Good morrow my good people, Mister Nibbles has erected yet another chapter of the TCSMN series. (Aside: Yippy! Acronyms ^-^) so this chapter was delayed by school work and other personal things, but I assure you, the wait will be well worth it. In fact, this so far is the longest chapter yet weighing it at 4,941 words!
This chapter is the last of a series of surprisingly long filler chapters that litter the beginning of the story. It is merely setting the stage for the arc(s) that will leave the reader gasping for breath due to the intolerable speed and intensity. This chapter is also a more edgy one, involving some intimate sequences and I believe it works so, kick back, relax, and enjoy the smooth ride while it's here ;).
As always: Sexual themes, language & violence. No I don't own MLaaTR or WH40k.
*****
"Oh. My. God!" said Jenny after seeing her boyfriend's bruised and cut face for the first time. "What happened to you?"
Jenny, overreacting, clutched his face and held him close and then sat down at the stone table in the school courtyard. Ben smiled at the caring nature of his robotic girlfriend.
"Its fine, love, it isn't even that bad." Said Ben, pushing Jenny away to make eye contact with her from behind his small, purple sunglasses
It was a lot worse this weekend thought Sheldon, joining Brad in his scowling.
"What happened though? Who did this to you?" stressed Jenny.
"I don't know," Lied Ben "It was dark and he was quick. It was just a mugging."
"Poor baby." Said Jenny, holding close to him again, making him half smile again, despite the looks of displeasure from her friends
"It's fine; it's hardly even a few scratches." He said calmly and gently "Don't stress, my love."
"Oh, well okay then." She said forcing a smile "But the moment you remember this bastard, you tell me. I'll snap him like a twig!"
"Jenny!"Ben interjected firmly, but still assuring "It's fine, don't worry"
"Yea, Jen," added Brad, his voice thick with sarcastic venom "The man says it's okay."
"Exactly. Just fine." Smiled Sheldon with equal hatred
"I-I guess you're all right." Jenny agreed
A girl from a few tables over shouted Jenny's name and waved. Jenny smiled and waved back.
"Is it cool if I go say hi to Karen?" asked Jenny, still concerned
"Yes." Laughed Ben "I have no control of what you do."
Jenny kissed him and walked away to talked to the friend of hers. Ben turned back to see the gaze of two very angry men meeting his own.
"What?" Ben asked stupidly
"What do you mean 'what'?" snarled Sheldon, Ben's pale complection becoming clammy.
"You know damn well you weren't mugged on Friday." Added Brad
"Who are you?" Finished Sheldon "And what do you want with Jenny?"
Ben snickered under his breath.
"Are you two serious?" he asked "I'm just her boyfriend. I don't want anything more with her than any other guy would, if you catch my drift."
Ben winked. Brad shot up and charged at Ben, seconds close from beating his face in.
"You sick, little, punk-ass, lying, son of a bi-" barked Brad, building in ferocity
Sheldon stood up and put a reassuring hand on Brad's chest.
"Listen," said Sheldon, more calmly then Brad but still obviously angry. "I don't know exactly what I heard that day, but I know for a fact you are not who you say you are."
"And if you so much as scratch paint on Jenny…" boiled Brad.
"You'll what, Bradley?" spoke Ben, losing his patients "You'll attack me? Attempt to do physical harm of any kind to the likes of me? Doubted."
Brad merely snarled, lacking a response. Luckily Sheldon spoke for him:
"Come on Brad, we don't need this bullshit."
The two turned around and walked from the luncheon area. As the two protective friends exited, Brad mouthed the words "I'm watching you" to Ben. Seeing Jenny approach, Ben only gave an innocent smile and a wave in reply.
"Where are they going?" asked Jenny
"I don't know." Lied Ben again "I think to the library."
Jenny raised one eyebrow and sat down.
"Brad going to the library…with Sheldon?"
"I did say I didn't know." Said Ben with jest, he then scooted next to his beautiful girlfriend and wrapped his arm around her. "Besides, now it's just you and me"
Jenny blushed and giggled, looking down to hide her blushing. Ben's eyes darted around the courtyard, scanning the shadows for any sign of the many people who were now hunting him. For now, he thought.
*****
Cassius stood in the newly rebuilt quarters of his Queen, alongside his nemesis. Vexus stood behind silk changing curtains. The silhouettes of her servant droids taking off pieces of the armored plating and replacing them with more regal and vibrant colors was shown in extreme detail. Smytus said nothing, standing resolute and professional as his seductive Queen did the robot equivalent of undressing. Cassius was less of such. His constant movement and jittery mannerisms made it quite obvious that the faceless machine was quite aroused.
Smytus only grinned at the pathetic soldier, that he thinks he might have a chance with the queen of the Cluster. The two turned to see their queen have an imperial robe attached under her armor, making it appear as if it were a tunic or a tabard.
"It feels great." Said the feminine silhouette "To be alive, to be out of the everlasting ether."
"Aye, m'lady" Boomed Smytus.
The silhouette was handed her scepter that ends in a union of two scorpions by a multi armed, centipede-like machine. The female walked out from behind the curtains, her armor now completely red, a long violet cloth protruded from hip section and draped in between her long a sensuous legs. She walked on what appeared to be built-in high heels, something that made her faux-corset midsection sway seductively.
"Cassius," said the machine goddess, her pale face, which contrasted the deep red of her body, lips and eyes, looked at him with great respect "I cannot thank you enough for this chance of rebirth."
"There is no need to thank me, ma'am" said the southern accented robot, with a crackle of embarrassment in his voice.
"Yes there is," she said moving close to him and placing a hand on the tall robot's chest.
Smytus looked at his queen from the corner of his eyes, unsure as to what exactly she was doing. She had always hated Cassius, now she is looking at him with passion. He knew his queen far better than this, she was up to something.
"Oh lord, ma'am. I was only doing what I saw right. For the sake of our people." Said Cassius attempting and failing to be smooth with his words.
"Indeed you did." Said the queen rubbing her hand up and down the false muscles of Cassius's golden shell "For your duties to the Cluster, you are going to be assigned a very important mission to the resurrection of the Cluster initiative."
"And what would that be ma'am?" asked Cassius dumbfounded
"Earth must know that the phoenix has risen from the ash anew." Vexus turned around and moved to a window in her quarters. She looked gleefully at the millions of machines of the Cluster working in communistic union. "You must travel there and fire a warning. Show them that we are coming, we are vengeful and we shall not falter again."
Smytus's jaw slacked in awe. She just gave the dumbest machine on the Council of Eight a of mission of honor and righteousness. How could she do this? Smytus was her right hand general. He was always to spearhead the invasion of Cluster Initiative. She could not have changed her favor, could she?
"Y-yes ma'am." Said Cassius stepping forward, half gleefully, half in shock. "But how might I go about doing such a thing?"
Vexus looked at her scepter, playing with the scorpion idol atop it.
"I wish to have a new staff. I wish for the top to be decorated with the skull of an old friend." Vexus turned to face Cassius, the dead sun that Cluster Prime orbits struck Vexus with near-perfect light. The shadows grasped her face as she spoke with an anger that had festered for what felt like millennia "Go to Earth and pull the head from the fallen corpse of XJ-9."
*****
The massive form of XJ-8 stood, hunched outside the door of Gerardo's room. The feeble and irritable Irishman within it paced in boredom and frustration, his temper rising with every lap. His machine parts clunked as he paced, awaiting for his ex-girlfriend from decades past to say he was safe to leave.
That same woman from decades past, Nora Wakemen, was routinely working at her work bench when her youngest "daughter" approached her. Three other's of Wakemen's collection of self-made machinery accompanied Jennifer as a retinue of estrogenic robots. Gerardo was unlucky enough to hear it all.
"Hey mom," said Jenny, cutely sitting on her desk and making a "puppy dog face" "Remember how I told you about prom coming up, right?"
"Yes," she said without looking up from her project
"Well…" said Jenny "It's this Saturday and I don't have a dress."
"It would have been nice have you given me at least two weeks' notice before you begged for large amounts of money." Replied her mother.
"Well Ben didn't ask me until today at lunch." Said Jenny, protectively
"If he didn't ask his own girlfriend I'd probably have to say he was a bad boyfriend." Said Nora finally looking at Jenny and seeing the other machines behind her "And why did you activate XJ's 4, 5, and 6?"
"Well I need someone to give me an opinion on my dress that isn't a male. And I figured who's better to help a robot girl find a dress than her robot sisters, right? The idea just kinda-"
"Fine! I'll give you money" interrupted Nora "I don't need an over elongated explanation for everything Jennifer."
"But you said if you don't understand something-" Jenny questioned
"Here," Nora stood up, grabbed her wallet sitting right next to her, pulled a small plastic card from her pocket and handed it to Jenny "Have fun. Take your time. Go get a good looking dress, something you're proud to wear. Also something not as revealing as those awful ripped jeans you're wearing, preferably. And please, don't bankrupt me."
"Thanks mom," she said hugging her, and ignoring her mother's comment about her favorite pair of pants.
After a few moments the group of robots had left the household and left Gerardo in silence finally. If he were to be locked in a prison, he wished he could at least get some peace and quiet. He hated high school bullshit. It seemed pointless to him. It even angered him to hear a group of teens squabble and squawk over pure fictional problems. The mere thought of teenage angst made him fill with rage.
At this point, Gerardo realized his heart was pounding and that he was boiling his oils. He needed to calm his machine spirit. He moved over to his bed and pulled two objects out of his robes; a small vial of clear liquid and a medallion necklace that resembled a cog. Gerardo poured a few drops on his machine parts and sat in the center of the room, cross legged. The massive automaton noticed the activity and barked at the hybrid man.
"What are you doing?" it asked, transforming its arm into an impressive weapon. "Is that a weapon?"
"No, it is a medallion" spoke the now calmed Gerardo with his human eye still closed "A symbol of my faith."
"Faith?" responded the machine.
"Hmm, I forget your creator is a scientist, and completely atheist." Smiled Gerardo opening his eyes "Faith is when one being believes in something, something so strong they worship it. Whether it is to gain power or guidance, a way to get in touch with the other side, or sometimes just a way to feel like they have purpose."
"Worship. As in a deity?" boomed XJ-8
"Aye. Some people believe in God, some in Buddha, I believe in something a little more substantial."
"And that is?" a slight emotional curiosity present when XJ-8 spoke
"The Omnissiah. He is the father of technology. He fills machines with bits of his spirit."
"A spirit is insubstantial by definition too, is it not?"
"Not quite, lass… thing…" Gerardo continued "It's what keeps you moving. Keeps you here, bound to this world. When you die, your spirit carries on to be with him, and on to another purpose."
The massive machine asked questions similar to these for about an hour. At one point, Gerardo mentioned his meditations. XJ-8 was curious to find out if there was really something other than gears and plasmas inside of her, keeping her here.
"I would like to join you in your prayers, if that is acceptable." Said the gigantic girl
"Absolutely," said Gerardo, gesturing for the XJ-8 to sit with him "The Omnissiah shows no prejudices."
After some struggle the titanic machine-girl had made her way through the small door way and into the cozy room. She sat cross legged and opposite from Gerardo. He held his hands out and palms up with the medallion chain wrapped around both. XJ-8 held his hands and Gerardo began to speak an ancient, long dead tongue. XJ-8 raised an eyebrow at first, but soon closed her eyes, and joined him in silently praying to the Machine God.
*****
Another disliked dress was draped over the tendril arms of XJ-4 with only a resounding "oh dear" as a response. For about three hours Jenny had gone from store to store in the Tremorton Mall looking for just the right one, no such luck. Her sisters had begun to grow impatient with their younger sibling.
Everything was making her "look fat" or made her "look to thin" or was "to revealing" or "not flashy enough." Every time she'd enter the stall, they'd hold their non-existent breaths only to have it wasted. After a while XJ-6 finally spoke out.
"Okay, here's a plan: Let's call it a day and comeback tomorrow."
"NO!" responded Jenny as she put on yet another dress from within the stall "What if it's not here tomorrow?"
"What's 'it'?" asked XJ-4
"It." Responded Jenny coldly to her naive sister
"The prefect dress she means," said XJ-5
"Christ, even I knew that," rudely stated 6
"Okay," Jenny said coming out of the stall in a lavish black dress. "What do you think?"
Their eyes widened at its beauty on her. They thought as if it was made for her.
"It looks great." Said 5
"Gorgeous." Said 4
"Smokin'" said 6
"Are you sure you're not just saying that?" asked Jenny turning to see herself in the stall's mirror.
A collective "ugh" sounded from the three robots.
"Yes!" shouted 6
"It looks really good! Please pick it. It is genuinely good for you." Expanded 5
"Its very form fitting," added 4, with a gesture "It makes you look, curvy."
"Curvy? Oh my god, I look fat don't I? I knew something was wrong with this one!" cried the hypercritical Jenny, darting back into the stall and ripping off the dress.
"Curvy?" whispered 6, slapping 4 on the back of the head
"Sorry, I thought it was a compliment." Said 4 as the incredible black dress landed in her arms.
"NEXT ONE!" shouted Jenny, and 4 handed a pink one to her this time
"It is, 4." Spoke 5 with an unusual damper in her voice.
"Then why did she react so negatively?" asked the naïve XJ-4
"Who the hell knows?" asked 6 rhetorically. She soon after pulled a chair over and sat backwards.
"I think I do." Answered 5
"Oh what a surprise! You know everything, 5." Said 6
"No, no, no, no, no! Pink is not my color." The pink dress flew out of the stall and into the tentacles of XJ-4 "Next!"
"You know, sometimes I do know a little more than you, 6. And this isn't about you, it's about Jenny." Spoke the floating voice box, her voice rising in volume and anger
"Guys, please, try to be nice." XJ-4 said handing Jenny a jade, strapless dress.
"It's always about Jenny!" angrily whispered XJ-6, completely ignoring 4 by turning in her chair, her spider-like limbs having some difficulty maneuvering "Maybe, some other girls would like the spot light. Maybe sometimes we don't just want to be extras in the movie and we and we want to be main character. When do we get our big break 5? When?"
"You are such a drama queen!" 5 barked, zooming into 6's face "Everything the end of the world to you. That's why mom didn't pick you to be the top model. Because you have no selfless cog in your body."
"Too much chest, not enough bottom." Said Jenny oblivious to the conflict and throwing the dress at the very worried XJ-4. "Next."
"Guys, come on." Said XJ-4, her voice cracking as if she were about to cry, but still handed Jenny a bluish-white dress despite the circumstances "I hate when you do this. We were supposed to have fun today."
"Shut it you OCD octopus," Barked XJ-6 hatefully "You think I'm selfish, you radio with turrets. Then why did miss "top model" get to spend all the government money on a fucking boob job? Huh? Does that sound selfless to you? Does that sound like a super hero to you?"
The voice box trembled as she, for the first time, had nothing to say. So she spat gossip:
"Jenny loves Brad."
Silence hung over the group like a rain cloud at a picnic. Thankfully, Jenny was too busy in the stall changing to pay any attention to her sisters throwing bile at one another, about one another. "5," XJ-4's voice crackled as if she had been stabbed in the spine "How could you? Jenny told us that in secret in confidence. She trusted us."
"I-I, it just." Shuddered XJ-5 "It just came out."
"She loves, Brad?" whispered 6 "Like the one that lives down the street?"
"Yes" answered 4
"Like, the one that Jenny has been friends with since we moved here?"
"Yes," answered 5
"Like the one 8 said she wanted to bang?"
"YES!" answered both 5 and 4, irritated.
"Well then…" paused 6 "I'm going to completely ignore the fact that she didn't tell me, because… BRAD? Are you sure? It just. I don't know, it…"
"Feels one sided?" finished 4
"Yea." Agreed 6, "He's all over other girls but he's never shown a speck of interest in Jenny, not as far as I'm concerned."
"No, he hasn't." answered 5
"Is that why she got the body work done, to impress him?"
"Yea. A real waste if you ask me." Said 4
"A simple reconstruction was not all she was planning on getting done…" said 5 letting yet another cat out of the bag.
"What do you mean?" asked 6
"Gerardo was going to-"
"Well, it's a bit difficult to get into," interrupted the oblivious Jenny as she exited the stall "But so far I like it."
They were speechless. She looked gorgeous. Every part of her body was perfectly extenuated. Its light blue went perfect with her body color. The slit on the right, bottom side went up to the half way point of her thigh, showing her leg off just enough to be hot and good looking and not trashy. The top was only one strap on her left side, revealing her smooth chest in perfect quantity. She was outstanding. Bar-none. XJ-4 dropped all of the dresses she had been holding and wrapped all six arms around Jenny, the sound of sobbing coming out of the robot.
"You. Look. So. Beautiful!" Sobbed the timid robot girl.
Jenny felt her throat knot up and hugged her back, looking at her sisters, who also looked dumbfounded at her beauty.
"Is this the one?" asked Jenny, her voice choking
"Without a doubt." Said 6
5 said nothing; she could only nod in approval. Jenny smiled and went back into the stall after looking at herself in the stall mirror once more, not believing it was her. Was it her? For only a second, Jenny's smile twitched downward.
*****
The girls' moods had completely changed from the way it was in the store by the time they got home at sundown. Jenny hadn't stopped smiling, or talking about how much Ben would like it. Though her sisters were happy for their youngest sibling, they felt as though they didn't know her as well. As if she was keeping so many secrets that she had lost track of who to trust. And what was worst of all, they didn't even know what her simplest goals and desires were. Before all she wanted was to be a normal teenager, now, they don't even know what she's after, only that she's not succeeding.
When Jenny walked in her mother hadn't moved from her seat, she was still working on something, whatever it was she had been going nonstop.
"We're home, mom!" Jenny simply shouted.
"Good I was beginning to worry." Projected the small woman "Did you find something you like?"
"You bet she did!" answered 4
"Well good, then" laughed Nora, and returned to her work.
The three older siblings moved into their chambers and were gossiping about something, Jenny wasn't listening really. Jenny went straight upstairs to the third floor where her room was. Jenny walked passed Gerardo's room, XJ-8 was smiling when she said hello, rather odd. But even still Jenny paid no attention. Once she reached her room she opened her door and put her lovely new dress in her closet and then plopped on her bed in exhaustion.
She barely had time to relieve her sigh when a tap hit her stained glass windows. She looked at the window and waited for another, which happened with perfect timing. Jenny smirked and stood up, adjusting her one-size-too-small, yellow shirt, and opened the window.
"You're such a cliché." She said looking at the well dressed gentleman at the bottom of the building throwing pebbles
"You know you love every minute of it." Responded Ben.
"So true." Laughed Jenny "Let me make a latter."
Jenny extended her arms, making pegs every so many inches for footholds. By the time the latter had begun out the window, Ben had already begun free climbing up the wall of the three story home, using the tree adjacent to Jenny's room and the wall itself. He climbed with great speed and agility, landing in between Jenny's arms before the latter hit bottom.
"Wow," she said blushing and transforming her arms back "That was pretty sexy."
"Is there anything I do that isn't sexy to you?" he laughed getting down from the ledge
"Not much." Her arms retracted and wrapped around his neck. As she smiled at him, he began to rub her thighs, feeling the artificial warmth.
She pulled him closer the moment he did this and kissed him on the mouth. The two began to kiss for a good moment or two before they disconnected and he sat down on her bed, she closed her awesome window panes. She turned to him before moving seductively into his lap and started kissing him again. She took his jacket off and he laid down, she then lay on top of him, kissing with tongue now, and far fierier.
Every second they kissed the more aroused each other became. She began to unbutton his shirt just to feel the muscles beneath it, as she slowly rocked back and forth, creating pleasurable friction. He began to tug on her shirt, she gladly obliged. With two hands and an incredibly seductive back arch, she took her shirt off to reveal a black, lace bra. The two continued to kiss passionately, groping each other and even rolled around on the bed a few times to change who was "on top".
Eventually Jenny was on top again, after some more biting and kissing, she looked at him with a very concerned face.
"What's wrong, love?" He asked feeling her face with one hand.
"I want… I want to take this relationship to the…next level, but…"
"You don't have the right parts." Ben finished for Jenny.
"Exactly." She said very sadly, almost the verge of tears.
"Honey, its fine." He said reassuringly "If we truly care about each other than we can wait until you can get the implants."
"Yea, you're right," she smiled a bit, and lay down atop him.
"Well there are always…other methods, until then." He looked at her, a grand smile on his face.
She smiled back and moved up to kiss her ingenious boyfriend. She slowly worked her way down, kissing him from his neck then to his bellybutton. She there began to undo his belt. He smiled and attempted to unhook her bra. With some difficulty he eventually unhinged it. However, he looked up from his girlfriend's back, to see a hovering robot, something that looked a bit like a radio, fly into the room.
"Uh, Jen," he said "what is that?"
"WHAT THE HELL?" Shouted XJ-5, buzzing about the room. "Are you trying to? …Oh my god! Jenny! What's wrong with you?"
Jenny quickly got up and grabbed the still yelling XJ-5 out of midair and pushed a button on her head until she shut down. After doing so she realized that her bra had fallen off. Embarrassed she quick held her free hand to her chest.
"I-I think you should go," she said, "I can't keep XJ-5 turned off forever, ya know?"
Ben agreed and redressed himself. After doing so, he moved up to Jenny, who still clutched the powered-down XJ-5 to her bosom, and kissed her sweetly.
"I want to see the full product next time, ok?" Joked Ben,
He kissed her once more and with incredible agility, descended the tall home.
*****
Ben walked the rest of the way back toward his apartment in town; he had far too much energy to burn off to ride the bus. He even took a detour past where he and Jenny kissed for the first time. He smiled at the alleyway as he passed it. It's pretty amazing how well her mother took to him despite that night. He would have hated him.
Eventually he passed a gazebo. A small collection of people gathered around a grubby, but potentially good looking, flute player sitting in the gazebo. He stopped and listened for a brief second or two before recognizing the instrument. It was a beautiful hand carved flute, made of what appeared to be ivory and was incrusted with a single green gem.
The flute woman looked at Ben and smiled whilst still playing the ornate instrument. His eyes widened and he turned tail, and began to move with haste. He then saw the flute player bow, take her collected money, and follow Ben. Ben attempted to lose her in an alleyway, the alleyway to be precise. But before he could get far the flute player turned the corner in front of him. The flute player now carried a larger instrument of similar design, but far more complex and abstract with far more gems. She grabbed him, wrapping her arm around his neck before he could escape. She then began playing a song that he knew far too well.
With a rush of nausea the world lit up as waves of white light flowed around him and his body was disassembled and removed from reality. The song was constantly playing as his disassembled body floated through the ether. He felt such amazing, abstract and painful sensations that can only be felt during the Wraith Song.
The song stopped. His body reconnected to the material realm and he fell a few feet to the floor. The room was dark and freezing. The floor was coated with thick layers of ice. A spot light burst into life atop of him, blinding him completely. Only the silhouettes of figures in the distance could be seen in such light. A figure much taller than he walked forth. It was a lithe female figure; she walked with one foot directly in front of the next, a sense of arrogance about her. She was clad in skin tight red and white armor. Her head was all that was exposed. She was beautiful, all of their kind were, her long blonde hair stretched to her hips. Her black, almond-shaped eyes were decorated with an outline of bizarre makeup, symbols of her long dead home world tattooed around her left eye.
"Warlock Kaeris?" Spoke the tall, thin woman, her voice harp-like
"Aye," responded Ben, squinting to see the woman in the high light.
She unsheathed her sword from a scabbard attached to her hip and slapped him across the face with the flat of it. Despite her using the flat edge, the heat it produces seared him along the edges. Ben moved to retaliate, but the tip of the blade was soon pressed to his jugular and singeing his flesh with its intense heat.
"We have grown impatient with your lack of urgency in the conversion of XJ-9, Warlock." She said in an eerie monotone
"It's good to be back, Mistress Ayala." Responded the one known as Kaeris.