෴Raz෴
෴Hex෴
෴Brock෴
෴෴෴ ෴෴෴ ෴෴෴
Deals and Dancing
෴෴෴ ෴෴෴ ෴෴෴
“Doktor Midnight killed him.”
The world spun around Raz, his thoughts, knocked loose from the reality around him, floated and seemed to bounce off the inside of his skull for a moment. A sound like wind noise filled his ears followed by an intense head rush accompanied by lightheaded vertigo. Distantly, so distantly, he was vaguely aware of Hex squeezing his left hand tightly. Up and down swapped places a few times, nothing made sense.
He managed to grab onto the edge of the table tightly before he fell backwards. After a long moment composing himself, he took a breath and tried to summon a calm and collected voice from within the sudden ocean of anger, hate, loss, and uncertainty swirling within him.
His tone was as calm as he could manage, though the way his voice wavered, it fooled no one. “I’m sorry. It sounded like you said Doktor Midnight killed my father.”
“Ja. I was there. It was a bad business. So horrific. It happened so fast. We didn’t see it coming.”
Raz swallowed several times, inside, his mind raced and gibbered.
A primary source!
There was some kind of lump in his throat keeping him from talking normally. He watched himself as though from some distance away, as he, almost calmly, questioned Brock about his father’s death.
“Do you mind if I ask what you were doing there that day?”
Brock shrugged, “Arbei—My job. I vorked vith your father there. I vas in the process of immigrating to the US then.”
His brows furled and he pointed at the window to the outside, “It seems a little silly now that my shop goes vhere I vish it, but then, I vas realizing my dream to vork in America.”
Raz nodded, “Ok, but what did you do there?”
“Officially? I vorked for the facilities and maintenance department. But your father yanked on some cords to have me assigned to his lab to assist him. I do not know how he learned that I was trained as a mechanical engineer, but he and I built a number of fascinating devices in the pursuit of his research.” Brock seemed to lapse into memory, not saying anything for a long moment.
That sounds like something Dad would do. He hated people not living up to their potential. Sure had enough lectures for me about that topic.
Raz blinked away the sudden irritation making his eyes water. “It sounds like you knew him pretty well.”
Brock shook his head. “I like to think so.” He loosely pointed his hand at Raz, waving up and down. “By this lack, I am shamed. Your father befriended my parents in München before I was born. Vhen he met me all those years later, he immediately guessed that I was the son of Ival and Diana. I didn’t recognize you, but I should have. I saw your face on his desk every day. You are of course, older now.” he shrugged as if to dismiss his own silliness.
Raz was about to reply when Brock’s expression shifted from nostalgia to a no-nonsense expression that was all business.
“However, ve have some business to conclude here that has nothing to do with the tragedies of the past.”
Well, so much getting a free pass there. Damn you Midnight. I knew you did it. Gotta figure out how to kil—Not the time for it. Figure out what he knows about mom first. Gotta save this for later. I was just starting to like you!
With what felt like a supreme act of will, Raz took the bundle of freshly raw pain, and placed it into a box. He stacked the betrayal he felt on top of that. He put the lid on tight, but kept the box close.
Later, later I’ll feel it all and figure out how to make things right. Eyes on the prize. Do whatever business we can here, then figure out where mom is, and if she’s in trouble.
Brock had been speaking while Raz had turned his focus inward. “—cause of that, I owe him much, and you are his son. Perhaps I have just now realized that there is something I need done, that, vhile not overly difficult, vould carry just enough effort and hazard to varrant this sort of deal.”
Raz blinked away the remnants of his distraught moment and nodded his understanding.
Why do I feel like I’m about to get offered a raw deal?
Raz leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table, resting his chin on his hands. This move intentionally placed the contested gauntlets into Brock’s line of sight. “Well, since we’re not dealing in favors right now, I’d want you to tell me what the task is, and why it’s dangerous enough to be worth the deal.”
Brock chuckled, not reacting to Raz’s small barb. “Ve are in fact dealing in favors. You are simply fortunate enough to know the favor in advance.”
Raz put himself back into a negotiation mindset. Over the next few hours they drank more of the dark beer and hammered out the details of exactly what Brock expected of him, and what he would do in return. During that time, it became clear to Raz that Brock was, in his own way, more than a little bit obsessive about many things.
When Raz’s stomach grumbled, Brock had a robot bring out a large pile of fried chicken wings. They all ate as the discussion went on.
At one point, Hex looked up from the tablet and looked pointedly at her watch as she sighed. “I guess that was too good to be true.”
Raz realized they’d missed the chance to go dancing back in Atlanta. “Sorry babe, we’ll still go dancing as soon as we get home.”
She nodded her acceptance and went back to reading the news, but still looked a little disgruntled about it.
*** *** ***
The negotiations continued for another half hour.
Raz waved away another beer. “Why does it still seem to me like you’re trying to get me to agree to things, without knowing exactly what I’m agreeing to?”
Brock shrugged. “I am simply vishing to make clear, all that I ask of you.”
Hex rolled her eyes at this and muttered something disparaging.
“Well, I’m not going to agree to something with vague terms.”
Brock took another puff from the pipe. “Tell me the agreement then, as you understand it.”
“So in short, without all the window dressing you’re insisting on, you want me to take this message to a lady, give her time to make a reply, and then bring back whatever reply she has for you.”
Brock chuckled and smoothed his beard with one hand. “Aye, that is the outline of the deal. The vindow dressing, as you put it, is me attempting to tell you vhat you need to know, about the job.”
“But after all this, you still haven’t told me where she is!”
Brock took a deep breath and let it out in an explosive sigh. “That is a minor complication. I don’t yet know vhere she is.”
Raz shook his head. “Sorry to hear that. I wouldn’t have minded doing it for you, but I haven’t got time for a rousing game of ‘Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?’. I wish you the best of luck there, but I don’t have th—”
Brock raised a hand to stop him. “Hold up there boy. I said I don’t know vhere she is. Not that I can’t find out, and send you there.”
Raz felt a headache coming on. “Do I even want to know why you wouldn’t just say that earlier, let alone how the hell that's even possible?”
“You don’t need to know the details. I’ll drop you close by, and give you a locator to zero in on her with.” Brock replied with a dismissive wave.
“So, what aren’t you telling us?” Raz countered.
“Nei—No. That’s all you get to know. You either agree to deliver the message to Dr. Stilt or you don’t.”
Raz rubbed at his aching temples. “Not even close. I need to at least know that you’ll pick us back up when we’re done, and that she’d actually accept a message from you.”
Brock frowned in confusion. “Oh right. I didn’t say. Of course I’ll pick you up. The same device will bring you back to my door. Also, of course she’ll take my message, she is currently in the field, but ve have been happily married for many years.”
Raz turned to Hex. “Can you think of anything I’m missing?”
She shook her head, looking more bored with the proceedings than anything. She put a hand on his neck in a soft caress, and leaned over to whisper in his ear. “You’re doing great babe. Sorry I haven't had much to say, the rest of me is busy trying to rebuild my location awareness in case I need to bring in reinforcements. Make the deal if you think it’s right, I’ll back your play.”
I just know there’s going to be a catch.
He extended his hand to Brock. “Ok, we’ll do it.”
The bearded man nodded. “Excellent. May I see them now?” he pointed to the gauntlets.
Raz reluctantly removed them and slid them across the table.
Brock picked one up and fiddled with it for a moment. The back of the armored gauntlet popped open, revealing an inner structure with rows of small studs and inner articulation components. He pointed at the studs. “This is for mounting the cestus, and here at the edge, the vambraces can be attached. This attachment is important. It is where the gloves collapse into when retracting the set.”
Raz looked on with a sinking feeling. Barely paying attention to the words anymore.
Brock pointed at a small symbol of a stylized series of interlocking capital B’s superimposed etched into several components, then at a much larger version of the symbol on the wall. “And that symbol is my brand.”
That’s not good. Losing those is going to hurt. Gonna have to get a real ability asap.
Brock continued, “They didn’t steal the complete set, I vill show the rest to you.”
“All right all right, you’ve made your point. No point showing me the other parts, I believe you.” Raz failed to keep the bitterness out of his voice. Hex picked up on his emotion and put her hand on his knee in an attempt to comfort him.
Brock shook his head vehemently. “No. So far this only proves that I made them. You should see the rest of the package to see that they were taken from a set.”
The same robot that had served them beer brought out a brushed metal case. Brock opened it up. “The gloves are at the heart of it all, but this is the whole set.”
Raz caught a glimpse of some kind of heavy overglove and vambraces in the case before Brock snapped it shut and the robot carried the case away.
A crushing wave of despair enveloped him as the robot trundled out of sight.
“That’s sorted. Let’s hear about those flaws you mentioned.”
Raz shrugged. “Meh, doesn’t really matter now does it? You got what you want.”
Brock’s eyes narrowed. “Are you saying you don’t intend to honor your side of the deal?” His posture changed, tightened. His bearing suddenly looked more threatening.
Hex knocked her knee against Raz’s thigh.
Raz glanced after the robot and sighed. “No, here you go. Number one, you flat out cannot kill us both. You don’t have the ability to accomplish it, period. This leads into number two, which is that since you can’t kill us both, and as a store or custom builder or whatever you are, if word gets spread that you kill your customers, you’re going to lose business, maybe all of it. At the very least, you’d be making enemies for no benefit to you. Enemies who have access to heavy ordinance and the will to use them.” He rattled off his answers in a flat monotone.
Brock laughed. “All of it? Hardly. Too many of my customers couldn’t care less about that as long as I wasn’t killing them. But you make a point. I don’t need enemies, and this one,” He looked at Hex, “Is a slippery little thing isn’t she. Not to mention her dangerous friends.”
Raz thought about the vials of catalyst in his pocket.
Once I refill on catalyst, what’s the next thing to get, to get out of this somatic recovery tree? I need some teeth like yesterday!
[To follow a linear build, you would take Somatic Restoration 3, which includes two unidentified sub abilities.]
[A solid build would have you taking Triage and/or Efficiency.]
Brocks knocked on the table with his own armored gauntlets. “Ok, I’ll accept those are flaws in that course of action. Not entirely accurate, but I’ll take them for what was intended.” He lit up his pipe once more. “So, you got any more flaws in that plan?”
Raz nodded.
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“Well, out with it boy! Those were just ok. Have you got something better?”
Raz shrugged without looking at Brock. “Now that we’ve talked, I have two more flaws for you. But it doesn’t matter.”
The man’s eyes widened. He tugged at his beard anxiously. “What do you mean it doesn’t matter? What are the flaws?”
Raz threw his hands up. “Well, you see, I’ve already made a deal, for two flaws and a service. I’ve returned your property, given you your promised flaws, and I’ll perform the service when you send us there.”
He made an exaggerated shrug. “Why would I give you more than the deal is for?”
Brock clenched his jaw. “I already said I’d make it worth your while to give me more than two.”
Raz leaned back in the chair. “Yes. You did say that. Like I said, you’ve gotten everything you want so far, and currently I have nothing.” anger crept into his voice despite his efforts to sound calm. “The transaction is currently unbalanced. Why the hell would I give you more at this point?” In that sentence, Raz’s composure broke, his tone betraying how hot his anger burned under the thin veneer of civil negotiations.
The shorter man sat back and regarded Raz in silence for what felt like a long time. Finally he pulled his own gloves off, leaned forward and extended his hand. “I think we got off on the wrong foot. I’m Brock Stilt, I don’t have a fancy title, but some people call me The Armorer. I make unique items for use by the Catalyzed.”
Raz looked at the outstretched hand with a sullen indifference. “Cool story bro. Still not gonna give you more for free, and trust me, you don’t want to shake my hand right now.”
Brock smiled, a wide toothy grin. “I hope that’s not a threat. We’re now in business together, and threats do not make good business partners.” He kept his hand outstretched, waiting for Raz to shake.
Raz clenched his fists and then relaxed his hands. “Threat? No, I have no plans to harm you. I just know you’d find shaking my hand unpleasant, and I don’t feel like getting shot by your defenses if you don’t like how that feels.”
The Armorer laughed. “Unpleasant? I can handle unpleasant. On my honor, I won’t allow the defences to go after you, as long as this isn’t a ruse to attack me.”
When I make contact, Analyze him, full power! Siphon, but do it subtle.
Raz glared at him. “Fine.” He took the man’s hand in a firm grip and shook it.
Brock’s entire arm and then body went rigid. After a few seconds he managed to relax enough to breathe. “Ok, you were not kidding. What the hell is this ability?”
[Analysis 25% complete]
Raz kept his tight grip firm and kept shaking his hand. “Don’t worry about it. It isn't harming you.”
[Analysis 50% complete]
[Analysis 75% complete]
Brock started to pull back on his hand. Raz kept his grip tight. “Come on, it’s not so bad is it? I thought you were ‘The Armorer’. Surely you can handle a handshake.” A mocking tone had crept into his voice.
A few seconds later Brock shuddered and yanked his hand away. He sat there rubbing at it as though he’d been burned. “That was… I don’t have words for how that felt. I would call it very unpleasant. Oddly intimate, like the end of a physical at my age, but also rather draining. Does it happen every time someone touches you?”
[Analysis complete. Energy stores full.]
Raz extended his hand again. “Would you like to find out?”
The man looked conflicted. “Ehh… No thanks.”
Without Brock making any noticeable summons, the robot wheeled back in with the case still on top.
Brock pulled his gloves on and took Raz’s hand cautiously. He relaxed when nothing happened. “Ok, so not through the gloves. Now I see why you were wearing those, “ he nodded at the case, “even though you don’t have the right abilities to make good use of them.”
Yes, just keep thinking that’s why I wear them.
He slipped his red gauntlet off and picked up one of the black ones. “Does it work through these?”
Raz felt his eyelid start to twitch. “No. It doesn’t”
Brock pulled on the black glove and started to buckle it up.
Raz had to look away from the sight of someone else putting his glove on.
Brock gasped and desperately fumbled at the buckle. The black glove hit the floor with a muted clank. “Vhat the devil!? How could you have made it yours so quickly.” He scratched at and massaged his hand. “Ach! Sehr tiefgreifend! I thought you said you only got them last week.” Brock exclaimed.
Raz nodded. “Yeah, what of it?
“That is unglaubli—very hard to believe.”
Raz shrugged. “Don’t know what to tell you. Someone else had them, and I took them. They were a little uncomfortable at first, but I got used to them pretty fast.”
Brock sat there staring intro space mouthing silent words for a moment. Finally he seemed to regain himself as he looked at the case and then the glove on the floor with an expression wavering between disgust, annoyance, and amazement. “Just tell me how you did it?”
“Did what? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Raz grumbled.
“I don’t know how, but if you’re not lying to my face, then you made them yours in just a few days.” Brock slid one of the red gauntlets over toward Raz. “Try this one on. It’ll adjust to your size.”
Raz shrugged and slipped the gauntlet on. It was a comfortable fit right up until he fastened the final small buckle holding it on. Instantly, the entire inner surface of the glove began to itch. “Ok, I tried it on, what’s your point?” The itching became a burning. Raz didn’t let it show.
Raz pushed his own energy against the glove. His forearm ached with the effort, but the itching receded. As soon as he relaxed that effort, the itching returned in force.
Brock shook his head. “Don’t keep it on too long, you wouldn't be the first macho guy to try and outlast the effects of trying to use someone else’s gear and then regret it. The gear I build has deep reservoirs.”
The burning intensified. Raz smiled through his clenched jaw.
[You are taking damage.]
Yeah, the intense burning gave me that clue.
Pushing his own energy back at the glove made the pain recede into a mild ache.
Brock rolled his eyes. “It’s not a test, if you don’t take it off, it’s going to hurt you.”
As his energy level hit the halfway point he made a show as though his resolve had failed, and Raz yanked the buckle open and tore the glove off abruptly.
He swallowed hard, his arm looked sunburned everywhere the gauntlet had covered.
Low level Somatic Recovery, self target.
“Ok, that wasn’t much fun. So what was the point of all that?”
Brock picked up the black gauntlet and set it back in the case with the rest of the set. “Just wanted you to see what I mean when I say ‘made it yours’.”
He looked at the case with a frustrated expression. ‘There’s many factors, but it usually takes weeks at least, if not months. Some people never manage it. The force that catalyst awakens within you, is also what powers the gear I make.”
Raz shrugged aggressively. “What do you mean ‘mine’, what are you talking about? If they’re mine, then why are you taking them?”
The other man looked at Raz as though he were a puzzle that needed to be solved. He finally looked at Hex, “I made you armor. How long did it take to make it yours?”
Raz watched Hex, she looked uncomfortable, then her expression shifted, telling him she was about to say something misleading.
She sat up and failed to suppress a yawn. “I don’t remember. It was a long time ago.”
Brock glanced at the clock and stood up. “I forget time zones. Let me show you to your room. I should start scanning for my wife now. Her last message spoke of a change in location for her research, but didn’t actually say where. So typical.” He looked back at both pairs of gloves. “We’re not done with this topic, but no more business today. For now, you’re my guests.”
Raz mustered every iota of civility within him and managed to nod curtly and turn away.
Brock offered them several room choices. Hex chose the one with a big bed for the both of them.
Brock leered at the two of them and then laughed. “I’ll grill some dinner on the roof in a few minutes if you’re hungry.” he pointed to the end of the hallway where a staircase went upward. “Just head up if you want some.”
They relaxed in the room for a few minutes.
Raz put his hands on her shoulders. “Do you think it’s true?”
She pulled him into her embrace and then looked up at him. “Do I think what’s true? I was a little zoned out for most of that.”
Raz looked at her with concern. “You must have been really spaced out. He said Midnight killed my father!”
“Oh my god, I must seem like such a cold wench. I’m sorry, I was really focused on building my local awareness. It’s hard from inside this building. I did hear him say that. I was so shocked I lost my grip on the local spatial field, then I got distracted rebuilding it.”
“It’s fine. I’m not sure I believe it anyway. I asked Midnight point blank, and he said he didn’t. Neither seem to be lying, but clearly something is going on.”
Hex pulled him down for a quick kiss. “Are you going to be ok?”
“I’ll be fine.” He lied.
“Speaking of, Midnight was in the news today. I was going to tell you what I saw while you were talking to Brock, but I didn’t want to interrupt.” she shrugged, “And now I’m not sure if I should just not bring it up.”
His eyes narrowed. “We’re going to have to talk about him for sure. We just met this Brock guy, so I’m not making any snap decisions, but if he’s telling the truth, your employer and I are going to have words when I’m ready.”
She swallowed and nodded. “Yeah. If that’s true I’m going to have some questions of my own.” Her stomach growled loudly. She laughed self consciously.
Raz almost suppressed a smile. “Well, enough heavy topics for right now, sounds like it’s time to eat.” and then led the way upstairs. The stairway ended at a roof access hatch.
Outside they found a large open deck. The setting sun over the reddish desert filled the evening with warm hues. A table was setting itself over in one corner.
Brock stood by a grill in another corner cooking. A sound system was playing classic rock in the third corner, and the hatch they’d just come from took up the fourth.
Hex goggled at the setup. “This was definitely not here when we looked at the place before.”
Brock overheard her comment. “Well sure, I don’t keep the deck deployed all the time. We’re inside the zone of an anomaly. The deck creates a vulnerability in my defenses, there’s no sense inviting trouble.”
They sat down just in time for him to serve up burgers and grilled chicken. Hex didn’t hesitate, tearing into the meal with a will. Raz was more standoffish, but eventually took a serving after Brock started eating.
Conversation was scarce at first. Brock seemed interested in chatting, but Hex and Raz both had other things on their minds. Eventually, his stories about Burke Owens’ research brought Raz into the conversation. Hex made an effort to be part of the conversation, but didn’t hide that it was an effort.
At one point Brock noticed Raz’s forearm looked recovered. “It’s a good thing you pulled that gauntlet off in time. It gets ugly if you leave someone else’s gear on for too long.”
Raz didn’t want to talk about that, but his curiosity got the better of him. “Yeah, what’s the deal with that?”
Brock looked at him with disbelief written all over his face. “You can’t be serious.”
Hex spoke up between bites. “He’s only been catalysed for what, a week?”
Brock shook his head. “A veek? Hah. Try again. There’s no vay. I’ve seen your scan. No vay at all that’s from a veek. You vouldn't even have time to master your abilities before getting more if you did all that so fast.”
Uh oh. Am I rushing things too much? Ugh. More questions.
Raz nodded, “Yeah, maybe a little more, but not much. The days kind of blurred together, but I wasn’t exactly following a safe and sane program.”
Brock looked dubious, but didn’t pursue the topic. Instead, he kept the chat light, and focused on telling stories about working with Burke. Eventually he shifted to talking about his work now, but struggled to explain things without getting into science neither of them could follow.
He finally shook his head. “Bah. Enough about that. Mein Frau, she is very smart. Her specialty is in physics. She studies the anomalies. Vorking together, all three of us can barely figure out all the vays catalyst bends the rules and constants of the universe we thought were immovable. Rude of me to go on about it.”
Raz noticed Hex looking forlornly at the night sky, plucking at her clothing a few times during the meal.
When Brock got up to excuse himself for the evening, Raz followed him to the hatch. The two had a quick conversation, then Raz returned to Hex while Brock headed to the sound system.
Raz crouched down next to Hex. “So my dear, may I have this dance?”
She looked at him, and then down at herself. She gestured at her dusty BDUs and still dirtier sand caked boots. She got to her feet, self consciously touching her hair. “Here? Now? I’m a mess. Where would we even do it?”
Raz looked her in the eye. “Babe, you’re gorgeous and you know it. If you don’t know it, then just trust me, I’m a doctor–ish.”
She giggled, blushed, and looked down and away before looking back at him with a suddenly shy smile.
He winked at her with the grin he knew would get her mind moving in the right direction. “Honey, I’m so in love with you right now it’s almost scary. He’s about to start us some music, and the dancefloor, such as it is, is ours for as long as we want it.” He put his hand out toward her.
She smiled, the smile lighting up her dirt smudged face. “Sometimes you’re quite the charmer when you try, you know that?” She sprung into his arms, whirling away on one hand into a spin.
“I do try. Here comes the music.” He glanced over at the corner with the sound system and his smile faded. The sight of Brock laughing maniacally didn’t fill him with confidence.
The powerful notes of Wagner cracked the night sky around them like thunder. Brock was clearly hysterical at his own joke.
Raz leaned down to her ear. “Hold that thought dear, I’ll go straighten this out.”
She shook her head and put her lips to his ear. “Nope, I don’t think so. As it happens, I know a ‘dance’ I’d never try in those clubbing heels, that is just perfect for boots. Do you know what my favorite thing about dancing is?” She started unbuttoning her BDU blouse.
“Uh, the dancing?” He ventured.
She laughed, “Well of course, but the best part for me, is seeing you, watching me. So if he thinks he can ruin that playing something undanceable like ‘Flight of the Valkyries’, then that's what I’ll dance to.” She pulled her BDU blouse off, leaving her in a thin red cami tank. The dark red top contrasting with the lightly tanned skin of the Nona aspect was startlingly erotic in the warm tones of the fading daylight.
She pulled him in for a fast, hard kiss before vanishing from his arms to appear in the center of the impromptu dance floor.
For the next few minutes, Raz was treated to an otherworldly display of dancing. She flickered in and out of sight, at times so fast it seemed like there was more than one of her. The dance was at moments typical dancing, her body undulating to the strident chords. Flashing, locking in time with the crashing percussion. Without warning her movements would shift from what Raz might have called ‘normal dancing’ into bursts of martial arts katas, interspersed with acrobatic displays and floor movements literally impossible without teleportation. Halfway through he was breathing faster just seeing the spectacle she had become. Throughout the entire piece of music, each time she faced him, her gaze was locked with his.
The song was nearly over. She leaped into the air, flickering another twenty feet into the air with a spinning kick before flickering again into a forward ground roll in his direction. When the final instrument was silenced, she had come to a stop at his feet, hands raised and outstretched.
Raz took her hands in his and pulled her close. She was panting with exertion, sweat glistening off her skin in the last rays of sunlight.
Raz met her kiss with his own. “I hope it’s not my turn, because I don’t think I’ve got a show like that in me.”
She grabbed him by the hips and pulled him into her. “You’ll make it up to me tonight. For now, let's get that idiot to play some real dance music and have some fun.”
They looked over at the sound system, and then around the deck. Sometime during her lavish display of dancing and movement skills, their host had slipped away downstairs, leaving them to their own devices.
Getting more suitable music playing was easy enough, and they danced until Hex finally had her fill. “This is great, but I need a shower, and a bed. If we wait much longer on those, the bed will just be for sleeping, and that would be tragic.” she said with a lascivious wink.
They returned to the room and showered together. Raz was pretty sure that showering together hadn’t actually saved any water or time, but it was a lot more fun.
Clean and dry, they moved the party to the bed.
*** *** ***
Later, Raz lay there enjoying the comfortable bed, and the sound of Hex softly breathing beside him. As carefully as he could, he extricated himself from her sleeping grasp and got the vial of catalyst from his pants pocket.
Ok, that should fill me back up, any notable status effects on me I should know about?
[Well, there is the—] Something about Bee’s intent leaked enough that Raz didn’t even need to read the whole message.
No. Just no. Don’t even think about listing some kind of ‘just got laid’ status marker.
[Why not? We both know that dance of hers really got you going.]
[In fact, she knows it, and Brock probably knows it as—]
Damn it! You had to go and ruin it.
[In that case no, the main thing you should know is that completing analysis on Brock netted just over five capacity units, and insight into his abilities.]
Wait, that’s all analysis does? I was hoping it actually did something.
[Was I unclear?]
[Allow me to rephrase that.]
[Five free capacity units for shaking someone’s hand.]
[The same capacity gains as fighting multiple chimeras.]
Alright alright. I get it.
[There is more.]
[The way the HUD tree is structured, it is safe to presume that information gathered in analysis is a critical part of some of the other abilities in the tree.]
Let me guess, for the low low price of all my catalyst and capacity, I can unlock more HUD tree abilities that do more or less nothing?
Bee didn’t answer. In the resulting physical and mental silence, Raz heard the faint sound of a banging, and a conversation from somewhere outside the room.
He pulled on a robe from the bathroom and ventured out toward the sound.