Chapter -37: Building the Dream

On the streets of Pulsa Minoria, the citizens were enjoying the clean electrified air and some of the new boons created from its presence.

Scientists have finished developing fully functional robotic dogs for people to walk around and play with for one thing.

The trade route with Oreore has provided them with the means to expand their territory to include more homes, thus, they have gone through a small population boom as well.

Plenty of young minds, ready to grow up and invent even more new ideas for the benefit of their home, nay, the world.

Pitori Gaia, ten years old, runs through the streets carrying a load of metal sheets that just arrived courtesy of his dad. At his side was a compact puppy named "Bitbit", who he was still working the kinks out of.

"Excuse me!" He shouted his way through the crowd. He had become such a fixture of society that everyone knew to get out of his way.

He had to slow down for his pup because their poor legs tended to lock up when they ran too much.

The city shook a bit, once again on the move. With less power needed to run the city they could move around more, making trades with Oreore run by faster.

Pitori knocked on his teacher's lab with his elbow and shouted, "Hey, the material you asked for's here!"

"J-Just a moment." Valic grunted like he was out of breath.

Once he opened the door he slid his hand behind his back and tried to be the stern teacher, "Back so soon?"

But Pitori was starting to pick up on his ticks and knowingly teased him along, "Were you trying to exercise again?"

Valic stepped aside to let him through and let out a defiant "Ha!"

"I would NEVER be caught getting sweaty."

Pitori took one look to the right and saw the imprint of a palm made out of sweat on the floor.

Valic gently grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him along to his work table, "H-Hurry along, I have things to work on."

"Like a new generator. Or…other stuff!"

"Hehehe…!" Pitori took the metal sheets over to his teacher's table but peeled one away for himself, along with a little copper.

His pup jumped onto the table and slid his butt right into a portable metal house that acted as a charger.

Pitori petted him to deactivate him and then went to work on a compact, rectangular device.

It was filled with wires and other tiny knick knacks and required precision to work on. His hands had signs of recovering from some stray spark burns, and off to his right was a pile of leather gloves with holes burnt into them.

Since the drones were no longer necessary for thievery they made effective use of their hands to bend metals into shape. One such drone helped him twist the copper into a wire.

Once he had that he slooooowly inserted it into the one spare space left inside the box. One wrong move and he'd have to replace at least four parts again and set him back another month.

He was sweating and biting his lower lip, shaking and groaning with worry.

One click.

Two clicks.

Steady…and…!

Pitori rose with a big, beaming smile and set down his tweezers. His whole face was shaking, ready to burst with excitement.

"I did it!" He definitively and literally closed the lid on the box, and with a couple clamps in place the black metal panel started to show a reaction.

He then took the box in his hands and turned around to present it to his teacher, "Look! It's done."

Valic turned part way and shook his head, "You still haven't told me what 'It' is. It looks like just a box to me."

Pitori held his mouth open and eventually Valic had to come over and whisper to him, "I am not going to take your idea."

"No-Not that! I…mmm…just think I could explain it better through showing, not telling."

Valic tucked his hands back and bowed, "Alright. So what will we need?"

"Not what, master. Who! I need to get a message out to Mrs. Auris as soon as possible!"

"Well, I don't know how to get one into Sancturia."

"Hmmmmm…! You know, I think my dad has a whistle that can contact Mr. Sarajin's bird friend!"

Valic gestured his hand out and remarked, "Oh actually, I have a similar whistle stored…somewhere. Let me grab it and you can blow it outside."

It took a while because an organized man, Valic wasn't when it came to the unnecessary things.

But once Pitori had the whistle he was able to call in Moses and deliver a message that would travel until eventually reaching Auris' ears.

She arrived in the city with Sarajin in tow, greeting Valic and Pitori outside of their lab.

"It's been a while, Valic." Auris noted.

"You seem to be well," He said sincerely, "Sorry for dragging you out here on such short notice."

Auris crossed her hands into her sleeves and noted, "Honestly it's been very quiet lately."

"I kind of appreciate the change in environment." Sarajin said in a chipper tone.

Pitori then said, "You didn't have to come, Mr. Sarajin…but I appreciate it!"

Sarahin blushed and then waved at him in a supportive manner, "So? What's the box?"

Pitori finally presented it forward with pride towards his work, "This device is meant to detect strong pulses of electrical activity in a small area."

He then walked over to Auris and held it up to her left hand, motioning his gaze between her face and how silky smooth her hands were.

He blushed and though a little trembly, he gripped his box steady and told her, "Could you please summon your sword?"

Auris giggled, "Wrong hand, dear."

"Right, right…shield then, please!"

She did just that, and Pitori's box started to reach with a series of shrill electric noises before dying out with a flatline.

"Cool!" He said, his excitement building.

He then moved over to her other hand and asked, "NOW the sword, please."

She summoned it gracefully and the box made the same noises with similar intensity.

His eyes widened and he silently wandered back over to his teacher.

Auris then leaned into Sarajin and whispered, "This is kind of exciting."

Pitori held the box up to his master and whispered with certainty, "I was right."

"Well? Out with it already, what's all this about?"

Pitori caved to Valic's urgent tone and turned aside so everyone could hear, starting on Auris in particular.

"Mrs. Auris, when an Aurian calls out their weapon, you're pulling it from a whole other dimension right?"

Auris nodded, "That is correct."

Pitori's smile was escaping his face, "R-Right. So…! I theorized that your mind sends a signal to the weapon through electricity."

Auris nodded, "I'm following."

But instead, Pitori was facing his master with high expectations in his heart, "Well…why does it have to require a whole other dimension? Why couldn't we…pull an object, or an entire person…from one place to another like say…t-t-the…moon?"

Valic's eyes widened and he hung on this moment with no attention given to the other noises around him.

Pitori shook in his arms and rattled the box in anticipation.

Valic took a deep breath in and closed his eyes, turning aside while throwing a lofty gesture his way, "You're thinking like a child…"

"Your suggestion still requires someone or something to be on the moon to be the bridge for transfer."

"Not to mention there's no proof that we could transport an entire person up there, nor that the moon is even hospitable. How do you plan to survive?"

"Oh…" Pitori began to hang his head, but Valic's hand was there to hold it up by the chin.

And greeted him with a tiny smile.

"We can work out those minor problems later. This is…a wonderful discovery." Valic was struggling to breath, but his pale face was smeared with joy. Why, some could say he shed his first tear that day.

Pitori was speechless, and smiled.

Sarajin let the moment pass and then suggested, "Could I offer some assistance?"

Valic sighed and brushed his hand out from his hip, "Seeing as you're essentially our only expert on space, it'd be exceedingly stubborn of me to say 'No'."

"Well, I think your biggest obstacle will be figuring out how to breathe. I survived thanks to my Wind element."

"A boon we cannot acquire, as I doubt your Titan would be willing to part with their Wellspring."

Sarajin rubbed his chin and thought aloud, "Maybe once? But you're going to be sending a lot of people up to the moon…"

Auris interjected with sound logic, "Assuming, of course, it is hospitable to humans."

With all eyes on her she explained, "Air is one thing, what about water, or vegetables?"

Valic remarked, "It stands to reason that if we can transfer humans, anything else will be simple."

Sarajin looked his wife in the eyes and chuckled, "Yeah, let's not look too far ahead, honey."

Auris raised her brow in a nasty way and murmured, "Was that meant to be a joke?"

Sarajin dryly chuckled and then made a sharp turn towards Valic, "So we should focus on protection first."

"Agreed," The scientist nodded, "Something that could wrap around a person's body and keep in a steady air supply…"

"Like a suit of armor?" Sarajin and Pitori suggested together.

The two looked at each other with a childish gleam and smiled. Pitori then shook his fists around, "I have a few ideas in mind! And maybe mom can help design it!"

"I could throw in a suggestion or two," Sarajin's eyes then lit up and he snapped his fingers at the boy, "Heeey! Let's recruit your dad to assist! I know a few minerals we could use to start building."

"So do I! Let's do it!"

Valic put him back onto the ground by the shoulder before he could take off leaping, "Right now, really?"

Auris interjected with a dash of her motherly charm, "May as well while the conditions are right."

Valic closed his eyes and shook with a sigh, "It feels like we're turning this into a gathering rather than inventing anything but oh well, what do I know? I'm just the smartest man in this city…"

He started trailing off towards his lab near the end, dragging himself to gather what he felt would be every supply inside.

The loving couple then looked down at Pitori and asked, "Who do you want to take you to Oreore?"

Pitori immediately pointed a finger at Auris, "Could you do it?"

She giggled against her fingertips and then turned and lowered her back for him, "Hold on to my waist."

Sarajin was heard letting out a subtle sigh and Auris merely shrugged.

Once Pitori was on she activated her Aegis Dragoon Drive and sprang right over the city walls, with Pitori's howl of joy trailing out.

Sometime later she brought him back with his mother and father in tow through the front gates. Ezekiel was hauling a wheelbarrow of steel, citrine, and various other smaller lodes.

"So where do ya want me to offload these, boy?" Ezekiel asked, trying to keep pace with his son running circles around him.

Pitori stopped and pointed in the direction of the laboratories.

Valic met them halfway and greeted the scruffy man with his usual dry gaze, "Ah, so you did come."

"Heh, miss me, meatless man?" Ezekiel replied with a light tone.

"Oh, my nose certainly didn't." Valic said.

They then kept walking until they could safely drop the wheelbarrow off at Valic's front step. Ezekiel then dropped his shoulders and relaxed, "Oi…that was a fine workout!"

Cecilia then took a moment to address the matter of their materials, "What is the plan here? Make an armor somehow?"

Pitori and Sarajin hovered over the citrines and thought differently about them. Pitori cowered a bit as he asked, "Mr. Sarajin, why did you grab all of these?"

Sarajin gave his head a brief scratch and now seemed to feel like more of a stranger in this planning process, "I-I thought you were thinking the same thing?"

Sarajin then quickly explained to everyone, looking towards the brainiacs more, "Citrines are the gem associated with lightning, right? I figured we could use them in conjunction with the metal to capture electricity and then infuse it into the armor to give it extra strength."

Pitori sprang up with joy, "Oh I see! That makes sense!"

Valic added, "Have the electricity do all of the heavy lifting…"

Auris then said, "And with the electricity permanently trapped within the gemstones, there would never be a risk of it running out."

Ezekiel was staring in a daze until that moment, "Oh, so it's like how we used ta carry gemstones on our armor to fare better against attackers."

He then raised his head smugly and rubbed under his nose, "See? I know stuff!"

Cecilia patted him on the back. Valic gave him a slow clap.

Then he looked at Sarajin and asked him, "Where DID you come up with this inspiration?"

Sarajin craned his head back to look up at the sky with a smile, "I…met someone pretty cool lately."

Cecilia then took one more look at the wheelbarrow and suggested, "We might need more metal to cover the whole body."

Ezekiel wondered, "Do we even know what it'll look like?"

Sarajin crossed his arms and tried to recreate an image from memory, "The armor I was thinking of was built out of many cubes put together."

Cecilia turned to him with a defensive stance, "That seems very cumbersome. How would it's user bend their arms or legs?"

Sarajin gestured out, "She got by by curving out the edges a little."

Cecilia sighed and closed her eyes part way, "Then just round it out all the way."

She smiled a little and gestured out to her son, "Leave the shape of the armor to me. I'll make sure you're safe and secure."

Pitori grinned softly, "Thanks mom."

She then rose to find everyone looking at her funny. She shrugged and grunted, "What?"

Valic itched the side of his eye and murmured, "Why are you immediately jumping to him being the one to wear it?"

Cecilia glared subtly, "He came up with the idea, it's only fair."

"Yes, but he's still a child. He'll grow too big for it."

"I made adjustments in the past." She spoke in confidence.

"But-"

"He'll wear the armor or I won't make it." Cecelia laid the law down with a firm, quiet voice.

Valic sighed and shook his head, "Fine. Arguing with you is a waste."

Cecilia smiled with a subtle hum.

Auris then stepped up beside her and offered her hand, "Do you mind if I assist? It's not much, but I do have experience with forging."

"Of course, I would be honored."

Valic snapped his fingers, "I will work on producing the conductor wires. Sarajin, be on stand-by to make more materials as necessary."

Ezekiel looked around and with a shrug put himself into the process, "And I'll bang some metal into place! Errr…i ain't got much else ta do…"

Pitori started picking through the metals but leaned out with an awkward grin, "S-Sorry dad…"

Ezekiel was relaxed and rather content seeing his energy, "Aaah, it's fine, boy."

Thus began this immense group project for the sake of progress.

Cecilia and Auris started from the torso plates and had to estimate how it would fit the boy. A little hollow space was included to account for him getting older.

That was the easy part. Once they had to start thinking about the arms Cecilia thought of a problem and started pacing around.

"The electricity will…mmm…"

"Mom?" Uttered Pitori.

Sarajin remarked, "What's up?"

She turned towards him with a slight tilt of her head in hesitation. She then brushed her arm out from her hip and remarked, "Pitori was not born a native of these lands. Ergo, he hasn't had a Wellspring since birth."

Sarajin became stunned and then rubbed his chin, "Oh yeah, so he would have no resistance against electricity."

"Contained or not, that much electricity will be damaging to his skin." Cecilia commented.

"Same goes for anyone else who will wear this armor," Sarajin then quickly pointed at the sky, "I could summon some clouds for Voltneir. See if he could help him out."

"Don't do that Mr. Sarajin," Pleaded Pitori, "I want to solve this problem the Pulsa Minoria way!"

"I might have an idea!" And now, Rai was here, just hanging behind from a safe distance.

Valic was a bit annoyed, "Now you…"

Sarajin said, "How long have you been here?"

Rai answered, "Oh. A while now."

He then stepped closer and looked over the supplies on hand before facing Sarajin, "Could you grab some leather?"

"I'm thinking if we cut some metal fingernail thin and dust it with ground citrines, then glue it around leather, we could wrap it around the body as a coat to protect against excess electricity."

"Hmmm, perhaps. But then we'll need to hollow out the limbs in particular." Cecilia said.

"No worries, it would be similar to applying the same method we use on the drones to keep them flying."

Sarajin crossed his arms merrily, "Sounds like it's all coming together."

Some time later Rai had slotted himself into the construction process with ease, helping to produce the leather wrap alongside Pitori.

Adderbolt wound up showing up later and nobody questioned it. He had a plethora of sweets to share to keep everyone awake and active.

Higher brain activity from the geniuses led to Valic nudging his way into Rai's vicinity while pretending he was talking to himself, "If I were to miniaturize a water generator on the back, could we use it to constantly supply clean air?"

Rai chuckled as he looked over his shoulder, "The water would be a hazard."

Sarajin added, "Yeah. Space is very, very cold."

Valic clicked his tongue twice and wandered, "I see. Good talk, me."

Rai shook his head and went back to work.

Auris took a break once the arms were finished and wandered over to Sarajin doing something with glass by himself.

She gave him a couple light taps on the shoulder and directed his attention with purpose.

"Look at that," She whispered, taking just a couple more steps to get out of the way of all their allies working together, "Could you ever have imagined this kind of sight years back?"

"Yeah…" Sarajin said with a warm hum, "But seeing it for real…It…it hits differently."

"...I was going to end it all…I'm glad I didn't. Our future…their future, is just beginning."

They all worked tirelessly into the late hours of the night, carried by sweat, sugar, and plenty of water.

Until eventually, propped up by the two crafters, the completed armor stood before them.

Rai collapsed first, followed by Valic, then Ezekiel fell onto his back beside them.

Pitori had plenty of energy to spare and examined the armor thoroughly. His mom put her love into every joint, and his dad had chosen the finest materials to work with.

And everyone else had contributed to the design in some fashion.

It had some bulkiness to it but it looked sturdy and capable of lifting massive weights. It wasn't activated yet, still requiring someone to stand inside and provide the initial spark.

"Ready to get inside?" Cecilia urged her son.

"Uhhh…let me think YES!" Pitori was grinning but had to hold still while Auris, Sarajin and his mom worked together to undo the hooks and get him fitted into each part individually.

Starting with the legs, and ending on the helmet, which had a box-like shape.

When the final piece was on, Sarajin walked over and pulled out a piece of glass he carved out himself and slid it into place at the front.

Cut thin for sight, tinted purple, it was the perfect compliment for this assembly.

With everything in place, the city itself gave the armor electricity necessary to stand and move.

It stirred to life with a subtle, electric orange glow on the outside of the armor. Pitori took a deep, nervous breath and everyone gave him space to move.

The right arm wiggled stiffly as it rose, followed by the right foot, which hit the ground like a hammer.

Pitori's breathing grew steadier, his stride more confident.

It only took a few seconds for him to start moving in stiff, wide circles and for him to cheer, "I'm doing it!"

Rai leaned atop his right knee and gasped for joy, "W-Would you look at that…"

He nudged Valic to sit upright and pointed at Pitori having the time of his life, "That's your protégé."

Valic stared with silence as the boy started to march over to them, his dad in particular.

Without a second thought he bent over and used both hands to lift him up like he was as weightless as a pebble and stood him up.

Ezekiel was flustered and began spitting up uncontrollably, "W-Whoa…set me down, set me down!"

When he was, he was able to look down at his boy through the glass visor and see him sweaty and flushed red with overwhelming ecstasy.

"Thank you, dad. I couldn't have done this without you, or mom, or everyone!"

He stretched his arms out until they creaked stiff. Ezekiel cried manly tears and held his son in closer for a hug.

However, Pitori never closed his arms. Leading to him saying. "Uh oh…I'm stuck."

Cecilia flinched and then ran over to rip him out of the armor with her bare hands.

Rai then stood up and recognized the problem, "Oh, he overheated and it affected the performance. We'll definitely need to prioritize an air system."

Valic then stood and with his hands behind his back directed everyone towards him with a cough.

"...I think, if I may be so forward, there needs to be an announcement."

Valic pointed to Pitori while looking at Sarajin, "I want to recommend this young boy to be Pulsa Minoria's representative in your…Genesis Samurais I believe they were called?"

"Heh, I don't have any issue." Said Sarajin.

Pitori looked at his parents and proclaimed, "Would that mean I'd be able to work with you more?!"

Ezekiel rubbed the back of his head and grinned, "S-Sure, just...promise me no fighting."

Cecilia firmly added, "Yes, no fighting for you."

Pitori sucked his lips in and then gasped, "Ok, sure!"

Off to the side Valic made a quiet remark of, "Reach the moon one day, young man..."

He then began to turn and walk away, with Rai visibly perturbed by what he just heard.

He then ran over to cover the lock to the lab with his hand, barring Valic's path, "Hey, is everything alright?"

He wouldn't let go, much to Valic's chagrin.

Valic took a step back and tucked his hands behind him. Being tired left him open to saying things he normally wouldn't bother with thinking of, "...I must be getting old."

"Ah come on, don't think like that." Rai said, swinging his hand out.

"I keep having these...compulsions that I never considered before. One's with illogical ramifications towards my end goal. And yet...I'm not angry at myself, merely confused."

He closed his eyes and craned his head back to have his face basking under the moonlight. Then, when he opened his eyes, "I'm not upset...When that boy reaches the moon, and he WILL...It'll still be like I did it first, because I taught him."

"Valic..."

"Rai," Valic said more plainly, then looked him deep in the eyes, taking off his monocle in the process, "...I've been long overdue in saying this, but...I've lied to you for most of our life."

Rai braced himself with a curl of his bottom lip.

"On the cerebral tests, that determine which role we're best suited for...I tampered with the end results, made it so you would be the leader of our land and I the lead scientist."

Valic waved his hand out in a flummoxed fashion, "I don't know why I was driven mad to do so. It seems so petty looking back on it now. But...you deserve to know the truth. That I...denied you this important role."

Rai then smiled and gestured his hand out from his hip, "Well? Aren't you glad you got that off your chest?"

Valic's eyes widened, "Y-You're not angry?"

"Nah, I figured out that whole deception right away. And sure, I was a little upset at the time but you know what? I didn't mind."

"Sure there's not much to do, but I also have a lot of freedom to just...come up with weird ideas that I can enjoy."

"And I think...being the lead scientist has just been a warm-up for you to take on your true role in Pulsa Minoria...as a teacher."

Valic glanced beside himself towards Pitori, "Hmmm?"

Pitori raised his brows and then ran up to them, "Hey, teacher!"

He then smiled and said, "I'm going to spend the night back home, but tomorrow, I'll be ready to start adjusting the armor for further tests!"

"Already?" Valic raised a brow and then upon placing his monocle back over his eye he brushed his hand out and released a dry chuckle, "Haaa, whatever would you do without me?"

He then brushed the back of his fingers out, and let him be on his way.

He then raised his head with a fond growing smile, whispering under his breath, "A teacher...maybe. After all, there are some bright young minds developing all around us, and someone capable needs to guide them."

"The future...feels a lot more certain now."

Next Time: The Birth of Chaos