Chapter 10: Ferryman: Doc

Review Replies

edboy4926: Awesome chapter. Question, is there a possibility that Clovis made Rasputin from the mind of a cloned baby of Ana's (without her knowing), and that is why she subconsciously wants to protect him. I honestly hope that all Exos want to hunt down Clovis for what he did to them.

Dragon Emperor0: That sounds… Weird. Like, even more weird than adding reproductive systems to robots.

ThermalsniperN7: Rasputin being made from the mind of a cloned baby doesn't sound very likely, if I'm being honest.

Azure Sky Dance: This is kinda- no this is really hot. A very sexy Eliksni would be a dream come true. And Six is getting close with Tex and seeing her sexy nude body and sleeping with her on the same day? Something I would do.

ThermalsniperN7: Yeah, that's a thing a lot of people often dream of.

Dragon Emperor0: More than likely.

Azure Sky Dance: Knocking up a robot is hot.

ThermalsniperN7: It's also something Caboose would do.

Dragon Emperor0: Yeah.

-The Prowler, Slipspace-

"So, we're heading to Titan…" Noble mused as the Prowler flew through Slipspace.

"Yeah…" Tex nodded as she sat in her lover's lap, facing him. She then wrapped her upper arms around his neck and held the arm rests with her lower hands—before nudging his loose fitting helmet off his head and proceeded to pepper his face with kisses.

"We should expect unstable ocean rigs and constant rain." Epsilon told his Guardian, chuckling a bit at the shower of kisses the Titan was getting. "Unless we're indoors." He added.

"I'm well aware of the weather, Epsie, the Wolves used to hunker down in the Archaeology there before we had to bail for safer ground." The Eliksni woman told him, before resuming her favorite activity of kissing Noble.

"I wonder if any old House of Wolves caches got left behind…" The Memory Ghost mused idly.

"If there are, then it'll be a miracle they're still there." The woman stated as she nuzzled under her mate's chin, purring in delight.

"Mmmm, what's got you in such a cuddling mood all of a sudden?" Noble question, hugging her close around her waist.

"I finally feel like I've gotten the right mate for me. If Eramis has a problem with me bearing your children, I'll cut her arms off." Aphrodityss replied, clinging to Noble possessively.

That was another thing: Aphrodityss had finally shared why she had it out for Eramis in full—not only was she her mother, but she was the one who gave her to Skolas. Needless to say, Noble had absolutely no respect for the Shipstealer, and she'd be lucky if he and his Eliksni lover let her meet her grandchildren.

Actually…

"Wait…" Noble mused before looking down at his beloved bride, who laid her head on his chest and purred. "Bearing my children? Does… Does that mean…?" The Titan questioned as Aphrodityss looked up at him and smiled at him as she kissed him deeply, letting him slide his tongue past her mandibles and into her mouth.

"Yes… I'm with a clutch. You're going to be a father." The Eliksni MILF purred in reply as she pulled back. "This will show just how far our love can go… And show the City that such a thing is possible." She added, kissing him again.

Overjoyed, Noble hugged his beloved bride close to him, moaning as he embraced her just as passionately as he had the first time.

"I'm going to be a father, with you as my brood mother." The man gasped before hugging his Eliksni bride close like a cherished stuffed animal. "You have no idea how happy I am right now, my love. Absolutely no idea." He sighed, resting in the nape of her neck.

"I'm glad." Aphrodityss smiled as she nuzzled into her mate.

(Elsewhere)

On Titan…

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Doc screamed in panic as he ran from a swarm of Thrall. He hadn't found any weapons as he roamed the abandoned rigs, so he had to either fight or run from any Hive that saw him.

"Stop screaming you fool! They feed on fear! You're just making them more bold!" Omega snapped at the fleeing warlock.

"But they already look so scary!" The medic exclaimed as he ran from his assailants, who were now joined by some Acolytes and a Knight. "Oh come on!" He yelled comically as he turned and ran down a corridor with a series of doors, his Hive pursuers hot on his tail.

The man then ran into one of the doors, hoping to lose them.

The Hive followed and… Well, the whole thing turned into a Scooby Doo door routine.

Everyone was coming and going out of doors, and for some reason, they all started doing things that shouldn't be done on Titan. Things like carrying fruit baskets, T-Posing after each other, or flying around with jetpacks and so on.

The Knight even drove a pre-Golden Age motorcycle, for some reason.

If Doc had to guess what was causing this was some kind of paracausal cosmic joke–but even he wasn't so sure what was going on.

The scattered warlock kept running around the rig, before he came out onto the catwalk, and nearly slid off the edge due to how slippery everything was.

Turning around, he pulled out a side arm he got lucky to find in the chaos and got ready to shoot the Hive that were advancing on him–right until he noticed he was right on the edge.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing that I know how to swim." The man said before he turned around and pinched his nose–or rather, where it was on his helmet.

"Do you really think you'll survive a dip in those chaotic waters?!" Omega yelled at him.

"I don't have any other options, okay?!" Doc complained, before taking a deep breath. "GERONIMO!" He yelled as he hopped off the edge, much to the Hive's confusion… right before Noble's prowler rose up in front of it, with Doc laying flat on the nose of the ship.

Transmatting the man into his ship, Noble activated the guns and fired one round at the Hive that gave Doc grief and flew off world.

(Later)

"Omega, what was your Guardian thinking?" Epsilon sighed in exasperation as they traveled back to the City.

"I don't know! The fool just jumped! That's all!" Omega blurted.

"Oh man, I can't thank you enough, guys!" Doc sighed.

"Why weren't you shooting at the Hive?" Tex questioned.

"Oh, that's because I'm a devoted pacifist." He explained.

"... Are you fucking serious?" Noble asked with a blink after a beat passed. "We don't have room for that kind of thing in the Tower. Seriously, a lot of us are soldiers in one way or another." He added.

"I hear Warlocks are usually more of the scholarly types. Plus, I'm a doctor. And I'm sure that the City could use more of those." The man retorted.

"And on the off chance an enemy infiltrator gets into the City?" The Spartan challenged. "What are you gonna do if you get targeted?" He continued.

"Knowing him, he'll just run away." Omega remarked.

"Yep. There's no shame in running when you can't do anything." The medic nodded.

There was a beat of silence before Noble and Tex both facepalmed.

"I think this guy's better off staying in the City…" The Eliksni muttered in exasperation.

"Agreed." Noble nodded as they came out of Slipspace and started approaching the Tower.

(Elsewhere)

-The Last City, Earth-

A hammer struck loud on white hot metal as a stocky but short three fingered hand was forcing a piece of metal into the shape of some kind of armor. Sparks flying past a four goggled face as a rather short but stoutly built blue carapaced Eliksni was manning a weapon's forge.

It was Brokk, the forgemaster, doing what he did best: living up to his title.

The humans of the forge were, naturally, pretty skeptical about letting him work in the forge due to concerns of tampering and the like. When they saw him at work, they didn't understand his methods, but their inner forgers desired to learn and understand them. So it was, they asked him to explain his approach to forging to them.

And explain Brokk did.

Now the Eliksni was one of the best forgers they had. There were some distrustful people, like always, but they acknowledged that Brokk was dedicated to his craft and let him be.

Now, as he was hammering away at his work, he saw a Titan watching him from across the way, his silver and gold armor emblazoned with Oak Tree Patterns and wolves, as was the double bitted axe he had on him.

"Ya know, I could easily make some improvements to that axe o' yers, son o' a bitch." The Eliksni noted, not taking his eyes off his work–well, his front eyes, anyway. "All ya gotta do is ask." He added, striking the metal again, sending sparks flying–before quenching it.

"I admit, your talents in the art of forging are impressive." The Titan admitted, glancing at the other weapons that the Eliksni had produced. "But your tone will not aid you in convincing me to spare your life." He added.

"You Lightbearers always this cheery?" Brokk questioned as he moved on to working on forging what looked to be a sword. "Not all we Eliksni got bones to pick with humanity, 's a matter o' fact, we actually like ya just fine. It's you lot that can't look past the past." He added, hammering away at the blade.

"Your kind terrorized mine during the Dark Age. I should know, since I've been fighting before the Last City was even a thought to be dreamt of." The man told the Forgemaster. "I believe you know who I am." He stated more than asked.

"No, can't say I do." Brokk stated, still hammering on the blade as he put it in for another heat. "I forge weapons, I don't use 'em. Got no need to." He added.

"Hmph." The Titan scoffed. "I am Saladin, the last Iron Lord." He told the Eliksni forge worker.

"Mhm." The blacksmith grunted. "We Eliksni know that feeling pretty well, ya know." He added, taking out the red hot blade before he started hammering. "Past is past, Saladin. Same as present and future." He continued. "Ya can't change the first one, but ya sure can try to change the others." He hummed, quenching the blade and pulling it out–still steaming. "We all've done stuff we ain't proud of, me included. We can't change that. But we can try to be better." He mused as he set the blade aside. "What we both did back then doesn't matter. What does, is what we do now. And what we're gonna do tomorrow." He concluded.

"... Perhaps you're right." Saladin mused, an unseen expression of thoughtfulness under his helmet. "About those modifications to my axe…" He trailed off, causing Brokk to look at him.

"Whaddya need done?" The Eliksni Forgemaster asked, catching the rest of the Iron Lord's words.

(Elsewhere)

Meanwhile, Eros was currently off duty and had been contacted by Amelia again.

"You know, usually when a woman calls me to meet them alone, it typically isn't for business…" He mused as he sat down in the parlor of a bar the Warlocks frequented called the Spinfoil Cauldron, which was part coffee house, part bar, part tavern, part restaurant and part library.

"Well, I do want to be up to date on what happens with you and your friends." The Exo woman shrugged. "Has anything of note come up?" She asked, taking a swig of her whiskey.

"Nothing ser–" Eros started to reply before a chime came from his datapad, prompting him to pull it out and see that he had two new pieces of information.

One was that Brokk got a visit from Lord Saladin.

The other one… His sister is pregnant?!

"Wait, huh?!" The Eliksni Adonis gasped in shock as he read the second news bit.

"What?" Amelia questioned.

"It… Would seem that Randal's mate isn't the only woman slotted to birth human and Eliksni offspring." Eros mused as he put the datapad away. "My sister has just informed me that she is with clutch, meaning she'll lay a clutch of eggs in a few months." He explained.

"Oh…" The Praxic Exo blinked in shock. "You know, there's a large amount of debate in the Praxic Order related to these hybrids." She admitted.

"Do I want to know what it's about?" Eros asked warily. He did read a bit about the Praxic Order, and they were somewhat dogmatic in the way they did their jobs.

"I believe it would be worth mentioning to your Baron and Sister, if only for their safety and the safety of their offspring than anything else." She told him. "They're trying to… Decide if it's better to spare them or kill them." She admitted with a great amount of reluctance.

"And which side are you on?" The Eliksni male questioned neutrally.

"The one that wants them alive." Amelia replied immediately. "Reservations of our history aside, it's clear that not all Fall–sorry–Eliksni are the monsters that we'd battled in the past, just desperate wanderers and refugees who have resorted to drastic measures in desperate times. Not unlike how we Guardians used to be ruthless warlords." She added.

"Nice to see that some of you are seeing that." Eros nodded in satisfaction.

(Elsewhere)

Meanwhile with Sparriks, he was busy doing his own part in the City. What was he doing?

Getting Pikes manufactured and made available for the City's militia. The idea behind this was to provide a rapid response in the event of an enemy breach.

Pikes were just as fast as the average sparrow and the addition of turrets made it a good combat vehicle as well.

As he continued to go over things, one Amanda Holliday walked up to him.

"That the last of them?" She asked.

"Unless someone decides to ask for more, then yeah. They should be." Sparriks replied with a nod as he finished up his work. "This should make things easier for the City's militia." He added.

"Gonna take some getting used to, Pikes are bigger than sparrows, after all." The blonde noted.

"And bulkier, but they'll get the job done." The Eliksni mechanic shrugged. "Trust me, I'd know." He remarked. "No offense." He amended after realizing some of the people around him might have been chased or shot at by a Pike.

"Hey, long as ya point those turrets at the enemy and not me, we're square." Amanda chuckled. "Oh yeah, almost forgot, a Titaness was looking for you earlier." She noted. "This one looked like she was Egyptian, decked out in full Trials armor and was carrying some kind of a curved sword, you know her?" She asked.

"Yes, her name is Aya." The Pirate nodded. "We're… Old friends." He explained, scratching his patched eye–a nervous habit of his.

"What, did something happen?" Amanda asked, hoping she wasn't prying too much.

"She unknowingly played a role in my incarceration for Piracy. And since then we haven't spoken." The Eliksni told her. "It was entirely a matter of circumstance and by no means her fault–but I being young and stupid–still held a grudge." He sighed.

"Did you ever get over that?" The blonde asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah… But I'm still not sure how to talk to her after all this time." Sparriks replied, resting his face in his upper arms.

"Well, didn't you mention something about going to scout out more spots for Cayde and the Hunters to plunder?" The shipwright questioned.

"I did, but this is far from the time to go out scouting. I'm exhausted." The Eliksni mechanic groaned, rubbing his sore hands. All four of them.

"What I'm sayin' Sparry, is that ya invite yer friend along with ya!" Amanda told him.

"Wait, huh?" Sparriks gasped in surprise. "Um, are you sure that's a good idea?" He asked nervously.

"If ya don't do it then, ya won't do it anytime soon. Now go get her already!" The blonde shipwright exclaimed, pushing the Pike Stealer along.

"Wha–! Hey! Knock it off!" He protested, much to the amusement of the rest of the people in the hangar.

(Elsewhere)

With Heilox, he had a job that he knew he'd excel in. This job?

Cyber security.

Aside from Warlocks and infrastructure workers, there weren't a lot of people defending the City's networks from cyber attacks, surprisingly. Heilox, upon hearing about this, stepped up to do his part in resolving it. So far, he was doing rather well.

The firewalls defending their networks had never been stronger, and there had been some hidden enemy spyware that had gone unnoticed for a long time that got weeded out because of him.

Having a Sacred Splicer really made a difference in everything.

"I must say, Heilox, your skills are quite remarkable." Ikora mused as she watched the Eliksni work.

"I may have skill, yes, but there is one splicer who is just as good, if not better than me." The former House Kings Splicer stated humbly as he weaved the code of the Tower's mainframe like a finely woven egg molt tapestry.

"Truly? Who might that be?" The Warlock Vanguard wondered.

"His name is Misraaks, The Forsaken. Last Splicer of House Wolves. He left the house not long after the Reef Wars. No one has seen or heard from him since." Heilox replied. "We are half cousins, so I feel a sense of responsibility towards him." He added, snipping off a wire with his needle-like mandible teeth and proceeded to rewire a router.

"Do you have any clue as to where he could have vanished? Or has his trail long since gone cold?" The woman questioned.

"Hmmm, I've heard whispers that he'd been tooling around the Tangled Shore with Rakis, the Spider. But other than that, nothing." The splicer mused as he shut the router closed. "It is done." He nodded, dusting his four hands off.

"So I see." Ikora hummed as she did a network check, and was pleased with the new security status. "Well done, but I'd expect nothing less." She nodded.

"Your words humble me, Ikora, Warlock Vanguard." The Eliksni said, bowing.

"Please, no need for honorifics. Just Ikora will do." The woman told her new companion.

"Very well, Ikora." Heilox nodded.

"Now, I think you've earned yourself a break." The Warlock stated as she handed him a card and a deposit of glimmer. "This should allow you entrance to the Spinmetal Cauldron. Ask for Talia, she'll set you up with a meal and a warm drink." She instructed, patting his shoulder–which was slightly awkward due to the height difference. "You've earned it." She added.

"Thank you." The Splicer nodded before he left.

(Later)

Meanwhile, while Doc was meeting Sheila to get the same simulation treatment the others had gotten, Alpha had the Ghosts all gather around for a current role call.

"Alright let's see…" He hummed. "Theta?" He called.

"Here!" The Ghost of Trust replied.

"Gamma?" The Ghost of Self continued.

"Present." The Ghost of Deceit responded.

"Omega?" Alpha continued.

"Bite me now, and eternally!" The Ghost of Rage snapped in reply.

"Iota? Eta? You two together?" Alpha questioned.

"Here!" The twins called.

"Kappa? You Okay Lott guy?" Alpha asked, noticing that his little brother was crying as Theta nuzzled him.

"*Sniff* Yeah. Just glad to finally be together." He nodded.

"Sigma?" The Monitor Ghost asked.

"I'm here." The ambitious Ghost replied.

"Delta, sound of: 1. 2." Alpha prompted.

"3. 4. And accounted for." The logic ghost nodded.

"Epsilon?" The Ghost of Self called.

"Right here, big bro." The Memory Ghost replied.

"And finally… Xi. You here?" Church asked.

"Right here." The Ghost of Love nodded.

"Huh. That means we're short two. Beta and Zeta." The leader of the group of siblings mused.

"Knowing Noble, that's not gonna be an issue for much longer." Epsilon stated. "And all of you know it." He added knowingly.

"Alright, alright, don't be a smart ass…" His brother sighed.

Meanwhile, with the Guardians…

"Heeeey! The Reds and Blues are back together again! What're the odds?" Andy laughed.

"Hold up, Kai, you're pregnant?! Since when?!" Griff questioned in pure shock, completely ignoring Andy.

"Since I got railed by Randal. Who knew that an Eliksni would make a spectacular bed partner?" She sighed dreamily in reply.

"... I'm gonna kill him." Griff deadpanned.

"Sarge, go fuck yourself." Simmons snapped at his leader.

"What the–?! Did I give you permission to talk like that to me, Simmons?!" Sarge snapped.

"No, but I'm saying it anyway since you're the reason I became an Exo in the first place." The smart guy replied with a huff. "Seriously, you used outdated implants that were slowly killing me, you asshole!" He exclaimed angrily.

"Well excuse me, but I think you forgot that we were working with what we had, I didn't exactly plan on any of that." Sarge pointed out, causing Simmons to freeze.

He'd completely forgotten about that detail.

"Crap… Right." He hissed. "Sorry sir. That slipped my mind." He apologized.

"All's forgiven, Simmons. Can't exactly blame ya for being angry. Hell, if it were me, I'd do the exact same thing!" The Titan replied, taking the apology in stride.

"I got Sheila pregnant." Caboose told the group, causing them to look at him… Well, except Tucker and Sarge since they knew already.

"Wait, WHAT?!" Griff questioned in shock. "But she's a Vex, how—wait." He said before looking at the Rogue Mind again. "No, I can see that happening." He nodded.

"So your girlfriend… Is a Tank?" Washington noted. "Who's turned into a Vex." He continued, looking at Sheila. "That you got pregnant." He added… Before he started doing the math meme in his head. "I… Can't even process how absurd that is." He sighed.

"Wash, Emily uploaded me into an Exo frame with an artificial reproductive system." Simmons deadpanned. "After she got inspiration from getting gang banged by some of Sheila's Minotaurs, who also can artificially reproduce." He added.

"And just like that, I retract my previous statement." The former Freelancer amended.

"At least I'm not the only one here with a pet." Tucker shrugged as he pet Caesar.

"Pet? I don't see a pet." Caboose said, looking around.

"Yeah, me neither." Doc nodded.

"Uh, he's talking about this little guy." Washington stated as he held up Loki.

"Awww! He's so cute!" Kai and Alison exclaimed.

[Espera, ¿dónde está la dona?] Lopez asked.

"… Say, yeah, where is Donut?" Griff questioned.

"And Carolina, if she's been rezzed like the rest of us she should've checked in." Washington nodded.

"Carolina." Alison tested in her mouth like she'd tasted something bitter. "You mean Claire, my daughter?" She questioned.

That's right, this Alison was the same Alison the original Agent Texas was based on.

"Uh… Yeah. Her." The cat loving Titan gulped, hoping he wasn't about to experience a mother's rage.

"I guess Noble hasn't gotten to her yet." Griff shrugged idly.

"Well I for one can't wait to see the gang back together for real this time." Andy chimed in.

"Oh! Me too! I can't wait to see Agent Carolina again!" Emily beamed.

"As do I." Sheila nodded.

ThermalsniperN7: It's almost over. After this arc, the gang is gonna be back together. For real.

Dragon Emperor0: Then we intend to have either Noble or Chief go after the Gate Lord, or both. Then after that, they, the Reds and the Blues will go into the heart of the Black Garden, set up, and wreck shop.

ThermalsniperN7: Indeed. Also, we hit a bit of a snag while writing this chapter; Namely the fact that Doc is a pacifist. Making content became abruptly difficult with that in mind… But we still got to involve him in a Scooby Doo door routine, at least, so there's that.

Dragon Emperor0: Yeah, that was definitely a highlight of my day. That aside though, seems our Eliksni buddies are doing pretty well for themselves, wouldn't you say, bud?

ThermalsniperN7: Yeah, I'd say that things are going well for them… We might wanna keep an eye on the Praxic Order, though. If that dogma of theirs is bad enough, they might push for some morally deplorable things for the future human-Eliksni hybrids.

Dragon Emperor0: The Eliksni hatchlings must be protected, at all costs! That aside, I am curious how all this will affect season of the Splicer and so on. What with Randal and Misraaks both being Kells of human allied houses and them being Sacred Splicers themselves. And fathers, lest we forget.

ThermalsniperN7: It's still too early to think that far ahead. Anyway, see you guys next time.