A/N
Weeeeeellcome back everyone! Sorry about the delay, I know I promised a double upload last Sunday, but, well that just kinda blew up in my face. I figured I'd pull it off just fine, but life just had other plans for me.
Welp, I hope a chapter only a day late works! Reviews are down below Enjoy the chapter!
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For the past ten minutes, Louise had been back and forth with FS trying to figure out a single function that would not be considered outrageously dangerous. Sadly, she had yet to come up with anything. She had grown hopeful when he mentioned his miss-els but apparently, while they did explode, they also threw metal shrapnel everywhere. Which in the presence of the princess was a definite no. She had asked if he could use his musket-like weapon on his back, but FS had shut that down quickly. He stated that discharging a firearm in the presence of a vee-aye-pee could be taken the wrong way.
"So there is literally nothing you can do to put on a show!?" Louise asked exasperated.
FS was silent for a moment. "Is it our mission to put on a show?" FS asked.
Louise felt a brow twitch at the density of her familiar. "Yes," she responded. How her familiar hadn't figured this out yet was beyond her.
"Protocols updated," FS said.
Louise raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Unless her familiar was going to provide her with a solution she didn't want to hear it.
"Pilot, I may have a solution to our predicament." FS suddenly spoke up. Louise perked up
'Finally' Lousie thought to herself.
"Well? What is it?" Louise asked impatiently.
"I have the blueprints for a firework missile that I can print in one of my acolyte pods. A firework missile is purely for entertainment purposes. While it can still be dangerous if the proper safety protocols are not followed it is 95% safer than making use of standard munitions." FS explained.
"Why in the founder's name did you not suggest that earlier then!?" Louise asked in an incredibly frustrated tone. If her familiar had this information already then where was it ten minutes ago!?
"It is disadvantageous to unload live ammunition. However because our mission dictates we are to put on a show, I have deemed it necessary." FS stated.
Louise felt anger bubbling up within her, but she squashed it down, 'rule of steel damnit' closing her eyes she took a deep breath. She had a solution now, that was enough.
"Pilot, there is one problem with this solution," FS added.
"What is it?" Louise asked.
"My chassis does not possess the ability to recycle old ammunition. As such the only methods of unloading my missiles are two either discharge them or have them manually removed. I recommend we employ the help of Siesta for this task." FS stated.
"Umm, sure. Is this going to be something she needs to learn?" Louise asked.
"While this task will not be on the regular maintenance checklist, it is still a valuable skill to possess," FS responded.
Louise nodded her head, before turning on her heel to fetch the nearest servant. She had sent Siesta to clean her room while she worked with FS to figure out what to do for the show.
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It wasn't long before Siesta arrived on the scene to help. Louise gave her a quick rundown as best she could, but she left the details up to FS as she knew nothing of the process. Or the risks involved.
"Siesta, I will assist you in reaching the acolyte pod as best I can however you will need to transport the ordnance once it is removed from the pod." FS Explained.
"Alright," Siesta said confidently.
"Please be careful not to drop the ordnance as there is a 14.3% chance it will detonate if you do," FS added.
"What!?" Both Louise and Siesta said in unison. FS had failed to mention that part in his previous explanation.
"I will disarm their warheads before you remove them, however, a sufficient amount of force will cause them to detonate regardless." FS clarified.
Siesta gulped, her master had requested she do this after all. If she didn't comply she feared Louise may sell her contract either back to the academy or worse yet, the despicable Count Mott. When she had been told she would be performing maintenance on a Titan, she knew there was probably a chance of workplace accidents. But she had assumed those would be more along the lines of falling off the massive chassis or getting her hand caught in the machinery. Definitely not handling life, well disarmed but still dangerous nonetheless, ammunition!
"Siesta, it would be best if we begin soon, I will guide you through the process. Should a missile detonate I calculate you will only receive moderate to mild injuries." FS assured. Siesta was skeptical but if there was one thing she at least knew was that as long as Louise was around the Titan would not put their lives in an extreme amount of danger. She'd heard about the three protocols the Titans are given, and based on the stories her grandfather told about them she was certain they'd be fine... probably.
"Alright then, what do you want me to do?" Siesta asked.
FS kneeled down and held an open palm facing the sky. "Please climb aboard my hand. I will raise you to my acolyte pod, where you may retrieve the ordinance."
"Right then," Siesta said as she lifted the hem of her dress so she could step aboard the Titan's hand without tripping. FS's eye wired and clicked as he watched her step aboard.
"Pilot, I suggest that if Siesta is to continue working with us we provide her with a change in outfit. Her loose clothing may be hazardous when performing maintenance." FS mentioned to Louise. Indeed Louise noticed this as well when Siesta stepped onto FS's hand. There were a large number of moving parts and her dress could be caught in any number of them. The only problem she had was she had no idea what outfit would work.
"I agree, do you have any suggestions?" Louise asked FS. He was silent for a moment as he processed the question.
"Affirmative, however, the materials required are not present at this time. If I am given a catalog of available options I may be able to offer a temporary solution." FS stated.
Louise nodded and stowed the knowledge away for a later date. Nothing they could do about it right now, but it would be good to keep in mind for the future. FS then began raising Siesta above his head? Chest? It was a little difficult to tell as the two were seemingly fused together. Once she was above his 'chassis' Louise decided to use the name he gave her previously. A large metal box suspended by metal bars suddenly extended from FS's back and rotated to face Siesta. Louise was a little surprised by its appearance, she had spotted them on his back previously but seeing them move almost like a second set of arms was new.
"O-Okay, now what?" Siesta asked, unlike Louise she knew what missiles were, so to be facing them down was a little intimidating.
"Please place your hands on the shell on your top left. Once you have I will disengage the lock and it will slide out. Be mindful as the shells are heavy" FS instructed.
Siesta nodded, although she wasn't sure if FS saw it, and placed her hands where she had been instructed. The cold metal had a strange feeling, her grandfather had always described them as balls of fire streaking through the sky towards their targets. To be holding one herself was a surreal experience. As FS had stated once she put her hands on the missile she heard a metallic clunk, followed by a short hiss of air and suddenly the weight of the metal missile became apparent to her. She had expected weight, but she was surprised something of its size was so heavy! The missile was probably about the size of her thigh but it weighed more than three stacks of hay!
For once she was very grateful for all the physical work she did on the farm, as it not only helped her build an impressive amount of stamina but also some muscle to go along with it. Getting a firm grip as it slid out of its Silo Siesta wrapped her arms around its shaft and held it close to her stomach to make certain she did not drop it. She felt her palms grow sweaty as she gently placed the large missile next to her on FS's hand. Once it was down she finally breathed a sigh of relief. She'd nearly dropped it when its tail came out of the silo and the missile's full weight became apparent to her.
"Well done, next place your hands on the middle top missile and we will repeat the process." FS praised.
The second time was easier than the first as she was now prepared for the missile's weight. Gently placing her hands on the missile's silo she now knew to re-adjust her grip onto its shaft before she let the tail fall out of the end. She carefully placed it down next to the other one she had removed. Two missiles successfully removed without a hitch.
"Well done, please disembark when you are ready, I will store the missiles until we are ready to replace them," FS stated as he lowered Siesta back to the ground.
As he did Louise stepped forward to examine the missiles. She was enraptured by their remarkable craftsmanship. Little bumps and divots in the metal made her believe that whoever designed such a piece must be a remarkable mage or incredibly gifted blacksmith.
"Pilot, I am going to store the Ordnance now, for your safety please step back." FS broke her out of her trance, and she reluctantly took a step back. She wanted to look at the missiles more, but she knew it would be best to keep them out of sight for now. The last thing anyone needed was some noble trying to 'examine' the missle only for it to blow up in their face, literally.
As soon as Louise was clear FS moved his arm around to his back where she heard a hissing noise, followed by brief noise of sliding metal. When FS brought his hand back the missiles were nowhere to be found. 'He must have some kind of storage on his back… maybe a backpack of some sort?' Louise thought.
"Printing Firework missiles now," FS stated in his usual monotone voice.
"Wait Missile!?" Louise suddenly perked up.
"Affirmative," FS stated. "While the 'fireworks' are considered missiles they are only harmful if used improperly."
Louise breathed a sigh of relief. "Just so we are clear what kind of harm could come of using them improperly?"
"First to second degree burns on the affected areas. Since I will be aiming the missiles however there is nothing to be concerned about." FS said assuringly.
Louise nodded in acknowledgment, "Any chance we could see one before the show? Just so we have an idea of what's going to happen." Louise asked.
FS 'nodded', bringing out one of his acolyte pods he took aim to the sky and fired. A small fireball was all that Louise could describe it as flew into the air for a few seconds before exploding in a dazzling flash of colour and light. The two humans standing beneath the Titan were amazed by the sudden feat, Louise believing it to be some form of magic, while siesta knew better. Her grandfather had told her stories of how some Titans back home often led celebrations with colourful explosions. Truly it was a privilege to see it with her own eyes.
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Louise was currently backstage awaiting her turn for the Familiar exhibition. She was doing her best to maintain her composure but she was incredibly nervous. She had seen what FS was capable of and knew what they were going to be performing, but she was still incredibly nervous. It wasn't just because her class was watching either, the princess was present. She had arrived yesterday shortly after they had finished preparing, Louise had left FS with SIesta when she had gone to greet the princess with the school. She had also felt it would be better not to give the princess a fright by having her familiar stomp around the corner.
She and the princess got along well, mainly due to the fact that as a child she had designated the royal playmate. Ever since then the two of them have been good friends, but… Louise knows there is a large gap between them. Position wise if the princess were to associate with her, it could reflect poorly on her image. Louise was considered a failure of a mage to everyone at the academy, it would not look good for the princess to consider her a friend.
She sighed and shook the thoughts from her mind, she was up next. The judges, which was mostly the school faculty, called her name and she made her way onstage. FS remained behind until he was called, Siesta had offered her the idea of keeping him out of sight until he was called. It would be an interesting sight for the audience not already familiar with his size. Stepping into view she took a deep breath and introduced herself.
"My name is Louise Valliere and this is my familiar." She said gesturing to her side. As she did some students began to murmur. Because only the second year was present when she summoned her familiar, most of the audience had only rumors to base their knowledge on. And with most rumors being that the zero summoned some enormous golem was hardly believable. Most just believed them to be exaggerations.
FS's foot making contact with the ground silenced the crowd. They did not see anything but they certainly heard it, those in the front row most certainly felt it. Then another thunderclap and the hissing of air followed it. Then another, and another, suddenly FS's frame was seen ducking under the low roof of the stage and the crowd was left speechless. Louise had to suppress a grin at their faces, she could easily pick out some pale faces and associate them with those who frequently bullied her. It seems they would now think twice before they picked on her again.
Once FS had stomped his way over to her she nodded in his direction, to which he returned the gesture. Kneeling down he placed one hand in front of him for balance as he lowered his chassis. He needed to be low enough that the missile would not strike the ceiling and accidentally set the stage on fire. Once in position, he extended an acolyte pod and prepared to fire, only waiting for his pilot's confirmation. Louise nodded once more and FS's eye snapped forwards as he made the split-second calculations. An instant later a missile was fired, with the second following shortly after. The two fireballs streaked forward arching upwards making it clear they were not aimed at the crowd. The two crossed paths before breaking away from one another and exploding in a myriad of colours and light.
The crowd was silent for some time, eventually, someone in the crowd began clapping, then another and another, shortly thereafter the entire cloud gave a round of applause. Louise found herself at a loss for words. She was a complete stranger to praise so when she received a round of applause she was at a momentary loss.
'Pilot, I recommend you take a bow.' FS's voice rang out from the crowd. She was surprised she could hear him so clearly above the applause. Doing as he said she bowed and made her way offstage. It occurred to her a moment later that FS likely used his 'Radio' contact thingy to speak into her mind.
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The exhibition had ended, but sadly Louise had not won the competition. The Judges had given the victory to Tabitha and her Rhyme dragon. She supposed she couldn't really blame them. After all, he familiar was an unknown that could pull a fancy trick, but Tabitha's was a species long thought to be extinct. Not to mention the girl had already figured out how to ride on its back safely. She sighed, winning would have been nice, but she was still more than satisfied with the round of applause she received instead. Smiling to herself she turned to FS to speak with him when she paused.
"FS, is something the matter?" She asked, confused. She would have expected him to be monitoring the show, but instead, his gaze was directed away from the stage. His eye was also doing its whirring and clicking thing that occurred whenever he was analyzing something.
"I am detecting strong vibrations in the ground and against the wall, however, I am picking up no sound," FS said, as he did he lighted his right arm and placed it against the tower's wall. "The vibrations indicate that something is striking this wall with a large amount of force, however, they are creating no sound while doing so."
That confused Louise, she guessed her familiar was not aware of silencing spells. But that raised the question of why was there one in place, to begin with? And why was something striking the wall with a large amount of force? Everyone was supposed to be watching the exhibition, with the princess present almost all of the guards had been moved to that area as well.
Before Louise could continue thinking FS had begun marching in the direction he had been looking.
"H-hey! Where do you think you are going!? Get back here!" Louise yelled as she made to follow.
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FS made his way around the corner in search of the source of the tremors. He had left his pilot behind which could be considered a breach of protocol. However, if the noise was coming from another Titan then the further his pilot was the better. She was not trained for combat yet and it would be dangerous for her to get involved at this time.
Rounding one final corner he found the source of the tremors and immediately drew his weapon. He was not yet certain if the entity in front of him was hostile but he knew that they were not meant to be here. The entity seemed to be some form of animated rock structure, it was currently punching the wall in front of it with the force of a Titan. Taking aim FS raised its volume on its speakers and called out.
"You are trespassing and damaging private property, identify yourself immediately or you will be treated as hostile. You have ten seconds." FS's voice boomed.
Clearly, the intruder had not anticipated company much less a Titan. The golem stopped punching the wall for a moment and turned to face FS. It seemed as though the golem had a face of its own but whether it served some function was still undetermined. The main detail FS caught was the human sitting on the golem's shoulder, at his current range his faulty sensors did not allow him to get a proper scan of the human. However the human appeared unarmed, and besides the golem they sat on, unprotected. FS quickly calculates the trajectory required to hit them with his chaingun.
"I'm afraid I don't have time to be dealing with a rogue familiar at this time, but if you must know I am Fouquette of the Crumbling earth." The intruder now Identified as Foquette introduced herself.
"Surrender immediately and you will not be harmed," FS stated while taking aim with his chaingun. He calculated there was a 0.03% chance the thief would surrender.
"Sorry, not going to happen, I want what's in this school's vau-" Foquette was cut off by a sudden burst of gunfire aimed straight for her. Acting quickly she ducked backward and avoided getting shredded by the volley of bullets. She was beyond shocked that the familiar's weapon could fire more than one round without requiring a reload. Knowing that one bullet would likely spell her end she quickly morphed the golem's arm to form a shield in front of her to block the gunfire.
FS noted sudden manipulation of the golem's frame and stopped firing. His enemy had just revealed it could likely reshape its body at will, this would complicate things. Examining the damage dealt from a distance he calculated firing into the rock structure would be wasting ammunition. At present, he had no method of restocking his ammunition indicating he would need to reassess his strategy. Holstering his chaingun over his shoulder he lowered his center of gravity. If he could reach the human the rock structure was protecting he could gain the upper hand.
Foquette had not moved, but she had peeked her head out when FS had stopped firing. Noticing him holster his weapon she guessed his next move. FS activated the boosters on his back and lunged forwards, almost skating along the terrain FS slammed into the golem. The impact nearly threw Fouquette off the back but she grabbed hold of the back of the golem as handholds formed in the rock to hold her in place.
Noticing his target was now out of reach, FS lowered himself once more and wrapped his right arm under the golem's left shoulder. Pushing upwards FS locked his shoulder with the Golems. Bringing his left arm around in an arc he slammed his fist into the golem's face, drawing back he stuck again, cracking its face, on the third strike FS fist caved through the golem's face and lifted it off its feet, he closed his fist around where he calculated the pilot would be sitting.
Tearing his arm out he examined it only to be surprised when all he found in his hand was a chunk of rock. Crushing the rock in his grip he turned to face the golem once more, and received a heavy blow right to his DataCore. The golem had taken advantage of his momentary distraction to put distance between the two of them. FS's shields had held minimizing the damage the golem had dealt, but in doing so it managed to escape FS's grasp.
As FS stumbled back, the golem began to close the distance. To avoid the golem gaining an advantage FS blind fired his Muti-target-missile systems in the general direction of the golem. 10 missiles were fired alongside two fireworks. Four missiles made contact with the golem forming small craters and shearing off some of its mass, but failing to land any critical hits. The two fireworks exploded creating some dazzling lights but offering no damage. Two rockets narrowly missed the golem and struck the wall behind it leaving scorch marks but no visible remaining four missiles that missed the golem and tower exploded after their fuses set them off.
FS's gamble succeeded however as the golem backed off to assess it's own damage. As the two combatants reset FS rolled his shoulders to shake them free of the rubble that had gotten caught in his gears. FS re-examined his situation, he could not get a lock on Fouquette without a clear line of sight rendering his MTMS useless. He was also no longer in possession of the firework missiles as they had already been replaced.
"FIREBALL!" A high-pitched voice suddenly interrupted the battle. FS traced the origin and found his pilot standing to the side holding a wooden twig. However, his systems became alert as he detected a spike in radiation originating from his pilot.
Before he could investigate further an explosion rocked the side of the tower's walls. Acting in accordance with protocol 3 FS's dashed to cover Louise from any debris. Thankfully none came in their direction. When FS scanned the damage he was surprised to see an enormous crater where the wall had once been. Two of his MTMS had failed to leave anything more than scorch marks on the wall, however, his pilot had possibly blown a hole clean through.
Re-acquiring his target FS spotted Foquette leaping out of the hole with a large and ornately decorated box tucked under her shoulder. FS quickly tried locking onto Fouquette but could not fire as his missiles still needed time to reload. Suddenly the thief turned to him and smirked, FS was uncertain as to why the human expressed smugness when they were at a disadvantage.
"I must thank you for your help in breaking into the vault, I'll be going now, oh and mister Familiar. If you so much as move before I leave, your precious master will be dead before you can react." The thief stated smugly.
Alarmed FS checked on his pilot only to find them surrounded by the dirt with large spikes pointed at her neck. FS was about to reach down and break his pilot free when Foquette interjected.
"Ah-ah aaaaah! Not until I'm gone." She taunted.
FS's eye snapped to her, the top panel lowered clearly expressing anger towards Fouquette. She grinned in return before waving and taking off. FS's hands balled into fists as he watched the thief escape into the distance, Protocol 3 forcing him to hold his ground.
Once the thief was out of sight FS knelt down and began tearing away at the earth that had encased her.
"Pilot, are you alright?" FS asked, his voice sounded sincere for once, but Louise must have imagined it.
"It's my fault…" Louise muttered.
"Pilot?" FS asked.
"It's my fault she got away… if I hadn't gotten stuck in her stupid trap you could have gone after her!" Louise almost screamed.
FS leaned back, he could not deny that his Pilot getting trapped had stopped him from acting, and consequently allowed the thief to escape. While he searched for a response his pilot tipped her head and began to quietly sob.
"I'm useless, just a burden" She muttered. Hearing this FS gently picked her up much to her surprise.
"Pilot I cannot deny that your lack of training did result in the thief's escape…" FS began "I can confirm that you are not 'useless'." He continued.
"Why? Or is your 'programming' just forcing you to say this?" Louise asked sarcastically.
"Negative, I am simply basing this off of evidence I have recorded," FS stated. "Pilot, can I confirm that you created the explosion that destroyed this wall?"
At his question Louise felt even worse, she had been responsible for letting the thief in after all. "Y-yes, it was meant to be a fireball spell, but… all I can ever make is explosions," Louise answered in a sad tone. "Why are you even asking this anyway? We already know it is my fault the thief got away, did you want to confirm it was my fault she got into the vault as well?"
"Affirmative, and negative. While it was my intention to confirm that you destroyed the wall, I was not referring to you letting the thief in. I was referring to how your explosion was more powerful than any weapon I am currently in possession of." FS stated.
Louise blinked. "W-what?" She asked, that didn't make sense, she had heard the thunderclap of his musket on his back. She had seen the fireballs he had spat at his enemy, and the explosions that… the explosions.
"Pilot I believe you have come to the same realization that I have," FS said as he did her moved Louise with him over to a scorched section of the wall. "This is the impact my Multi-target missile systems had on this wall. They were only able to scorch its surface, despite the surface appearing to be stone, I calculate that this isn't the case. Whatever you did to create the explosion was no simple feat." FS stated this time Louise swore she heard an upbeat note in his voice.
"Pilot, I can confirm, you are only 33.45% 'useless'," FS stated.
At that Louise glared at him, that had better have been some form of a joke or he had just lost all the credibility up until that point.
"Pilot, I am detecting a sudden increase in serotonin, are you all right?" FS inquired.
"Fine FS, just Fine…" Louise sighed. She hadn't forgotten about her failure, but she at least felt less crushed by it now.
A/N
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnd that's all for this week-ish, still got another chapter coming Sunday.
Tiamatio : Hee hee, well you're just going to have to wait until Sunday to find out!
See you then!
x-x-TheBurnedMan-x-x : Whew big review! Now then, Yep totally gonna have an underground element to the base, after all, they are mining an enormous amount of ore! It's not like the earth is just gonna regrow the massive cavity it leaves behind, it's free real estate! Also, I did check out the mister beast video and got some great ideas so thanks for that! And yes I love the idea of having some enemy scouts find the place, gotta be careful though, once they find the place the secret is out after all!
Yup confusion is getting pretty bad, I wanted to address it here, but I didn't get my usual time to plot out this chapter so I had to limit the production to get it out on time. Lotta stuff got cut, but I'll be fixing it up in the later chapters.
See you Sunday!
Lilcrafter : Thanks!
Naufalrakha0104 : Here's a hint about what's in store for him. 'How many volts is nonlethal?'
Donout : Thanks a ton! As for the grammar and waterfall sentences, definitely tried to fix those a bit here. I was running short on time though so I apologize if some came through. As for the characters too, I think I did a bit better here. After re-reading some sections I agree with their reactions being a tad over the top. Also as for Louise's speech, I totally understand. I have a hard time writing her character a lot because of her mannerisms. I will be making an effort to improve this as time goes on though. Lastly for magic from the cockpit, well, she will establish a neural link. I wonder what that would allow her to do?
Stick around for more on Sunday!
Stick around for more!
Bluebunny9 : Thanks, I'm glad to hear it! Sorry if it may have dropped a tad this chapter, I was on a bit of a time crunch.
See ya Sunday!
Raven : Did ya enjoy it? Hee hee, it was always in the plans to have FS tackle the golem. How could I not?
Hope to see you Sunday!
Krysvun : 69
Ghostly : Heh, definitely gonna happen in the long run. Sorry to see you go but I hope to see you return!
Edeath756 : That is definitely a big one, I'm gonna have to keep quiet about that as I will be entering spoiler domain. But in short, yes.