Chapter 5, on the horizon. Here with the second longest chapter to date. Fun fact, today's my birthday, so consider this my gift to you. That's how birthdays work right?
Chapter 5: How to Kill a Guardian
"What is it trying to tell us?"
"I think it's supposed to be a warning?"
"How can you tell?"
"The bright red lights are kind of a giveaway."
The Harpy was starting to get annoyed by the organics' endless bickering. And it wasn't even capable of feeling annoyance. It had been trying to inform the Witches, Damien and Cita as they were called, of the Guardian as per the orders from the Paradoxical Mind. However, their feeble mental capabilities were struggling to catch up with its own. Fortunately, the Witch in charge of conducting research entered the corner of the Harpys' vision.
"It's trying to warn us about someone. Look at that image, doesn't it look familiar?"
The surrounding Witches looked at the projection with varying degrees of understanding.
-]Analysis: For scientists, they don't seem very smart[-
"It's a picture of the stranger, the one that crashed the Covention a while back?"
The other two researchers nodded, muttering 'of course' and 'naturally' in an attempt to save face. The head Witch sighed. The Harpy almost felt pity for him.
Almost.
"So it's a warning about the 'Guardian'. What about the text, we can't decipher it."
The head Witch looked at the Harpy with a lazy gaze.
"You mind translating this for us, pal?"
"Oh come on Sturme," Cita scoffed, "After how obtuse the machine has been, you don't really expect it to just magically translate the text, do you?"
The Harpy translated it; partially to speed up the process, but mostly just out of spite.
"You were saying?" Sturme regarded his coworker smugly.
"Shut up."
"That's what I thought," Sturme said, smirking, "Now let's see what our little friend here is trying to tell us."
The Vex had provided very specific pieces of information. It told them that the Guardian was an immortal warrior with powers that did not need to obey the laws of physics and how they were actively waging war against numerous races; including the Vex who simply wished to pursue their grand pattern. Of course, it had omitted some information. Namely that the Guardians were on the defensive and the Vex's pattern involved the assimilation of entire realities. It was surprisingly easy; a few doctored recordings here, a few half-truths there, and the Witches were growing increasingly worried.
They huddled over in the corner, whispering to themselves and occasionally casting glances towards the Harpy. It simply sat there, staring at them with its endless gaze.
"Do we trust it?" Damien opened.
"It hasn't led us astray so far, just look at the gifts it has already given us," answered Cita.
Sturme looked over at a nearby table. Resting atop it was a small device that could fire a powerful, non-magical beam. They were still testing the full potential of the weapon before presenting it to the Emperor, but initial results were promising.
"Let's not be hasty here," Sturme cautioned, "We still don't understand the motives of this construct. Who's to say it isn't just attempting to curry favor?" Unbeknownst to the Witches, the Harpy could hear everything they were saying. Perhaps the Witches needed more convincing.
"Wait, what's it showing us now?"
The Witches turned and observed as the Harpy projected an image of a Ghost. Sturme stepped closer, reading the description carefully.
"Guardian Royal-6 and his Ghost, Lancer. Very powerful, highly dangerous, and incredibly xenophobic against non-human life," he muttered. As he weighed the information, a sense of dread began to set in. If what the construct said was true, then the Emperor would need to know about this. The danger posed by an immortal warrior with a hatred of Witches and powers no one had seen before would be cataclysmic.
Sturme looked the Harpy straight in its' eye. "What do you want from us? What are you getting out of all this?"
The Harpy went silent for a moment, before projecting a small box of text that read 'I want to learn your magic'.
"Cita," he spoke up suddenly, "start recording everything the subject tells us. Damien, find everything the Emperors' Coven has on this Stranger."
"What are you going to do?" Damien questioned.
Sturme looked over at his desk, where an ever-growing pile of paperwork was waiting for him. Sighing, he gestured to it.
"I have yet another urgent report to write."
"So we are in agreement?" Royal asked. He was currently in the living room of the Owl House, conversing with his Ghost. Lancer looked down in thought before slowly nodding.
"It's for the best."
"Better tell the others then," he said as Luz came down the stairs.
"Tell us what?"
Lancer and Royal looked at each other for a half-second, just long enough for Luz to know something was up.
"We got a lead on the Vex presence," Royal started slowly, choosing his words very carefully, "I believe the Emperor's Coven has some Vex tech stored in a hidden research facility. Lancer and I are going to check it out."
"Oh, that's great," she said, "Want us to tag along and help?"
Royal scratched the back of his helmet awkwardly, he had been dreading this conversation.
"About that," he spoke measuredly, "Lancer and I are going to be flying solo from now on. We don't want to risk anyone else getting hurt in our war."
Luz looked at him surprised and he couldn't help but mentally kick himself for his bluntness. He didn't want to leave, having grown quite fond of the young girl in the few days he had been around. It was nice to have another Human around him while he was trapped in this hellish world. Though now that he considered it, this place had been far less dangerous than usual Vanguard Operations or even the Crucible. However, the Vex had proven themselves willing to take innocent lives in the past. Royal couldn't stay at the Owl House, it put everyone around him at risk.
"Why are you leaving?" Her voice was small. He took off his helmet, orange optical sensors meeting brown eyes.
"The Vex are after me specifically. They're locked onto me through means I don't understand and they will not relent until I have died for the last time. I will be damned if I let you or anyone else get caught up in this mess."
"We took them down the last time they came here," she objected, "Do you not trust us?"
"You barely managed to overcome a single Vex Hobgoblin and that was only because you got lucky." He was raising his voice now in response.
"We saved your life!"
"How many times do you think you'll get lucky again Luz? How many more need to come marching down here? You don't know the Vex as I do. I was trapped in that wretched data-scape for years. The Vex are relentless, numberless, and merciless. When they return, and they will return, it is only a matter of time until they overrun you. If I can't close whatever door they've opened, then it's only a matter of time until this entire world is dead!"
"Royal!" It wasn't Luz that shouted at him this time, but rather Lancer. Royal looked away from the stunned girl, ashamed of his lack of control over his own temper. Hovering near the entrance to the room was his Ghost, with Eda and King beside him. Eda slipped something into her hair and fixed Royal with an unamused look.
The Exo grimaced. "You heard all that, didn't you?"
"Kinda hard not to, considering how loud you two were shouting."
"Well, Lancer and I are leaving. Please, for the love of the Traveler, stay out of this."
"Eda, tell him he doesn't have to do this," Luz begged, "He doesn't have to abandon us."
The Witch sighed heavily. "Kid, if Mr. Murder-bot wants to leave, he has every right to."
That caught Royal off guard, he wasn't surprised that Eda would be alright with him leaving, but he hadn't expected her to be so understanding. He nodded in reluctant gratitude which she waved off.
"Alright," Lancer said with forced calmness, "if you two are done with your shouting match, Royal and I have a lead to pursue." Without another word, the Guardian exited the Owl House, summoned his sparrow, and gunned the engine. With one final glance, he sped away. However, unbeknownst to him, he was being watched by four pairs of eyes.
"Lilith," the Golden Guard muttered into a crow, "You're going to have a very angry visitor real soon."
Royal raced through the trees of the Boiling Isles with Lancer tagging along. Bright red leaves and clouds of dust were kicked up in his wake. The wind brushed against his Guardians armor, sweeping his robes up in the wind.
"Do you want to talk?" Lancer asked over comms. He wasn't expecting an answer, Royal could be remarkably stubborn when he wanted to be. It wasn't that Lancer could blame Royal for wanting to protect the others. He had seen the Vex work, seen what they were capable of. It wasn't a threat that a fourteen-year-old girl could hope to fight. The best thing they could do is neutralize the Vex presence and destroy their gateway. They would have to figure out how to get home from there.
They continued to ride through the strange land in silence. Lancer sighed to himself, Royal had been unsociable even before being lost to the Vex Domain. He wasn't particularly popular back in the Last City. Truth be told, his only real friends were Banshee-44, Gunsmith of the Tower, and Malek, the Titan who had stood beside the two during the Red War. He had been so close to breaking out of that shell, only to snap and lash out.
"We're close," Royal spoke without warning. He pulled on the brakes, coming to a stop just before a small cave entrance. Lancer quickly scanned the entrance. "This cave is not a natural formation. It was built, specifically to hide something."
"How can you tell?"
"All the residual magic, it's practically radiating from the stone."
"Alright then," Royal summoned his pulse rifle and thumbed the safety, "Let's get this over with." The Exo moved with practiced ease as Lancer provided a small beam of light. His finger hovered lightly over the trigger as his eyes peered into the darkness. After a few minutes, Lancer shone his beam at the wall.
"Right here, concealed doorway." Royal grunted in affirmation. These were the same tricks the Fallen would use, tricks Royal was well accustomed to. If the Emperor's Coven expected it to work, then they were in for a rude awakening. A swift light-powered kick broke the door down, revealing a well-lit hallway. Lancer shut off his beam as Royal swept his surroundings. A nearby door opened as a coven Guard stepped out to investigate the noise. He barely made it a single pace before three arc bolts slammed into his head. The Witch dropped and Royal grinned slightly, it had been so long since he had shot an alien that could bleed. As he stepped further into the facility, alarms began blaring.
"Are you ready?"
Sturme wiped the sweat from his forehead. The Guardian had found and entered their facility. Now they were trying to evacuate all their assets and resources. At least the Coven had the foresight to send some additional guards.
"Almost."
"Very well," Lilith spoke through a nearby crystal ball as Sturme was hurriedly gathering his notes. "Your operation will be transferred to another site near the castle where you will continue your work under my supervision. Understood?"
"Yes, yes, just give me a second." With a small sigh of relief, he grabbed his prototype and secured the remaining notes within his satchel. "I will be on my way to you shortly."
"Good. I shall be waiting when you arrive." With that, she signed off. Sturme turned to the door where two Coven scouts were waiting for him.
"Alright, it's time to leave. Is the asset secure?"
One of the guards, a tall demon with pointed ears beneath their cloak, saluted. "Yes sir. It has already been shipped out, you're the last one here."
"Alright, then let's get out of this damnable facility."
The guard led him through the compound towards the emergency exit. The distant sound of spells and explosive bangs could be heard. It was impossible to place where they were coming from though.
"How much further to the extraction point?" Sturme questioned hurriedly.
One of the guards began to speak before being cut off by the wall next to him exploding. A large form flew through the gap and delivered a vicious blow to the other guard's head. They crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Sturme stumbled back, tripping over his legs as the Guardian stood at his full height. Both of the Guardians' forearms were coated with flames rolling across his armor. He turned slowly, facing Sturme before reaching out to grab him with a burning hand.
As the Guardian reached for Sturme, a small stone wall erupted between them. More guards were pouring through the hole in the wall. Sturme scrambled for his satchel and sorted through it as quickly as he could. His fingers closed around his prototype and his heart soared. He rolled around, seeing the wall shatter in a burst of purple energy. The Guardian was throwing his assailants around with ease. A few of them lie still on the ground, their bodies smoldering with bright orange flames. Sturme raised his device, pointing it at the Guardian, and squeezing the trigger. The contraption made a sharp, aggressive noise as a bolt of light streaked out.
The bolt slammed into the Guardians' back, causing him to stumble. As he dropped to one knee, a pair of chains made from Abomination goo lashed around his arms. He pulled against the binds, nearly tearing them apart until one guard cast a sleep spell. The Guardian slumped over, unconscious. Sturme struggled to his feet, holding his weapon limb at his side. He prodded the slumbering form of the Guardian, receiving no response.
"Well," he panted as he hefted the weapon, "initial test results are promising. Get him properly bound with the strongest restraints we have, I don't want any more surprises. Also, be sure to send for a healer, we might have more wounded."
"Yes sir, we'll get right on it." The Guards saluted and got to work.
"Now then," he said, slowly turning to the Guardians' prone body, "what are we going to do with you?"
Unbeknownst to the Witches, Lancer had managed to slip away and observed as they bound Royal.
Lancer cursed quietly to himself. "How the hell did they manage to reverse engineer Vex weaponry so quickly? The only way they'd be able to do that is if the Vex were… helping… them…"
"We're gonna need some backup."
Things had been quiet at the Owl House. Eda was preparing dinner, Luz and King were playing a game, and Hooty was doing whatever it was he did. Eda absentmindedly stirred a pot of vegetables as they screamed in agony. She had tried enchanting them to cook themselves, a proposition they had objected to very strongly. Still, things had been uncharacteristically quiet. No murderous robots or magical robots or snarky robots. It was almost peaceful.
Naturally, it couldn't last. A sharp buzzing sound snapped Eda out of her lazy stupor. She fumbled around through her impressive mane of hair, trying to fish out the source of the noise. With a triumphant grin, she pulled out a small device no larger than a scroll. She clicked a button, powering the device on and causing the buzzing to stop. The screen lit up, showing a compass and flashing text that read: 'Distress beacon activated'.
"Well that didn't take long, did it Lightbulb?" Eda smirked to herself as she walked to the base of the stairs.
"Hey kid," she shouted, "wanna head out on a rescue mission?"
Royal groaned as his optics lit up again. The sleep spell hadn't mixed well with his systems, like rebooting a computer while it was downloading files. Shaking off his grogginess, he scanned his surroundings. His vision was too blurry to make anything out. A quick stretch revealed that both of his wrists and ankles were bound. He pulled against the restraints only for his artificial muscles to give out. He attempted to activate his comm unit to locate Lancer, but all of his armor systems were coming back negative.
"It's nice to see that you're awake, that will make this so much more interesting."
Royal glanced around the room. One of the blurry shapes near the wall began to move closer. As it stepped into view, he realized it was the blue-haired researcher that had shot him in the back.
"Your armor is quite impressive, we haven't been able to remove any of it. I don't suppose you could give us a hand with that?"
Royal remained silent, staring through his visor at the Witch. He had no intention of complying.
"A shame, we're all very interested to see the face of the enigmatic Guardian."
Royal gave his restraints another tentative tug.
"I'm afraid those cuffs function as magic dampeners, there's not a spell on the Boiling Isles that could break you out of them."
Magic resistant cuffs, Royal thought, I wonder if… He began to channel the Light through his limbs, preparing to atomize his binds.
"We have your Ghost, so even if you did manage to slip out it would be short-lived. We would both hate for anything to happen to them."
Royals head snapped to the Witch as his power slipped away. "If you have harmed him in any way, I swear to the Traveler that no one will be able to find a single damn atom of you by the time I'm done," he threatened with a low voice.
The Witch clapped excitedly. "Now that got a response out of you. Worry not, we have no intention of hurting your little friend, so long as you comply with our tests." He snapped his fingers and the blurry form of a coven guard stepped forward with a metal staff in his hands. A closer look revealed that it was made of familiar bronze metal. The guard tapped the staff against the ground, causing the prism at the top to begin coursing with electricity. The guard pointed the staff at Royal's chest as the scientist stepped back.
"Beginning Vex Staff prototype test number 1, you may start at your own discretion."
The guard nodded before leaning closer to Royals' head. "I'm going to enjoy this you murderous bastard," he whispered, his voice potent with venomous hatred.
He pressed the coursing electric current against Royals' chest. Bolts of power lashed out across the Exos' body, racing down his limbs and through his head. Royal writhed silently for a few seconds, clenching and unclenching his fists, before letting out a short scream of pain.
The guard removed the staff from Royals' chest and looked back to his superior. The blue-haired Witch nodded his head several times.
"Tests continue to surpass all expectations, be sure to utilize the full capabilities of the weapon." He turned to leave, calling back over his shoulder, "Continue to test the weapon until you are satisfied, then continue for a bit longer."
The guard let out a mirthless chuckle as he turned back to Royal. With another tap, the staff's head came to life in a blazing inferno.
"My pleasure."
He lifted the staff to press it against Royal once again, and all the Guardian knew was pain.
In the woods near the Emperors' castle, there was an abandoned shack. To most, it was just a small, insignificant structure. To the Emperors Coven, it was a concealed entrance to another of their secret off-site facilities. Two guards stood outside this little shack, having been ordered to guard the entrance. Nobody wanted a repeat of earlier. One of them, a Witch named Symer, leaned against the wall behind her. She glanced over at her partner, Kiera.
"Hey Key," she said, using her partner's nickname.
"Yeah?"
Symer paused for a second, rolling the words over her tongue before speaking. "Do you ever wonder what we're doing here?"
Kiera snorted. "We're here because our superiors told us to be."
"No, no, I mean… what are we doing here in the universe?"
"What do you mean?"
"Look at it like this, we're living on the corpse of a giant Titan in the middle of a boiling ocean. We can look up into the sky and see other stars, just like ours. Do you think they have their own worlds with people living on their own Titans? Do those other people look up and ask the same question? If they are out there, then how did we all get here? And if they aren't, then what makes us so special?"
Kiera didn't respond for several seconds. Symer laughed. "Speechless, huh? Can't blame you, it's weird to think about."
Kiera still didn't reply. Symer stood up, looking over to her right and noticing a distinct lack of Kiera.
"Key, you there?" Symer called. Kiera remained silent.
Drawing her staff, Symer spoke into the dark forest again. "You're starting to freak me out Kiera, don't go playing these games."
"Yeah, I'm right here. Just thought I heard something," her partner called from around the other side of the shack.
Symer smiled, relaxing her posture as she put her staff away. She walked in the direction of her friend's voice.
"What did you hear, a ghost?" she joked
As she rounded the back of the shack, she saw Kiera slumped against the wall unconscious. She heard someone drop to the ground behind her and spun around. A tall woman with pale skin, golden eyes, and a confident grin stared back at her.
"Boo."
Symer stumbled back, raising her staff, only for the Owl Lady to slam her own on top of her head. Symer dropped to the ground, out for the count.
"Alright, guards are taken care of. You can come down."
Luz dropped next to her mentor, stumbling a little as she landed. A glowing magic ring hovered just in front of her face.
"Yeah, magic voice!" She cheered, perfectly mimicking Kieras' voice. Eda dispelled the circle, causing her voice to revert to normal.
"First parts over, now we have to be sneaky."
"So, how are we doing this? Elaborate disguises? Special diversion? Invisibility spell?" Luz asked with stars in her eyes.
"I was planning on just knocking out anyone who saw us," Eda said plainly. Luz pouted, scuffing the dirt with a disappointed kick.
"You just have to take all the fun out of this, don't you."
"Sorry kid, but we don't have time for any of that," Eda explained as she kicked open the entrance. A rush of cold air flew out to meet them as a distant, unrecognizable sound reached their ears. "We have no idea what the Emperors' Coven has cooked up in here. The sooner we find Lightbulb, the sooner we can get out of here."
Luz activated a light glyph, illuminating the long, dark hallway as the ghastly sound bounced off the walls.
"Fair enough," she said, "besides, this place creeps me out."
The pair entered the facility, Eda keeping her staff held at the ready while Luz watched their tracking beacon closely. The place seemed to grow colder as they explored its halls, though the unintelligible noise never grew louder or quieter. Oddly, the halls were empty, completely devoid of any guards or researchers. Seeing a slight glow coming from a room ahead, Luz slowly opened the door and cast her light into it. Along the walls were dozens of large tanks filled with luminescent white liquid. Numerous pressure gauges and thermometers and other measuring devices could be seen.
"What is this place?" Luz wondered aloud as she placed her hand against one of the tanks. The liquid was warm and pulsed in response to her touch. As she stared into it, she could see electric bolts dancing through the liquid. She retracted her hand, subconsciously wiping it off on her clothes. A small label just beneath the viewport caught her eye.
"Radiolarian fluid?"
Suddenly, she heard Eda let out a startled cry from the hallway. Racing back over to the door, she threw it back open with a glyph in hand. Instead of seeing a patrol of guards, she saw Eda clutching her staff with an unamused expression. Floating not far away was a familiar friend.
"Lancer, is that you?"
The Ghost spun his shell. "Like you know any other Ghosts this awesome."
"I also don't know any other Ghosts."
"My point still stands," Lancer replied.
"If you're both done," Eda interrupted, "we still need to find the purple rustbucket."
"Right you are. I've been trying to contact him but it seems like his comm system has been damaged," Lancer chimed, "fortunately I know where he is. Unfortunately, it's with literally all of the guards."
"Well that explains why we haven't run into any yet," Eda said, sharing a glance with Luz. "You lead, we'll follow. Titan knows he's really gonna owe me now."
Royal hung limp in his binds. His entire body was racked with pain. The guard tapped the Guardians' chest with the tip of his staff, producing a hollow ringing noise that bounced around the room.
"You still alive in there? I'd hate to think you were already broken, we still have so many more tests to conduct."
Royal looked up slowly. He couldn't feel his own body and struggled to even manifest a coherent thought.
"...go… to… hell."
The guard shook his head in mock pity.
"Every second of defiance leads to another minute of torment." He jabbed Royals' knee with the staff, causing another jolt of pain to race through his leg. "Do you even know how much death you've brought with you? Every one of those Coven members you killed was part of a family. Now I get to push that pain back on you."
"...the Vex…" he panted as he looked the guard in the eyes, "...they… did worse… You… need to… do better."
The guard scoffed, raising the staff once again, before being interrupted by a loud noise from the hallway. Voices could be heard soon after, slipping through the doors. The two guards standing near the entrance turned to face the doors, holding their hands ready to cast a spell.
"Watch where you're going kid, we didn't take down all those guards just to give ourselves away now."
"Sorry, but who would put a heavy crate on top of a small table? That's just asking for an accident."
"Just try to be more careful."
Royal perked up at that third voice, it sounded so familiar, yet in his addled state he couldn't remember who it belonged to."
"You two," the guard said, gesturing to his companions, "go check that out."
The two saluted and quickly stepped through the door into the hall beyond. The remaining guard turned back to his captive.
"Now, where were we."
Before the guard could resume, one of his comrades was blasted back into the chamber. The guard looked down at their body, confused. Before he could do anything, the second guard stumbled back through the doors before collapsing to the ground. The guard pointed his staff at the door.
"Whoever you are, stand down and surrender to the Emperors' Coven."
The doors opened slightly and a small device flew through. It paused in the air, neither it nor the guard making a move. Royal squinted, unable to make out what it was. Yet it felt familiar, comforting. Finally, the floating intruder spoke.
"Oh, you are so dead."
Before the guard could act, the doors flew open again, and another Witch raced into the room. The guard attempted to bring his staff to bear, only for the Witch to easily dodge it and step inside the reach of his staff. The Witch delivered a savage haymaker to the guard, causing him to collapse, his helmet visibly dented. The Witch shook her hand slightly as the flying device flew over to the Warlock.
"Royal, are you alright?" After Royal failed to muster up any kind of response, the construct turned to the Witch. "Royal's really out of it, he's going to need immediate help. We need to get him out of these binds." The device turned back to him and projected a beam of light into his chest. The pain raking his body receded, though only slightly. The Witch managed to get the binds off, causing Royal to collapse to the ground limply. A third figure walked in.
"The area is clear, no more guards in…" her voice died as she caught sight of Royal. She began frantically shaking the Guardian, asking him questions that he couldn't hear as everything went dark.
"Royal! Royal! Wake up!" Luz rocked his body rapidly only for Eda to pull her off.
"Lancer, will he-"
"Make it?" The Ghost interrupted, "he should, but it'll take time. We need to get him back to the Owl House."
Eda nodded, "Leave that to me. And we're bringing that clown with us." She gestured to the unconscious staff-wielding guard.
Luz picked up the staff, shivering as she felt it pulsate in her hand, just like how the Radiolaria fluid had earlier. She looked back at Royal as Eda encased him in a barrier and lifted him off the ground.
"You better be alright."
It took them a few hours to make it back to the Owl House. Royal was lying on the couch as Lancer hovered close by. Eda and Luz both stood to the side as the Ghost shone the occasional beam of Light upon the Guardian. He groaned, rolling slightly.
"How is he doing?" Eda asked. Lancer looked up, spinning his shell slightly.
"He should be coming around any second now, just… please go easy on him."
Royal turned again, rolling over himself and falling straight off the couch. Luz crouched down beside him, poking his helmet slightly.
"Are you sure he's alright?"
"Ehhhhh, 70/30."
Royal groaned again, slowly pushing himself onto his knees. Luz wrapped his left arm around her shoulder, trying to help him to his feet. He was surprisingly light, considering that he was made of metal and covered in armor. Lancer dematerialized his helmet, allowing Royal to rub his temple. Eda placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You good rustbucket? Not gonna collapse on us are you?"
Royal nodded weakly. "I think I'm ok."
"Good."
Without warning, Eda slapped Royal across the face, causing the Warlock to stumble slightly.
"Hey come on, I just healed this idiot!" Lancer huffed indignantly as Eda shook her hand.
"No, no," Royal coughed out, "I probably deserved that."
"I'll say, what the hell were you thinking? If Lancer hadn't given me your tracker beacon, you would've been screwed."
"Why did you even come to help me?"
That caught Eda off guard. She glanced at Luz for a split second before drawing a deep breath.
"Look, I don't like you and you sure as hell don't like me. But that doesn't mean I'm just going to leave you at the mercy of the Emperors' Coven. I guess the kids rubbing off on me a bit." She suddenly gained a wild grin, "Besides, that's twice now that I've saved your ass, so you owe me big time now."
"Alright," Royal slumped down on the couch, "you're right." He looked up at the Witch, "Maybe, just maybe, I was wrong about you."
"I'll take it."
Luz sat down next to him. He looked down at the Human girl.
"You know, you don't have to do this alone. Let us help you."
Royal smiled slightly, "Alright, I promise I won't try and cut you out again. After all, us weirdos have to stick together."
The Vex were angry. Not some petty simulation of anger, this was proper fury. The type of fury that boiled away oceans and cooked stars. And all this rage was directed at Synegorus. It had been created for one purpose and it had failed spectacularly. Now it was expending valuable time and processing power on an unsanctioned operation.
It didn't care. It had no reason to. It was simply continuing its' directive. It had failed to destroy the Guardian in the past, but every encounter had been a learning experience. If one wished to destroy a Human, they would need to think like a Human. Synegorus hated the Guardian, true hatred, not some fallible simulation of the emotion. Yet it had also grown to respect the Lightbearer.
-]Severance complete[-
If the rest of the Vex Collective would not continue to offer their support, then Synegorus would simply do it on its' own. It severed itself from the Vex Collective, just as the Sol Divisive had done before. The Temporal Ascendancy was born.
"I am the inevitable." It spoke with an artificial voice into the digital void. It raised an intangible arm, flexing nonexistent claws. Every simulated motion required more power than a star would output in its entire lifetime. "I am the unmaking of the universe."
That wraps up this chapter, though I have another little extra bit tacked on here that's not super relevant to the story. I might start doing that to mix in some little story chunks that may or not actually be canon. The next chapter will be stepping back into the story of the show.
Also, I do have some bad news. College is starting up again in a few days, so I'll have less time to spend writing. As such, chapters may take longer to be released. Just figured I'd let you all know.
Nicogen: That would be interesting. I'd love to see someone else write a story with Belos as the speaker.
OMAC001: Logical and sadistic is exactly the vibe I was going for. I find the Vex to be the most interesting faction in terms of lore, but they, by design, lack characterization. That's something I'm trying to remedy a little with this.
musizlover2008: It was definitely irresponsible, but when it comes to Lightless civilians, Royal isn't exactly the sharpest knife in the Caesar. He also supports arming children. Gotta teach them young.
"And another thing. That was totally amazing. And I'm so joining you for next year's conjuring. Now get to work." Eda commanded. As the three kids scampered off, King spoke up.
"I can't believe they animated a whole house."
"Yeah. You're right," Eda said pensively, "That takes some powerful magic." The two pondered further until Eda spoke up again.
"Hang on, where's Lead Head?"
The Guardian made his presence known, slowly stepping down the stairs with a tired slouch. He walked past the two, stretching with an audible metallic crack, and promptly plopped down on the couch.
"Man that was one hell of a power nap," he said drowsily, "What did I miss?"
"Did you really sleep through a house getting animated?" King asked incredulously.
"Guess I did," Royal said as he lounged on the couch. A few seconds later, he shot straight up. "Wait I slept through what?"
