. "... No, Kimlasca cannot be reasoned with."
"Master is going to protect Malkuth!" the robot chirped happily. "You're so kind. You must really care about your friends!"
Dist's jaw clenched as his cheek twitched. He set his glasses back on his face so that he could glare at Tarlow X. "... Don't be stupid. Are you sure you don't have salt water in your circuits? I don't care about that moronic fool or his moronic country!"
The robot was rather taken back by Dist's response, squeaking and scrambling away as if it thought the fontech genius would strike at him. It hesitated a moment before flailing its arms around in a panic. "Then why? Then why does Master want to destroy the Score?"
"Who says I want to destroy the Score?" Dist asked cheekily, tossing the robot a sneer before glaring angrily at the device that he had set down on the floor in front of him. He wasn't even bothering to pretend he was working on it anymore, instead crossing his arms. "What makes you think I care at all about what Van's trying to do? I'm just working with him in order to get the professor's fon data. What happens to the world after that is not my concern!"
"Master doesn't even care if Jade dies?" Tarlow X asked. It immediately jumped backwards when Dist whipped about, grabbing the screwdriver he had discarded and proceeding to stab the floor right in front of the little robot, an intense expression his face.
"You definitely have salt water in your circuits," Dist hissed, his eyes narrowed dangerously. "I'll tear you to pieces and rebuild you entirely, inside and out!"
"No! No! Noooooo!" Tarlow X shrieked in alarm before it whirled about, bolting towards the door in a panic. The God-General didn't get up from his seat on the floor, glaring after the little robot as it fled the room.
Dist continued to scowl at the door for a good amount of minutes, as if he could still see the robot, before he finally turned about to face forward. He didn't bother staring down at the device he had all but abandoned working on, instead glaring straight ahead at nothing.
"... You idiot...," he murmured softly, the rage still strongly present on his face. "You idiot... I know you'd do it..."
The fontech genius clenched his fist around the screwdriver before suddenly throwing it. The screwdriver soared across the room before hitting the wall violently, scratching the surface as it bounced off. It clattered noisily as it landed on the floor, the sound echoing in the mostly silent room.
"I know you... I know you!" Dist seethed. "You'd be waiting there... waiting with that moron, waiting for those worms to come and try and take his life! And so you... and so you'd throw your life away... for that moron... and for that moron's country...!"
The God-General chewed anxiously on his thumb. "Why!? Why, why, why!? Why would you die for him!? Die for that... for that moron! I can see it happening... when I'm awake... even in my dreams... I can't get away from it! You'd stand there beside him... and you'd... you'd... no... no, you can't die! Jade, you can't die!"
The fontech genius wrapped his arms around himself and hunched forward, gritting his teeth tightly. His breathing became rather ragged as he struggled with himself, with the emotions that were threatening to overtake him. It took a good many moments for him to recover himself, and still the tremors that had overtaken him just moments before. He gasped for breath as he held himself tightly, his heart thundering in his ears.
"... If the Score can't be prevented... if the planet, if Lorelei insists on bringing such a fate to Jade... to my Jade..."
Dist slowly lifted his head, his expression downright frightening. His eyes were narrowed, the light gone from his irises as he bared his teeth in a snarl.
"... I'd bring the plague to Baticul myself!"