“Wake up!” A robot man shouted standing just inside Sheetal’s room.
“Wha…? Who…?” Sheetal asked disoriented.
She sat up and looked at the man. He looked like the terminator. As her eyes cleared, she noticed half of the man’s face was a wrinkled burnt mess. The other half was a strange amalgamation of a skull that shone like chrome and stringy dark metal flesh. His voice was thankfully missing the Austrian accent.
Still half-asleep Sheetal cringed when she met the man’s eyes which were button like camera lenses and scooted back on her bed. The man looked at her sternly and then glanced down at her body. Sheetal followed his gaze and realised that she was braless. And her clingy white shirt wasn’t hiding anything.
She folded her hands over her chest and looked at the man. His burns, his missing flesh and his unpleasant voice did not give her an idea of which type of clone he was. She noted his posture, body type and deduced she was either talking to a Taran or an Aditya. Jays were larger and broader. Aditya’s always stood with their feet slightly apart. This one stood tall with his heels almost touching.
Sheetal gave the man a challenging look “What do you want?”
The man scowled and his face contorted into a hideous thing “Where is your brother?”
She scowled back “He is not my brother.”
“Where is he?” The man pressed.
“I don’t know. Check in the other room.”
“I did.” The cyborg said back.
“What’s with all the noise?” Ash popped his head out from the other side of Sheetal’s bed and looked at the man.
“Ash?”
Ash looked at her and then visibly cringed when he looked at the man. He muttered “Nope. It’s too early for that mess.”
Sheetal looked at Ash who was slowly closing his eyes and laying back down. She snapped.
She reached behind herself, not with her hands but her shards. It was becoming easier and easier as she understood the complexities of superimposing her gravity and polarity in a spot. Reinforcing the areas her matter shard and using her wind shard to avoid friction.
The result was that the pillow behind her flew up over her soundlessly. She confidently grabbed the pillow and swung it down with both hands. Right on Ash’s smiling face.
Thwack!
“Aaah! What the… She!”
“Why are you in my bed?”
“It’s got a mattress!”
“How did you get into my room?” Sheetal screamed.
“It’s our room.” Ash reposted
“I am not dressed.” Sheetal stated.
“I don’t care.”
Sheetal snarled “Don’t you have any idea about personal space?”
“Hey, talk to the terminator because I am not listening.”
Sheetal turned to look at the cyborg. He was standing there like a statue.
“Well?” Sheetal asked.
“Your bodies doesn’t interest me.” The cyborg stated as a matter of fact and ordered “Get up. It’s time for your surgery.”
Ash groaned and lifted himself to his elbows “Geez man. Wear a helmet or something. You are ugly!”
The man smiled crookedly “Human flesh is weak. You are weak. I am on the path to perfection.”
“Surgery?” Sheetal asked.
“Is that what we are calling it?” Ash sat up to reveal his skinny hairless chest and continued while looking at the cyborg “Where I come from, it’s called something else.”
“What surgery?” Sheetal asked in a small voice.
The cyborg smiled “We will make you better.”
Ash threw his blanket off to reveal his nakedness giving Sheetal an eye full. He yawned “You are going to try to replace our body parts with metal parts like yours, aren’t you?”
“Augment you?” The half terminator, half man asked.
“Yes.” Ash asked.
The aug looked at Ash pointedly “If you fall on your knees, bow your heads, beg and pledge your life and your service to the Aug Queen, she will bestow her gift of life to you.”
Ash who was reaching for his pants stopped and looked at Sheetal and chuckled “Are you going to do that She? Because I don’t plan to.”
“Nope.”
“Oh, thank the gods. We are tied together and I don’t want to have a literal chrome dome.”
Sheetal who was covering her eyes with her hands parted and looked at Ash “Ash! Stop… Ah... Can you put something on.”
“She… Focus!” Sheetal turned to glare at Ash and he flinched “Actually, don’t focus on me. Your gun nozzle look kind of angry, and I am getting intimidated.”
Sheetal dropped her hands down to her chest and glared at the cyborg pretending to be a statue “Well?”
“Yes?” The cyborg asked.
“Give us some space man. Let us dress in peace.” Sheetal responded in frustrated tone.
The cyborg looked at Sheetal for a long moment and then asked “So, your answer is a, no?”
“About falling to my knees?” Sheetal asked
“And becoming queen’s servant?” Ash asked right after her.
Sheetal squinted and replied “The answer is a no. Now leave.”
The cyborg took two long steps and stood there as the door slid closed.
“Geez, that guy is creepy.”
Ash who was slipping into his cargos shook his head “No, that guy is retarded.”
“Ash! Be nice.”
“No, I am being factual, She. You’ve seen his head. More than half his head is machine. What do you think happened to the brain in there?”
Sheetal blinked “And they want to do that to us?”
“No.” Ash bit his lower lip and answered.
For a second Sheetal found his thoughtful expression the cutest thing in the world. So much so that she felt a protective urge creep up. It also made her want to squish him like a little puppy. Instead, Sheetal shook her head and started looking around.
“I don’t know what they want. It must be something elaborate because they wouldn’t have given us time enough for you to read those rule books.” Ash continued.
He looked at Sheetal scooting around the bed and continued “I mean you have seen them. That old jay with the grey beard wants us to become cannon fodder for him, the Aug Queen she is smart but wants to just support Seven for some odd reason.”
“It’s because they are couple.” Sheetal corrected Ash.
“Hmm…?”
“They are together Ash.”
“Huh. Really that’s the reason? That is so annoyingly simple that it is believable.” Ash sighed and continued “And then there is Taran 45. That guy is a chameleon. He is someone to everyone. A friend to Jay 7. An ally to the Aug Queen. And a respected person to everyone else. But that is all an act. So, what does he really want?”
“Maybe just to do good?” Sheetal asked.
Ash looked at Sheetal from under raised eyebrows.
“It could be the reason.”
“Nobody grabs that much power just to do good.”
Sheetal stopped and nodded in acceptance.
“And then there are the three I saw when we were coming in. They were all as powerful as Taran 45. I think they are the other leaders of the Continuum.”
Sheetal huffed “Where is my bra?”
“Oh.”
“Oh?” Sheetal narrowed her eyes
“Ah…”
“Where!?”
“Check the trash bin.”
Sheetal reached out and the almost empty bin floated to her. Sheetal took out her innerwear and turned a look that promised pain at Ash.
“I was sleeping, and that thing kept poking my face.”
Sheetal started to raise her hand at Ash
Ash squeaked “I am sorry. Please don’t kill me, Lord Vader She.”
Sheetal stooped and looked at her curling fingers “Holy carp. I am turning into a Sith Lord.”
Ash grinned “No, you are the Sith Lord. But I am going to turn you into the Emperor. Embrace the black side. Take the red pill. And, let’s take over the death cube to crush the Klingons.”
Sheetal snorted at Ash’s dramatic tone and said “You just murdered all of our cult classics.”
“How?”
“You mixed, Star Wars, the Matrix and Star Trek.”
“Isn’t Star Trek the same as the wizards and witches in space.” Ash askes scratched his dome.
Sheetal looked up from putting on her clothes and took in a sharp breath “Please stop. Actually, just don’t talk about Disney at all?”
Ash gave her a confused look “Why?”
“Just… Let it go.” Sheetal waited for the expected response.
Ash shrugged and opened the door “Meh! I don’t get movies anyways.” He looked at the cyborg standing in the door with a blank expression and asked “What about you? Do you watch movies?”
The cyborg sort of came to life and looked at Ash.
He continued “You look like a movie watcher. If you can stand quietly and watch the door, you definitely can watch a movie. Me I can’t sit quietly for two hours without burning the theatre down when the hero does something stupid.”
The cyborg looked at Sheetal emerging from the door and nodded silently.
Ash continued “I am just saying, if that’s how you got your burn scars then respect robot bro. However, if you did something stupid like protect this place and you lost your face, you are dumb.”
Whatever, passed for his eyes looked down blankly at the warder.
“Anything?” Ash asked the augmented.
“We are augmented. We are not cyborgs. We do not question the decisions that led us to our queen.”
The augmented wordlessly turned around and ordered “Follow me.”
Ash looked at Sheetal and huffed “Well that was miss. Hmm…”
Ash ran after the man and Sheetal followed them. She watched Ash trying to needler the man. He tried talking about his shiny scalp, His dressing sense and even tried to critique his choice of underwear. Nothing worked.
Sheetal on the other hand watched their surroundings. The level they were on was ten of feet higher than the levels down below. And through the glass tube covered pathway Sheetal could look down at work areas full of working people.
Instead of having workstation, the Continuum, it seemed to prefer to work on wrist mounted projectors. They went metal wall to metal wall touching buttons that would momentarily appear and then disappear.
Sheetal only raised her head when the glass corridor changed and the metal floor was replaced by a dark granite floor which glittered in spots.
Ash stopped and looked at the floor in awe.
“What is it?” Sheetal asked.
In response Ash got down on all fours and licked the floor.
“Yuck.” Ash spat out whatever he had licked and Sheetal turned away and ignore the weird boy.
“Ith’s na weird.” Ash spat out twice more and muttered “I pomise.”
Sheetal didn’t look back. It was just a granite floor. Why did Ash have to be so strange about everything. Sheetal shook her head and continued until fell about an inch suddenly. She looked down at her feet lifelessly scrapping the floor in surprise. She gathered herself and used her potentiality to flare her shards. She raised herself and continued for a few more steps. And fell again.
Ash grabbed her from behind and stopped her from hitting the floor at the cost of his footing.
“Oowww…” Ash groaned.
“What the heck?” Sheetal gasped.
“You elbowed my awesomenuts.” Ash said in a shrilly voice.
“Huh. Oh sorry.”
“I don’t know what happened.” Sheetal raised herself and jolted back down again.
Ash fixed his stuff and sat up. In squeaky voice he explained.
“It’s the floor. Its eating all the potentiality.”
“How is that possible?” Sheetal asked in a whisper.
Ash shrugged and turned to the cyborg “Hey, Scarface. What’s with floor?”
The cyborg who was waiting for them didn’t reply. He turned back towards the way they were heading and ordered “Walk.”
Ash and Sheetal looked at the dumb robot. After a moment followed the aug. Sheetal trying to manage her falls before they happened. Ash keeping next to her. Then as Ash expected Sheetal hover ability fluttered out.
Ash caught her under her arms and stopped her fall.
“Dang. I miss my muscles.” Ash whispered and then looked at the cyborg who had stopped again “Hey Scarface. A little help here”
The cyborg ordered “Walk.”
“I can’t walk you fluttering ignoramus!” Sheetal announced in a heated tone.
“Walk.” The cyborg enunciated the word menacingly.
Ash sighed and began to walk behind the cyborg “Hey Scarface. You walk funny.”
The robot man didn’t respond.
“Hey Scarface. Your buns are too tight.”
The cyborg ignored the warder.
Ash took in breath and carried on “Hey Scarface, your queen’s idea of perfection sucks.”
The cyborg flinched. He turned to look at the young man and the helpless girl menacingly. Two more augmented, these one in battle armour, walked in from adjoining rooms and stood there menacingly.
“Ash, you fliptard. Why do you always have to do that?” Sheetal asked in a soft voice.
Ash exhaled “I needed to know what makes them tick.”
“Well, they are ticked off now.”
Ash nodded “I’ll take the two in the back. You take Scarface.”
Sheetal licked her lips “Without my powers?”
“Without our powers.” Ash looked at Sheetal with pursed lips and muttered “I don’t think I can use my shards either.”
“Fudge!” Sheetal hissed.
The cyborgs just stood there wordlessly. While the warders whispered there plans to each other. Thankfully the Scarface’s wristed pinged. The augmented brought up his hand and looked at it for a second. His eyes went to the other two cyborg.
Wordlessly all three of them looked down at the warders and in the same time ordered “Walk!”
Ash lifted Sheetal up in a princess carry and responded with a broad grin “Yes. Why not. It’s going to be a great walk. Good exercise. Lead the way robot man? Machine? Guy?”
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
The cyborg turned and Ash walked behind him. Behind Ash the other two cyborgs followed the warders blank faced.
After ten minutes of walking a panting Ash and Sheetal reached a room lined with the same granite on the floors, walls and the long table in the middle. Ash didn’t care. He just walked to the table, set Sheetal on it and fell on it.
“Da… Da…. Dang! You… Are… Heavy!” He complained.
“No, you just have noodle arms.” Sheetal replied while looking at the augmented.
The robot human turned to a wall on the side and pushed it. The wall slid inwards with click and then on unseen tracks slid sideways. Raised voices came from inside.
“A fistful of favours!” A woman shouted.
“Yes.” Taran 45 level voice stated.
“Where did it all go?” The same woman asked.
“And I told you, that you will get a written report from my office in a day or two. Then you can bring up your grievances in the council meeting.” Taran continued in the same level tone.
“Do not play games with me, Forty Five!”
“Ruub. Do you really think I am embezzling favours?”
“I don’t know what you are doing.” The Ruby inside snarled.
And in a wordless agreement Ash lifted Sheetal and carried her to look inside. Ash looked at the augmented who had stationed himself next to the wall and stopped. He put Sheetal down on the floor and splayed himself next to the augmented statue trying to breather soundlessly.
Ruby F1450 was face to face with Taran 45. She tried looking down at the older man. Unfortunately for her, Taran 45 didn’t really have to raise his head to look back at the short woman.
Taran 45 put on an aggrieved tone and looked at the two people standing behind and dramatically sighed “Adi, Par, and even you Ruub. Do you think so little of me?”
Par sighed “Then why don’t you tell us why and where you spent those favours?”
“Fine. I am telling you because of our old friendship. But if you want a detailed explanation…”
“Broad strokes would do High Councillor.” Par smiled.
Taran 45 smiled back “Well haven’t you realised that our stores of food, water, and energy are at capacity?”
“Yes, but that would take what maybe five or six coins.” Par shook her head.
“Ten actually. You have no idea how close we were to a collapse. But that is not all councillors. The Asambhav in play again.”
The councillors all took that in a long silence. There expression showing their surprise.
Taran 45 smiled “Yes. And with our efforts my friends the Continuum is becoming stronger.”
Ruby F1450 folded her hands over her chest and asked “And who…”
45 didn’t even wait for her to ask her question and answered “You, of course. There is nobody more experienced than you Ruub. So gather your team and create a command staff. We will need your expertise soon.”
Ruby F1450 looked at her partner guiltily.
Par sighed “Are you trying to bribe us High Councillor?”
“I am trying to show you all that I have nothing to hide.” Taran 45 looked at Ash and Sheetal sitting on the floor next to the door and a glint came into his eyes.
Parvati 551 huffed “By spending twelve favours to acquire the services of some warders?”
“That wasn’t me. It was the former high councillor and his queen.”
“And you did nothing to stop that?” Ruby F1450 asked in a sharp tone.
Taran 45 spread his hands out and said “I am not the only one with access to the Continuum’s funds. The previous high councillor never gave up his rights.”
“And you let that stand?” Ruby F1450 asked in a heated tone.
“He is the mentor, and he was with the aug queen. What did you want me to do? Fight against them?” Taran 45 said in an aggrieved tone.
“Weakling!” Ruby F1450 spat.
“I am a bureaucrat Ruub, not a warrior. I just want to make things work.” Taran 45 said honestly.
“And who are these warders? Are we allowed to meet them at least?” Parvati 551 asked.
“Sure, look behind you. There they are.”
The three people turned and looked at the two bedraggled children.
“Helloooooooo…” Ash lifted himself to his elbows and waved. When he didn’t get a response, he laid himself back down and raised a finger.
“What in the light is this?” Ruby F1450 asked with a pointed finger at the two warders.
“That is Warder Sheetal and Warder Ash.” Taran 45 nodded sagely.
The three council members looked from the warders to the councillor and back.
“This is what Jay 7 spent twelve of our favours on?” Ruby F1450 asked.
“Ruubs be nice. They are just children.” Parvati 551 restrained Ruby F1450 with a light touch.
Aditya 101 who was standing behind his two wives moved forwards and shot a rapid series of hand gestures at Taran 45.
Taran 45 grimaced and looked at Parvati 551.
“He is saying, he doesn’t approve. This is against everything the continuum is supposed to be. Are you sure you want to go that far?”
Taran looked at Aditya 101’s mask covered face and replied “I understand that my friend, but we need a way to fight back against the Raks.”
Aditya 101 nodded and then more hand gestures followed. Parvati 551 voiced them.
“Then may the light have mercy on your soul. You are not mine to judge. But if you put augs on them, I don’t care where you are or how many you hide behind, I will chop your head off.”
Aditya 101 grabbed the hilt of his sword.
Taran 45 recoiled and slowly nodded “No augs. Understood.”
Aditya 101 looked at his two wives, shot a hand gesture and began walking out. He stopped next to the two warders and his hand moved.
Parvati 551 looked down at the two baby warders and gave them an empathetic look.
“Aditya says…” She shook her head and began again “No. All three of us are sorry. We are sorry we can’t can’t protect you. We are not strong enough to fight against the old guard or its augs. May the light shield you.”
Parvati 551 shot a hateful look at Taran 45.
“It’s okay lady. We’ll survive.” Ash looked at Aditya 101 “How about a hand later?”
Aditya shoulders shook in laughter and he shot Ash with his finger.
“That mean got you.” Ruby F1450 smiled “We hope you do survive for what it’s worth.”
Ash and Sheetal watched all three of them leave the room. Leaving Taran 45 looking at the two warders in front of him.
“Augmented, would you gather my medical staff please?”
Ash and Sheetal watched the aug they had started calling Scarface, walk off with thudding footsteps.
“That was nice you know.” Ash slowly started to get to his feet “Being the gracious one. Giving one of them a surprise gift and showing them their previous leaders continuing mistakes. Quite an inspired way to discredit you political opponents.”
Taran 45 smiled “Well you played your part to perfection.”
Ash stretched his back “Eh, it wasn’t hard.”
“So? What’s the play here?” Sheetal asked and continued “Death threats? Starvation? Isolation? Or…” Sheetal gulped “Torture?”
Taran 45 looked at Sheetal for a moment and then asked “By the boldness you just tried to display, am I right in assuming that you have read the Ascender’s Handbook?”
“And the Rules for Warder’s.” Sheetal nodded.
“Hmm… I haven’t read that one. I will put it on my list.” Taran 45 smiled.
“So, you know you can’t keep us here. Or harm us.” Sheetal pressed.
Taran 45 exhaled “Technically that is true. The Ascenders Handbook says that you may not harm a warder or threaten them in the course of their duty. The problem for you is that you weren’t involved in a mission until you came to us. And now that you have a mission from us, we are obligated to furnish you with the best tools to complete the mission.”
“You can’t do that. You need to let us go.” Sheetal shot back.
“Why? Where will you go?”
“Back to our people. We need to help them.”
Taran 45 shook his head “I am sorry. But you need to stay here and undergo a procedure to complete your mission.”
“We will not.’ Sheetal put her proverbial foot down.
The high councillor demeaner shifted. A cold look came over his face. He looked at Sheetal angry face and began “So we both know, death threats won’t work. You are warders. That is against the rules. Starvation and isolation will take too long. Torture though…”
Taran 45 shot a sharp smile at the Warders and watched them focus on him with barely contained fear.
He continued “The best thing about technology is that it like magic makes the impossible possible. Take for example this crown.”
The high councillor spun a large ring on his finger.
“It is a mental band. With it we no longer need to cause anyone physical harm. Pain. Push a button. Mental projection of traumatic events. Flip a switch and you will feel every moment of slowly cooking in a fire. Want to take it further? Add a dose of humiliation to the mix. You don’t even need to do it. Its all programmed to break a person twice as strong as you. And you know the best bit? It won’t even take that long. Every minute with this band will feel like an hour and every hour will scar you with memories that will last centuries. We made it with efficiency in mind you see.”
Ash let out a deep breath with bored expression on his face “Then why didn’t you put it on us already?”
Taran 45 flinched and shot Ash an annoyed look “Because, you are a pain. And I have a feeling that you will more likely have a psychological breakdown rather than break. I don’t want flesh puppet created by illusionary vices. I need warders.”
A shiver ran down Sheetal’s back. She had flinched when the man casually talked about invading her mind and subjecting her to horrors. But the man kept talking and the feeling of cold death coming from Ash through their link became icy cold.
Ash moved slowly, methodically, raising himself to his feet and putting himself in between Taran 45 and Sheetal.
“First, do not threaten She again.” Ash’s flat tone wiped the smug smile of Taran 45’s face. His flat tone gained an edge “Second, I am not doing anything you want. Third, you want a fight. I am happy to fight you and kill you. Or maybe die trying but there only a small chance of that. Four, we have your mission, and we plan to complete it. We do not need your help doing it. Fifth, if you don’t let us go right now, I will crack the continuum like an egg, make scrambled eggs out of it, and microwave it until its rubbery and inedible.”
45 blinked. The aura of the boy had suddenly changed and with his near evolved eyes he could see Ash was ready to lunge at him.
45 took in a breath and stated “I can’t do that warder.” and after a long silent moment pleaded “Please don’t make me do anything harsh.”
Ash grinded his teeth and glared at Taran 45 “Do what you need to, to me. Touch her and I will make sure that I will dedicate my life to ending you.”
Taran 45 closed his eyes, controlled his disgusted expression and shook his head “I am sorry. But it needs to be both of you. Your link does not allow me to spare your sister.”
Sheetal felt Ash decide to fight to the death at that moment. He was ready to kill. And somewhere in his strange little brain he knew that he was going to die. But that didn’t matter to him.
Because, when Ash said that she was his, he meant it. And she was his to protect and if he couldn’t do that, that meant he could have fun and joke around with her. Or annoy her for a goodtime. So, he was going to win or most probably die trying.
He was good with it either way. Sheetal, in his mind couldn’t take torture and from the snippets she had seen in his mind she knew that was right. So, death it was. And that was also a way to spite the enemy. And Taran 45 had just turned himself from a guy in his mind to an enemy.
That cold calculated acceptance of the facts scared Sheetal. She saw him tighten his hands on his weapons and knew he was going to strike out at the old man.
“Ash…” Sheetal tugged on Ash’s threadbare cargos.
Ash’s who was reaching for his tonfas stopped and looked into Sheetal’s calm eyes.
Sheetal calmly said “Ash, I can take it. I can take it.”
Don’t flipping get us killed was left unsaid, verbally. But Sheetal was sure that their link carried her emotions through.
“But fun?” Ash deflated
“We can have all the fun you want. We can go kick things, say nasty things, and crush things all you want. Just don’t get us killed please.”
Taran 45 nodded “Your sister is right. Where there is life, there is a way.”
Sheetal looked at Taran 45 questioningly.
The high councillor explained “I don’t want to stop you from doing anything. I don’t mind you getting stronger. Learning new things and enjoying life. In fact, I encourage it. I just want to save my people.”
Ash squinted at Taran 45 and slowly withdrew his hands from his tonfas “What are you going to do to us?”
“I spoke about anomalies before.” Looking at the blank faced of the two warders Taran 45 continued “They are things that come into our reality from unreality.” Taran 45 held out hand and a holographic projection formed over his palms “These are phages.”
An image of three bug creatures formed on top of his hand.
Taran 45 shot a guarded look at Sheetal. She looked back with angry eyes.
The older man smiled and silently mouthed “Thank you.”
Sheetal blinked. The man knew how close to death they had come and was thankful? Thankful for what? That he hadn’t had to kill them? The convoluted strangeness of the whole situation baffled her. She needed to get herself some normal people around her.
“Don’t talk to her.” Ash harrumphed and added “Tell me what I am looking at?”
“The first is a quadruped. It has chiton shell and a pincer at its bottom. It uses that pincer to turn matter into mush and transport it back into unreality. We call them a lesser phage. The second is a hexapod. It has a chiton armour. It is faster, more flexible and jumps around everywhere. Making it a pain to kill. It is also your basic phage soldier.”
“Hold on.” Ash picked up Sheetal and carried her to the table Taran 45 was sitting on.
He pointed at the hologram coming from a stone on Taran 45’s palm and said “Look, She, spiders. I am going to kill him and he is talking about spiders.”
Sheetal shushed him and looked at the images. She compared the difference between them. 45 flicked a finger and the images started to move. The first one was smaller, spindly and a smallish four-legged spider with a small pincer protruding from the hips. The other one was a large hairy spider. Instead of its regular smooth pedipalps which a spider used like an appendage to hold down a prey. This thing had two sharp gleaming spikes.
The phage soldier sat down on the ground and the stone underneath turned into a soup. It redirected the soup inside its body and used it as power to volley glowing balls of death everywhere. And when it was done it charged straight into the camera with glowing spikes.
“The last one is a greater phage.”
A worm with ten spikes for every fold slithered on the ground. Everything it touched with its spikes lost cohesion and meaning, turning into oily glittery multi-coloured soup. When the ground melted, it began to swim and move freely. It widened the hole and scooped in mouthfuls of the mess and then disappeared underground.
“So, bugs. What’s that got to do with anything?” Ash folded his hands on his chest and leaned back.
Taran 45 flexed his fingers and the image changed. “Those are phages. They are the symptoms of unreality. We think the cause of them are these. They are called abominations.”
A tangled mess of snakes rose up revealing that they had one body.
Rope Hydra.
Class 1 (Peak)
Status - Eliminated.
The image changed again.
A shark swam out of solid ground and dove towards the camera.
Stone Shark
Class 1 (Mid)
Status – Eliminated
On by one, images came and went. Taran 45 moved his fingers and more images sped away.
A giraffe with a head of a snake. A kangaroo with three heads. A lion with tentacles instead of a mane. All passed away with eliminated stamped over the images.
Then with a poke of a finger Taran 45 stopped with on one image on the hologram. The most horrific sight of them all. Two marble white people with flat faces reaching towards the camera. The image moved and the warders realised that the two creature were joined together at the hip. And lower their legs melded into each other.
They clawed there way towards the ground in wordless screams. Their skin covered jaws moving noiselessly. They thrashed and faltered until someone jumped into the frame. She stopped and retracted her helmet revealing a middle aged face and a far more muscular version of the aug queen. She stomped towards the melded creatures with a pronounced grimace on her face.
Taran stopped the video and an image of the conjoined people clawing the ground replaced the video.
Stone Faced Twins.
Class 1 (Peak).
Status – Contained.
Taran hit the button at the bottom and a notes section appeared.
Combat Notes
KIA – 0
MIA – 0
Injured - 0
Note – The abomination arrived incapacitated. They had no pores or orifices on their body. They were put into stasis. Before they could be contained one exhibited capabilities of an high mentalist. The other one exhibited channelling capabilities when it clawed the ground. It dug deep furrows into the with its nails.
Research Note – The channeler does not have a channelling shard. It somehow converts matter in his heart and then transports it through its veins to its joints, fingers and toes. This is not just a channeler. It is a closed combat specialist.
Research Note 2 – The mentalist is not just a mentalist. She is a mage too. Her brain is different. It has lobes to carry more oxygen and cool it. She has brain functions even under stasis. Whatever she is, she has evolved to process and calculate thousands of possibilities before using her abilities. Speaking of abilities, she has two major channelling zones. Her palms. I hypothesise that this magic type was created for large scale effects.
Research Note 3 – Who ever smushed these two creatures together has a basic understanding of humanity but not the nuances. Externally, they did not give these two any orifices. Internally too, things like vocal chords, intestines, ovaries, and in one case lungs are missing. They basically got the shape right. Gave these two all the armaments for battle and threw them into our reality.
Research Note 4 – These twins they are linked. We see quantum effects in between their two brains. I theorise whoever created them, created the male to protect the female while she prepares for a large scale attack.
Research Note 5 – Parvati M976, how many times do I have to tell you to not personify unreality. We do not know what is out there to make such judgements. – Taran 45
Sheetal leaned back and her eyes focussed on Taran 45’s smiling face.
“See the similarities?” Taran 45 asked.
Sheetal looked at the High councillor with growing horror “What are you planning to do to us?”
“I am going to give you the ability to walk again along with other things.”
Ash leaned in after reading the hologram. He was slower than Sheetal and it took him a minute to understand what was happening. He slowly looked at Taran 45.
“You mean… You want to make me…” Ash looked at Sheetal, winced and started again “You mean you want to make us, something like the stone guy, and girl?”
“No. I want to take things out of those two and put them in you.” Taran 45 steepled his fingers and put them under his chin.
“So what? You are Frankenstein, and we are going to be your monsters?” Sheetal asked in a heated tone.
“Excuse me?” Taran looked baffled.
“She, shut up. he doesn’t understand all that. And even if he did, he would agree with the mad doctor.”
Sheetal looked at Ash for a long moment and through their link felt acceptance for what was going to happen “Ash?”
“Yes, She. We let him do it.” Ash replied in a calm tone.
“Ash… You can’t be serious.” Sheetal hissed and said “I know you don’t understand how the human body works. But you must have heard of people’s bodies rejecting donated organs. We can’t just stuff parts. It’s not a Lego set.”
Ash nodded and looked at Taran 45 “How powerful will you plans make us?”
“I don’t know. Something like this has never been done before.”
“Ash!” Sheetal said warningly.
Ash ignored Sheetal and asked “What all do you want to replace in me?”
Taran leaned in and said “Your eyes. When we cut open the channelers sockets we found milky grey eyes. We theorise that they are like a sense shard. You are a sensopath with a sense shard. We want to see what you can do with it. Obviously, every sensory organ is connected to the spine and the brain. We will take connectors from there to make them work. We also want to take his channelling pipes. They are pores around the joints and unlike anything we have seen before. Then we will replace your ribs with his. They are plated and will protect your heart better. In the next stage, we will take his femurs and other long bones. Finally, we will transplant his skin and muscles into you along with the small bones that are left.” Taran paused took in a deep breath “But, right now we’ll start with your eyes.”
Sheetal looked at Taran 45 in horror and shook her head violently “You can’t do that. It will kill us.”
Ash finally turned to look at Sheetal “She, don’t you think these guys with the futuristic base, terminator looking people and cyborgs would have considered that?”
Sheetal looked at the high councillor and the doctors hanging just outside the door waiting for a permission to come in.
“Well, did you?”
“Of course. The twins are O positive and have you heard of universal organs?” Seeing the incomprehension on Sheetal’s face, Taran 45 smiled and tried to put the young woman at ease “Do you noble metals in your Earth? The ones you enforce broken bits of your bodies with?”
Sheetal nodded.
“Good. That would make this easier.” Taran 45 nodded back “Then you know metals like lead and others are toxic to the body because they cause a chemical reaction that slowly kills you. What do you think causes organ rejection from even the most compatible donors? A soul reaction.”
The high councillor flicked finger and the hologram over his hand changed showing a human body. He pointed at the body and continued “
The soul is a strange thing. We theorize that it exists not in the three dimensional space as our consciousness but outside in a five dimensional space.
“Five dimensional?”
“Yes. Why wouldn’t it be. How do you think you could travel here otherwise?”
“No…” Sheetal stopped and tried to process the high councillors words “I don’t know how that corelates to anything. I was just going to ask, what is the fifth dimension?”
“Reality.” Taran 45 looked at Sheetal and considered “How may dimensions do your scientific establishments acknowledge?”
“Four. Three physical and the fourth is time.”
The high counsellor looked at Ash whose eyes had glazed over and asked “If you have established time as a dimension then you must be talking about multiverses and anti-universes. How are you supposed to interact with them if you don’t acknowledge reality in its various forms?”
“How are we supposed to interact with reality other than touch it?” Sheetal raised her eyebrows.
“With your soul. That is what I am trying to explain.” Tran 45 pointed at the human figure in the hologram.
Sheetal blinked.
The high councillor grinned when he suddenly understood why the smarter warder was having such a hard time understanding his explanations and asked “Your scientist do not acknowledge the presence of a soul do they?”
Sheetal shook her head.
“Understandable. One can’t see the soul and science is all about examining what is present.” The high councillor laughed “We were like that too and heading that way until we first came here. Then there a major upheaval in our scientific departments.”
“Upheaval.” Sheetal asked automatically.
“Yes, fist fights, torn papers and in two cases, bullets flying around.”
Taran 45 looked at Ash whose lips had slightly moved upwards. The high councillor wasn’t a fool. He knew that the boy was sitting quietly right now because he had his sister. But internally the boy was seething and plotting his death.
“One can see the soul with enhanced sight. Those who do it, see if for a flickering moment. And even when they do, they say it moves quickly somewhere else inside the body before they can pinpoint it. Have you ever felt a heightened sense of perception when you are concentrating on something, as if you are looking down at yourself from the top of your head? That is your soul lingering in one place for a micro microsecond in a place. They say that in that moment it looks like an orb. Exactly like the ones you have in your hud.”
Sheetal’s eyes widened as the ramifications of Taran 45’s words dawned on her.
“Are you saying that when we use our huds. We are playing with our souls?”
“Yes.” Taran 45 pointed at Ash and continued “More in case of your brother. The soul weapons he has, do not hurt the soul. The soul is infallible. They can, for a split second wrestle control of every drop of potentiality of the part of the body, killing it permanently and making that part inaccessible for the soul.”
Ash’s eyes focussed at Taran 45. He took out his tonfas and asked “Why are they dead?”
“They are not dead. They are sleeping. They need potentiality to stay active. Especially, those two.” Taran 45 grimaced.
Sheetal looked at the weapons Ash had pulled out and recalled how the weapons had communicated with her and what they had done.
“And coming back to the soul, it is possessive about its organs. It taints them. That is organ implants fail where cybernetics don’t. Thankfully, the twins never had a soul. They are the perfect donors.” Taran 45 lips parted to show an excited grin.
Sheetal gulped “What about me? What do you want to change in me?”
Sheetal felt goosebumps on the back of her neck as she watched the amoralistic man talk.
“Your spine.” Taran 45 nodded at the hologram and the spine was highlighted at the amorphic humanoid figure.
Ash leaned forwards and Taran 45 nodded at him.
“She needs to be able to walk and run. You both will be going into a battlefield. We will sculpt you a new spine with the female’s spine.” Taran 45 Looked at Sheetal and then turned back to Ash and on the image of the top of his hands illuminated the ribs “For you it will be your ribs. You have levelled up your heart shard. It needs more protection. The twins bones are made from excalcit. True calcium for the layman. It moulds it is easier for the soul to adapt to and reform when they are damaged.”
Taran 45 turned back to face Sheetal and the hologram in his hand highlighted the spine again. This time with cluster of lines heading everywhere.
The mad man continued “We will also take all the veins, arteries and signal carriers from the female’s spine. Then the two channelling pipes running connecting her brain, through her heart and to her arms. But those are the simple things, the complicated bits are the pieces we will have to take form her brain and transplant into you.”
Sheetal scooted back and away from Taran 45. He eyes looked at the man in fear.
Taran 45 nodded
“Then in the next sitting we’ll start with the bones.”
“Ash!” Sheetal gasped and started hyperventilating.
Ash was looking at Taran 45. His stony look promising death. Turned to look at Sheetal. Slowly his features softened, and he placed a hand around her shoulders pulling her closer.
“It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not.”
“She, its going to be okay. I will be here with you every step of the way.”
“They are going to change every bit of us.”
“I know but what choice do we have right now?” Ash growled.
He calmed himself and took in a long breath “She. You read the notes and heard the spy master’s words. But you didn’t read between the lines. Everything he is doing means much more to him than he is letting on. The man is giving us power. Far more power than that old Jay 7 expects.”
Taran 45’s lips twitched upwards.
Ash continued “Far more power than the Aug Queen can control. Far more power than he can control.”
Taran 45 nodded “Yes. By the end of the procedures, you will be able to squash me like a bug.”
“See. He is doing this even when he knows that I will kill him the first chance I get.”
Taran 45 looked at Ash and took in a deep breath. He let it out and asked “What if I make you, as you say, more awesome than you are?”
Ash raised his eyebrows and looked at the man wordlessly.
“Never mind.” Taran 45 shook his head.
Sheetal looked at Taran 45 “But why? Why are you doing this?”
“Why?” Taran looked perturbed for the first time and raised his voice. It echoed around the room “Haven’t you seen us? How divided we are. How close to complete collapse we are. We are going to die and… I am done.”
Taran closed his fist and the hologram above his hand disappeared.
The mad man regained his composure and continued in his measured cadence “I am done running around putting out fires. Jay 7 the glory hound wants to go fight the Rakshasa. Why? Because he is coward and it easier to fight the Raks than fighting anomalies. Yes, we might win and some of us might be able to go to Rier but at what costs. The Aug Queen, all she wants is to do is follow around Jay 7 in her last days as a human. Then there is the General. She is the best of us. She is out there fighting anomalies. But she an inch away from abandoning us. And you met the purist. They hate the augs, so much that they want to go to war with them. They see them as a bigger threat than the oncoming rak army or the phages that are popping up everywhere.”
Taran 45’s words hung in the air for a long moment.
“So yes, I will do anything to create the beacons of hope that will guide us out of this murky darkness we have been stuck in for decades. Even if they kill me.”
Ash chuckled sarcastically “Geez bro. How close are you to burning it all down?”
“If you two don’t survive this procedure, maybe a week.” Taran 45 stated as a matter of fact.
Taran 45 began to shut off the projection and pull his arm away. Sheetal grabbed 45’s arm to look at the creatures. The high councillor looked at Sheetal in surprise then met a challenging gaze Ash was levelling at him.
“Leave it. It will help her research and talk herself into the idea.” Ash said in a soft voice.
Taran and Ash traded a glance. Both knew that there was no way for Ash or Sheetal to refuse the older man. And there was no reasoning with a man ready to die for the last hope he saw in them. Still, Taran 45 sighed and kept up the illusion of civility. He took off the thin bracelet with a diamond that projected the images and placed it flat on the table.
“Just use your fingers to scroll.” Taran 45 instructed Sheetal and left to get his team and himself a cup of tea.”
Ash sat back and watched Sheetal. He knew what ever was coming was going to be bad, so he let her distract herself and soon she immersed in the videos and notes.
Sheetal went back to the Rope hydra and clicked the arrow in the bottom.
Combat Notes
KIA - 35
MIA – 3
Injured – 84
Soldiers Augmented Post Battle – 60
Soldiers Issued Bionics - 15
Research Notes – The transmogrify between biological and ropes would have killed the hydra on its own if left alone for a week.
External Notes – Taran 45, in a week, the hydra with its poison would have turned everything around us into the immaterial. – General Athena Chandra (Athena 8)
Sheetal next stopped on a dear that breathed out vapour that ate into reality.
Smoke Stag
Class 1
Status - Eliminated
Combat Notes
KIA - 0
MIA – 0
Injured – 3
Soldiers Augmented Post Battle – 0
Soldiers Issued Bionics – 1
Research Notes – The thing dissolved?
External Notes – Shoot it in the head. It dissolves without brain function. - General Athena Chandra (Athena 8)
Sheetal checked others and stopped at a cute little thing.
Kitty.
Class - 1
Status – Missing.
Combat Notes
KIA – 0
MIA – 0
Injured - 0
Protectors of Kitty – 4500 Battle Hardened Class 1 Veterans
Note – 45. Leave my kitten alone. It will come back when it wants some nuclear waste and affection - Athena Chandra (Athena 8)
Note 2 – All hail the cursed kitty – Perseverance Faction
Research Note – Fine you barbarians. Just stop breaking my vehicles windows. – Taran 45
“Kitty? A kitten? Sheetal looked at the white, wet cutely pathetic looking kitten. It walked to the camera, scrunched up its pink nose and nuzzled into it.
Aw… Sheetal thought and those thoughts travelled to Ash through there link.
Ash looked at Sheetal and then looked at all the medical staff piling stuff in. The granite room was slowly becoming something else. When Ash saw the restraints on large metal cylinders covered with glass the augs dragged in. Ash realised what they were doing. They were transforming the room into an operation theatre.
Taran 45 walked back in with a cup of tea and watched over his team of doctors silently.
He looked at Sheetal. She was blinking down at a wolf that waddled towards the camera on two penguin feet. It fell on its side and mewled pathetically.
Puppy Penguin
Class 1
Status – Contained
Note – Taran 45. Kill the poor thing already. General Athena Chandra (Athena 8)
Taran 45 looked at Ash pointedly.
Ash nodded “She, its time.”
Sheetal looked up and looked at four augs dragging in a frozen body. No it was two bodies trapped together. The bodies of the abomination they had looked at just a few minutes ago. Cold smoke flew up from them and the platform they were on.
Taran 45 walked to them with four off his doctors. He looked at the glass cylinders and nodded “Strip and get into the pods. We will try to make this as painless as possible.”
Sheetal panicked when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She flinched and elbowed the face.
“Aaaow!” Ash grabbed his nose.
“Oops, sorry.” Sheetal apologised with widening eyes.
“Doctors, give them some space and a bit of privacy.” Taran 45 ordered.
Soon, Ash and Sheetal were undressing in a small tent covered area. The tents led up to the small pods that the Continuum called pods.
Sheetal repeated herself “I am sorry okay. Didn’t mean to hit you.”
“First it was my pears, and then my nose.”
“We can fix that nose. Make it better.” A doctor’s voice came from the other side of the tent.
“Thank you but my nose is perfect.” Ash replied
“Actually, it is not.”
“Yeah, it’s a bit flat.” Sheetal smiled.
“Yes, doesn’t go with his cheek bones.” Another doctor said from the other side.
Ash stopped and looked all around “Are you freaking kidding me?”
“Listen, warder all we are saying is that we won’t have to cut into you to do it. We can fix it in the genes. It will give you better air intake and help you gather potentiality while making you look better.”
Ash levelled a look at Sheetal “You started this.”
Sheetal smiled “Sorry.”
Ash looked at Sheetal and sighed “Probably deserved it for what I was going to say.”
Ash picked up Sheetal and began walking towards the pod.
Sheetal looked up at him and finally when her curiosity couldn’t take it, she asked “What were you going to say?”
“Hide your bush. It’s looks really-really sad when it gets wet. Like the kitty in the video.”
Sheetal opened her mouth and shouted “Ash! Don’t you even start with that you flipper.”
“We can fix that too. Heck we are going to remove all your hair anyways.” The first doctor said from outside the curtain.
“Huh!” Ash looked at the shadow of the doctor walking with him “That is the first useful thing you have said.”
“He said all our hair.” Sheetal shouted “Even the one on our head.”
“And your eyebrows. And the ones in your nasal cavities and other places.” The second doctor added.
Ash stopped “Nope. Not going to happen.”
“We’ll grow it back.” The first doctor quickly added.
Ash sighed “Well then, okay.”
Sheetal exhaled too “Still doesn’t excuse for calling my area sad.”
Ash smiled and lowered Sheetal into the pod. Wraps lowered down from everywhere and trapped Sheetal’s limbs. Sheetal began to panic. Ash grabbed her head and made her look at him.
“She, relax. Relax. I am here. I am here. I will be here alongside you. And we will get out of here together.”
Sheetal stopped struggling and looked at Ash with tear filled eyes.
“Ash, thank you for everything.”
Ash looked at the yellow thing that had descended from the top of the pod on a robotic arm. He put it in Sheetal’s mouth and said “Bite down.”
Sheetal did as she was instructed. And looked at Ash smiling devilishly at her.
“Hey doc guys. You know what’s sadder than her bush? What’s inside it.” Ash pressed a button than said anaesthesia on the mouth guard and continued “It hasn’t seen the light of day in years much less a man. Can you do something about that, sad little kitty?”
Sheetal eyes widened and just then a spray hit the back of her throat.
Fizz.
Sheetal tried to gag it out. Instead of the mouth piece dislodging itself, the hard mouthpiece dissolved into foam growing over her mouth, and nose,
Sheetal gasped in a lungful of whatever that spray was foam and felt her eyes darken. She glared at her stupidly dancing brother until her eyes closed.
Ash stopped dancing and then pushed the stupid yellow curtains away. He walked straight to Taran 45 and growled “You make this as painless as possible for her and I might not kill you all.”
The high councillor nodded “I will try. But you have levelled up one of your shards. Your body will fight against the anaesthetics in the pod.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that for you this will be very painful warder.”
Ash rolled his eyes “It always is.”
“And she will feel that pain.”
Ash nodded “You are becoming my least favourite person Taran 45. You should be worried.”
“Oh?” Taran 45 looked at Ash inquisitively and asked “Why?”
“Because I am this close to killing you.” Ash held his forefinger and thumb an inch apart.
Taran 45 exhaled silently and walked closer to Ash “I see. Well warder let’s go then.”
Ash looked at his weapons lying on the other side of the room on a medical trolley.
The high councillor waved “Fine. Go get…”
Ash shot forward and landed to closed fist punches to Taran 45 midsection.
Taran 45 grunted. He was surprised not hurt. Ash danced back and spun. The high councillor leaned back watching the kick part the air inches away from him face.
“I understand that you want to shout, scream, threaten and rage.” Taran blocked a strike with his arm and snorted “But you have overlooked one simple fact.”
Ash weaved out of lunge and asked “Yeah, what that? That your grabs suck?”
Taran 45 chuckled and straightened “No. You have overlooked the fact that I, a noncombatant and my doctors aren’t afraid of you.” Taran waved to his people “Look around you warder. None of us are afraid of you.”
Ash looked around and watched the doctors giving him curious looks. He cracked his neck “For now.”
Taran nodded and feigned left with a palm. Ash caught the feign and didn’t move. He raised his guard to protect him from the right. But somehow the strike that was supposed to be a decoy smacked him on his face.
Ash fell. He tried to shake of the disorientation and a foot stopped him back down. He looked up and saw Taran 45 standing over him. A third wispy arm disappearing into smoke.
The high councillor leaned down and the foot that weight more than a car stole the air from his lungs.
Taran 45 looked Ash in his eyes “And this is the problem warder. Your threats should be making us shiver. We should be in a dark corner hiding from the light. Your name should make us lock ourselves in the safest corners but all you can gather from us is an awkward silence. Because all you are right now is a child on a hilltop, screaming at the wind to stop blowing hair into his eyes.”
Ash looked up at Taran 45 “Today. Taran 45, I was weak today. I won’t be as helpless ever again and then...”
“And when you are stronger, Ash, I will be more careful. But today, all I have to say to you is, shut up kid and let me make something out of you.”