I don't own anything. All characters and all rights belong to Ichiei Ishibumi*
M for mature topics. No children allowed. *
The Broken Boosted Gear
By Try Another Time
Our story leads us back to the second Chaos residence within Shangri La. Although the family barely used it, servants sent by Underworld's ultimate maid continued caring for the home while awaiting any family member's visit.
In this case, it was none other than Ddraig who slowly walked through the halls while searching for someone. His adult form had replaced his younger form.
When he saw a maid coming out of one of the rooms, he quickly stopped her as he had questions for her. "Sorry, I'm still getting used to traversing all these halls. Could you tell me if you have seen Raynare or where I can find her?"
The maid smiles at him. "It would be my pleasure to guide you, Sir Welsh. Follow me. Our team had a few issues with learning the ins and outs of the mansion, but we have gotten used to it after so many weeks. Raynare-san is likely in the basement's second level. She has prepared a lab for her research and is a bit hidden from the rest of the mansion, but I'll show you the path."
"Thank you. I meant to meet her this morning at the entrance, but I was running a bit late. She sounded excited when she asked me to come. Do you have any idea about what it could be?"
The maid shakes her head. "I'm sorry, but we're not allowed to enter her lab without her presence. Raynare-san is particularly protective about what she's working on inside that room, and it is a mystery that none of us will seek to figure out. Her project is likely significant, as she has been coming by late at night. It seems as if the late hours of the night are the only time she has time to work on it."
"... Maybe I'll talk with Aurora and Roygun to give Raynare more time off. After their rigorous training, Roygun and Aurora should be able to care for the other residents without surveillance. I doubt Grayfia will forgive either of them if they can't handle their tasks," the dragon comments.
The maid gulps as she silently prays for Grayfia to never appear within the residence, as the fate of those serving in the mansion would be at risk.
*Meanwhile, Roygun and Aurora felt a cold chill around their backs on the first residence. The pair gulped as they looked around the kitchen for any signs of Grayfia, but luckily, she wasn't there. Nobody who survived the training under Grayfia will ever forget the traumas it caused.*
Ddraig then started to follow the maid as she guided him towards the lower levels of the residence. Their path took them to a set of stairs across the library, which a pair of butlers was taking care of as they wiped off the dust while also adding more books to the family library. As the pair descended, the wooden walls enclosed them as if they were walking towards an underground dungeon.
The air felt warm instead of damp and humid, as the mansion didn't act like any plant Ddraig had ever known.
"Here is the first basement. You can find the laundry room, boiler room, training area, underground pool, gaming room, and a few empty rooms without a defined purpose here. Tiamat-sama has told us that depending on the family's needs, such rooms can be fitted with the necessary furniture." The maid said before they continued to descend into the second basement, which felt even deeper.
At certain spots of their descent, wooden walls blocked the access like cell membranes, but after magic circles analyzed who they were, the walls retracted themselves to the sides to allow them passage.
As they continued down the path, Ddraig felt a weird sensation on his chest, as if something was calling out to him.
"... Did my heart work?"
He couldn't help but feel a bit concerned about what awaited him, but his trust in the fallen angel pushed his doubts away.
As he followed the maid, his ears detected the slight heartbeat sound, which slowly increased as he approached.
"Here is as far as I can go. From here on, just follow the lights. Although there are other rooms in here that aren't being used, you won't get lost, as her lab is the only one with lights on. If you need my aid, just scream. We're at your service," the maid said, bowing to him before returning to the stairs.
Ddraig was left alone. His senses told him there was no need to run away, so he followed the maid's directions.
The sound became more prominent with each step, and so did the feeling pulling him closer.
Soon, the visage of a metallic door alerted him to his final destination. As he tried to touch the door, a dim blue light began to irradiate from the said object before the door opened on its own.
His eyes were blinded for a moment by the intense green light irradiating from within, but what he saw afterward took his breath away.
The dragon stepped forward as a large glass tank filled with reddish liquid containing a mysterious body inside.
The figure has a metallic body made from an unknown material. It has two arms, two legs, and a pair of metallic wings.
Its artificial organs were made using the highest technology that no human could ever hope to obtain by normal means. Everything seemed artificial, yet right on the creature's chest, a distinctive fleshy organ continued to beat while several cables were attached to it.
The flesh of said organ seemed to slowly spread out as it started to envelop the metallic skeleton that enclosed it.
"Project: Mecha Draco-Angel or just MDA-00. Subject: Lucille. Stage: Body Type 0." A feminine voice said as a figure walked closer to him.
"... Lucille? You're naming her Lucille?" Ddraig asked as he touched the container.
The creature inside seemed to react to its presence as it twitched. Its limbs remained motionless, but its core seemed to detect the presence of its previous owner.
"... I can't bring back the Mittelt I used to know. The best I can do is give her a new life—a new identity, path, and name. I will do my best to guide her and ensure she never strays from our side," Raynare says as she grasps his left hand. "I can't thank you enough for offering your heart. I promise that she will be an ally like no other."
Ddraig shakes his head. His eyes show concern as he faces her. His tail grabs the walking staff on his right hand. "Don't make her into a weapon. Regardless of what she did, I doubt that making her into a weapon will be showing her any mercy."
Raynare smiles as she caresses his cheek. "You don't need to worry; I am not making a weapon. Lucille won't be a weapon but a living being capable of fighting and thinking on her own. She will be able to feel, eat, dream, sleep, and much more besides fighting. Think of her as a sister I'm bringing to life who will protect you, my lord."
"... I didn't give you my heart for you to make something that can protect me. I did it because I wanted to aid you in saving her. Don't do all this just because you want to please me."
Raynare shakes her head before she places a hand over his chest. "I saved her, but I couldn't just stop there because "Mittelt" did something that can't be fixed. We're to be blamed for what was taken from Issei, me and her, even if you can't remember. I'm your eternal maid, your ally, and maybe something more; I know I might never leave your side, but I won't ever forget what her previous self did. Lucille will be a life that can make up for what Mittelt can't."
Her words make the dragon's heart beat faster as she implies they can be more than allies.
Raynare turns her eyes to the glass, specifically to the core in her chest. "That core is a part of you, and as long as it exists, she will protect the one that made her existence possible. Let me do this, even if it is a bit cruel. Let her be your shadow when everything else fails."
"My shadow? Are Yuki and you conspiring to make things that mainly exist to protect me?"
Raynare shrugs her shoulders. "Maybe we are. You need all the help you can get. Also, are you calling her Yuki now? Did you take a step forward with your relationship with her?" Her eyes glared at him as she awaited his answer.
Ddraig gulps as he feels threatened. "... We did. The same night after her surgery."
Raynare puffs her cheeks before pinching Ddraig's cheeks. "Come on, I blink once, and you're getting intimate with Yukime? What's next? Are you telling me that you took Elmenhilde as a bride?"
"We don't have that kind of relationship." Ddraig tries to argue.
"Tell that to any other fool. We all know that you two are getting closer. Next time, you might also go for other females within the Alliance. Maybe Rossweisse or even Liv." Her tone couldn't hide her jealousy.
Ddraig scratches his head as he feels she's hitting way too close to home. "Why are you feeling jealous? We'll have the entirety of our lives to decide if this is what we want. I know what I want, but I don't want you to rush. There are no divorces when it comes to dragons. I want you to understand what it will mean to be with me. I do not let go once a bond is formed."
Raynare looks deep into his eyes and senses his undying affection for her. It wasn't about him taking a step forward but her choosing to say the right words. To say what needed to be said to seal the deal. As she releases him, she can't help but curse herself for letting her emotions get the best of her. "Sorry. I… guess I can also be a bit of a brat when I feel everyone is getting ahead."
Ddraig grabs her hand, which still bears the scars from the burns his heart inflicted upon her. He then kisses it before looking into her eyes. "This will never be a race for my heart. I'll wait until you're ready for this step. I'll love you as much as the others. Nobody can replace the spot you hold within my two hearts."
"... Such a charmer you are. I guess that I won't be able to escape your grasp."
"Do you feel like escaping away from me?" His face gets closer to hers. His tail encloses her without being obstructive or forceful.
"... No, but I guess I'm still on the edge of saying yes." Her face inches closer.
"I'm a patient dragon. I can wait as long as needed. Time is not our enemy." His lips are almost touching hers.
Raynare's heart is running wild as her will dwindles with each second, but before long, she gives in as she kisses him. Her arms quickly become entangled behind his neck.
Minutes come and go until Raynare regains control over her emotions and desires. As she ended the kiss, her eyes tried to look away from Ddraig, and she felt ashamed of her weakness.
Ddraig smiles as he sees her blushing expression. "I take that as what's to come in the future. I won't rush you, so don't think my affection for you will dwindle as the days go by. These feelings for you won't disappear even if a thousand years go by."
"Dummy…. One day, I'll be ready." Raynare smiled as she enjoyed his declaration. "With our relationship out of the way, do you want to discuss the project?"
Ddraig nods. "I'm all ears. I'm a bit curious about what you did with that heart. I can sense it as if it was still part of me. Its heartbeat increased as I got closer."
"You can? That's a bit amazing. Hephaestus and I discussed what we could do for many hours before deciding to use the heart to create two cores. One is within Lucille's chest, which also contains her soul. I call them Twin Dragon Cores." Raynare turns around and points her finger at a mysterious black cube on a table filled with blueprints and several documents. "The second core is inside that cube. I will use it for the Type 4 body for Lucille when she's ready."
"Type 4? Can you explain these body types?"
"Sure. Come with me." The fallen angel led him to the table. "I prepared several plans for different bodies. My original plan was to make a body resembling an angel or fallen angel, but the core wouldn't fit well with our organs. The core is nothing like Gabriel's eye replacement; its temperature is much higher and far pickier regarding the organs it wants to work with. I had to replace the skeleton at least three times before finding an alloy that fitted its needs. An alloy that can endure temperatures that match blue stars. I also had to replace organs several times with new adjustments. It has been an uphill fight as the core rejects anything that doesn't fit it."
"So the core has a will of its own? I find it hard to believe."
Raynare shakes her head. "You know more than I do about the ingoings of a dragon's body. Would you say that creating a new body for you from scratch will be easy?"
Ddraig shakes his head in complete denial as he considers all the meticulous details of his own body. "It would be near impossible without the right tools or sacred gear like the Booster Gear. It will surely be an uphill battle, as our genetic materials are incredibly hard to work with."
"Then you know how hard it has been to make something that fits the needs of the core. It rejected anything I did initially, and even now, it has rejected a few of my plans, which I had to discard. I doubt that type 0 will be fertile. As the base body, I hope to give Lucille a fully functional body, but the core rejects any organs intended for reproduction, and I truly mean any. It acts as if it were protecting its genetic material from being used."
Ddraig raises an eyebrow with curiosity. "So, she will be incapable of having descendants?"
"Maybe I'll find a way in the future, but until then, Lucille will remain as such. Type 0 will be fully functional and the main body of Lucille—one of its kind and one with the flesh of the Welsh Dragon. The core is slowly spreading its mass to cover the entire skeleton. I will guide its development to prevent it from taking an unintended shape. I will try to alter the phenotypic expression to fit my design."
"What could be the problem if you don't interfere?"
"An amorphous body without a proper shape. Maybe an extra hand where there shouldn't be hands or faulty eye connections. I envision what Lucille will look like and hope to achieve it, but it is bound to take time. I'm practically making a newborn."
"I see. I'll leave it in your hands as this is your project, but if you need help, let me know. What about its other bodies?"
Raynare places her hand on a series of blueprints. "Although I will call them bodies 1 to 4, they are more of attachments for type 0. New arms and legs, extra armor, weapons, and even tools designed for certain purposes."
"So, a jack of all trades? You seemed excited."
Raynare nods. "I want to ensure her and your survival. If she can't protect herself, she can aid you in times of need. If anyone else can't reach you, I want Lucille to be the one to achieve the impossible when everything else fails."
Ddraig examines the blueprints with careful attention to the details. Each body seemed to place importance on different things.
Type 0 was the base. She had no armor or extra weapons besides the natural holy abilities that she seemed to retain as a former fallen angel. It was a body for the day-to-day with no outstanding qualities besides a strong body and a new ability that allowed hacking into any technology. Raynare had integrated a high-spec microcomputer into the new brain for this body.
Type 1 was a complete upgrade from type 0: mid-weight armor, access to close-range weapons, and at least two long-range weapons, which didn't include her access to abilities unique to her soul as a fallen angel.
Type 2 seemed more like a fully closed combat body that discards the previous armor for a much lighter option, which retains its durability. It also has access to a new set of 4 wings, increasing its speed while acting as extra limbs for attacking.
Type 3 was the opposite of the previous type, as long-range combat and speed were far more important, with armor taking a step back. The last four wings were once again replaced by six wings, which acted as extra lasers for long-range assaults.
Type 4…. It was hard to describe as it seemed completely different from its siblings.
"What is type 4?" Ddraig asks as he tries to understand the documents.
"It is still under development. I want it to be a fusion of everything that came before, but I don't know if Lucille will endure it. It will require installing the second core, which will put a lot of strain on Lucille. Your heart has been hard to work with. Even now, as separate cores, it is hard to put it into a body and expect it to follow my designs. Lucille will have a hard time mastering it even if it's part of her." Raynare leaves the table and approaches the tank in which her creation lies. "I'm breaking many taboos by doing this, but I have hopes for my sister. I have hopes for what this new life can achieve, for Lucille to succeed where Mittelt failed. To do something positive with the life she's been given."
Ddraig leaves the table behind before he approaches Raynare. "Hope is all we can do but know this. As long as I'm alive, I will stop Lucille if she ever betrays your expectations. I won't allow her to become a force of chaos."
"Is the most I can ask from you, my lord," Raynare says as she holds his hand and leans against his shoulder.
The pair then remain silent as they observe the sleeping Lucille within her tank. Neither was sure what this new life would do once she was completed. They could only hope for the best and watch this new life as it takes its first steps.
Meanwhile, in Shangri La.
"Are you sure about this, Ereshkigal? I mean, we're on full alert. Is hard to think that anyone will reach my brother." Hephaestus said as he sat on his forge.
"How sure are you about anyone getting their hands on Samael's blood?" Raphael argued.
"I mean, if Yukime said she felt something deadly within the enemy's realm, we must be careful." Azazel joins in.
"I don't care what you want to believe, but we must cover all our bases. If the enemy shows up, they might use it as soon as they find Ddraig, but if he chooses to depart on his own to face Susanoo, we can't discard the possibility of Ddraig falling into a trap. Look into my eyes and tell me that you can't see him putting his life in danger to prevent any more chaos or deaths?" Ereshkigal asked as she looked at the brightest minds of the Alliance and other affiliated members.
Anubis and Osiris look at each other with visible concern.
Anubis scratches the sides of his face with visible tension. "Just who would ever try to use his blood as a weapon? That thing…. It should never see the light of day."
"Someone must be working behind the backs of even Hades. You might have a traitor amongst the gods of the dead, and if that's true, we might have more than just this issue in our hands. We can start taking measurements to counter any of this blood, but we won't be effective until we have a real sample to work with." Ajuka declares as he looks at his allies.
"Bennia is currently speaking with her father and contacts to verify Samael's status, but getting a sample will be nearly impossible for us. Tensions are high within the land of the dead, and Hades and Orcus clash much more regularly. Bennia can't even get close unless she's captured or even killed. A conflict between both sides is almost near impossible to evade, as Orcus wants reapers and gods to take active action while Hades wants everyone to remain neutral." Ereshkigal continues.
Osiris sights as his eyes look towards the flames of the forge. "Even if we wanted to remain neutral, it is impossible to do so. There are those who will attack our very realms and likely even the land of the dead for souls. Nobody is safe, and staying neutral won't help any of us. For once, we must actively act for the greater good. If Samael is a possible issue, we need to act now. We can start and prepare counters for the blood; I doubt the efficacy, but anything will be better than doing nothing."
"How many neutralizers should we prepare, and what should we use as a base?" Eury asks as she grabs paper and pen.
"Maybe we should create a poison cocktail with what we have and take that as a base to start working on the neutralizer. I have several exotic samples in stock for Hydra venom, Manticore blood, Basilisk venom, and many others." Ajuka admits.
"I have some of my own as well, which I used for some projects back in the day." Azazel joins in.
"Prepare as many as you can and prepare them for me," Ereshkigal tells the group as she stands up. "I take anything to ensure the survival of that foolish dragon."
Hephaestus looks at her with amazement. "You'll be the last god I would expect to be so active in protecting Ddraig's life."
Ereshkigal glares at god momentarily before turning her eyes towards the crimson flames in the forge. "I won't let him die any time soon. His importance is far too great to allow him to die at the hands of a foolish Shinto god who doesn't have the right to decide his fate." As her eyes looked into the flames, she tried to recall the dream that seemed to be evading her.
It was a dream that felt so real yet so distant. A teen with greenish hair who had a hard time smiling, but one that gave her a sense of joy that was indescribable.
"... Nabu…" A name that almost seemed to escape her grasp but one she wouldn't allow herself to forget.
The goddess didn't know why, but that dream had renewed her will to ensure the safety of the Welsh Drago. As a mother, she wouldn't allow herself to fail.
Countdown:...3
Notes of the author:
The following is a small report intended for the members of the Alliance. Only read if your credentials allow you to do so.
This is classified information and must not be revealed to outsiders.
This is a report regarding the findings and current status of Raynare's project MDA-00. It has been exactly two years since Lucille's awakening, and as expected, she had no memories or even the ability to speak after leaving the tank. Like a newborn, I was forced to teach her all the basics. Lucille required much of my attention, so I felt more like a mother than a sister.
Luckily, she was able to catch up in less than three months, but I still feel that she has the attitude of a teenager. She's deeply attached to me, and to my surprise, she asked Grayfia to teach her how to be a maid like me.
At this point, she's a maid in training and gets along with everyone within the house. Ophis enjoys her presence, and I have even seen them playing with each other on some occasions. Maybe it is that her core is made from Ddraig's flesh or that Lucille's attitude is rather friendly. Tosca is the only one with a few reservations about her, but that might just be due to her current attitude since the events of that "day." Tosca seems to be struggling with her father's absence, but hopefully, she will get better once he wakes up.
I have concerns regarding Lucille, which might prevent her from joining teams without supervision. In terms of fighting skills, she has grown at an alarming rate. Her accuracy and efficiency in practice exercises exceed my expectations as she changes her personality. Her expressions turned cold, and her voice almost resembled… Mittelt, although she can't recall anything from her previous self. Her attitude is far from rebellious as she follows her orders, but I can't shake this sensation off.
She's far too deadly when she engages the training targets. She shows no mercy to any as she seeks their complete elimination.
I have checked her brain activity for changes and even asked Yukime for help, but none of these investigations have provided conclusive results. I have yet to ask Ereshkigal for aid, but I fear what I might find if we investigate her soul.
She also woke up in the middle of several nights while searching for somebody. She claims that her core tells her to find her "Big brother." This Big brother has to be no other but the Welsh Dragon. I have yet to take her to the Inner Sanctuary to see "him," but the core seems to be searching for him.
She knows who the Welsh Dragon is, but she has never seen him, nor have I told her to seek him out. She lacks knowledge about the mission I want her to accomplish, yet the core is already seeking him on its own.
She might already be on the path to becoming his shadow, but I am a bit afraid to know that Lucille is taking such steps without my intervention.
Did I make the right choice? I have been asking myself that question for a while. I decided to introduce some safety directives into Lucille's internal terminal to prevent accidents. I hope this will be enough to avoid any future issues.
…
…..
…
…. I hope you wake up soon enough, my lord…. It has been far too long without you. Three years is far too long without you.
Please return to us. -Raynare