Nixera's efforts to find a suitable "clubhouse" of sorts were coming up short. However, her abilities DID let her go to Beacon, and scout out things. Between that, and Daisy's experience, the Slayer knew some things about RWBY. He knew Weiss was Winter's younger sister, and that Winter's "friend" Qrow, though some of DMND thought the pair were likely more than that, even if they hadn't fully gotten to that stage yet, was the uncle of Ruby and Yang. He even knew why Blake wore the ribbon she did, as well as how she was once White Fang, thanks to Daisy's past. Ah, Blake. Be glad you don't live on Earth. You'd hide the ears, but for different reasons. Barring the lack of faunus, and therefore any government kidnappings/studies/etc, catgirls are like the most popular non-human girl in existence. Many guys, and some girls, would be all MAJORLY thirsty for you.
But the shop was doing well. Word had gotten around about the fancy tech they offered, and such things like HUD glasses and 3D printers nearly flew off the shelves. DMND were considering extra hands, due to the Slayer being a little overwhelmed. Marion's past experience could help, but still, she didn't fully understand the tech. Even DMND's lessons had hit a few roadblocks here and there. And the Slayer was mostly interested in getting his pocket dimension drives operational. According to him, once they were, it could mean bigger hauls from heists, as weight would no longer be a limiting factor. Along with easier sharing of keys and the like. According to him, once those were online, all the tech he could reasonably replicate would be working, and all he had to figure out was mainly how to mass manufacture.
It was late one evening, and the Slayer was still in his room, trying out his experiments. He had found a distinct pleasure, he had to admit, in his work. It helped him focus, especially since he couldn't really plan his next move. Not without better intel. And of course, better tech. It also helped keep certain memories from surfacing. Old, traumatic, PTSD-inducing memories had no place in a mind filled with technical diagrams. The girls were busy too, mostly crunching numbers and all the other business-type stuff. "We're doing well enough, almost too well," Marion says. "Only issue is keeping up with the demand."
"There's a minor issue too. Sort of," Nixera says as she glances at the pile of suggestion/comment cards in front of her. "Mainly that some people think it isn't really Fiye Weapons. Not anymore. Since there's more than weapons being sold. Not that what Slayer makes is bad. Just...that we should rebrand. Fiye Technologies?" She asks. "That's what one comment says."
"Or...Slayer Industries?" Daisy suggests. "Since...he IS the one making it all."
"Except he doesn't strike me as that type of person," Marion says, looking up from her work. "He wouldn't want his own name attached to the project. AND...Industries implies such things like factories, and us...being MUCH bigger than a hole in the wall shop."
Nixera was about to respond, but just then the lights went out. Looking outside, it looked as if many others were out too. Many blocks were without power. And a loud "FUCK!" echoed from the Slayer's room, just as the lights came back on. Nixera and Daisy ran around to check on all the clocks and electronics, and while Marion was about to head into the Slayer's room, he stormed out, furious about his latest project. "Latest experiment involving Gravity Dust to form a stable singularity failed! AND it drained a lot of power!" He fumed, sitting on the couch. "And I likely just caused your power bill to skyrocket," he continues apologetically. Nixera and Daisy come back from checking all the devices, with a beer for the Slayer, which he graciously accepts, draining the bottle in nearly one long draught.
The 2 of them sit with him, while Marion decides to check the experiment. It was a mess, she could tell that, and needed cleanup. But what grabbed her attention was the Slayer's Scroll. It was blinking, as if it had a message. Who outside of us does the Slayer actually know? She thought as she brought it out to the living room.
"Sir?" She asked, handing him the Scroll, already as he was starting to slowly relax.
"Huh?" He raised an eyebrow as he accepted the Scroll, checking the notification, when he suddenly sits upright, all traces of frustration gone from his face, replaced with a mix of amazement, bewilderment, hope and excitement.
"What is it?" Daisy asks, as the Slayer docks his Scroll, projecting the display onto the living room TV. There was a message, but sent as an update from his Praetor Suit, which although mostly powered down, remained in standby mode, enough for some systems to function. And now one of those systems had sent a message to the Slayer's Scroll.
"FORTRESS OF DOOM: CONNECTION ESTABLISHED" The TV displayed, and all the girls turned to him.
"What does this mean? This...this is a good thing, right?" Nixera asks. "You should start talking."
"The Fortress of Doom...is in some ways, my house. Well, house is a stretch. More like...imagine a castle, floating in space, in orbit," he explains. "It was my base of operations during my most recent adventure. It was where I went to plan my strategies, acquire gear, fix what I had, and to relax and rest. When I first came here, I couldn't establish a connection. Which was odd because I've had connections even from other dimensions. But now..." He stares up at the message. "Wait, maybe my experiment somehow had something to do with it. If that's the case...well, first things first. I need to know the condition the Fortress is in." He taps away at a keyboard. "Running Level 1 diagnostic," he says in a buisiness-like manner.
Lines of text scrolled by on the screen, as various systems were checked, and the Slayer quickly scanned for a few key lines. "Let's see...primary power level is at 25%, that's not good. Guess all the Argent's about to be used up. On one hand, good riddance, but on the other hand..." He keeps scanning the lines of text, thinking of how much Dust would be needed to power something as large as the Fortress. "Life support is green," he reads, noting that the readings for not just the systems were OK, but where levels were at for atmospheric composition, gravity, and more. "Communications, computer...all green. Outgoing and incoming portal generators...also green," he says, a smile crossing his face. "Ok...let's see where you are," he continues as he types in more commands.
A series of messages flash across the screen, as he sees where the Fortress is. "Dimensionality: Unknown, but local to Praetor Suit coordinates? It's here?!" He asks in bewilderment. He taps more commands, and it displays various details of orbit data, all around an unknown planet. "Let's see here...map?" He asks, as he types more commands. Now a map appears on screen, but there were 3 things notable.
"Wait..that's Remnant!" Daisy exclaims once the map is shown. "What's the dot, and the wavy line?"
"That dot HAS to be us, right?" Nixera asks. "That dot is where we are, so it has to be us. Or more specifically, you. Or even if it's just your armor. Still doesn't explain the line."
"Correct," the Slayer says. "Both of you. That line is the orbit path, showing the line the Fortress will take as it orbits Remnant."
"Why the wavy line?" Marion asks, and the Slayer answers by showing a projection. Now Remnant was in globe form, the Fortress's path now looking much more regular.
"It's because Remnant's a sphere, and a map isn't," he explains. "So...overall," he finishes, as he double checks the last systems. "The Fortress of Doom is here, in orbit, and we could get up there. Although..." he glances with a worried look at the girls, "I just hope that, considering how Dust fails to work out of the atmosphere...that it also doesn't result in negative effects for you all," he explains. "Oh, and even then...let's say you 3 wanted to sleep over, for the cool factor. You'd have to know that I have like ONE room for pleasure, and the rest business. No bedrooms or anything. Or worse...no bathrooms," he says to their groans. "But I would let you come up and look, once I verify some things there." He undocks his Scroll, tapping a few commands. "Let's see if I can do this from here. Ok, getting local coordinates...good. Coordinates set. Activating portal in 3, 2, 1..." he counts down, and the girls were all shocked when they saw the blue-gray portal appearing in Marion's living room. "I'll be back. I promise. Or better yet, what I'll do is open another portal, and have you 3 walk through," he says as he steps through.
A few seconds later, and he was back on the Fortress of Doom, for the first time in forever. Home sweet home, he thought, noticing that the primary window was facing Remnant. Now, let's do some tests. He looks over the control center of the Fortress, noticing that although completely dead now, Hayden's old robot body was still suspended in place. Another thing to go out with the trash...wait, my room I think has trash too, that I should get rid of. Don't want the girls claiming I'm a typical male slob. The issue that he realized would present itself was how he now lacked an AI for the Fortress.
He went to the touch screens at the center, tapping a few controls. He even placed a spare Dust crystal he had in his pocket in a slot in the control panel, so it could be analyzed. While that was going on, he did some more analyses, on some loose hairs on his shirt. They all came out OK, so he opened an incoming portal, and a few seconds later, all the girls came through. "Woah," Marion says as she looked around. "This place is awesome!"
"Feel free to explore," the Slayer says, and the girls all head out to do so. Slayer himself even does a double check of various areas, as well as thinking how best the Fortress would be used. Clear out reward rooms, and they can be turned into things more useful. Plus, the computers here are WAY more advanced. Get me an AI again, and this could be quite the place again. Hell, this place is a LOT more secure than any house, seeing as how nobody on Remnant has space tech.
An alarm interrupted his thoughts, and Nixera rushed towards him, panting. "Daisy! Come quickly, she's...choking," she says, and the Slayer follows her, realizing he's being led to an airlock, more specifically the one leading to the starboard tower. Shit! He thought, realizing what was happening. He tapped a few controls, sealing the outer door, and opening the inner one. The bunny inside had passed out, and Slayer was worried, making sure she was still able to breathe. He even gave mouth to mouth.
Daisy happened to come to in the middle of that, much to everyone's relief. "What...what was that?" She asked, standing up. "I went through that door, then the next one opened, and all of a sudden, my Aura activates, and I couldn't breathe!" She turns towards the Slayer. "You start explaining! And nobody except Nix gets to lock lips with me either!"
"Well, it's simple. You just experienced vacuum," he explains. "There was nothing out there. IS nothing out there. No atmosphere. None of that. It's kind of like...drowning, to a degree." He sighs a little. "I'm going to have to give you all lessons on how space works sometime."
"But what about the Aura?" Marion asks. "It doesn't activate underwater. Why here?"
"Hmmm...I think it's because of pressure. Otherwise, all the gases in your blood would literally bubble out, and you'd pass out. It's NOT fun," he explains. So, Aura can protect from a lack of pressure, but not oxygen. Good to know, he thought as he made a mental note.
"Meanwhile, you weren't kidding," Nixera comments. "From what I've seen, yeah, this place really DOES need some work. You have NOTHING, up here. Nothing for most people to live, at any rate."
"Yeah, I mean...this could be the ULTIMATE kind of clubhouse!" Marion says excitedly. "That portal can open anywhere, right?" She asks, and the Slayer nods. "Imagine. We could live up here, only come down when needed. I even noticed, though it doesn't seem to work right now, you have a...Ripatorium? I take it that's an arena?" The Slayer nods again. "Imagine it. We somehow rework this place to make it better. We could live, and work, up here. Hell...there's room too. So if we decided we wanted to bring RWBY up here..."
"Not just them. We could fit quite a number of people up here," Daisy adds. "Multiple teams could come here. It'd be the ultimate in a hideout, more secure than anything on Remnant. It just needs some work, is all. No idea HOW we'd do said work though," she admits.
