"Alright, so the plan is simple." The Saint said. "Once we arrive to Moon's Wrath, Midoriya will put an Outpost close to the facility. Once he improves it's defense enough, Inko, Sam, Dean and Luna will attack it from the safety inside the outpost. With Sam and Dean as Security if need be they can boost it's defenses more. While they are doing that, Midoriya, Saw and I will head inside, take out the staff and guards, and quickly take both the Breeders and the Machines they use to make them. From there we can use them as needed for the town and quickly escape without needing to flee Moon's Wrath since the Outpost will take us directly back to town."
"Sound plan." I nodded. "But be on your guard, this is a named guilds base, it could have many things we don't know about that they could be hiding."
"More than likely this facility will have Violence BOW's." The Saint stated. "They're obedient and powerful and will only do as their owners say. This is a fatal flaw however as if their owner dies they will be more akin to a scared animal. I recommend using Second Chance and Memory Stealer on them so capture if able."
"Was going to be doing that a lot." I said readily. "Though I should also think of using Sharpshooters to help disable enemies…"
"I've been meaning to mention that." The Saint said. "Sharpshooters are powerful weapons. Since their ammunition is magic based, you can cast any kind of spell with them and more than likely use them to fire projectile variations of your Quirks. But their true power lies in their Teleportation Ability. Yes, they can teleport you to anywhere in your line of sight and can even open portals to shoot through and to a lesser degree, gravity manipulation."
… And I've been doing NOTHING with them!?
"I hate how I didn't know that…" I groaned. "So good to know that now…" I shook my head. "But if the shot's are magic based…maybe I could use the ammunition to work like Second Chance and Memory Stealer?"
"... That might be possible… Perhaps if you can get them to activate their True Form, that can work…" The Saint hummed.
"True form?" I inquired. "Sharpshooter's has a True Form?"
"Yes. Despite being Replica Weapons they are still made identical to the original. The Archer, the owner of the Original, is called that for a reason. Truth is, Sharpshooters can change their form depending on their owner and if they bond to them properly. This includes mimicking other owners of the weapons forms as well the True Form of the original Archer."
"Huh…" I hummed. "That is very interesting…I'm gonna need to figure out how to bond to them properly real quick." I said, bringing out Sharpshooters and bringing out my two keyblades and using Poltergeist on them, seeing Memory Stealer and and Second Chance floating around me…though them slowly circling around me wasn't my doing though.
"Hmm. Well, your Keyblades are synchronized both with you and each other. That's good at least."
"That's good." I nodded. "Let's hope it's enough for what we're about to encounter."
With that, we began the mission.
Once we were in Moon's Wrath, The Saint led us in the direction to go. Thankfully the facility was easily spotted. It was the only thing here with people around the outside of it.
I set up the Outpost half a mile from it and began upgrading the defenses to an extreme degree. Once that was done, everyone came through with some top tier gear that came from the Nexus Armories that Scotch was able to improve on.
The Saint, Saw and I made our way away and around from the Outpost while everyone there began the distraction. Once the guards bolted towards the attack we charged in.
The whole place was decorated with what I could best describe as Propaganda. One poster showed an advertisement for 'Custom Breeders' and how to order them. Some said that with just a DNA sample they'd make a Breeder clone of your crush or love interest. Or just bring them here to… process into one.
One offered Male Breeders and Hermaphrodite ones for the 'Extra Kinky' interests.
"This place is… both what I was expecting and not what I was expecting at all…" Saw said as we made our way down the halls.
"This place is fucking disgusting." I growled, really wanting to burn this place to the ground but we had a mission first.
"There's less resistance inside than I was expecting…" Saw said as we walked past a billboard- "Hey look, our posters!" He said, motioning to the two wanted posters. "Ha. This reminds me of when I'd go to jail and it's the same cops and they'd crack a joke about updating my mugshots."
I groaned at seeing the same half naked photo. "They couldn't have used a different photo?"
"Oh at least yours looks good. You can tell I'm drunk in mine… and I'm still worth less!"
"Either because I'm more dangerous, I'm much sexier than you…or both…"
"... The fact you said that is hilarious." He smirked. "Eh. I'll catch up."
"You sure you want to split up?" I inquired.
"I ment catch up in the bounty amount…"
"That statement could have meant either or, especially knowing you." I admitted.
"Fair." He shrugged. "But Saint already fucked off so… which way should we be going?"
"Right…so we should keep heading in the direction we were going, that's possibly where the Saint is going." I shrugged. "But your previous comment about this not being well guarded…that is very concerning." I admitted.
"Always is." He nodded as we headed down.
We came across a storage room full of Breeders. Each one blindfolded and standing still and nude. Most were Den Mothers of various species… some were unique. A Centaur, for example. A lizard humanoid, another. One I noticed was also lizard-like, long black almost oily hair on their head traveled down along her spine and tail. Something about this one gave me some… unsettling chills…
"Right…just…got to bring them with us." I said carefully.
"Good thing we both can make some portals of our own." Saw said, creating a Warp portal and began pushing the Breeders through it.
I went to take the haired lizard lady one by the wrist…
I barely got to yelp as their arm suddenly, quickly, reached us, grabbing me by my neck and squeezing.
I felt my throat close from the pressure and my neck crack and regenerate. Despite the heat of my regeneration it wasn't affecting her it seemed. All the while they stood there responsive with that blindfold on.
"Fuck!" Saw yelped as he ran over and brought a spinning saw blade to the Breeder's arm. It began cutting down… then stopped as the Breeder's arm began to grow a tougher looking hide and regenerate, forcing the saw blade out and once it was, she just kept squeezing my neck like nothing happened. "Okay that's not fucking normal…"
Wait…the lizard like…I KNOW THIS THING! But in a struggle to get them off me…I made them look directly at me and…undid their blind fold.
There was a pause for a while as her eyes seemed to have that flash of code last longer than normal. The immediate look of her eyes was hate. Pure and unfiltered hate. Even as the code was at play it seemed to need time to work on them for a time… eventually after a full minute the code went away and her eyes seemed to change.
She then picked me up, being a solid nine feet tall, and hugged me very tightly. "Master~" She said, giving a growl like pur as she did.
"The fuck? What kind of crazy species is this bitch?" Saw asked me.
"SCP…682…" I groaned. "Honey please, let go for a moment."
She let me go and I breathed.
"And… the fuck is that?" He asked me.
"Do you know Doomsday from DC? Not the shitty Nuclear Man ripoff, I mean the comics one that killed Superman."
"Yeah." He nodded.
"That's what she is." I said, giving the deadly and…rather filled out lizard lady head pats. "The Hard to Destroy Reptile, who can regenerate and adapt to anything from fighting demigods to literally ignoring reality erasure."
"Right… and Lust made a Breeder of that shit?" Saw asked, looking at the humanoid female 682 before looking back at me. "What did Violence have an excess stock of them or something?"
"I don't know, and if Violence has 682's on hand…the only thing that can stop them is Code…" I said carefully. "So, what's your name?" I asked the busty reptile.
"My name is whatever-" She froze mid speech for a moment. "My name is-" She repeated, then paused again. "My name-" Another pause. "My…" Another pause. I saw her eyes flash with Code again. "My name is whatever you wish to call me Master."
"... Well that was weird…" Saw said.
My eyes widened in horror. "Uh…can you adapt to Code?" I asked weakly.
"I can not. Technically." She said. "The code and programming within me reduces my rage and filters my inborn hatred of all life keeping it to manageable levels. My biology can not adapt to code, but my eternal hatred of all life is at odds with my programming, and thus needs filtering regularly." She said. I then noticed her eyes flash again.
Rage strong enough that it needs a Code based means of removing it to keep her a subservient Breeder… holy shit…
"That's…quite a lot of hatred…" I said carefully. "Is there any way I can help make you less furious or…is that just always a thing?"
"There is nothing you can do to quell my hatred, Master. I hate everything, always. Even you." I was amazed she managed to say that.
I sighed. "I'll figure something out, cause not a lot of things are impossible, and you becoming calmer and not so filled with hate should be possible."
"You can try but it won't work." She said, leaning towards me. I flinched as she raised her hands and put them to my cheeks. "I will forever and always hate all life. Including you, my Master. As your Breeder, I am yours and I will love and make love to you, care for children and do as you say, but I will never stop finding all of you living beings a disgusting stain on reality only worthy of an agonizing slaughter."
I… took a step back… I noticed Saw was behind me and- Where did he get that crucifix?
I took a deep breath and stared at her. "I don't believe it's doomed to fail, but this is a conversation for another time, we need to get the rest of the Breeders out of here and move onto the rest of this facility "
"If you insist." She said.
"... Hey Midoriya…" Saw said, still semi hiding behind me.
"Yes?" I asked carefully.
"You do know when you do bang her she's gonna kill you… multiple times right?"
"Most likely, or she won't because I'll make sure that doesn't happen." I admitted.
"... No offense but I don't think you could take her…"
"I can definitely take her."
"... Yeah, you keep telling yourself that and I am gonna go make sure the rest of the Breeders make it to town safely…" Saw said as he quickly rounded the remaining Breeders up and pushing them through the Warp Portal, leaving me with… uh… 682 I guess…
"So…want to tag along and possibly fight things?" I asked.
"If you order me, I will." She said, giving me a smirk as I saw her eyes flash with Code again.
I nodded. "And when we get back home, I'll give you your special reward." I said, deciding to add her to the party cause…well, why not?
"As you wish, Master." She said.
I began walking towards the rest of the base down the hallway. 682 following close behind… I kept getting the feeling of an Apex Predator was behind me, waiting to pounce.
We turned the-
SLAM!
Something or someone body slammed me as we crashed through several walls until they tripped and fell off of me. My body regenerating as I got back up and looked at my attacker. They were some form of Dire Wolf, metallic spikes sticking out of their back, elbows and head, making horns. This metallic feature also applied to their claws, teeth and their body seemed to twitch, convulse and its eyes were completely white as if blind, but I could tell it could see me.
I lunged forward and slashed at the beast with Second Chance hard and fast, trying to take the initiative into my favor.
I sent the tip right towards it's chest-
It bounced off!
What?!
[Notice! Enemy is as strong or stronger than user. Must weaken target before Second Chance or Memory Stealer functions can be applied.]
"Shit, that's right…" I thought as I jumped back from a swipe as I fired off arrows from Sharpshooters.
The arrows struck and staggered them but they roared, pushing forwards.
I dodged to the side, firing off more and more darts as I reloaded quickly, keeping track of their HP for when I could use Second Chance.
Keeping range like this honestly… felt kind of cheeky. Yeah, I'm doing damage and since I don't know how Sharpshooter's teleporting abilities work I used Warp myself and kept range and attacks up that way. It kept a good distance between us. I noticed headshots did the most damage to them as well as stagger. Despite the fact he was taking damage the damage dealt was not shown on his body. No wounds or anything. So they work like a Keyblade then.
"Just keep track of their HP and don't get hit, when the time is right use Memory Stealer then Second Chance…I just hope that Second Chance will heal them cause none of that looks natural…" I thought to myself, dodging to the left as it rushed towards me again to try and bite me.
It took a while but I managed to get their Hp into the red and I took this to use Warp, jamming Memory Stealer into the portal and the exit in front of the Wolf Man. Instantly their everything was reset as Memory Stealer did it's thing.
Once he was down I ran up to him, using Second Chance and with a swipe, he was reduced to a tiny puppy. His metal parts still there but smaller and not sharp.
I gently picked up the puppy and cradled him before the pup could start to fuss. "One down…so many other's to go."
I walked back to the main hall and spotted 682, standing there. "Master." She said, giving me a nod and still had that… unsettling smirk.
"Hi." I nodded, really needing to get used to her unsettling smirks. "So, got a new kid." I said, showing off the cute puppy in my arms.
"I see." She said. "Are you keeping it?"
"Of course I'm keeping them." I said readily. 'But I need to get them back to town first where they'll be safe."
"And leave this place so soon? If you order it, I will care for them while you're here." She said.
… I'm REALLY not liking the way she's wording it…
"Well…I can teleport them to safety…" I said carefully. "And uh…I don't like the way you're wording things…I know your rage is being held back but…" I trailed off, leaving the 'can still spite the world even without the rage' bit.
"My programming keeps me from hurting infants and children… unless ordered to." She said, keeping that smirk. "But, unless ordered to, I won't care for children you don't have me birth."
"What are you planning?" I asked carefully. "Cause that smirk isn't giving me confidence here…"
"Nothing I can act on." She admitted. "Shame really…"
"We're going to have a serious conversation about this when we get home." I said, taking a moment to think about this. "Are you sure that you won't harm the pup?" I asked carefully.
"I am not capable even if I wanted to… and I do want to." She said, making me hold the baby closer to me. "If you wish Master, then order me. I am completely incapable of disobeying your orders."
"You are not going to hurt this pup and will treat them as if they were your own." I ordered.
"You may want to rephrase that, Master." She said, still smirking. "If I were to treat them as my own, I'd nurse them a foul slurry I'd have my breasts create that, for any other species, would be deadly, but for my kind, is quite tasty~"
Right… She is a murder monster… The goal of making something like her kind into a Breeder must be to birth natural born immortal super soldiers… meaning she was definitely gonna go to Violence before I got here…
"Right…uh…" I muttered. "Retracting that, I want you to protect this child from danger while we're here." I said.
"As you wish, Master." She said, holding out her hands. Cautiously, I gave her the baby. She then brought it to her, holding it against her chest. I watched as her skin around her chest seemed to change. There was now like… a pocket or flap in place that was over her breasts. Gently, she tucked the baby in there, keeping it's head out as it seemed to squirm a bit until I began to hear the sounds of a heartbeat… hers… and it began to lull the baby to sleep.
"Well…that's good to know." I nodded. "Didn't know your adaptations were more like Shapeshifting, from what I read up on your race I always thought it was a reactionary thing." I said, having looked up SCP 682 ever since one of them attacked Candelight.
"I can make it happen at will based on either a reaction to an external threat or a personal desire. This creature will be kept safe and warm."
…
"Well…that's good to know." I said carefully "Now onto the rest of this place…and there will most likely be more children for you to protect just as a fair warning.".
"As you with Master. Lead the way." She said.
I nodded, giving her a final look of worry before I started walking. 682 following behind.
While searching this place, Saw caught back up just in time as I finished off turning another Violence BOW into a newborn and found another room of Breeders. He took them all to the Outpost via Warp Portal and I moved on with 682.
Soon I came across a large room filled with odd machines that were large, each one connected with a large thick glass tube filled with some odd liquid. This must be it.
"Well, this is where they create their vat born Breeders…" I said, thinking of how the hell we're going to get this whole thing out of here and repurpose it.
I jumped as I heard clapping. I turned and saw a man standing next to one of the machines. He looked human, bright orange hair, yellow eyes and he looked young. Maybe nineteen. "Impressive. Not many have the balls to attack a Lust Facility, let alone take out some Violence BOW's. Then again, you're not so normal, are you?"
"Who are you?" I asked carefully, preparing myself to fight this mystery person. "And someone needs to stop this nonsense, even if it's slowly chipping away at the problem till we get to the core, it's still progress to a brighter future."
"Wow. Been practicing that in the mirror?" They asked as they stepped out of the shadow of the machine. They wore a… rather ragged and torn suit. Some holes in the top and pants. Their shoes and tie and… whole attire just looked like a homeless bum. "Heh. I see you snagged the prototype." He said, giving a look over at 682.
"No, it's just a fact." I frowned. "And also…Prototype?" I asked worriedly.
"682's are usually always captured by the New Foundation. Getting a DNA sample was tricky. Shame. Violence was looking forwards to getting their hands on her. Oh well." He shrugged, reaching into his tattered suit and pulling out a cigar. He then bit an end off and then put his other end in his lips and lit it with a flame he conjured on his thumb. "So, let's talk business."
"Well, you didn't answer my first question of who are you?" I asked.
"My name is Midas. I'm the founder of the Greed Guild."
"And how did you get rid of the Golden Touch?" I asked, remembering back in school an old Greek Legend about King Midas as his curse and finding it a tad apt here.
"Ha! Haven't heard that one before." He said sarcastically.
"So besides that, why are you here?"
"Like I said. I want to talk business." He said, taking a puff of his cigar. "You see. I founded Greed as a means of… keeping the peace between the Major and Minor Chaos Guilds on Armageddon. A mutual party that kept them all in line. For a while, it worked well, was profitable and things were kept… reasonably calm. And now we got a whole department defecting over in Aqua Terra, you and your raiding of the Nexus bases, the Nokori God is more active than ever and fuck even the Puratins are making moves left and right."
"And as your attire would suggest, it's cutting way into your profit margin?" I inquired.
"Wha? What's wrong with my suit?" He asked, looking his clothes over. "Never mind. Point is, I want you and those other little trouble makers to," I was readying myself to attack them… even if he's likely way- "Keep doing what you're doing." I blinked… what?
"Hold up, you threw me off there…." I shook my head and got my balance back. "Huh!?"
"You heard me." He said, taking another puff of his cigar. "Keep doing what you're doing. I'm gonna tell the others to do the same and when the time is right I'll make my own move."
"Uh…is that a good thing or is there some nonsense about to happen?"
"Look, it's like this." Midas started. "You and those other little trouble makers are currently fighting back against long established orders. More than that, you're winning." He said. "You have taken out a lot of Nexus mini bases. And yes I say Mini bases because that's what they are. Taking this place out will put you on the map. Those fucks over in Aqua Terra are taking a fight to Violence which is why the Nokori God is all up in arms and all excited. Then there's the little Time Walker running around doing this and that here and there all across Armageddon. Not to mention that New Foundation out and expanding territory. And of course, there's the Slayers Guild and there little pet settlement down in Demonic Invasion. Hear some interesting rumors down there I'll check out personally but point is, sales are through the roof at the moment for gear and other such things and I'm raising my transaction fees and the fuckers are fine with it. That's how bad they want you lot all dead or worse."
"Really?" I asked in surprise and…mild horror. "W-wouldn't it have been easier to just throw one of their stronger members at us and be done with it? Why panic buy so much gear?"
"Because the majority of all their members are no stronger than the common person. Sure, they have a few handfuls of stronger fighters but their large populations were born from Breeders to populate the guilds and yes some took to getting stronger and powerful, the rest are just people following orders who know no better and nothing but their guilds. The stronger ones do want to deal with you but they're either too busy fighting one another for power or working to get stronger. Besides, most of the really nasty folks you see around Armageddon aren't actually part of the major Chaos Guilds. See, Lust, Greed, Nexus, Violence, we're all known because we're big and we're old and we have the resources and connections. The people who are really nasty, who are in it for sadistic glee, are wandering the planet looking for their challenges personally, not taking orders from some old fuckers in an office."
"Well…I suppose that's fair." I said carefully. "But…wouldn't these Wanderer's start seeing all these changes and start taking actions to force the Guild's hands?"
"Pft. Nope. All they see is a challenge and rivalry. That's how David became the current leader of Lust after all." Midas shrugged. "Point is kid, you keep doing what you're doing and I'll support you for a price. Consider it an investment in my own interests."
"That's a pretty hefty investment when your against your fellow guilds." I admitted. "And might as well ask, what is the price?"
"Let me worry about that. Besides, The money on Armageddon can only go so far. I'm looking forward to reaching a far larger market off planet."
"Hold up, I thought Chaos Guilds couldn't leave Armageddon?" I asked. "Either because the Planet is weird like that, or because the other Guilds would stop you cause all of this is…so beyond illegal it's not even funny."
"Ah true but you see, the owner of Armageddon has been playing a game. A game basically going all the way back to Era one and well, let's just say that losing the game means he gets something called a Retaliation, like a magic wish all his own and everyone who is anyone knows that he is going to wish to no longer be bound to Armageddon. Free to spread Evil and the Chaos Guilds across all existence and all the Family could do is live with it."
"So no matter what…if we win this Game, the one that's created all of this, get's to run free and rampant across Reality? That's…insane!" I said in a panic, my mind racing as all I saw was untold numbers of people being killed, turned into Slaves or Breeders, planets once bustling with life turned into strip mined wastelands or just cracked open for fun…
"That's the stakes. You win and bring peace to this planet, well, Evil can't be erased. That's a fact. So, it gets to retaliate for the loss. It's all in the name of a balance. After all, better to watch the evil and know exactly what's at stake than leave it unchecked and run wild without a leash. And Gray is that leash, collar and owner of all the Evil on Armageddon. In reality, really. That's his job."
"But…that…that means all of this…our actions will mean nothing…" I said weakly, as this revelation was…just too much to know that all our hard work, all our efforts to bring Hope to this world will just doom Reality as a whole…"What sort of bullshit game is this!?"
"The game of good and Evil. That's why Armageddon is the land where Heroes come to die. EIther the locals get you, or the truth kills you." Midas said, another puff from his cigar. "But that's why I'm banking money on you lot. You aren't going to fail like the rest."
"Why though? At this point, why didn't whoever the Evil Game Master just let people win? Is he stupid?" I asked incredulously.
"No. Gray loves watching people suffer. Loves it more when they get back up and keep trying. He only wins when you give up. And many have given up before you."
"So his sadism and his need to be entertained is somehow more important than spreading it across Reality like a very questionable forum post."
"He's a member of the Family. He is ageless and eternal as they all are. Time is something he has much of. Be you lot to be the ones to win or another fifty to a hundred eras later. He can wait."
"So it's only a matter of time before the whole of Reality suffers…" I sighed. "Well…there has to be a way to either make it less bad…"
"Oh there is." He said. Taking one last puff of his cigar and tossing it aside.
"There is?" I asked, feeling hope that there is a better future even if this Family member wins.
"Yup." He nodded, walking up to me. "But information is worth more than gold."
"And…what's the price?" I asked carefully.
Midas smirked. "Let's talk work details." He said, wrapping an arm around me. "See, let's do this. You, keep taking out these bases. I provide maybe some supplies to your settlement with some Data Drives containing the blueprints and locations and staff of some bases here or there. Make a show of things and get that bounty of yours bigger to, makes them panic buy faster. And when you eventually make me the cost of the information you want, I'll tell you. You can keep all you find across any base you raid, consider it a bonus. After all, a happy employee is a loyal employee."
"Uh…right…" I said carefully, feeling like this a bad idea but he was literally offering me a shit ton of help on a silver platter. "Okay so…I'm gonna need to talk about this with the others, cause they are apart of my Party and would also need to be in the loop. 'Employees' don't really like being blind sided by sudden rule changes." I admitted, cause this would definitely change a lot of things when I tell the others.
"As you wish. I'm more than fine negotiating with unions." He said, letting go of me and handing me a thin small gold card with his name on it. "When you all make up your minds, just give me a call. My phone line is always open." He said as he spun around and was walking away backwards before he literally fell through the ground as if phasing through it like a ghost.
"Uh…right then, that just happened." I said incredulously, not believing that just happened as I moved over to the machine. "Um…hmm, I wonder…" I tried to distract myself by trying to fit this whole ass machine in my Assistant, cause I've done it with other more manageable objects but not something this huge.
It took a while and cost me some MP, but thankfully I was more than able.
Once the last of them was put away, I made my way back to the outpost.
"So… wait…" Saw said. "The literal owner of the Greed Guild… offered you a job…"
I sighed. We were all back home with the Breeders adopted. And the new… kids. The Saint took the machines and was constructing a lab right now so it was just Saw, Mom, Sam, Dean, Luna and I at the bar right now. Well, 682 was there too. She was also now dressed in a simple black dress.
"Yes, the great Golden King himself Midas, who looked more like he was poor as hell with all his tattered and ruined clothes…" I sighed. "He offered me a Job to keep doing what we're doing, because ninety percent of all Chaos Guilds are just average joe's that don't know better and are panic buying all of Greed's best gear."
"That makes sense given it seems the majority of them are all born from Breeders…" Sam said. "So… on top of basically getting stuff and info on all the guild locations, there's also the fact we can keep whatever we raid and loot from those places…"
"Sounds a bit too good to be true." Dean said.
"He did say a lot of things come with a price…but he didn't tell me what kind of price is needed for the information we need."
"So in other words, we work for him and get paid for it, but are working to pay a debt we don't know the amount…" Luna hummed.
"He wants us to win the game for him." Saw spoke up.
"And…and the Game…" I said weakly. "The Game…if we win…the Game Master get's the keys to his Cell, and he lets everything here roam free…" I said. "If we 'win', Reality pays for it dearly…"
"...Well, could be worse." Saw said.
"How?" I asked incredulously.
"Well, think of it like this. Part of the reason it's so bad here is because only lunatics and idiots come here. Or in your case Kidnapped and in our case, appeared here, but point is, once the problems here become a more public issue, guilds like the Mothers, Daughters and Time Walkers will be forced to take action to protect towns and cities. There might be evil here but from all you've told me about life off Armageddon, there's an army and then some out there."
"I was trained for what's on the Outside…it didn't prepare me for this." I said. "And I was trained by the Mothers Daughters to add into it." I said, which lowered Saw's hand who was about to argue.
"Maybe, but there's still a lot of powerful people out there. Especially this Family you keep going on and on about. You think they don't have something in mind for when something just like this happens?"
"Considering that the Game Master that's keeping all this in check a part of the Family, and his Retaliation is what The Family offered him to keep Balance between Good and Evil…fuck if I know." I admitted.
"Well… worst case scenario… We'll just be working overtime." Saw said with a shrug. "Not like we won't be having the time and supplies to do that."
"That's true." I sighed. "It still sucks how…just all of this will mean nothing in the end, where our fight to bring peace and hope to this world just leads to a plague spreading across reality."
"Yeah… but you're a stubborn drug that refuses to quit against an endless plague." Saw said with a smirk.
"I try my best…" I said honestly.
"And your best is more than enough." Mom said with a proud smile…though uh…
"Oh so…about you looking more like me?" I asked sheepishly, seeing Mom was more like my new Nokori form.
"Oh this, well it's part of my Custody Title. Final Thanks gives me your base powers as an immortal for thirty minutes each time you die. Apparently it stacks too so on top of extending that time limit the stats and abilities stack to." Mom said.
"Huh, that's really cool actually." I said honestly. "Bet it was a surprise when that happened and you suddenly got extremely powerful with all my quirks, skills and racial abilities."
"It was. Felt some neck pains but honestly it wasn't that bad." She shrugged.
"You…felt my neck snap and me choke to death mom…" I said weakly.
"Oh is that what that was?" She asked with a raised brow. "Huh… your father squeezes tighter."
Saw and Luna lost it. Sam and Dean nearly did a spit take on air. I was crimson red. 682 just shrugged.
"Mo~m!" I whined. "You can't just say that!"
"I'll choke harder next time." 682 mentioned as I hit my head against the table at that.
"I'm sorry sweetie, but honestly the pain brought back some… happy memories~" She said.
"LALALALALA! I CAN'T HEAR SHIT I JUST WANT TO DIE!" I cried.
"Oh sweetie don't be like that. Honestly with the amount of women you please daily I'm amazed you can be so shy about it." Mom said.
"There's a difference between that and hearing my own mother talking about how she fucked when she was younger." I groaned.
"Not really when I can hear you and your lovers each night." She deadpanned.
Saw and Luna fell out of the booth laughing. Sam and Dean were trying their damnedest to not laugh.
682 just looked at a menu.
"I know for a fact I soundproofed that room." I groaned. "So anyways! Back on track please."
"Well, for what it's worth I'm with Saw. If this escape from Armageddon is gonna happen then at least working with this Midas guy can help you prepare both us and the town and other settlements." Mom stated.
"Well…I suppose that's fair." I sighed.
"Well, now that that's all settled I gotta go." Saw said as he pulled himself off the floor. "Scotch wants to do something special for me tomorrow."
"Anniversary again?" Luna asked as she pulled herself up back to the bar.
"No, my birthday actually. At least assuming since the calendars here are the same as back home- what's with the looks?"
We were all giving Saw a look of surprise… all this time I've known him… and I didn't know when his birthday was… I mean, I don't usually celebrate mine anymore but the girls at least make a nice dinner and some… late night fun stuff but…
"Why didn't you tell us?!" Luna asked.
"Well I never really celebrated it before. Kid, adult, it was just a day. Only reason Scotch knows is because he begged me to tell him for a solid week." Saw shrugged
"Right…so we're going to have to fix that right quick." I admitted.
"Heh. No need. Besides, I have a boyfriend waiting for me at home so-" Saw said as he walked through one of his own Warp Portals.
It closed quickly.
"We are so throwing him a party." Luna said.
"Yup." Dean nodded.
"Sounds about right." Sam added.
"I wonder what kind of cake he likes?" Mom pondered.
"Good thing I have Scotch on Speed Dial for such an occasion." I said readily.
"So glad you're accepting my offer." Midas said. It was early the next morning, bar was open but no booze until four. So just food. He was wearing a shabby shirt with some holes in it, dirty shorts and flip flops.
Still with the bum look…
"Yeah, took a bit but…well, it's for the best." I shrugged.
"Alrighty then. I did notice one of my employees was in town, Kelly. Good worker. I can wire you your payments, supplies and info through her to save on time."
"Yeah, she offered to…stay here and set up Shop if I were to destroy and 'repurpose' that Lust Facility." I admitted. "Plus…well, it's better to stay here where I can help raise our child." I admitted, having a feeling Midas knew who got Kelly pregnant here.
"Either way. Glad you're aboard." He said with a smile.
"Yeah, cause there's a lot of things you have to offer that we can't normally get from raiding Nexus bases." I admitted.
"True and true." He nodded. "So, while I'm here, any questions?"
"Well, I might as well ask, why did some of your own Guild betray you?" I inquired, remembering him saying some of his Guild decided to break off and do their own thing.
"Who said they betrayed me." He asked, less of a question and more of a statement with his tone. "Greed is many things. A semi-peacekeeper between the chaos Guilds and the black market and all that but above all else it's a home for the greedy and the selfish." He said matter of factly. "Nothing more selfish and greedy than ones own self interests. Be it for power, wealth or even survival. If taking that stock and screwing over Lust and Violence in the process was in their best interest then they didn't disobey anything."
"Huh ... well, my best guess is they got tired of dealing with Lust and Violence and went with someone willing to give them shelter from their bullshit." I admitted, that being my best guess in this strange situation.
"Perhaps. So, that aside, what else did you want to know. You get two more freebies."
"Is the 682 Breeder…vat born or is she the genuine article?" I asked carefully.
"She's vat born. Took a lot of genetic engineering and cell reprogramming before they were able to grow something that didn't just make a mini clone of the original. Violence wanted her to create new soldiers with a natural inborn Immortality. Reject Death, Transpite, Hatred, Abomination, and Primal Wrath, all inborn legendary abilities her species has passively."
"Oh…oh dear…" I said worriedly, but scratched my chin in thought. "That could mean I can help calm her down, she's not a clone, she's not the genuine article…I just need to get past that rage…" I thought to myself carefully. "But…I suppose my last question would be…who are the Leaders of each Guild? Given they're most likely taking the most offense to our shenanigans I'd like to know who we have to watch out for."
"Well, there's yours Truly, leader and founder of Greed. Then there's David. Leader and usurper of Lust and Nexus but he only leads Lust. The current leader of Nexus is Emily. And the leader of Violence is currently Wrathful John."
"Wait, Wrathful John?" I asked in confusion and concern.
"Yup."
"But…wait, is he related to Junker John?"
"Yup. One of the Five Brothers. Most skilled fighter on all of Armageddon. Went toe to toe with David and the two tied in that fight. Lasted three months too."
"Huh…that's rather interesting." I said honestly. "And…horrifying if those two are that strong…"
"Yup. And that's with David being a Hacker too." Midas said. "That fight was centuries ago though. They probably got stronger by now."
"Goodie…" I sighed. "So be very careful of them."
"Yup. Welp. That was all. I'll be sending all your stuff via Kelly and you just keep up what you're doing… by the way. You have Township, and Frontier, right?"
"Y-yes and…how did you know that?" I asked. "From what I've heard, Township and Frontier are very new Abilities."
"I have my resources." He said. "But if that's the case then I'll send you some information you'll want to know later. For now I'm needed back in the office. Til next time." He said, phasing through the seat and floor and just… vanishing as he did prior…
That's weird…
"Seriously, I'm gonna need to ask him how he does that…" I muttered. "So…with 682 being Vat Grown…either her hatred is purely biological or…there's something else…"
I got up and headed back home. Right now I need to help plan Saw's surprise party.
As I got home the kitchen was busy. Mom, Delilah and Poppy were making a cake. Sam and Dean were setting up some basic decorations. Luna was going over a list she had and some others were wrapping some gifts that were got for- Fuck I have no idea what to give him… let alone what he'd like!
"Hey, so a lot of you know Saw better than me…what Gift should I get for him?" I asked everyone.
"I just got him a gun." Dean said with a shrug.
"Same." Sam said.
"I got him a Whirligig Saw I got as loot out in the Nightmare." Luna said.
Alright… so that's three weapons so… should probably not get him more.
"Does he have any hobbies?" I asked.
"Well I know he's a huge comic and movie buff." Delilah said. "His personal favorites are Spiderman, especially the Spider Punk Comics, Iron Man and Thor. Apparently back on his world Thor was a legit God too."
"That's fair…" I hummed, thinking about some stuff. "Well…I can see if I can buy him an Iron Man suit or some replica of Mjolnir, that would make him really happy."
"And where are you gonna get that in the next four hours?"
… crap she has a point… uhh…
Kelly! She has to have something in that inventory of hers! Can't ask Scotch to make it since he's keeping Saw busy for before the party as per the plan…
"Kelly most likely has something I can get him on short notice." I said quickly. "Where is she now?" I asked, having been so preoccupied about other things I forgot to buy things, and right now I wouldn't have enough time to use Creation to craft the damn thing's before the party.
"Probably setting up her new store in town. Think she was gonna get here an hour before the party."
Perfect!
With that I ran back out to town. It took a bit but I found Kelly's new store. Aptly named 'Kelly's General Store' with an added smaller sign under that that read 'Don't like the price? Then get the fuck out'. How on brand.
I entered, finding her going through a box of stuff.
"Huh? Oh, hey there baby daddy." She said when she noticed me. "Store isn't open yet."
"And I need some stuff in a hurry, Saw's birthday is today and I only have four hours to get him a gift." I said quickly.
"Fair. Scotch invited me now that I live here, so I got the kid something I figured he'd enjoy based on what my boy told me."
"And what does Saw like? Cause I was only told about his likes of Comic's and all that." I admitted.
"Well, I know Scotch made him some working Spiderman web shooters that regenerate the fluid over time. And I am giving him this." She said as she pulled out what looked to be… it was a spell book, the cover held the image of a strange multi species limbed chimera of sorts. "Chaos Magic spell tomb. Figured he would want to learn some spells he can actually use."
"I was either thinking of a replica Mjolnir or an Iron Man suit, but I didn't have the time or knowledge of how to create the thing." I said, even with either my Creation quirk or my new Phoenix Creation I still need to know a lot of important things to make it.
"Ah. Well I don't have either of those in stock. You can check the box over there. It's where I keep the augmentation and genetic injections and other stuff like that. Just remember, you pick them you're buying."
"Crap…" I grumbled. "Do you have any recommendations?" I asked, deciding to look through the box either way.
"Well, Saw is a superhero fanboy based on what Scotch tells me. Seems to really make use of those Quirk Abilities you gave him and then some so maybe get him something along those lines from in there."
I nodded, looking through the various injectors and such… huh… Conduit Gene: Smoke? That sounds interesting… what else is… hello… Chainsaw Devil Heart… this last one I know he will enjoy… the Smoke one sounds neat too…
"Well…I've got two." I said, bringing up the Conduit and the Heart. "Think he'll like these?"
"Hm?" She said as she looked over. "Oh yeah. The Chainsaw Devil Heart he is gonna get a kick out of that. Conduit Smoke, that's pretty useful. Conduit Genes are kinda like your Quirk Abilities with several differences." She said. "Fifty grand for them both."
I was really glad that I had all this money stored up from all my training as I handed her the fifty grand. "I'd joke about a 'lover's discount' but I doubt that's in your store policy." I commented.
"Pfft. Lovers we are not. Occasional bed buddy and baby daddy, sure." She said with a smirk and a shrug
"Yeah yeah." I chuckled. "But at least I got something for Saw, oh and uh…did you hear anything from Midas?" I decided to ask.
"Yeah. Gotta say, kinda an odd guy. Heard stories about him. Surprisingly all good things."
"Besides him dressed like a bum he is…rather nice to talk to." I admitted.
"Yeah. He said I'm gonna get a weekly direct deposit of rem, supplies and Data Drives for you and such. Didn't say how much though and I can take a guess on what's on those Drives." She said.
"Yeah…he's personally funding our nonsense of taking down the other Chaos Guilds."
"Ironic considering he runs a Chaos Guilds." Kelly shrugged. "Well, head off and finish up that party. I'll be there later."
"Alright." I nodded. "Thanks Kelly." I said before heading off to finish up the last few things for the party.
Once I got back I quickly wrapped the presents up and helped finish the party preparations.
Kelly arrived just in time and Scotch brought Saw into the house for the surprise.
His initial reaction to the surprise was shock, his buzzsaws popping out on instinct. Once he realized it was a party though, for him, well, he held in some tears of joy.
For the most part, it was a normal party. Cake, booze, presents.
First were the guns and weapon San, Dean and Luna got him. Sam got him a rifle. Dean, a double barrel sawed off shotgun. He really enjoyed the weapon Luna gave him. He absolutely geeked out over the web shooters Scotch made for him. Delilah got him some comics, not sure where or how she got them but Saw was happy to have them. Mom even got him a gift. She got him a flintlock pistol. Apparently she found it in the Nightmare and thought it was neat.
He opened my gifts last.
"Holy fucking shit…" He said, picking up the injector for the Smoke Conduit Gene and the Chainsaw Demon Heart. "Oh this is gonna be so cool!"
"Here. You use these injectors like this." Scotch said, helping Saw use the injector. Once it was used, the arm it was used on began to produce a mix of smoke and embers around it that traveled to and across his back to the other arm. Once it did the embers and smoke receded within his skin.
"That's so damn cool! I loved the inFAMOUS games." He laughed.
"And this should go like this…" Scotch said, Taking the Chainsaw Devil Heart and placing it over Saw's chest. It seemed to merge into him, leaving only a thin black pull cord sticking out his chest. Looks like he can hide it in his fur if he tucks it in there. "And done."
"That is surprisingly painless on both of those." He said.
"Glad you liked the gifts." I said with a smile.
"Oh I haven't even used them yet." Saw said, grinning like a mad man as he got up and made some space between himself and us, then pulled on the chord.
There was a sound that reminded me of when you start up a lawnmower. Suddenly in a burst of blood, chainsaws show out of Saw's arms from his elbows and down past his hands, almost splitting his arms from the elbow down in half from how it looked. Another just as long Chainsaw shot out from his forehead as his skill changed, turning into a white metallic box similar to the body of a chainsaw. Complete with handles on his head and through slides where the engine would breath in and exhaust air and smoke were two yellow glowing lights for his eyes.
"Holy fucking shit!" Dean yelped.
"This is so cool!" Saw said, his new voice more raspy, higher pitched and gravely than before. This new head of his also made his teeth look like daggers.
"Congratulations Scotch, your Buzz Saw evolved into a Chain Saw." I joked.
"Oh! That gives me an idea!" He said gleefully. Suddenly a long his chainsaws, popped Buzzsaws along the chain and sides of them. "Fucking hell yes! Oh I am so shoving this all the way up David's ass when I fight him!"
"What is with you and this David guy's ass?" Luna asked with a chuckle.
"I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a nice ass, but mostly it's just because I know he can survive it and I can get vengeance for all those chainsaw man jokes!"
"I mean…you are Chainsaw Man now technically." I admitted.
"I am chainsaw ram!" He said, smoke and embers bursting out his chain-buzz saws. "Cool! That worked!"
I actually felt bad Copy Cat copies those to me as well, but I'll sit on them for a while and let Saw enjoy his gifts. This was overall a very good day.
Greetings! This is a direct message to all creation from The Mother. If you are receiving this, then there is a huge announcement that we in The Family hope you will not miss.
Starting New Years, or as some of you like to call it, Rest Day, The Assistant and Abilities System will be receiving a major update to certain functions. There will also be a Worlds and Reality Update issued at the same time.
For the Assistant and Abilities, the following will be updated.
Common Abilities will all be given a higher level cap.
Rare Abilities can now also level up.
Legendary Abilities can level up, with a few exceptions.
The Assistant can now keep track of slain enemies for records and personal score keeping.
The Assistant now registers EXP when killing enemies. This EXP will convert into Skill Points over time.
New Abilities and TItles will be added.
Some existing Titles and Abilities will be improved.
The following for World and Reality will be updated.
There is now going to be a Level 0 Dungeon. This Dungeon type will be meant for training eager youths seeking adventure. Death is impossible in these dungeons, but enemies can still inflict pain. Even the Void Level 0 Dungeons will not kill, but will hurt more than normal. Loot in these dungeons will be minimum as it's more for training and practice.
Dungeons levels will now be increased. Existing Dungeons may increase based on factors, but some new dungeons can spawn up to a danger level of 20. This included a Void counterpart.
Some of the new higher level dungeons may appear in areas of the world not explored or not inhabited by anything of note already across Reality.
Perma Death Monsters and Void Admins have been moved to the new Void Level 20 and Level Twenty Dungeons after the update.
Some Dungeons can now have trials that will increase its danger level to increase its challenge.
Dungeons can now come in up to triple the maximum prior size.
Dungeon Loot will now respawn Weekly, Enemies Daily, Bosses and Optional Bosses remain a Yearly Respawn.
"Cool! Random bullshit!" Saw laughed at the notification everyone got at the same time.
"Uh…I don't like that…" I said worriedly. "I mean, it makes some places safer but…that would mean this world gets leagues more dangerous."
"We get to abuse the shit out of our immortality!" Saw laughed again.
"Might wanna consider getting that for the whole team." Scotch mentioned.
"Immortality sucks though…" I admitted nervously.
"Might be worth it in the end though. Better than the alternatives." Sam mentioned.
"I mean…yes, that's true, but where are we going to find more immortality abilities?" I asked. "They're rather rare."
"I'd bet money our new benefactor is gonna send some our way!" Saw said.
"I…wouldn't be surprised." I sighed.
"I know you're excited, but why the yelling?" Luna asked.
"It feels like my heart is gonna explode and I'm on a caffeine/adrenaline high!" Saw said.
"I believe it's because his Heart is the Engine and his Blood is the Gasoline for this…we should get him to stop before he passes out or dies from blood Loss." I said nervously.
"You're half right." Scotch said. "His heart is the engine but blood in terms of gasoline is used in fairly low quantities when it's his own. If he ingests some then he gets a major boost. But yeah you should turn it off now babe."
"Alright… so I just calm myself down right?" Saw asked as Scotch nodded. Saw took several slow, deep breaths then his new chainsaws melted into some odd good that rapidly dried out and turned to ash or dust when it hit the ground. "Huh… cool." He said.
"Yeah, I can imagine." I nodded. "And good thing it doesn't use a lot of his blood, don't want him passing out mid fight cause of it."
"Welp, this was a fun day." Saw said. "So, what's the agenda for tomorrow?"
"Training probably, going around town doing stuff, waiting for Midas to send us some locations to raid, or whatever the hell Saint's about to make us do."
"So business as usual." Saw nodded.
"Well, at least today we all got to relax." Scotch said.
"Yeah. Party like this has been fun." Dean smirked.
"Almost makes things feel normal." Sam nodded.
The party wrapped up and once everyone went back to their own places or cleaned up, I found 682 sitting in a small spare room.
"Hi there." I said softly to my new danger wife.
She looked over at me, giving me that same sinister, calculative smirk. "Greetings Master." She said.
"Mind if we talk for a bit?" I asked.
"As you wish."
I sighed, trying to think of where to start. "Why…do you Hate?"
"Does one need a reason to hate?"
"Yes."
"Do they though?" She asked me. "Why do you hate what you perceive as evil?"
"Moral's, knowledge of what's Right and Wrong, Common Sense, Feelings." I answered readily.
"All things defined by your or a groups perceptions of what the two mean. You wouldn't call a lion evil for killing the cubs of a rival to mate with their lionesses. Nor an owl who rips the body of a mouse to shreds for a meal. You call that part of nature. My nature is to hate. It's as simple as that."
"And yet this isn't Nature, you aren't naturally born either." I brought up.
"Neither is that one you call mother yet you two speak and care for one another as if that body was not a reproduction, made from the body of a woman long dead fueled by copied memories and replacement heart and soul." She said.
"No actually, her Body is purely her own." I said, seeing her tilt her head. "I was given my Mom's Ashes, her DNA, her Genetic Code, that is her, plain and simple, and they weren't 'copied memories', those are hers cause if they were 'copied' then where the hell would Saint get them? The Heart and Soul were replacements yes, but they molded and filled in the gaps for Mom so that she could be."
"So you'd remake the shell and replace the insides of one you so cared for that easily? And here I thought you'd respect the dead. I guess that doesn't apply when a child just wants their mother now does it?"
"I had Saint bring her back so that I could right wrongs with her." I said simply. "I am not some child shouting about what he 'wants', for there are reasons to thing's, you technically aren't 682 through Genetic Engineering and your birth, but you believe you are and succumb to the same inherent rage that plagues your species…and I want to know why."
"Why? Why not?" She asked, still smirking as she suddenly leaned forward, grabbing my wrist and yanking me. She threw me onto my back on the bed then positioned herself on hands and knees over me. "Why not hate? If hate is all I, my original, progenitor, is. Knows. Why not hate with all my being. As if hatred is all consuming for me, but you assume it's not the foundation of my very being. Why not hate when all I know is hate? Why not hate when I am hate. Embodied, personified, made flesh. You think you can save something that exists out of hate? But you need to understand this, Master." She said as she took a hand and placed it to my face. I felt her sharp thumb gently rest it's sharp blade against my neck. "My kind is born from hate. We exist because it exists. I may not be natural born as you say, but neither is my progenitor."
I grabbed her by the waist, and I flipped her over causing her to suddenly yelp in surprise. "And I want you to be more than just Pure Hate, you have your whole life to figure out what it means to Live, to not just mindlessly rage against something you don't know. Just because you claim to be Hatred incarnate doesn't mean you have to be." I growled, looking her dead in the eyes. "You claim you're nothing more than that, like how people have claimed this world is a hellhole that can't be saved, well, I'm here to prove you wrong, as gently, or as harshly as I can."
Despite the flip, she kept that smirk as she put her hand against the back of my head, forcing me down until my ear was against her lips. "If you insist. Who am I to tell you how to waste your time then." She chuckled. "Such a strange existence you force me to live Master. The one I hate more than anything and all because what I am forces me to love you. Your touch disgusts me yet my body can't stop craving it. Desiring you. I want to tear you limb from limb but at the same time, to hold you and be held. Love and hate in equal parts of power struggling for authority, neither can take the reigns though. Where I a weaker, lesser creature I'd have given in like your other toy, Poppy, to the desires of this agony that I'm enduring. Being forced to love someone I hate."
"Then I order you to learn." I said, seeing the Code spark. "I order you to Learn, to be more than your Hate, to be more than your Programmed Love, cause you are strong, you are powerful, but you won't be able to do anything with all that strength if you just mindlessly hate, to have given up any thought other than your wanton need of Hatred…I know you are a Breeder, I know you are programmed to Love me, but you are strong enough to still hold your own conscious, to be your own person…and I want to help you to become better." I said, lightly moving some of her hair out of her multiple eyes…which were like sparkling rubies with an eternal flame inside of them now that I actually see them.
She growled, almost roaring as I felt her hand slip around my neck. Despite that, I also felt her struggling to actually squeeze it. Unlike last time, she can't. Code prevents her from hurting her Master. "... As you wish…Master. Enjoy this hollow victory while it lasts."
"It's what we call 'baby steps'." I said with my own snarky grin. "You may call it hollow, but I see substance in it."
"I despise you…"
"And I love you too." I chuckled, and even though it might leave a weird taste on my mouth I gave her a quick kiss on her cheek.
Again, she growled. Then, she quickly regained that smirk. "Careful Master. Wouldn't want to do something you'd regret, now would you?"
"I don't know, hearing you moan like a good girl would be a treat for me." I said, moving a hand up and squeezing her rather sizable breast.
She laughed, a low, growl-like laugh that devolved into a pur. "You'll regret this… that's a promise." She said, leaning up and giving me a kiss on my lips.
That was an… experience… she definitely knew how to use her…. Everything…
Have to admit… didn't think she'd pop out an egg… let alone one so large. It's actually just a bit bigger than my head.
After that Interesting event I took the egg with me. She didn't seem to… want it around…
I sighed. "Are you sure?" I asked my very angry lizard, holding the egg close.
"It will hatch in an hour. When it does I want you to be the first thing it sees~"
"Do you think they'll be a giant ball of fluff first or will they somehow be a fuzzy velociraptor when the egg hatches?"
"Don't know. Don't care."
"I will make you care."
"Is that another order?"
"It shouldn't have to be an order cause you are their mother…you should at least care about your child."
"It will inherit all my powers and immortality. You could break it, starve it, drown it, suffocate it, mame and mangle it and it won't die. Why would I need to care for something even someone as absent in their children's development as you couldn't screw up?"
"I am not absent in my children's lives." I frowned. "But…just because they can't die doesn't mean they should be without their mother."
"You can make up for it then. You have the biology for it." She said, lifting the covers and getting under them.
I sighed. "Alright…alright…" I said, deciding to head off and figure out how to raise this child…cause hopefully they won't be an immoral rage beast.
I carried the egg with me into the living room and taking a seat, holding it… I might have bitten off more than I can chew…
"I shouldn't regret this…but I'm very worried…" I muttered, holding the egg close as I hoped they would be born happy and not fueled by rage.
I held onto the egg containing my mystery child…
At exactly the hour mark, it shook. Violently it kicked, kicking me in the gut and knocking itself off my lap. The egg cracked open as it hit the floor and inside was a leathery skinned, slimy looking very large newborn. Four sets of eyes it was blinking open. Two red, two green. Dark green oily looking hair covered it's head and two large leathery wings covered in sticky fuzz spread and flapped about as it rotated itself to all fours.
"Hi there." I said softly, kneeling down towards my child.
It looked at me. All four eyes blinking and centering on me. It backed up, tucking its wings against its back as it did.
"It's alright, I'm your dad." I said softly, gently bringing up a hand for them to smell so they can know my scent.
They sniffed my fingers, getting closer…
They opened their mouth, a toothless maw suddenly growing two or three rows of sharp needle-like teeth. They bit down, their teeth breaking skin and bone and tearing most of three of my fingers off. I yelped and held back a scream as I watched in mute horror as my child ate and chewed my fingers before swallowing and licking my blood off their lips.
"But…why though…" I muttered in horror.
They then sniffed towards me… and licked their lips… uh oh…
They jumped on me, snapping their jaws at me as I held them back… then watched in more horror as they then began growing a longer neck to reach me.
What the genuine fuck?!
I grabbed their muzzle and closed it shut. "No." I said sternly, looking into their eyes. "You do not eat your father. Understand?"
It blinked blankly at me. It then grew a second mouth over it's muzzle and ate it and my hand.
As it was chewing my hand and I was regenerating it, I managed to get back up and ran towards 682. Kicking the door open as I did and I saw them still on the bed, under the covers but now awake.
"I see it hatched…" She said.
"Why is he trying to eat me and how do I make them stop? Cause…I can understand if they're just on instincts because their a newborn but come on."
"It is hungry and was just hatched. It requires much in terms of substance to sustain itself. As such, it eats the first thing it sees. In this case, you."
"I thought it would do a parent child imprint thing, not immediately see me as lunch!"
"Technically it's both." She said with a sigh. "Just be glad I laid the one. Where it a clutch they might have tried to eat each other immediately after hatching and at that stage they might not regenerate fast enough before they're entirely eaten by their siblings."
I groaned and rubbed my temples…before feeling something nibbling my wing, as I lifted it up and saw the offending but…kind of adorable child nibbling on the tip of my wing. "Well…I mean, I can regenerate faster than they can eat so…how much food do they need?" I asked…and also realized how much pain mom would be in…oh no…
"To satiate its appetite, at minimum, several hundred pounds of flesh. After that it will nap and grow into a… child. Around the age you'd say is five."
"Right…" I said. "So I have a better idea." I said, grabbing the baby as they went limp in my arms in confusion as I used Warp and found an area that would normally had a Blood Cursed Giant roaming around. "See that?" I asked, pointing to the giant and seeing my child's eyes widen and drool. "Go get it." I said to them like a dog, even as I let them down.
They looked at the monster, then back to me. They blinked in confusion before nipping at my toes.
I groaned, picking up the child again and flying over, turning their chompers onto its foot. "No, eat this."
They bit down on the monster. It roared. My child chewed. It roared more. My child broke free of my grasp and ate it's way into the beast through flesh and bone into its insides.
I then floated around in hypnotized horror as I watched the child literally eat that hulking thing from the inside out leaving only some blood stains on the ground as even bone was chewed and devoured.
Eventually it was left in a bloody puddle licking itself before yawning and falling asleep.
"...Huh…" I muttered, never realizing just how…horrifying the Very Hungry Caterpillar was until today.
I flew down, seeing my child sleeping deeply in a puddle of blood of its own meal.
I then watched in even more horror as their body convulsed, twitched and snapped and tore as it's bones grew, tearing flesh that rapidly regenerated until it was roughly the size of a human five year old. Maybe a bit short… that might be the Nokori bit though. I know Saw said that Nokori children are typically much shorter than their human counterparts would be at those ages…
Their body was different. The leathery skin was a bit paler. Their wings were a patchwork of green feathers and while their hair still looked greasy it was more akin to an ashy green color.
They then opened all four of their eyes and sat up.
"Hello?" I asked worriedly, hoping my child will be cognisant enough to speak and not eat me.
They looked their body over. Examining feet, wings, hands. Finally they looked over at me. "Uh… dad, right?" They asked.
"Yes, I am your dad." I nodded. "How are you feeling?" I asked.
"Butt naked sitting in blood." They said. "Can I get some clothes?"
"First, you need a bath." I stated. "Don't want your new clothes to get covered in blood."
"But they'll be covered in blood regardless." They said simply as they stood up.
I sighed, before creating some clothes that could fit their size. "Alright, here's some clothes, need some help getting them on?" I asked, wondering how far their age progression went here.
"I got it." They said, taking the clothes and quickly putting them on… wow. They are… rather smart…
"How smart are you?" I inquired, as them having full speech, knowing what clothes are and putting on their specially crafted clothes so fast I was curious if they knew how smart they were.
"Well… I inherited more than genetics from you and mom. I also inherited memories." They said. "My intelligence and personality seem to be based on the memories and genetic imprints of you both that made me, based on the memories and knowledge I inherited from mom, this part of mixing your ls and moms personalities into my own happens after I eat enough to begin metamorphosis."
"Huh, that is very interesting." I admitted.
They shrugged. "It's useful but also sucks cause I remember from both your points of view my conception…"
I winced. "Yeah…that would suck…" I said carefully. "So, given you have all my memories…what do you think of me?"
"Personally? I don't hate you, but I also don't like you all that much."
"Now is that because of the memories or is that because of something else?" I inquired.
"Mostly the memories. Mom hates you with all her being and you… have some issues…" They said flatly.
"And as you saw in your memories, I have been working through a lot of those issues." I said. "And your mother hating me with all her being…I still need to get her to stop that, cause I know she can't just be enraged forever…"
"..."
"Is there something wrong?" I inquired.
"Uhm… I'll just let you keep hope alive and not say anything…" They said. "Onto more important matters. What is my name?"
I looked at them, wondering what I could name them…"I think I'll call you Hope." I said.
Hope shrugged. "Eh. It works."
"Alright." I nodded. "So, what do you want to do now and should I prepare for you suddenly needing to eat a crap ton more all of a sudden?"
"I mean, I'm still capable of that but regular portions should be fine. As far as aging… not too sure myself how that's gonna work for me but should be by year and such now…"
"Alright." I nodded. "But I might as well ask…do you have an unending rage towards all life like your mother?" I asked carefully.
"Hm… not so much a rage. More an… uncaringness towards things." Hope shrugged.
"Well…that's a lot better than your mom's reaction." I said honestly. "But I'm sure you'll learn to care for it through personal experience."
"Maybe. Right now I could care less."