Starting up his stream on the AI Stream Drone that Herta created for him, which he will now name it the "Herta Drone," Caelus oohs and ahhs at the sudden holographic screens that appear in front of him, showing his stream, chat, and the camera.
The Herta Drone even already titled his stream for him. "The New Trailblazer: Caelus (Ft. Herta)"
As the viewers began to pour in, Herta brags about her creation, "This drone is capable of working for up to 10 Amber Eras before it has to recharge itself, you know? It's all voice activated, but the next time you return here, I can easily put a chip into your brain that can control it with your thoughts. I doubt you will need it though, since it's an AI made by me that could basically predict all of your orders before you say it anyway."
Smiling, Caelus praised her, "That's really interesting! How are you able to code that in the first place?"
"It's basically magic."
"I understand."
She didn't look like she believed him.
Either way, as they walked their way to the Astral Express, the first chatters came in as their view count went to 100.
[Caelus's Chat]
Caelus Agenda Pusher: GOAT!
Miz Ficti: Okay, but March is streaming right now. How are we going to split our views?
Seeing the question appear in chat, Caelus replied, "Oh, about March… Well, we're obviously going to be the more popular stream, because Herta is here. I should ask her what she feels about it later anyway…"
Herta scoffed, "Poor girl. She spent half a year building up a loyal fanbase, only for you to ride off both of our successes."
"My success is your success, and your successes are your success."
She opened her mouth, and then closed it, being forced to admit, "Yeah, that sounds about right."
[Caelus's Chat]
March 7th: What?
Totally the Finality: Who snitched on us?
Wolfy (MOD): I did.
August 30th: Wait, what side am I on now? Do I follow my boss or do I fall down with my ship?
Awkwardly smiling, Caelus tells his chat, "Well, we're on our way to Himeko right now. We can talk about this later."
Approaching the Astral Express, Caelus finds March and Dan Heng waiting on the path to the train.
His expression drops as March furiously marches over to him, angrily(?) flaming him, "I was okay with you streaming the Simulated Universe because that was really exciting to watch. But now you want to take my niche too? This is a betrayal, you hear me?! A betrayal!"
A truly brutal indictment. One that would have started the greatest streaming wars the universe has ever seen… Until Dan Heng ruined it, of course.
"She's been talking to her chat about wanting to beat you and that it would be good for content," Dan Heng chipped in from the side, immediately deflating her angry persona.
With a dismayed look, March asked him, "Did you have to blow my cover so quickly?"
[March's Chat]
Rzack: RIP content.
Zoomies: I WILL STAN MARCH TO THE END
THE SLANDER AGENDA!: Dan Heng, you fraud!
Floating next to March was a shiny, triangular drone similar to the Home-Object Finder. It was already on, holographic screens in March's face, and obviously streaming the whole conversation to her chat.
From what Caelus could see, it looked uglier than the Herta Drone, which is a given since the Herta Drone utilizes Herta's perfect color scheme.
Smiling, Caelus played around with March, "Trust me, March. It was absolutely necessary that Dan Heng had to cut off that plotline so soon. Double the perspectives, double the money."
"Do you think I'm in this for the money?" March looked somewhat offended as she asked the question.
"Double the money means double the money I can give to Herta."
She was unimpressed, "Even I can tell that's an excuse to hide your love of the game."
It was true. Caelus was a streamer at heart, he would do it for free if Herta didn't want the money.
With a hum, Herta gave Caelus a sign of approval, "I could use the extra funding…"
[Caelus's Chat]
Cthu Donated 5,000 Credits!
Cthu: TAKE MY MONEY MADAM HERTA!
Entrophy: I would donate if it didn't mean the money I get from Herta is going directly back to her…
Fan625: How much money does she need though?
Cogs: Knowing my own costs, a lot.
Noticing the sum of money coming in, Herta disappointedly told them, "Yeah, if you actually want to help me, add a few zeroes onto those donations."
Predictably, nobody could shill out that kind of money.
Which is when March asked her, "Oh, by the way, you're coming with us, Miss Herta?"
"Just the puppet," Herta said, showing off her body, "Don't consider me an actual Nameless. I'm only coming because Caelus basically begged me to."
[Caelus's Chat]
Miz Ficti: Ah, it's always nice to have Husband and Wife combos on the ISW.
Responder: Yoooooo!
Qingque: I love this relationship.
Reading the chat, Herta blankly responded, "I have to remind everyone again, we're not married, he's just stupid."
Somehow, Caelus was selectively deaf as he replied, "Love you too."
Herta is also selectively deaf as she elaborated on her previous statement, "Don't trust a word out of his mouth."
[March's Chat]
Red-Haired: Precious dynamic. Where can I see more of it?
Yugo: In Caelus's stream probably lmao.
AlienAlienSpaceAlien: I can't look at 2 streams at the same time…
Being able to see March's chat, Caelus commented, "That Streaming Drone is really convenient, right?"
Looking at her chat, March agreed, "Yeah, it is nice that other people can talk to my chat. It kind of takes a load off of me, you know?"
[Caelus's Chat]
Hoppy: Hey! March's Chat! You suck!
Chrome: Oh yeah, our insults will reach them now lol.
Caelus Agenda Pusher: Yep. Let's insult them whenever we can see their chat.
[March's Chat]
Typhus: Hey! Caelus's Chat!' You suck!
Zoomies: Is this really what we're doing? Lol.
Rzack: It's childish. But it is kinda funny.
THE SLANDER AGENDA!: Everyone in their chat is a BUM.
Broken Legs: Aren't you also in both chats?
With that, they finally found Himeko leaning on the Astral Express, patiently waiting for them.
Looking at Caelus, Himeko had a knowing expression on her face as she asked, "So, have you thought things through?"
Caelus nodded, making his choice abundantly clear, "I want to join the Express."
Smiling, Himeko accepted him, "That's great! I assume Herta is joining us as well as a guest, then?"
"Basically," Herta said, which was enough for her.
Then Himeko turned around, "Then come with us, let's get you on board, shall we?"
As they got on board and got settled in, Caelus briefly sees a small crowd forming to bid farewell to the Astral Express.
Asta and Arlan were in that crowd. Some of his viewers were probably in that crowd.
He probably should talk to them the next time he's here.
Caelus sheepishly waved towards the crowd as the Astral Express began to depart, apologizing to his chat, "I probably should've stuck around a little longer to talk to them…"
[Caelus's Chat]
Starry_Night: It's fine! You can just say hi the next time you're around.
0bama: Yeah, you're good. We're just watching the stream anyways.
August 30th: We're still going to slander you over this, though. Can't believe you have no love for us smh smh.
Caelus Agenda Pusher: Finally, a new Trailblazer! I've been waiting for this day!
As the Astral Express cruises through space, Caelus turns around and finds… Some weird fluffy pet person.
"Hey, Caelus! Yes, Pom-Pom's talking to you!" The mysterious enigma known as Pom-Pom called out to him.
Putting his hands on his hips, Pom-Pom continued once he had his attention, "Now, the rest of you already know me from March's stream, but I'm Pom-Pom, the conductor of the Astral Express! I know everyone is telling you how special you are, but remember that everyone on the Astral Express is special! You better abide by the rules, got that?"
[Caelus's Chat]
Caelus Agenda Pusher: Yessir Pom-Pom
Guilherme: Glory to the Astral Express.
Saluting, Caelus made it clear he knew, "Okay. Following the rules, got it."
Then, Pom-Pom turned to Herta, "And Herta, I know you're just a guest, but you still have to abide by the rules-"
"I am on autopilot. If you have any concerns or issues, please take it to Caelus," Herta said.
Pom-Pom's eyes widened at the casual disrespect, "Wha-?!"
[Caelus's Chat]
Entrophy: WOW
Cthu: She really just dipped out like that huh lol
Miz Ficti: BASED
Doppelganger: Don't be rude to Pom-Pom like that ;(
Sighing, Pom-Pom turned to Caelus, "Well, if you get the chance to talk to her again, tell her to follow the rules, okay?"
Giving the conductor a thumbs up, he confirmed, "Will do."
With that, Pom-Pom walked away, leaving Caelus standing around.
Well, it's time to explore the Astral Express, he supposed.
In the interests of allowing Caelus to acclimate himself to the Astral Express, the next warp jump was going to be delayed for a while.
So, Caelus acclimated himself to the Astral Express.
Which was how he ended up in the ventilation duct being stared at by absolutely everyone.
[Caelus's Chat]
Caelus Agenda Pusher: So THIS is what he does when he lets his guard down, huh? That's GOAT behavior.
Herta's #1 Fan: The amazing way any respect I held for him disappeared.
Terastol: At least this is funny.
March, Dan Heng, Himeko, Welt, and Pom-Pom all stared at him with blank expressions as he exited the ventilation ducts.
Then, they were all flabbergasted when Herta also ended up coming out of the ventilation ducts.
Immediately, Caelus tried to explain, "You told me to, uh, get comfortable. So I did."
Herta's explanation was, "I am on autopilot. If you have any concerns or issues, please take it to Caelus."
"I was watching the stream," Welt revealed as he stared directly at Herta, "Your own words were, 'I don't really care, this puppet will just follow you everywhere unless I don't want it to.'"
Herta sighed, dropping the act of being on autopilot, "Busted. Well, look, I was just trying to be considerate and making sure he didn't get stuck, alright?"
"You had a smile on your face."
[Caelus's Chat]
Fan625: I KNOW she finds this a little funny.
Cthu: She should've just kept pretending!
Silencio: Caelus, defend your wife!
Crossing his arms, Caelus defended the dignity of Madam Herta, "All of her puppets naturally have smiles on them because a smile increases the beauty of someone, and Herta is the most beautiful person in the universe."
Welt opened his mouth.
Then, he closed it.
That was basically an admittance of defeat, so Herta decided to clock out by saying, "I am on autopilot. If you have any concerns or issues, please take it to Caelus."
March's mouth dropped at the audacity, "Wha- She can't keep getting away with this!"
[March's Chat]
Yugo: The strongest excuse in the Genius Society
Red-Haired: Honestly, I would KILL to be able to fall back to autopilot like that instead of having to talk to anyone lmao.
[Caelus's Chat]
Responder: I should try that excuse.
Cthu: We STAN a genius!
Sinatra: Another precious memory.
Pom-Pom annoyedly tapped his foot, "Caelus, don't encourage her like that! It's rude! And you! Don't do that again!"
Then, he calmed down, lightly tapping his foot to center himself, "Alright, alright. Today's a happy day, so Pom-Pom won't spoil it with lectures. Now that you're here, I have an announcement to make!"
Pom-Pom smiled as brightly as he could, asking the question, "Caelus, will you join the Astral Express Crew as a Nameless?"
Caelus looked at him oddly, "Didn't I already say yes to this?"
[Caelus's Chat]
0bama: Yeah, wasn't he like, already a part of it once he got on board?
Chrome: What even are the conditions for being a Nameless?
Miz Ficti: Maybe they have to clear a hidden trial!
March proudly lords over Caelus with a smirk, "Heheh, it's not that easy! You can't call yourself a Nameless until you've cleared the 18 Sentinels: Mr. Yang Trial!"
[March's Chat]
Hakon: March, are you sure that's what we should be basing the condition on?
Wolfy (MOD): Oh boy, that sure was a week of our lives, watching March fail over and over again…
Foxian Wonder: Wait, so March isn't a Nameless yet either?
Welt chuckled as he read March's chat, "Your chat is right, you know. You still haven't cleared it yet either. I can set it up tomorrow afternoon if you want to test your luck again."
Knowing she was not ready for that, she immediately backtracked, "Oh! Um, I was just joking! Please don't!"
[Caelus's Chat]
Responder: COWARD
Meme Man: Caelus will conquer this trial! Get it set up!
AlienAlienSpaceAlien: Nah, we'd win.
Clearing his throat, Dan Heng got the conversation back on track, "You don't have to answer right away, Caelus-"
"I'm a Nameless."
"Well that's that, then," Dan Heng immediately accepted it without fuss.
Frowning, Himeko pointed out, "Oh, but didn't we all plan out a wonderful little speech for all of us to make sure he knew why we trailblaze? It'd be a waste to throw it out now."
Still reeling from Herta's response, Welt decided to just sit down, "I do agree it would be a waste… But doesn't he have amnesia? Half of the things we were planning to say wouldn't have as much impact.."
Pouting and putting her hands on her hips, March decided, "Well, I want to say the words! Dan Heng, go now!"
Sighing, Dan Heng went along with March's request.
"Becoming a Nameless signifies leaving the past behind to blaze a trail into the future."
"Exploring the far corners of the universe will seem more exciting than just looking out for yourself."
"You'll step out of your comfort zone to set forth on adventures into uncharted territories."
"Your home will no longer be the places you know and love, but the distant stars."
"Above all else… Becoming a Nameless means the responsibilities you'll bear far outweigh the rewards you'll reap."
As their short speech came to a close, Pom-Pom gave Caelus one last way out, "Now that you know all of this, Caelus, do you still wish to become a Nameless?"
"Yep," He answered without any hesitation. He had made up his mind when Herta told him to become one of the Nameless.
[Caelus's Chat]
Entrophy: That was quick…
Meme Man: At least the speech was pretty cool.
Ignoring the way Caelus had answered so quickly as though he didn't even bother to reconsider his answer, March lightly clapped and cheered, "Yay! We're gonna become the bestest Trailblaze buddies!"
Pom-Pom also ignored the swiftness of his answer, "Alright! Now that you've made your decision, let's gather around and formally welcome the Astral Express Crew's newest member with an oath!"
[March's Chat]
Zoomies: Oh! The oath!
Wolfy (MOD): We didn't get to hear this because March started streaming after that oath. Wonder how it sounds.
Shalt: I always knew that pathstriding was just a gateway into a cult…
Typhus: Personally, this is true. That Abundance path be smoking.
Not seeing anything wrong with it, Caelus accepted the request, "Okay, I can take an oath."
Smiling, Pom-Pom announced, "Alright, let's recite the Trailblazer Creed! Caelus, please repeat after Pom-Pom…"
"One, no matter the ebb and flow of fate, stop staying within the lines. Two, even in the face of tempestuous seas, we always align. Three, even if we don't gain the upper hand, we'll fight for right. Four, even if forgotten by the world, never care a rap for hindsight. Five, no matter how bleak the cosmos may get, let us light the night. Six, even when there are wheels within wheels, go ahead!"
"May this journey lead us starward."
Looking around the dusty room that was now theirs, Caelus asked Herta, "So, how big do you want our bed to be?"
"This doll can stand up forever," Herta immediately shot down the idea of sleeping together, "I'll pick a corner to stand in."
[Caelus's Chat]
Qingque: BOOOOO
Silencio: GET IN BED WITH HIM COWARD
Not a Food: Okay, but what's the bed going to look like?
Scratching his head at the question proposed in chat, Caelus looked towards his trusty conductor, "Pom-Pom, how much money do we get for our bed?"
Pom-Pom gave him a shrug, "That's to be decided at the end of the week when we hand out everyone's part of the budget!"
Giving him a sigh, March chipped in, "It's never enough…"
Looking offended, Pom-Pom struck back, "That's because you keep overspending the amount of your budget! Do you really need 20 pillows?"
"Absolutely! Caelus, let's have a pillow fight later!" March confidently nodded, elbowing the newbie to get him to agree.
"Sure. Herta, wanna-"
"No."
[Caelus's Chat]
Totally the Finality: Sisyphean task of trying to get Herta to like you.
Miz Ficti: One step forward with getting into the vents with him. Two steps back with her denying the pillow fight.
Wolfy (MOD): Madam Herta won't you please listen to Caelus.
[March's Chat]
THE SLANDER AGENDA!: We should get 83 pillows for our little genius.
Hoppy: Gosh I wish I had siblings or friends to pillow fight with.
Chorus: Pillow fight stream when?
Undeterred, Caelus told March, "Maybe some other time. Anyway, how do we decide how much budget each of us will get? Will Herta get funds too?"
Clearing his throat, Pom-Pom began to explain, "Firstly, the conductor is in charge of all resource allocation within the Express. If you need any renovation work done, look for Pom-Pom! Secondly, since you're now officially a member of the Astral Express, you must be responsible for your share of duties aboard. Only then can you exchange the corresponding amount of Express Funds for supplies from Pom-Pom. Since Herta is not part of the Astral Express Crew, she cannot gain any funds from us."
Chipping in, March suggested, "Unless you want to sleep in a cardboard box, get your bedroom sorted out first."
Then, a light bulb went off over her head, "Wait a second… Pom-Pom gives Caelus the funds… Then Caelus uses those funds to pay Pom-Pom to buy the things he wants… What's the point of that? Just get Pom-Pom to buy the things directly!"
Looking at the nervous Pom-Pom in a new light, Caelus narrowed his eyes and accused him, "Is this all a part of the plot of Big Pom-Pom? Stealing our hard earned work for no pay?"
[March's Chat]
Responder: BIG BRAIN MARCH
Typhus: IT'S TIME FOR REVOLUTION
[Caelus's Chat]
Qingque: Isn't that illegal? Herta, go get him!
0bama: What's Big Pom-Pom
Taxation: It's all an elaborate plot to sell more Pom-Poms, obviously! Where's the Pom-Pom factory inside of the Express?!
Reading chat and feeling vindicated, March crossed her arms, "See? Chat agrees with me!"
Joining in, Caelus raised his arms and shouted, "Down with big Pom-Pom!"
"This is called procedural justice!"
"You just made that up."
"No, I didn't! Um… Herta! You're a genius, help me!"
Herta had the audacity to look at the conductor and say straight to his face, "I am on autopilot. If you have any concerns or issues, please take it to Caelus."
[Caelus's Chat]
Doppelganger: POM-POM NOOOO
August 30th: JUSTICE FOR POM-POM!
AlienAlienSpaceAlien: Why does Herta have beef with Pom-Pom?
Sighing, Pom-Pom started to walk out of the room in defeat, "Oh well… Call me if you need anything!"
Watching him leave, Caelus ponders on what to do next.
Perhaps, normally, he would have made do for today and left all of the work for tomorrow. Which would then lead onto him forgetting to do anything and continue to sleep in a cardboard box for two years.
However…
Turning toward Herta, he asked her, "So, how big do you want our bed to be?"
"Look at my previous answer," Herta immediately responded, not even pretending to have been away, "And I'm not going to be helping you with most chores since it's beyond the capabilities of autopilot and it's beneath me to help with chores. This doll probably cost more money than you can imagine."
Tilting his head curiously, Caelus asked, "So, how much money is that?"
Herta opened her mouth.
Then, she closed it.
Waiting for 2 seconds, she got back with a reply, "It's beneath the responsibilities of a Genius to know such a menial thing like costs. If you really want to know… Go ask Asta the next time you see her."
[Caelus's Chat]
Herta's #1 Fan: Madam Herta, this isn't a good look for you…
Cthu: I wish I had that much money.
Chrome: I wish I had that much money.
Guilherme: Asta's account was Starry_Night, right? Where is she?
Starry_Night: I don't know either. Please stop DMing me.
Nodding along, Caelus agreed, "Alright, I'll ask Asta later. Now…" Turning over to March, he looked extremely confident as he asked, "Lead me to my battlefield."
"What?" March looked at him as though he was stupid.
"Lead me to my battlefield."
"...Right." March walked towards the exit with a thoughtful expression and a finger on her chin, "Surely, we can find a room for you to clean…"
And that was how his first day as a Nameless began.
While the main carts of the Astral Express are regularly cleaned, the often less used carts end up accumulating dust over the months that people are just passing through it.
So, Caelus's first chore was to begin cleaning up the dust from the corners of the unused carts.
Wielding a dust holder in his right hand and a broom on the left, Caelus begins to sweep up anything that even remotely assaulted the aesthetic of the carriage.
[Caelus's Chat]
Fan625: Ah yes, our favorite trailblazing activity. Cleaning.
Ovalion: Don't underestimate the power of good cleanliness!
Caelus Agenda Pusher: Hey GOAT you missed a spot.
Realizing his agenda pusher was correct and he had missed a spot, he immediately annihilated the area with maximum efficiency.
"So, how's your day, chat?" Caelus decided to ask while he moved to the next location that needed cleaning.
[Caelus's Chat]
August 30th: Could be better.
Meme Man: Being able to see Aha was a delight. Made my day a lot better. When can we go back to the Simulated Universe?
Typhus: Yo I made myself an awesome lunch.
Herta Fan #1: I ended up punching a wall earlier.
August 30th: My day is now better.
Noticing a good question in chat, Caelus answered it like the good streamer he was, "When are we going back to the Simulated Universe? Probably when we finish our first Trailblaze expedition. Then we can head on back to Herta's Space Station to test it out again."
[Caelus's Chat]
Meme Man: Nice.
Terastol: Screwllum and Ruan Mei were also working on the Simulated Universe, right? Wonder if we'll see them around.
Cthu: Can we see the other Genius Society members? Plz.
As he found his next destination, he got on his knees and began to broom while answering, "No clue about the other Geniuses. But I do know that Herta is the smartest of them all."
[Caelus's Chat]
Caelus Agenda Pusher: Typical HERta glaze.
Chrome: All hail Madam Herta!
Sinatra: When can we see her true self?
"Her real self is in my heart."
[Caelus's Chat]
Qingque: SIMP
Broken Legs: SIMP
Miz Ficti: TIER-3 SUB SIMP
Silencio: I wish I could get a girl that glazes me like Caelus glazes Herta.
August 30th: You are so real for that.
As Caelus got up, seemingly accepting his chat's view of him, he hears Welt speaking with March.
Curious, he goes to check it out.
There, he found Welt and March standing in front of Herta, who seems to be blankly staring straight ahead.
"What are you guys doing?" Caelus asked, walking up to them.
March pouted as she complained at Caelus, "Hey! Why did you leave Herta here?"
"Cleaning is beneath her stature," Was the quick reply.
He really didn't want any unneeded dust on her beautiful form.
Welt lightly coughed, "Well, seeing her unattended here, we attempted to get her your room… Although, attempted is a strong word here considering we couldn't even get her to move from her position. We were just about to come find you before you made your arrival."
Unimpressed by his explanation, March dryly turned her head towards him, "Mr. Yang, I think you forgot to mention the part where we spent 10 minutes asking questions for fun."
Equally unimpressed by her snitching, Welt teaches her, "Young disciple… You should know that what they don't know doesn't hurt them."
[March's Chat]
Wolfy (MOD): WE CAUGHT YOU IN 4K! 4K!
Typhus: That excuse only works if you're not streaming your situation to the entire world bruh.
Hakon: I don't blame them. Being able to ask a Genius anything is probably similar to how a Genius feels asking Nous a question.
Shalt: Is that actually a real thing that Geniuses get to do?
Hakon: I don't know actually. I read it somewhere and I thought that sounded like something Geniuses should be able to do.
Being able to read March's chat, Caelus files that interesting tidbit of information in his mind.
Meanwhile, March simply asks Caelus, "Alright, can you get her to move? Every time we ask her, she sends back an automated response! Herta, go to Caelus's room!"
Predictably, the reply was "I am on autopilot. If you have any concerns or issues, please take it to Caelus."
"See?" March pouted at the response, "Caelus, fix this!"
Well, it was only natural that Herta didn't bother to check what they were saying all the time. Herta probably had many more experiments to work on. Entertaining him was likely on the lower end of her priorities.
Smiling, Caelus walks up to Herta and politely asks, "Hey Herta… Is it true that you can ask Nous a question that he'll answer?"
Welt looked slightly disappointed, "How do you think she'll respond to that after we've already asked her-"
"Hm?" Herta raises the eyebrow of her puppet, making the two Trailblazers surprised that she was active, "Oh… Yes, that is partially true."
[Caelus's Chat]
Qingque: CAETA SHIPPERS WE ARE SO BACK
Cthu: SHE COMES BACK ONLY FOR HIM!
Caelus Agenda Pusher: CAELUS AND HERTA SITTING ON A TREE. K.I.S.S.I.N.G!
[March's Chat]
Red-Haired: PLEBIANS WE ARE IN SHAMBLES
Mirrond: She has to be doing this on purpose
Hakon: At least we have an answer! Yes, apparently they CAN just talk to their Aeon whenever they want.
Not paying attention to the apocalyptic meltdown both of their chats were going through, Herta elaborated on her answer a little bit, "While yes, we can ask THEM a question, we're not guaranteed to get an answer back. Not to mention, it's hard to find Nous in the first place… But it's not impossible. Recently, I've been working on a device that should gain Nous's attention whenever I activate it, letting me ask all the questions I want whenever I want… Well, until Nous figures out my little trick and starts ignoring me again."
Noticing an opportunity to praise her, Caelus clapped, "Wow, a device that can attract the gaze of an Aeon? To be expected of you, my dear."
Her face immediately fell, "For a second, I forgot you still considered me your wife. Seriously, where did you get that delusion from?"
Caelus smiled, being selectively deaf.
[Caelus's Chat]
Cthu: A DEVICE THAT ATTRACTS NOUS?
Chrome: How does she even START to figure that out?
Cogs: Hmph. Emanators. For some reason, all of the emanators that I know of seem to not hold their Aeons in high regards. Perhaps except those in the Antimatter Legion.
AlienAlienSpaceAlien: …How many emanators do you need to know to find that thread?
0bama: How many questions has she asked THEM? Will she let us know?
[March's Chat]
Hakon: To be expected of an emanator.
Typhus: LMAO Caelus shot down again.
Wolfy (MOD): Actually that Aeon attracting device sounds interesting. Does it work on all Aeons or just Nous?
Yugo: Imagine trying to summon Nous but end up summoning IX lmao.
March sighs, "Well, if you're just going to follow Caelus around since he's done cleaning now, I guess our side mission ends in success…?"
Nodding, Welt quickly turned around, "Success it is. Come, March. Let's get out of this situation before she figures out what we asked her."
Suddenly, March's face turned pale as she quickly followed him, "Yes, Mr. Yang!"
That made the two of them very confused, as Herta audibly asked, "Huh? What did they even ask me?"
Tapping his chin, Caelus suggested, "We could check her stream…"
[Caelus's Chat]
Wolfy (MOD): Nope. Deleted it. Wiped from the face of the Internet. You shall never know.
Doppelganger: Was it THAT bad?
Reading Wolfy's message, Herta was just only slightly annoyed, "Well, Caelus, remind me to install recorders into this puppet the next time you're back at the Space Station."
He bowed before her vast intellect, "Yes, my love."
"Stop calling me pet names."
Caelus was, naturally, selectively deaf.
Finding a moment away from Caelus, Herta sighed as she quietly remarked to herself, "Hah…He really doesn't know how to give up, doesn't he?"
If it wasn't all invested in trying to court her, she might've given him her thinly crafted praise. But instead, he was trying to marry her, so her praise was nowhere to be seen.
Regardless…
While she didn't have much interest in the other Express Crew Members, there was a particular person that she has been meaning to talk to, but haven't had the interest to actually send a doll to find.
Finding the conductor of the Astral Express hanging out on his lonesome in the parlor car, Herta makes her appearance known, "So, Pom-Pom…"
Startled by her appearance, Pom-Pom quickly shouted out, "Ahh! I don't have anything to give you!"
"What?"
"What?"
Staring at each other dumbly for 2 seconds, Herta shook her head and got to the point, "Ugh, nevermind. Do you have a few seconds to talk?"
"Uhh…" Pom-Pom recovers a moment later, "Oh! Yeah, that's fine with Pom-Pom! What do you need, Herta?"
Crossing her arms and looking at the conductor with an inquisitive look in her eyes, Herta lists out all of the things she knew about them, "Well, from what Himeko told me, after she repaired the Astral Express, you arrived to take over as Conductor. But she also mentioned that you seem to know and remember a lot of the departed passengers. You're clearly older than you look. So… Are you old enough to remember Akivili?"
While it's commonly known that Akivili was a much more active Aeon than all of the other Aeons combined, his era was long gone. The amount of people who have met THEM and are still alive today likely number in the single digits.
So, if Pom-Pom was one of them, what he knows could likely help with her research into the Aeons.
What made Akivili different from the other Aeons? Why did he take a much more active role in his path than the other Aeons?
Is it his nature as the Trailblaze to meet new people, so he acted much more humanlike? Or was it due to his ascension being unique that made him so sociable?
Simulating the path of the Trailblaze, according to Ruan Mei, was one of the more difficult paths to recreate. Was Akivili the reason for it, being too human that THEY didn't adhere entirely to THEIR path? Or is it the nature of the Trailblaze to be unpredictable?
When Nous calculated the future of the Trailblaze, what did THEY see?
All these questions could only really be answered if she could get a good answer on who Akivili really was…
Scratching his head, Pom-Pom quietly spoke, "Uh… Well… I don't really enjoy talking about it all that much. Plus, you're not even a part of the Trailblaze! You're an emanator of Erudition… What do you want with this info?"
Doing her best not to frown, Herta answered as honestly as possible, "I'm researching the Aeons. Akivili's era is long over, so I'm naturally interested if anyone is capable of remembering it. Would you be so polite as to answer my questions?"
"No," Pom-Pom crossed their arms decisively, "I don't want to."
Well, drats.
Looks like she's going to have to get Caelus to ask this question sometime in the future.
It wasn't a very important question she needed to get answered in the grand scheme of things. After all, she was already dragging her feet in finding and asking Pom-Pom this since the Astral Express docked on her territory.
A good 10 years should be enough for Pom-Pom to warm up to Caelus. If not that, then 50 years. Surely Caelus should be capable of living that long, right?
Shrugging her shoulders, Herta politely apologized, "Well, sorry for bringing up bad memories if you had any of those. I'll take my leave, then."
At least Pom-Pom didn't fully deny knowing Akivili. There will be an answer at the end of the tunnel…
…Unfortunately, that means she's going to have to stick with Caelus for the next decade.
It could always be worse. Her Simulated Universe tester could've been a stuck-up snob who thought they 'deserved' her because of their help.
Instead, she got Caelus, who was completely obsessed with her and somehow convinced himself that they were married together.
She's not even going to blame him for that one. Who wouldn't be obsessed with her? Heck, she's obsessed with herself.
Passing by a mirror, she momentarily pauses to take a look at herself.
"I look good," She satisfactorily hummed to herself as she finds no discrepancies in her appearance before continuing to walk to Caelus's room.
Though Herta wasn't very impressed with his idea of being her husband, she could at least compliment him on his good taste in women.
If, you know, that didn't fuel his delusion even further.
…Hm, one of these days, she should ask why he immediately locked onto her as being the one for him.
At the very least, it would be an amusing answer.
[Caelus's Chat]
The Scholar: No, you nincompoop, what are you doing placing the bed there? This is the most nonsensical bedroom setup I have seen in a while. Place it under the light. If you keep the light on, you'll regret it long enough to get back up and do more work.
Wolfy (MOD): Caelus, I'm going to be honest with you, that desk is NOT it. Why did you order that?
THE SLANDER AGENDA!: Why does my GOAT have such terrible taste in designnnnn
Herta's #1 Fan: Caelus, while your bed may be crooked, and the design of your desk and chair straight from design Hell, do not worry. You can always fix your mistakes by jumping out of the Astral Express.
Wolfy (MOD): You should be timed out for that but you know what I'm not even going to. He lowkey does deserve it.
The Scholar: If you were in my class, I would expel you on the spot for this abomination. Pick up the bed and FIX IT.
Doppelganger: Maybe you should, uh, get some help?
Cthu: HERTA PLEASE HELP US STOP STANDING THERE
Qingque: Don't worry Caelus, they're all just haters. This bedroom works perfectly fine.
Terastol: I should find Screwllum and have him declare war on you for this.
The Scholar: Herta, you are a GENIUS from the GENIUS Society. Why are you standing there? HELP HIM.
Silencio: HERTA IS MOVING! I REPEAT HERTA IS MOVING!
Responder: WE'VE BEEN PRAYING FOR THIS DAY TO COME
Miz Ficti: In one MASTERSTROKE Herta fixes the entire bedroom. Truly a Genius among Geniuses.
Fan625: Miz Ficti, are you a Enigmatastrider? Because that's just not true. She's still fixing it.
Typhus: Enigmatastrider does NOT work lil bro. Because then Abundancestrider would be a thing and that sounds like ASS and I refuse to be called that.
Yugo: It is being fixed though!
Guilherme: SHE BROKE THE DESK AND CHAIR?
Wolfy (MOD): AND SHE'S SOMEHOW REPAIRING IT WITHOUT THE YEE-YEE ASS DETAILING?
AlienAlienSpaceAlien: THAT'S NOT SCIENCE THAT'S JUST MAGIC.
Entrophy: Herta wins! The bedroom looks kind of nice (If a bit lonely) now!
The Scholar: Thank you, Herta. Caelus, when it comes time to renovate your room again, just ask her to do it for you. You are an incompetent fool who should have never been granted rights.
Ovalion: Bruh Scholar LMAO.
Meme Man: I can tell by the way he types he's from an Erudition background. I know he HELLA MAD crashing out over the bedroom LMAO.
Hakon: At least it's finished!
Wiping off the sweat off his brow, Caelus proudly looks upon his finished bedroom and desk. Meticulously selected and refined by both him and Herta, it was the beginning of a big and massive room that was going to be the place he would spend the next part of his life in.
Turning towards his wife, Caelus asked her, "So, what do you think? It's great, right?"
"Hm…" Herta tapped her chin with her finger, "I think my own bed that I sleep in by myself is bigger than this two person bed you bought."
Looking toward his bed with pity in his eyes, he forlornly informed it, "You must be replaced, then."
"I'm not sleeping with you," Was the reply Herta gave to that information.
Being selectively deaf, Caelus decided to ask, "Well, if it's okay with you, we can still use the bed. Want to join me?"
Herta facepalmed, "What did I just say…?"
With that, Caelus turned toward the chat, "Okay guys, I think that's all for today. I'm going to get some sleep and I'll be with you tomorrow. See you!"
[Caelus's Chat]
Doppelganger: Bye!
Caelus Agenda Pusher: Sleep well my GOATs
Typhus: JOIN HIM IN BED COWARD
Wolfy (MOD): See y'all tomorrow.
As the stream came to a close, Caelus went toward and turned off the light. Making his way back, he sat on his bed.
"So, are you just going to stand there all night?" Caelus questioned the light of his life.
Nodding, she replied, "Yep. My real body has been in bed this entire time. I don't feel anything that this puppet feels, so there's no need to treat it to anything."
"But what if I want to treat you? That's still a version of you," Caelus pointed out, holding her hands in his.
Blankly staring at him, Herta decided on a whim, "Well… Lock that door. If a single soul figures out I let this puppet even touch the same bed as you, I'm throwing this model out of the Express. And don't get it wrong, I'm just keeping my tester happy so that he returns in one piece ready to test my Simulated Universe at maximum efficiency."
Caelus brightly beams as he goes to lock the door.
Somehow, Herta just knows that he didn't hear her last sentence.
"Goodnight, Herta."
"...Goodnight."
AN:
"Skryb, if this is any more than 4k words, I will kill you."
Me before having a 6k word chapter.
Now, first things first, my gacha luck…
Bad news, I lost my 8th 50/50 and I spent another $100 for her.
Good news, I now have her E2S1. I did not lose another 50/50 or 75/25 on her.
Here are my rates.
[you can't see the pics, cuz FFN, but my following rolls were: Bronya 77, then The Herta 77, 76, 77, not losing the 50/50 for them. Meanwhile, LC at 21.]
I know, GOATED Light Cone pulls. I don't know what happened to my 4 star rates, I think it died when I had to reinput my first 4 pulls of Firefly and Ruan Mei along with me losing those 50/50s.
Anyways, I'll probably let this chapter marinate on my Discord server before I post it on Ao3 and FFN for about half a week. That should be enough time for me to get my act together and create an outline for next chapter. Plus, some of my readers there can point out mistakes or whatnot. Then I can change things around if I want.
How far will that next chapter reach? No clue.
But it'll be chapter 5, and we'll have reached Belobog!
What am I going to change now that there's a puppet of an emanator plus a stream watching? Uhh… TBD, you know. I flip a coin every scene to decide whether or not I'll follow canon or make my own shit up.
I'm a Historical Fictionologist.
See you in 3 months probably!
[If there's anything this wrong this chapter, my Discord server has like, 10 people who picked up the role to get pinged for whenever I release a new chapter, meaning they read this like 3 days before you did. Therefore, if anything is wrong with the chapter, I can blame it on them for not telling me. Love you guys. Invite link is in 1st chapter.]