An augmentation

Whilst the restaurant had witnessed many kinds of deal, the one Ellvern and A'misandra were about to get entangled into was too important to be discussed in such a public place. Thus, the agents of dark suits requested the doctors to enter a carriage.

The aristocrat found herself a comfortable seat on the window. She enjoyed watching the city and the streets quickly transitioning through the window. On the other hand, the surgeon covered himself with his dark cloak, casting some shadows over his corner of the vehicle.

"Such a disgraceful grimace… Can't handle the ride?" A'mi mocked.

Ellvern didn't present her with an answer. It made him nauseous to ride a vehicle built with the sole purpose of flaunting someone's riches. The golden decorations were totally unnecessary. While the cushions were a fine commodity, the colors were so showy it physically hurt him. Even the freaking doors disgusted him, with all the paraphernalia and whatnot.

No, he didn't answer. Instead, he directed his pain and disgust-filled eyes towards that damned lizard. She fit so perfectly the carriage it even amused him, if only he didn't hate it all so much.

Fortunately for this dark soul, the vehicle didn't steer towards the gaudy neighborhood. Its course was darker, which visibly upset the aristocrat. Her clients were usually prestigious and dignified. None would drag her down into the most ruinous spot of the outskirts without a good reason. The old surgeon, on the other hand, was more familiarized with those off-the-course routes and discreet ruins.

The horses were ordered to halt and the carriage finally stopped.

A'misandra couldn't help covering her nose. The ruinous building in front of them stunk of monster's dung. "What is this place?"

Ellvern stepped onto a mud puddle. "This is where we're meeting our employer, lizarda. I must say, though, I'm surprised you were summoned for this."

"Whatever do you mean?"

But the shady doctor was not about to pop the idealistic bubble of the young nurse. Revealing her all the nasty things done by those she considered honorable and fair… That couldn't be possibly done so casually, no. It had to be much crueler than that. The surgeon couldn't wait to see what kind of face the nurse made once she realized.

Besides, if their client requested something within his expertise, she would soon learn her place. Alas, if his years of experience, not a single time had a client brought a light-dweller like A'mi along with him. Intrigued by this mystery, Ellvern pressed on into the ruins.

Another dark figure guided them through some worn down corridors… until they reached a place that didn't have anything worthy of description, beyond the scraps of some old furniture and a single standing wall. The guide knocked on said wall. Seams were revealed with the appearance of a door-like shape. Moments later, a secret elevator appeared.

"That's more like it." Ellvern half-grinned as he hopped into the lift, silently followed by his counterpart. Her semblance reflected her worries so clearly the doctor discarded the idea of further mocking her. Even if her ignorance warranted it, he wasn't keen on kicking someone who was already down. Fear glinted in the nurse's proud yet pretty eyes.

Underneath the ruins, a hidden basement welcomed the pair. An odd-looking caravan was parked at one corner, while the center was occupied by a large meeting table. The place had a crimson curtain that segmented a section of it. Shadows of people moved behind.

A'misandra gulped her nerves. "What could that be?"

"Oh, for the love of… Have you never seen a secret lab?"

"O-Of course I have…" She lied. "Do they research medicine here or…?"

The old man tried to suppress a chuckle. Her innocence was endearing, even, if only it didn't reveal how big an ignorant she was. Noticing how silly her question was, the aristocrat crossed her arms and allowed her frustration to take over. That inept had ridiculed her enough. Someone had to give her a proper explanation; she wouldn't settle for less.

"Welcome, doctors. Please, do take a seat."

Presiding the table, a woman of shadowy crimson robes and horned hood gestured to her guests. While her mature features spoke of her wisdom, her age was a concern few people alive could talk about.

"Minister Ella. Is this about-"

"I assure you, sir Ellvern, it is not." Ella cut in, her red eye glaring from beyond the hood and the glasses. "The reason I call you this time is of an entirely different nature. Lady A'misandra, I thank you for accepting my invitation. I bet you would had preferred a place closer to the capital."

"I would, yet here I am, madam. It's second nature in my family to always lend a hand when it is requested." The aristocrat gently bowed, portraying herself with as much elegance as was lizardly possible. "I do, however, wonder what could possibly need to be discussed in such a private location… accompanied by this timeworn outcast, no less."

"It's clear to me that you two do not get along. Nonetheless, what I am about to request of you demands your cooperation. Will that be an issue?" Ella prodded.

Ellvern shrugged. "I do find some pleasure in teasing the naïve lizarda, but I am a professional."

"Said the renegade without proper documentation. No matter that, I trust your judgement, Minister. If you judged his aid to be necessary, I won't tell you otherwise. Pray tell, though, what is it you need from us?"

Satisfied by their willingness to put their differences aside, if only in appearance, Ella casted a little spell. From inside a black fog, some documents flew to their side. Underneath a wall of tiny letters, a neatly place blank box awaited their signs.

The aged man chuckled. "Really? You know I loathe confidentiality agreements. Besides…" Hidden between the sixteenth and seventeenth line. "…the violation of this contract will be punished with death."

"What?" A'mi hadn't noticed it still. An aristocrat like her was too used to skimming over important documents, which, at times, could prove very troublesome.

"These are but mere formalities." The minister simply retorted.

Ellvern balled up the papers and tossed them overhead while grinning daringly. "You called specifically for me, Ella. You knew perfectly well what my reaction would be."

"The nerve!" A'mi cried.

The surgeon's hand slammed the table as he stood up. He was famous for having the worst attitude towards his clients and still being one of the most requested medics in the most important circles. "Let's say I forgive this insult and the waste of paper… What is your offer?"

"This."

"But that's…!"

A golden card. A legendary item with no value outside of society. Its function is simple: unlimited funds. Its existence is believed to be nothing but an urban rumor, but there it was, between the gloved fingers of the minister. Wearing another of his dark expressions, Ellvern seated down once more.

Ella pocketed the item into another dimension and presented them with a grin.

"Sign the papers you want, doctor, but there is only one thing I'm not willing to give up: ownership over this discovery."

"Hmph. Go on."

"Before we go into the details, there's some people I'd like you to meet. A doctor of mechanical engi-"

Ella's sentence got interrupted by a sudden squeal. Someone's outline could be seen behind the red curtains. Another one approached it afterwards.

The man's voice was raspy. "Ahem. That was our cue to enter, piggy."

"Who are you calling a pig?!"

The shadow of something big beat back the man who scolded the odd woman. Moments later, a brunette of long hair and a patched eye exited the restricted area. There were many things that stood out about her.

Her black dress of white lines and crossed split at her right leg, emphasizing her slender yet feminine figure. Over her suggestively exposed cleavage, a teal colored cape of long neck cloaked her, along with a metallic shoulder pad of spiky ends.

While her gloved left held a simple katana, the other hand, however, was perhaps the most unusual. Enveloped by a black and teal colored tight glove, her palm was pressed against a glowing device of difficult description. Its handle grew backwards and surrounded her arm to accommodate her movements. From there, a singular limb of white metal and glowing cyan lights extended outwards. The term that addressed it the best was 'an auxiliary arm', but its craft was too refined to be compared to normal prosthesis, nor did the young woman show any sign of needing extra arms. She was an eye short, however, as suggested by her eyepatch of white hearth pattern.

The minister raised an arm towards her. "This is Dr. Amazora, the tip of the vanguard of a new science: augmentation."

"Augmentation via bionically-compatible machines, to be precise! A pleasure!" She corrected by tapping her fingers on her device and offering her huge mechanical hand to the newcomers. No handshake was attempted, though.

"As you can see, Amazora holds one of these 'augmentations', which bridge the limitless possibilities of machine with the closed hardware of biology."

"Is that safe, Dr. Amazora?" A'mi questioned while inspecting the hand that she was offered. Even though the question was directed at her, Amazora had started mumbling things to herself, blatantly ignoring the inquiry.

Ella sighed and supported her head on the desk. "According to them, by sacrificing something, people can gain something in return. When Amazora discovered the auxiliary arm and connected to it, her right eye got blinded despite it suffering no physical damage. However, the prototypes have been rather… less lenient on our test subjects."

The mere mention of experiments being carried out on people bamboozled the righteous nurse, but the shady surgeon started connecting the dots.

"Them, madam?"

A weathered old man pushed the curtains aside and perforated the squealy doctor with an annoyed stare. His silky white hair gave him a gallant look, but some wrinkles had taken over his clear skin. His white beard was decorated with a bony jaw piece that resembled a beast's maw. He wore a black hairband and a stylish black jacket with golden motives, with a long underside and a blue ornamented reverse. His daring undershirt shared these motives while revealing a good chunk of his chest and his cube-shaped necklace. A cross-shaped scar rested just above where his heart was meant to rest. From there, a red mist stretched towards somewhere, moving ever so slightly as if it was alive.

Ella resumed the introductions. "And this is Rejin, our artisan. Well, half of him."

A'misandra checked on the blasphemous surgeon to gauge his confusion. If he was surprised by the revelation, Ellvern had an excellent poker face.

"The other me has gone out… again. I'm sorry, Minister." The old artisan apologized.

"If the younger you was so stupid to reveal our intentions, he would have done so already. As long as we have you around, we can proceed with our goals." Ella conceded.

Ellvern took a guess. "I presume he's the one in charge of developing said prototypes, then."

Rejin stepped forward and chopped Amazora's brown head lightly. "This oddball can be a tad hard to manage, so please be patient with her."

"I'm not a pig!"

"As long as you keep squealing randomly for no apparent reason, you can't convince us otherwise, piggy."

"Meany! You're the worst assistants ever!"

Rejin brushed of her complaints and politely bowed towards the newcomers. "Forgive our ramblings. Madam Ella, please, continue."

The minister nodded and studied her potential employees, giving them the chance to push a theory forward.

Why were they summoned?

Despite the unsettling insinuations, A'misandra kept her cool when she spoke. "You want us to aid the research process and commercialize the products."

"Warm, but still not hot enough." The minister teased. "Dr. Amazora, if you would be so kind…"

"Surely!"

Her extra prosthesis reached under the table and spread an enormous map. The land of Terra. It was a nostalgic sight. Maps had a better purpose when the land wasn't deformed by gravitational rifts and deadly earthquakes.

"Hmm? That's not how I remember it…" Ellvern mumbled.

"It isn't. This map reflects all the destruction the land has suffered over the course of the years." Ella explained.

The nurse pressed a finger on the map. "And what are these red marks?"

"The location where 'certain anomalies' have been detected."

"Anomalies? Do you mean the gravitational rifts and alike?"

The minister rested her chin on a hand. "The destruction of the world is one interesting phenomena, but no. The anomalies you will be investigating are not related to the end of things."

"It's about augmentations!" Amazora squealed again, as if singing the conclusion of a long inner debate. It was Rejin who completely disregarded her remark and continued with the explanation.

"These are the places where there has been rumors of people who fused up with machines and gained incredible power. Our task will consist on going to these places and find the artifacts in question. The more we have, the better source material I can use to recreate it."

"Hmph, I see. I mean no offense by this, but can your skill as an artisan be relied on?" Ellvern inquired, giving the man a stern look.

Rejin simply shrugged. "You know physiognomy; I know my crafts. If there was someone better than me, they would be here in my place."

"Fair enough. The same could be said of anyone here, I guess. Well, except for lizarda."

"YOU are questioning MY value, you quack?!" The aristocrat protested.

"Oh, no. It doesn't even need to be questioned." Ellvern easily retorted.

"You're so full of yourself I cannot comprehend how you don't explode."

"Which exposes your tragically limited imagination."

"You still speak? When will you notice nobody listens your insults?"

"Insults? Lizarda, these are merely appetizers."

"And that name… Do not call me that again, geezer."

"Whiiihi!"

No one expected the squeal. Amazora blushed and toyed with her fingers. All of them.

"Ah, my bad. My sexual-tens-o-meter was going off the roofs, so I got a little excited there. Ouch!"

Rejin defended justice by delivering another chop on her head. "The only thing that goes off any roof is your craz-o-meter, piggy. Do not add any more fuel to that fire, will you."

"Fire? Fuel? Hmm… I see… if we take the engine's fuel out and allocate another chamber for the combustion, we might be able to… Good… Then we could… Yes, that sounds good. I'm off!"

Arrived with the dawn, departed with the tempest. Eccentric was a word too soft to describe Amazora. At least, her intervention upset everyone in equal measure, helping them move past the petty insults and the unfriendly banter. Minister Ella started having some worries regarding the team she gathered, but if she hoped to achieve any meaningful result, nothing short of genius would cut it. The pieces had been gathered. All that was left was to make them fit into place.

That game was one the Ellas had mastered many millennia ago.