Tensions rise as Vastorie goes through his contacts to fortify Eifion's walls, making requests that he knows others can build and fulfil...
A\N: I'm back with four more chapters waiting to be posted for the next 3 weeks. I have the plot on what I want to do following those chapters, it's just working out how each one connects is going to be the difficult part :(
The dialling tone rang in his ear, his fingertips drumming across the table, fidgeting for what felt like an eternity. If he was a heavy smoker, he would've filled the ashtray in front of him.
But he didn't like the smell, nor the taste the first time he tried it. It was the same for alcohol, the taste didn't settle on his tongue. The only thing that he has drank to the point that it would be considered an addiction, was coffee…
How long was it since his last time?
He would've pondered it, but a growl, followed by a tired, gruff voice spoke through the receiver "Do you know what time it is?"
"Before coffee time?"
"No…" the reaction was slow, the man taking a long deep breath before he continued, "I was asleep, you insistent fool… I was doing the thing, you know, the thing before you… Oh… now I get it."
"Ha… still as slow as ever in the morning…" Vastorie offered a childish grin into the receiver, "My old friend."
"What do you want in this ungodly hour?"
"I want twenty thousand, five hundred and twenty, custom made square plates from Ashuim and Sinveynite.
"Alright…" The man yawns into his receiver, "I'll do it in the morning."
When Vastorie heard the click to let him know the person he dialled had hung up, he held out an open palm, drawing in a single finger for every second that passed. By the time he reached the count of five, his phone was lit up and buzzing like a firefly.
He wasted no time to pick it up. But rather than bringing the phone to his ear, he pressed loudspeaker, "Mikkel Clausen my-"
"WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST AGREE TO?!"
Vastorie inspected each nail, pretending to be nonchalant to the demand, "Nothing much… just twenty thousand, five hundred and twenty, custom made square plates from Ashuim and Sinveynite, why?"
"Are you insane…? When do you want it by? Tomorrow?"
"As soon as possible, so yes if possible…"
"But- You, oh sweet… fuck me on a pogo stick!"
"Is that-"
"No, you pompous, money pissing fool. Do not even go there right now… You ring me three in the morning, demanding, I make more than twenty thousand square plates made from the most expensive of materials, in the time it probably takes you to make a coffee… Do you have any idea how difficult it's going to be to get the materials needed to make that many plates, let alone cost?"
"Enough to leave a dint in my next paycheque, correct?"
"Enough to mi-mi-mi…" the man whined over the phone, almost crying tears at the ridiculous request, "How big are we talking in size?"
"Napkin size, just a little thicker, around twenty by twenty centimetres."
The man let out a breath of relief "At least it's not too big. Three millimetres thick, correct?"
"Yes…"
"And who exactly do you want me to send this package to?"
"I need you to send it to Rosalia Servedio, I need her help for the next part of the phase…"
"That would explain why you needed those materials." The man let out a long sigh, "You know she's going to kill you…"
"I know, but I pay for her handcrafting skills, not for her to rip me a new one. Plus, she won't get paid if she does manage to kill me…"
Mikkel shook his head in disappointment. The man's pockets may be endless, but sometimes he has no tact when it comes to being humane with his requests. Then again, he has been… less tactful with this request. He was expecting the task to be completed as soon as possible, rather than later.
He doesn't know the full scope of this project, nor does he plan to probe for further details; the tiredness in the man's voice was proof, that he was running himself thin. However, if the man doesn't want to state the reason why he's like this, he doesn't need to.
"Okay, I'll get on it after I sleep… the last thing I want to do is slam my hammer on my thumb because I didn't get enough sleep. Just… give the poor woman a heads up."
"I plan to… I need hers, as well as another person to work alongside each other for this next task. It's a big one, given the scope of the materials needed to pull it off."
Vastorie shifted his posture, biting his lip as he thought about the other task. He has one more that needed to be done immediately, but this would kill Mikkel, it's another huge task to take on his own, but with not as many rare materials needed to pull off the task, "There's one more thing I need you to do, it also involves Ashuim. However, this one has to be done before the other task."
"You like torturing your friends… don't you?"
"Only the ones I feel can pull off these tasks."
"Right…" Mikkel rubbed his chin, stroking the small patch of hair under his chin, "It comes with the territory. You press us to surpass limits, no one, should be forced to… But I know if you hadn't pushed me those times, I wouldn't have been where I am today. So, what is this other task you want me to complete?"
"One by three-inch rectangle plates, made from a combination of Ashuim and some good old fashion steel. Half the amount of the earlier task, so only ten thousand, two hundred and sixty."
"That's more reasonable…" The younger man hummed to himself. Yeah, he could get that done while he's waiting for the Sinveynite to come in. He's just curious what kind of design he's expecting, "with this, I assume you want the Ashuim to be pure, and able to be encased in the steel case, correct?"
"Yes…"
"This would be harder to pull off in terms of mass production, but you want me to create the case and the plate of Ashuim to fit like a piece of the jigsaw, so that once Rosalia is done with her… writing her Inscription on the plates; you want her to be able to snap the case closed and unable to be opened… right?"
"You read my mind…"
The man scratched his head in response, "I can do that, but with it being snapped closed, I'll leave that for her skill sets. I'll make it as two separate pieces, slot the plate to the middle and send her both pieces so that it'll be easier for her to work with and once she's done with the Ashuim, she can slap the second piece over the top of it, apply her aura so that it can't be broken apart."
"Wonderful!"
"I'll even curve the edges, so nobody can be stabbed with it. However, I need to make it at least two point five millimetres thick, the Ashuim being point five millimetres thick. The hollow steel will be one point five inches thick on the outside, and the third piece will be one inch thick. If I don't do it this way, the cost of the project will get out of hand when it comes to the total price. I don't want a repeat of that sickle whip you forced me to make for you."
Which my son shattered into tiny fragments… but I won't tell you that. I'll let him tell you all about it… "To be fair… my son liked it. So, kudos to you, it mixed well with his fighting style."
"Oh-ho-ho, is that so…" The man felt proud of himself, "I wasn't the only one that worked on it though… so I can't take all the credit. Wait, is this you buttering me up so you can get a third thing out of me? I swear if you-"
"Nope, just those two tasks. I'm not going to request anymore on top of your already filled roster."
"Good… I don't want you to dump anymore work on my already filled roster."
"I'll leave you to your sleep, although I'm glad to have your assistance. This is a delicate matter; one I trust very few to complete."
"Well to be fair… you're the one who pushed me into this style of work. It not only suited my Nen type, but I've also enjoyed working in this type of environment. So, kudos to you…"
"I'm glad…" A small smile escaped the man's lips, "Good night and sorry for waking you."
The man let out a grunt of acceptance before flicking off his phone. As he climbed back into bed, he smiled widely. For the next few weeks, he'll be busy, although, he won't get as much enjoyment as he did when he was making the Scythe whip.
This was a big task the man was trusting him with.
He won't disappoint his old teacher…
"~"
Vastorie continued to smile to himself. Even with his doubts, he can't deny he hasn't made a positive impact on a few lives, but the ones that matter to him the most, he still feels like he has been nothing but a huge disappointment.
He can't make up for his past actions, he knows that much. But even if he can't make up for those… even if he digs a ditch, one he can never climb out of, he'll continue to support his family from the shadows.
It's all he can do right now…
Flicking through his contacts, he called the next person.
It took a few seconds to get a response, but rather than a single voice, he heard two women giggling in the background. His lips slipped into a smirk.
"You interrupted my 'me' time… you do realise that."
"Hi, Sarah…"
"Hi, Snookums…"
"Oh, darling…" the older man jokingly accentuated his words, trying to sound more feminine than his usual tone, "I need to borrow your lovely wife for a few minutes. Then I'll let her go so she can continue to devour your… if you know what I mean…" he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, even though they couldn't see his action.
"Thanks, Mr!"
"First of all," Rosalia turned off the loudspeaker, this time speaking directly into the phone "she's my wife. No stealing!"
"Aww…" The man spoke softly, there were only of few people that humour his jokes; Sarah and Rosalia Servedio, were one of them. They were like two peas in a pod, meant for each other. But as much as he'd like to keep up these charades, he's not done with all his work "Alright, but you two are still so adorable together."
"Alright, grandpa…" Rosalia smiled warmly, "As much as I would love to devour my wife like a delicious burrito, what can I do you for?"
Vastorie clicked his tongue, "I won't keep her waiting then. Well first, I've got Mikkel sending a delivery to you once he has completed it. It's… thirty-thousand tasks to complete."
"Thirty… thousand? Are you crazy? Wait, do all these have their own, custom design, or… Will there only a few I have to worry about?"
"There will only be two specific designs. Around twenty-thousand will have one, which will require a more intricate Inscription design. The other, while it is of a similar design, it'll be more simplified than the other one."
"That makes me a little more relieved to hear… At least I can use my ability Copy and Paste. Will I be supplied the design or is it something that will be described to me, which I have to hand-draw from mental imagery? Because if it's going to be done that way, it's gonna be a pain in the ass."
"It'll be a… copy and paste kind of situation."
"Ha… ha…" The woman laughed at the terrible joke in a sarcastic tone, prepared to even roll her eyes if the man told the joke to her face.
"You'll be supplied the design. I need to make one more phone call before that happens. Once the programmer I'm going to get makes it, I'll get the image sent to you so you can get to work on your side of things. Mikkel will update you on how to clip together one of the products. He's going to design it that way so it hides the inscription from the people who are going to be carrying them."
"Oh, so it's going to be one of these kinds of Inscriptions. In a state of Zetsu, until activated?"
"Of course. As for the other one, work your Nen, but even if others can read it, it'll probably be too complex for them to understand. Other than that, just send them to Ashton Nieves. She'll get to work on hiding them. I need all of them done as soon as possible. But I'll need the smaller batch done first before the larger one. Once done with the first batch… send them to Eifion. For the second batch, once done as I said earlier, send them to Ashton Nieves. She'll deal with the rest of the task."
"Yeah, I can do that… getting the first one done is always the most difficult, but once I've copied it once, I'll be able to do the rest quickly. Once I've done them, I'll send them over…" The woman paused, smiling once more considering this was a quick conversation "So… does that mean you're done? I can return to my… earlier task?"
"Yup, I'll leave you to… make your wife smile."
"Thank you…" She hung up before tossing the phone on the bed, "Ready or not… momma is gonna tuck you into bed." When she turned to face her wife, however, Sarah wasn't in the bed.
Smiling cheekily, she tiptoed around the house, "Oh no… when I find you, I'm gonna need to punish~ you~."
"Why wait~ I'm in the kitchen… and it looks like I spilt chocolate sauce all over myself."
"You know…" Rosalia stopped to smile, "Sometimes I wonder if I won the jackpot or not with you…"
"Ding, ding, ding… come and earn your prize. Chocolate covered wife…"
As she shook her head, she continued to smile at the light-hearted joke. Sarah was an amazing wife. No matter if she made the worst pun on the planet, one that would make a group of pun-lovers groan out in frustration.
Herself, being included in that group…
Although, that won't stop her for continuing to love her wife, Sarah.
"~"
The man shook his head after the call, dialling the number of the second last person he'd needed to talk to. Once he's dealt with that side of things, all that will remain is to call Ashton, then finally, deal with Victor.
He needed to make sure the plan goes off without a hitch.
The last thing he needed right now, was all their planning to break down from a lack of foresight. Mainly, who was helping Victor not only stay under the radar… but also, helping him avoid everyone for so long.
He can't be alone… and the next person he plans to call could help him with that side of things. Annex Symus, his personal, hacker. Before they met, he was one elusive, skilled hacker, one that was difficult for him to track down.
Vastorie was well known in his community for hunting down even the coldest of traces. But, Annex, was on a completely different tier. Both virtually and physically, there wasn't much information to go by… just a logo in replacement of his face.
It took a total of five years to track him down, and once he did, he was glad he didn't turn the man in. The man's skillset hadn't reached his peak. With a little guidance and convincing, what was once a Black Hat hacker, was now a Red Hat hacker, his own, personal cyber guard.
All he needed was a bit of direction, and now he had become a terrifying threat to those who threaten others. Because now, Annex didn't just use programming, after being taught Inscription, he could write code that warps reality.
He was the sole reason, why Victor couldn't step on those school grounds.
He was also the same person, that helped Vastorie perfect Sage's Archive. By using the skills Annex learned via him, he added small tweaks to his ability, things that helped him micromanage every aspect of his ability.
He didn't have much to fear from Annex, he wouldn't turn against him… he wouldn't even return to his old malicious ways, because what he gives the man, was the one thing he craved the most.
A challenge…
Annex loved to break past his limitations, push himself past not only his limits but create things that make it impossible for even himself to crack.
"Hey~"
Vastorie heard explosions coming from the background, from a game Annex was most likely playing to kill some time, "I've got a job for you…"
"Is it more fun than the last job?" Several clicks followed as the man siphoned through all his macros, moving several units at the time while he flicked between his base and the AI's, pushing it through a limit he hoped to improve later.
"Most definitely; in fact, I have several."
"Perfect! Shoot them my way…" He alt-tabbed pulling up his journal as he periodically returned to his game.
"First, I want you to extend the field on Xavier's school of the gifted."
The man tabbed again, typing it in the journal before returning to his game, "Sure, I can do that. But I need to be at that school."
"The Deacon knows you'll be coming, so just give me a date and he'll get you on the school grounds."
The man alt-tabbed once more, scrolling through his diary before finding a free day, "I can get him in on the first Tuesday in four months."
"Can you do it sooner?"
Scrolling back up, he looked through all his requests, eyes darting over the names and their tasks; he eventually found one. It wasn't so much of a challenge, so he's willing to replace it. Unfortunately, it was from a well-paying client. But then again… Vastorie was loaded, and not only was his paycheques always rewarding, he always gave him exceptional brain teasers "How about the second Tuesday in two months?"
"Perfect! Who are you cutting out?"
"Some mayor who doesn't know what a left mouse click is."
"Oof…"
"Oof, alright." Annex applied a few commands within the game, his smile growing as the AI returned to give him a heavy blow. He'll recover from that. He's done it before "What's your other tasks?"
"Two new reality codes."
"Oh, neat! What are you looking for in particular?"
"I want a compacted version of what you did for the school, this time to fit the size of a keychain."
"What do you mean compacted? Do you know how difficult that code was to make…? It took years to design and perfect that code! When do you want it done by?"
"Less than a month…"
"You're kidding me, right?! You're crazy!" The man hit pause, his smile growing wider by the second, "It's times like these I appreciate and love our first meeting. How difficult you wanna make this task? Do you want me to include everything; I'm talking the Zetsu and the forced teleportation…? Oh, oh… do you want it to work on school grounds, or off it… or maybe, you want both? Ooh, I'm going to get excited if you say both!"
"Both…"
The man squealed loudly through the receiver.
Vastorie was forced the pull the phone away from his ears as he allowed his friend's excitement to die down. But to be fair, he was about to disappoint his friend, so he didn't have to wait in the first place "However, I don't need Zetsu for this task. I need the wards to not only be mobile, but act as a defence mechanism for its wearers."
"Aww… that's boring. you made it less fun now."
"Also, want to activate only when the person is in danger. Which means, I need a trigger… hmm…" maybe the trigger can be during a meeting ceremony "Ok, I think I've got it… For the badges, I need to make the script, where once triggered, it'll protect the user even if they're not wearing it. So, what you have on the school grounds, I want it to apply to them…"
"Ok… that sounds more my kind of challenge."
"I'm not done. The trigger must be life-threatening. I don't want kids to be randomly teleporting each other because of a boxing match or something…"
"That's easy, I'll set the rule so that those under the same conditions won't be affected."
"No," Vastorie frowned. Annex was about to create a stupid shortcut. That would even hamper his need for a serious challenge "what if their parent slaps them? I don't want the parents to be teleported."
"To be fair…" The man smiled in response, "that would be funny."
"Annex…"
"Ok, ok, life-threatening it is."
"Good. Now for the key chain, that rule doesn't need to apply. I want it to only work off school grounds, but rather than teleport, I need it to repel the threat. Not, harm… just to shove the danger away from them."
"Not as fun, but doable. Ok, these tasks have piqued my interest. How small do I need to compact the programming?"
"The repelling script, smaller than fine print. It needs to fit a space that's no bigger than point eight, by two point eight inches."
"Talk about a challenge and a half… I can do that for you. In less than a month, I assume… What about the other, the more complex one? How much space to have to work with?"
"It needs to fit a school badge of a decent size."
"Alright… I can do that. Who do I need to send it to?"
"I need you to print and send it to Rosalia, in a resolution that she'll be able to read clearly. Also have a to-scale, printed version of what it'll look like."
"Alright… I'll get them done before I need to go to that school! When I go there, you want me to extend the barrier so goes off the school grounds, without having to step off said school grounds?"
"Yes…"
"As well as include the conditions so these new objects work off the school barrier, correct?"
"Exactly!"
"Perfect, I'll get to work on it straight away." He hung up, not even waiting for a reply from his mentor. As he minimised everything else with his left hand, he held out his right hand, activating his ability "Grand Scheme…" Aura pooled into his hand before extending, creating the frame of a Chibi azure dragon. It fluttered above his head, taking a seat in his hair as though it was the dragon's personal nest.
With a squeaky growl, the dragon spoke to Annex "Yes, master?"
"Pull up the barrier I created for Xavier's school of the gifted."
The dragon's eyes shone with a brilliant, fiery blue light, projecting a 3D image of the school's Nen field. The man twirled a pen between his fingertips as he double tapped the image with his free hand, zooming in on the fine print text he melded together.
Eyes scanning over the complex layered text, he spun the pen one final time. With a cracked of his knuckles, he grinned widely "Alright… let's see where I can condense your size and what I need to adjust for all this to work."