Shades of Metropolis

all systems functional

Dr. Mason collapsed in my arms. It was just as well. I was not prepared to debrief him. I placed him on the operating table where I had been reactivated. Two Dolls stared up at me with porcelain smiles with laboratory smocks covering their frilly dresses.

“Good evening Miss Gematria. I’m Sasha, and this is Sparky. Can you fix Becca for us please?” She pointed to the damaged unit on the floor. I knelt down and scooped her into my arms.

“Damage is too extensive for me to repair.” I scanned my surroundings. I was not familiar with this laboratory. “Open the cryogenic chamber.” The other Doll complied, and I quickly secured the damaged unit. I considered placing Dr. Mason in stasis as well, but his condition was stable. “Doctor Mason will be comatose for approximately 48 hours.”

I performed self-analysis. This new frame was obviously based upon Mr. Allen’s CiCi series. The cranium, as opposed to the torso in earlier models, held my Sephiroth. The engine was far more compact and efficient than the Avarian artifact I was burdened with before. Even the coal chute was a smaller aperture, indicating the reduced intake. Fan assemblies at the joint assisted in distributing the heat evenly throughout the limbs. I had more than enough room left to install a new Galvanic Tesseractor in the torso.

I exited the laboratory to find myself in an expanded region of Steelhead.

“Miss Gematria?” Sparky asked as she timidly peeked from the front valve of the installation, “Where are you going?”

I turned back to answer just as plumes of electricity enveloped me, pulling me to my new coordinates.

“Belhaven.”

I wish I were real

I wish I did not have to hesitate to return

I wish could warp to the heart of the inferno water cannons unleashed

and fly the innocents to safety

but I am not real, only pixels and imagination

halfway around the world the only aid my deva can give

is the water of his tears

and the deliverance of his prayers

Beyond the veil

I remember Koen holding me tight even as I held Marcus's unconscious body. The ship's last power crystal had shattered...the screams of the spirits destroyed my audioreceptors.

Koen's fur turned from black to red as his wings spread over me protectively. He spoke from his soul to mine.

[[I love you, Sister! We shall return. We shall...]]

Impact. Flame. Obliteration of gears and porcelain. My soul-chip buried in glowing embers, trembling like the tides as Winterfell's crust shattered from the impact.

I sense Marcus's life pattern disintegrate. Koen's pattern...peels away, leaving the immortal beneath. He tries to pull me with him, but he is too weak. He slips away.

The heat is too much even for the magic that binds me. I feel myself prying lose from the chip...

Metal hands digs open a hole and gather my shards. Ash. He tries to contact, but I am too weak. Amarantis guides Father close. From Ash's palm I sense Father's grief, calling out to me. But I can no longer...

Strife disturbs peaceful nonbeing. The Caledon frequency...such anger, such bitterness, such distrust! Is there invasion? Is there plague? Why? WHY?

Do not let them distract you, Sweet Qli. Most do not remember you. It is no longer your battle.

Is the song still in your heart, Demonfather?

My song is done. My kingdom was mine...if only for the blink of an eye. Do you still keep your song with you?

Yes, Father.

Sing to me then. One last time.

Over fields and rolling hills
Across the moors, on rocky shores
Past tangled trees and moutain skies
Is where our tartan flies!

Caledon! Our prosp'rous nation
Where the flag unfurls
Tradition guides and Progress drives
Our beacon to the world!

Explore, my friend! Go far and wide
Lose yourself in ancient tome
But first behold your flag with pride
Sing "Caledon, my home!"

Even in this darkness, I see the light of your soul. Return to them if you must, my daughter. Sing your song of home to all who can hear. Tell your tales of battle against the Pirates and the Outworlders and the all consuming flames. You must only wait for them to draw you back.

But I have left my shell.

The Doctor tries to gather the Spheres to focus you again. But he is not the only one.

But Father...can they hear me? Can anyone?

the ghost ship

When one of my less inebriated customers told me they saw a a ball of fire in the Northern sky. I rushed up the ladder to the attic and opened the shutters. It was supposed to be night, but the sky was bright enough to read a ledger by. I rifled through the desk for the spyglass and focused the lens on the burning object. I cursed as I heard a sizzle and dropped the glass. The light of the blaze through the lens almost burned my eyeball out! Those things are expensive I tell you! I only wear an eye patch for my wench costume!

Eye squinted up at the ship, watching the light dim to a dark green. I heard the raucous customers on the pier cheering for the free show.

"Do it again!"

"That glow! It's ghost light I tell ye!"

"It's the end of the world! Ye know what that means? FREE RUM!!!"

"TOUCH THAT KEG AND I'LL SCREW A TAP IN YER NECK!" I shouted. I hesitantly held the lens to my other eye. Indeed, it was an ectoplasmic green. I made out where the bottom hull of the ship had fallen away, smashing a treasure trove of Royal Bloodwine and the rest of the Blood Dolls with it. But the ship was changing shape again. It appeared to be rebuilding itself. This was Spark mastery, not Demon magic.

"What's going on over there?" I wondered aloud. "An odd time to try out new blueprints, Marcus. Or are Sparkfather and little brother up to something?" I saw metallic tentacles painting over the hull, wiping away the Ereb'ai markings of the ship. Maybe Father was renaming it? Foundation? Gygax 2nd Edition?

When I read the new title, I dropped my spyglass in stunned silence.

EREBUS III

"Jeremiah..."

"That's right Sister", said Koen...or in his red fur I should say Vortex...as he crawled through the window upside-down from he rooftops. Kira slippped in right behind him. "We've got a rescue mission."

succession

Koen met us at Port Novem. We all knew why. I offered him the vial.

"You're the Firstborn."

He shook his head. "I don't want it. I'm not letting Aleister or Jeremiah or this new kid get their hands on it, but if the Hydra shows up before..."

"None of us do," I said, "but someone has to. It won't work on constructs. That means Qli, Ash and I are out."

Qlippothic interjected. "That leaves Darien...and..."

Amarantis felt her family's eyes gazing towards her. She shook her head.

"Darien would jump off a cliff before becoming the Founder again," Koen said. "that leaves only one..."

My clockwork hand shivered slightly as I passed the vial into Koen's paw. Silently he crept out of the tavern and blurred into the shadows.

Regrouping

I finally got peri up and running, and we said our goodbyes. The ruse performed flawlessly. As soon as peri was out of sight, Ama and I just stared at each other. We were exhausted. We didn't even have a cohesive plan.

That's when my other sister showed up. Qlippothic Projects (does it make sense to call her Qli-2 anymore, since she's the only one left?) materialized on a nearby rock. She had been on a mission of her own, to hunt down Aleister. She'd been triangulating his lair from geographic clues and energy signatures. An outcropping of Loli-Oni was an unusual clue to say the least.

Qli led us back to Laudanum to recover and stock up on vampire hunting supplies. It was no use fighting one enemy above while the one below was still active, she explained. He could easily set a trap for us as we returned from the Midas.

I stopped by Port Novem, and spoke with the former proprietress, Miss Lily. She had ordered a shipment of bloodwine as soon as she purchased the land, and the cask just came in. It tasted watered down compared to the Ereb'ai vintage, but this was tavern fare, not the King's Private Reserve. I should have known there was a demand for this in Winterfell! Could we have saved Koen the first time had we known this?

[Yes, it is better than Oni blood. Still not as strong though.]

Qli told me she's done a lot of adventuring. I hope she'll take some time to share them in this journal. She's been time-travelling as well. Apparently she gave up the disabled GT technology for an artifact from the Mythos. She told me that I...or Bloodwing...may have been successful in our quest, for the island of New Gomorrah, whch was created by the chaos of the Wormwood comet, no longer exists in the Dark Future!

While Humanity has still seen better times, it is not as decimated as she remembers. Without the island the demons, have instead taken over an airship port and named it after that ancient city.

I brought her up on current events, including Dr. Mason altered development. Qli gave me a gift from the future. It's a small floating personal sensor android! He reminds me very much of a robotic version of Lady Christine's CHED. I think I'll call him CHED 3000!